Saturday 12 January 2013
Friday 8 April 2011
FML v The Real World
The Match Engine in Football Manager Live often comes under fire for various strange outcomes and events.
I think what some of the gamers playing FML often forget is Football is a great game driven by the fact that just anything can happen and often can.
Can you imagine the uproar we would have on FML if a top ranked team with loads of rep who season after season were competeting for the Premiership title with loads of finances were to spend £50,0000,000 on signing arguably one of the best strikers in the world someone like Torres and then he didnt score for 8 games!!!
The guy would probably rage quit and moan like a bitch on the forums. Si would ignore this moan and FML would lose a subscriber.
Its things like this that make football what it is unpredictable.
Not everything can be determined by stats and code sometimes things just pop up and get in the way, like a beach ball on the pitch ala Liverpool V Sunderland.
This brings me to my next point.
FML March Goal of the Month as voted by the managers of FML.
The winning entry was a cracking goal :-
and you get someone comment on the voting thread that this is a Match Engine bug!!!
Well view this goal and tell me they arent similar ?
My point is stop blaming everything on Si and the match engine and step up and take the fact that its often a managers tactics or management that are at fault not the game.
In respect of tactics I would just like to say how refreshing it has been reading some of the comments from FML Super Tactics Guru WWFan on this thread
Richards take on things have really given a nice insight to some of the mechanics behind the game.
I think what some of the gamers playing FML often forget is Football is a great game driven by the fact that just anything can happen and often can.
Can you imagine the uproar we would have on FML if a top ranked team with loads of rep who season after season were competeting for the Premiership title with loads of finances were to spend £50,0000,000 on signing arguably one of the best strikers in the world someone like Torres and then he didnt score for 8 games!!!
The guy would probably rage quit and moan like a bitch on the forums. Si would ignore this moan and FML would lose a subscriber.
Its things like this that make football what it is unpredictable.
Not everything can be determined by stats and code sometimes things just pop up and get in the way, like a beach ball on the pitch ala Liverpool V Sunderland.
This brings me to my next point.
FML March Goal of the Month as voted by the managers of FML.
The winning entry was a cracking goal :-
and you get someone comment on the voting thread that this is a Match Engine bug!!!
Well view this goal and tell me they arent similar ?
My point is stop blaming everything on Si and the match engine and step up and take the fact that its often a managers tactics or management that are at fault not the game.
In respect of tactics I would just like to say how refreshing it has been reading some of the comments from FML Super Tactics Guru WWFan on this thread
Richards take on things have really given a nice insight to some of the mechanics behind the game.
Sunday 3 April 2011
FML The Memories No5
There was a time that I used to love this game so much that I would find myself waking up in the middle of the night and logging on to see if I had won an auction!
I also used to find myself logging on first thing in the morning checking what had happenned since I went to bed.
I used to live and breathe FML, I remember back in Le Tissier I was tormented by that pesky little git Pato.
I used to hate him, He would terrorise my defence, He was like a ghost he would just run past defenders as if they couldnt even see him just a splipstream where he had been.
Anyway getting to the point.... FML Memory No 5 is when the Mrs woke me up one night and asked
"Who is Pato and why do you want him to die"
Apparently I had been threatening to kill him in my sleep!!!
Thats the kind of intensity and pleasure you can get from FML, it can cause you to dreaming of being a murderer!
I also used to find myself logging on first thing in the morning checking what had happenned since I went to bed.
I used to live and breathe FML, I remember back in Le Tissier I was tormented by that pesky little git Pato.
I used to hate him, He would terrorise my defence, He was like a ghost he would just run past defenders as if they couldnt even see him just a splipstream where he had been.
Anyway getting to the point.... FML Memory No 5 is when the Mrs woke me up one night and asked
"Who is Pato and why do you want him to die"
Apparently I had been threatening to kill him in my sleep!!!
Thats the kind of intensity and pleasure you can get from FML, it can cause you to dreaming of being a murderer!
Saturday 2 April 2011
The bust up that lead me to quit FML!!!
Ive left a couple of weeks but now is the time to tell the world what lead me to quitting FML.
As if.... No gossip here!
Now I have your attention please go and vote on the Goal of the Month
This is to decide the best goals scored across the ALL gameworlds during March.
