The Goal Kick Panel: February Edition

Well, it’s a bit overdue by any means, but it’s here at last, the February edition of the Goal Kick Panel. Joining this month is FM-View Admin Zabier, FMG Live moderator Simmo, FM-Britain admin JP, GK’s very own Skacel, and FMDiscussion moderator DREWcorp.

1.) With SI organizing a Scene Admin knees-up at SI towers, does that mean the Affiliates Scheme could finally be getting the attention that the general community of webmasters have wanted for so long now?

Zabier : It’s hard to tell whether SI is organizing this just to keep the rebellious voices of discontent quiet or whether it is genuinely interested in bringing the Football Manager community closer together. I have always been skeptical of SI since I unfairly received a life ban from the forums years ago for defending an individual after he was banned by a power hungry moderator. Still to this day, my life ban is yet to be rescinded! Personally, I think SI’s decision is neither of the above. I think they’re finally realizing that there are a lot of Football Manager fanatics involved in the Scene and that they can utilize this factor to improve future Football Manager games. I don’t think SI got their heads together and thought ‘hey, wait a minute, the affiliates… what about them?’. I honestly think they felt that the amount of content and points of view coming from those sites that are part of the Scene and the Affiliates Scheme warranted an ear of attention. SI haven’t instigated this through sheer generosity. They’ve instigated it because they’ve finally woken up and realized that the creative dynamism for their next version of Football Manager is sitting right on their bloody door step!

Simmo : Definitely. I know in recent years they stopped doing organising a meet-up with webmasters but to see it getting back obviously shows something. I don’t know whether it will be primarily concerning the affiliate scheme but its great to get opinions from those working so hard on the FM ’scene’

JP : I’m not sure. Is the idea of the meeting to re-assess the affiliate scheme or is it to re-assess SI’s position in the community and ways in which they could improve their own forum, especially given that many community members have voiced concerns that the atmosphere is better at fansites than the official site? Either way I hope that the day will result in positives for the community as a whole and ideally SI will look to involve themselves in the wider community more often as this will benefit both parties. I also think we need to encourage more co-operation between fansites if the community is to drag itself out of the malaise it currently seems to be experiencing. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t buy into the notion that once upon a time all was well and the community was a wonderful place with no inter-site rivalries or bitching but I do think some of the gloss has been lost in the last 18 months or so. Friendly competition and co-operation between sites should help to develop a better community, bitching and back-biting will only ever lead to a more divided and polarized one.

Skacel : Havent we always had one of these? I remember a while back when a few of the scene’s admins met and nowt really came of it so again expect nothing. SI needs to be more of a presence on the scene, the only SI staff member I’ve seen on the scene is Ter and he occasionally pops into Susie but that’s it. Plus due to GK not being there but other lesser sites being on the Scheme it just shows how much SI care.

DREWcorp : It’s important that SI improves its relationship with the scene and the community because it would help SI to improve the FM series. I think this is an important event but I remain skeptical. While its brilliant that this event has been organized it remains to be seen whether it is going to have the impact that the majority of the community hope it will have.

2.) With FM Live looming, will there be another forum boom as people come in to discuss activities on the servers as well as get graphics content for their respective teams?

Zabier : I think FM Live is quite an enigma to be honest. The exact process of the game, I must confess, I am not totally familiar with. I feel with any new release of the Football Manager franchise there will always be a ‘release boom’ where people want to talk about the new game and their experiences. However, I think FM Live will either be a massive success or fall on its ass. Only time will tell. If it’s the former, then the Scene could witness a boom it has not seen for quite some time. I do think that the current status of the Scene is enjoying a golden era with more sites being more successful than ever before.

Simmo : Hopefully yes - the scene needs a new batch of youngsters. Obviously it depends on the success of the game but if a site can put their site into the open so people who want to find out FM-Live tips and that can find it. I reckon FM-Live will be a success and I really hope it is.

JP : Tricky one as I haven’t yet played FM-Live (still waiting for my Beta status to be confirmed) and don’t really know all the ins and outs of the system yet. I’m not entirely convinced that it will make a great deal of difference to forums though, largely because there aren’t many forums that appear interested in catering for it (a month long poll at FM-B hardly garnered any positive views on the game and the consensus of opinion was that the members didn’t want a FM-Live area creating due to the fact it would remain un-used), and secondly because, if I understand some of the things I’ve heard correctly, tactics are the only area of the game that can be readily applied to forums and most sites already cover that area anyway. Plus the majority of FM-Live users are likely to be FM players already, I can’t see the game bringing a flood of new members to the community.

Skacel : Nope, FM Live will flop. There is nothing to it, normal FM is better than it in every way is. FML is just a watered down version of FM it offers nothing new to the series and I cant see it maintaining any sort of activity anywhere.

DREWcorp : I don’t think I know enough about FM Live to comment on it. I have noticed that there is a lot of interest in it, with such a dedicated Football Manager community I am sure that FM Live exclusive sites will begin to appear. Although I think it would be a shame to create a divide between FM and FM Live communities, when I see FM Live as an extension to the Football Manager experience as opposed to a rival.

3.) Manager Crisis has seen a bit of a tumble recently, with a lot of staff, most notably Mase and Niniev, leaving the site. Do you think that, with them gone, they’ll lose that cult status and bright reputation that it has? And will they be able to recover?

