Football Manager 2016

hots · 28-07-2016 11:54pm

Leonardo Few Rosewood wrote: »

Looking back, I am quite happy that I bought the 2016 version of the game. IMO it is possibly the best in the last decade. The addition of new features was stagnant for a few years, but they are really adding quite a lot to the game now, on top of big improvements in the match engine.

Whilst it was a good game, it's the lowest playing time I've had in years. Last year and the previous year were easily double for me...

Mc Love · 01-08-2016 12:34pm

hots wrote: »

Whilst it was a good game, it's the lowest playing time I've had in years. Last year and the previous year were easily double for me...

Good game indeed, but I'm the same, it had very little game time as it was too hard even when you found a good tactic.

Julez · 01-08-2016 12:38pm

This one seemed a lot less unforgiving tactics wise, like you couldn't put together a good set of tactics that would last you years.

gnfnrhead · 01-08-2016 3:30pm

Whatever they changed with the tactics have taken it from a game where you can easily do 20+ seasons in a single save and never get bored, to a game where you kinda struggle to avoid the temptation to start a new game less than five seasons in. It's more realistic, but also a lot less fun now.

Yakult · 03-08-2016 2:58am

hots wrote: »

Whilst it was a good game, it's the lowest playing time I've had in years. Last year and the previous year were easily double for me...

My hours have been declining since Fm 10. That for me was the best, the pinnacle.

I've enjoyed them all in their own way but 16 has been the least enjoyable. Really struggled to keep playing it after 7-8 seasons.. I feel after 6-8 years of playing the franchise, certain dynamics are starting to feel stale and repetitive. So that could be a factor in the decline of hours.

hots · 03-08-2016 7:23pm

Yakult wrote: »

My hours have been declining since Fm 10. That for me was the best, the pinnacle.

I've enjoyed them all in their own way but 16 has been the least enjoyable. Really struggled to keep playing it after 7-8 seasons.. I feel after 6-8 years of playing the franchise, certain dynamics are starting to feel stale and repetitive. So that could be a factor in the decline of hours.

Agreed. I'd say FM12/14 would be my highest ones, I blogged through one of them (best college credits ever). I hope they manage to breath a bit more life into it next year alhtough i'm not sure what they could do... more 'game events' maybe? Less sterile player interactions?

Lord TSC · 06-08-2016 2:46pm

Mc Love wrote: »

Good game indeed, but I'm the same, it had very little game time as it was too hard even when you found a good tactic.

I think I started 7 games, and only survived the first season in 5 of them

I felt like in previous years (less last year, but still somewhat), if I built a team of superstars, I could burn through a few seasons no problem. It was a lot, lot more forgiving. But this years, I feel like a bad player when playing the game

Mars Bar · 06-08-2016 3:02pm

For me, the fun is in taking clubs out of financial difficulty and buying and selling players. I have had great fun in previous games using the same winning tactics to breeze through a season and get to the transfer windows. I also really enjoy developing a few youngsters in to club heroes.

I can't do that with FM16 coz it's impossible to get the tactics correct and then you are booted out of the club when you lose a few.

JoeLapira · 07-08-2016 9:11am

Ive just started playing FM 16 again after a few months away from it and its still just as good. I've started up my usual Limerick FC save where i try and get them as far in Europe as i can. This version is definitely more difficult than previous versions but that adds to the enjoyment for me. I have 3 core formations and then i tweak the tactics to suit the players that i have at my disposal and its worked quite well for me so far.

hots · 07-08-2016 10:02am

Been playing a Newcastle save lately and downloaded a tactic for only the 2nd time ever... Got second place in the league with very little transfer budget.

Mc Love · 08-08-2016 9:27am

Mars Bar wrote: »

For me, the fun is in taking clubs out of financial difficulty and buying and selling players. I have had great fun in previous games using the same winning tactics to breeze through a season and get to the transfer windows. I also really enjoy developing a few youngsters in to club heroes.

I can't do that with FM16 coz it's impossible to get the tactics correct and then you are booted out of the club when you lose a few.

I wonder would FM classic be the way to go? Less options but probably more of what we were used to.

Lord TSC · 09-08-2016 1:48pm

Just noticed I had 76 posts in the 2015 thread, and only 9 (now 10) in this one. Not surprising; 2015 has 1654 posts, and this one only has 461.

Anyway, started a new game up a few days ago, a final try to do something (anything) with United. I decided not to sell up loads of people as I usually do, instead opting to have a larger squad. Brought in Pogba, Mkhitaryan, Shaqiri, Barbosa, Balanta and Zach Clough. Am shuffling through three formations to avoid the computer "learning" too much. Think Fellaini, Blind and Rojo left. Have Luan and Manmana bought as well, but loaned them back to their teams for now.

