The Football Manager (hereinafter referred to as FM) series, as the leader in the football manager game industry (although there are not many games in this industry), deserves the word "art".
In 1984, Kevin Toms drew a circle on a gaming platform called ZX Spectrum (today, it was a platform that few people knew about at the time) and created what we know as The first football manager game. In 1992, two British brothers, Paul and Oliver Collyer, squatted in their bedroom and created a football manager game on the PC platform, Championship Manager (hereinafter referred to as CM). It is important to note that CM after 2004 is different from this article. The mentioned CM/FM has no connection, because its developers, game source code, engine technology, player data, etc. game design adopts a different concept. FM after 2004 is CM before 2004), this It is the ancestor of the CM/FM series (hereinafter collectively referred to as the FM series) that became popular all over the world.
It has been 17 years since 1993. Times are changing, and the FM series has also been changing. Future generations have not had the chance to experience the legend and history of FM, so they can only feel the character of FM between the lines.
Every popular game has its own unique features, and every successful game has its own selling points. However, all successful game series have gone through ups and downs, and only by experiencing the taste of success and failure, and constantly climbing up and forward, can a classic be created. The FM series cannot escape such a cycle of ups and downs in its 17 years.
The development of most series of games, such as Tomb Raider, Need For Speed, Call Of Duty, etc., follows the growth pattern of the first generation becoming famous, and the following generations having mixed good and bad products with occasional high-quality products. That is to say, most series of games have a development process of growth, exploration, maturity, and golden periods.
The FM series is different from this and is in a league of its own.
The following article will start with this, divide the past generations of FM into four periods, and detail the engine characteristics and tactical concept design changes of FM past generations one by one. The gestation period of FM
When old gamers with some experience recall 1993, they will definitely think of the side-scrolling Prince Of Persia that was popular all over the world at that time, or Sid Meier's amazing masterpiece Sid Meier's Civilization; a bit When experienced fans recall 1993, they will probably think of Baggio being crowned World Footballer of the Year twice, or Marseille being involved in a bribery scandal when they defeated Milan in the Champions League final. They may also remember Bobby Moore, the number one defender in England's history, who passed away that year. As a poster who was born in the 1990s, in 1993, he was still wearing crotchless pants. Oh no, he should have been running around the streets naked and then fell down and eaten shit...
But whether it is a player, a fan, or a poster , the word FM does not exist in the memory of 1993.
The first four generations of the FM series were quietly nurtured in this environment.
In 1993, the Collyer brothers registered a company called Sports Interactive (hereinafter referred to as SI) in London. And based on the original CM, the then unknown CM 1993 was developed.
An interesting anecdote here is why we should start with CM93 instead of CM Original. This is because the design language used by CMO is BASIC, which has poor platform compatibility and an outrageous number of bugs. In addition to the picture where flowers are green, the players are all randomized and named by numbers, and there are occasionally nonsensical calculation methods in the game simulation. It is said that the Collyer brothers often shed tears when recalling the past.
CM93 inherited the CMO game engine, player attribute weighted calculation for rating, and other design concepts that were leading the industry at the time. At the same time, it began to introduce interface design, player realism, multi-league parallelism, etc. for the first time. Certainly. Although it only realises Real Madrid players, some clues can be detected from measures such as introducing injuries during the game, synchronizing the real league schedule, enriching the content of player transfer negotiations, etc. That is, starting from CM93, SI is better than others. The development team earlier established the design idea that she later relied on to dominate the entire industry - realism. And this is also the fundamental reason why we prefer to use CM93 as the starting point of the FM series.
SI has shown Wang’s qualifications from the very beginning. She is more imaginative and market-forward than other football manager game development teams at the same time, even though SI only had two people at that time. We have reason to speculate whether these two brothers are future emperors, or Squidward (P.S. Squidward is also called Paul).
In 1993 and 1994, SI successively launched 3 disks as additional disks for CM 93, which were used to update player data, league schedules, game engines and other content in the game. This is also the patch for later generations. . This idea is at least 3 years ahead of the industry. At that time, most game developers did not even have the concept of follow-up services. In the later FM series, no matter which generation it was, the good habit of launching update patches has been retained, and it has always been one of the hot topics among players.
