This Championshipmanager bullshit

[SilverSmoke]

In the mood of the current championships I decided to install Championshipmanager 03-04. Since the first games I've been playing the series which started out on my lovely old amiga 500.

For me these series have been fabulous for it's realism, player dynamics, the amount of control over your team, the big database, the accurate playerstatistics, it stood out of the rest of the foottymanagergames by miles, and probably still does.

I skipped over Championshipmanager 4, I was losing interest in football in general so I didn't buy this one but as I said I decided to get 03-04.

Jesus Christ, how the hell do you win a match? Do I really have to tweak and adjust every ****ing damn detail before every match to adjust myself to every damn cocksucking oponent ??

I've tried every logical thing, 4-4-2, 4-3-3 , 4-1-2-1-2 or whatever with the individual instructions just reasonable, nothing too smartass, just a decent base instructionset. Ofcourse I do not expect to win the bloody CL with a basic tactic but why the **** do I keep losing against oponents 3 classes lower then me ?? WTF

I know I should be on the cm forums for this but I since we got some serious CM fans over here I thought let me try here. What the hell am I doing wrong?

ps
also, training, I try every ****ing damn combination, I downloaded trainingschedules from fansites and still my players lose points in their stats after some months.

Please someone give me a good ****ing reason to not uninstall this bullshit and get over footballgames finally

[MrL_JaKiri]

In my opinion, the tactics are much simpler than in previous games, because there's only 'Initial position + movements'; you can't change the off/on the ball, like you could in 01/02 (for example).

I've never had any problems with the flat 4-4-2, personally, but if you're really worried about tactics download Diablo and Scramjet.

With the training, it's pretty much pointless to download your own, and Kura can remember the name of the best one (because I can't).

[SilverSmoke]

I've downloaded Diablo, it's not really fun or realistic when you win every game 5-0 and your uprunning central mid scores 150 goals a season

[MrL_JaKiri]

Originally Posted by SilverSmoke

I've downloaded Diablo, it's not really fun or realistic when you win every game 5-0 and your uprunning central mid scores 150 goals a season

Then make your own; Diablo is a decent template for a basic tactic; or rather the CM->FC run.

[midge5]

I can't remember what it was called but I have uploaded the training for you most people seem to recommend.

www.urwins.com/adam/General.tsc
www.urwins.com/adam/attackers.tsc
www.urwins.com/adam/CD.tsc

As for tactics, I had a simple 4-4-2 with the wingers running forward all the way and then only one or two modifications to the tick boxes and mentality of people.

[Nodrog]

CM3 is a terrible terrible game. CM2 was the pinnacle of the series, before they decided that it was more important to produce a detailed football simulator than a good computer game.

[SilverSmoke]

CM4 (or 03-04) is even worse

[The_Fish]

you talk crap.

The natural progression has been taken, and the 2D screen is the best part of the game, and I couldnt go back to 01-02 now, simply because of the 2D.

CM0304 is too easy, if anything, tactics have never been found to be a problem tbh, just play it simple, get decent attacking players, and attack.

Its very very lame if you have to download tactics and training.

[SilverSmoke]

Originally Posted by The_Fish

Its very very lame if you have to download tactics and training.

That's what I thought as well..

On a sidenote, I am not too charmed about the 2D screen, it makes an already game even more slow (but you can put it off). On some occassions it can come handy though.

[Ste]

Never changed training, only tweaked the tactics slightly.
My Stevenage Borough have won the premiership 4 times and FA cup 3, League cup 2 and reached the semifinals of the CL 4 times.
It's not that hard - invest in youth, get good scouts, buy decent players...

[Bobzeh]

Sign Freddy Adu on a free transfer at the start of your first season.

[MrL_JaKiri]

Originally Posted by Bobzeh

Sign Freddy Adu on a free transfer at the start of your first season.

Cerci. Oskarsson. Morgan. Thompson.

Also, Freddy Adu (most likely) won't be in the game. I don't know if he is with other settings, having never used the MLS, but he's not in with my Max Database + Big European nations/Argentina.

[Lupin]

Originally Posted by SilverSmoke

On a sidenote, I am not too charmed about the 2D screen, it makes an already game even more slow (but you can put it off). On some occassions it can come handy though.

however reading through the SI Forum, succesfull tactics were found while you watched the whole game in 2D. so you could see in which way your tactic influences the game. for example "scramjet" was born in this way.

