The Miscellaneous PC & vidya Games Thread

[Syt]

Eh, too lazy to load back up and go through bits again.

After a rocky start my team is sitting in a spot for promotion to 2. Bundesliga, but opponents seem to have gotten used to our style, so had to adjust tactics. Also getting plagued with injuries, so had to switch to less intense style.

And there's some feel good stuff in there, like my main striker not hitting for 10 matches in a row. Press were badgering me about him, but I trusted him. I benched him for half a match, brought him in after the break and he scored twice, and then for 12 games in a row. (Though he did manage to snag the ball after an opponent goalie made a bad kick, and managed to shoot over the completely empty goal .... :bleeding). Either way, he's now out with sprained knee ligaments for 6-8 weeks after an opponent's tackle - and I don't really have many strikers in reserve.

Btw, started watching Sunderland 'Til I Die - I assume your accent is similar to the one of the locals on that show?

[FunkMonk]

I kind of want to get back into FM but if I do it may affect my real life responsibilities 

[Syt]

I was really big into the German football management games of the 90s/early 00s. But in those you could comfortably play a season in a day or two (and obvs. they were much less advanced or detailed than anything we have now).

[Threviel]

I play FM on the phone, it's about on the same level as Ultimate Soccer Manager back in the day which was my favourite.

[FunkMonk]

I have a Steam Deck I'd play it on and I think if I were to start a season playthrough I'd probably play it in bed and not get any sleep 

The other thing is sometimes FM just decides you're going to lose a game or three and that really ticks me off 

[Syt]

8 matches to go, and we're 2nd place in the table, but 4 key players are out for 4+ weeks and matches against my main competitors in the top ranks are coming up.

Especially pissed at my best left defender - he had an amazing season (and really happy I locked him in early for two more seasons before he exploded in ability and would have asked for a higher salary), but he was out with a torn muscle for 3 weeks, and literally the first day back in training he broke a couple of ribs.

In terms of results I feel we're punching above our weight (pretty much every match preview has us going in at best at a slight advantage, even against the weakest teams). I held a team meeting, trying to get folks hyped for the final stretch, telling them that while they've been great I feel they can do even more. At which they were all angry and furious.  

Next season my (on paper) two strongest players will leave - they ask for way too much money for my budget, so it will suck a bit, but I hope some younger folks will step up, and that the players we bring in will fill any gaps (and improve).

[Syt]

The last three matches were tough - so many injuries I had to call up 16 and 17 year olds to plug some gaps. Lost 0-1 at home against 14th in the table. Then played 0-0 at Rot-Weiß Essen who lead the field comfortably 12 points ahead of the rest. And then played away against our direct competitor, Dynamo Dresden.

Early lead in the 3rd minute for us. And lost 3-1.

Amusing. The latter match (Dresden v Mannheim) happened IRL this weekend. Both teams are also still hoping for promotion (but are a bit further down in the ranks). IRL, Mannheim (my team) also scored a very early goal in the 5th minute ... and lost 2-1. Close enough. (The consensus seems to be that Mannheim dominates most matches but sucks at converting it into goals ... very much my world this season )

Anyways, my star striker is making his return from injury and has barely recovered ... only for his replacement to now destroy his ankle tendons during training he's out for 5-6 months(!)  (He was getting quite complacent in recent matches and I was just getting him motivated again, too ...  )

[Solmyr]

Preordered Age of Wonders 4, since it looks like fun with lots of customization.

[Syt]

Preordered Age of Wonders 4, since it looks like fun with lots of customization.

The reviews seem quite positive, yes.

[Tamas]

Preordered Age of Wonders 4, since it looks like fun with lots of customization.

The reviews seem quite positive, yes.

I am most definitely picking it up but the videos have me a bit worried because the world map seems very Planetfall-ish with terrain features kind of meshing together and hard to distinguish, at least for me. Made it a bit exhausting for me to play Planetfall because of that.

[Syt]

Man, I have all kinds of respect for FM23, but I think I have to call it quits. But I see why there's a large audience for which the series is their "forever game", i.e. the only thing they play.

But for someone like me who likes to switch between games, I think it's not really playable, if I want to play it "seriously." It took me well over one week to play through 1 season in Germany's 3rd Liga. Since I had massively messed up my transfers (overstacking in some positions, neglecting others, running a massive deficit ... ) I wanted to start a-fresh. I tried a club in Italy's Serie C (Taranto), Chippenham in Vanarama South (being a semi-pro club you have serious limits on training since it's only 2x a week), and now Juve Stabia near Naples (also Serie C, but with decent finances and staff).

However, just going through the pre-season (with the initial transfer window disabled) takes me easily half a day of assessing players, looking at abilities, hiring staff, figuring out a tactic and getting through the pre-season friendlies (I like to manage them myself to see how the team is doing). I delegate scouting assignments, pretty much everything to do with the youth teams, and training, so basically focus on managing the senior squad (transfers, contracts), the senior squad staff, tactics, line ups and matches (but relying heavily on assistant's input). And it is still so much to do.

Additionally, after coming home from work ... it feels like more work. Analyzing stats, abilities, numbers, .... who is best in which position, and what role and duty, in accordance to their abilities and the abilities of those around them, and choosing team and player instructions accordingly, reacting to players' bad form or morale issues, plugging gaps in case of injuries ...

It's interesting and compelling, but I don't feel it's particularly relaxing.

I was mostly giving FM another "serious" try while waiting for the CK3 and Vic3 patches/expansions, but man. If you're hugely into football and don't switch games often, I think this is great (as is OOTP on the baseball side of things). But I think the time requirement is a bit too much for me - I get two to four matches done in an evening after work, which feels incredibly glacial if you'd love to play a full manager's career and include a couple extra leagues to get decent long term data from them (= more processing time, even at "View Only", which is better than "playable" but still not super-fast). I could switch everything to autopilot and sim my matches, but I think that's just not involved enough for me. And playing only one season feels a bit meaningless - these games are very much about long term evolution and development for me. Sure you won promotion - but can you stay up? Will your best players stay? Do you need to keep an old ovrprices veteran? Will your youth intake develop as you'd like them to? Etc.

I'd put it up there with GG's War in the Pacific/War in the East, Dwarf Fortress, etc. in terms of complexity and/or time investment.

Yes, I have 600 hours on Vic 3 since October (200 probably from just letting it run in Observer mode ), but the game is a lot less complex IMHO, and a campaign can wrap up in a weekend. Sure, CK3 campaigns can take 100+ hours across 6 centuries, but the moment to moment decision making is much less involved and stressful.

[Josquius]

Yes, thats the problem with FM, its way too much of a full time job. I do enjoy it but for some years now I've purposefully kept myself away from it .
I eagerly await a football management game that has a good balance between casualness and detail. There used to be some good ones back in the day,

[Tamas]

I have preordered AoW4.  I mean, I won't be able to resist picking it up straight away so why not get the bonuses.

[Solmyr]

AoW4 Languish multiplayer when?

[FunkMonk]

AoW 4 looks good but I have a huge backlog of games so I'll probably wait for a sale at some point in the future.