The era of CM93 is too far away, and because of the lack of attention of football manager games in that era, it is impossible to test the performance of its game engine. However, according to some collected information, the biggest feature of the CM93 engine is Just, no features. Because the game simulation text description is too simple, players cannot find patterns in the running process of the game. There are generally three tactical adjustments available in the game-strengthening offense, strengthening defense, and substitutions. Players cannot also judge the relationship between victory and defeat. Observed factors other than players that can affect the progress of the game. Therefore, it can only be said that the game engine is almost the same as the other two works at the time (Premier Manager and The Manager), that is, it has no characteristics. As for the tactical concept of the game, I can only sigh "Oh, it's embarrassing." There are only two SIs who dare not consider other things besides game simulation.
No matter from which aspect, CM93 is successful. She successfully attracted the first batch of fans to spend money through realism. Then, future generations should thank the people in 1993 and do not ask to try it. Playing without piracy, no trolls, and no fifty cents can allow SI to earn a small amount of money to start an FM career.
The Collyer brothers should be lucky that it happened to be 1995 when they launched the second generation FM-CM 2. If the just-concluded World Cup hadn't offset the dissatisfaction of many fans who bought this work, CM 2 would definitely be on the market. (Evil speculation: Maybe this is the reason why CM 2 was delayed from 1994 to 1995?)
Compared with CM 93, CM 2 is almost a simple upgrade package, except that it is based on CM 93 like most As the game manufacturers did, they used new technologies to update the graphics - however, as you know, FM is not about graphics. Apart from the increase in the number of parallel leagues and the launch of multi-language versions, there is no highlight. As for the newly added function of voice comments instead of text descriptions, please, SI itself is too embarrassed to mention it. It is a useless design that reduces the game running and match simulation speed by one square meter. As a sequel, CM 2 was unsuccessful, but as a product, CM 2 was a huge success. The development of CM 2 did not cost much money, and the launch of multi-language versions made her known to fans all over Europe. SI found the first pot of gold and took the first step to become famous. (The editor once again made an evil guess: Maybe the original intention of developing CM 2 was to make money?)
Brother Collyer must have breathed a sigh of relief when he flipped through the ledger. He finally had the milk powder money to recruit soldiers, buy horses, and raise the fat FM. Baby.
In 1996, the birth of CM 96 told us what kind of energy the SI of rich people will burst out.
When you first open the game, you will think that this game may be a hit, because it looks almost the same as CM 2. It has been two years, but there is no change at all?
But when you enter the game simulation stage, you will be moved to tears because the game begins to become uncontrollable.
This is definitely not an irony. A football game is called a game because it cannot be controlled and it is not a simple pile of players. Football matches are a contest of players’ skills, but also a contest of coaches’ tactics, and also a contest of which side has better RP. When these three come together, there are those classic football matches that have been handed down from generation to generation.
Starting from CM 96, the influence of AI (artificial intelligence, the game engine is part of AI) began to be everywhere, whether it was trading players, tactical targeting, or some occasional mistakes on the field. , what’s even more rare is that CM 96 has expanded the game adjustment function, and the AI ??can finally respond to the adjustments you make.
In general, CM 96 did not make many changes to the AI. It only enhanced its interaction with player operations and made the league rules and player trading rules more realistic. In addition, the full name of CM96 is CM2: 96/97 season, so many media who did not know the truth at that time believed that 96 was another upgrade package of CM 2.
But anyone who was a FM player of that era knows that, and when I look back many years later, I find that FM learned to walk from CM 96, and stumbled step by step to where it is today.
For SI, 1997, starting from the release of CM 97, was destined to be an extraordinary year. And the acclaimed CM 97 (the UK's local sales champion in 1997) whispered to her: Calm down, don't get excited, the eyes of the world are about to focus on you.
Similar to CM 96, when you first open the 97 game, you will again think that this game is going to be a tragedy.
It’s the same, the game engine and game graphics are exactly the same!
Similar to CM9 6, after you play 97, you will be moved to tears by the game again.
Between 1997 and 1996, there were only three changes.
First, CA\PA (ability and potential), the core player attribute, has been introduced into the FM series for the first time;
Second, the database editor, the most important The awesome modifier is introduced into the FM series for the first time;
Thirdly, the real-name system for all stars is introduced into the FM series for the first time.
What more can you ask for?
Some readers said, I request pictures and sound effects!
