SI are working on the first installment of the new Football Manager series, for SEGA. SI are the studio that have developed all previous installments of the Championship Manager series. After the break-up with Eidos, because of a difference in future plans, they went and signed a 5-year deal with SEGA to continue their heritage. Eidos have set up a new studio, BGS, to work on the next installment in the Championship Manager series, CM5. For info on this game I direct you to the CM5 info sticky.

This thread is open for discussion, and all new features will be added to this first post when brought to the public...

================================================== ==================================================

Info as stated on the www.sigames.com site (not dated):
Football Manager 2005 is the new football management game from Sports Interactive and is set for release in Q4 2004. Here is a list of confirmed new features (check out the screenshots at the bottom of the page!)

Updated user interface

Football Manager’s user interface will look markedly different to anything that has come before. Navigation between screens will be easier, with each screen explaining what information is on offer and how to get to other, related information. Consistency between separate game elements will also be more noticeable than in previous football management games: operations such as player filtering and sorting will now work consistently throughout the game. The game’s look – which now includes a two-panel option – will also be easily customised, allowing managers to store their preferred views and to return quickly to them.

Refined game engine

Sports Interactive’s long-standing and award-winning game engine has been refined and tuned in accordance with the feedback received from fans of its previous games. For example, the new game incorporate more than 30 extra fields for player data, including the all-new new ‘preferred moves’.

Updated database and competition rules

As has always been the case with Sports Interactive’s management simulations, Football Manager 2005’s database and competition simulation will be as up-to-date and accurate as is humanly possible.

Pre- and post-match information

Managers will be presented with enhanced information before and after each match, to show team line-ups, injuries and tactics before the match, and lots of stats about the match afterwards.

International player news

For the first time, managers will receive information on international performances, allowing them follow their players’ careers and ascertain how they are performing at the highest level.

Cup summary news

Events which unfold in each round of all of the major cup competitions will be delivered to the manager in a news summary.

2D clips from agents

Managers are likely to receive ‘video clips’ (executed using the game’s acclaimed 2D match engine) of a player’s performances, sent to them by that player’s agent with view to a possible transfer.

Coach reports on squads

In addition to commenting on individual players, coaches will now offer their opinions on the squad as a whole, thus helping managers to decide which areas of their team need improvement.

Job centre for non-playing positions

Non-playing jobs will be advertised through an in-game ‘Job Centre’, improving the manager’s ability to hire coaches and other staff.

Mutual Contract termination

Managers will be able to offer surplus players an opportunity to agree mutual contract termination, which will reduce the cost of releasing players and trimming squads.

Enhanced player loan options

Managers can now approach other clubs to offer young players on loan, a process which will make it easier to give younger players competitive experience. Also, when players’ loan periods expire, the manager will have an opportunity to extend the loan (where appropriate).

Manager ‘mind games’

Managers can click on any other manager’s name and issue a comment to the media relating to that person. The effects of these comments will see an increase in the amount of pressure surrounding title races, relegation battles, Cup ties and so on. It will also be possible to use this feature in relation to your own players, other clubs, media pundits etc.


Football Manager 2005 – Further Features

Playable leagues in 43 countries.
More than 140 playable senior divisions and in excess of 100 playable cup competitions.
Reserve and junior league competitions.
More than 235,000 players and staff (from 145 different countries) with players boasting more than 120 separate attributes and non-playing staff boasting 40.
A database of more than 14,000 clubs, 3,000 of which can be managed.
Data supplied by a network of more than 2,500 researchers from around the world.
Updated 2D ‘top-down’ match engine.
Improved ‘radio commentary’.
Increased interaction with the media.
Reworked injury system.
Improved scouting system.
Improved finance module to reflect the changing face of football.
Comments when negotiating with human managers (network multi-player game only).
Inclusion of U18 Caps.
More realistic awards system.

The best estimate of a release date to now is: "before christmas".

================================================== ==================================================

Some facts found on soccer.gamez.nl (http://soccer.gamez.nl/artikel.php?sectie=artikel&sid=1471), dated 27th july 2004:
More realistic injuries.
Offer players to other clubs. (nothing new)
Club logo's / Kits / Competition logo's (for licensed leagues/players. So not the Dutch leagues and players....)
Possibility to arrange a fee for the selling club to buy a player back. (useless)
Possibility to offer a player a cancellation clause. (must be different from non-promotion and relegation clauses, right?)
Much improved media section. (Manager Mindgames)
Import/export shortlists/training schedules.
Improved search option.
Ask player to reconsider retirement. (nothing new)
International Management will be changed.
More hidden stats.
(Improved?) player personality system.
Not only a "playmaker" but also a "target man" can be chosen.
Transfervalue drops big time when a contract nears the end of it's term.
Speed improved by 45 % compared to CM 03/04. (Big improvement, but will it be enough?)

I'll try and translate the article sometime in the future... (:/)
Well, the most important bits:
Other interesting facts in that article by Ivo Willems at SGZ (http://soccer.gamez.nl/artikel.php?sectie=artikel&sid=1471):

- The GUI looks easier to control, making the first steps into FM for gamers who never played CM less straining.
- Expected database size of 245,000 players, with about 150 individual stats (a lot of them hidden).
- Integration of the .ddt file system in the GUI (:O(Y)). There's some problems with that at current, limiting the addition of players to only one country per game, but they hope to solve that before the (eventual) release.

According to Ivo, the game looks excellent, for an alpha-version. Not all options have been activated, but it looks promising the least. SI say they have plenty of work to do, before reaching beta-status. First they want it finished, and bug-free. They actually plan on not having to release any patches. :p

================================================== ==================================================

Go have a look at the new FM site on SEGA's servers:www.footballmanager.net (www.footballmanager.net). It has LOADS AND LOADS of screenshots available.

================================================== ==================================================

The Bootroom (http://www.sigames.com/the_bootroom.php), SI's Online Fanzine, goes exclusively behind the scenes at
Sports Interactive and takes a look at some of the features and functionality that you'll
be able to find in Football Manager 2005.

Make sure to visit them, as they have good articles with some new, very informative, exclusive screenshots.

FM 2005: Player/Staff Searches and Scouting (http://www.sigames.com/the_bootroom.php?type=view&article_id=1007) by Marc Duffy
FM 2005: The Media (http://www.sigames.com/the_bootroom.php?type=view&article_id=1009), by Marc Duffy
FM 2005: International management (http://www.sigames.com/the_bootroom.php?type=view&article_id=1011), by Marc Duffy
FM 2005: The matchday (http://www.sigames.com/the_bootroom.php?type=view&article_id=1014), by Marc Duffy
FM 2005: Misc (http://www.sigames.com/the_bootroom.php?type=view&article_id=1015), by Marc Duffy

================================================== ==================================================

BIG BIG BIG, HUMONGOUS NEWS:
SI RELEASE FM 2005 LEAGUE LIST (http://www.sigames.com/news.php?type=view&article_id=1022)
Marc Duffy reported this over there:
"We weren't going to announce this for a couple of weeks but seeing as it's confirmed and seeing as the sun is shining (in London at least) we thought we'd give you a special Wednesday treat.

