So that’s it then. The game that we’ve spent so much time playing over the past few years has finally come to an end, and we can all have our lives back.
I have to say - and I never thought I would - that I’m not going to miss it. Some of the people I’ve met maybe, but the actual game itself, I really wont. Game world Lemerre finished on Monday morning at 5:00 am, with my last login coming on Friday evening, just showing how much I really couldn’t be bothered to go in and play the game. I couldn’t even tell you my finishing position in the final mini season World Cup. The last time I looked I was around 11th, but I’m not sure where I finished.
Some people have questioned the point in taking screenshots, but I wanted to, to remind me of those virtual players that I had grown so attached to. So, on the other pages on this blog, you can see the squad I finished with, my all time 11 and also some various screenshots that I wanted to take. More for myself than for others to read, sort of a museum dedicated to Fiftyfifty and, in part, Lemerre.
That’s it for this blog, no more ramblings will be posted here. Feel free to follow my other blog though, a footballing one and also on Twitter @Pricep87.
I’d just like to finally thank everyone who has visited this blog, took the time to read my posts and some even comment. Without visits, there would be no point in posts, so I thank you all and wish you good luck for the future.
Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Going, Going...
In what is probably going to be my penultimate post, I’d like to start off with a bit of a rant. Now it’s not very often that I have a dig at SI, in fact this may even be the first time ever, but I was not happy last week when they took another £4.99 out of my bank account to continue playing the game. The reply I got from support…
“Actually, according to our records, the latest payments were taken before the beginning of the final season. This explains why you were billed.”
So, probably my fault, but I was under the assumption that anyone with an active, rolling sub, would automatically play for free until the end. As it turns out, if a payment was due before your final season started, then they would still take the payment, and then extend your sub until the end from then. In that case, your not actually getting anything for free, as you’re still paying for that final season. Particularly annoying is the fact that Lemerre’s final season is just 6 days long, finishing on 22nd May. So I’ve paid £4.99 to play the game for 6 days. If I’d have known, I would have cancelled my sub as soon as they made the announcement of closure. You know what they say about assumptions being the mother of all fuck ups…
Anyway, on to this last 6 day season. Not a lot can be done inside 6 days that is going to keep the game world active and playing live, but the mods have done a good job at trying. What we are having, is a World Cup season. All participants have restarted during the off season, and been given £50m + to build a squad for their selected nation. All nations are assigned based on numbers, 32 nations each given a number.
Choosing number 18, I was given Ivory Coast. So with a huge transfer budget, and with the mods willing to release players from inactive teams and remove and unretire players from the returning stars list, I’d like to think I have built a fairly decent squad. Equipped with the likes of Drogba and the Toure brothers I’m going to give it a good bash, and although there are better teams out there, more importantly I, along with the rest of the game world, are having fun.
More screenshots to follow on the other pages here, but after a final goodbye I think I will be closing this blog and concentrating on my footballing one. Expect that on or shortly after Sunday.
“Actually, according to our records, the latest payments were taken before the beginning of the final season. This explains why you were billed.”
So, probably my fault, but I was under the assumption that anyone with an active, rolling sub, would automatically play for free until the end. As it turns out, if a payment was due before your final season started, then they would still take the payment, and then extend your sub until the end from then. In that case, your not actually getting anything for free, as you’re still paying for that final season. Particularly annoying is the fact that Lemerre’s final season is just 6 days long, finishing on 22nd May. So I’ve paid £4.99 to play the game for 6 days. If I’d have known, I would have cancelled my sub as soon as they made the announcement of closure. You know what they say about assumptions being the mother of all fuck ups…
Anyway, on to this last 6 day season. Not a lot can be done inside 6 days that is going to keep the game world active and playing live, but the mods have done a good job at trying. What we are having, is a World Cup season. All participants have restarted during the off season, and been given £50m + to build a squad for their selected nation. All nations are assigned based on numbers, 32 nations each given a number.
Choosing number 18, I was given Ivory Coast. So with a huge transfer budget, and with the mods willing to release players from inactive teams and remove and unretire players from the returning stars list, I’d like to think I have built a fairly decent squad. Equipped with the likes of Drogba and the Toure brothers I’m going to give it a good bash, and although there are better teams out there, more importantly I, along with the rest of the game world, are having fun.
More screenshots to follow on the other pages here, but after a final goodbye I think I will be closing this blog and concentrating on my footballing one. Expect that on or shortly after Sunday.