However, you know, FM is not about pictures.
Then, more importantly, the game graphics from CM 93 to 97 have almost not changed, except for the background texture, which is the texture background. This is also a major weakness of CM that was criticized in those four years. Young Some FMers will definitely call her "Ya Zhudie" when they meet her, so I won't mention it here.
As for the sound effects...Does this FM thing have sound effects?
If you really can’t stand the low picture quality and low sound quality, turn left when you go out, PES and FIFA are waving and smiling~~
In the 5 years from 1993 to 1998, SI was created step by step All core elements of the FM series, player realism, schedule synchronization with reality, multi-league parallelism, huge optional database, database editor, game engine, CA\PA settings, simulation of game tactics.
She was born and she grew up. Then, she stood calmly under the curtain, in the shadow, adjusting her breathing, listening to the cheers of the audience, looking at the stage where the lights were gradually dimming, a smile curled from the corner of her mouth, and then she was ready to appear on stage.
FM’s Golden Age
It is difficult to verify the year in which video games were born, but almost all gamers cannot forget the good memories left for them in 1999.
In that era, Tomb Raider was the most beautiful, Counter-Strike dominated the martial arts world, Age of Empires swept across the world, and Star Craft ruled the world.
1999 was a legendary time for many game manufacturers, because win98’s reform of DOS brought more possibilities to game design. However, for more game manufacturers, it was a difficult time because they had no money, technology or creativity to keep up with the times.
At that time, all the media and players were blinded by games with more operability and more gorgeous graphics. In their eyes, there were no graphics, only boring text, no operations, only simple mouse clicks, and no linkage. Games that involve just one person sitting in front of a monitor are all garbage.
So, naturally, FM, which had just gained a little fame, immediately became the target of verbal criticism and ridicule by many game media. It can even be directly included in the Oxford Dictionary as the word "trash" Another spelling of .
In 1998, SI (actually SI and Edios merged to form Edios Interactive as early as 1995, but in fact the design of the game has been carried out by SI employees, so this article has always used SI) should have taken advantage of CM The 1997 hit released a sequel, but then she went silent for no reason. So the crazy media felt happy. They felt that SI was a paper tiger that had been frightened by the market trend and voluntarily withdrew from the competition.
Well, this is the victory of the technical game, this is the victory of the artistic game, this is the victory of the gorgeous game!
Go for it with boring, utilitarian and conservative thoughts like FM!
The poster likes to watch The Godfather of Champions. Tony Twain, whom the poster likes very much, once said that it must be very satisfying to slap someone in the face.
In March 1999, SI quietly launched the fifth cross-generational game in the series, CM 3.
If it weren’t for the eye-catching Edios Interactive trademark on the disc packaging, when they first opened CM 3, many people would have thought that these were two completely different games released by different companies. It’s simply not on the same level!
The simple and simple left and right tree menus that will be used for 10 years in the future have changed the chaos of the previous game interfaces; the new data background processing mechanism has made the game running speed go up two levels. ; A database of selectable sizes, with up to 25,000 players and staff, almost three times that of the previous game; full currency and currency value realization, the introduction of youth team and reserve team leagues, and the expansion of the number of leagues and cups , the number of parallel leagues has been increased to 15, making the FM series more solid on the road to reality; and one of the core elements of the FM series - the online system was also introduced from CM 3. Although at that time it could only allow online connections within the LAN, but It also allows players to enjoy the joy of blowing each other's anus for the first time.
SI smiled proudly, does this slap make you feel good?
The trolls rolled their eyes, okay, great progress has been made in terms of intuitive expression, but ah, it’s not enough. Is this CM 3 just a "high-quality product" or a "masterpiece" at best? You've just hit the road!
Brother Collyer smiled proudly.
Do you think we are the Immortal Sword and the Second Blood Lion? Just change the skin and it should be called CM2:99/00 instead of CM3!
In order to adapt to the changes in the operating system, CM 3 completely abandoned the previous game tactics engine and switched to a new formation diagram and WB/WOB (with the ball/without the ball) movement settings-that is, The core of future generations of FM, what we commonly call the players pulling the strings.
By pulling the string, you can choose from five modern football tactics: violent attack, iron barrel formation, offensive and defensive balance, steady defense and counterattack, and controlling the rhythm. They have finally become an indispensable part of the FM series since 1999. Correspondingly, factors such as defensive line positioning, multi-person marking, passing methods, and the team's overall rhythm also appeared prominently on the team's tactical board.
