FM14 Officially Announced

Links to buy FM2014:

Gameseek - £24.75
Greenman Gaming - £34.99
£26.25 with discount code - GMG25-OGRUH-7SM8H
Shopto.net - £29.86
The Hut - £29.98
Zavvi - £29.98
Amazon - £38.60

Screenshots and original article:

http://www.footballmanager.com/lang/en_GB

Play it whenever, wherever, however

Play on Linux for the first time, plus the inclusion of ‘cloud-save’ technology which means that managers can now pursue a single career from any computer, anywhere in the world. FM14 also includes integration with Steam Workshop making it easy for managers to create and share customised FM content such as photo/logo packs, new and custom competitions and tailor-made challenges using the new Challenge Editor.

Improved Match Engine

The 3D match engine has seen extensive improvements, including enhanced AI, improved lighting and player animation, individual player character and kit models, more realistic player reaction to on-field incidents and a range of optimisations which combine to make this the best looking and fastest FM Match Engine yet.

Tactical overhaul

There has been a complete redesign of how tactics are created, selected and implemented with player roles and team strategies becoming even more prominent, definable roles for players for multiple positions, new player roles and instructions and improvements to rival managers’ AI so that they’ll adapt their tactics more readily over time.

More realistic transfers and contracts

FM 2014 features a revamped transfer module where opposing clubs and managers adopt a more realistic approach when making or responding to transfer offers. In addition, a number of new ‘real world’ transfer clauses have been added, such as the facility to loan a player back to the club he’s just been bought from and the option to offer a combination of cash and loan players, as well as new contract clauses such as a sub bench appearance fee. On top of this, the old ‘turn-based’ system of transfer negotiations can now be done two ways, the tried and tested system and a new ‘live’ system, similar to that used in FM’s contract negotiations.

More sophisticated board interaction

Contract negotiations are more realistic in FM 2014, as managers and boards can now make demands and lay down their respective visions for the club in both initial job interviews and contract renewal discussions. Managers can also attempt to renegotiate transfer and wage budgets as a reward for staying loyal if they’ve been offered a job by another club, with the outcome helping aid their decision on whether to move or not.

Improved interaction with players, staff and media

There is now better interaction between players, managers, their rivals and the media; for example, members of the coaching staff now offer feedback on how reserve and youth team players are performing. Managers can also ask key players to have a word with unhappy squad members, while the introduction of an end-of-season meeting allows the manager to let the squad know how they have performed and set targets for the coming season.

News system

The news system has been overhauled so managers can now deal with many club matters directly from their inbox. In addition, news is now colour-coded, based on category, and contains more detail – for example, scout reports now appear as a single news item with a top-line report on all players scouted and the facility to shortlist or make an offer for each of these players.

Enhanced user interface

Major changes have been made to FM 2014’s user interface. Key areas have been redesigned – including the training overview page, the transfer centre and the news homepage – while widespread changes have been made across the game’s user interface. The language employed throughout the game has also enjoyed a major overhaul and now corresponds more closely to the language of real world football.

Football Manager Classic evolved

Managers can now choose more than three playable nations in Classic mode for a more immersive experience. In addition, FM’s ‘fast play’ mode now includes Transfer Deadline Day, a Match Plan wizard and new unlockables.

That sounds awesome, although would probably hurt fansites like this

Looks to me like the worst update ever!!!

Micromanagement galore! Have chats with upset players?

Is this "Jeremy Kyle" manager now???

There is absolutely NOTHING included in FM14 that would make me want to part with my money. Sadly for the first time ever I'm going to give it a miss.

No mention of dual monitor support is not a good sign

Love that they have added things like loan back as part of transfer deals

Sadly I'm not amazed by the new features, the transfers/contracts and tactics sound good, aside that nothing really exciting.

Okay I like the sound of two of the features. Point I tried to make was the game doesn't really excite me.

Then again I didn't enjoy FM13 so I should give 14 a chance I suppose.

Oh dear! Does my opinion differ from yours?

There's nothing good enough this time around to warrant paying money for what is essentially a data update.

Quickfire transfer talks are a good sign, cause it always does my head in going back and forwards for ages (although that is surely closer to real life)

Agree with Tommo. that loan backs is a great addition aswell as loans involved in transfers

Gotta say I am not really seeing anything in there that will make me want to buy it over and above FM13...

Not much of an update tbh but some of the stuff such as individual player shouts will make tactic creation easier.

They should make it so you can have tabs in game, so you can flick back and forth through screens

It's a bit early to go flat out and say that none of the new features aren't exciting or that they don't change anything. All you have to go on are short pieces of text, until you actually play the game you're not going to know how the changes really alter the gameplay.

Anyway, the re-vamped tactics strikes me as a pretty significant change, just like the brand-new match engine last year. A couple of lines of text and the odd screenshot isn't going to give you any idea how something like that actually alters the gameplay.

I don't care if they have no new features i'd still buy it, these games are worth like 600 hours of gameplay a year for me, more than any other game on my steam account.

My number on issue is with the training which is still extremely convoluted and horrible explained to the point where very few people actually engage it beyond leaving it to default or downloading someone else's schedules which guarantee good results.

Training is about working on skills and practising tactics, so some kind of fleshed out training mode where you can test out tactics and set pieces, as in actually watch them play out, and receive feedback from coaches in order to develop a side definitely needs to be considered.

As much fun as buying players and playing matches the real bread and butter of management is match readiness and at the moment the game is very much trial and error as opposed to trail and improvement.

Don't get me wrong though, it's still an unbelievable product which provides more replay value for me than any other game out there. It's just become quite stale for me. I've sunk about 4,000 hours into the last four iterations of the game and my enthusiasm for playing the game has certainly waned in that time. It sounds almost masochistic, but I want it to be even harder, even more realistic, even more in depth. I had a cursory glance at the latest edition of Out Of The Park Baseball, a sport I'm totally unfamiliar with, but they seem to do a good job of having just that much more detail. I don't feel daunted when I play the game any longer, success is simply a matter of going through the same relative motions.

Yeah, I'm struggling to immerse myself into the game like I used to be able to.

I think part of it for me is that I'm older, I don't get that same buzz I did when I was 17 or 18, but it's still a fantastic game that I can play more than any other I've ever picked up.

I think a good break from FM is what I need right now, and this announcement has only furthered making that decision.

Gameseek

What were you expecting? I think that the clue is in the title: Football Manager.

13 was the worst one in the series for me, and I hope to god that 14 changes that. I just can't get into a game on 13 yet still have over 100 hours on it.

There's going to be testimonials in FM14. Hardly ground-breaking news but a nice touch.

I like that, I mean it's nothing huge, but a nice touch as you said.

Steam Workshop is the only thing that has my interest. Can addons be sold on that or is it just free items only?

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=493568

I'd be amazed if we were allowed to sell stuff. However, I've just realised that uploading stuff to the steam workshop almost certainly means they can claim dibs on it.