Vote Here
As if.... No gossip here!
Now I have your attention please go and vote on the Goal of the Month
This is to decide the best goals scored across the ALL gameworlds during March.
Vote Here
Saturday 26 March 2011
FML The Memories No6
Easter 2008
Busy playing the game in pre release beta GW6.
The game was fresh to me and alot of other managers and I was spending a huge amount of time online the forums were constantly alive with ideas, suggestions and bugs.
There was a real sense of being involved in at ground level in helping shape a future gaming classic.
I remember thinking I was going to be off work for the whole weekend and FML was going to get a right royal hammering.
The weather was amazing hot for that time of year then all of a sudden on the Saturday I think it was the game went BANG offline.
As far as I recall the cooling system had broken at Sega where the servers were and this had caused a massive issue resulting in downtime for the whole weekend. Whilst service engineers were called out easter.
The forums became alive with people moaning like hell!!!
I rememeber thinking about a week after the game had come back up, people were really passionate about FML and they were onto a winner here.
Easter 2008 RIP
Busy playing the game in pre release beta GW6.
The game was fresh to me and alot of other managers and I was spending a huge amount of time online the forums were constantly alive with ideas, suggestions and bugs.
There was a real sense of being involved in at ground level in helping shape a future gaming classic.
I remember thinking I was going to be off work for the whole weekend and FML was going to get a right royal hammering.
The weather was amazing hot for that time of year then all of a sudden on the Saturday I think it was the game went BANG offline.
As far as I recall the cooling system had broken at Sega where the servers were and this had caused a massive issue resulting in downtime for the whole weekend. Whilst service engineers were called out easter.
The forums became alive with people moaning like hell!!!
I rememeber thinking about a week after the game had come back up, people were really passionate about FML and they were onto a winner here.
Easter 2008 RIP
Friday 25 March 2011
FML More addictive than crack cocaine!
I recall during Pre Release Beta, someone at SEGA/SI asked for one line answers to describe FML.
More addictive than crack
Grounds for divorce
Football Ebay
The Future
FM with real managers
These were just some of the phrases I recall being branded around at this time, so how would I describe FML now? I just don't know.
I would like to share some details about how I came across FML. I feel it is relevant as 3 years on I would still have to go through the same process.
This aspect of marketing for me is still the same as it was when I joined Beta back in February 2008
I had given up with playing Football Manager a few years previous as I didnt have a machine that could actually process the game at speed at which I was content.
So I began a process of searching for an online alternatives:-
I used google, "Online Football Management" was my search critria I started to sign up for the ones at the top of the search list I did this over a period of 1 month trying various games all of which frankly were crap.
I eventually ended up on the Football Manager Forums which were different back then and there was a thread about this beta game called FML.
There was a link to sign up and people were desperate to join this game and ask when would the next lot of people join the game. I thought I'll sign up sounds like it could be what Im looking for. People were posting on the forum saying they had been waiting to join for weeks, so I did hold up much hope of being selected.
BOOM next day I got an invite, and I found my way into Gameworld 6 Physco gameworld.
I remember thinking at this time, would this be what I was looking for ?
So to get to my point, I just googled Online Football Mangement FML is on the 2nd page listed 15th google. THIS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!
With the combined powers of Sega and Si the marketing of FML has been poor. I appreciate that this is a long term project and the idea is to add to the customer base on a slowly slowly basis however just how slow does it have to be before steps are taken to up the Client base.
At this point I would just add that I do not feel Si should be marketing the game as with the lag situation at the moment, it would do more harm than good.
However once this is fixed a little bit of marketing could go a long way. For those of you who were at the community/Mod day at Si Towers before the soft launch you will recall the marketing budget that had been allocated to for FML! What happenned ? Where did it go ?
The world changed and we hit a recession, I appreciate that and the churn rate was probably too high at that time for sega to commit funds to the project.
However the world is changing back the other way now and hopefully things will improve.
I dont pretend to be some marketing expert however sometimes listening to the everyday joe bloggs can have its rewards.
A quick history I have been playing football management games since the C64 across various platforms and I even played the infamous Play By Mail football management game which was unique at the time and invovled picking your team from stats sent to you via the post on a monday and sending them off via the postie to select your team on Saturday.
That was really different.
