Alright boyz, here we go!!! FM 2006 First Impressions

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Digi-download - we provide the game itself, it then goes to the digi service provider to get 'wrapped' and finally if I remember right Sega America get to host it, so a lot of this is out of our direct control ...

I believe we're waiting on other companies currently, but it shouldn't be too long now ..

we're (not so) patiently waiting Marc

Thanks for keeping us updated.

FM

[sovereignstar]

Grant Appleyard just confirmed that it won't be out today.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

Grant Appleyard just confirmed that it won't be out today.

for those of you not visiting the SI Forums:

Originally Posted by Grant Appleyard on the SI Forums

Sorry about this whole delay fella's - unfortunately I've got no good news to give you just yet , as we're still waiting on final confirmation. I can say that we're ready to respond and get the thing live as soon as we can, but realistically with the time differences it won't be today (NA time) now. I'm confident (really I am) that it will be sorted as you slumber and you'll have something good to wake up to!

Apologies again,
Grant

http://community.sigames.com/groupee...3212033861/p/3

No real reason why, since I'm still playing and having fun with my FM2005 career, but I feel down with a news like that...

FM

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by daedalus

So I finally gave in and tinkered with the demo while I wait for my copy to arrive.

LOVE the new things that have already mentioned (side/position proficiencies, "moves", extra comments). Have not seen any mention of the switch from DM to WB but I dig that.

Still wish for multiple select (ie, select players 1-to-20 and scout). Still wish for more keyboard commands as the clicking is going to kill my wrist and accelerate the onset of carpal tunnel.

Questions:

1) If I have a player (for example, Ryan Smith) who is proficient (let's say, at Accomplished) at the AML slot but is not at the ML slot (let's say, at Unconvincing) and my formation (let's say, a flat 4-4-2) has my wing at the ML slot with an arrow up to the AML slot which should, in theory, have him operate mainly in the AML area of the field when we are in possession. Will he be operating at his more proficient slot of AML, where he should be playing in, or at the lesser one of ML, where he starts out at?

2) If I have a player who is rated at two position (let's say, left and centre) and he's less proficient at centre. If I set him to train in the centre in the hope of increasing his knowledge in that area, will that hurt his proficiency on the left (or make him lose the ability altogether)? I know it sounds illogical but I was under the impression that it was how it worked in CM 01/02 (which was the last version I was familiar with).

3) Slightly related to Q2 is whether I even need to train the aforementioned player in the centre of the pitch or if I can actually raise his proficiency by simply playing him there once he is already rated there (let's say that I would like to increase an Ineffectual to an Accomplished)?

Thankee.

As I understand it (far from an official source!)

1. AM L

2. If he's 'natural' in a position, that will never change. In older versions once retrained in a position, if retrained in another position, the first retrained position used to be lost - in this I'm not sure - if it's any help I trained a youth player from D RC into D RLC (accomplished in all 3), then tried to train him as DM as well - he quickly changed back to D RC, but remembered some of his old training, being competent at D L. Whether this is the norm I do not know.

3. I have read an official SI reply somewhere that has said training is more important in progressing retraining than playing, as he will only play 90 minutes a week in matches (or 180 if two games), whereas he can practice far longer than this in a week's training. So while training but not playing will help, the reverse is not true, (or would take an absoulte age)

[Pumpy Tudors]

Well, this whole WWSM situation has been disappointing so far. Again, I'm still going to purchase as soon as the game is available for download, but I think I'll just preorder from the UK next year, just in case this happens again.

Nevertheless, thanks for the effort, guys.

[sovereignstar]

I feel like an idiot for not ordering a hard copy.

[Bee]

I don't know if this was answered before or not, but does height/weight actually make a difference or is it just cosmetic?

[sovereignstar]

Originally Posted by Bee

I don't know if this was answered before or not, but does height/weight actually make a difference or is it just cosmetic?