This is the first evolution of the FM series' tactical concept. It can even be said that starting from CM 3, the FM series has the concept of "tactics".
In order to match the changes in tactics, the concept of player abilities will naturally change accordingly.
This change is enough to subvert the entire football manager world.
At the beginning of the FM series, the description of player abilities was only simple defense, offense, ball control and goalkeeping. Subsequent sequels have added some player attributes to this foundation, but they are all insignificant.
Until CM3.
Starting from CM 3, player abilities have been officially defined into three categories: technical, mental and physical. SI has further refined the player attributes on the original basis, corresponding to the tactical settings of various teams and players one by one, and completely completed the reform of tactical design.
Yes, all the player attributes we know, as well as the so-called speed flow, technical flow or spiritual flow derived from these attributes, all started with CM3 and are still used today.
These two fundamental changes are the elements of all the success of CM 3, allowing SI to win a lot of applause. The success of the FM series in the past few years is consistent with the decline of other text simulation games in the same period. For example, SI, a small company, is particularly rare compared to those giants who rely on their money, power and technology.
A masterpiece must, of course, have a sales volume worthy of it. The eye-catching NO.1 on the European game annual sales list also officially announced that from now on, from here on, the FM series is about to flourish.
It hurts the most when you fall, and SI seems to know this very well.
In the two years following CM 3, SI once again restrained all its edge and did not blindly launch sequels. It only launched two new series of games based on the original CM 3 ( CM 00\01, CM 01\02) is actually an upgrade package for CM 3 that expands the database, adds some game details such as press conferences, notepads, player comparisons, etc., and optimizes the game.
However, the silence in the past two years is different from the ridicule and doubts it received in 1998. CM 3's three consecutive years of prosperity have made all SI blacks shy away, but SI's calm and silent performance seems to The calm before the rainstorm is brewing a hurricane that will sweep across the world.
In the history of FM, CM4 and CM 03\04 are actually two works, but SI officials have always called these two works CM4, so in this article, they are merged into one place and unified as CM4 Write about the same product. CM4 has a wide audience, and everyone has a different CM4 in their mind. It is super difficult to write. If there is anything wrong, please let me know.
Quantitative changes can lead to qualitative changes. From 1995 to 1999, it was the first quantitative change in the FM series, and then there was CM 3. From 2000 to 2003, SI used three years to accumulate the second qualitative change that was enough to cause it.
March 28, 2003, marks the tenth anniversary of the birth of FM. This is a great year and a great day. There was a loud bang in the sky, the most successful work in the history of the FM series, and the eternal memory in the hearts of all FMers who experienced that era. CM 4 made a gorgeous debut with a domineering air.
From the beginning of the FM series to its current position in October 2010, CM4 has been the most gorgeous one. The author vomited all the ink in his stomach, except for "awesome" "Two words, all adjectives seem so feeble.
CM4 ushered in the golden period of the FM series. It was he who made countless star-chasers realize the importance of the coach to the club. He made countless pseudo-fans evolve from fans to supporters and from novices who only watch the scene. Evolving into an old bird who can occasionally talk about your sister, he has cultivated one shotacon after another, and he has given birth to one fetishist after another.
He has created a world that belongs to real fans, fake fans, and untrue fans at the same time. We are crazy about it and devote ourselves to it to stage tragedies and comedies one after another, allowing us to spread layer after layer in an extremely beautiful fantasy world. The aura of Otto Rehhagel creates Guy Roux miracles one after another.
(As for Rehagel and Guyrou, please make up your own mind.)
To put it bluntly, for the fans of 0304, including the Champions League and Champions League at that time, I can't even hear the European Championship clearly, CM 4 is the name of this era!
(Thanks to the special guest Gingou Classmate for not accepting a single ass coin to perform as a supporting role!)
Until today in 2010, if you ask me, "How does CM4 compare to its predecessors?" Evolution", I will only answer you: "What is the evolution from CM4 to FM2008?"
Although this is a bit exaggerated, it is the fact. In addition to a larger database, a more exquisite restriction interface, and the addition of some custom functions (including self-made skins, team logos, avatars, etc.), oh Counting nuclear weapons at most, the sequels up to FM2008 and even FM2009, which only has an additional 3D perspective, have no "evolution" at all compared to CM4.
