Game Manual Version: 1.36 Last update: 12/09/ Big Blaze Games

Transcription

1 Game Manual Version: 1.36 Last update: 12/09/ Big Blaze Games

2 Overview: All changes since the last version of this manual are highlighted with a blue background Game concept The concept of the game Free updates Playing from a USB flash drive Questions about the game or suggestions for improvement Known problems under Windows 7 and Windows Launching the game New game Loading a game Credits Website Ending the game 3. Main menu 3.1 First steps 3.2 Manager Pass The icons Options Info Notepad High score Calendar Team Squad/General player information Training Contracts Formation Transfer market Players on loan Training camp The club Employees Youth players Reputation History Stadium Admission prices Interior upgrading Surroundings New stadium building Stadium upgrades Finances Accounts Sponsors Loans Insurance Investments

3 8.6 Overview 8.7 Shares 8.8 Merchandising Statistics Table Opponent matching Cup matches National team Records History Others 10. LIVE Game 10.1 Formation 10.2 Motivation 10.3 Home game sponsor 10.4 Course of events in the game 10.5 Coach 10.6 After the game 11. End of season 12. Editors Appendix 1: Changing flags / "Found club"

4 1.1 Game concept In Club Manager 2015, up to four human players take on the task of managing all aspects of a football club. These include, for example, financial issues such as sponsors, player contracts and stadium upgrades, but also sports-related aspects such as squad management, formations, and training. The difficulty lies in deciding whether it makes greater sense to e.g. invest available funds in the team or upgrade the stadium instead. The better the team is, the more spectators will come to the stadium, and the bigger the stadium, the greater the profits you will reap, which can then in turn be used to invest in the stadium or the team. All athletic and financial achievements will be evaluated and awarded points. These can be viewed in a high score list. The best results can be entered into an online high score list. This allows each player to find out how good he really is by comparing his results with those of all other players worldwide. During programming, the goal was to create a game that allowed you to play an entire season in less than 60 minutes. This makes this game ideal for a quick round or two on the go or when you only have a few minutes to spare. The players will have an overall strength (1 25). For more information on this, please refer to Appendix 1. If multiple human players are playing together, they may agree on monetary fines. Players will be able to decide how long they have for a day. If a person exceeds this time limit, a predetermined fine will be deducted from their account. This means that the other players will no longer have to wait seemingly forever for a fellow player who takes an exceedingly long time to make decisions. 1.2 Free updates: Club Manager 2015 was released on 11/28/2014 in the form of version 1.35, and is constantly being upgraded with new features. Each time a new version is released, the version counter increases by 0.1 the latest version is indicated at the beginning of this manual. At the beginning of the game, the program establishes an internet connection and checks if there is a newer version. If a new version is available, you can download it at No other data will be transferred during this procedure! We do not transfer any data from you to our servers!

5 1.3 Playing from a USB flash drive The game will not be installed and will also not make any changes to the system registry. The game is simply decompressed into a folder. You can then copy it to e.g. a USB flash drive and play the game from there. 1.4 Questions about the game or suggestions for improvement If you have any questions about the game or suggestions for improvement, please visit the forum at You will find a lot of additional information there and also the current status of the suggestions that have been accepted that will soon be integrated into the game. If you have any questions about the game, you will usually find a corresponding answer for your issue there. 1.5 Known problems under Windows 7 and Windows 8 When playing in windowed mode, it may sometimes occur that when your mouse leaves the game window, some of the graphics start to look strange or you are unable to move the cursor back into the game window. If this happens, please click on the title bar of the game window where "Club Manager 2015" appears and move the window back and forth whilst holding down the mouse button. Ideally, the game should be played in fullscreen mode.

6 2. Launching the game Start the game by double-clicking on the file "Start.exe". Please choose whether you would like to play the game in German or in English. Now select if you would like to launch the game in fullscreen or windowed mode. Fullscreen mode: The game occupies the entire screen. Windowed mode: The game is launched in a window. You can resize and move the window about. This allows you to e.g. use other applications at the same time or surf the internet while you are playing the game. The game requires a minimum resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. Notebooks that can only display 1024 x 600 pixels, for example, are not suitable for playing this game. Wherever possible, please select "Fullscreen" and "1920 x 1080". These are the recommended settings for playing the game.

