Soccer Gaming

Football Manager Live has recently re-launched, and in spite of the success of the yearly Football Manager game, the MMO version has been met with an air of uncertainty, for the simple fact it is something completely different. Therefore, Soccer Gaming has decided to put together a basic guide that answers those questions the majority of football gamers would like to know, but quite frankly are either too lazy or too shy to ask!

This guide is designed to be a much more ‘basic’ version than the many excellent guides that are available on the official Football Manager Live website, and will hopefully whet your appetite to go and find out more. For those of you who are interested, there is also the opportunity to win a free 2 month subscription to Football Manager Live at the bottom of this article.

Socialitus - Football Manager Live (FML) is a Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game developed by the people who make the hugely popular Football Manager games for PC/Mac and PSP. The game takes players into an online football world, and features aspects that are familiar to Football Manager players and couples them with features you would usually associate with sites such as Facebook, for example Instant Messaging, Mail and Profile Pages.

I Want To Be Manchester United -In Football Manager Live, there are no real clubs. When you start off, you will be asked to choose a name for a club, and pick a stadium name. There is the option to add your own, custom designed badge and design your kit, and these can be modified at any time. This means that whilst you can’t control your beloved Liverpool or Swindon Town, every player starts the game at the same point, with the same funds and the same club status, giving you complete control of your teams destiny.

There’s Only One Ronaldo - Football Manager Live works usings a Gameworld premise. This means that you will enter a Gameworld (usually named after a famous footballer) and will play against other teams in that Gameworld. In each Gameworld, there is only one of each player (one Messi, one Henry) meaning there are no duplicate players. The maximum occupancy for each Gameworld is 1,000 players, and when a Gameworld starts to get full, a brand new one opens with a whole set of new players. Gameworlds are divided into two catagories. Returning stars, which are worlds featuring real players, and Fantasy Players, which are completely made up players. You can chose which type of Gameworld suits you and join which you prefer.

Home Sweet Home - The game set up is very similar to the yearly update of Football Manager. After setting up your team, you are given a small budget and an empty squad, which you can fill using the huge number of players from the Football Manager database. Bear in mind that every player starts off as a free transfer, and therefore no one has any advantage of starting with a Rooney or a Drogba. Of course, these world stars wages will be well out of your budget from week one, but as you start to win games and earn your club a reputation, you will be able to afford the world class superstars. Tactics and player stats are all the kind of information Football Manager players will be used to. 

Upgrade Me - In true MMO fashion, you can upgrade your own skills to learn more about the game. You can invest time in scouting, and unearth hidden gems from the four corners of the earth, or learn new coaching skills to help you gain the tactical advantage. Because it’s your team, you can also choose how you run them. Will you build a youth squad and enter under 21 tournaments, become a selling club and nuture stars until you can make big money or go for title glory, walking the fine line between success and bankruptcy.

League Of Their Own - You get as much out of Football Manager Live as the time you put in, but there is a league to suit everybody. Some people will have jobs that allow them to play in their lunch hour, others will be limited to playing late night and others only the weekend. In each Gameworld, their a number of Football Associations which you can join and compete against players on a similar time scale as yourself. You can play inter-FA friendlies and cup competitions, however your league matches will take place against people who are more likely to be online at the same time as you.

Match Of The Day - Football Manager Live uses the 2D Football Manager engine to play out the games. Games last between 5 and 10 minutes and there is no limit to the number of matches you can play in one day. League matches have to be played by a certain time, and if one gamer isn’t online, the other can play the match against the AI. This ensures that all matches get played, and the advtanage is handed to the gamer who has made the effort to get online. Matches can be arranged by IM, or in game mail.

Time & Money - Each season lasts a month, meaning that you get a turn around pretty quickly. It also means that there is always an opportunity to push for a cup competition or promotion, and if you miss out your only a few days away from starting all over again. Money is earned by winning competitions, selling players and playing matches. It can be spent on new players or improving your stadium. Upgrading your own skills takes real world time, meaning that someone who plays for 7 hours a day will still upgrade at the same speed as someone who can only give 30 minutes. Again, its about creating the level playing field.

Deal Or No Deal - Finally, the big issue. You have made your money. You are doing well in the league and you want Lampard or Gerrard to be the icing on your cake. You won’t be alone of course, but the player is on a free transfer. The players contract becomes an ebay style auction, with interested parties raising the stakes up to a designated time. Whoever bids the highest, pays the price and wins the player. You can sell players in a similar style, or alternatively offer them straight up, BUY IT NOW style.

The Perfect Drug - Anyone who uses social networking can appreciate how addictive it can be. Couple this with fantasy football, and you have not only something that requires your attention (a la Facebook) but also something that allows competition and football knowledge. Football Manager is both easy to play and hard to stop!

This section is now wide open to your questions and queries. If you post your comment below, I will do my best to personally reply within 24 hours, if not slightly after. www.footballmanagerlive.com is the place to go for all the information, and the game is free to download, with £4.99 a month subscription charge (6 months for the less than the price of a PS3 game!)

In honour of the games re-launch, Soccer Gaming has been given a two month subscription of Football Manager Live as a competition prize for one visitor. The 2 month prize allows you to build your team and play two complete seasons through of the MMO, and the prize can be sent directly via e-mail! The question we have set is a maths problem mixed with football knowledge. You need to work out the players shirt numbers and then use it to solve the equation. The answer will be a number. You must give your answer as both a number, and a player who wears that corresponding football squad number. So for example:-

David Beckham (AC Milan) divided by Gary Neville (Manchester United) = 32/2 = 16. The answer would therefore have to be a player who wears number 16, for example Michael Carrick (Manchester United)

It sounds confusing, but it really isn’t. Just work out the number the players wear, do the maths and give your answer as a footballer who wears that shirt number. All shirt numbers relate to Club Teams. The question is:

C. Ronaldo (Real Madrid) plus W. Gallas (Arsenal) minus P. Crouch (Tottenham Hotspur) equals ??????? 

Send your answers to dan@soccergaming.com. The closing date is Saturday 10th April 2010. All entrants much include their name, location and a working e-mail address. Competition not open to Soccer Gaming staff members. The winning entry will drawn at random from all the correct entries. Maximum one entry per e-mail address. In the event of no winner, the competition prize will roll over.