Developer Chat

Welcome to the first FC Dynasty developer chat. I hope we can answer any questions you have concerning the game, and hopefully this can serve to clarify anything that isn't in the FAQ. Thanks.

Why does my home page say that it is week 52, season 1, when my schedule said the last game I played was week 31 , season 1, and I somehow I just played an exhibition game in week 2, season 2??????? (patr_roy - Veteran - 1:48 PM)

I would have to look at your club to see what is going on and figure out exactly what you are seeing. For these types of problems, please submit a support ticket. If something looks wrong, support tickets are the best way to go. You can post in the forums, but there is no guarantee anyone will see it there.

I have been on the waiting for a Japanese league to start for about 3 weeks now, I thought I read somewhere that SIM's would fill the remaining positions if needed. How long will that take? (no_1_stunna - Prospect - 3:54 PM)

World and league creation is dependent on the number of clubs waiting to join leagues. At this time, waiting clubs will most likely be entered into "open spots" in exisiting leagues. Open spots are any AI clubs in the lowest division of a league, which at this time will usually be the only division within a league. The club placement logic will try to fill existing leagues before creating new ones.

For these reasons, the amount of time waiting to join a league will be more for nationalities where there are few leagues, because you may need to wait until the league rolls over to a new season. Nationalities that have multiple leagues, especially if their season roll overs are more spread out, will have less wait to join.

You can look at both the Countries and Worlds pages from links on the FC Dynasty home page to view the number of clubs waiting for each country as well as the current season and week for each world. Finding the next world with a league for your country will give you a good indication of when you might get into a league.

We will soon add email notification upon joining a league. Right now, you have to check each day to see if you are in a league, so hopefully this will help increase the amount of activity at the start of each season.

Why does it take more than two days to sign Free Agents? (patr_roy - Veteran - 4:02 PM)

In order to allow competition for free agents at the start of the season, free agents will not sign during the first three weeks of the season. After that time, they may accept at any time during regularly scheduled three hour increments. Also, as the season gets closer to week 10, the players will be more likely to accept lower offers. If a player will not consider an offer at all (i.e. the offer is too low) they will reject it right away. They will never sit on an offer and then reject it later.

Will we be able to name our stadiums? (FW_Kekionga - Hall of Famer - 4:05 PM)

We hope to add this in the future.

How will stadium upgrading change over time? Will the options always be only to upgrade seats and standing room? (watch_this - Hall of Famer - 4:07 PM)

Stadium upgrade costs will increase after certain milestones are reached. For instance, it may cost more to add standing capacity after you have added 10,000. There are also limits on standing capacity and seating capacity, and after a certain capacity you can only add Seats. I will update the FAQ with more info about Stadium upgrades.

Why cant you imidiately offer other team's player a transfer bid by looking through their roster and click on the player and offer instead of having to scout and you don't end up gatting what you wanted.Some teams are trying to get rid of players and others are looking for players. (aisosa212 - Hall of Famer - 4:30 PM)

Scouting is a new mechanic to our games and we are still test driving it. We have learned quite a bit already about what works and what doesn't work, and we hope to be able to evaluate everything and make some changes later on down the road. Transfers currently fit in very tightly with the scouting model.

With FC Dynasty being a cash management game, we wanted to try something different than the "show everyone and sort" type of player search. Scouting accomplishes two things - it allows you to view the players raw ratings and allows you to negotiate with the player. From the game perspective, we were hoping it would provide another point of the cash management requiring the user to make a decision. I think from the free agent side of things, this works very well. It certainly seems reasonable to say you need to spend some money to send out "scouts" to find players that are not playing that meet the requirements you are looking for. Where it sort of falls short is in dealing with players already on teams, especially those you play against, and for transfers. If there was more to evaluate players outside of raw ratings, then scouting as it is may be enough, but with the lack of player info and stats that would indicate ability for all players, we can really only rely on ratings.

It might be the case that there is always some cost associated with opening negotiations with a player. But for viewing ratings, we have several ideas to open those up for certain cases. We will certainly look at what can be done to open ratings for those players that you play against. We also want to add a transfer board that users can place players on, possibly opening up ratings to other users, which would allow users to let other users know which players they are willing to part with, rather than it being a guessing game right now.

