Here we go Boyz, it's the FM09 Demo Impressions (release: 7PM EDT) Impressions thread

[SirFozzie]

Rather nice of the FM folks to release their demo on a night we get an extra hour, huh?

From SI Games, this is what will be available when it goes live:

More demo information - Sports Interactive Community (http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php?t=54626)


This will be the thread that will be updated later tonight at 11pm GMT once the demo is live with the URLS from which you can download it.

The Vanilla demo, which is approx 175MB, will be available for PC or Mac, and available exclusively from the News of the Worlds website, with the files hosted by the nice people at Gameshadow.

It will feature UK English only, language wise, and English and Scottish quickstarts, with little to no "assets" (such as player pictures, stadiums and pitch textures). You can play for half a season, and continue your saved game when the full game is out.

The Strawberry demo, which is approx 1GB, will also be available for PC or Mac, and will be available 3 ways via STEAM (our recommended route - but PC only), a torrent file, and a direct download (hosted by the nice people at Gameshadow).

To download the STEAM client, for free, go to www.steampowered.com", where you can read all about STEAM.

Language wise it has - English, Danish, Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish.

Leagues playable (via quickstarts) - England, Scotland, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Brazil, Argentina & Indonesia. So 12, rather than the previously announced 10.

[DaddyTorgo]

wrong forum ass :p

[Passacaglia]

Whoa, it's Daylight Savings weekend already?

[SirFozzie]

wrong forum ass :p

you think we're going to consign a NEW GAME thread to the Soccer Games ghetto? GTFO! :)

[DaddyTorgo]

hahaha

[DaddyTorgo]

DEMO IS UP ON STEAM!!!

(search for football manager)

not sure about gameshadow - it appears to have crashed

good DL times on steam ( < 20 mins for me)

[SirFozzie]

FM2009 Demo Live on STEAM

[Passacaglia]

linky?

[Ryan S]

linky?

You can download it through Steam. It looks like the other links have melted down already.

[SirFozzie]

Ok, file downloaded & installed.

Starting a game, with Fulham, for fun to start.

[SirFozzie]

Ok, I get a "Welcome to the Club" message from Mohammed El Fayed, the owner of Fulham, a brief background on the team (a brief history on what the team's done), the standard team report with the breakdown of the key player on the roster (for Fulham its Andy Johnson)

And then, it's time to make a decision. In fulham's case, the goal was "Bravely attempt to avoid relegation". I think we can avoid it, and got 6 Mill in Transfer money, and 975K a week in wages.

[SirFozzie]

http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/pp267/SirFozzie/Rumors.jpg

This is the new Transfer Rumors screen, the national papers roundup of what my fellow Premier League folks are looking to do

[SirFozzie]

Something nice. I had made offers for a couple players who were rumored to be available via loan.. so I made bids to loan them for a fee.. they rejected them, but instead of a flat reject, they came back saying what they were expecting.

[Radii]

damn, I like that transfer rumor screen. Immersion FTW.

[SirFozzie]

Press Conference time: Let's see who attends:

FourFourTwo, The Sunday Mirror, folks from the football section at The Guardian, The London Paper, and The People. 18 People from 14 media sources. Yikes.

1st question: Is Fulham my dream Job?
Answer politely: I am pleased to have the chance to work here.

2nd Question: What's my tactical approach
Answer: I'll be looking for sensible attacking play.

3rd Question: On my man management style.
Answer:I may occasionally get involved, but by and large there needs to be a degree of trust.

4th Question: How involved in the day to day running?
Answer: As much as my time allows me to be.

5th Q: Asking how much upheaval I'll bring coming in.
A: Players and Staff will all have an opportunity to prove they're worthy of staying on.

6th Q: What can we expect on the transfer market?
A: I take the neutral: I don't expect any one tendency to dominate here.

7th Q: Is there an uphill struggle to keep Jimmy Bullard at the club (Sunderland are interested in him)

A: Not going to comment on outgoing transfer rumors.

8th Q:Recent reports have linked you with a move to Boca striker Martin Palermo, are you prepared to go on record with your thoughts on this story?
A: It could be true, yes.

End of Press Conference.

[SirFozzie]

Response to press conference:

Alex Donovan was not giving much away as he met journalists for his new press conference as manager of Fulham. A journalist from FourFourTwo chose the main focus point for the conference, asking "You sit here as the new manager of Fulham. Is this your dream job?"

Donovan's response was "I am pleased to have the chance to work here."

It is thought that the Fulham squad would react well to Donovan's handling of the question.

[GrantDawg]

I haven't playe a new FM since 2006, so this is a big jump. I love the team report, where your AM gives you suggestions of who you can pick up to improve the team.

[SirFozzie]

http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/pp267/SirFozzie/Eek.jpg

Right! Who leaked my transfer bid to the press!!!


The day after, four Premier League teams place a bid on him. OI! GEROFF! I had him first!

[GrantDawg]

I like the "set your expectations" thing as well. Don't know if that was an earlier add, but pretty cool.

[SirFozzie]

http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/pp267/SirFozzie/Feedback.jpg

From a match in progress. Check out your assistant manager's feedback (one of the game day info tags you can turn on)

[GrantDawg]

Well, first crash. Hit a player link, and now it is locked up.