Cosmetic. If a guy is really tall, it should already have been factored in headers for example. Weight = strength I guess.

[Bee]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

Cosmetic. If a guy is really tall, it should already have been factored in headers for example. Weight = strength I guess.

Thanks.

I had been going solely by skills and I just happened to notice last night that most of my defenders were the 5'7" and 150 lb variety.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

Cosmetic. If a guy is really tall, it should already have been factored in headers for example. Weight = strength I guess.

are you going from experience, first hand knowledge or simply a guess?

I've not even tried the demo enough to see if it makes any difference, but would guess that if they included it in there, it had to be of some use, like a tall striker with some heading but no jumping could still be good, maybe better than a 5' 7" centreback who's jumping like crazy...

FM

[sovereignstar]

A million people have asked this on the SI boards. I formed my answer using the millions of responses.

[vyshka]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

are you going from experience, first hand knowledge or simply a guess?

I've not even tried the demo enough to see if it makes any difference, but would guess that if they included it in there, it had to be of some use, like a tall striker with some heading but no jumping could still be good, maybe better than a 5' 7" centreback who's jumping like crazy...

FM

Where's Marc when we need him to answer important questions?

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

A million people have asked this on the SI boards. I formed my answer using the millions of responses.

woah, a million responses. You read faster that the young geek on "Criminal Minds"

fwiw, right after posting my comment, I saw one of those millions of questions/comments in the bugs forums... I hope this is something they can tweak with the next patch or something...

FM

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by vyshka

Where's Marc when we need him to answer important questions?

he's bugging the digi-download company, which is fine by me

FM

[sovereignstar]

Okay, here's a better description from the man himself.

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Height and weight can be viewed in either manner, they can be used as 'guages' to discover things about your players potentially ..

For instance if your player gains a LOT of weight in the off-season then it'll be a warning sign that he isn't a particularly professional player, jumping is 'linked' to height in the game - hence if you have a very short young DC in your squad then unless he gains at least an average height during the ages when he's likely to grow you can probably dismiss his chances of ever becoming a 'great' central defender etc. ...

(so no they're not cosmetic, but they're not 'attributes' either really)

Hope this helps,

Marc

I think I was reading some bullshit answers.

[sovereignstar]

More:

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Height is linked to jumping - thus a 5'4'' tall player will never get a 20 jumping.

But it isn't a straight translation (ie. not all 20 jumping players will be 6'6'' tall).

Height is thus NOT used as a modifier for jumping, this is simply because doing that would reduce things to maths exercises in your head where the answer would be impossible to know (ie. exactly HOW many inches does jumping 20 mean someone can jump?

and more..

Jumping does NOT mean physically how many inches a player can jump - its an indication of the height a player can reach while jumping, hence height is a large factor in this.

If you doubt this then consider the following - you're 5'4'' tall, I'm 6'6'' tall ... chances of you being able to jump heigher than me = pretty darn slim imho.

Even if I have absolutely NO jumping ability and can get barely 4 inches off the floor you'd still have to jump 18 inches in order to match my natural height advantage.

As such considering that 'jumping' is an indication of how high a player can jump in the game and as such has a factor of height in it I don't think its unreasonable to indicate what I did.

Obviously you can get short players in the game with reasonable jumping (ie. Mr. Owen - 5'8'' & 9 jumping) and tall players who can't jump (ie. me in a previous game - 6'6'' & 9 jumping ). But if both players are good jumpers than obviously the taller one will have a natural advantage (hence 20 jumping isn't likely to be held by a 5'4'' tall player).

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

he's bugging the digi-download company, which is fine by me

FM

Is he bugging them to the point that they can get this thing online tonight?

[Ramzavail]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Well, this whole WWSM situation has been disappointing so far. Again, I'm still going to purchase as soon as the game is available for download, but I think I'll just preorder from the UK next year, just in case this happens again.

Nevertheless, thanks for the effort, guys.