What follows below is a complete country list for FM 2005 including the amount of levels and teams that are playable in each country. If you cannot be bothered to add it up yourself they'll be 51 countries leagues and yes Conference North and South will be in the game.

FM 2005 Statistics Snapshot

Playable countries 51

Playable first-team divisions 158
Playable first teams 2,351

Playable reserve-team divisions 70
Playable reserve teams 1,000

Youth-team divisions 117
Youth teams 1,651

Total league divisions 345
Total league teams 5,002

Maximum number of playable international teams 94
3 Levels of international team (First, Under-21, Under-19)
Under-23 teams (Olympics) 16

Total of playable international teams 298

Total number of playable teams 5,300"


Marc Duffy posted 08 September 04 17:59:57: (http://www.sigames.com/news.php?type=comment&article_id=1022)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Country Levels Divisions

Argentina 2 2
Australia 1 1
Austria 2 2
Belarus 3 3
Belgium 3 4
Brazil 3 18
Bulgaria 2 2
Chile 2 4
China 2 2
Columbia 2 2
Croatia 2 3
Czech 2 2
Denmark 3 3
England 6 7
Finland 2 2
France 3 3
Germany 3 4
Greece 2 2
Holland 2 2
Hong Kong 1 1
Hungary 2 2
Iceland 2 2
India 1 1
Indonesia 2 3
Ireland 2 2
Israel 2 2
Italy 4 7
Malayasia 2 3
Mexico 2 2
N.Ireland 2 2
Norway 3 6
Peru 1 1
Poland 2 2
Portugal 3 5
Romania 2 4
Russia 2 2
Scotland 4 4
Serb&Mont 2 3
Singapore 1 1
Slovakia 2 2
Slovenia 2 2
Sth Afr 2 2
Sth Kor 2 2
Spain 3 6
Sweden 3 8
Switz 2 2
Turkey 3 5
Ukraine 2 2
Uruguay 2 2
USA 1 1
Wales 1 1

================================================== ==================================================

Article on SIGames.com: FM 2005 in a Different League, 16/10/2004 (http://www.sigames.com/news.php?type=view&article_id=1041)

LONDON, UK – October 15, 2004 – SEGA® Europe Ltd, is proud to reveal the complete official league license list to be featured in the imminent release of Football Manager 2005, the latest title from Sports Interactive, the creators of the Championship Managerä series. Football Manager 2005 is set to be the most in-depth and involving football management simulation ever when released on November 5 th for PC and Mac.

An agreement has been secured with FIFPro, the worldwide representative organisation for all professional players. Football Manager 2005 will also feature official branding from the English Football League, including club logos, league and cup competition logos, playing kits and players pictures where available. Football Manager 2005 has also now been recognised as the Official Game of the English Nationwide Conference.

In addition to this, Football Manager 2005 will also feature the club logos, playing kits and player pictures (where available) for the Spanish and US leagues. Kits, pictures and logo’s from Dutch clubs as well as kits and logo’s from the Portuguese league are also secured. Licenses from Italian clubs, including club logo’s and player pictures (where available) for the mighty AC Milan.

Confirmation of the league licenses comes at an ideal time, as the team at Sports Interactive is proud to announce that Football Manager 2005 has hit Gold Master stage. With everything in place for its November 5th release date, you too can now become a football manager by downloading the official playable demo. Kick off for the demo is 3pm UK time, to download please go to www.footballmanager.net or www.sigames.com, your weekend couldn’t get any better!

FM 2005 Statistics Snapshot

Total Club Logos – 254. Comprising:

England - 100
Spain - 41
Italy - 30
Holland - 37
Portugal - 36
USA - 10

Competition Logos - 5


International Team Logos - 1

Kits - 527
International Team Kits - 2
England - 281
Spain - 78
Italy - 65
Holland - 68
Portugal - 15
USA - 18

Player/Staff Pictures - 6452

England - 2117
Spain - 263
India - 1
Italy - 20
Holland - 250
USA - 227
Face In The Game (regenerated players) - 3574

Football Manager 2005 will be published by SEGA on November 5th 2004. Further information is available online at the both the official FM 2005 and Sports Interactive websites ( www.footballmanager.net and www.sigames.com).
:p

================================================== ==================================================

With the gold demo comes the final readme. And the final readme contains the official system requirements. So let's see:


------------------------------------------------
1. System Requirements
------------------------------------------------
Your computer must meet the following system requirements to run this game.
The game may not run, or you may experience decreased performance on
computers that do not fulfil these requirements.

Windows Minimum System:

Microsoft Windows 98 SE, 2000 or XP (95/NT are unsupported)
P3 600MHz processor
128MB System RAM for one league and small database
100% DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
4x CD ROM Drive
1024x768 32bit colour display
650Mb Hard Drive Space
Microsoft Compatible keyboard and mouse

Windows Recommended System (refer to Minimum requirements above for unlisted items):

P4 1.8GHz processor
256MB System RAM
8x CD ROM Drive

Mac Minimum System:

Mac OSX 10.2 or later
500 MHz Power PC G4
128MB of Ram, with virtual memory set to at least 256MB
1024 X 768 Monitor
500MB free disk space

Mac Recommended System:

Mac OSX 10.3 or later
1.25GHz Power PC G4 or G5
256MB of Ram or Higher
1024 X 768 Monitor
500MB free disk space

Note: The game's performance and/or graphical quality may differ according
to your computer's hardware and/or video card. Computers with high-performance
hardware will provide the best game performance.

================================================== ==================================================

Mutual Contract termination
Enhanced player loan options

This is going to be great finally ill be able to loan out players

I wonder if you're allowed to loan players for more than 1 season... :confused:

Originally posted by Fernandez
I wonder if you're allowed to loan players for more than 1 season... :confused:

I hope so, i really wanted that option, i did loan Le Tellec for 4 years to Monaco once thou:confused: I dont know how they offered that kind loan???

I like the greater range of stats there..... one good thing would be stats out of 100, like in the other game, to separate crap players from the creme de la creme (like me).

i prefer stats out of 20. easier to look at if u no what i meen

yeah....... i like it at 20. if you've got the 15+ stats in a different colour, its really easy to tell at a glance how good a player is at certain things. one digit is crap, two digits is decent, and the different colour is good. when its up to 99 you have to read all the numbers to see how good they are, and the screen ends up looking too crowded (refer to CM5 screenshots)

2D clips from agents

Managers are likely to receive ‘video clips’ (executed using the game’s acclaimed 2D match engine) of a player’s performances, sent to them by that player’s agent with view to a possible transfer.


That is awesome.:rockman:

FM is gonna be so cooooollll..... :o I just wished they would have an offer to clubs button for loans...

