Tactical problems

[Uwain]

Instead of aimlessly beating around the bush...

Are you reading and understanding what I'm typing?
I'm not beating around any bushes... I am stating unequivocally that the FM16 Match Engine cannot be interpreted in any meaningful way in order to purposely alter the outcome of a match in a positive way.

Is that clear enough?

The match engine can be used to balance your own tactics and to spot a few glaringly obvious mistakes/weaknesses in the AI tactic (although even this only really boils down to spotting their use of width and sometimes passing and closing down style and perhaps the playmakers).
But it cannot be used to figure out what tactical changes you need to employ to win the game in all cases.

It can and is widely used for after match analysis where helpful people can provide countless theories about how/why each goal was scored against you and how it could have been avoided. I can do this too - and it is all entirely subjective.
Unfortunately, due to the overly random nature of each match these hypotheses can never be put to the test and proved conclusively either way.

Have you opened a thread (anywhere, really)...

This is the only place I have posted... and I only joined in here because IMO the OP was trying really hard to read the game and getting nowhere. OP's persistence helped me understand certain details that I had not previously considered (sorry that this sounds so cryptic, I forget now what little bits I picked up... pretty sure I wrote it earlier in the thread though).

I had hoped that their persistence and my willingness to waste time trying things out might lead to a better understanding for all.
And I suppose it has... it has helped me understand that I will never be able to use the ME in the way I had hoped. And nobody can dominate anything without having the best of everything regardless of your tactical prowess.

My specific issue is in reading the AI strategy during the match and working out how the **** they can exploit my weaknesses without showing me much of theirs.
The forums all want you to declare your tactical strategy and then help you to tune it to work how you want it to.
I'm not married to any one strategy. Most formations can be used fairly effectively and all strategies will have a weakness somewhere and get opened up by the AI.
I'd rather be flexible and employ the tactics that make sense for the match in front of me. This seems to be the biggest advantage that the player has.

Have you looked in your own game and matches for these clues then?

And here we are... full circle. I can watch the same match all day long and I cannot tell you why some teams can just totally overpower me without offering me any clear signs of how to stop it or what I can exploit.
I can save scum and replay matches time and time again without making any changes and get a vast array of different results. How can this help me read anything?
I can change things to eventually get more favourable results more reliably (though still with a random spread) but I cannot identify any correlation to help me understand when or why to apply these changes in future without save scumming.

And go easy on jee... not everybody has the time, inclination or ****** mindedness to really thrash things out... this is supposed to be a game after all (A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for enjoyment... -wiki)!
Not to mention how difficult it is to clearly communicate your understanding/problems on an internet forum.

Now it would seem I am flogging a dead horse... I'm not going to get the education I need am I?
If I choose to continue with FM I will have to accept the random nature of the game and the apparent rubber banding.

 

[Uwain]

Give up!

I don't need to look for a mate here. I know many many people who are struggling the same as me. Most of them just give up. Others cheat or download tactics, which is another way of cheating. A few others progress. I don't know a single person of that last group. I would ask them what did they do. I'm not saying they don't exist, I'm saying I don't know them.

Just answer this: What you want me to do if I don't see something? Do you think I'm doing it on purpose or what?

I'd give up mate!
Either we are too dumb to play this game or we are too smart/stubborn to be hoodwinked by the forums.

You know how some people think they are actually hypnotised?! They will never accept that it was just the power of suggestion and a lot of alcohol (and often a lack of inhibitions).

 

[WJ]

There's no rubberbanding. You repeating it doesn't make it any more true. If there are issues, they can be rectified. There are people who can go on very long unbeaten runs, so why doesn't the rubberbanding affect them?

For the final time - NO rubberbanding.

 

[Uwain]

There's no rubberbanding. You repeating it doesn't make it any more true. If there are issues, they can be rectified. There are people who can go on very long unbeaten runs, so why doesn't the rubberbanding affect them?

For the final time - NO rubberbanding.