Currently first at Xmas. Rooney, Mata and Valencia are demanding transfers now, so off with them. Got a 50m boost from the board right before December started so have activated Koke's release clause. Pogba, Mkhitaryan, Martial and Shaqiri all sitting on my team's top scorer list with 8 each. Rashford just got his debut and scored a goal in a 5-2 destruction of Spurs.

Actually enjoying the game for the first time in ages.

Mc Love · 09-08-2016 5:08pm

FM12 was and still is the best - I almost want to go back to it even though my save is probably deleted

All I have from my Limerick days are the memories and pictures.

Wilberto · 09-08-2016 5:46pm

Mc Love wrote:

FM12 was and still is the best - I almost want to go back to it even though my save is probably deleted All I have from my Limerick days are the memories and pictures.

...and your posts in the other thread. They were always a great read!

Mc Love · 09-08-2016 8:49pm

Wilberto wrote: »

...and your posts in the other thread. They were always a great read!

I dont know how the OH married me, even played it in bed

Charizard · 10-08-2016 8:45pm

Mc Love wrote: »

I dont know how the OH married me, even played it in bed

I found in bed I generally make my best decisions, I kinda go all out attack and fade in the middle, but always try finish strong

Lord TSC · 12-08-2016 8:13pm

So, not only did I finally survive a season as United, I got 2nd in the league, runner up in the FA Cup and runner up in the Champions League!!! Pogba and Koke formed a formidable midfield in the league, and Barbosa and Martial destroyed defenses. Shaqiri and Mkhitaryan dominating down the wings.

Already got a deal set up for Laporte (

release clauses) and looking at Griezmann. Would have loved Ronaldo but not looking like he wants to come

A Brad Maddox Guy · 16-08-2016 8:41pm

I'm playing a game at the moment that saw me get Dundalk into the Champions League groups a few times before I left for Championship sides Leicester and then Watford and I've encountered something incredibly frustrating. We got promoted in my first season and it's now January 2021, Ivan Provedel is my keeper. He's quite good, 3 and half stars "Good Goalkeeper for the Premier League" and only 26 years old. Watford signed him before I joined for £1.5m and he's routinely kept us in games but his value is constantly dropping. He signed a new contract when we got promoted until 2024 and all summer I had to deal with clubs offering £1.1m for him. In the January window it was £550k and now on deadline day I'm getting offers of £425k! I'd guess I've rejected at least 30 offers for him this season, from Brentford to Chelsea to Inter Milan. Each time I say I want £17m (his release clause, I'd accept less but don't want the headache of finding a new keeper when the squad has more glaring issues and this way he doesn't get mad at me for rejecting Burnley), each time they withdraw only to offer a smaller amount two weeks later. It's infuriating.

TLDR: Good Premiership goalkeeper, 26 yrs old, 3 and half year contract..constant £425k offers.

Billy86 · 16-08-2016 9:05pm

That irritates me too; if you're a small club there are constant lowball offers. Say you have a wonderkid scoring 20-30+ goals every season as a teenager, but you happen to be a tiny club (or in a non-big league, even for example Belgium so not too obscure) you'll be getting offered sweet feck all for them.

It was the case in the last game too, I got some Belgian 3rd-4th division team (love those lower leagues mods!) into the Champions League, got to two semis, got out of the groups for 5 years solid, even knocked Chelsea out one year and Madrid another, fecking ridiculous stuff with a bunch of South Americans and some European cast-offs from the big boy clubs. Most in their teens or early 20s and with 7.84 type ratings, including in the CL... basically a little like Lyon were 10-12 years back in terms of completely punching above the weight of your national league.

I think the most I ever got offered for a player was about 12mn Euro or so. That's like if Lyon couldn't get offers of higher than Michael Essien 5-6mn Euro for Michael Essien (allowing for the markets now, and the markets then), and it really needs tweaking.

Also in situations like that, players shouldn't be so eager to move to a bigger country. Let's imagine Anderlecht had got to the last 16 in the CL five years running with 2 semis and 2 quarters... would most of their players be desperately begging to let leave - to the point of being willing to take a large pay cut - for the likes of Bournemouth, Burnley, or even some 'bigger' Championship teams? Obviously not.

Lord TSC · 18-08-2016 5:24pm

Currently midway through season 2 with Man United.

Gabriel Barbosa tearing things up, when Bayern put a bid in at Xmas. Valued at £25m, bid of £30m. Reject the bid cause he has 15 goals in 17 games and want to build round him.