Ruud (I suppose you're the only one who's able to read this), I'm sorry but I don't really have the time to translate this. :p

Blessures voortaan waarheidsgetrouw
Spelers aanbieden aan andere clubs
Club logo's / Kits / Competitie logo's
Mogelijkheid tot afspreken van een terugkoop prijs bij een transfer.
Mogelijkheid bieden aan een speler om het contract te laten eindigen
Heel uitgebreide Media sectie (Manager Mindgames)
Importeren/exporteren shortlists/training schedules
Uitgebreidere search optie.
Mogelijkheid tot ingrijpen als een speler wil stoppen met voetbal
International Management zal veranderen
Hidden stats uitgebreider
Spelers zullen eigen persoonlijkheden hebben
Naast de al bestaande "playmaker" nu ook een "target man"
Transferwaarde dropt enorm als het contract afloopt.
Snelheid tot 45 % sneller in vergelijking met CM 03/04

is FM going to be released in the U.S.?

Yes, and it will feature the MLS again. Not sure about A-League, or whatever is below.

Willem's post added this:
More realistic injuries.
Offer players to other clubs. (nothing new)
Club logo's / Kits / Competition logo's (for licensed leagues/players. So not the Dutch leagues and players...:mad:.)
Possibility to arrange a fee for the selling club to buy a player back. (useless)
Possibility to offer a player a cancellation clause. (must be different from non-promotion and relegation clauses, right?)
Much improved media section. (Manager Mindgames)
Import/export shortlists/training schedules.
Improved search option.
Ask player to reconsider retirement. (nothing new)
International Management will be changed.
More hidden stats.
(Improved?) player personality system.
Not only a "playmaker" but also a "target man" can be chosen.
Transfervalue drops big time when a contract nears the end of it's term.
Speed improved by 45 % compared to CM 03/04. (Big improvement, but will it be enough?)

Speed is something I realy need, since Im not gonna upgrade any time soon (waiting for true 64bit PC's software support). Just hope it is like CM03 or like CM4(faster than CM-03)
Hope always dies last :(

256MB extra RAM will help a lot, for the first seasons anyway.

Willem, where did you get that info, btw? soccer.gamez.nl? I'd like to put a reference in with that in the first post.

Right never mind, found it :p

Other interesting facts in that article by Ivo Willems at SGZ (http://soccer.gamez.nl/artikel.php?sectie=artikel&sid=1471):

- The GUI looks easier to control, making the first steps into FM for gamers who never played CM less straining.
- Expected database size of 245,000 players, with about 150 individual stats (a lot of them hidden).
- Integration of the .ddt file system in the GUI (:O(Y)). There's some problems with that at current, limiting the addition of players to only one country per game, but they hope to solve that before the (eventual) release.

According to Ivo, the game looks excellent, for an alpha-version. Not all options have been activated, but it looks promising the least. SI say they have plenty of work to do, before reaching beta-status. First they want it finished, and bug-free. They actually plan on not having to release any patches. :p

FM5 is looking better then CM5.:hump:

naturally :confused:

Dude you need a smaller hammer....:p

deleting posts, how very mature :p :p

TROD.

?

Hmn... gonna be tough deciding which to buy... CM has good luck, but FM has good features...

Actually it's no contest...

It's like CM 01-02 vs. Every single CM after it

(H)

Originally posted by rpvankasteren
First they want it finished, and bug-free. They actually plan on not having to release any patches. :p

:rofl:

We can hope! I wonder if SI have sped up the game to the extent that CM claims to have been sped up by?

If it is 45% as they state, then no. Still pretty good though.

Originally posted by Can't stop the rush...
?

whatever dude

TROD.

Only thing Im worried about is tht many who dont know what happened with SI and Eidos will go buy CM instead of FM...

well trust me from what I've heard I'm going to buy FM but first I want to play both demo's before I say that for sure.

It's amazing, just the CM name can make someone want to try a game.... :|
Wonder how EA didnt "buy" the name from Eidos

Originally posted by mixafendis
Only thing Im worried about is tht many who dont know what happened with SI and Eidos will go buy CM instead of FM...

This won't happen if SI releases FM first. But since CM is coming out first, I think they should really see the box cover.

see the box cover? Why? :confused:

Originally posted by mixafendis
see the box cover? Why? :confused:

They always have the companys' logo. They should see if it's EIDOS only or EIDOS and SI.

i just gotta ask this. after looking at features for both games, i am definitely leaning to FM. but for the resident CM experts here like PSV, ruud and the rest, which game should be better? and i know its really hard to judge, but from your honest opinion give me an answer. since college will be starting up soon i wanna get an idea about which game i should jump on.

When SI and Eidos split up, Eidos got the rights to the name "Championship Manager" and SI got basically everything else. Eidos's game, CM, will be made from scratch, while Football Manager will have the game code from CM0304 and is improving on that...... FM2005 SHOULD be the better game ;)

Yes, FM is your best bet. I don't do odds, but SI have an 8 year head start with their game. Of course BGS can copy a lot from earlier versions, but it's still a long way to go for them.

Originally posted by Parra Power
When SI and Eidos split up, Eidos got the rights to the name "Championship Manager" and SI got basically everything else. Eidos's game, CM, will be made from scratch, while Football Manager will have the game code from CM0304 and is improving on that...... FM2005 SHOULD be the better game ;)


yea i've followed and played to get that much, and thats exactly why i figured it would be better. still, there has been lot of talk to which i have not gotten, thats why i asked you guys. thanks for the responses though, from what it looks like FM really should be better. in any case, i'll wait till you guys get yours to base my opinion if i can't get it sooner than that in other ways. on this topic, i trust your judgment more than mines (H)

Originally posted by rpvankasteren
Yes, FM is your best bet. I don't do odds, but SI have an 8 year head start with their game. Of course BGS can copy a lot from earlier versions, but it's still a long way to go for them.

They cant copy anything. It's not allowed. The source code belongs to SI. If eidos or BGS copy any part of this code, or even if they have this code (even if they dont use it) there will be big trouble.


Originally posted by Fernandez
They always have the companys' logo. They should see if it's EIDOS only or EIDOS and SI.

What makes you think that those who will buy the game know what happened with SI and Eidos, and what makes you think that those who will go buy the game by checking the game cover if they dont see "SI" they will say "Oh this is not the right game I wont buy it" Most ppl wont have a clue. Very few will realy know. Lets just hope FM is a success, because if it fails, then we're *******

Originally posted by mixafendis
They cant copy anything. It's not allowed. The source code belongs to SI. If eidos or BGS copy any part of this code, or even if they have this code (even if they dont use it) there will be big trouble.

They can't copy it directly, but the same features can be written in a different way. Plus they do have the right to use the same attributes as CM 03/04 has.

I hope the Olympics problem is fixed.

and what problem is that?

The one ehre you can choose 3 overage players...

You can in real life as well. Not a problem with the game.

Brilliant FM Website:

http://www.fmfaq.com/

just direct everyone there

TROD.

sounds great! can't wait! :D

site looks like ****. Awfull design

it does exactly what it says on the tin.

I hope Ronseal cant sue me for that..

TROD.

ah but i have somehting sensible this time.

SI have just released 4 more screenies on the site.

ALSO, you can now get your face in the game, go to www.sigames.com to find out more.

TROD.

what does debug means btw?

2d clips from agents! That's really great. cos sometimes u get a player with low stats and he don't stop scoring.

