Sports Interactive are currently offering a mutually beneficial Football Manager 2015 beta (which has been available since October 23 to those who pre-order the game before its November 7 launch), and it's allowed players to gather some thoughts on the title.
Our General Football Manager 2015 Impressions
The developers benefit by collecting feedback from those playing, and the fans of course get to play the game early. The forums are full of suggestions and issues for the team to consider, and I've written my general impressions. Bugs are negative, and several of my thoughts on the game were concerns or problems I had with the current build--so what about the best features Football Manager 2015 has to offer? Here are my favorite changes or additions:
More Robust UI And Menus
While it can be confusing as you learn, and some options feel buried (star ratings should really be shown on a player's overview screen), there's no question that you can do more in the new game. The menus will become more familiar and easier to navigate and you'll grow to see that the reorganization can help you manage your team better.
Football Manager 2015 Player Faces, Club Logos And Kits Available For Download From Dedicated Fans
The Scouting section, for example, contains both the scouts with their assignments and the player search function in organized fashion. They're not separated, and the Transfer Center is just for tracking targets, ongoing transfers, loans, and transfer history. The Tactics screen still needs tweaking, but the menus look better and brighter in general.
Easier In-Match Management
You can could always alter tactics from the sideline and change instructions, but the new options make it both simpler and deeper. You can shout out messages to your team in the form of pre-match or halftime-style pep talks, not just changes to tactics. This can affect what they do on the field, and ideally will help turn the game around if things aren't going well. The buttons have been moved around and make more sense, and the quick sub button is actually useful in changing the role and duty of a player switching in.
Improved Match Engine Visuals
I touched on this in my impressions, but the players look better and behave a lot more satisfyingly than before. While the AI is a different story and will be addressed, strictly looking at the visuals and animations will leave you pleased. The players are more like people and less like stocky blocks, and they use their limbs to better effect as a result. Players will pull off heel turns, scoop passes and slight flicks, and there are some neat moves when running at pace. Fast and skilled dribblers can pause or change direction to throw off defenders, and keepers react more organically to shots.
The Competitions Tab
In Football Manager 2014, it was sometimes unnecessarily difficult to find your way to competition stats or information. Looking for your Champions Cup group shouldn't have taken as many steps as it did, but the Competitions tab removes that problem. In a visually pleasing manner, all the tournaments your club is involved in are listed with some statistics. You can click into them for more details, but it's much easier to check your league and Champions Cup group standings in one swoop.
There's more to like about Football Manager 2015, but the game isn't even out yet. Many of the issues can and likely will be addressed before or after launch, so check back for updates and thoughts on the game.