Can difficulty be increased?

[rayvonyo3]

I know the obvious answer is "take a team from the 9th tier & rise through the leagues" but I want to play as a big club. I dont want to take Blyth Spartans to the Champions League final. I want realism.

Is there any suggestions or does anyone know of any MODS to make the game harder?

Thanks

[fc.cadoni]

There are many challenges out there which is difficult. https://community.sigames.com/forums/forum/29-challenges-sign-ups-experiments/

[Frown Syndrome]

im doing single nationality save with youth elements atm

[rayvonyo3]

Thanks for suggestions. I just want to play as a big club without it being easy & being forced to do challenges to ramp up the difficulty. Im the kind of person who doesnt want to know who all the wonder kids play for & want the immersion of finding out myself.

I think FM 22 should introduce a "popcorn sofa jockey" difficulty level & a "hardcore" mode.

[GERONIMO]

if your issue is that you already know all the best players and wonderkids, why not try a league with all generated players. theres an option you can tick to use fake players when setting up your database. alternatively, start a game unemployed and sim the first 5-6 seasons. when youre ready to start coaching, add a new manager and pick your favourite club. the football landscape will have changed entirely and you'll be forced to scout new players effectively going in blind.

as a side note, if you really want realism, i think the best way to achieve that is to start unemployed or at a lower league club, and work your way up to the prem. i started at dorking wanderers, got offered a job at notts county, then portsmouth, then burnley, etc. theres nothing realistic about an unheard of manager suddenly taking charge of a champions league team.

[rayvonyo3]

Thanks for suggestion. I havent played FM since FM15. Stopped playing as it was too easy. My son now plays FM21 so ive been jumping on his laptop when hes not using it & thinking about giving FM another go. I just wish it had a harder difficulty setting so that you dont have to do challenges & never be able to take on a good team at start of the game

[Amiga500]

The problem is that you - of course - have the best environment if you pick one of top 20 or top 30 clubs worldwirde.
You generate tons of money because of reputation and merchandise and ticktets and sponsorships, you have the best academies and the best staff,

In terms of difficulty that you "win too much":

- Change tactics completely every other week
- Use full rotation in the lineups
- Abandon training
- Force more injuries and cards to more rotation by the match intensity settings


Other things:
- Use scouts from lower leagues with less skills
- give every player you buy "superstar" status to force inconvenience and debates within the team


There are like 20 more things and aspects here.

The best way indeed would be to play with generated palyers only and deactivate the visibility of hidden values and potential so you have to find out for yourself what palyers have a PA beyond 170 or 175 or even more.

[hopsblues]

Play an MLS team. That should be challenging enough..I'd start with the Colorado Rapids.

[Tiberius]

Not save scumming is a good start

[Frizzly]

Originally posted by Tiberius:

Not save scumming is a good start

When will this community stop accusing everyone who finds the game easy of save scumming. OP literally said he uses big clubs, so the game can genuinely be easy for him. Stop accusing everyone who finds it easy.

[Tiberius]

You may not want to admit it, but we know you do

[rayvonyo3]

Thanks for replies.

I guess the real off putting thing about this game is that my 12 year old son can win the prem with Everton & he does no training, no tactics, sends his assistant to do press conferences etc.

Thats fine for the kind of novice player he is. My problem is that this makes the game a Football Simulator rather than a football manager.

Solution is simple for me. Have a relaxed game mode (current mode) & introduce a hardcore mode where you do need to study the other team, you do need to analyse your team, weather conditions. who is the ref etc etc.

To have to make the game challenging by hiring lower league scouts or offering your players contracts where theyre all superstar status defeats the object. Although they are of course reasonable suggestions & I appreciate them :)

I think I will be siting FM21 out. Its a shame because the level of detail & immersion is fantastic but it all goes out the window when my 12 year old son & his mate are successful by just playing match after match with no thought put into what they do.

[rayvonyo3]

As for the point made about saving the game regular, that is exactly my point & what breaks the immersion. I am playing Kingdom Come Deliverance atm (totally unrelated I know but) you can only save your game at set points & you have to either buy or craft something called "savoury shnaps" It makes you reluctant to save & know that saves are limited. Im not sure how you could introduce this into FM but again a hardcore mode could have a "only 5 saves a season" rule or something?

[Frown Syndrome]

Originally posted by rayvonyo3:

Thanks for replies.

I guess the real off putting thing about this game is that my 12 year old son can win the prem with Everton & he does no training, no tactics, sends his assistant to do press conferences etc.

Thats fine for the kind of novice player he is. My problem is that this makes the game a Football Simulator rather than a football manager.

Solution is simple for me. Have a relaxed game mode (current mode) & introduce a hardcore mode where you do need to study the other team, you do need to analyse your team, weather conditions. who is the ref etc etc.

To have to make the game challenging by hiring lower league scouts or offering your players contracts where theyre all superstar status defeats the object. Although they are of course reasonable suggestions & I appreciate them :)

I think I will be siting FM21 out. Its a shame because the level of detail & immersion is fantastic but it all goes out the window when my 12 year old son & his mate are successful by just playing match after match with no thought put into what they do.

I have to agree in the sense that someone can simulate a whole season and end up with 90-100 points without doing anything other than instant result. But that's no fun for me at least. I'm playing as polonia warszawa and finding it is taking me a season or two longer to get out of the lower leagues compared to earlier fm's, so it is a little harder in the lower leagues, but not by much.

[_Patrick Swayze]

The Op is looking for something that doesn't exist. In principle it should never be a challenge to lead a club like Real, Barca, Man City etc. to glory. They have the money to buy your way to succes. As in real life: you can only create a handicap to make such clubs a challenge to manage. You are looking for something that doesn't exist in the game nor in real life.

[rayvonyo3]

Originally posted by _Patrick Swayze:

The Op is looking for something that doesn't exist. In principle it should never be a challenge to lead a club like Real, Barca, Man City etc. to glory. They have the money to buy your way to succes. As in real life: you can only create a handicap to make such clubs a challenge to manage. You are looking for something that doesn't exist in the game nor in real life.

Yes I agree that it should be easier to manage a top club but its too easy. You are right that it shouldnt be a massive challenge to lead a top club but at the same time it shouldnt be possible at all to take non league clubs to champions league finals.