The general philosophy when building the game was that it is easier to give than to take, so some things may seem quite conservative and restrictive right now. We will k

Also why cant we cut or get rid of players or place them on a free agent. Like when my roster was full i wanted to sign another player but i couldn't because my roster was full. (aisosa212 - Hall of Famer - 4:37 PM)

We tried to follow the rules of FIFA where we could. It is somewhat difficult, because different leagues can have slightly different rules, especially when it comes to contracts. In order to keep the game balanced, we decided every country will follow the same rules within the game. There are very strict rules about dropping a player from his contract and we follow those. We do hope to add more features concerning player contracts that fit withing the game and within the rules and spirit of soccer. But for now, you can not release a player from his contract.

The only cases where you will have a player under contract that you did not sign is that very first season in a league and where you did not meet the minimum roster size or have enough cash by week 10 of each season. The first season case is beyond your control, but it is only for one season. The other case is most likely caused by poor planning, which you can control.

Make sure you are signing the players you want and think about the length of the contracts. You can not drop them later.

Are players built with some sort of internal rating that determines how fast they grow? For example, would an 18 year old who isn't rated well have the possibility of turning into a Ronaldo-type player, while another won't hardly grow, or do the great players have to be good from the time they are "created" in the engine? (watch_this - Hall of Famer - 4:43 PM)

Each player has a different development path and it is quite possible two evenly rated young players turn into two completely different players as they get older. The only way to tell which is which is to watch them develop.

This behavior provides potential for us to add more features in the future, such as advanced scouting options, and it gives a little randomness versus just spending a lot of cash to sign the best players.

Will there be a possibility to put out a player's name for bid or transfer? (plangster - All-Star - 4:46 PM)

I covered scouting and transfers in general in another post, but let me answer just this question. We have plans to add a transfer board where a user can put players out as available for transfer, and where users can search for transfers. However, we want to make sure it fits within the game for cash management and balance, so not sure when we will be able to add this. But we are going to add this feature at some point.

Do free kick defense and corner kick defense affect a goalie's play? (watch_this - Hall of Famer - 4:48 PM)

Yes. The general Goalkeeping ratings will apply, but the Corner Kick Defense and Free Kick Defense also apply to goalkeepers in the sense of how well they work with the rest of the team in these situations.

It is fairly easy to tell who the most effective forwards are ... look at the goals scored as a percentage of shots taken. But, from the available numbers, how do we tell who the most effective midfielders and defenders are? (tribewriter - Hall of Famer - 4:51 PM)

This is a problem we are looking to solve. Obviously we do not have as many stats to look at as our other games, but we think we can add some performance ratings or indicators that provide a better analysis of how a player is actually performing on the field. We will soon have a better idea of when we will update FC Dynasty, but this is one of the first things I'd like to see added.

Game Tactics Questions: Will adv. tactics be implemented whereby a team can specify which player is taking a free kick or corner? (Much like the pinch hitting in HBD). For example, I may want Player 2 taking corners, since Player 1 has better heading. Player #1: 40 striking, 55 corner off, 40 passing, 45 heading. Player #2: 40 striking, 54 corner off, 40 passing, 10 heading. (kmueller - Hall of Famer - 4:54 PM)

Yes. We do have plans to allow you to set the players for Corner Kicks and Free Kicks. Advanced tactics is the other thing (see the question about player performance above) that I want to get in to the first update. When we schedule work for the next update, we will start asking for suggestions regarding these features.

Advanced Tactis: Will tactics be improved to allow a team to specify one wing to attack more, and another to defend more. Also, a center mid to attack, while one remains more defensive. Thanks, kmueller (kmueller - Hall of Famer - 5:00 PM)

One of the advanced tactics settings we are considering adding is to allow the user to set each position as "more attacking" or "more defending". Each tactic requires us to set parameters for each player in each position, so it is quite an undertaking, as we also have to check for glitch type settings and check that the balance is correct. This set up of player positioning also applies to adding new formations, which we hope to continuously add as the game goes on, but this is why we can't just easily throw in a new formation.

Currently, transfers are rare. This seems to be an effect of too many FAs, and not enough teams. IRL, transfers are often the primary method to acquire playable talent. Thoughts on where this is headed? (kmueller - Hall of Famer - 5:04 PM)

We'll have to blame part of the reason for transfers being so rare on the current difficulty of scouting for transfers. But the majority of the reason is simply due to the skill level of players you will find for these early leagues. As seasons go on and leagues get more skilled, we should find the top end of the player pool getting more constricted and see more competition for those higher skilled players. Once this happens, we should see transfers become more prevalant and important in the game.

When if ever will we be able to select our practice plans? It seems that a lot of players improve in areas that they do not need and are stagnat in many areas they do need, especially goalkeepers. (sdorf - All-Star - 5:07 PM)

Currently, all players develop based on their player positioning and the skills that are used for that position within the engine. Quite a few skills are developed at multiple positions, but may develop more at one position over another. For instance, Shooting may develop more for a Forward versus a Midfielder, but Shooting is still developed for a Midfielder.

