Why does FM not have a map in the game?

I've used the editor enough to know that within the database of FM exist thousands of geographic data points but they don't serve a function in any way beyond the basic mechanics of the game.

They practically serve no use to the player themselves.

It would be fun to know what your local rivals are, or the teams close to your area as feeder teams, or even when you are going on a long trip on an away game.

All of this could be built into FM easily because the co-ordinates of teams, stadiums and cities already exist in the database but SI haven't made any effort into visualising this aspect into FM.

For me it would add a lot to the game and offer a sense of place, that the current display of the game has no way of offering

I agree that a map (with toggle options) of clubs/stadiums/regions would be a visually fantastic and realism-enhancing feature for FM!

I like to study the geographical distances between local clubs and other rivals myself when getting to know my club in a new save.

It has been brought up as a suggestion on the official SI forums before but was explained as a licensing problem (e.g. having to pay a mapping company to use their map as a base), but I agree that it would be really useful. Especially when, for example, I'm scheduling friendly matches for my U19 team, I don't want them travelling to the other end of the country every week!

It's a bit crazy to me how they haven't added something like this already since the locality of a club is one of the most important things in real life but the only way to even get a sense of where you are and what teams are close to you in the game itself is by having prior knowledge or having to google other teams.

With how easy it is to build maps with publicly available data, the licensing excuse doesn't really hold water to me.

This one guy in his bedroom can recreate and exact replica of the earth complete with in game physics for a game about delivering parcels.

Apparently the annual revenue of SI is 35 million. Enough to get someone to implement a change the userbase would all want.

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My posts keep double posting

The issue isn't really about the ease with which it can be done, but the licensing needed for it. How much is this guy's software used in the real world, and does he have to pay a license to use the underlying software? Things like this take a different outlook when the potential audience is as large as that of FM's.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's something which can't be done, but it's not necessarily as straight-forward as you seem to think it is.

Turnover isn't the only metric. What are the costs? If the profit margin is narrow enough, getting "someone to implement a change” is not necessarily a priority.

And don't assume it's “a change the userbase would all want”, just because it's one you do 😉 I'm sure there are plenty who'd want it, but exaggerating helps no one 😉

Probably cos you double-click the post button 😉

Honestly I think you are hugely overestimating the difficulty it takes to make a map and how much it costs to use and implement software.

 

Turnover isn't the only metric. What are the costs? If the profit margin is narrow enough, getting "someone to implement a change” is not necessarily a priority.

 

And don't assume it's “a change the userbase would all want”, just because it's one you do 😉 I'm sure there are plenty who'd want it, but exaggerating helps no one 😉

If the profit margin of a game is low, with as loyal a fanbase as FM does have, then that suggests that SI are doing something wrong and need to invest in improvements that will motivate players to want to buy the latest iteration of the game.

When your sales go down it's a sign you need to invest more into improving the actual game to draw more players back.

Visually the game has been the same for over 5 years now and it is absurd how little difference there is between this year and last year.

Adding a simple interactive map to the game isn't a big ask but would be a huge upgrade. The most difficult part of mapping is acquiring data but FM already have this.

Even a simple SVG map with some dots on it showing where the teams in your division are would be an improvement and if you still are claiming that would be too much to ask from FM I would say you have honestly lost the plot.