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FM2006 Info

Hughesie

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Hughesie

Hughesie 0

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This is taken from the official FM06 website...

 

Sticky Jimbo?

--------------

 

Increased Tactical Options

You can now tweak tactics even further, with options for players to interchange positions, more specific target man instructions and even time wasting!

 

Formation Panel on Match Screen

This is an easy way to see the formations of both your team and your competitor at the same time without having to pause the match, so in a live environment.

 

Virtual Player Contracts

When managing clubs at the lowest level, the pool of available talent is often a little thin -- this feature now allows you to offer contracts to "Virtual" players that the game generates for teams playing outside the football pyramid in the lower leagues or in your reserve or junior team and therefore give them an opportunity to play on the bigger stage.

 

Snapshot

A great new screen in the game that gives you a homepage of all of the info that you need as a manager -- budgets, forthcoming fixtures, a competition overview, team stats and lots more.

 

Key highlights

Key highlights are now instantly replayed for those managers who want to pick every move apart.

 

New Shirt Graphics

With licenses galore, there will be more real life kits in FM2005 than any previous Sports Interactive football title.

 

Man Of The Match News

A new regular news item giving feedback on the man of the match for youth & reserve games, as well as key first team matches.

 

Half-time team talks

Half-time team talks add the ability to tell your players individually or collectively exactly what you thought of their first half performance, via the tactics screen. Will you be able to keep your players motivated, or will you cause a collapse in the second half?

 

Board negotiations

Managers will be able to negotiate with their board of directors - not only for a better contract for themselves, but also for improved player wage budgets and increased transfer budgets or even stadium expansion. Be aware though, if you push too hard and don't reach the heights that the board specify, you'll soon be looking for a new job.

 

Player management

Manage players on a personal level. Unhappy players can cause huge morale problems for the whole squad and result in bad performances, so the new Player Interaction feature will help you to manage your team more closely.

 

New training system

A completely revamped training module simplifies training schedules and players' training progress, with your coaches becoming far more important members of backroom staff.

 

Referee profiles

With referee profiles and league tables, you can keep a close eye on how many yellow cards the ref looking after your Saturday match has given in the last few matches, which add an extra element to tactics of the game. Maybe hard tackling is not a good idea for this Saturday's match!

 

Position indicator (tactics)

A player position indicator will not only show you the best positions for your player and where to play on the pitch, it will also show player preferred moves for those players in your team. As well as this, the Player Positions display format has been upgraded, making it easier for the manager to pick the team.

 

New media elements

New media items and expansion of the media module have been implemented, including but not limited to, cup draw news and man of the match news.

Edited by Jimbo
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Jimbo

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FM 2006 Webmasters day

 

The wait…

With a delay of just 20 mins (typical BA), I finally arrived at Heathrow airport, flying in from Dusseldorf (Germany) on what seemed to be a nice Friday morning. Well seemed to be, as even though Dusseldorf had a nice mild rising sun coming from the east greeting me with a smile, London was clouded and drizzly. But I was determined that the weather wasn’t going to spoil the day for me.

 

Luckily I took my bag along as hand luggage, so I didn’t have to wait in any of the long lines at the baggage retrieval. Since I was already delayed, I headed straight for the arrivals terminal to see if any of the others had already arrived. Since we promised to meet one another in the central hall. Especially for the occasion I crafted a “Sports Interactive” sign, in the hope any of the other guys would see it and come my way, so I could lead them to the house of torture and missing webmasters.. urrr.. the SI office. It did look clumpsy though, standing there with a marker made sign next to the guy from EA Games and his professional logo.

 

The first one to arrive at the scene was Nuno from Portugal. Fortunately that only took 10 mins. And I can remember me thinking “Now lets hope the others will follow soon”.. Ah well, what did I know at that point.