Rumours about the release date:

Dates provided by three webstores offering pre-order of FM'05

www.play.com
19th november 2004

www.gameplay.co.uk
3rd december 2004

www.amazon.co.uk
10th december 2004


don't forget: RUMOURS

just noticed... You need to change the thread name to FM 05. Not 5 ;)

:$

lol

Some quotations from SIGames.com (http://www.sigames.com/news.php?type=comment&article_id=998):
Originally posted by Neil Dejyothin, head of testing
A beta demo will be available on the cover disk of the official Football Manager magazine which is out towards the end of September.

Originally posted by Neil Dejyothin, head of testing
You can expect the specs to be similar in nature with our last game as Football Manager 2005 is based on the same engine. Since then though we've made a number of improvements and optimizations to the engine and are expecting it to run faster.


From The Bootroom, SIGames.com (http://www.sigames.com/the_bootroom.php?type=view&article_id=992), on the future of the game:
Originally asked by Gavin Noble, The Bootroom editor
The 2D view was a major addition to the series, are we likely to see it being replaced in the future with a 3D view, and if not why not?

Originally replied by Paul Collyer, SI Co-CEO
Not for a while. But never say never. A logical progression would be to go towards a 'Sensi-soccer' style look first, but that's just pub talk at the moment!

Originally asked by Gavin Noble, The Bootroom editor
Some ideas suggested on the forums suggest items that are quite gimmicky such as managers setting ticket prices, difficulty levels, being able to edit league structures to create super leagues etc. What is your own view of these ideas?

Originally replied by Paul Collyer, SI Co-CEO
Difficulty levels -- no way. Ticket prices etc -- maybe, if we develop the "General Manager" side to the game and have more than one possible role for humans in the future. Edit leagues -- very hard to implement and a bit down the list at present.

i wouldn't like that... its getting way too tacky. keep it to a manager side of things and just keep improving that. i'd rather they work on gameplay, stats, news and interacting with the rest of the world then the general manager side be implemented.

Speed and interaction are their two main objectives for now. They won't be strolling away from them as much as you fear they might. Notice the "...maybe, if..." ;)

Will the game have a page showing your personal finances? Right now i'm getting offers from other clubs but it doesnt show the wage or anything, they need to add something to give you a reason to sign for the new club. :)

Originally posted by rpvankasteren
Rumours about the release date:

Dates provided by three webstores offering pre-order of FM'05

www.play.com
19th november 2004

www.gameplay.com
3rd december 2004

www.amazon.co.uk
10th december 2004


don't forget: RUMOURS

Does any of those sites send their stuff out internationaly?

please bare in mind tydomo that they are rumours.

TROD.

Originally posted by SRB
i wouldn't like that... its getting way too tacky. keep it to a manager side of things and just keep improving that. i'd rather they work on gameplay, stats, news and interacting with the rest of the world then the general manager side be implemented.

If those suggestions are used, SI are just turning FM into TCM. The board should decide ticket prices and so on, not the manager.

Originally posted by tydomo
Does any of those sites send their stuff out internationaly?

From gameplay.co.uk (http://www.gameplay.co.uk/help/shipping#overseas)
Gameplay ships internationally to the following countries:

Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands,Canada,Cyprus, Czech Republic,Denmark, Eire, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands,Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hong Kong, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Liechenstein,Luxembourg, Malta,Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino,Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, St Helena and the USA.

From www.play.com
PLEASE NOTE: we only deliver to the following countries:

Andorra
Austria
Belgium
Cyprus
Denmark
England
Finland
France
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Guernsey
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Jersey
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
Netherlands
Northern Ireland
Norway
San Marino
Scotland
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Vatican
Wales

From amazon.co.uk (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/524836/ref=w_h__brbx_c_1_3/202-5809730-1735045)
Software, PC & Video Games, Toys & Kids and Gift items

Amazon.co.uk and Marketplace: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales).

From shop.game.net
WHERE DO WE DELIVER?
United Kingdom
United Kingdom, Channel Isles, Faeroe Islands

European
Andorra, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Denmark, Eire, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Vatican City, Yugoslavia

Australasia
Australia, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan (Province of China)

USA & Rest of the World
Army on deployment to Iraq, British Forces Post Office, Brunei Darussalem, United States, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei Darussalem, Canada, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Falkland Islands, French Guinea, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Qatar, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, St. Helena, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Arab Emirates, U.S Minor Outlying Islands, Uruguay, Virgin Islands (British), Virgin Islands ( U.S.), Yemen


Great service here.

bloody hell, thats an amazing list.

TROD.

Oh, I forgot to post this here as well:

The beta demo will be released on the 23rd of september. It will be released on a disk that comes with the new FM Magazine (http://www.sigames.com/news.php?type=view&article_id=1004). It will likely be released on the net later on.

Meh if its released on cd in the magazine it will be on the net within hours

yeah alright stop there papa, lol, ill be buying the mag anyway

TROD.

its actually a serious problem. not to start a big talk about warez and such, but i kinda noticed that cm 03/04 was on the net even before it was actually released to the public. i consider that a huge problem. they need to protect the game more :(

You're talking about the company that releases demos and patches through bit-torrent... :crazyboy:

It is likely we will make the beta demo available online, but we haven't decided whether this will be on the day the magazine releases or after.

Piracy is always a major problem for any software company but personally speaking we think Bittorrent is an excellent application to distribute files to a wide range of people.

Some of you might have found our website is very slow or brought to almost a complete halt whenever we release material as there are literally thousands of people connecting and attempting to download at the same time.

Bittorrent is a useful workaround for such problems when there is such busy traffic hitting the site.

will the magazine will be released in Australia? And if so, will the release date be the same as overseas?


the reason im asking was because i couldnt find the CM mag before the release of CM4 (with the beta demo on it i think), and i found it about a year later at my newsagent :crazyboy:

SGO Boss Guy: The official Football Manager magazine is only released in the UK but you might have some luck getting it shipped to Australia from www.gameplay.co.uk.

I'm not sure how much it costs postage and package wise, so it would be your call really on whether you think it's something you want to pursue.

£5,95 for the mag + £4,95 for the shipping to Australia, at 1-2 week(s). If you only want it for the demo, waiting for the online version does sound more attractive... :(

cool. cant wait for the demo. (oh boy (H) )
With my AMD64 on its way home and with some hardcore overclocking (might get water cooling soon, yaaahhooooo) FM should run like a dream (H)

Alex13: We have been really impressed with the performance of the AMD 64-bit machine with FM that we have in the testing lab; it's certainly surpassed my own personal expectations.

damn, im gonna be having problems with my 4yr old computer that uses Windows 98 then :( :(

Mind you CM0304 runs fine

TROD.

FM'05 uses the same engine, but more refined, so you should be safe.

i know, hopefully.

TROD.

Originally posted by rpvankasteren
£5,95 for the mag + £4,95 for the shipping to Australia, at 1-2 week(s). If you only want it for the demo, waiting for the online version does sound more attractive... :(

thats about $30 here.... i could buy CM 01/02 for that much :crazyboy:

So.. if the game wont realy be slower than CM03/04 that means that with 512mb ram(dont have money to get another 512 atm) I should be able to select.. about.. how many leagues with large database? Large db with the first div in Italy, Spain, Germany and England should be enough(using 512mb)?