Monday, 25 April 2011
So What Now
I was just wondering what other bloggers were planning on doing with their blogs once the curtains finally come down on the game. I've enjoyed reading all the blogs and getting people's views on the game, and I only wish I had of started blogging myself a lot earlier instead of only since the reset. But I suppose now, with the game going, there won't be much point nor reason to continue writing on these pages.
I thought of turning this into an FM blog, stories of how I do with certain teams in certain countries (I am currently Santos in Brazil on one save) but they are never going to be as interesting as the FML posts and will never attract the same numbers to these pages. Maybe I shall just come back here every now and then with the odd nostalgic post, we shall see. It's a shame, because this blog has started seeing a fair number of hits over the past couple of months.
I just wanted to find out what everyone else plans to do with their blogs...
I thought of turning this into an FM blog, stories of how I do with certain teams in certain countries (I am currently Santos in Brazil on one save) but they are never going to be as interesting as the FML posts and will never attract the same numbers to these pages. Maybe I shall just come back here every now and then with the odd nostalgic post, we shall see. It's a shame, because this blog has started seeing a fair number of hits over the past couple of months.
I just wanted to find out what everyone else plans to do with their blogs...
Friday, 22 April 2011
A Final Farewell To Lemerre
I still plan to play out this final month, but with the game world becoming less active by the day, I thought I would send out a farewell mail to say thank you for the good times and wish everyone well...
So, as we approach the final days of a game that I can safely say is the greatest I've ever played, I thought I would send a final farewell mail. To everyone and everything that made it so great.
It's amazing how we all become so attached to virtual players, fall in love with the way a 3D figure moves around a green screen, become good friends with people you are never likely to meet in real life. Try and explain it to someone who hasn't played, and they look at you gone out. Yes, it is just a game, but it feels so much more in these final days.
So before the gameworld becomes empty, I'd like to say a goodbye to all the members that have made my stay here a pleasurable one, and to those that have given me the enthusiasm and the opportunities to become first of all FAO, then a gameworld moderator. To everyone, from Aaron Burnage to Yuan Yao I thank you and I bid you farewell.
Special mentions go to all of the friends I've made in here. From the people I've known previously (Philip Anderson, Justin Eaton, Dan Taylor, Rob Barker) to the ones I met in here (Chris Rowe, NVD, Anders Olsen, Da Vinci and most notably Azza).
Also to the best moderator I've ever shared a gameworld with Brian Cousins, along with another legend Drew Warburton. But mostly to the one person who has kept me playing since pre reset, Steven Scott (yes I know he is a Scot but we will ignore that just for once) a true legend of the game.
So a thanks to everyone, a big thanks to anyone who has or still is in the CFA, and a mahoosive thanks to the aforementioned. I wish you all good luck in rediscovering that thing they call the real world, and who knows, maybe our paths will cross again at some point.
Peace out
Paul
On top of this, and away from the game world, I just want to say thanks to the outside community. I very much enjoy reading people's blogs and getting a sense of how they see the game. It's easy to write a blog based on how your team has been playing, all your achievements, but the ones that really interest me are the ones that give views and opinions on the game, and the occasional rant of course. A couple of favourites have been Rik Stewart's and the "I am Spartacus" blogs, but i thank all writers for giving me something interesting to read away from the client.
Once again, it's sad and disappointing to see such a great game fail.
So, as we approach the final days of a game that I can safely say is the greatest I've ever played, I thought I would send a final farewell mail. To everyone and everything that made it so great.
It's amazing how we all become so attached to virtual players, fall in love with the way a 3D figure moves around a green screen, become good friends with people you are never likely to meet in real life. Try and explain it to someone who hasn't played, and they look at you gone out. Yes, it is just a game, but it feels so much more in these final days.
So before the gameworld becomes empty, I'd like to say a goodbye to all the members that have made my stay here a pleasurable one, and to those that have given me the enthusiasm and the opportunities to become first of all FAO, then a gameworld moderator. To everyone, from Aaron Burnage to Yuan Yao I thank you and I bid you farewell.
Special mentions go to all of the friends I've made in here. From the people I've known previously (Philip Anderson, Justin Eaton, Dan Taylor, Rob Barker) to the ones I met in here (Chris Rowe, NVD, Anders Olsen, Da Vinci and most notably Azza).
Also to the best moderator I've ever shared a gameworld with Brian Cousins, along with another legend Drew Warburton. But mostly to the one person who has kept me playing since pre reset, Steven Scott (yes I know he is a Scot but we will ignore that just for once) a true legend of the game.
So a thanks to everyone, a big thanks to anyone who has or still is in the CFA, and a mahoosive thanks to the aforementioned. I wish you all good luck in rediscovering that thing they call the real world, and who knows, maybe our paths will cross again at some point.