 

So the two of us waited, waited, waited and suddenly my mobile rang and I could hear someone talking in English with a clear Italian accent. He was standing in the central hall in front of the WH Smith with a orange Lacoste shirt on, he said. So the two of us looked at the WH Smith across the hall and wondered if the guy was colour blind, as there wasn’t anyone fitting the description in about a 100 miles. We went up the stairs only to find out there were a total of 3 WH Smith’s outside of the duty free area. Ah well, after 5 minutes we tracked down the Italian, just following the bright light of the Lacoste shirt. And so the wait continued…

 

Assembling the troops…

After an hour of waiting we decided it was about time to head for the office, since none of the other guys had contacted me (did I know they didn’t write down my mobile number properly). So we headed out to the cab stand and took a taxi with the three of us.. Yeah, I know that we could have taken the tube as well but since the Italian guy was insisting, who am I to argue? On our way to the office I phoned Marc Duffy to see if he had been in touch with any of the others.. He informed me that one was in the tube going towards SI, the French guy was stuck on the Eurostar coming in from Paris and two others had already arrived (as they arrived 1 hour earlier than most of us). However still no word from the guy coming in from Spain. Only seconds after I hung up on Duffy, my mobile rang. The Spanish guy had been lurking around the arrivals area totally lost (probably at the terminal) for about an hour and couldn’t find us. So I tried to explain to him how he could get to the SI office the most quickest way, since we were in no position to turn around with £40 on the counter already. Not much later we arrived at SI and headed upstairs to the lads who are responsible for a lot of sleepness nights, divorces and frustrated girlfriends :lol:.

 

More or less straight after our arrival we went out to lunch and to my surprise I reckognized one of the SI crew who came along, from somewhere. It appeared to be SK. For those who don’t know him, he was one of the people behind Flagship CM about 4-5 years ago. Without intending to sound like a sob, it is sometimes nice to talk to someone about the good ‘ol days and dig up a little nostalgia.

 

While waiting for the the French, Danish and Spanish guy to get to into the lunchroom, my magical but slowly overused mobile was filling the room with its mysterious sound once more. He (“The Spaniard”) had made it and was on about a 5 mins walk from where we were. So I volunteered to pick him up and led him to the lunchroom where by that time everyone had gathered and was giving me the “we’re hungry” look. Miles was having his Lasagna face on and was actually looking quite hungry, or was it his haircut and the fact that he had been on the road for 36 hours, that made him look bewildered?

 

Miles takes over

As we had already lost more than enough time on all the delays and national geograpic like travel experiences of some people, we headed back to the office. Unfortunately for the others we started straight on with the presentation, meaning they would have to miss out on the tour. Which wasn’t too much of a problem for me, as I have been coming there since uhhh I can’t remember, but still a pity for those visiting for the first time.

 

Miles, more asleep than awake, started talking while displaying the screenshots of the game on the flatscreen on the wall. He quickly took us through the information that had already been released and the stuff that was announced during the time we were visiting. Only to start a game of FM 2006 with *cough* Chelsea straight after. Although I lost track of time a little, the presentation took up to about and hour to an hour and a half (just a wild guess though). But then again, I was more focussed making a summary of everything he had to say and the answers he gave than giving any thought about the time that had elapsed. Even though I was getting on his nerves (I love playing around with people a bit, although a bit unfair since Miles was indeed tired from travelling three countries in a short time period, promoting the game) with the questions I prepared, he did answer all. The information we received from asking questions though, is certainly worth getting the stick from his sometimes a bit tempered persona :lol:.

 

Shut up or tell us about FM 2006!!!

Ok, ok, no need for killing me. I will refrain you from all the information which happened afterwards and the next day, which wasn’t at the office.

 

So what will FM 2006 be all about? Here goes, going in-depth into FM 2006.

 

Manager contracts

We have already seen that manager contracts will be added to the game, but what kind of influence will they have on your game? Well, even though SI wants the game more enjoyable for both new and veteran players (and in my opinion they are doing a great job), the manager contracts will have a major effect on your career. As at first it looks like another feature that has been added to the game, which has been requested by a lot of fans. However after squeezing some information from Miles about this topic, he informed us that you might get a contract renewal offer and to make it even more realistic, make sure you are doing a good job. Why? Well, if you haven’t received a contract renewal offer by the 1st of April, panic and run for the nearest exit as there is a big chance you won’t be at the club to enjoy another season. However when you receive a contract renewal offer, you’ll be able to negotiate your salary and some board related issues such as stadium expansion and/or the budget(s) at your disposal.