That will be fine. I'm going to guess what number will run smooth, your 64bit machine will help... Maybe 10 divisions? :O

The more the better. I used to select 8 in CM01/02 when my current pc was still new. The top 8 leagues in the uefa rankings.

I used to select all leagues in 01/02 (all but Holland and England on background), it ran like a dream. Took over an hour to start, but no absurd loading or saving times afterwards. Maybe FM'07 will be like that again... :)

with 64bit computing RAM will be (in theory) unlimited so it could just might happen (H)

i manage to run about 6/7 leagues.

TROD.

This week, The Bootroom (http://www.sigames.com/the_bootroom.php), SI's Online Fanzine, goes exclusively behind the scenes at
Sports Interactive and takes a look at some of the features and functionality that you'll
be able to find in Football Manager 2005.

Make sure to visit them, as they have good articles with some new, very informative, exclusive screenshots.

FM 2005: Player/Staff Searches and Scouting (http://www.sigames.com/the_bootroom.php?type=view&article_id=1007) by Marc Duffy
FM 2005: The Media (http://www.sigames.com/the_bootroom.php?type=view&article_id=1009), by Marc Duffy

Will add links each day, if no-one else does. :)

i was just about to, honestly, i read both of them yesterday, pretty interesting stuff.

TROD.

Another link:

FM 2005: International management (http://www.sigames.com/the_bootroom.php?type=view&article_id=1011), by Marc Duffy

Cool, you can now hire assistants for the national side :)

bout bloody time

TROD.

ah finally, international friendlies you can pick, that will please so many fans

TROD.

i love how this game is basically making existing features MUCH better instead of expanding into "extra" territory. it looks terrific and the detail is magnificent. i love the whole media involvment in this, and how player's personal feelings and expectations are weighed heavily. it makes me feel like i have more of an impact instead of just kind of rolling along.

ah but my big thing is, will all this media dolali actually effect the game, if it does then it will be brilliant

TROD.

thats a very good point, but i take comfort in the fact that this game has headed in the right direction in the view of the fans. and if all of this works as advertised and all works with each other, i seriously will have an orgasm every time i play this game.

hopefuly aye, but if its superficial it will be crap

TROD.

thats why im trying REAL hard not to get my hopes up too much, but from the looks of it, it will be a much better game then 03/04, which i thought was a very good game to begin with.

same here mate, but i do it with all games, GTA, PES etc...

TROD.

Originally posted by TROD
ah but my big thing is, will all this media dolali actually effect the game, if it does then it will be brilliant

It isn’t in our nature to introduce superficial features into the game. Everything we implement will always have an effect somewhere or somehow and particularly with the media aspects it can have a monumental effect on various aspects including your relationship with the press, another manager or your club or another clubs board, fans and players.

glad to hear it. :)

TROD.

Anyway, a new link :D

FM 2005: The matchday (http://www.sigames.com/the_bootroom.php?type=view&article_id=1014), by Marc Duffy

Do my eyes deceive me?? We finally will have sliders??

You're right, but they cleverly don't show how the bars are divided. :p

I like the sliders very much (Y)

FM 2005: Misc (http://www.sigames.com/the_bootroom.php?type=view&article_id=1015), by Marc Duffy

The final bit is just 3 screens, and a notion that you can request screens by e-mailing Marc Duffy. No guarantee, obviously.

Miles Jacobson has given an interview (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3606148.stm) for BBC Radio Five Live.

Nothing very substantial, but it also has an audio bit (15 minutes) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/audio/40009000/rm/_40009126_miles.ram). Haven't listened to it yet, so can't say if it's the same or different...

Originally posted by SRB
thats why im trying REAL hard not to get my hopes up too much, but from the looks of it, it will be a much better game then 03/04, which i thought was a very good game to begin with.

SI have always said when people question this that they never add features like that. Just gotta hope that they effect in the right amount and in the right way.

Yeah, like Neil just said basically :p

we have a copier, lol

TROD.

Welcome to the forums to you as well, btw :jap:

Taken from the SEGA FM2005 site (/sega-europe/fm2005/fmArticle.jsp?id=9)

We thought they’d just tell us to bog off and leave them alone. And who could blame them during this critical development time in the run-up to release. Surprising, then, that when we suggested bombarding them with questions from keyed-up fans on a daily basis they came back and said, “yeah okay, sure”.

They sounded positively happy about it in fact.

So, not being ones to look a gift horse in the mouth, we’d like you to start sending us your questions before they see sense and change their minds...

Want the goss on customisable team tactics? Here’s your chance. Hankering for details on the impact of media? Come this way. Stalking Miles and have an urgent need to know what he had for breakfast? We’re here to oblige. Apart from that last bit.

Send one question at a time to myquestion@footballmanager.net and we’ll pass the best ones on, collecting the answers together and bringing them to you right here every few days.

Don’t dally now, time’s a wastin’...

New news:
http://www.sigames.com/graphics/images/948.jpg

FM 2005 Packaging released (http://www.sigames.com/news.php?type=view&article_id=1021)
06/09/2004 @ 16:00:00


SEGA and the undoubted king of football management games, Sports interactive, have released their packaging for Football Manager 2005.

Work began on the box art for FM2005 back in May with a massively popular competition to help design the new game’s logo. The £10,000 prize on offer helped attract more than 6,000 entries, and the eventual winner – Stuart Luff from Sheffield, England – had his logo design adapted to fit in with SEGA Europe and SI’s brand look.

"It's great to be able to finally reveal the packaging for FM2005. We've been excited about this since we started development with the logo competition and we're pleased that we were able to work the winning entry into our brand look to create a pack that we all love,” said SI chief Miles Jacobson.

“The packaging reflects a new era for SI, and will be the look to be used for all of our packaging moving forward, whilst building on the heritage of the Football Manager brand."

SEGA’s Gary Knight added: "Football Manager 2005 will put Sports Interactive's fans into the management hot-seat like no other game can. We're delighted with our pack - we feel that it really tells fans exactly what they're getting - the chance to be a manager and to measure themselves against the best."

Yep, looks decent. :)

thats great (Y)

nice :) (I know this does say much, but I cant say something more)

The cover looks great. Kudos to the designers.

Yeah, looks good (Y)

Yeh if the games half as good as the cover ill be happy (Y)

The cover isn't that good at all, just a normal cover...
If the game is half as good as the cover, I might have to keep playing 03/04...

BIG BIG BIG, HUMONGOUS NEWS:
SI RELEASE FM 2005 LEAGUE LIST (http://www.sigames.com/news.php?type=view&article_id=1022)
Marc Duffy reported this over there:
"We weren't going to announce this for a couple of weeks but seeing as it's confirmed and seeing as the sun is shining (in London at least) we thought we'd give you a special Wednesday treat.

What follows below is a complete country list for FM 2005 including the amount of levels and teams that are playable in each country. If you cannot be bothered to add it up yourself they'll be 51 countries leagues and yes Conference North and South will be in the game.