I too can create long unbeaten runs... and I have already stated that I can't play the game.
Save scumming is king... I haven't found a game I can't win eventually.
Also, having all of the best players helps to maintain a run... if you are predicted to win everything then the rubber band actually helps.

I have read forum posts from people who have found it hard to lose even when they try... presumably because they are under achieving? The rubber band stretches in both directions!

And, repeatedly stating that there's no rubberbanding doesn't make it any more true either!

The proof is in the pudding.
My experience is that the more I over-achieve the more penalties I will miss etc. The rubber band is very flexible and can take many different forms.

 

[WJ]

There's no rubber banding. It's been posted over and over by SI and moderators. It's never been proven either. The closest you'll find is a post like yours, with no evidence at all.

I'm done replying to you as well. Don't have time to engage in this idiocy. Have a nice day.

 

[jee]

I don't understand what you mean by rubber banding.

I think my problem is about spatial vision. Most experienced players have good spatial vision and can spot things very easily. That's why they can't teach anything. They go on autopilot and see things immediately. One year for me and I'm still here. Maybe know I'm starting to see something, but my point is denigrating someone because doesn't see something is not fair, specially if you are putting a big effort. Saying things are very easy doesn't help neither. It's humiliating.

I've teached other people in other paths of life. I've seen how they struggle even when info is on front of their eyes and I can proudly say that NEVER said anything like how you can't see this if it's in front of your eyes/so easy? You are lazy.

WJ, you and many others go two steps forward for me people like me. You say things that are far away from my understanding so it just confuses more. When I re read your posts now I understand better what you say. What you said was dismissive now in my eyes it's simply missunderstanding. I can't dismiss something that I don't understand.

Everybody needs his own time to learn. Perhaps I'm very slow but putting pressure (how you can't see this? Lazy. You dismiss advice..) doesn't really help.

On top of that, fm has its own vision of football, biased. Casually and unfortunately against my vision. This is something that doesn't help... Not blaming the game, everything and everyone is biased (I am very biased to one style of football which I think is the best).

As I said repeatedly, I'm very thankful to you because I think you tried to help me but I felt denigrated by some of your posts because I was really doing my best.

Using alias doesn't help neither.

Have an even nicer day.

 

[Uwain]

I don't understand what you mean by rubber banding.

For me, this is where things are only allowed to move so far away from expectations before they are given a helping hand by uncontrollable events.
Over the years you can develop quite intricate methods to keep some events far removed from the actual match itself whilst still having a big impact on the outcome of a match (eg morale/complacency, training injuries).

Developers will go to great lengths to deny such things exist since it's not much fun playing a game with pre-determined outcomes.

Developers will reward players/gamers who assist in the proliferation of material/ideas that deny the existence of such mechanisms (perhaps financially - I don't know... but certainly by helping promote channels/blogs/sites). It makes commercial sense for them to do so.

The closest you'll find is a post like yours, with no evidence at all.

As for my evidence... I provide at least as much evidence of my claim as you and people like you have done for your claims. And I have spent many months @many hours per day trying to disprove my claim and understand your claims.

If it was possible to reliably respond to the ME then there would be very simple and very many examples of how to do so - and there would be very many examples of people winning things with their favourite lowly local teams without changing budgets/status and having players 3 divisions better than their current division.

Instead, what you find is an excess of information unnecessarily detailing strategic theories that weave a web so complex that readers are left doubting themselves rather than the game.

And these complex theories leave plenty of room for sympathisers/helpers to explain away the strange game results that are brought up by disgruntled players... "It's your tactic"!
However, when pressed about how a team who was unable to string 2 passes together for 88 minutes can suddenly traverse the entire pitch with a play that doubles their number of completed passes and results in a goal (despite 4 defenders on top of the scorer) the explanations get a lot more theoretical.

Heard of Occam's razor? Or maybe the expression "Bullshit baffles brains"?

I really wasn't looking for nor do I need your validation... I challenged you to show me how to read the ME and you have declined. I guess I will have to decide for myself the reason for that.