[Passacaglia]

Download took me only five minutes. Am I missing the spot you put it in windowed mode, or does it not exist?

[MizzouRah]

Ok.. I have to start playing this series.. I mean, I coach soccer and yet I don't fully understand the real soccer leagues..

Where is a good place to start as a n00b?

[DaddyTorgo]

seeing A LOT of injuries early. 5 in one match, all 2 weeks +

[DaddyTorgo]

Download took me only five minutes. Am I missing the spot you put it in windowed mode, or does it not exist?

it's in visual options, in the display resolution drop-down

[Passacaglia]

it's in visual options, in the display resolution drop-down

Yay! Thank you! And it looks like you don't have to add -small_screen to the command line to get it to work, which always annoyed me.

[MJ4H]

holy shit at the 3d match view screenshot

[SirFozzie]

Ok.. I have to start playing this series.. I mean, I coach soccer and yet I don't fully understand the real soccer leagues..

Where is a good place to start as a n00b?

Depends on what you want to get out of it. Do you want to see life in the lower leagues? go with a mid table league so you can fail or succeed? Take a team where you can buy and sell the best players in the world like it was going out of style?

[Big Fo]

The reserve team coach asking you which first-team players are available for the reserves before their match is an awesome addition.

[bulletsponge]

damn you all. here i am playing my fm08 game into 2032 and i see this. now i must dl

[DaddyTorgo]

anecdotally - WAYYYYY too many injuries I got going on here. 4-5 per match, that are keeping guys out for long periods

[GrantDawg]

First impressions of the 3d game....eh. I think I like the dots better. There seems to be a lot of standing over the ball, and the action is not very fluid.

[Passacaglia]

Ok.. I have to start playing this series.. I mean, I coach soccer and yet I don't fully understand the real soccer leagues..

Where is a good place to start as a n00b?

I'd say start as Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, or Liverpool, to get yourself familiar with competing in the different English competitions, plus Europe at the same time.

[MizzouRah]

Depends on what you want to get out of it. Do you want to see life in the lower leagues? go with a mid table league so you can fail or succeed? Take a team where you can buy and sell the best players in the world like it was going out of style?

I guess I want to start out somewhere where there are no expectations.

:D

[DaddyTorgo]

First impressions of the 3d game....eh. I think I like the dots better. There seems to be a lot of standing over the ball, and the action is not very fluid.

fortunately the 2d view is still there for you - but man i love the 3d

[SirFozzie]

I guess I want to start out somewhere where there are no expectations.

:D

Heh. Take a mid to higher level team in the English Premier League.

Everton, Liverpool (natural rivals, there!), Man City (loads of money, they just got taken over by UAE Billionaires), Sunderland, etcetera. Those teams have a good chance of winning games (and keeping you interested!) but not so good thatyou feel like the team's winning DESPITE your managing, not because of it.

[DaddyTorgo]

may also seem like a lot of standing around because you don't have "show entire match" selected and instead have "key" or "extended"

[GrantDawg]

may also seem like a lot of standing around because you don't have "show entire match" selected and instead have "key" or "extended"


No, I'm see a little of standing around during the play. I can tell the difference. I watched a good portion of a game "live." It just isn't very smooth.

[MizzouRah]

Heh. Take a mid to higher level team in the English Premier League.

Everton, Liverpool (natural rivals, there!), Man City (loads of money, they just got taken over by UAE Billionaires), Sunderland, etcetera. Those teams have a good chance of winning games (and keeping you interested!) but not so good thatyou feel like the team's winning DESPITE your managing, not because of it.

I actually want to start at some real low team who never wins or never expect to wins.. learn the game and then move my way up!

Who would that be?

[aran]

The asst manager feedback in the game viewing screen is such an awesome addition! I may buy the game because of that improvement alone. One of the problems I had with the last FM was that I sometimes found it hard to judge how well players were doing with my tactics and what adjustments I should make. (I'm not particularly good at FM and my knowledge of soccer isn't that deep.)

[DaddyTorgo]

No, I'm see a little of standing around during the play. I can tell the difference. I watched a good portion of a game "live." It just isn't very smooth.

fair enough. i've noticed a little of it, but i just shrug it off as "a 1st-gen problem" i guess

[MrBug708]

It was a pain in the ass to try and actually open this game from my desktop

[Radii]

I'd say start as Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, or Liverpool, to get yourself familiar with competing in the different English competitions, plus Europe at the same time.


I'd recommend this too. You'll get a team that's involved in the European competitions right away, that has a HUGE budget so you can experiment all you want in the transfer market, and then later on if you want a bigger challenge you can go for a lower division team or whatever, but you'll have the basic mechanics down.

[Critch]

Looks good so far. Only problem I have with the 3d is that the match information screens should have a minimize button as they take up a lot of the screen if you have the match stat/player ratings/asst manager feedback screens all open at once. Havent noticed any smoothness problems.

[Flasch186]

MArc:

I just had it lock up my computer, the Steam version. I attended the trialists game and then at halftime clicked to leave the game and that was that. I received a windows error msg and then couldnt do anything anymore and had to restart the cpu.

and a reload took me all the way back to day 1 so Ill note some other things Ive noticed that are perhaps happening because its a demo. The tactics wont let me save edits to them, I made a 442 away and when I went back to it after saving it was morphed by someone.