FM 2005 Statistics Snapshot

Playable countries 51

Playable first-team divisions 158
Playable first teams 2,351

Playable reserve-team divisions 70
Playable reserve teams 1,000

Youth-team divisions 117
Youth teams 1,651

Total league divisions 345
Total league teams 5,002

Maximum number of playable international teams 94
3 Levels of international team (First, Under-21, Under-19)
Under-23 teams (Olympics) 16

Total of playable international teams 298

Total number of playable teams 5,300"


Marc Duffy posted 08 September 04 17:59:57: (http://www.sigames.com/news.php?type=comment&article_id=1022)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Country Levels Divisions

Argentina 2 2
Australia 1 1
Austria 2 2
Belarus 3 3
Belgium 3 4
Brazil 3 18
Bulgaria 2 2
Chile 2 4
China 2 2
Columbia 2 2
Croatia 2 3
Czech 2 2
Denmark 3 3
England 6 7
Finland 2 2
France 3 3
Germany 3 4
Greece 2 2
Holland 2 2
Hong Kong 1 1
Hungary 2 2
Iceland 2 2
India 1 1
Indonesia 2 3
Ireland 2 2
Israel 2 2
Italy 4 7
Malayasia 2 3
Mexico 2 2
N.Ireland 2 2
Norway 3 6
Peru 1 1
Poland 2 2
Portugal 3 5
Romania 2 4
Russia 2 2
Scotland 4 4
Serb&Mont 2 3
Singapore 1 1
Slovakia 2 2
Slovenia 2 2
Sth Afr 2 2
Sth Kor 2 2
Spain 3 6
Sweden 3 8
Switz 2 2
Turkey 3 5
Ukraine 2 2
Uruguay 2 2
USA 1 1
Wales 1 1

i dont see any real change. apart from the NT thingy. I think we can now play with more NTs

Australia?

but we don't have a league at the moment, unless they still have nsl in the game

Glad to see U.S.A back in the game. No more fake players.

English conference north and south (H)

No Japan, though, licensing issues... :(

Very very small chance of still making it into the game.

yeah i would like to know what they are planing to do with the aussie league, as we dont have a national league atm and the new league doesnt have any confirmed teams in it and isnt due to start untill this time next year:confused:

it will be interesting to see how they do the australian league :evil:


the announcement about who/what/where etc will be made in october sometime, and only then will the player signings start........ so si has a month to put it in the game from the announcement.......... maybe they will just have the clubs, some money and you can sign players yourself (H)

That would rock, the Aussie league would be my first choice if so! (H)

Still got the veikkausliiga! (Finnish League) (H) :rockman:

lol Brazil 3 levels and 18 divisions! gotta love our regionals.. well.. at least we got our national competition sorted, bottom teams going down and top teams from inferior division going up...

.

wow. i saw Malaysia~!! 2 level and 3 division :rockman:

same for serbia. looks like partizan will be CL champions yet again :D

LINK (http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/games/archives/pc/2004/09/my_life_with_the_fm_2005_beta_demo.html)

This is an article by Keith Stuart, editor of the Official Football Manager Magazine, and writer for the Guardian Online, about his experiences with the FM 2005 beta demo. Good read, and it also has a bit on the interface, especially for Alex.

hahaha player gossip... awesome.

"pssst.... i just heard beckham shaved his pubic hair off... pass it on :o "

Nice...Got malaysiaan league...interesting 2 c how they rate malaysian player..hehe...going 2 play the league....Malaysia Boleh:rockman:

i don't think i can be bothered to make a new thread about this as you probably all know, but just to make it clear that on the sigames website, the new fm demo will only be available for one week starting tomorrow, although im sure someone will mirror it or something

SI managing director Miles Jacobson is posting some columns on the development of FM at www.footballmanager.net. More precisely here (http://www.footballmanager.net/themilesfiles.html).

Must say, SI are a bit more talkative about their new game, than are BGS...

About the demo... bad news for PC people without XP:

Originally posted by Marc Duffy at the SI forums (http://community.sigames.com/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=21019056&f=521102691&m=184206854):
From tomorrow, a six month, fully functional and time limited (6 months in game) beta demo will be available to download from this page. The Mac version (which due to some last minute problems didnt make it to the Official Magazine CD) will arrive first followed by the PC version later on.

For PC users, the beta demo is compatible with Windows XP (Win 98 and Win ME users don't despair - the full game and gold demo will be fully compatible on your operating system). Mac users need to ensure they have OS X (10.2 or later)

The beta demo utilising a larger database than any previous beta demo and it's got FULL detail turned on for England and Scotland only and will be available to download for ONE WEEK only!

Mac version will arrive in the morning, PC later on.

Win 2000 not mention at all :confused:

It's good for 2000. Hadn't noticed it missing, but Marc Vaughan said later on in the thread it'll work fine.

Originally posted by rpvankasteren
About the demo... bad news for PC people without XP:



Mac version will arrive in the morning, PC later on.


later on meaning later that day or later as in... at some later date. i've been pulling double shifts at work past week or so, and i heaven't kept up with the news. i went to the site and it didn't clear up much for me...


EDIT

never mind... ruud's forum link cleared it up. in any case, if anybody gets to the PC demo first, would you mind hooking up the rest of us with a link, or if you find a faster one somewhere? much appreciated seeing as how i won't get home untill late at night and won't be able to search much before school

meh, all I want is to get in touch with the new interface. The game will be basicaly the same with few additions. (as always)

Oh my, anybody want a release date?

Try November 5th 2004 (http://www.sigames.com/news.php?type=view&article_id=1029). :p

And about the demo (http://www.sigames.com/downloads.php?type=view&id=227):
The Football Manager 2005 beta demo was created on September 2nd, since that time a number of enhancements and fixes have been made to the game. The idea of the beta demo is to give people a taster of the game and some feedback on the general playability of the product. We also use it to help diagnose any problems that people have with hardware, drivers and other programs prior to the release of the game to ensure the final product will run as smoothly as possible.

Q. What about the speed?
A. Normally, our beta demos use a small database setting however for the first time we are utilising a larger data with FULL detail turned on. This should allow you to get a feel for the game and it's database. Please note that Football Manager 2005 now has five different database settings to give you flexibility. We are still working on all areas of optimisation (since this beta demo was created we've optimised the game further). In our tests, the speed of FM in full detail is roughly the eqivalent of our previous games utilising our codebase in non full detail.

Q. I'm unhappy that it doesnt work on Windows 98 or ME
A. We apologise for this, however there was not enough time to correct the issues before the CD went for duplication. Although the game will load in most cases, 98/ME users will suffer from hardly any fixtures being scheduled and the ability not to be able to save. The final game and gold demo will work on your system!


