The goalposts are still ringing from the first weekend of the new Premiership season and Sports Interactive announce that Football Manager is back. The 2012 edition boasts 800 updates to the transfer system, scouting, interface and 3D match engine. There's no precise release date yet, but it'll be out before Christmas.
The updated 3D match engine will feature new animations, a new crowd and new camera angles. You won't have to watch every match suspended a hundred metres above the pitch. Watch your star striker hammer one in from behind the goal instead.
Off the pitch, Football Manager 2012 will have a new "intelligent interface" which will let players with high resolution monitors see even more stats at the same time. Customisable columns, new tactics and overview screens will make it easier to absorb the huge amount of data pouring out of your club.
Managerial diplomacy has also been improved. The media system and press conferences have received some attention, and a new "tone" system will add some subtlety to player negotiations and team talks. You can stay calm and be a rock, or rant and rage and throw a rock. There will be six tones to choose from. "Flirtatious" is not confirmed.
Scouts will now offer up improved reports that will include "squad analysis, tactics information and information about goals scored and conceded alongside lots of other scouting improvements." Extra contract options will let you manage your budget more effectively when you do decide to sign a new bright spark. The new contract system will include "loyalty bonuses, better implementation of amateur and youth contracts, an improved transfer centre and the ability to lock areas of the contract negotiation when you aren't prepared to budge."
Good news for new players. FM2012 will have a new tutorial to help ease new players into the notoriously daunting, stat-filled world of club management. Here are a couple of silent videos showing the new match engine and adaptive interface in action. Check out the Sports Interactive site for more information.
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Part of the UK team, Tom was with PC Gamer at the very beginning of the website's launch—first as a news writer, and then as online editor until his departure in 2020. His specialties are strategy games, action RPGs, hack ‘n slash games, digital card games… basically anything that he can fit on a hard drive. His final boss form is Deckard Cain.