Zabier : I was temporarily an admin at Manager Crisis a year or so ago and I got the impression that it was the members that made the site, not the staff. You can’t deny that Mase and Niniev were huge figures of influence for the site but a site is bigger than its staff. Don’t get me wrong, at FM View we are delighted to have both of these individuals and wouldn’t change our staff line up for the world but Manager Crisis will always have the potential to fight back to where it once was and beyond. It just needs some motivation, determination and ambition. I think with its current staff it has all of these attributes and given enough time it will make a comeback. Sites like Manager Crisis never lose that ‘cult status’ and ‘bright reputation’. Those aspects are forever embedded in the forum’s atmosphere.

Simmo : I’m actually not so sure. They’ve still got a decent enough staff team but to get members back they need to start producing some good stuff instead of relying on forum banter which I can’t really see happening. Good luck to them anwyays.

JP : In all honesty I was never a fan of MC and never understood where the cult status or reputation came from. I think it’s getting more and more difficult for sites to recover from these kind of set-backs (Throw-In being the prime example at the minute) and if they are to recover (or continue in the old ways) then changes need to be swift and effective. Stagnation could easily lead to the site’s demise.

Skacel : Who knows, haven’t been on since July, but if Dan is still there then I can see it picking back up, Dan has worked his magic before and he will do it again.

DREWcorp : Manager Crisis is suffering from a problem that I anticipate a lot of forums have. The FM Scene is filled with so many dedicated and hard working people and unfortunately a lot of people don’t recognize the amount of effort that they put in and take it for granted. Manager Crisis had a fantastic community but unfortunately with Mase and Niniev departing a lot of the staff that it was time they themselves moved on. I don’t think this is the end for Manager Crisis and I am sure that they will bounce back and be even stronger.

4.) Having seen Ter from SI advertising a job as a Junior Graphics Artist on FMG Live, could this be the breakthrough that FM needs to be able to see the Community and the Creators in sync with each other’s ideas?

Zabier : I think it’s about damn time SI started utilizing the Scene for resources to improve their new versions. Every single one of us knows the amount of talent and dedication that Scene members have. SI are finally realizing the gold mine they could abuse. I feel at this Scene meeting a number of things might be discussed which could see SI scan the Scene for more scouts to enable more accurate player attributes. Especially for their more exotic leagues. There are so many ideas and so much creativity around the Scene that SI may find itself scouring the Scene for more outlets of inspiration for their games. Not just the FM Scene but the community for other games. How better to improve a franchise than get the consumer to input on how to make it better?!

Simmo : Considering on FMGLive alone we have so many talented GFX artists yet alone from those from Susie etc I’d say it was a good idea by SI to advertise around. I don’t really understand what you’re trying to say but I agree with it (I think).

JP : In theory, yes. In practice, probably not. The problem is that if a community member is given that job then it will inevitably breed jealousy and discontent, both of which have been aimed at Andersson (of sortitoutsi) in the past when he’s been invited over to help with the graphical side of things. In an ideal world if SI were to hire someone from the community it should encourage others to try and aim for that kind of recognition, unfortunately I think it will just result in bitching about what the selected member did that other members didn’t.

Skacel : See 2 I suppose, it just isn’t enough. The scene needs to have a heavy presence from SI just to show that SI do give a damn about the scene.

DREWcorp : Its great to see SI advertising jobs within the community as it targets people who are passionate about FM. Although I don’t see it as a breakthrough. I don’t think this changes the dynamic between the scene and SI, it’s just a job being advertised in the appropriate place.

5.) Do you, or have you, got the latest patch? If so, are you relatively happy with the technical updates that it’s brought to the game (database aside)?

Zabier : I have just got the latest patch and am, surprisingly, happy with it. I didn’t experience many problems that were present in the last patch and so far have experienced none on this patch. I am aware of a few irregularities but they have yet to affect me. I still think the database needs some more research done for it. More researchers and more time spent researching is key for the next version. Especially in the leagues that are familiar with us, the scrutinizing consumer!

Simmo : Yes I do have the latest patch and so far so good. I haven’t played much but apart from the initial Pompey bug which was fixed it seems all good. Everyone moans about the patches but I’d say it’s playable on the original patch.

JP : The new patch has remedied the major issues I had with the game and in some aspects has gone further than I expected it would (at times the match engine plays wonderfully fluid and fast-paced attacking football), to the point where I feel the game has almost reached the level I hoped this version would (although I hoped it would be like this from the box). That said, there are still a few minor issues that could have been looked at, but the game will never be perfect and the sooner we stop expecting it to be the better in my opinion. We should appreciate and enjoy what we have a little more, especially in comparison to other management sims. SI have a good track record of innovation and getting things right in the long term, I see nothing that suggests I should change that opinion. I honestly think there are large numbers of people out there who don’t play the game for fun, they do so to find obscure bugs. Each to their own, I guess.

Skacel : Not a fan of the match engine, half my tactics went to fuck and Dino Drpic becomes a 40 goal a year man. SI expect us to tweak our tactics for every in game scenario and tbh I think this just sucks the fun out of the game, over the years FM has become less of a game and more of a Simulation, if FM09 follows trend and we get the usual 4 new features and 5 new bugs then I am thinking of going back to CM and buying the newest one.

DREWcorp : I’m using the latest patch. I’m fairly easy to please. I haven’t noticed any errors, if there were any I wouldn’t get too held up about them.

For those who want to discuss this further, you are encouraged to do so in this thread.