 

Team talks

One of the completely new features added to the new game are half-time and full-time team talks. At half-time, you can either address the whole squad at once, talk to them individually or a combination of the two. With options ranging from angry to delighted there is more than enough to go around while either reprimanding, encouraging or praising your players. But be careful as being to negative towards a player (like throwing a boot towards his head like Ferguson did to Becks) could have consequences for the players morale, the match and even the teams morale. During testing FM, I noticed that most players did improve after I was “disappointed” or told them I was “encouraged” them to put more effort in the game, so fortunately or should I say unfortunately I didn’t manage to annoy anyone.

 

Position screen

Now this is something I had to get used, for about ten minutes. Whilst you are used to have a player being either a DM RC or D L, expect a player to be more versatile than ever before. At least on screen. As a detailed look at his position screen will soon show you that a D L can also play at the centre of the defense or even some midfield positions.. So how does this affect your game? It affects it quite a lot, as where you used to gamble if a player could player at a certain position he wasn’t able to play at according to the stats you can now look at his position screen to see if he’s any good at that certain position. I personally think this indeed ads more depth to the game, being it that in real life a manager knows if his central midfielder is able to play as a defender or not.

 

Referee profiles and table

Again a nice new feature for the new game, as you’ll have a complete table of referees (and detailed information) in your competition at your disposal. So what’s the big deal about that? The table shows you how many yellow and red cards he has handed. On top of that you’ll have an overview if he’s prone to hand out penalties to the home or away squad. Some referees can even be influenced by the reaction of big crowds in their decision to give a penatly or not and that is no joke! So pick your tackling style carefully.

 

Tactical changes

Although the tactics are basically the same as FM 2005, there are a couple of differences though which can be a huge influence to your game. Wasting time (with different options), swapping positions to confuse the opposition and last but not least how to play your target man. You will be able to set the way his suppliers will get the ball to him. Right to the feet, the head or even in front of him if he’s fast and you’re sure he can out-pace the oppositions defense. I have to admit that by every feature I am describing here, I am getting more and more excited about the game.

 

Quick tactics

Although a part of tactics, it is more an in-match addition. As this option will allow you to quickly make some position changes, change team instructions or change player instructions, while the game is continuing. Quick tactics however is optional and you can still use the detailed tactics if you want to, which will pause the game like you are used to. So what’s the use? It improves the gameplay in my opinion, as you are more or less like a real life manager shouting instructions from the sideline at his players, adding the feeling of pressure and more reality to the game.

 

Virtual players

What the heck is a virtual player? As we have been told by Miles, virtual players are the players which are greyed out at the moment and you can actually offer them a contract like you would normally do to a real player. You might have the following question on your lips: “Won’t this ruin the game, as I probably head off offering R. Madrid’s, Barcelona’s and Ajax’s greyed out youngster a contract”.. Hehe, you wish. The only greyed out players you can offer a contract are those from your own squad. So no shopping at the club next door. In addition to the information above, this is actually meant for small lower league teams with absolutely no budget, so don’t expect to get the next Adriano from a greyed out player. On top of that, only human players are able to sign virtual players, so that is one less worry that you’ll see Barcelona or Real having 20 to 30 unkown faces running around in their squad. So where is the touch of realism? Well, schoolkids do get a shot sometimes and they can appear all the sudden, so why not in-game? Unfortunately I forgot to test this feature in the new game, as I was too busy exploring everything else.

 

Injured players

Finally, the physio’s are making your life a whole lot easier or ar they? When a player is injured the physio will inform you about the condition the player is in, how he will be treated and if there will be any specialist involved. However this isn’t everything as sometimes a physion can offer you multiple options on the treatment of a player. Did your star player just come up with the flu? Hmmm, are you going to sent him home for a week or have you physio’s treat him at the club, but risk him infecting all the other players? Tough decision, especially just before an important match. But hey, so is having to decide whether a player should be treated normally by your physio or give him an injection to surpress the pain and risk having to do without him twice the time he would be out normally.. Decisions, decisions, decisions and all can affect the outcome of either the next match or a whole string of matches. You’re the manager, it’s up to you!