[Passacaglia]

I actually want to start at some real low team who never wins or never expect to wins.. learn the game and then move my way up!

Who would that be?

I'm not sure about that, really. But I wouldn't worry too much about expectations in the demo. But if you want to play with the intent of "moving up" you can do what I do: hit "randomise" until you get a team in Blue Square North or Blue Square South, the lowest English leagues in the game.

[NoSkillz]

No, I'm see a little of standing around during the play. I can tell the difference. I watched a good portion of a game "live." It just isn't very smooth.

Shrug.

I always thought there was a lot of standing around in soccer.

[BYU 14]

3D view.......SWEET!!!!

Even if it is choppy, that is a huge addition. I was going to skip this years version, may have to reconsider now.

[GrantDawg]

Shrug.

I always thought there was a lot of standing around in soccer.


Maybe. The one that stood out was a 0-0 match just starting the second half. The GK got the ball and just stood there. He held the ball an extremely long time until finally a striker from the other team came up to challenge him, and he kicked it right as he got there. I've seen that in games where a team is ahead and your killing time, but not in a tie game right after half. *shrug*


I'm just not crazy about it. I like some of the additions, but I think I'll wait till next years version so they can fix any bugs and such. The first generation of their new engines are usually not up to snuff. Since I can only find my 2005 version, I think I'll try to hunt down a 2008 version cheap somewhere to tied me over.

[NoSkillz]

I can't believe I may have to upgrade my video card for a text sim...haha.

The demo isn't allowing me to watch in 3D due to limitations with my current card. :)

[MJ4H]

haha well that probably makes this a no buy for me.

[path12]

Getting about 765KB/sec from the main sigames link. Nice!

[Big Fo]

I miss being able to give side arrows on the tactics screen, the 4-3-3 I like to use isn't as effective without them.

I'll echo everyone else who says there are a ton of injuries occurring.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I don't mean this to rip on Marc or SI, but the problems I'm reading about here are exactly why I wait for a couple of patches before I really start playing. The match engine will go through a lot of tweaks over the next few months, and the crash problems will almost certainly be addressed. Unfortunately, when the full game is released in two weeks or so, these problems may still be there.

I applaud the efforts of the SI team, and it looks like they're really moving forward, so I intend to purchase. I'll just wait until January or February. Don't worry, Marc! You'll get my money!

[path12]

I'm not worried about bugs and crashes in the demo. I'm just interested in checking out the new features. I think I'll probably wait until the first patch before buying as well.

[Bee]

I actually want to start at some real low team who never wins or never expect to wins.. learn the game and then move my way up!

Who would that be?

I started out with the Maidenhead Magpies, mostly because of the name. I know everyone suggests starting with a big club, but I think there's advantages to learning the game with a smaller club because it reduces your tasks in the beginning and you don't deal with having to figure out all the Cups/competitions at the very start. You have no money for a transfer budget and the wage budget is pretty much at the limit, so I'd play through the first couple friendlies with the team you have and get a feel for the strengths and weaknesses. Be sure to move up the better players from the reserves to the senior squad to fill out the roster so you can field the starters and 12 reserves in the friendlies. Once you've played a couple games you can try to cut some guys loose who aren't up to par. You might be stuck with some of them though because of contracts and no one wanting to transfer them in or the team not wanting to pay for to release them on a free transfer. Once you've freed up some wage budget, you can sign a few players to shore up weak spots.

[Marc Vaughan]

Maybe. The one that stood out was a 0-0 match just starting the second half. The GK got the ball and just stood there. He held the ball an extremely long time until finally a striker from the other team came up to challenge him, and he kicked it right as he got there. I've seen that in games where a team is ahead and your killing time, but not in a tie game right after half. *shrug*
Depends on the game in question ...

Friendlies that sort of thing is very common as it is in the higher level leagues esp. in say Italy or when there are mismatched teams in the Premiership and the team in question wants to waste time or pull a player out of position ...

[Marc Vaughan]

I can't believe I may have to upgrade my video card for a text sim...haha.

The demo isn't allowing me to watch in 3D due to limitations with my current card. :)

Just to check though - 2d mode is still working ok yeah?

[Marc Vaughan]

I applaud the efforts of the SI team, and it looks like they're really moving forward, so I intend to purchase. I'll just wait until January or February. Don't worry, Marc! You'll get my money!

Might I humbly suggest you purchase FMH09 PSP while you wait ;)

[MrBug708]

I didnt have any problems with injuries during preseason but I did have a freeze. :(

Also no problems with a choppy game play

[Flasch186]

Might I humbly suggest you purchase FMH09 PSP while you wait ;)

When will this be out. I have a road trip to Nawlins coming around Xmas and this may be just the trick for the road. When did you say? :)

[NoSkillz]

Just to check though - 2d mode is still working ok yeah?

Yes the 2D version runs fine...a bit choppy but again, it is likely due to the age of my computer (although I do run XP with over a gig of RAM).

Very good chance I was going to upgrade my graphics card anyway...this just makes me more certain ;)

EDIT TO ADD:
I am really disappointed I can't start a season with Cambridge City now that they were relegated out of Blue Square South. What happened to them last year Marc? Do you still support them?