7 2.1 New game This is where you can begin a new game. At the beginning, please decide how many players will be participating in the game (1 4). Now enter the names of the players one by one, select a portrait for each, and select a difficulty level. Now select one of the following four options: Random club (starts off in the 8th league) If you select this option, you will be assigned a random club from the 8th league. At the beginning of the game, you will be in possession of a complete team and a stadium. Found club (starts off in the 8th league) Select this to found your own club, which will begin in the 8th league. Depending on the difficulty level, you may receive cash, no players, and/or only a very small stadium at the beginning of the game. You cannot choose a club name that is already in use in the game. The program will also inform you of this rule. Select a club (starts off in the corresponding league) Choose this option to select a club from one of the eight leagues. Depending on the difficulty level and the league the club belongs to, you will have a predetermined amount of funds at your disposal. You will be provided with a complete team and a stadium. Move club to different league (starts off in the corresponding league) This is where you can e.g. select a club from the 1st league and start off with that club in the 8th league. First, select the club that you would like to take charge of. Now select the league and the club that is to start in the corresponding league in your club's place. The strength of players in both clubs will be adjusted accordingly depending on the leagues.

8 Difficulty levels: When you start a new game, you can choose from one of a number of different difficulty levels. The effects of each difficulty level will be shown to you under "Details" when the corresponding level is selected. Multiplayer mode/fines: You can determine how long each player has to make all the relevant changes. If a person exceeds this time limit, a fine which can be set here will be deducted from their account. This means that the other players will no longer have to wait seemingly forever for a fellow player who always takes an exceedingly long time to make decisions. A different time period can be set for the first ten days than the rest of a season, as most of the decisions will probably be made in these ten days.

9 2.2 Loading a game You can save the game at any time when playing. To continue this game at a later time, you can load the saved game. The game will then continue from the point where you saved it. You have a total of ten saving slots available. Please select the corresponding saved game. 2.3 Credits This is where the people who have contributed to the game are listed. 2.4 Website This is where you will find information on the game, updates, and news. In the forum, you can (among other things) post suggestions for new features or discuss any questions or issues you may have with other players. 2.5 End game This is where you can end the game.

10 3. Main menu You are now in the main menu of the game. On the top part of the screen, you will find information on upcoming competitions and who your opponents will be in those games. On the left half of the screen, you will see the manager pass. It contains important information. On the bottom part of the screen, you will see a calendar that shows you upcoming events for the next seven days. The current day is always shown as the leftmost day on the calendar. Next: Click on the "Next" button on the top right on the cellphone to switch to the next day. Under "Week flow: Next day: Mouse click" in the settings, you can click on "Automatic". This will cause the program to always stop at a Monday or when there is an upcoming event. Organizer: This is where you will find all the main menu options available for selection. Click on the various options to display the sub-menu entries. Options: This is where you can adjust settings. Info: This is where you will find information on your game progress and the version of the game. Notepad: Click here to access the notepad. High score icon: This is where you can view the evaluation of your score, the high score list and the online high score list. Calendar icon: This is where you will find all appointments and events of the current season. TIP: When you press the F10 key, the program will save a screenshot stamped with the date and time in the main directory of Club Manager 2015.

11 3.1 First steps You should always perform the following steps when you start a new game. Squad: Under "Team/Squad", you will see an overview of the players that belong to your club. If you have just founded a new club, you will not have any players yet! Please check if you would like to sign on players, promote youth players to the pro squad, or dismiss players. For more information, please refer to the chapters "Team/Squad" and "Club/Youth players". Sponsor: Under "Finances/Sponsors", you will receive offers from prospective sponsors. In each season, you can select a sponsor that will provide your team with financial support. For more information, please refer to the chapter "Finances/Sponsors". Admission prices: Under "Stadium/Admission prices", you will see the prices visitors will have to pay if they would like to be admitted to watch one of your home games. At the beginning of the game, you should remember to set the admission prices that spectators will have to pay to enter the stadium. For more information, please refer to the chapter "Stadium/Admission prices". TIP: You can often adjust a unit in increments of 10 or 1000 by right-clicking on an arrow. Merchandising items: Under "Finances/Merchandising", you can purchase merchandising items in July that you can sell to your fans. These items can only be ordered in July. You will not be able to reorder them during an active season. For more information, please refer to the chapter "Finances/Merchandising". Youth work: You will see an overview of your youth players under "Club/Youth players". These players require financial support in order to develop their full potential. For more information, please refer to the chapter "Club/Youth players". Employees: You can hire employees under "Club/Employees". For example, a co-coach is required if someone is to automatically come up with the formation or come up with training plans. Now that you have completed these steps, we wish you success and all the best in the new season!

12 3.2 Manager Pass This is where you will find information on your current account status (cash), the league you are in, the manager level, and the important decisions that need to be made. Click on the small map symbol to view all the tasks that you will need to complete in order to obtain the maximum level score of 100. The more points you have, the higher your chances are of becoming a national coach. Once you have completed a task, a symbol will indicate this. If there are important tasks that require action on your part, a raised index finger will appear on the Manager Pass. Click on it to view the details of the task.

