Football Manager 2014 Wiki: Everything you need to know about the game

Football Manager 2014 is an upcoming game from the London based creative design studio, Sports interactive who created and primarily produce the Football Manager video game series.

The game is set to be published by Sega and is expected to launch on Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux and iOS.

There is also going to be a version of the game created and released for PlayStation Vita which will be titled Football Manager Classic 2014.

The game is currently slated for a worldwide release window of 31^st of October 2013. According to Sports Interactive, this is set to be “the most feature-packed and technically advanced release in the series’ history.”

• 1. Development
• 2. Known Issues From The Beta
• 3. Gameplay
• 4. Teams

Development

Football Manager 2014 was first officially announced via the Football Managers official website on the 14^th of August 2013, leaving only 2 months between the games announcement its and world wide release. Any players that have pre-ordered the game will be granted exclusive access to a digitally download beta build of the game for a 2 week period prior to the official public release of the title. A new feature of the game will be the brand new implementation of Cloud Saves, giving players the ability to carry their save over to any computer in any location.

The version of the game that will be launching on the PlayStation Vita will be different than the PC versions. It will include the “3D Match Engine”, which although not touted as a visually impressive experience, has seen some improvements including weather effects and new, more dynamic camera angles as well as improved animations. Given the very nature of the PlayStation Vita, Football Manager Classic 2014 will make use of quicker game progression, making it more suitable for a portable experience, this means that the game will not only unfold faster, but any levelling done will also happen at a faster pace.

New gameplay changes will make transfer contracts seem more lifelike as they will feature contract clauses that will impact the game in new ways. AI tweaks now mean that the opposing teams’ manager is more likely to make a tactical change mid-match to best counter your current game plan. Individual players can now be designated with specific tasks on the pitch, giving the player a much greater sense of control to the on-pitch happenings rather than just hoping that their plan plays out properly. In regards to the Beta build of the game, Sports Interactive has said “As is the nature of a beta version this not yet a finished product and we are still making numerous improvements”, they also addressed a list of known issues (listed below) which they plan to work on and iron out for the game’s final release.

Known Issues From The Beta

According to an official list release by the developers, following are the list of issues that were found in the beta:

• There is still work being done on the way AI managers and other staff pick teams, so in some cases they may not be making the most ideal team selection.
• There may be the occasional incident where the goalkeeper makes a poor attempt at a save.
• There may be the occasional incident where you see wild back passes.
• There is some balancing work on-going to the talking round of unhappy players.
• There is still some balancing work to be done to the MLS Trade system.
• FMC Match Plans left to assistant may sub players earlier than specified.

Gameplay

Much has changed in the latest iteration of the famous Football Manager, so much so that the developers of the game, Sports Interactive have called it the most feature packed and advanced version of the game in the history of the series. The implementation of cloud saves gives players the opportunity to take their career saves with them as the switch from one system to the next, when coupled with the new means of negotiations it gives the game a new life as a much more versatile, accessible and tactical game. A new focus on community integration on the PC format of the game has also given the series new life; this will be the first Football Manager video game to be released on the Linux operating system. Linux was recently adapted as an accessible operating system for the digital games service “Steam.”

Thanks to the games launch on Steam, players will be given access to the Steam Workshop, a community driven modification workshop. This will make it much easier for players to create and share custom content with other players around the globe, this means that photos/ logo packs and custom competitions with player set parameters and tailored challenges can be all centralized in one area and downloaded at the click of a button. Transferring players in game can be done differently now as well, in older games the negotiations would take place in a turn based setting, but there is an option now for a “live” transfer negotiation, this is to better simulate how clubs would actually handle player negotiations.

Interactions with many aspects of the game’s coaching staff have also been updated. Coaching staff will now occasionally alert you so that you’re aware of up and coming stars in youth teams and how well reserve players are performing to help influence your squad building. You can host meetings with your team to make sure they know how you feel about their recent performances, and from this you can even set goals for your team to try and reach. If you feel as though an unhappy player is dragging down the teams overall performance, you can now ask one of your better performing players to have a talk with them to try and improve moral and bring their playing back up to par.

Teams

At the moment there are 51 nations available to play as, this brings the overall league count to 117 playable leagues. However the in game editing suite allows the player to bring any of the lower level leagues into an already existing league. This can be further expanded upon thanks to the ability to create a brand new league of your own for custom games and custom competitions.