Peace out
Paul
On top of this, and away from the game world, I just want to say thanks to the outside community. I very much enjoy reading people's blogs and getting a sense of how they see the game. It's easy to write a blog based on how your team has been playing, all your achievements, but the ones that really interest me are the ones that give views and opinions on the game, and the occasional rant of course. A couple of favourites have been Rik Stewart's and the "I am Spartacus" blogs, but i thank all writers for giving me something interesting to read away from the client.
Once again, it's sad and disappointing to see such a great game fail.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Lemerre's First World Cup
Amidst all the doom and gloom with the impending death of the game, this past weekend saw Lemerre's first ever fully blown World Cup. I'm pretty sure everyone in FML circles know what this consists of, but for anyone that doesn't it's like a Trialist World Cup, only it isn't limited to trialists. You can use your own squad players, as well as loans from other teams. At the end of the competition all loanees are released and returned back to their clubs, so no one is without their senior squad for longer than 24 hours or so. The theory is that everyone is willing to loan out their star players for the sake of the community, giving a high quality competition.
The truth, in Lemerre anyway, was a little different. Aside from the members not willing - for whatever reason - to loan out their players, there was the people that had become inactive because of the big announcement. It was therefore difficult to get a squad together and eventually it was announced that each squad would be allowed up to eight players who had the second nationality of the nation you had selected. Pre-empting the difficulty, I chose Mexico. I already had 6 players who I had brought up from my old academy, including the awesome centre back Eder Saavedra (see screenshots) and two accomplished strikers to build my team around. I managed to get in another 4 loans and one signing before turning to the free agents list for trialists.
I thought it was going to end early, after losing my first game and drawing my second, but because of the generous qualification needs for the next round, I scraped through after winning my final group game 3-1. I then proceeded through the Last 16 Round 4-2 and the Quarter Finals 3-2. Not particularly dominant, but after my overload strategy worked in my final group game, I decided to stick with it. Entertaining was an understatement.
So onto the Semi Final then where, ironically I met the team that I beat 3-1 in that deciding group game. Final score? 3-1 again with a brace from my tournaments top player, loanee Marco Fabian. In the Final I met the manager that loaned me Fabian. Unfortunately I lost the game 3-1, but it was very close with most stats straight down the middle. Floriana Fc were simply more clinical than my team were.
World Cup Final:
Mexico 1 - 3 Italy
The truth, in Lemerre anyway, was a little different. Aside from the members not willing - for whatever reason - to loan out their players, there was the people that had become inactive because of the big announcement. It was therefore difficult to get a squad together and eventually it was announced that each squad would be allowed up to eight players who had the second nationality of the nation you had selected. Pre-empting the difficulty, I chose Mexico. I already had 6 players who I had brought up from my old academy, including the awesome centre back Eder Saavedra (see screenshots) and two accomplished strikers to build my team around. I managed to get in another 4 loans and one signing before turning to the free agents list for trialists.
I thought it was going to end early, after losing my first game and drawing my second, but because of the generous qualification needs for the next round, I scraped through after winning my final group game 3-1. I then proceeded through the Last 16 Round 4-2 and the Quarter Finals 3-2. Not particularly dominant, but after my overload strategy worked in my final group game, I decided to stick with it. Entertaining was an understatement.
So onto the Semi Final then where, ironically I met the team that I beat 3-1 in that deciding group game. Final score? 3-1 again with a brace from my tournaments top player, loanee Marco Fabian. In the Final I met the manager that loaned me Fabian. Unfortunately I lost the game 3-1, but it was very close with most stats straight down the middle. Floriana Fc were simply more clinical than my team were.
World Cup Final:
Mexico 1 - 3 Italy
Friday, 15 April 2011
Armageddon
14.8%
That is the percentage of my life that I have spent in Lemerre, not to mention pre reset. What on earth am I going to do with that extra 14% of life that I will gain as of the end of May? Take up a hobby maybe?
I can't say I am completely surprised though. A little of out the blue as it was, the lack of activity from the people that matter over recent months suggested one of two things. Either - as Mr Spartacus (sorry I don't know your real name) said here - they were about to announce something big, the introduction of International management maybe, or they were going to announce the end. Unfortunately for everyone involved with Football Manager Live, Mr Spartacus was wrong and we are staring at the death of such an addictive game.
It's almost upsetting, that a game that I have given up so much time to over the past few years is about to end. Almost every night i would come home from work and stick the game on, slowly falling out with the FM series as the Live version took over. I'm going to miss the community big time, all the people I've met over the time I've spent playing. All the friends, all the foes. If reset was bad enough, this time it's going to be a killer.