FM 2005 beta demo (mac) (http://www.sigames.com/downloads.php?type=download&id=227&file=351), mirror (http://gamefiles.blueyonder.co.uk/blueyondergames/championshipmanager4/thedugout/fm2005/351.dmg)
FM 2005 beta demo (pc) (http://www.sigames.com/downloads.php?type=download&id=227&file=352), mirror (http://gamefiles.blueyonder.co.uk/blueyondergames/championshipmanager4/thedugout/fm2005/Football_Manager_2005_Beta_Demo.exe)

may god bless your kind soul. the mirror site is blazing at 400 KBs... bless you

Thanks go to the site mentioned in the link. :)

Especially the Mac users will be thankful, as their version is over 60 MB :p

woah, only 30mb. Well, that makes my life easier :D

Three problems i've found in 2d match:

1. Rebounds always fall to attacker, then defender always blocks it and clears it.

2. When a player is through on goal, the defenders always catch him or he tries to go round the keeper but goes way too far and gets tackled.

3. 95% of shots go wide

Here (http://community.sigames.com/eve/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=21019056&f=949208654&m=189204764)'s a list of changes they made to the 3d match engine since the time the demo was created. :brow:

For non-members, in case this part of the board is limited to members only:

Posted by Paul Collyer on the SI boards
Its still ongoing of course....thanks to those who sent me pkms on request regarding issues found in the beta. Pls dont send them unless requested by a member of SI though....if something is deemed worth investigating we will follow it up!

Match v315 changes

- Reduced gap between top and bottom teams ever so slightly due to excessive high scores
- Tuned and balanced player match ratings further
- Improved defensive positioning at lower levels
- Improved player perception of space when on ball in order to avoid so many defenders getting caught in possesion near their back line
- Tuned no of fouls
- Improved closing down AI and toned it down a bit generally as it was mental esp for centre backs
- Improved positioning at goal kicks, corners, and throws
- Tweaked marking at throws and open play
- Improved goalkeeper decision making on crosses
- Improved AI regarding players allowing the ball to run out of play in their favour
- Toned down winger side swapping
- Increased likelyhood of goalkeepers committing fouls
- Tweaked chances of players lobbing the keeper
- Further improved deflections and blocks
- Improved player decision making re going got loose balls
- Slowed down off the ball movement of players over short distances and when not involved in play around the ball
- Improved defensive player direction facing when holding position in formation
- Improved defensive AI regarding which player goes to the ball player - taking team blend into account so mistakes are more likely when one or both players are new
- Slight tweak to goal quality assessment for GOM/S award use
- Finally implemented Goalie distribution instructions in match AI
- Improved goalkeeper AI in terms of positioning and reactions
- Slight tweak on passing choice AI
- Improved indirect free kick pass AI further
- Made poor corners more likely to fall short than over run area
- Tweaked length of goal kicks
- More improvement to running with ball AI
- More tweaks on overall formation position on pitch in relation to attacking bias
- Blocked shots now included in shots count but not classified as on target
- Attempt to bias team style of play towards that of the relevent league in real life
- Reduced effect of acceleration, agility and balance attributes in match - this was contributing to some high scores especially in pre season against minnows.

- Fixed bug where a player might still be in his own goal net while play kicks off again
- Fixed bug where player receiving ball would occasionally forget to control the ball and let it go past him
- Fixed bug where 2nd half clock would start running while subs came on before kick off was taken
- Fixed bug where ball would appear to run "through" side netting and into goal
- Fixed bug where player would carry ball into own goal by mistake and corner would be given instead of a goal
- Fixed bug where only taker would be left back on some run of the mill freekicks
- Fixed bug where a player would occasionally pass having rounded the keeper when it was easier to score
- Fixed bug where human team playmaker and target man wasnt recognised. Oh dear.
- Fixed bug where AI team strikers would occasionally come back and defend on attacking throws
- Fixed a host of offside issues - including passive offsides being called ages after the initial pass...now its only called if the passive offside player touches the ball within 3-5 seconds rather than 10

- Added various new commentary lines

Match v314 changes

- Implemented passive offsides - ie where the flag only goes up if the player(s) goes on to touch the ball within 10 seconds
- Quicker whistle for blatant offsides
- If goal scored with last kick force kick off before final whistle as per IRL
- Cut down on injury time a little
- Cut down effect of morale

- Improved and increased chances of defensive blocks and deflections
- Tweaked player passing AI in terms of when to take a risk
- Tweaked player passing AI in terms of where to place the ball ahead of team mate
- Improved player AI as in when to clear ball and when to bring it under control
- Improved timing of shots when clean through as too many were from far out
- Tweaked AI re direction of clearances
- Improved choice of shot type
- Less stupidly inaccurate shots from players too good for that
- Big tuning to player closing down AI - when to do it, according to attributes etc
- Improved player dribbling direction and decision making AI
- Improved player covering for team mates AI
- Improved player letting ball run out AI
- Improved defensive interception judgement AI
- Improved defensive ariel challenges at set pieces a bit
- Tweaked goalie positioning for non one-on-one situations in open play
- Tweaked AI of "should defender go to the ball player or not" code

- Made certain players go "gung ho" in certain situations for human teams even if its not set
- Fixed bug where 2 players could be in same position at kick off
- Fixed bug where too many pls could be in the centre circle at kick off
- Improved general AI at indirect free kicks in the opposition area
- Tweaked player "spacial awareness" AI
- Improved goal kick positioning
- Stopped defence moving too far up pitch for attacking throw ins
- Fixed bug where certain formations would lack players making themselves available at throw ins
- Improved team shape in terms of depth and width
- Fixed occasionally dodgy keeper positioning on free kicks
- Reduced repetitive instances of long throws then floating header over bar
- Fixed very rare incidence of never taken free kick
- Reduced incidence of overly short goal kicks

- Improved marking at set pieces
- Fixed bug where certain human team players wouldnt follow marking instructions
- Improved default human team tactic instructions for throw ins
- Made players staying back at corners more likely to come to meet cleared ball
- Fixed bug where AI managers' teams used tight marking too often
- Tweaked AI decisions of when to man mark and when not to in and around the danger area

- Tweaked AI manager team depth settings
- Made AI managers more likely to sit back or replace key players when they have a big game around the corner
- Improved AI managers' decisions as to their team sitting back or pushing for goals in matches
- Increased effect of red cards on AI manager attacking mentality
- Improved team shape for AI managers where they have < 11 players on the field
- Improved AI managers' decisions as to how hard their team should tackle
- Improved AI managers' decisions as to how often to counter attack
- Fixed bug where a couple of preset formations were never used in match by AI managers even if chosen on the day
- Try and make stronger teams go more for "all out attack" if being frustrated by smaller teams

- Improved effect of team blend ( ie how long pls have been at the club and how many games they have pld etc )
- Simulated blend factor for "grey" players...this was low in v313 affecting their performance

- Slowed down player acceleration from a standing start
- Improved realism of players turning while moving
- Bumped up player speed a notch all round

will there be different views when looking at the squad? will the traditional look be available as in past CM's?

New demo will be supported by Windows 98? :$

Attempt to bias team style of play towards that of the relevent league in real life


Serie A will be fun :)

Originally posted by youri24
will there be different views when looking at the squad? will the traditional look be available as in past CM's?

yes, but its slightly changed, in the selection screen you will be able to change back to the old system, slightly changed though.