[Lupin]

Originally Posted by MrL_JaKiri

Also, Freddy Adu (most likely) won't be in the game. I don't know if he is with other settings, having never used the MLS, but he's not in with my Max Database + Big European nations/Argentina.

this is right, as SI didnt have the license for the MLS. but i think it also depends which patch you use, although i am not 100% sure on this.

[SilverSmoke]

Also, I used the latest patch and still on the downleft in my screen it shows the original version, is this normal? When I tried to patch it again the installer says it´s already patched though.

[Ste]

the patch makes the game harder...

[Lupin]

you have to install patch 4.14 before installing 4.15.

now you have to reinstall CM first.

[SilverSmoke]

I did ofcourse

[Lupin]

dld version?!

[furball]

As someone who plays CM far too much (the latest version), it's my personal view that there aren't that many actual faults with the game - just areas for improvement.

Winning isn't hard. All you need to do is know what positions need what attributes - e.g. your strikers need decent finishing, as well as either good jumping (to head the ball/win it when your goalkeeper kicks it upfield) or good pace (to out-run defenders once they've got into space ("off the ball" is useful here too).

Read through the SI Tactics forums and ask for advice if you really need to, emphasising that you're not looking for a super-tactic like Diablo, Scramjet, or Buxton's new one called Zion (which I can testify to being excellent).

If you're playing as a team like Wolves, don't expect to win all your games. In contrast, if you're playing as Chelski, you should easily win the Premiership in your first season. Expecting Wolves to win the Premiership is a little silly, without buying the cheat players as mentioned by Jakiri.

It's up to you how you play the game really, I have three main games at the moment: a West Ham one in 2008-9 with my own youth players and no cheating at all, a Roma one where I stole cash from Chelsea to make a few 'improvements' and a new Chelmsford City game where I put my local team in the Premiership with a £1bn balance. The greatest thing about CM is the variety in the ways you can play it: as a Conference team trying to get to the Premiership, playing in foreign leagues, playing as the top teams, becoming an international manager - the choices go on. It's totally up to you what sort of players you want and what sort of tactics you use. If you don't like the 2D screen - disable it, but you lose out on the greatest part of the CM4 series.

Random points: Freddy Adu was disabled in the first patch, 4.1.1 - but install the latest patches even if you would like him, since they iron out all the annoying bugs that were there.


Silversmoke, if you're really having problems, PM someone on here your team and they'll teach you how to win. But you will lose your dignity and pride in having to ask someone to help you. I don't know anyone who has ever been relegated in this game, most people actually think it's too easy rather than too hard.

[Ste]

I hate to tell you this nonentity but most of the attributes mean little.
I have players with no stat above 15 and most below 10 and they score 30 goals a season in the premiership (plus hat-tricks against real madrid!)
There are hidden stats that are much more important.
Like I said - I managed to get Stevenage out of the conference and winning the premiership by 2013 without cheating and without changing the tactics from 4-4-2. To be honest it all felt a little too easy. I have never spent more than £3m on a player and now have an annual budget of £85m which i never spend.

[SilverSmoke]

Thanks a lot folks for your advice and yeah, I don't really took a lot of notice of the specific stats that belongs to certain positions in the field, when I see fancy stats sumarized and the right position I just put 'm there, guess it doesn't work anymore like that.

[furball]

Originally Posted by Ste

I hate to tell you this nonentity but most of the attributes mean little.
I have players with no stat above 15 and most below 10 and they score 30 goals a season in the premiership (plus hat-tricks against real madrid!)
There are hidden stats that are much more important.
Like I said - I managed to get Stevenage out of the conference and winning the premiership by 2013 without cheating and without changing the tactics from 4-4-2. To be honest it all felt a little too easy. I have never spent more than £3m on a player and now have an annual budget of £85m which i never spend.

I find it extremely unlikely that you have strikers scoring 30 goals a season in the Premiership with no stats above 15. This includes the physical stats (i.e. pace and jumping). If you really are using a plain 4-4-2 with no loony arrows (MC-->FC), and poor players for the Premiership, you're defying almost everything I know about the game.

A top player doesn't need all of his stats above 15, just the relevant ones. A top striker needs either great pace or jumping (15+), and no less than 10 in each. They need good heading and finishing, as well as good anticipation (so they're not caught offside) and 'off the ball' movement (to get into space). In contrast, a defender doesn't need good finishing, this can be below 10 - but they need great tackling, heading, anticipation and positioning, as well as good physical stats to win the ball.