It's disappointing to see so many people hell bent on causing trouble during this final month. Yes, a lot of us are upset, but talk of suing SI and going to the papers about "how badly" we've all been treated is maybe a bit too much. Also some of the names I've seen members use under the same breath as SI are quite appalling. I think if anything we should be congratulating SI for creating such a game that has left us addicted for such a long time. Yes it's had it's problems, but what game doesn't?
I'd like to sign this post off with a comment I heard from one of Lemerre's trouble makers, a statement that I half agreed with: "FML has always had a JP reading of 5*, but a current ability rating of 2*"
That is the percentage of my life that I have spent in Lemerre, not to mention pre reset. What on earth am I going to do with that extra 14% of life that I will gain as of the end of May? Take up a hobby maybe?
I can't say I am completely surprised though. A little of out the blue as it was, the lack of activity from the people that matter over recent months suggested one of two things. Either - as Mr Spartacus (sorry I don't know your real name) said here - they were about to announce something big, the introduction of International management maybe, or they were going to announce the end. Unfortunately for everyone involved with Football Manager Live, Mr Spartacus was wrong and we are staring at the death of such an addictive game.
It's almost upsetting, that a game that I have given up so much time to over the past few years is about to end. Almost every night i would come home from work and stick the game on, slowly falling out with the FM series as the Live version took over. I'm going to miss the community big time, all the people I've met over the time I've spent playing. All the friends, all the foes. If reset was bad enough, this time it's going to be a killer.
It's disappointing to see so many people hell bent on causing trouble during this final month. Yes, a lot of us are upset, but talk of suing SI and going to the papers about "how badly" we've all been treated is maybe a bit too much. Also some of the names I've seen members use under the same breath as SI are quite appalling. I think if anything we should be congratulating SI for creating such a game that has left us addicted for such a long time. Yes it's had it's problems, but what game doesn't?
I'd like to sign this post off with a comment I heard from one of Lemerre's trouble makers, a statement that I half agreed with: "FML has always had a JP reading of 5*, but a current ability rating of 2*"
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Famous Last Words
"Expect more frequent updates..."
At the end of my last post, I stated that I would be updating this blog a lot more now that I have given up my moderating role. That was 2 weeks ago now. The fact is that I have lost a little bit of interest in the game. Maybe the modding and the organising and running of Fed events was keeping me going, keeping me logging in. Maybe it's because I am a little disappointed in all the moderating changes recently (6 out of the 12 current mods were on the team when i joined it, with another 2 possibly set to leave), but I really am finding it hard to enjoy the game. I log in, chat to a few of my "friends," play one or two games, then what? After this, I find no real need to continue logged in. Sad days...
It's not just me though. Take a look at the left hand side of this blog where you will find a list of any FML blogs that I have come across (please advertise yours if you have one and it's not on the list) and you will find that a lot of them are updating a lot less frequently than they used to. It appears a lot of the more active members of the FML community are enjoying the game less and less, and therefore contributing less and less. I'm not sure how things are in other game worlds, but Lemerre in particular is suffering community wise. It's a shame, because the community is one of the main reasons I play this game, and I thoroughly enjoy reading up on people's blogs and websites. I hope that future updates from SI can get us more involved with the game again and bring in fresh blood. Just how far away is 1.7...
At the end of my last post, I stated that I would be updating this blog a lot more now that I have given up my moderating role. That was 2 weeks ago now. The fact is that I have lost a little bit of interest in the game. Maybe the modding and the organising and running of Fed events was keeping me going, keeping me logging in. Maybe it's because I am a little disappointed in all the moderating changes recently (6 out of the 12 current mods were on the team when i joined it, with another 2 possibly set to leave), but I really am finding it hard to enjoy the game. I log in, chat to a few of my "friends," play one or two games, then what? After this, I find no real need to continue logged in. Sad days...
It's not just me though. Take a look at the left hand side of this blog where you will find a list of any FML blogs that I have come across (please advertise yours if you have one and it's not on the list) and you will find that a lot of them are updating a lot less frequently than they used to. It appears a lot of the more active members of the FML community are enjoying the game less and less, and therefore contributing less and less. I'm not sure how things are in other game worlds, but Lemerre in particular is suffering community wise. It's a shame, because the community is one of the main reasons I play this game, and I thoroughly enjoy reading up on people's blogs and websites. I hope that future updates from SI can get us more involved with the game again and bring in fresh blood. Just how far away is 1.7...
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