Maybe I'm cheap (I never thought so) but I think I'd wait 10-15 days to save $10-15 bucks and/or headaches from probably shipping delays etc.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Ramzavail

Maybe I'm cheap (I never thought so) but I think I'd wait 10-15 days to save $10-15 bucks and/or headaches from probably shipping delays etc.

I almost replied with this exact reply to sovereignstar's "I feel like an idiot for not ordering a hard copy." but though I was the only cheapo out here. Thanks for making me feel better

FM
PS: I know I'm cheap though

[Bee]

Getting back to the height thing for a second, I wonder if there's any difference in potential jumping ability based on height. For example, two guys the same current skills and one is 5'7" with jumping at 10, the other is 6'6" with jumping at 10...I would assume that the 6'6" guy might be more likely to have higher future potential in jumping based on what Marc said.

[RPI-Fan]

So, in short (for my purposes) the definition of height/jumping I will be using.

Short = Less likely to be a great jumper even with a pretty good rating
Tall = More likely to be good jumper even with a not-so-great rating

[Butter]

What effect does assigning a captain have on a team during a game? Any?

[MalcPow]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

So, in short (for my purposes) the definition of height/jumping I will be using.

Short = Less likely to be a great jumper even with a pretty good rating
Tall = More likely to be good jumper even with a not-so-great rating

I think you've got it but just to clarify: the jumping rating is all that matters, no matter the height a 20 jumper will be higher in the air than an 18 jumper (again regardless of height). But as a function of anticipating development, or jumping potential, you should bear in mind that a shorter player will most likely not reach the same level of jumping as a taller player might. Height will be an indicator of how a player's jumping might develop.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by MalcPow

I think you've got it but just to clarify: the jumping rating is all that matters, no matter the height a 20 jumper will be higher in the air than an 18 jumper (again regardless of height). But as a function of anticipating development, or jumping potential, you should bear in mind that a shorter player will most likely not reach the same level of jumping as a taller player might. Height will be an indicator of how a player's jumping might develop.

i didn't get that at all from what MV posted. What I got was that someone with a 20 in jumping would be able to jump let's say 6 inches where someone with an 18 would only be able to jump 4. So therefore if the 18 jumper is already 4 inches taller than the 20 jumper he will get higher into the air...

[3ric]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

What effect does assigning a captain have on a team during a game? Any?

You're required to have a designated team captain on the field. If he's an inspirational leader, your team can perform better in the clutch.

[MalcPow]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

i didn't get that at all from what MV posted. What I got was that someone with a 20 in jumping would be able to jump let's say 6 inches where someone with an 18 would only be able to jump 4. So therefore if the 18 jumper is already 4 inches taller than the 20 jumper he will get higher into the air...

It starts to drift off after a while but this is the relevant portion to remember:

Jumping does NOT mean physically how many inches a player can jump - its an indication of the height a player can reach while jumping, hence height is a large factor in this.

Height is essentially built into the rating. But it's not fully cosmetic in the sense that young players will give an indication of their potential to develop great jumping based on their heights.

I think the other things are said to explain the reasoning, and not the actual nuts and bolts of the rating.

[LionsFan10]

Here's a small, but important question I want to ask. Is FM 2006 purchasable online, I mean by paying with a credit card and then being sent a registration code or some such? Like EHM is now and what not? I'd really like to buy this game, but I hate waiting for games =(

Thanks fellas.

[WSUCougar]

Sorry if this has been stated already, but has the game been physically spotted or purchased at any U.S. stores as yet?

[MalcPow]

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

Sorry if this has been stated already, but has the game been physically spotted or purchased at any U.S. stores as yet?

No. Not sure if this is earlier in the thread but I think it hits shelves 11/7.