[dbd1963]

I haven't played for a few years, and I have to say, this version is really pulling me in.

Here was a surprise. The last time I played I found it too easy to advance by loading up on coaches to really train your team to best advantage. I tried to add just ONE extra coach, and the board canceled the deal on me. Cheap bastards!

[Flasch186]

I found somewhat of a disconnect. after a game in which we lost the wrap up said that the fans we're "disappointed" and booing yet under the 'match confidence' screen it says the fans are still happy in regards to the outcome. I believe this existed last game too and had hoped that they wouldnt contradict eachother going forward.

[Sweed]

EDIT TO ADD:
I am really disappointed I can't start a season with Cambridge City now that they were relegated out of Blue Square South. What happened to them last year Marc? Do you still support them?

Me too. My first version of wwsm, 2006, I started unemployed and CC offered me the managers job. I accepted the job and led them to promotion to Blue Square Premier while both my starting strikers were injured. I had a striker by the name of Duffy that scored 7 goals in my last 5 matches to carry us to a first place finish.

So, when I bought v08 I started with CC again being familiar with the club and league. Not finding them playable was a big disappointment.

[Sweed]

Ok.. I have to start playing this series.. I mean, I coach soccer and yet I don't fully understand the real soccer leagues..

Where is a good place to start as a n00b?

I actually want to start at some real low team who never wins or never expect to wins.. learn the game and then move my way up!

Who would that be?

MR, when you get the full game you could do like I did with my first wwsm, start unemployed (not really an option with the demo capped at 6 months) and wait 'til you are offered a job. If you don't set yourself up with a huge reputaion\experience you will be offered a lower league job.

I liked it because you take over a club in mid-season that is probably struggling or at least not playing up to expectations and also has some history and current player stats to look at to help you evaluate your roster.
This, too me, made it much easier, as trying to go in "cold turkey" and evaluate your team using only ratings you really don't understand can be both time consuming and frustrating.

[illinifan999]

Whenever I type something in it will frequently double type the letter even though I just hit it once. It took me a couple minutes to type my name in because it would always add an extra letter like I hit the key twice.

[Chief Rum]

seeing A LOT of injuries early. 5 in one match, all 2 weeks +

You must be playing as Boro then. Sounds almost tame.

[Flasch186]

Whenever I type something in it will frequently double type the letter even though I just hit it once. It took me a couple minutes to type my name in because it would always add an extra letter like I hit the key twice.

me too, its a real pain in the ass.

[MrBug708]

I noticed that too! But I figured it was just me typing so fast!

[Warhammer]

I actually want to start at some real low team who never wins or never expect to wins.. learn the game and then move my way up!

Who would that be?

I always started with Lancaster.

[MJ4H]

Yeah, just checked and absurd hardware requirements for a rudimentary 3d view push this to a not considering.

[Sweed]

System specs..
BFG 8500 gt 512 mb ram
amd 3500+ 2.2 ghz
2 gig ram
xp media center edition


My first impression is I really like the 3d. Not world class graphics but then I wasn't expecting that. But the 3d does a good job of showing a football game in a realistic fashion. I like watching from the elevated camera, really gives a good feel for the spacing and the timing of the passing and players trying to run into space.

I also think the more you watch matches in 3d the more detail your eyes will pick up on. While watching my first, and still only, match played I was only seeing the big picture, ie ball movement and space being created and closed down. Then as the match progressed I started to notice the tackles being made and seeing the fouls just before the ref stopped play. Also noticing fouls that I thought should have been called but the ref let the play go on.

I chose Crystal Palace as my starting place and my first friendly was against CP Baltimore (are they really affiliated with CP?) in Baltimore. Went with the games default 4-4-2 tactic and more or less was dominating play but went in 0-0 at the half. Went to attacking 4-4-2 to start the second half and ended up going down 1-0 when CP Balt. was able to get a pass over the top to their striker who beat my second string GK. Shit, down 1-0 to a low level club! Oh, the shame.

At the 80th minute was able to equalize and then at the 87th minute I had a great goal to take the lead. Ball moving down the left and my left wing caught up to it just as it was getting to the goal line outside the 18yd box. He tried to cross it and I'm thinking from that angle he'll have to bend the ball back into the pitch. He crosses it and it actually went over the top of the net bending back into play where my striker on the far post headed it in for the winner. Coolest FM goal I've ever seen.

I know some don't like the 3d and to each their own but I would have paid just to add this to my wwsm2008 game.

[DaddyTorgo]

Yeah, just checked and absurd hardware requirements for a rudimentary 3d view push this to a not considering.

2d is still included. and not sure what the hardware requirements are, but it runs on my laptop, which is like ~1.5 years old

[SirFozzie]

Me too. My first version of wwsm, 2006, I started unemployed and CC offered me the managers job. I accepted the job and led them to promotion to Blue Square Premier while both my starting strikers were injured. I had a striker by the name of Duffy that scored 7 goals in my last 5 matches to carry us to a first place finish.

So, when I bought v08 I started with CC again being familiar with the club and league. Not finding them playable was a big disappointment.

And the reason should piss you off.