 

Media involvement

Remember that your MoM just displayed in blue with a star in front of his name? Well those days are gone.. At least for it being just that as with the new game you’ll get a nice compressed report on what happened during the match, explaining what your MoM player actually did to deserve it. Did he put the oppositions defense under pressure, kept a clean sheet against all odds or did he take control on the midfield and was a beacon of light for your whole team? Who knows, but at least you’ll get to know about it. There will be more media involvement and news items in the game, giving you more information about club achievements, players and other occurances in the game.

 

Training

Perhaps training was one of the least appreciated or understood aspects of FM 2005, but that is about to change as training has gone through a complete revamp. The new approach is making it more accessable and in the meantime ads more depth through how your coaches work with training. You will still have the option of creating your own schedules through using the eight available sliders, to set their intensity rating. Strength, Set pieces, Attacking and Defending are four of the eight that have been included in the new game. You can either set the sliders individually or as a whole, decreasing or increasing the intensity of your training.

 

Attribute history graph

Finally, was my first thought when I saw this as you will actually have the opportunity to see if the training you set for your players is really working or not. With a detailed graph for each and every attribute available, you can see a players progression or probably his downfall. Perhaps it seems like a minor addition, but in my opinion can be vital for the use of training or perhaps even making the decision to transfer list a player, as he simply doesn’t fit in.

 

Improved match engine realism

The team together with Ray Houghton have been working hard to get the match engine being as realistic as possible. According to Miles, things did get quite rough at times with Ray enthusiastically but also a little aggitated pointing out the situation, smashing a broomstick against the screen of the flat screen hanging in Miles’ office. Unfortunately they didn’t really go into detail as what areas were most improved, as it would probably take too much time to explain it all.

 

Other improvements/changes

- Loading times (it will take less time loading, saving or creating a new game)

- Kits (these have been enhanced and show more detail with a nice wrinkle adding a touch of realism)

- Snapshot (although a summary page, it will also function as your default if you’re lacking news)

- Global news ticker bar (all the latest news and scores at the bottom of your screen)

- New match commentary (allowing the game to be lived more intense through the text lines)

- Complete staff revamp (as mentioned at the training bit, staff has been given a complete revamp)

- Interaction with players (you’ll have more opportunity to talk to players than ever before)

- Real random regens (no way you are going to tell who the new Adriano is)

- Player statistics screen (loads of information on the player’s performance and stats)

- Replays (apart from goals, you will be able to watch your highlights of the game as a replay)

- Height and weight have been added to the game!

 

Open issues

- System specs have not been set (but expect it to be slightly more than for FM 2005)

 

Release Date

November 4th 2005.

 

Building momentum

As you might have noticed, I am getting quite excited about the upcoming FM 2006 as I have the feeling that this could be the game that will rock the gaming world, with the most in-depth, enhanced, feature rich environment you have ever seen in a sports game.

 

So is this all?? No, as SI wouldn’t give us all the latest details and some things we have seen we are simply not allowed to talk about with Miles actually threatning to kill me (and I do have witnesses). There is more to come and all I can say is that I am getting even more excited, while feeling sad for my wife at the same time.

 

Enough of that, lets get down to the first verdict of FM 2006, after seeing the presentation and actually testing the game first-hand.

 

FM 2006 the first impression?

As I know judging something like a new game as FM 2006 can be quite a heavy task, I can assure you this isn’t at all going to be a heavy burdon for me. I made Miles’ life as miserable as possible that day and even argued with him, but got all the answer I could possibly get at that stage. Believe me that answer after answer was making the game even more promising. I saw the presentation and got the opportunity to test the game myself for a couple of hours, before we rounded up the day with Miles and Marc Duffy.

 

In my opinion this game will make FM 2005 look a bit pale, as with all the new features already announced, the way the features blend in with the game, the increasing realism value without making it the slightest more complicated (so very accessable to new players) and the upcoming features that are still to be added or have been added but are classified, it is going to be a real masterpiece. Of course there will always be something the odd individual won’t like, but isn’t that the problem with every game? One of the good things is that even though it has a quick learning curve, you simply won’t get bored of it as it has an on-going gaming value and will be like that for a loooooong time.

 

FM 2006 is going to be an absolute worldwide hit, absorbing every second of your sparetime and have you applying for the next available real life manager job within no-time, because of amongst others the immensly increased realism. Tell your brother, your sister, friend or even make you mum and dad an FM 2006 addict as this is A MUST HAVE for every football fan!!!

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