Straggler

Found my first career mode bugs. I have finished 2 seasons now, one as Villa and another as Wycombe. The Wycombe one is screwed. I finished top of the 2nd div but somehow the finances are showing a 45 million loss on travel expences. I'm assuming that my financial targets for my season in div1 are related to this as I have been asked to generate a 45 million profit in the summer transfer window. My entire team isn't worth even 4 million. It has also given a critical status to the financial targets and I'm really not motivated to play a season only to get fired for not achieving the impossible. Nothing game breaking but it is stopping me from doing my fav thing

Agreed, not a small team, certainly bigger than No Mans Sky, but significantly smaller than the team that produced GTA for example. That said, I'm not an expert on game development, I'm only excited by the possibility of this style of game. Even if this one doesn't hit it's brief perfectly (or at all if it doesn't get released) I like the direction of travel. Regarding microtransactions, I'm at my heart not a fan of them at all, but I think it is because most of the time I see them they are a part of a full price AAA game. I resent having content withheld from a game at full price that I have to pay extra for to get the full experience. I am beginning to come around to the idea though for games like this one so long as it avoids pay to win situations, I do understand that they need to earn to keep the game alive. I'd prefer a full price game with all the content available but gated by experience / progress to get to the high level stuff with paid for expansions down the road. However I know for this game to work they will need a large community playing it to make it feel alive which is much easier achieved with a low/no barrier to entry and a free to play model. But as I said I'm no expert so the last thing they need to do is listen to what I have to say on the matter (which is non committal anyway)

After the mile wide and inch deep experience that was No Mans Sky, the next project that I am getting unreasonably excited about is Star Citizen. The ambition for this game is HUGE, and the ability of the comparatively small team to deliver against has to be a concern, however if they can pull it off the game looks like it could be a bit epic. Unlike No Mans Sky whilst there are procedural planets they are doing story driven stuff inside it which sounds more like how something like how Red Dead Redemption worked. It relies on multiplayer and there will be PVP, mining and a a bunch of ships with different flying styles and a bunch of vehicles to use when you land on a planet. I have a number of concerns with the scope being so huge, all the delays that have already been announced and how they are looking at monetising it (it looks very expensive as they have it at the moment) but if it is good as I hope then take my money.

I don't like Steve Bruce as a manager. I'm pretty sure it is not a rational dislike, he seems like a decent enough human being and has more experience than most at doing what we need done to our club. I just have never ever liked a single one of the teams he has managed. It isn't even a Leicester sort of dislike where I learned to hate playing them because they kept on beating us in rancid games. Bruce teams were the matches that I just wouldn't bother watching. The problem with my dislike is that I'm fairly confident we will improve under him if he comes in, which is what I want. But I also want to want to go to the games. I suppose I will cheer a goal going in like a demented donkey dancing on hot coals regardless of how it gets in the back of the net, so I will get over it if the results come.

I'm such a geek about this, but I refuse to buy any players except in emergencies. I buy the very best scouts I can and rely entirely on bringing through youth players. I spend all my training on the youth and I never miss a session to improve them. I will also sell all the players I don't like in real life (you may have guessed Richards is one of them) and the first thing I did was release Gabby. That said I also turn on the "no transfers in the first window" so the first half of the season mimics real life (apart from the releasing of Gabby). In Fifa 17 I'm just approaching my first January transfer window and already have 2 youth in the first team squad with overall scores in the mid sixties, which is good enough for the Championship. I may change that at some point though as the new Villa MO is to buy buy buy so I may have to deal with bringing a few in

There are 2 main reasons for a defender stopping when they should otherwise be defending. 1 - As you surmised it is scripting to allow the striker to get free and score an uncontested goal 2 - You are using Micah Richards and EA have done an amazingly good job of putting realism in the game.

I know that feeling so well. My main frustration is when you can feel the scripting working. On 15 I got to the point when I could tell that the cpu was going to score as they crossed the half way line. It's even worse when it slows your players down and makes them weaker to make it more competitive. I play around 30 seasons of career manager mode over several saves per annual release so I'm pretty experienced with it. Playing multiple career modes you even begin to notice that there is a pattern in them (e.g. you will get knocked out of a cup early in season 3 regardless of who you play). I deal with the scripting in my head by treating it as an off day by the players to save on buying a new t.v. every time In other news yes I do need to get a life. It works out about 300 hours per year that I put into this game.

cough westwood cough

I'm just doing my old fashioned career as a manager for Villa and enjoying it so far. My first goal was an absolute blockbuster from Tish from 25 yards out and I was immediately it was going to be too easy (I play world class at the start of a new game the up it to Legendary when I have the hang of the differences). It certainly seems that shooting from the edge of the box is much more viable now as are crosses (Gestede is actually rather good for me), but it is not the press shoot to score I was worried about when Tish smashed it in, i just lucked out by getting my first shot from range just right. I know I will play it to death like I have every other iteration, so I will find all the bugs and begin to recognise the scripting when it happens, but for now, I'm enjoying learning it. Certainly enjoying it more than watching the realy Villa play. FWIW, I have gone for a flat 442 formation, but I will mix in a 4411 if I am struggling in midfield.