However, the club was encountering financial difficulties and the club's City Ground was sold to an Isle of Man company called Ross River, which was linked to Brian York, a man who had briefly been a director of the club. The then board announced that it was to scrap the first team and make the reserve team into a feeder for Cambridge United. This prompted the formation of a supporters' trust, who within weeks had taken over the running of the club. The club took Ross River to court, where it was ruled that the club were victims of fraudulent misrepresentation and bribery - the former Chief Executive Arthur Eatham having taken a £10,000 payment from Brian York, though the original deal was not overturned.

In April 2008 the City Ground failed an FA ground inspection. As a consequence Cambridge City were automatically demoted from the Conference South to the Southern League Premier Division, despite the club appealling the decision

The City Ground issue is working through the courts, the most recent decision is that the Club gets to stay there through 2010 rent-free (I think, rent-free), and they get 50% of any profit from the sale/development of the City Ground property (the ground was sold for 2.2 Million pounds, and appraised at 12 million)

[MJ4H]

I'm aware that 2d is still included. There isn't enough new in this series from year to year to warrant a yearly purchase for me. 3d is new enough to warrant it, but the hardware requirements are too steep for me. I don't have 128 MB of video card memory and it isn't upgradeable on my laptop. Therefore, I have no interest.

Seems like a silly amount to require for what it is. Just my opinion.

ETA: between the utter disappointment with FM Live and now this, I'm probably done with this series. Someone come and wake me up when there is a decent american football sim with at least a 2d animated view, I guess.

Sigh.

[Sweed]

And the reason should piss you off.

However, the club was encountering financial difficulties and the club's City Ground was sold to an Isle of Man company called Ross River, which was linked to Brian York, a man who had briefly been a director of the club. The then board announced that it was to scrap the first team and make the reserve team into a feeder for Cambridge United. This prompted the formation of a supporters' trust, who within weeks had taken over the running of the club. The club took Ross River to court, where it was ruled that the club were victims of fraudulent misrepresentation and bribery - the former Chief Executive Arthur Eatham having taken a £10,000 payment from Brian York, though the original deal was not overturned.

In April 2008 the City Ground failed an FA ground inspection. As a consequence Cambridge City were automatically demoted from the Conference South to the Southern League Premier Division, despite the club appealling the decision

The City Ground issue is working through the courts, the most recent decision is that the Club gets to stay there through 2010 rent-free (I think, rent-free), and they get 50% of any profit from the sale/development of the City Ground property (the ground was sold for 2.2 Million pounds, and appraised at 12 million)

Well, that really sucks. I've never seen them play other than a few video clips from their sight but it's amazing how a game like FM will get you to the point of actually caring about a team and what happens to them. I hope they can work something out and someday make a comeback.

[SirFozzie]

They'll find a place to play after 2010 (probably at the Abbey Stadium where Cambridge United play.)..

I'd love to see City back in the Conference (almost as much as I want to see Cambridge United back in the league system)

[Flasch186]

I do hope the demo is missing some things like the people in the stands (perhaps because of the team Im running....anyone running a big time team and see people in the stands?) Why are the players on the bench all spread apart like they are?

[Eaglesfan27]

When will this be out. I have a road trip to Nawlins coming around Xmas and this may be just the trick for the road. When did you say? :)


When are you coming to New Orleans? We'll have to get together if I'm not out of town visiting relatives.

As far as the topic goes, I'll also be waiting for the 1st or probably 2nd patch. Last time I purchased, I bought it at release and got burnt out on the problems before the first patch or two came out. The year I was REALLY hooked on this series, I bought it after 2 patches were out and it just was so absorbing. So, I'm going to try to recapture that magic. It also helps that I'll have my new computer around the time that it will be out so that means a lot more countries than I could run now.

[Flasch186]

Were coming Dec 19-26 or so with a ton of family so Ill have to let you know whats going on. I know the 19th were actually staying in mobile at the isle of Capri and then coming over the next day. My bro's putting us all up at the four seasons in the French Qtr so were absolutely stoked. I think he's having a surprise wedding.

[bulletsponge]

6 freakin injuries in one game. i cant even get my others guys healthy to field a full team now this shit. im down to one striker for the next 3 weeks

[Flasch186]

y'know, Marc, the injury thing is kind of shocking. You did have a Beta team right? How was that missed?

[DaddyTorgo]

yeah - the injuries are out of control i'd say - but other than that i like what i see, and i'm confident that can be fixed pretty quickly

[Marc Vaughan]

I am really disappointed I can't start a season with Cambridge City now that they were relegated out of Blue Square South. What happened to them last year Marc? Do you still support them?

They were relegated because they failed a ground inspection (didn't come up to scratch) not because of their league position ...

Cambridge City F.C. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambridge_City_F.C).

PS> I have a soft spot for them because I lived locally to them for several years (Royston was just down the road from Cambridge) and I loved how informally setup the club was (you could go along and have a pre-game lunch there and the manager would come in during the lunch and discuss his team selection with you :D) ..... however I'm actually a Brighton supporter.

[MJ4H]

Might I make a suggestion? Add detail levels to the 3d view so that people without the newest video cards and no option to upgrade can play your game.