We will most likely look at adding more control over player development when we start looking at youth players. But we will someday see more control, whether it's a practice plan or something else.

I seem to be having a hell of a time getting any substitutions to occur for my team. My players all seem to be locked at 90% (which strangely is listed as "needing playing time') and no matter what I have the auto rest setting at (either above or below 90%), my starters play the entire game. Please advise how the auto rest works...my assumption that is was patterned after the auto rest in SIM League Baseball is obviously incorrect. Thanks. (gomiami1972 - Hall of Famer - 5:14 PM)

Substitutions are currently based on bringing a player in for more defense or more offense late in the game. The engine controls this and there is no way currently for a user to affect this one way or another. When we look at advanced tactics, we will see if there is something we can add for this.

Auto Rest is a setting used to rest a player for a game. It does not affect substitution within a game. Auto Rest is checked against the player's Match Fitness before a game and the player will sit out the game if his Match Fitness is below his Auto Rest. Auto Rest may be ignored if the team can not field 11 players without the resting player.

Is there any type of home-pitch advantage? If so (or if it is planned for the future), will stadium size/attendance affect it? (watch_this - Hall of Famer - 5:16 PM)

There is some home field advantage built in. Stadium size does not affect it. We will evaluate this as the game goes on to see if it needs to be adjusted or if something needs to be added.

Is there any reason why the core growth for players is so limited. I'm used GD where the growth of a player is an important factor. In FC a player seems to only grow 4 or 5 points a sesason if your lucky. (yankinwis - Hall of Famer - 5:21 PM)

In general, this is due to the players being at a low level of skill. As seasons go on, we will see higher skilled players emerge and they will tend to have more room for improvement. Players will tend to improve more between 18 to 25, then plateau until they start to decline. When we take a look at player development, we will have more player data and be able to tell if we need to adjust the development.

How do i get my team to quit turning the ball over? I start 2 pgs and they have high Passing, BH ratings? Confused? (sgerdes - Hall of Famer - 5:22 PM)

Yes.

The way formations currently work, how should a coach interpret man vs zone marking for each formation? Obviously, one would expect a center mid to require more zone marking, while a winger would be manning up more often. What else should we know? Thanks, kmueller (kmueller - Hall of Famer - 5:25 PM)

In general, both zone and man marking are used in different situations throughout the game for all positions. A lot depends on how the game is being played and how the ball is being moved. We hope to enhance the play by play and tactics to expose more of what is happening in the game. When this is available, a user might be able to pay more attention to one defense over the other. But without this knowledge, I would say both are equally important for every player.

What's going to encourage us not to sit on our money from 2-3 seasons, and then sweep up all the good players in free agency? (conman1000 - Rookie - 5:34 PM)

Techinically, there is nothing to prevent you from hoarding cash over several seasons. However, there are several things that work against this. There is no guarantee that there will be that many great free agents to build a dominant team. I would assume most of the best players will be locked up in contracts, which means they might be available for transfer, but good luck getting someone to give you a player if you are playing like that. If someone does manage to get a great team from hoarding cash, they might have a great season, but they will not be able to pay those players next season and will have to start hoarding all over again.

With this being a free game with no monetary rewards, such as credits or reward points, for winning, there really is no reason to mess up several seasons to "go for broke". With this being more casual oriented, we hope people playing against this guy would brush it off and just say "this guy is a joke" and move on to the next season. But this doesn't mean we won't try to address disruptive game play or strategies. We will keep an eye on things like this and if they start to become prevalant in the game, we will work on ways to manage them.

Will there be an update to include whether players are left of right footed? (spacecoyote - Hall of Famer - 5:40 PM)

We don't plan on this happening. We had originally toyed with adding this as a rating, but when you consider the minimum impact this has in professional soccer versus the complexity it would add to playing the game, it didn't seem worth it. Once we add a little more control on the tactics to the point where users can tell what skills affect each position and fine tune their tactics through their players' skills, there will be enough ratings to look at for users to build their teams and tactics. I think adding "footedness" to that mix would push just a little beyond the casual nature of the game. But...I'll never say never, so it's definitely something we will consider when we look at player development.

Now with the first worlds rolling over, will you guys start to implement your plans to attract more new users into the game? (shall14 - Hall of Famer - 5:42 PM)

Yes. We are working with another site to get FC Dynasty up on their site, which should create more teams. The new teams should help fill out existing leagues, create new divisions within those leagues, and add new countries to existing worlds. We hope to have an announcement within the next couple weeks.