My game arrived this morning, it is sat downstairs right now waiting. Need to put the family to bed first then sore thumbs here is come

I have to admit that when the game ended I was ready to lash out and my first thought was to come on here and have a go at Westwood. Then I realised that I had not seen the game therefore was not really in a position to comment on the impact tonight. However I have been watching the Villa get worse and worse over the last 5 years and however low the standard gets Westwood rarely looks better than average and more frequently looks out of his depth. How far down do we have to slide before he is the best player in the team? It isn't the Championship. I'm really pissed off right now so it is probably not a sensible time for me to get into the debate on Westy, and I'm not directly blaming him for the result tonight, but I still think he is shit.

I really am struggling to believe this. We can change the chairman, the manager, the coaching staff, the players and still serve up this spineless shit. I'm beginning to wonder if it is me. What I can believe is that I really freaking hate this last minute goal thing. It's a kick in the guts every time. I thought that this season may be a roller-coaster ride with big wins and losses and highs and lows, what I wasn't expecting was the crushing inevitability of the same thing happening every freaking game. I'm officially out of ideas, the whole club can shove itself where the sun don't shine (now officially know as B6). Just fold the club so I can stop caring about football altogether.

I so want to have a zombie apocalypse underground lair. Something like this: but it has to have a garage with access to the outside world so I can go and rescue damsels in distress in this: If zombies are not the problem, frankly I'm not interested.

Save money by only putting the batteries into your clock when you need to know the time. (possibly copyright Viz top tips)

If you find you are choking on an ice cube quickly pour a cup of boiling water into your throat, it will clear the blockage right out.

I see Jack has signed a new 4 year contract. I wonder if it has a relegation clause?

I did see a tweet from Dr X that Sid had gone and wasn't sure of the detail why. I for one am gutted he's gone. I have no idea of how good he is with the youth team, I just don't have exposure to that side of the club, but he is one of my all time fav players and I for one hoped he had a job for life with the club for all he has given us.

11/10/1986 Aston Villa 3 -1 Southampton We got relegated that season. We had just moved to the area and tried games at Villa, Coventry, and Wolves and one other that escapes me to see who we were going to support (my Dad and I). Looking back it was not really a fair contest.

Richards is a little high, I'd have him more around a 70 maybe one lower like Hutton (I think Hutton is a better player than Richards). I'd give Grealish another point and have him up at 73

This comment needs way more love, still giggling away to myself on this one.

Christmas is always on the 25th December too, but I'm still happy when it rolls round ;-)

He's been fired now

I don't see it as biting my nose off to spite my face. I see his exclusion as a very logical conclusion on the balance of evidence. There is the possibility that he could have a positive impact if we run out of forwards, but to me there is a much greater possibility that his inclusion in the squad for the entire season would have a larger and more detrimental effect. The slim possibility of a positive impact is not worth the risk of the greater probability of a negative impact therefore he has to be cut out. Simply put I would rather give the chance to a youth team striker or trust that Dr T has a plan for January as he has recently stated. The evidence that he has been trying to make amends in pre season is not enough for me. He is way past words, he needs to show me not tell me and he should be doing this now on loan at another club. The very fact that he has not managed to get a move tells me everything I need to know.

I hope you can forgive me quoting myself but it is relevant here and I can't be bothered to retype it all. A month ago I was suggesting Gabby is the only one I would consider paying off and I explained why. I think much of this has already come to pass. He has not found a club, he has not shown the ambition to improve himself and at the same time prove himself. I don't claim to be able to see the future, but all the evidence points to the above IMO.

I'm not. I agree that like it or not that he is a Villa player for the next 5 months. He is not an asset though, he is a potential problem. He turned his back on the team and the club with his performances and attitude last season. He was offered a way back, all be it a challenging path of finding games for another team and proving his desire to behave as a pro and his desire simply to play football. Once again, Gabby has decided he would rather take the easy path and go against the advice of his manager and the chairman of the club. Gabby knows what is best/easiest for him. Even if he is fit (which is unlikely even if he is not actually fat) it is a monumental risk to put him in with the rest of the team and start spreading his influence. The only way he will be an asset for the next 5 months will be as a cautionary example of what happens to you when you lose sight of what it is to be part of a team and fight for something bigger than yourself.