DISCONTINUED

There is already a similar mod available, called Ultimate Difficulty Pack. Is it okay to use it at the same time as this mod?

I have also same question. 

Good question.

Technically, you can enable both at the same time, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Mods like Ultimate Difficulty Pack usually increase difficulty by boosting player ability, pace, attacking output, or CA/PA.

This mod takes a different approach: it focuses on defensive intelligence, decision-making, and game management, without any attacking or pace boosts.

Using both together may stack changes in unintended ways and lead to unrealistic results (goal inflation or overly chaotic matches).

thank you

Thank you. From what I've read in the mod author's description, the Ultimate Difficulty Pack is a mod that simply increases the intelligence and adaptability of the AI ​​manager and decreases the patience of the board of directors. So, although this is purely my personal opinion, I don't think anything strange will happen if you use the two mods at the same time. I'll try using both mods at the same time myself. Thank you.

Yeah you might be okay. The best way to know is to try them out together for a season or 2

works with new patch?

Yes 👍 Just make sure to start a new save and add the file before you start

This is an interesting addition to the field.

What kind of testing have you made? What kind of evidence can you provide that shows that this mod works as intended?

How this one compares to Dave’s work? What are the major differences?

Thank you

Thanks for the questions.

In terms of testing, this is an early release and so far I’ve focused on short saves and early-season match behaviour rather than long multi-season simulations. The main things I was looking for were whether teams feel harder to break down, manage games more calmly, and rely less on chaotic transitions. Early impressions were in line with that, but I’m very open to feedback from longer saves to help fine-tune things.

Because the mod doesn’t change the match engine, the evidence is mostly in how matches play out rather than in hard numbers. Things like tighter scorelines, fewer reckless presses, and needing more patience to create chances are the kinds of changes I’m aiming for.

“Dave’s Increase Realism Megapack" is a broad database overhaul focused on realism in many areas, including player development, finances, transfers, and long-term balance. My mod takes a different approach by focusing purely on defensive intelligence and tactical realism without increasing attacking or CA/PA stats. The goal here is realism and better match flow rather than raw difficulty.

I’m treating this as a realism project and will adjust it based on constructive feedback.

Thank you so much for your replies and for taking the time to do it.

I have a further technical question, if you don’t mind. Considering you are not changing the match engine, what kind of coding approach did you take to make sure you can get the results you aim such as defensive intelligence, tactical realism, fewer reckless pressures and so on? 
 

Thank you

Hey @Aydan111 looks great. I'm going to give it a go. You mentioned “Dave’s Increase Realism Megapack" Can they work together?

Yes they can do, I'm not sure what sort of match experience you would get but its worth a try. If I was starting a save though personally I'd pick one or the other so the matches don't feel too hectic.

Thanks for the question.

There isn’t really a coding approach involved here, since I’m not changing the match engine itself. The idea was to work with the inputs the engine already uses. FM’s match behaviour is heavily influenced by manager attributes, player mental attributes, and club-level context, so the focus was on adjusting those inputs rather than trying to force new behaviour. The aim was to reduce poor decisions and extremes, so the engine produces calmer and more realistic outcomes on its own.

funktioniert es mit deivids file ? 

Ja, aber wie gut es funktioniert, weiß ich nicht. Wenn Sie beide zusammen verwenden, kann es zu chaotischen Matches kommen

Thank you for your reply.

I am still a bit confused with this approach. Looking at the 13500 changes you made, the bulk of them was changing the managers attributes. Although that's commendable, putting at, more or less, the same level someone like Pep and an unknown coach doesn't strike me as realistic.

I also disagree that the match behaviour is “heavily influenced". Yes it is a factor, but if you want to tell the public that you aim for the goals you wrote then you don't have any other way other than try and do the kind of changes that Dave does or change the match engine. This is basically changing the margins.

Even considering my scepticism, I tried and honestly I didn't see any major differences. It doesn't affect the core of the experience. I will continue to use it and report back, but first impressions (almost 20 games in) and the game still feels the same.

Thanks for taking the time to test it and share your impressions.

On the manager attributes point, the intention wasn’t to make all managers equal or to put unknown coaches on the same level as elite ones. The changes raise a baseline rather than flattening the hierarchy, so top managers still retain an advantage, but the gap in basic decision-making and game management is reduced. That’s a deliberate choice to avoid situations where otherwise competent professional teams behave unrealistically poorly.

On match behaviour more broadly, I don’t disagree that larger changes (like those in Dave’s work or engine edits) will have a more immediate and obvious impact. This mod is intentionally lighter-touch and focused on margins rather than fundamentals. The goal isn’t to transform the core experience, but to subtly reduce extremes and make certain patterns occur more consistently over time.  Make sure you start a new save also as this won't work mid save, I'm sure you already know that. I’ll be continuing to test it myself over longer saves and will adjust it based on broader feedback.

Thank you for your reply.

I will be starting a brand new save today and I will share my feedback at the end of each season.

Thank you.

Good stuff. I will be updating this soon as I feel like it could do with a little more tweaks. I want the AI managers to be more human like in their thinking and how they set their teams up etc. When you tested this had you already started a save ? because it will only take effect when you start a new save and select the editor file.

Thank you for your reply.

No, I already started a previous new save for first impressions about your work.

Now I started another new save but properly built for testing purposes. As soon as I finish one season, I will let you know what my thoughts are.

Thank you

Great job! When you say your mod takes a different approach by focusing exclusively on defensive intelligence and tactical realism, without increasing offensive stats or offensive potential/additional potential, do you think there won't be scores like 3-2 or 4-4 anymore? Will it mostly be 0-0 or 1-0?

Thanks for the question. Not really — the aim isn’t to turn every match into a 0–0 grind. It’s more about stopping goals from happening too easily. Defenses are smarter and more disciplined, so you have to work harder to score which naturally should bring scorelines down, but you won't be scrapping for 1-0s all season either.

High-scoring games can still happen, especially if teams take risks or things get chaotic late on, they’re just less frequent and feel more deserved when they do.

AI Managers act a little smarter also.

Thank you so much for your reply and clarification. It's true that I find the game too easy and repetitive. The challenge you're offering adds novelty and enjoyment.

Yeah that was the biggest thing I found also. Its why I enjoy online saves more because of the competition you get. You can use this file online also.

I love what you're trying to do and support you.
I've just finished the second season using this mod.
I'll play one more season and report back once I've finished the third season.

Thank you.

Appreciate the support 👍

Approaching the end of the second season and I don't see this. Tactics work as before, nothing of ordinary in terms of how managers operate during the 90 minutes, AI managers are not more active or reactive versus what we have with default files, and so on.

Considering you are not making any changes to the match engine, I think the changes you are making only touch the margins. Changing managers attributes do not change the fundamentals of the match engine. Without changing those fundamentals, the promised results are not achieved or at least not achieved in the way you describe.

Changes made via the game editor, although not cosmetic, can only provide very small increments that do not change the reality of the game. The best feedback I can give you is that, unless you make more sweeping changes, or change even more things like Dave does, or you make sweeping changes to the match engine like it was done in 24, then, although you are trying to do a good thing, it will be very limited in scope.

In addition, it will be very important to have a much more comprehensive approach to hard data: tests, results and so on that provide the basis of your work so that peer review can be done in a more efficient way.