The Football Manager 2015 beta has been out for nearly a week now ahead of its November 7 launch, a bonus to those who pre-ordered the title. The beta is nearly the whole game (missing just the online play and out-of-game editor), and has given a great glimpse into the full release.
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What's unclear is how much--if it all--the launch version will change from the current beta build. Sports Interactive is collecting a lot of feedback (fans can offer specific complaints and video evidence on the official forums), which may or may not be patched into the game by launch.
Fans can be nearly assured that the fixes will make it into the game eventually, even if the patch isn't ready by launch, but what have been the biggest issues with the beta so far? More importantly, can simple tweaks and patches fix the issues? A look through the forums makes it clear what the most common complaints are, which we've outlined below.
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The Football Manager 15 beta feedback thread is the best source of complaints, many of which focus on the way goalkeepers and defenders conduct themselves. I can personally confirm many instances of the defenders slowing to a crawl when chasing a ball back towards their own, which can sometimes lead to an attacker stealing the ball or causing problems. The thread notes that common problems include poor back passing, inconsistent defensive heading, and many own goals.
There are several AI balances needed, which the developers say are already under way. These include improving AI-controlled teams' squad building and transfers ability, managerial appointments, and player conversations.
The technical issues (seen in a separate part of the forum) consist mainly of crash reports and complaints of lag. It's certainly a difficult task for the developers to narrow down the cause in such a wide range of systems, but hopefully a common thread presents itself to solve players' issues. You can dig through the gameplay threads yourself to see what people think of the game, which from my experience certainly could use some tweaks. The defense in particular is suspect, and complete defensive collapses in some games seem fairly arbitrary. Check back for more news and impressions as release approaches.
