How to enhance your FM gaming experience

For the graphics packs, these are the ones I use myself and highly recommend to others. However, if you find another pack to be very appealing, link to them in the Graphics Thread. Likewise, if you have any trouble downloading or installing these, post your problem in the Graphics thread.



1) SS 10'12 Kits - http://sortitoutsi.net/forum/topic/37278-ss10-12-kits-requests-for-fm10-12-only/
In my opinion, the best kit pack out there.

2) Metallic Logos - http://www.sortitoutsi.net/forum/topic/24480-metallic-logos/
Likewise with the kits, I find this logo pack the best available.

3) Cut-Out Faces Megapack 3.0 - http://sortitoutsi.net/forum/topic/39782-megapack-home-thread/
Massive Face-pack which covers pretty much all of the players you will be dealing with.

4) Susie Real Names for Clubs etc. - http://www.sortitoutsi.net/forum/topic/47125-fm11-susie-real-names-for-clubs-competitions-and-awards-fix-updated-for-113/

5) FM11 Adboards - http://www.sortitoutsi.net/forum/topic/48032-the-fm11-adboard-patch/page__p__1252703&#entry1252703 - Installed - Documents\Sports Interactive\Football Manager 2011\graphics\pictures\Ads

6) Nik33's FM11 Data Packs - http://www.fmgreece.gr/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=239&t=30873

7) New Camera Views - http://www.centrumfm.org/plik-558,FIX_CAM_3D.html - Instructions in link
Adds two new camera views. See link for details.

8-) FMGreece Alternative Pitch Textures - http://www.mediafire.com/?tmzbmjmm0a4vpl8 - Extract here: Football Manager 2011\data\sigfx\meshes\pitch ; I've included backups so don't worry, just replace all files.
Enhance your pitch graphics. It is super cool(also admittedly a bit annoying ) to see your pitch covered in snow during the winter season.

9) FMGreece Alternative 3D Match Balls - http://www.fmgreece.gr/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=269&t=31224 - Instructions in Link
10) FMGreece Alternative Crowds - http://www.fmgreece.gr/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=269&t=31465 - Instructions in Link
11) FM11 Numbered Tactical Sliders - http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/232570-FM11-RELEASED-Numbered-Tactic-Sliders-Skin-Mod

12) FMF and OLT REGEN HAIRPACK - http://www.mediafire.com/?f3oo929kcbyq369 - Install in Football Manager 2011\data\facegen\hair
Probably my favorite, get rid of all your crappy looking regens by downloading and installing the pack I've put together myself. This pack includes many many many new hairstyles to produce a much cooler and higher variety of regens. (Note, this will completely randomize all the games existing regens..)

I've noticed alot of people have trouble with their team talks, so I thought it'd be nice to repost a guide made by an SI member WolfSong, which has helped me alot over FM10 and FM11. I hardly make mistakes with my team talks nowadays.

Link Here

(I wish to have the guide in this post once the SI forums are up again..)

Ever wanted to manage in the distant future? Here you can find links to saves well off in the distant future in a completely new, different environment:

http://www.thedugout.net/community/showthread.php?t=75257

It's also a cool read when you've got nothing else to do.

You see people walking around town with cool FM related Sigs? You want one?

Make one here! http://www.fm-base.co.uk/sig/

Example:

Match Preparation

Is one of the most interesting new features in FM 2011. It allows you to work on your pre-match setup and gives you opportunity to train your team regarding selected tactics.By the way, Match Preparation screen can be accessed quickly with this shortcut: Control+R

The most important here is tactic familiarity levels for tactics you use. You should achieve the following levels of tactic familiarity for each your formation in the end:


It means your players understand all nuances of the tactics and adapted them greatly. FM 2011 allows to adapt players to 3 different tactics. Interesting that training of 3 different tactics makes the players to learn them a bit slower than in case of just 1 tactics.

You should also know that Match Preparation is only modeled for the first and reserve teams without youth squad!

Special Focus Area explained



An individual attention has to be drawn to Special Focus Areas. If you don’t use Special Focus Areas (SFA), you should start getting benefits from this new feature just right now!

Almost all variants of SFA allow you to gain a temporary boost for attributes of your players during some match. Actually it’s about all areas except Team Blend.Let’s imagine you select before a match one of this SFAs.
- Attacking Movement. All attributes linked with ball control and movement gain slight increase when your team is in attack.
- Attacking Set Pieces. Anticipation, positioning and perhaps few other attributes are boosted temporary. Only during attacking set pieces.
- Defending Set Pieces. The same attributes as in previous case will be increased but only during defending set pieces.
- Defensive Positioning. Your players gain a boost of concentration, marking, positioning and maybe several other attributes during your pitch half’s defence.

Team Blend

This is the only focus area that has cumulative effect, and it’s not active during match as other SFAs. Instead it works between matches improving your squad gelling. Team Blend increases player relationships and collaboration which influences performances and morale.There are several important rules regarding Special Focus Areas everyone should understand:

- if you select any SFA, it takes time from training tactic familiarity levels making them to grow slower
- higher workload does not increase effect of Special Focus Areas
- Team Blend is a long term SFA and should be used always because your squad changes every season or even half of season

My Advices

This is the optimal algorithm I developed for Match Preparation use:

1. Reach the maximal level of tactical familiarity setting Very High workload at the start of your game. But remember, setting the MP workload will have an effect on the Training workload.
2. Move workload to ‘Normal’ level when maximal tactic familiarity levels are reached.
3. Now you can start using Special Focus Areas depending on your next opponent.
4. Select one of 4 SFAs before a match: Attacking Set Pieces, Defensive Set Pieces, Defending Positioning, Attacking Movement. Your selection should depend on the strong and weak sides of the opponent.
5. Select Team Blend just right after the match.
6. Repeat steps 4-5 for every match.


I hope now you improved your understanding and feelings regarding hidden features of Match Preparation in FM 2011!
http://www.truefootballmanager.com/2011/01/how-to-use-match-preparation-in-fm-2011.html

Regen Spawn Dates found here.

Also: List of clubs with Sugar Daddies found here