Football Manager 2018 has been going hard on the pitch in terms of promotion and hype. Four trailers discussing game mechanics have been released to this point, so lets dive in.
Lets talks Tactics first. The Tactics screen will be split into two main modular panels that separate your planned versus executed tactics during a match. The tactics panel will now incorporate dedicate analysis from previous matches, showing you exactly where your team has failed to complete passes (or whatever). In addition, a grid overlay on the tactics panel will show you possible areas of exposure or strength in your team. It’ll also show you useful partnerships that have been developing between your players (passing, creating opportunities, and so on).
You’ll also see plenty of jargon for maneuvers on the field and the tactics you choose, so you might want to bone up before release. The game is out on 10 November. Here’s the video.
Now lets talks Sports Science. The game will focus heavy on the customization and optimization of your roster. The Sports Science system will also place a heavy emphasis on dealing with injuries and recovery.
Sports Scientists will focus on the physical condition of your players. These staff will help preserve the health of your players, whereas the Physio handles the treatment.
Football Manager 2018 is getting a new “medical center” screen this year, so you can see all the health issues for your team in an easy-to-use menu. It’s divided into five panels. The overview will show who’s injured from the squad, who’s just returned from injury, and who is at most risk of picking one up in future. This section will also feature a summary from your Sports Scientist, with recommendations about things like changes to training sessions that could prevent injuries.
The other major aspect of the system is risk assessment and training scheduling. Teams need to weigh what players to recruit and weigh how hard their training regiments are. Training the wrong players too hard can lead to injury or result in a wasted investment on a bad player. The Sport Science system handles all that information.
There’s a new scout rating score system in place that ranks players on a scale up to 100. The more accurate system will fluctuate as a scout gains more knowledge about a given player. Scouting ‘focus’ can also be changed. You can give your set-up (rather than individuals) instructions to search on a ‘general’ level (indefinite search for players in broad categories) or ‘short term’ (much more immediate, specific position, and so on). All other scouting activity will cease if you order a short term action.
Scouting has its own budget now too, which can be adjusted in the Scouting Center screen that’s also being added for FM 2018. This is required for the new Football Manager 2018 Player Search screen, which functions even more like a database than before. You can quite literally use your scouting budget on ‘packages’ that cover your local leagues, continental ones, and beyond (for a price).
As noted, Data Analysts actually get a role now. You can ask them to look at specific players, and they’ll return a report; the bulk of which will be statistical trends regarding player performance over the season. Things like whether they’ve been particularly good at passing, or particularly bad at headed interceptions. Data Analysis facilities can be upgraded at your club in the same way as prior facilities.
Dynamics, meanwhile, are all about player power and hierarchies in the club. You’ll now have to keep on top of ‘Match Cohesion’, ‘Dressing Room Atmosphere’ and ‘Managerial Support’. Have a look at this other video for more on those features.
There is a single player version of Fantasy Draft too. In Football Manager 2018 there will be a selection of AI Managers to go up against.
In this year’s game, you’ll be able to play multiple seasons of Fantasy Draft in the league format. this year included a mid-season draft as well, mimicking the real life mid-season transfer window. If someone isn’t currently involved in a certain league but wants to hop into the upcoming season, it’s possible to do that too.
The UI for the modes and menus has been given an overhaul in Football Manager 2018, largely to encourage people to stream the game. You can see the new interface, and some of the new options (like the new ‘Quick Start’ matchmaking button) available when setting up a Fantasy Draft game, in the trailer below.
Football Manager 2018 comes to PC on 10 November. Those who pre-order will have access to a beta version two weeks prior to launch.