[DaddyTorgo]

i'd think MJ4H's suggestion would be pretty do-able - at least in a post-release patch if not in the release-version

[illinifan999]

I don't know if this is what you're talking about but in the display and sounds part of the preferences there is an option to select the graphical detail in the 3D match view.

[MizzouRah]

I started out with the Maidenhead Magpies, mostly because of the name. I know everyone suggests starting with a big club, but I think there's advantages to learning the game with a smaller club because it reduces your tasks in the beginning and you don't deal with having to figure out all the Cups/competitions at the very start. You have no money for a transfer budget and the wage budget is pretty much at the limit, so I'd play through the first couple friendlies with the team you have and get a feel for the strengths and weaknesses. Be sure to move up the better players from the reserves to the senior squad to fill out the roster so you can field the starters and 12 reserves in the friendlies. Once you've played a couple games you can try to cut some guys loose who aren't up to par. You might be stuck with some of them though because of contracts and no one wanting to transfer them in or the team not wanting to pay for to release them on a free transfer. Once you've freed up some wage budget, you can sign a few players to shore up weak spots.

Thank you!

Which league are teams like these in?

[MizzouRah]

MR, when you get the full game you could do like I did with my first wwsm, start unemployed (not really an option with the demo capped at 6 months) and wait 'til you are offered a job. If you don't set yourself up with a huge reputaion\experience you will be offered a lower league job.

I liked it because you take over a club in mid-season that is probably struggling or at least not playing up to expectations and also has some history and current player stats to look at to help you evaluate your roster.
This, too me, made it much easier, as trying to go in "cold turkey" and evaluate your team using only ratings you really don't understand can be both time consuming and frustrating.

Sounds like a good idea to me.. thanks!

I need to get some demo time in to see if it's a purchase for me.

[MJ4H]

I don't know if this is what you're talking about but in the display and sounds part of the preferences there is an option to select the graphical detail in the 3D match view.

The issue would be whether or not this made it possible to run the mode on older video cards. Just running it in lower detail for people with newer video cards doesn't solve the problem of cutting off a large part of the userbase unnecessarily.

[Buccaneer]

It has been years since I've followed or even seen a FM game and I was very impressed to see the very immersive screen shots.

[Honolulu_Blue]

It has been years since I've followed or even seen a FM game and I was very impressed to see the very immersive screen shots.

Same here.

The last time I played a FM game was probably back in 2004 or 2005. The new screen shots and such look amazing.

I checked out the requirements for my laptop (I doubt I'd play too much on the desktop). I don't think I can run the 3D view, which I can live with, but I was wondering what kind of performance people think I'd have with the following specs:

1.40 GHz Celeron Processor
2 GB Ram

I am not sure if anything else is all that important. The laptop's video card isn't much.

[SirFozzie]

Here's another new feature: Trial Day. All the out of work players get invites, so you can see em work, and offer them jobs (this is for if you're running a lowerlevel team, a good way to see if there's any talent worth a free transfer)

http://i418.photobucket.com/albums/pp267/SirFozzie/TrialDay.jpg

[BYU 14]

Well, that really sucks. I've never seen them play other than a few video clips from their sight but it's amazing how a game like FM will get you to the point of actually caring about a team and what happens to them. I hope they can work something out and someday make a comeback.

I agree, City was always my choice of lower league team, hoping they can turn it around.

[SirFozzie]

they're in 2nd place in their new division, and if they go up, they will make sure that the field is up to FA requirements (the lawsuit took all their time and money)


http://www.cambridgecityfc.com/

here's a YouTube video on it


YouTube - Cambridge City FC Saved (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQBJzao2hOI)

[Marc Vaughan]

When will this be out. I have a road trip to Nawlins coming around Xmas and this may be just the trick for the road. When did you say? :)

Its out the 14th of November I believe ... or thereabouts.

[Big Fo]

I get a thrill from watching seeing a well-placed through ball setting up a one-on-one to my striker in the 3D view.

Any tactical tips that you guys have found effective? My defense is really solid but I'm having to rely on corners and free kicks for a lot of my goals.

[Flasch186]

um, no, ebbsfleet sucks under my tutelage.

[I. J. Reilly]

Downloaded and played for about 45 minutes last night. FM09 was always going to be a purchase for me, I passed on ’08, but after playing the demo I’m pretty excited. I’ve only watched 2 games, but the 3D matches are great.

I was a little worried that my machine wouldn’t handle the game, but it seems to be working just fine. Does anyone know if that will change with the full game installed as opposed to the vanilla demo? I usually don’t play with many leagues going, 10-12 at most.

[DaddyTorgo]

I get a thrill from watching seeing a well-placed through ball setting up a one-on-one to my striker in the 3D view.

Any tactical tips that you guys have found effective? My defense is really solid but I'm having to rely on corners and free kicks for a lot of my goals.

I got through time-wise an entire demo-run this weekend (after multiple restarts and fiddling around), and I intend to do some deeper digging into tactics from now until 11/14. I will start a tactics thread tonight in the soccer forum to discuss the insights I am having, and problems I am encountering, and will toss a link in HERE then.

[MizzouRah]

I don't know if this is what you're talking about but in the display and sounds part of the preferences there is an option to select the graphical detail in the 3D match view.