Just to finish, remember I love this game and it really is an amazing game with a great community.
I would be lying if I said I am not finding it hard not to log in anymore, its like being stripped of an addictive drug, I just dont know if I can go through hard turkey!
More addictive than crack
Grounds for divorce
Football Ebay
The Future
FM with real managers
These were just some of the phrases I recall being branded around at this time, so how would I describe FML now? I just don't know.
I would like to share some details about how I came across FML. I feel it is relevant as 3 years on I would still have to go through the same process.
This aspect of marketing for me is still the same as it was when I joined Beta back in February 2008
I had given up with playing Football Manager a few years previous as I didnt have a machine that could actually process the game at speed at which I was content.
So I began a process of searching for an online alternatives:-
I used google, "Online Football Management" was my search critria I started to sign up for the ones at the top of the search list I did this over a period of 1 month trying various games all of which frankly were crap.
I eventually ended up on the Football Manager Forums which were different back then and there was a thread about this beta game called FML.
There was a link to sign up and people were desperate to join this game and ask when would the next lot of people join the game. I thought I'll sign up sounds like it could be what Im looking for. People were posting on the forum saying they had been waiting to join for weeks, so I did hold up much hope of being selected.
BOOM next day I got an invite, and I found my way into Gameworld 6 Physco gameworld.
I remember thinking at this time, would this be what I was looking for ?
So to get to my point, I just googled Online Football Mangement FML is on the 2nd page listed 15th google. THIS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!
With the combined powers of Sega and Si the marketing of FML has been poor. I appreciate that this is a long term project and the idea is to add to the customer base on a slowly slowly basis however just how slow does it have to be before steps are taken to up the Client base.
At this point I would just add that I do not feel Si should be marketing the game as with the lag situation at the moment, it would do more harm than good.
However once this is fixed a little bit of marketing could go a long way. For those of you who were at the community/Mod day at Si Towers before the soft launch you will recall the marketing budget that had been allocated to for FML! What happenned ? Where did it go ?
The world changed and we hit a recession, I appreciate that and the churn rate was probably too high at that time for sega to commit funds to the project.
However the world is changing back the other way now and hopefully things will improve.
I dont pretend to be some marketing expert however sometimes listening to the everyday joe bloggs can have its rewards.
A quick history I have been playing football management games since the C64 across various platforms and I even played the infamous Play By Mail football management game which was unique at the time and invovled picking your team from stats sent to you via the post on a monday and sending them off via the postie to select your team on Saturday.
That was really different.
Just to finish, remember I love this game and it really is an amazing game with a great community.
I would be lying if I said I am not finding it hard not to log in anymore, its like being stripped of an addictive drug, I just dont know if I can go through hard turkey!
Monday 21 March 2011
FMLThe memories No7
It was a pre release Beta Gameworld, which one I have no idea, Ive been in so many during my 3 year spell.
Some bright spark I cant remember who had decided to try and break the server by having as many people in one match at a time.
I recall at one point we had 156 people chatting in an FML match chat it was mental and very hard to follow, however it was a crack.
The next couple of weeks we tried to top the numbers however that was the most we managed to get in viewing a match at one point.
This is not a really great memory I just remember at the time the whole gameworld was pratically coming together in a match.
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days my friend!
On a seperate note, Im on the look out for a game to replace FML, currently Im just playing Call of Duty Black Ops, on the Wii!!!
Yes I know the Wii is crap and a family machine but thats all I have and to be fair, the online gaming aspect of it, is very entertaining.
Although the wife is starting to like it a bit to much too!
Some bright spark I cant remember who had decided to try and break the server by having as many people in one match at a time.
I recall at one point we had 156 people chatting in an FML match chat it was mental and very hard to follow, however it was a crack.
The next couple of weeks we tried to top the numbers however that was the most we managed to get in viewing a match at one point.
This is not a really great memory I just remember at the time the whole gameworld was pratically coming together in a match.
Those were the days, oh yes those were the days my friend!
On a seperate note, Im on the look out for a game to replace FML, currently Im just playing Call of Duty Black Ops, on the Wii!!!
Yes I know the Wii is crap and a family machine but thats all I have and to be fair, the online gaming aspect of it, is very entertaining.
Although the wife is starting to like it a bit to much too!
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