[bhlloy]

Anyone who thinks being tall is a) makes you naturally jump higher than other players and b) makes you naturally good at heading has never seen Peter Crouch play. Useless sack of shite he is.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by FrogMan

I almost replied with this exact reply to sovereignstar's "I feel like an idiot for not ordering a hard copy." but though I was the only cheapo out here. Thanks for making me feel better

FM
PS: I know I'm cheap though

No you're not! I am right there with you. I would rather wait and save the money. If Gamestop says that they will have it on 11/7, at least I know 2 things. 1) I will have a hard copy of the game, and 2) my killer 56k won't die trying to download the beast. Lagtime, crashed servers, 350MB files and dialup don't play well together.

[sovereignstar]

From Miles:

As for an update on the other stuff, we've been talking to Sega US tonight, they have the build going through test at the moment. It's possible that it might go live later today, if not then I'll update again as soon as I know more.

[scooter]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

No you're not! I am right there with you. I would rather wait and save the money. If Gamestop says that they will have it on 11/7, at least I know 2 things. 1) I will have a hard copy of the game, and 2) my killer 56k won't die trying to download the beast. Lagtime, crashed servers, 350MB files and dialup don't play well together.

The problem with Gamestop's date is that last week it said 11/1. Monday it said 11/2. Today it says 11/7. At this rate, FM2007 will be out before we even see WWSM2006. I guess I'm still waiting though. My wife talked me into waiting until Christmas so I could get it as a gift. So as long as it comes out before then...

[condors]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Anyone who thinks being tall is a) makes you naturally jump higher than other players and b) makes you naturally good at heading has never seen Peter Crouch play. Useless sack of shite he is.

I have seen him play. He isn't the be all end all for strikers but when used properly he can be an assett to team. He may not be in the top 20 in strikers in the EPL but he is in the top 40. Did you see him last season in Southampton? Espcially after Redknap came aboard he was either setting up or scoring almost all of their goals. Either way he is good target man although not as good as you may expect for someone with his size.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by condors

I have seen him play. He isn't the be all end all for strikers but when used properly he can be an assett to team. He may not be in the top 20 in strikers in the EPL but he is in the top 40. Did you see him last season in Southampton? Espcially after Redknap came aboard he was either setting up or scoring almost all of their goals. Either way he is good target man although not as good as you may expect for someone with his size.

Basically he is good if you use wingers to get to the byline and cross the ball so he can run onto it. If you use him in build up play he is better on the floor than in the air.

Southampton used him like this - he did well.

Liverpool do not have wingers - he doesn't look so good.
England did not have wingers against Austria and hit it long to him - he didn't look so good.

To be fair to Benitez he is trying to sign some Chilean winger, and did try and get Solano, but at the moment Crouch is screwed - he hasn't got the wide men to give him the service he needs, and he hasn't got the pace himself to be effective without them...

[bhlloy]

He's decent on the ground for such a big guy. He's got a nice touch, although watching the Liverpool game last night he just looked ungainly and out of place. I was amazed at how much he'd regressed since he did look good at Southampton last year.

But to be perfectly honest, I want my 6'7 striker to strike the fear of god into opposition defenses. At Cardiff we had Leo Fortune-West for years and although he was a complete donkey he was a very effective lower divisons player.
Crouch needs to bulk up and work on the aspects of the game he should be good at given his size. He could then be a true dangerman, instead of being lanky, awkward and easily pushed off the ball. Going back to the Liverpool game, the number of times he lost out in the air to defenders who must have been giving up 5 inches on him was comical.

And top 40 striker in the Premiership isn't really a complement when you think he is on the European champions and he's supposed to be the great hope for the England team. He's got a lot to prove given the money they paid for him.

[Eaglesfan27]

Got home from work a bit ago, and I find myself disappointed that WWSM 06 isn't out today via download, but it's really quite illogical. I'm having plenty of fun with FM 05 and I want to play Civ 4 whenever I have free time.