He starts complaining saying he wants to go to a Champions League club and thinks he has a better chance of winning a medal elsewhere. **** him. I was runner up last year. Starts being mutinies so decide, fine, whatever.

So he gets a move to Chelsea. Who aren't in the CL, and who are in 10th in the league

Got £50m for him and a 40% sell on clause. Fans are pissed but not going to have him kicking up a fuss like that.

Billy86 · 18-08-2016 6:50pm

I think there's quite a bit of AI fiddling in terms of the 'pull' factors of other clubs, a number of times I have offered big wages (lets say 220k) in games only to be turned down because they will not settle for less than say, 250k a week almost regardless of what other incentives or insane signing bonuses/agent fees I throw at them. Then they go off to a rival club (equal stature, no 'favoured club' or whatnot about them) on 110k a week with very few incentives. Likewise with players refusing to even talk to player controlled Championship teams who are favourites to go up because they don't want to go to a lower league... then turning around and signing for a midtable League One club just days later. This type of thing has been a problem for as long as I can remember in the game, but it never really seems to get addressed.

They also really, really need to sort out nonsensical purchases. I got a 20-odd year old RB from Shamrock Rovers for 200k in the Championship, he was great and we got promoted. First season in the Premiership he struggled early and only got back into the team by Feb/March (but in great form). Third season he was killing it - an exact 8.00 average rating by Christmas, if I recall. Man Utd came in and offered 32mn (WAY above his value, his stats were still only 'yoyo club' level player) which I had to take as a tiny club.

He played exactly... 0 games for them. Ever. In all competitions. His contract ran down and he was in League One right after.

gnfnrhead · 18-08-2016 10:10pm

Lord TSC wrote: »

Currently midway through season 2 with Man United.

Gabriel Barbosa tearing things up, when Bayern put a bid in at Xmas. Valued at £25m, bid of £30m. Reject the bid cause he has 15 goals in 17 games and want to build round him.

He starts complaining saying he wants to go to a Champions League club and thinks he has a better chance of winning a medal elsewhere. **** him. I was runner up last year. Starts being mutinies so decide, fine, whatever.

So he gets a move to Chelsea. Who aren't in the CL, and who are in 10th in the league Got £50m for him and a 40% sell on clause. Fans are pissed but not going to have him kicking up a fuss like that.

I've found that instead of rejecting the offer, negotiate and ask for something like £200M with every add on you can. Basically make it unacceptable. The other club will pull out 99.99% of the time. If the player complains you can tell him youll let him go if someone meets your valuation. That usually makes him like you despite the tactic you're using to keep him. The 0.01% of time where it doesn't work happened to me. Barcelona accepted my outrageous demands and the transfer was agreed but then cancelled when they couldn't afford the payment. It's win-win. You either keep a happy player or you get an insane amount of money.

Billy86 · 18-08-2016 10:39pm

Yeah, do the same and it usually works good. PSG did accept once, but I wound up getting around €250mn for one player, when otherwise I only had about 10mn or so in the bank and a 20,000 seater small stadium. So it was good... even though hew went on to be maybe the best DM I've ever seen in any FM game.

Baggly · 22-08-2016 1:43pm

CDkeys have 2017 on sale for €36......bite or not bite......god ill wait - i really need them to sort out the tactics from 2016 before id buy again.

hots · 22-08-2016 1:49pm

I'll definitely hold off for a while anyway, want to see some form of positivity in the reviews otherwise I'll stay put I think. I like the loyalty offer though so if I do go for it I'll probably buy direct through steam.

Baggly · 22-08-2016 2:05pm

What loyalty offer?

hots · 22-08-2016 2:06pm

If you've brought the game for the last 4 years you can get 20% off (5% per year), has to be through steam though afaik.

Brian017 · 22-08-2016 2:07pm

Pter wrote: »

What loyalty offer?

You get 5% off for each of the last 4 versions you own, so you can get up to 20% off on Steam

Baggly · 22-08-2016 2:09pm

I see it there now.

Sh!t i had skipped 2013.

Anyways, it works out at €44 with 20% discount, vs €32 on cdkeys.

As you say, wait for the reviews and pick up later for cheaper.

at9qu5vp0wcix7 · 22-08-2016 6:35pm

I got into a debate with Miles Jacobsen himself on Facebook. While I am a fan of his work, it is hilarious how delusional his arguments were. He claimed no other website offered the game at more than €5 less than Steam (€54.99 on steam FYI). I have a receipt showing my purchase from a 3rd party was almost €25 less.

Even with the the maximum discount, 3rd party sites are cheaper. Reviews of such sites can be found, along with information on if the game is geoblocked. Further security can be added by purchasing via PayPal etc.

Football Manager 2016

Comments