Poll: Does GTN help or harm Manager Mode?

[StormJH1]

Quote:

What I like about using using SOFIFA is that it's 100% up to me how much restraint I show with shaping the narrative of my Career Mode. I find it unrealistic that *any* club would sell their 18 year-old youth studs for a couple million euros. Whether you do that buy scouring clubs through the Search or by cheesing it through some website listing, it's silly. The best you could hope for is to take one of these guys on loan and hope that the player's club will sell them. Even that is unrealistic. Everton are never going to buy Deulofeu. Anyway, I'll be perfectly happy using the Youth Academy and recruiting a few big name players along the way through my career. I don't need SOFIFA or even the GTN to do the latter. I'll simply decide that I'd like to pursue Leighton Baines or Soldado or Kagawa and make an offer. I don't need the GTN for that.

So, I had somehow never even heard of SOFIFA until this year. Is this basically just a database that posts all the player ratings (and their potential)?

Totally agree about it the cheesiness of signing 18-22 year olds who are obvious studs for bargain transfer fees. I think it breaks the scouting system quite a bit if those guys are undervalued. If you can just buy an 80+ OVR guy for 5 to 10 million (whereas Lamela transferred for, what, 30 million in real life?), isn't that a better method than scouting some 16 year old, who may end up with one rating terribly out of whack that wrecks his value?

On the other hand, if you could just automatically sell promising prospects for major bucks, that would break the game in another way - you could just farm them out for huge cash and then buy legitimate veterans right away. So it's a balance thing.

I will try to use the GTN and play it straight. The thing about it is that it's not like you have to sign 20 guys anyway, you really just need to identify a guy you want, and then if you are reasonably sure of his ratings, you can overpay for them.

[Dogslax41]

Quote: Originally Posted by StormJH1

Wait, WHAT? Is that true? So if I'm scouting a guy in October, those ratings won't even be there by the January transfer window? Yikes. I haven't actually gotten to the point where you do transfers yet - do you have the full ability to try and sign anyone, and scouting is simply to reveal ratings? Or can you only make offers on guys you have identified through scouting? I assume it's the former.

You can offer or approach a team about anyone doesn't have to be scouted. And some players come in fully scouted depending on how high profile they are an how good your scout is.

I don't know about scouted ratings disappearing over time but it would make sense since the player would progress. Now what they should have done is kept the ranges for that player since its not like your scout would have forgotten all about them. My issue is when I relocate a scout their previous scouted players fall off their report. If I move a guy from England to Germany I still want to be able to see those scouted without having to put all of them on my short list.

In the end I am really liking it. It's got a ton of room for improvement, but to me it feels like there are more benefits than issues right now.

[jatiger13]

I thought you can shortlist scouted players. That way they don't "disappear"

[Whomario]

Quote: Originally Posted by jatiger13

I thought you can shortlist scouted players. That way they don't "disappear"

the ratings disapearing is the issue, not players disapearing from view.

[jatiger13]

Well someone had said that the players disappear from the scouts screen if you send him to a different country. That's why I said that you can shortlist them.

[Dogslax41]

Quote: Originally Posted by jatiger13

Well someone had said that the players disappear from the scouts screen if you send him to a different country. That's why I said that you can shortlist them.

Did you miss this line?

If I move a guy from England to Germany I still want to be able to see those scouted without having to put all of them on my short list.

We shouldn't have to short list everyone scouted. If my scout brings and I scout a bum I don't want to move him to another country and possibly move him back later only to forget about the previous player and end up scouting him again. And I don't want to clog up my short list with players to avoid just so I don't waste my time with them in the future.

[Gnemi]

Quote: Originally Posted by StormJH1

So, I had somehow never even heard of SOFIFA until this year. Is this basically just a database that posts all the player ratings (and their potential)? Totally agree about it the cheesiness of signing 18-22 year olds who are obvious studs for bargain transfer fees. I think it breaks the scouting system quite a bit if those guys are undervalued. If you can just buy an 80+ OVR guy for 5 to 10 million (whereas Lamela transferred for, what, 30 million in real life?), isn't that a better method than scouting some 16 year old, who may end up with one rating terribly out of whack that wrecks his value? On the other hand, if you could just automatically sell promising prospects for major bucks, that would break the game in another way - you could just farm them out for huge cash and then buy legitimate veterans right away. So it's a balance thing. I will try to use the GTN and play it straight. The thing about it is that it's not like you have to sign 20 guys anyway, you really just need to identify a guy you want, and then if you are reasonably sure of his ratings, you can overpay for them.

All perfectly reasonable, hence my pleas for people to not blame the messenger when it comes to SOFIFA. Show some restraint and use it realistically. EA have not put enough effort into the recruitment of talent to make it realistic, GTN or not, so you have to generate the realism of the narrative you're after on your own.

In other words, you can say it's "playing it straight" to use GTN, but the solution to the problems of cheesing the game are not answered by the GTN. IMOH, it's merely a tedious treadmill created out of half-arsed attempt by EA to fabricate realism.

That's just the thing: it's totally fabricated and bears zero relationship to reality or any approximation of it.

You know what EA could have done to address this? Keep the system the exact same but STOP allowing Chelsea to give away their 18 year-old studs for a pittance. STOP allowing Notts County to sign Ronaldo under any circumstances. The scouting of talent, the OVR and the POT, and the ability to quickly scan the abilities of players all over the planet was never at issue with me. What *did not work* was what happens the moment you find a player you like. Negotiation was far too easy. You'll invariably get the player.

I don't know if FIFA '14 is still that way, but I'm not gonna bother with the GTN to find out. I'll merely find the players I want via the FIFA database, then ask the club if they're willing to sell. If it's still too easy to buy players once you spot one you like, then THAT is where I'd suggest EA get their %$#@ together. Making it take two months to find the player you want is *not* my idea of a solution.

[Dogslax41]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gnemi

You know what EA could have done to address this? Keep the system the exact same but STOP allowing Chelsea to give away their 18 year-old studs for a pittance. STOP allowing Notts County to sign Ronaldo under any circumstances.

Could not agree more. Never seen the Ronaldo signing with a low tier team but have seen top teams not only willing to but actively trying to get rid of their young studs. Why in the world is Barca transfer listing Dos Santos? And Liverpool is willing to give up Sterling for 3 million pounds?

More coding needs to be added to take into account a club's net worth and transfer funds remaining. The only way a young stud should be sold is if a club has zero transfer funds and a gaping hole in their first 11. If a club has a strong 11 and a massive excess of funds why would they even remotely need to sell a wonder kid? But that's more about CM as a whole rather than GTN.