E.g. positions will go DOWN not left right left right...... if that makes sense.

Originally posted by NIDOKING
New demo will be supported by Windows 98?

Yes the gold demo will support W98 and ME.

TROD.

Article on SIGames.com: FM 2005 in a Different League, 16/10/2004 (http://www.sigames.com/news.php?type=view&article_id=1041)

LONDON, UK – October 15, 2004 – SEGA® Europe Ltd, is proud to reveal the complete official league license list to be featured in the imminent release of Football Manager 2005, the latest title from Sports Interactive, the creators of the Championship Managerä series. Football Manager 2005 is set to be the most in-depth and involving football management simulation ever when released on November 5 th for PC and Mac.

An agreement has been secured with FIFPro, the worldwide representative organisation for all professional players. Football Manager 2005 will also feature official branding from the English Football League, including club logos, league and cup competition logos, playing kits and players pictures where available. Football Manager 2005 has also now been recognised as the Official Game of the English Nationwide Conference.

In addition to this, Football Manager 2005 will also feature the club logos, playing kits and player pictures (where available) for the Spanish and US leagues. Kits, pictures and logo’s from Dutch clubs as well as kits and logo’s from the Portuguese league are also secured. Licenses from Italian clubs, including club logo’s and player pictures (where available) for the mighty AC Milan.

Confirmation of the league licenses comes at an ideal time, as the team at Sports Interactive is proud to announce that Football Manager 2005 has hit Gold Master stage. With everything in place for its November 5th release date, you too can now become a football manager by downloading the official playable demo. Kick off for the demo is 3pm UK time, to download please go to www.footballmanager.net or www.sigames.com, your weekend couldn’t get any better!

FM 2005 Statistics Snapshot

Total Club Logos – 254. Comprising:

England - 100
Spain - 41
Italy - 30
Holland - 37
Portugal - 36
USA - 10

Competition Logos - 5


International Team Logos - 1

Kits - 527
International Team Kits - 2
England - 281
Spain - 78
Italy - 65
Holland - 68
Portugal - 15
USA - 18

Player/Staff Pictures - 6452

England - 2117
Spain - 263
India - 1
Italy - 20
Holland - 250
USA - 227
Face In The Game (regenerated players) - 3574

Football Manager 2005 will be published by SEGA on November 5th 2004. Further information is available online at the both the official FM 2005 and Sports Interactive websites ( www.footballmanager.net and www.sigames.com).
:p

With the gold demo comes the final readme. And the final readme contains the official system requirements. So let's see:


------------------------------------------------
1. System Requirements
------------------------------------------------
Your computer must meet the following system requirements to run this game.
The game may not run, or you may experience decreased performance on
computers that do not fulfil these requirements.

Windows Minimum System:

Microsoft Windows 98 SE, 2000 or XP (95/NT are unsupported)
P3 600MHz processor
128MB System RAM for one league and small database
100% DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card
4x CD ROM Drive
1024x768 32bit colour display
650Mb Hard Drive Space
Microsoft Compatible keyboard and mouse

Windows Recommended System (refer to Minimum requirements above for unlisted items):

P4 1.8GHz processor
256MB System RAM
8x CD ROM Drive

Mac Minimum System:

Mac OSX 10.2 or later
500 MHz Power PC G4
128MB of Ram, with virtual memory set to at least 256MB
1024 X 768 Monitor
500MB free disk space

Mac Recommended System:

Mac OSX 10.3 or later
1.25GHz Power PC G4 or G5
256MB of Ram or Higher
1024 X 768 Monitor
500MB free disk space

Note: The game's performance and/or graphical quality may differ according
to your computer's hardware and/or video card. Computers with high-performance
hardware will provide the best game performance.

Originally posted by rpvankasteren
Windows Recommended System (refer to Minimum requirements above for unlisted items)

P4 1.8GHz processor
256MB System RAM
8x CD ROM Drive

i only have p4 1.6 :(:(

EBGames Worldwide Soccer Manager (http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/product/245880.asp)

For those of us in North America .. the EB Games site says it'll be released on November 30 and the price will be US $39.99. :)

wow almost a month after the official release...

I think the official release date for WSM hasn't been announced yet :brow:

It could turn out to be 1 or 2 weeks after the release of FM still.

Is there going to be an editor for the game? I cant wait to give myself 30mil or so for Liverpool to buy 2 or 3 players, cause 7mil wouldnt even get me Roque Junior's big toe

mind compression made the in game editor for fm as well

Mind Compression (http://www.mindcompression.com/)

Latest Version
MCFM 05 v0.0.4

* Added caps & goals to edit
* Added clubs (can find em but not edit yet)
* Added cities (can find em but not edit yet)
* Better itemnames in propertygrid

Mirror 1 (http://members.chello.nl/j.vos93/mcfm_0_0_4.zip)
Mirror 2 (http://files.fmbase.co.uk/pafiledb.php?action=download&id=46)

neither mcfms will work for me, something about a "library" :/

oh i dont belive it, i dont flaming believe someone beat me to posting info about MCFM :p :p

TROD.

sorry trod, i just accidentally found it and i post it :p i may delete post and let you post it again (H)

Here's a commercial for FM 2005

http://www.viralchart.com/asabailey/banned_country_sports_video.mov

is a damn funny commercial :rofl:

nice (havent seen it yet, but wth) :p

There's an ad for FM 2005 at the Sky Sports site aswell. "Addiction has a new name" and the logo on it. Only one week or so, cant wait for the game. I'm uninstalling CM 03/04.

yay!

Grunger, since you live in Brazil, and that is near Argentina, when will the game be out there?

FM 2005? I doubt it will be out in Brazil. It should be out between 5-20 November. If it isnt, then that's a no-go. They never released CM here. I guess you'll have to figure out ways of getting the game, like i am now.

If i had the money to ship it, i would do so. However, one pound is like 4 R$. So it would be the price of the game plus the shipping. I dont know if there's anyone who ship it to Brazil too.

so will it be any updates for FM2005? hopefully by cmsorted, like mutu banned, cisse broken leg

this happened later in the season, so when u start the game there shouldnt be such a ban :p

why i only able to edit 2 attributes but not all by MCFM05? i only see 4 technical attributes, which is crossing, drilling, freekick and throw in. i can't edit dribbling and crossing which have value 213, i only allow to edit freekick and throw in. some one know why??

This is a website to a file for people who can't be arsed to use the editor to change the names.

http://www.thedugout.net/download.php?cmv=11&cat=2#

i use MCFM05 v0.1.0 but i have the problems mention previous page :(

Originally posted by ngyc
why i only able to edit 2 attributes but not all by MCFM05? i only see 4 technical attributes, which is crossing, drilling, freekick and throw in. i can't edit dribbling and crossing which have value 213, i only allow to edit freekick and throw in. some one know why?? It'll still be under development I reckon. The MindCompression guys aren't offered the memory stats of FM to create their editor. They have to figure every detail out exactly before they can put them in the editor.

As the game has been released, I'll just close this now. Any further news will surely be posted by someone here.

I'll leave it stickied for now, as it does provide a lot of info.