The hidden stats are useful but not critical - Carlos Puyol has a very high Dirtiness rating but that doesn't stop him from being a good player. The only important hidden stat is First Touch, since it affects them whenever they touch the ball. Can you say the same about things like Loyalty and Throw-ins?

Show me a screenshot of these players doing that well, with your tactic, and I'll believe you. Until then, though, I find it very unlikely. Very.


EDIT: what season are you in? You can't have got into the Premiership until the 3rd/4th season, and you've won the Premiership...4 times? If you're in 2010/11, you've probably bought a lot of regens. However, I'd still expect them to have good stats to be doing well - so what's your opposition like? If they haven't got many of the decent youth players and people like Henry/Viera are in their late 30s, that'd explain some things.

[Ste]

Not playing it on this computer - it's on my uni computer, so can't get you screenshots.
I'm in 2023.
2004, 4th in conf
2005, 1st in conf
2006, 1st in 3rd
2007 20th in 2nd
2008 2nd in 2nd
2009 22nd in 1st
2010 5th in 2nd (through in playoffs)
2011 5th in 1st (through in playoffs)
2012 8th in prem
2013 4th in prem
2014 1st in prem
etc

Can't remember exactly but i think thats how i did it.
I bought a lot of liverpools U19 players as their contracts ran out,(Foy, Sjolund, Warnock, Vaughan), Elding (starts at stevenage) scored 50 goals in the div 3 season and I bought a guy called Newbold who scored all the time too. All the other good players I got aren't around at the beginning of the game.

I changed the tactics a bit, love my wingers and set the whole midfield to keep sending throughballs and my forwards to keep making runs. thats about it!

Oh and Man Utd got relegated down to the 3rd division, and the other good teams in real life are stuck in the 1st division...

[Evergreen]

I'd of preferred a more tweaked version of CM 01/02 with regards to the transfer system and AI of computer controlled teams.

I still don't greatly enjoy the CM 4 series as it's just plain pedantic foolery.

[MrL_JaKiri]

Originally Posted by Evergreen

it's just plain pedantic foolery.

What?

[JonnyBGood]

Originally Posted by MrL_JaKiri

What?

I must admit I do know what he means. After I get about five years in the best tactic is just getting scout reports on the young players coming through for the major teams in your nation and signing them for piddling amounts of cash. I'm in 2015 with my Leeds team and my u19s could probably win the league, never mind my actual squad.

[MrL_JaKiri]

I don't see how that's pedantic though, especially given the time he spent on his tactics.

[Evergreen]

As I said, better computer management AI (with regards to transfers as well) and improvement of the transfer and financial structure was all that was needed.

Instead they decided to give us a new skin, make tactics even more wank, another ****ing reserve team and create a whole new match engine that is pissing worse than the last one. (With regards to predictability of results, It provides too much consistentcy from players that you would not naturally get).

[JonnyBGood]

I'm not following. My point is that just clicking on every new player in the game, clicking get scout report, and then picking out the good players is rather humdrum and dull. Probably a mild misuse of the word pedantic but one can easily see where he's coming from.

[Evergreen]

Originally Posted by JonnyBGood

I'm not following. My point is that just clicking on every new player in the game, clicking get scout report, and then picking out the good players is rather humdrum and dull. Probably a mild misuse of the word pedantic but one can easily see where he's coming from.

Yah I'd naturally spend 24 hours before starting a CM session of checking every player in the game and making a monstrous shortlist knowing that none of the CPU Controlled teams are really going to force me to look for alternative players who won't be as good.

Update every season adn your laughing..... not really competitive at all tbh. Playing on-line is just as fruitless cause it's just a matter of who picked the better reputation/financially sounded side.....

[Dark-Strider]

sign Philipe Mexes, hes a bargain at 3.2 million. Thats his buy out clause so it has to be accepted.

thats my tip

[Lupin]

Originally Posted by Evergreen

Update every season adn your laughing..... not really competitive at all tbh. Playing on-line is just as fruitless cause it's just a matter of who picked the better reputation/financially sounded side.....

this is true. but isnt it via editor possible to set the finances for all teams equal (ie. every team has 20 mil).

[Evergreen]

and set them all to london or manchester or summit....

Nah, too much work and in the end kills some aspects of it.