From the degree of freedom to the passing method to the pulling point of the cross, it has been used since CM4; a huge variety of tactical options has been used since CM4; from wing attack to center breakthrough, etc. Various tactical concepts, from speed flow to technical flow, have been used since CM4; hundreds of leagues in major countries on all continents around the world, including China, have been used since CM4; the importance of PA and CA has been established The demonic habit is still used from CM4 to this day; even in the 10s, countless FMers still regard it as the king's 2D perspective, which is still used from CM4 to this day.
……It has been used since CM4.
…still in use today.
…so far.
The FM series from 05 to the upcoming 11 is not so much evolved from CM93, but rather the transformation from CM3 to CM4 is the foundation for the survival of subsequent products.
This foundation does not only refer to games. Starting from CM4, the first is because of the novelty of the game mode, the second is because of the prosperity of world football (thanks to the country and then thanks to the excellence of television broadcasts), and the third is because of the many The language even includes the launch of a Chinese version, giving the FM series a mass base and foundation for the first time in the world. Among them, I was still squatting in junior high school and skipping classes every day to roll in the cinders. After class, I ran home and continued to command a series of 0s and 1s to roll on the green ground in CM4 on the computer...
Are the 0 and 1 in CM4, are you okay?
CM4 players, how are you?
Have you ever remembered that while JR and Tudou made rapid progress, Kaka and Ronaldo still remained childish? Have you ever remembered that the power of BT442 is unparalleled and the NB433 can sweep away thousands of troops? Have you ever remembered that the AI ??put a healthy Buffon on the bench and used Vieri as the goalkeeper? Have you ever remembered how miserable you were when you were bitten by a dog, or when you fell from the wall and got hurt like thunder?
Have you ever remembered the frivolous days when you didn’t have the habit of watching movies, and you would leave your computer on day and night just for CM?
After we say goodbye tonight, when will you come again?
At three o'clock in the morning, the cicadas chirped and there was a faint scent of tea.
I sit in front of the computer, facing the dimly glowing monitor, and feel that today is not October 2010, but the night when I skipped class the next day and let Leedz win the championship. That night was not the first sign of madness. The magic bird does not belong to the heartthrob who sadly left the team, nor does it belong to Abu who spends money like water. It only belongs to me and CM4 in the summer of 2003.
Fighting, cheering, booing, balls, people, trophies.
Excited, excited, nervous, anxious, anxious, moved.
Welcome to the world of Football Manager.
Have you ever remembered CM4’s advertising slogan? Day after day, year after year, we faithfully portray every FMer.
Don’t lose your head. Sit uprights. Be confident with the players, and the games is coming.
First calm down, then sit back and give yourself some confidence. Listen, the opening whistle blows.
From obscurity to fame, many products could not do what they spent a lifetime on, but FM took ten years to do; from entering the market to being on the altar, many companies could not do it even after countless generations of products. For this matter, SI has used it for three generations.
There is no need to examine how CM4 can be called a masterpiece of business and competitive games. Everyone thinks it is a masterpiece of a game. Do we still need to examine it?
But if you really want to find a reason, please look at the following set of data:
On the day of launch, it broke the British local computer game sales record (because of the demo);
Within one week of sales, it broke the sales record of this game in the UK (please believe in the power of the PS2 back then);
With one month of sales, it broke the sales record of computer games with no age restrictions in the European Union (don’t forget that in 2003 COD, glass slag war craft III, well, although both of them have age restrictions...);
Sold for half a year, breaking, uh, this poster really broke the Shenma record without even using Google. Anyway...
In any case, the success of CM4 has made everyone at SI laugh out of their dreams in the middle of the night. This kind of success came so quickly that it was unprecedented, and even the follow-up works launched by SI itself could not be surpassed in the future.
SI-style success cannot be replicated. In my mind, I can find countless series of games that are extremely domineering but have also launched blockbusters, but there will never be SI among them.
SI is worth learning from all companies that are eager for quick success, because even though CM4 is so successful, it has never lost its way to FM, and is still sincere and moving forward step by step. Based on the gains and losses from CM93 to CM4 , slowly entering the exploratory period in FM history from the golden age.