So, I'm off to play Civ 4 (but I still can't wait for WWSM 06 to come out )

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

Got home from work a bit ago, and I find myself disappointed that WWSM 06 isn't out today via download, but it's really quite illogical. I'm having plenty of fun with FM 05 and I want to play Civ 4 whenever I have free time.

Other than the Civ 4 bit, you and I are eerily similar. Read my earlier reaction to the file probably not being available today

FM

[Pumpy Tudors]

Sega's website is advertising in a pretty decent-sized banner "IN STORES NOW". Check out www.sega.com. That's interesting.

[Fouts]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

Sega's website is advertising in a pretty decent-sized banner "IN STORES NOW". Check out www.sega.com. That's interesting.

If you click "Buy Now", it takes you to Gamestop's website, which says release of ETA: 11/7/05.

Why is it so difficult, every year, to get ahold of this game in the U.S.?

[SirFozzie]

Because PC Games don't sell in stores any more, except for maybe 3 or 4, it's completely gone over to theconsole side.

BTW, playing FM2006 via remote access is.. bizarre

[WSUCougar]

Originally Posted by Fouts

Why is it so difficult, every year, to get ahold of this game in the U.S.?

I blame France.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm having a blast with Civ4, but I keep checking to see if the download is out yet.

Speaking of lack of PC games in stores. One of the Gamestops I went to the other day is now down to about 4 feet of space for computer games! 99% of the store is console games and one tiny little space has just the newest and biggest selling PC games.

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by LionsFan10

Here's a small, but important question I want to ask. Is FM 2006 purchasable online, I mean by paying with a credit card and then being sent a registration code or some such? Like EHM is now and what not? I'd really like to buy this game, but I hate waiting for games =(

Thanks fellas.

I've not seen a proper reply to this question, but what you are talking about is exactly what we are all waiting for, the digidownload release of WorldWide Soccer Manager 2006, which is essentially FM2006 marketed for the US. It was originally supposed to be available on November 1st and well, we're now November 2nd/3rd and it should be available any day now...

FM

[Fouts]

I went to Gamestop on Nov 1st and they said it was due sometime in November. WTF! I checked the shelves and they had 1 copy of WWSM 2005 (for 39.99). I laughed.

EF27 is right, the place is being taken over by console crap (I haven't played console games since the PS1 came out).

Edit: The same mall has an Electronic's Boutique, but they didn't even know what I was talking about when I asked about Worldwide Soccer Manager 2006. So here I wait for the download....

[vyshka]

For the life of me I can not figure out how to get it set so I can watch highlights of games like the CL or EPL. I have started another game on full detail for the English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Scottish, Dutch, and possibly Portugese leagues. A round of CL games just completed, and I went to see the highlights for a Liverpool game, and there are no buttons for watching highlights on the overview screen. Where does this get set in FM2006?

[daedalus]

Got game. Have wood. Bye life.

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Jari Rantanen's Shorts

As I understand it (far from an official source!)

Better than nothing since I can't ever seem to get an official source to answer any of my question. Appreciate your input, JR'sS!

[daedalus]

For a game so nice, I'll dola not once but twice.

As an aside, while tinkering with the Demo, I did find out that the arrow keys will work as keyboard shortcuts. You can now use it to go back and forward.

Luckily, I had some tissues nearby. That was a good save, by me.

And Kleenex[tm].

[FrogMan]

Originally Posted by daedalus

For a game so nice, I'll dola not once but twice.

As an aside, while tinkering with the Demo, I did find out that the arrow keys will work as keyboard shortcuts. You can now use it to go back and forward.

Luckily, I had some tissues nearby. That was a good save, by me.

And Kleenex[tm].

The arrow keys have been shortcuts like that since the last patch of FM2005. Prior to that, I used to use alt-arrow, as I do in IE...

Most important shortcut, but I'm sure you know about it, is the space bar to continue

Oh, and you should have made a trip to whatever Kleenex wholesaler in your area *prior* to starting your career

FM