Is it better to have a defenseman with 80+ defensive awareness and 40-45 tackling, or one with 60-65 defensive awareness and 65+ tackling? (pieo - Hall of Famer - 5:44 PM)

These are the type of game play questions that I will not answer. Your best bet is to either play around to see what you find out, or ask in the forums what other users have found.

Will FC Dynasty always be free? (pieo - Hall of Famer - 5:51 PM)

The plans are right now that it will always be free, and it has been designed as such. It would have to change quite a bit to require "pay to play". However, I will state a disclaimer that things can change especially in this economic environment and being under corporate control, so I don't know that I can rightfully say "always". But as of now, there has been no talk of it being anything but free.

Will players that have not payed for a season in another sport be able to post in the forums for FC dynasty? I can't post because I have not payed. Will this be changed? (mikethemid - Veteran - 5:55 PM)

Our current forums require a flag to be set for a user and currently that means purchasing a team. With soccer being free, that doesn't quite work. We have new forums that are being worked on that should allow us to keep that flag check for some forums, but allow soccer posts without that flag. Once the new forums get implemented, we should allow any soccer user to post, but until then, it is going to be limited. When we have new info on the new forums I will make a post to let everyone know when it is coming, but I don't have a date right now.

Do you get more money for wins, or does the amount of money you gain soley based on seating capacity? (pieo - Hall of Famer - 5:57 PM)

You get the same amount whether you win or lose. However, the more you win, the more likely you will get more people showing up to your games. This is a case where we wanted to see how the game played for a bit before giving out money based on game result. It's possible that someday we analyze the cash balance and determine we can reward wins with cash, but currently this does not happen.

How close is FC Dynasty away from having A) the World Cup, B) Second Divisions in national leagues, and C) the Champions League? (mnnorthstars - Hall of Famer - 6:05 PM)

FC Dynasty was designed to someday get to all of these. Mutliple divisions are already in place, and there are a couple leagues that have two divisions now, but we will need probably at least twice the number of current users to see most leagues get to this point.

Champions cups and other cup type competitions, which mostly play out in the following season, will be the next new competition we work on. There are other things, like advanced tactics and player performance, that we want to work on first, so I can't guarantee when these additional competitions will be added. We will most likely add "friendlies" at the same time we add cup competitions. Friendlies will be a good way to balance games and revenue for teams that do not get into the cup competitions.

World cup competitions are definitely on the list. It's probably one of the coolest things we can offer over some other games out there. This would most likely be implemented after the Champions Cup-type competitions, as it involves a lot more effort as we will have to determine how to set up and manage national teams, and also how to schedule world cup games throughout the season and how it impacts players on the national teams. I think everyone here would like to see this go in as soon as possible, but realistically it's going to be a few updates down the road.

Do you have plans of adding additional league/individual statistics such as assists and goals against average/save percentage? I would find these very helpful when making decisions on position players/goalies for free agency. Thanks. (gomiami1972 - Hall of Famer - 6:07 PM)

Yes. This will most likely be in the first update we put out. We don't have a date for that yet.

Can we expect an update that will hide match results? I often skip the play-by-play because the final score has already been revealed. The other dynasty games have this feature, and I feel it greatly enhances the experience. (spacecoyote - Hall of Famer - 6:09 PM)

We will most likely look at adding this feature when we look at enhancing the play by play. Right now, I'm not sure there is enough in the play by play to really warrant looking at it without knowing the score. It's mostly the shots and corner kicks, so not a very suspenseful thing to read.

At the moment users' names do not link to a profile - will this be corrected in the future? It would make sending sitemail to other players much easier. (spacecoyote - Hall of Famer - 6:12 PM)

This is kind of a technical issue. FC Dynasty is our first product on a new database and all of our common WIS stuff, like the locker and user profiles, are heavily based on the old database. We are working on linking the two together to allow access between each regardless of database, but as this is the first project requiring it, we are a little behind in adding it.

Will there be an option to view your matchup based on both teams overall rating. (bpal713 - All-Star - 6:16 PM)

There not quite enough stats to make a matchup page worth while, and as ratings are hidden through the scouting system, we can't show ratings match ups. I do think it is a good idea to have some kind of match up, so maybe once we look at updating scouting and adding player performance indicators, we may have something to build a match up page. We will keep it in mind. Thanks.

Thanks for the questions. I will keep you updated on development plans for the future within the forums and the FC Dynasty news. I will try to have a Dev Chat for any upcoming major updates. Thanks.