Beta/Early Access is being released sometime tonight on Steam. According to Miles it's just going through the finish touches. Not sure if I'll be able to play tonight but will certainly get it downloaded ready for tomorrow. I usually wait until it's on sale but I was so impressed with FM20 that I decided to go early on this one. Anyone else ready and waiting? Anyone got any save plans already in mind? I'll do my usual first save with Man Utd to get to grips with the game and all of the new bits, then after a few seasons take a break then start new with a lower league side.
I've had to quit FM since my son was born last year. No time to play it really but I might be back in the game now he's sleeping better. I prefer the touch edition as the full one just took over my life. What new features are you buzzing for this year @JoshBCFC?
Better match engine and more match analysis and player interaction options, basically. Might give it a couple months to see if the ME is actually noticeably any better
This match display is loads different, not sure how I'm feeling about it at the moment. I did like the stats and analysis at the top on the older games. Overall it seems quicker and saving seems faster. Loving xG and shot maps <3.
Managed to get a couple of hours in tonight. The match display is across the bottom of your screen in more of a HUD style. The conditioning hearts will take some getting used to, I think I probably prefer just simple percentages. The default skin for the general view looks great however. I do miss the coloured circles on the tactics display, now I have to do an extra click on a player to see how well he's suited to the role I'm putting him in, rather than just having a coloured circle to give me a quick and rough idea. Haven't done too many matches yet but I have noticed wide players are actually trying to make passes in and around the box rather than just always humping it into the side netting, which is nice. Transfers are interesting with the new "ask agent about availability", which essentially gives you a quick rundown on what the player will want and what the selling club will demand. It's mainly data that was already there but nicely coralled into one place, and seems more accurate than the scouts so far. First impressions are good, though I find the interface a bit clunky at the moment but it may just take getting used to. Definitely saves quicker and seems to move through time quicker but that may change once fixtures start piling up.
Decided to get back into this after about 10-12 years away. Had a little play around this morning, will try and get some games in a bit later. Looking forward to it. Naturally, starting with Charlton.
Just been mugged off. You know if you do well and the fans like your football then your style can be named after your surname... Well as I've got my assistant manager Jamie Smith doing press conferences, we're now playing Smith-ball.
Think I'll definitely buy it, didn't think it was out yet? Gonna start with Chernomorets Odessa from Ukraine. Kind of my second club as have family from there. Currently in the 2nd tier but traditionally get good crowds, big modern ground. Consistent underachievers. No money at all in the Ukrainian leagues post revolution so would be a good challenge getting close to Dynamo/Shakhtar. What computers you guys running it on? How many leagues do you reckon I can get out of 8gb RAM, 2.1ghz, Ryzen 5?
The game has now been officially released on Steam, and any beta saves should update automatically, and the in-game editor is also available to purchase for anyone who likes tinkering. Just finished my 2nd season with Man Utd, winning the Carabao Cup in the first season, losing finalist in the FA Cup, 2nd in the league and semi-finals of the CL, mostly using a modified 4-2-3-1 gegenpress but slipping into a 5-3-2 fluid counter attack for big games. Throughout the two seasons I managed to bring in Kulusevski, Kimmich, Locatelli and Skriniar whilst moving on Fred, Lindelof, Matic and Lingard, and in the 2nd season I've just finished winning the quadruple tonight. Ditched the 5-3-2, tweaked the 4-2-3-1 a little bit and then managed to keep the team mostly intact throughout the season with very few injuries and rotating for the domestic cup games. Spoiler I may do another season but 3 will be my max, by then it'll be time to move on to a new save, either starting from the national leagues or perhaps going somewhere abroad and out of the way. I did a Canadian Premier League save last year when it was a downloadable, but it's in the game properly now so I may go back there again because it was an interesting league system to be in. Tried the MLS and the Aussie leagues before, but there's way too many daft rules on squad registrations, limited signings etc. Never really done Asia or South America (except for pinching newgens) so that may be an idea. I'm running on my laptop which is 16GB RAM, 2.8GHz i7. I just loaded the 5 major leagues as I always do and I'd say it's much faster than last year. Saving your game takes approx 5 seconds, whereas FM20 could often have you sitting there for a good 30. The game seems to rattle through the loading/other games a lot more smoothly than last years too.
I'm going to pick this up tomorrow, I haven't played it for years so I am expecting some struggles before success.
I finished my first season last night. Started with Bologna as they have some promising young talent and are expected to finish mid-table so there's more room to experiment on a first save. I didn't sign anyone before the season started, loaned a few players out. Sold a couple of ageing players in January and agreed to let club legend Rodrigo Palacio join Boca on a free at the end of the season. Sold Schouten for £6m to Roma then brought in Guevara from Sociedad for £2.5m, Sekou Koita for £2m and Pavlovic for £1.7m to add some young depth on top of the likes of Skov Olsen, Vignato and Hickey. Finished the season in 7th place and runner up in the Italian Cup so it was a pretty strong first attempt. The fun will start tonight as I try and develop a squad to compete in Europe. They had 40 players out on loan and some very good academy prospects so I'll be doing my best to promote some of those and move those who don't look good enough. Tomiyasu, Dominguez, Orsolini and Barrow were all great and are all 23 or under so if I can hang onto those long term I can hopefully build on that. Barrow's value is £15m and there's a pre-agreed transfer of £6m so that looks good
Yeah I think Atalanta dropped a bollock on Barrow in real life. They have huge attacking talent, but it surely should've been a dry loan since most of their guys are around that 30 mark. Bologna are fun to watch and I can imagine they're a good team to manage. I haven't played this in years, but started a game on FM20 since it was free, as Udinese. Think I need to figure out what to delegate, as I can't believe how long it's taken to play just six games (obv preseason took a while as well). Started well, but had possibly the easiest imaginable early fixtures. Only tricky one was Cagliari away, but they played half the game with 9 men, and I won, somehow with 48% possession
Trying unsuccessfully to win a giveaway as I've not got £40 lying around Got to debate whether I want money for a social life or FM this Christmas.
If it helps, you can get it for £30 from CD Keys I think. I preordered mine from SortitoutSI for a similar price.
