You know Champ Man is a cultural phenomenon when ...

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 11:24 am

... I´m listening to Talksport, the all-sports radio station from the UK, on the Net, and the hosts are having an entire segment on Championship Manager 4.
 
 The hosts are talking about the great transfers they´ve made, the data editors they´ve played with, the sides they´ve managed, etc. And now they´re interviewing a CM freak on the air who has played the game since it was on the Amiga.
 
 It´s part of a CM-Talksport promotion, but the hosts still are talking it up quite a bit. And it´s obvious they play the game. Very cool.
 
 Damn, do guys on ESPN Radio take an entire segment to talk about NFL 2K3 or Madden 2003? Not that I know of!
 
 Take care,
 PK

James_E · Post by **James_E** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 12:13 pm

Seeing as your a journalist Paul... maybe you could start up an internet radio station to chat up your favourite games.
 
 Get interviews with SR guys like Common, siam, fletch, and established game aficionados like Tcrouch (racing), hrudey and Grog (hockey). dbdynsty (baseball). Macca00 (soccer)

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 12:38 pm

James:
 
 Not a bad idea for a future life! But the day I interview Common or Siam is the day I start chemical treatment for a masochistic disorder. And I´d need a translator for Fletch. <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_smile.gif">
 
 Take care,
 PK [ This message was edited by: pk500 on 22-04-2003 09:38 ]

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 5:33 pm

PK
 
 Following my previous CM4 related posts, I will say that once this game is sorted, then it will be the best footy game going. It wasn´t until CM99/00 that CM3 was really playable.
 
 Have you got a broadband connection - I was gonna send you a couple of pics from my trip to the Nou Camp, but don´t want to be costing you loads of time !

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 6:15 pm

Dave:
 
 I do have broadband, so send away! Send to <a href="mailto:pkcny@yahoo.com" target="_new">pkcny@yahoo.com</a>.
 
 Looking forward to seeing them!
 
 Thanks,
 PK

James_E · Post by **James_E** » Tue Apr 22, 2003 9:37 pm

"But the day I interview Common or Siam is the day I start chemical treatment for a masochistic disorder"
 
 Precisely why such interviews would make for great radio.

Post by **Jared** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 2:04 am

I´ve been playing CM4 in my spare time. I won´t really get a chance to dive into it until I turn in my thesis (only one week left...thank god).
 
 It´s a sweet game, but it is sooooooo buggy. Been playing with the MLS, and it is bug and mistake-ridden. Player ratings are great...very very accurate. And some parts of the MLS are really cool (it´s difficult to get decent foreigners into the league unless they´re old or play for relatively unknown S. American clubs).
 
 But there are tons of problems in trying to model the MLS. Discovery signings are messed up, transfers are impossible unless the player is out of contract, other MLS teams don´t sign new players, the distinction between Senior International and Transitional International is screwy, the MLS draft doesn´t work, Bruce Arena has been fired (and then rehired a few days later) twice, roster cuts are wrong.....the MLS isn´t unplayable. But it´s definitely problematic.
 
 And with gameplay, the main problem is that most goals are scored on breakaways by strikers. Attacking mids rarely (if ever) score. And others are noticing that playing with a Gung Ho attacking strategy results in insane wins (8-0, 9-0). Doesn´t work with me though....
 
 But otherwise, the game is a gem. The main problem is that they didn´t beta test it enough. Either that, or the people that did the beta testing didn´t know jack about the respective leagues in the game. A new pack will be out at the end of the month, and it´s supposed to fix a lot of the problems seen (although so far, only one MLS problem (the draft) is slated to be fixed. Sigh....
 
 I will have a review in May. I have no time for reviews with my thesis this month...but I´ll probably write a CM4 review from an America-centric perspective.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 1:19 pm

You flag-waving, xenophobic dickhead ... Just kidding!
 
 <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_smile.gif"> <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_smile.gif"> <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_smile.gif">
 
 Looking forward to your review.
 
 Take care,
 PK

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 5:20 pm

Jared
 
 I can sympathise with your problems..but agree that once the bugs are fixed, this will rule.
 
 As for your midfielder scoring probs, try playing a diamond midfield and having the AM make forward runs..I had Xabi Alonso doing this for my Real Sociedad outfit, and he banged in 11 on our way to 4th in my first season in La Liga ; and then some bug swizzled me out of a Champions League spot despite being promised one <IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon27.gif">

Post by **Jared** » Thu Apr 24, 2003 9:19 pm

When I first started playing, I was using a diamond 4-4-2 (though the AM wasn´t making forward runs). However, I really didn´t have a great DM, so it didn´t work. I´m playing a pretty vanilla attacking 4-4-2 and it´s working great for me right now. I´ve been successful in the MLS, but I´m "looking for a new challenge". So I´m applying to every job possible. The only people that have offered me a job (about 8 times, in fact) is Sagan Tosu in the J-League 2. I´m tempted, but they´re bankrupt and I´d rather manage in Europe. Hopefully a few more titles in the US and someone will hire me in Europe....

stattosoftware · Post by **stattosoftware** » Sun Apr 27, 2003 6:18 pm

As a SMG creator I have to ´one-up´ CM on at least their MLS (that´s one of the two leagues you can run in US Soccer Manager, the other being the A-League).
 
 Their MLS seems screwed up from what I hear so I´m working hard on everything from Proj 40 to Discovery Players to yes Expansion.
 
 SOMEONE needs to have a good MLS game... hope it´s me.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Apr 27, 2003 10:21 pm

Please keep us posted, Statto, and send any preview info. our way!
 
 Best of luck. Don´t be a stranger.
 
 Take care,
 PK

Post by **Jared** » Mon Apr 28, 2003 3:25 pm

I´ve played a little bit of Statto´s game, though I haven´t had the time to really delve into it. Seems like he got the basics of the MLS down though.
 
 As for CM4, I think they´ll fix the MLS. But I really don´t think they´ll get to it until a later expansion pack (say EP4). Lots of the MLS bugs have been mentioned on the SI boards, but only the draft and a few less important ones are slated to be fixed for EP3. Sigh...hopefully they´ll get to it soon.

stattosoftware · Post by **stattosoftware** » Mon Apr 28, 2003 10:23 pm

I read somewhere that some EP was just going to make MLS European Style transfers to fix it.
 
 Jared the game you probably played was an old demo, the new one is skinnable (there´s that word again) and much better. Project 40 better.
 
 Keep you posted I shall, and I´ll look into fixing the CM4 MLS on google, see if I heard right.

stattosoftware · Post by **stattosoftware** » Mon Apr 28, 2003 10:27 pm

Seeing as my own message board is 6th on Google (with a message by Marc Vaughan nonetheless) I don´t think I´m gonna find it.
 
 Well, back to programming!