I need to find that tonight.. can't believe on my dual core 3 GB ram, decent video card pc, it's choppy as all get out.

[path12]

I need to find that tonight.. can't believe on my dual core 3 GB ram, decent video card pc, it's choppy as all get out.

I thought mine was running really choppy as well until I realized that it was more the fact I was just watching extended highlights -- the choppiness was the intervals between highlights stopping and starting.....

[dbd1963]

I seem to have discovered a problem -- I don't see how to get a copy of the game for my Mac. I tried pre-ordering through Amazon.com/uk but they said they couldn't send it to me. Anyone know how to get a copy for Mac?

[Shepp]

The game should ship with the Mac and PC versions in the same package.

[DaddyTorgo]

Yes. I believes it does.

[samifan24]

I seem to have discovered a problem -- I don't see how to get a copy of the game for my Mac. I tried pre-ordering through Amazon.com/uk but they said they couldn't send it to me. Anyone know how to get a copy for Mac?

The game ships on a dual disc. The Mac version is "included" with the PC version.

[dbd1963]

Well, I couldn't get them to send me that disc with both the PC and Mac version on it. Has anyone else had success in getting it sent to the States?

[MizzouRah]

I thought mine was running really choppy as well until I realized that it was more the fact I was just watching extended highlights -- the choppiness was the intervals between highlights stopping and starting.....

I'll have to look at settings..

that being said.. if FOF had something like this, I would be in gaming heaven!

[Shepp]

Well, I couldn't get them to send me that disc with both the PC and Mac version on it. Has anyone else had success in getting it sent to the States?

Amazon/uk will not ship you FM09 to the US. You will either have to get WWSM09, which is the same game but titled differently for the US market, or you'll have to find a service that will ship overseas. For the last two years I've used GoGamer. I've also used Gameplay.com before but their transactions are in UK pounds and you'll need to take the exchange rate into consideration.

hxxp://www.gogamer.com/Football-Manager-2009--I--PC-Games_stcVVproductId53506825VVcatId444758VVviewprod.htm

[dbd1963]

Amazon/uk will not ship you FM09 to the US. You will either have to get WWSM09, which is the same game but titled differently for the US market, or you'll have to find a service that will ship overseas. For the last two years I've used GoGamer. I've also used Gameplay.com before but their transactions are in UK pounds and you'll need to take the exchange rate into consideration.

hxxp://www.gogamer.com/Football-Manager-2009--I--PC-Games_stcVVproductId53506825VVcatId444758VVviewprod.htm

Thank you, Shepp, that's just what I was looking for.

[NoSkillz]

To those who can run the game with 3D, can you post your system specs on here?

I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card for this game (and others) but I just want to see what others are running to make sure I don't buy another card that still doesn't work for the game.

BTW: I'll need to get an AGP card by the looks of things based on my current setup...still need to see what my power supply is at to find a suitable card. Any suggestions, by the way, would be appreciated! :)

[condors]

i have a nvidia geforece 6200se (not exactly a top of the line card) and it runs without any problems.

[Sweed]

System specs..
BFG 8500 gt 512 mb ram
amd 3500+ 2.2 ghz
2 gig ram
xp media center edition

[Scholes]

I can't even get the game started... I get the "FM.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close...."

After looking around the SI forums, there are a lot of people having this problem with out of date video cards.

I don't even care about the 3D. Isn't there a way to just play and view games in 2d? I sure hope they can figure something out.

[Qrusher14242]

i played it for a few games on a Athlon 1600 with a Radeon9800 and the 3d worked. But in the third game it crashed :( A defender passed it back to the keeper and it just sat there. Couldnt click on anything, but could go out to windows and back. The typing bug is terrible, takes forever to type anything in the press conference.

The 3d is ok, kinda stuttery. But my defenders suck. Always leaving gaps open for crappy teams to exploit. The feedback always says 'so and so has made terrible decisions and has cost us. Has missed many intereceptions'.
Also the other team i was facing had 3 guys injured by the half lol I'll go back to 08 for now.

[Icy]

For any unknown reason the game is soooo slow for me with a top end PC. Even the starting screen with the SI logo loads so slow and shuttering instead of a fluid animation.

My PC is an AMD Dual Core 4200 with 3GB RAM, Dual WD HD in RAID 0 for performance and an NVIDIA 7600 GT with 256Mb RAM. It's way over the minimal requirements, in fact it can run at max quallity any other game.

The thing is that WinXP was installed from zero 1 week ago when i bought the two new HD's, with all the latest drivers and Windows SP3, so it can't be more clean and up to date.

I really don't know what to do, but the whole game lags a lot, even the menus take a second when i click on something, it's not immediate like in any other application. Of course the 3D view is even worse, so laggy and impossible to watch.

[AlexB]

Only played 4 games so far: seems OK, couple of small bugs so far, but no crashes, freezes or game killers.

I really don't like the 20 point slider system in FM: never have, never will - it's over complicated IMO -
Much rather have 5 options Ultra-Defensive to All Out Attack
4 passing options: short, mixed, direct, long
3 for tempo: quick, normal, slow
3 for pressing: high, normal, low
Defensive line only needs 5: hold 18 yard line, deep, normal, push up, half way line
Keep the existing 3 bar sliders and check boxes, add more for overlapping runs for FB, hug touchline for wingers and you're most of the way to having all of the options you need.

So this year if I play I'm purely going to use the preset tactics and try and save myself the frustration. I will still adjust individual instructions according to my players' dribbling, long shots, crossing and through balls and see how it goes. So far every game the preset tactics appear to have a massive gap between midfield and attack which isn't all that promising, but then and again I've won 2 drawn 2...

I like the transfer rumours: I'm using it as a lower league way of seeing which players may be interested in coming on loan: if they're linked to other clubs at my level there's got to be a chance. A major bug bear of mine is why you can filter for players interested in joining permanently, but not those willing to come on loan - at least this might be a halfway house.

Overall it feels like an improvement on FM08 and FM07: the 3D is OK, but it's still not as fun as it used to be. I can quite easily accept that could as easily be me as the game though!

[AlexB]

Seeing the posts above, I'm running a Dell Intel Dual Core 6300 @ 1.86GHz, 1Gb of RAM, 256MB ATI Radeon X1300 Pro graphics card

This is way under Icy's spec, but I've found the game and the 3D run fine so far

[Icy]

Found that i'm not the only one having this problem with the whole game, from interface to 2d/3d being so laggy in an high end machine. It seems the problem happens more or is related to AMD machines, great :/

[Flasch186]

Im on an Intel Laptop Dell XPS M1710 and the game runs well enough, I suppose outside of my annoyances with things anyways.

[Sweed]

I can't even get the game started... I get the "FM.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close...."

After looking around the SI forums, there are a lot of people having this problem with out of date video cards.

I don't even care about the 3D. Isn't there a way to just play and view games in 2d? I sure hope they can figure something out.

Yes, the game is supposed to automatically switch to 2d if your computer isn't up to specs to run 3d. You also have the choice on the preference screen of using only 2d. My guess is it's a relatively simple bug that doesn't get past the 3d check when trying to load so crashes instead of going into 2d only mode?


I did see on the SI boards that they are now shooting for a release day patch to take care of the injuries and graphic chip set\card issues. I know they have said it appears the game isn't recognizing some intel on-board chip sets. Hopefully that will take care of you guys that haven't been able to run the game.

[Icy]

Pheeeewww, fixed it, i couldn't imagine my life without FM :D

The first thing i noticed was that if i set the game CPU affinity to just one of the CPU's, the game ran faster and almost not shuttering, so i figured it was related to FM09 not handling well the Dual core processor from AMD.

A google search told me about "AMD Dual-Core Optimizer Version 1.1.4", downloaded it, installed it and now the game interface lag is gone, the 3D runs at high quality and i have zero lag or shuttering. If you have an AMD dual core processor, install that driver, reboot and the problem is gone.

Here is the link to download it from AMD, it's the third download link, that says "AMD Dual-Core Optimizer Version 1.1.4".

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/..._13118,00.html (http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_13118,00.html)

[GoldenEagle]

How can we expect the soccer forum to grow if we don't put the most popular threads in it?

[MJ4H]

The demo won't even start on my laptop. Terrible.

[Mike1409]

The demo won't even start on my laptop. Terrible.

Mine either. :(

[cartman]

How can we expect the soccer forum to grow if we don't put the most popular threads in it?

If it hasn't caught on by now, it won't.

[Marc Vaughan]

The demo won't even start on my laptop. Terrible.

How old/what video cards do these laptops have? ...

(as we'll be working hard to ensure things are as compatible as possible via. patching etc. and obviously the more information we have about systems which have problems the easier it'll be for us to ensure we help everyone)

[Cringer]

How can we expect the soccer forum to grow if we don't put the most popular threads in it?

But it is so darn hard to do a couple of clicks to go to another forum.

[MJ4H]

Geforce 4 FX Go I think. Its an HP zd7120 laptop.

[GMO78]

How do I get WWSM09 or FM09 shipped to Canada?
Amazon.com won't ship WWSM09 to Canada and Amazon.ca doesn't have it.

Thanks.

[SackAttack]

Found that i'm not the only one having this problem with the whole game, from interface to 2d/3d being so laggy in an high end machine. It seems the problem happens more or is related to AMD machines, great :/

For what it's worth, I'm on an AMD machine, but only a single core (the 3500+). I wasn't having any problems when I first got the game, but recently there's been some lag with the match engine.

[NoSkillz]

How do I get WWSM09 or FM09 shipped to Canada?
Amazon.com won't ship WWSM09 to Canada and Amazon.ca doesn't have it.

Thanks.

Last year I did the digital download of WWSM but I had way too many problems with it and swore I wouldn't do the same this year.

So I decided to import FM09 from sendit.com. I live in Canada as well - I ordered it two weeks ago and it still isn't here but I expect it sometime this week.

[Marc Vaughan]

If you're having problems with lag - ESPECIALLY if running a single processor system then please try turning off threading within the options and see if that helps.

(the game really should do this automatically - apologies for it not doing this)

[GrantDawg]

If you're having problems with lag - ESPECIALLY if running a single processor system then please try turning off threading within the options and see if that helps.

(the game really should do this automatically - apologies for it not doing this)


It utilizes quad-cores? Uh, oh. Now you're starting to get me interested.