13 4. Icons In the Organizer menu, you will see five icons at the bottom. 4.1 Options You can perform the following actions here: Save: Save your game progress here. To do so, select one of the ten available save slots. When overwriting an existing saved game, a confirmation dialog will appear. Settings: This is where you can adjust various settings that will influence the course of the game. If you deactivate the national team, it can no longer be reactivated later on in the game. Credits: This is where you will find information on the people who contributed to the game. End game: This option allows you to end the game. Please remember to save the game first.

14 4.2 Info This is where you will find information on your game progress, your game mode, as well as the duration of the current game. In addition, you can also view the current version of Club Manager 2015 here. The number of times the game progress has been saved can also be viewed here. This figure will also be visible to everyone when saving an entry in the online high score list. 4.3 Notepad Click here to open your notepad. Use the notepad to note down ideas, tasks, and possible strategies. To do so, click on one of the lines and enter your text. Click on the trash can icon to delete the corresponding line. To leave the notepad, click on the "X" symbol. Naturally, these notes are also saved when you save the game. 4.4 High score In the game, your athletic and financial successes will be evaluated and you will be awarded points. The best players will be able to enter the number of points they have earned into a high score list after 20 seasons. For each game mode (Start career, Found club, Select club, Trade club) and difficulty level (easy, normal, difficult, extremely difficult and hardcore), there is a separate high score list to enable players to compare their achievements more easily. You can view the high score list at any time. Evaluation: This is where you can view all the points that you have been awarded in each category over the course of the game. For example, under "Achieved", you will see how many championships or victories you have won so far. "Factor" shows how much a particular event is worth. Finally, under "Points", you will see the number of points you have earned in a particular category. For example, if you won the 1st league championships 3 times, you will receive 3 x 900 = 2,700 points. Top 20: Once you have played 20 seasons in the game, you can have your points entered into the high score list. Of course, you can still continue on with the game after that. However, all points you earn from then on will no longer be entered into the high score list. This places all players on an even footing and allows them to compare the points they earned within the same period of time.

15 Online high score: This is where you can view the global online high score lists, sorted according to game mode and difficulty. You will require an internet connection for this feature. Click on the category title to sort the list according to it. After 20 seasons, you can also have the number of points you have earned entered into the online high score list at the end of the season. At that point in time, you will be asked whether you would like to have your score entered into the list. You will not be able add your score to the list at an earlier or later point in time!

16 4.5 Calendar When you click on your calendar, you will be shown all the data on the current season beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30th. Click on the light blue arrows to browse backwards or forwards through the calendar. To exit the calendar, click on the gray "x" in the top right corner. In addition to the calendar date, you will also be shown which competition or other event will be taking place.

17 5. Team This is where you will find all the relevant menu options for your club's professional team. 5.1 Squad/General player information Here, you will see an overview of all your professional players. The flag on the left indicates a player's nationality. Tip: In this game, foreign players do not have any language difficulties. It therefore makes no difference whether you sign a German or an international player. Players are divided into four different categories: GOL (Goalkeeper), DEF (Defense) MID (Midfielder) STR (Striker) # means that a player is on loan. Your professional squad may consist of up to 25 players. A more detailed categorization has been omitted in order to allow for "faster" play in the game. Players have a talent value ranging from 1 to 5, which is represented by a corresponding number of stars. The more talent a player has, the higher his chances are of collecting more training points via training achievements and, as a young player, of not being demoted during the promotion/demotion round at the end of a season. Players have strengths ranging from 1 25, whereby values ranging from indicate that the player is a world-class athlete. Players will always age one year at the beginning of a season. A player's value is calculated from his strength, his age, and his contractual term. Player information: Click on a player's name to obtain more detailed information on the player. You will be shown detailed information such as his personal statistics, morale, training status, salary, and contractual term. Click on the two light blue arrows to browse back and forth among your own players. If a player no longer meets your expectations, or you are no longer able to pay his salary, click on "Dismiss". Usually, the player will agree to the dismissal for a severance package, upon which he will leave the club. In January and July, you can also sell players or place them on the transfer list. In the case of longer contractual terms, the player will also insist on receiving a severance package when you do so. If you do not pay the severance, the player will insist that his contract be honored. Players who are on the transfer market are identified in the squad overview by a white suitcase with a red arrow. To remove a player from the transfer market, click on the player again and then on "Remove from TM".

18 TIP: Click on one of the category headings in yellow to sort the players according to that category. If you would like to rename a player, click on the "Rename" button. You will then be prompted to give the player a new name.

19 5.2 Training Every Monday, you will automatically be prompted to plan your training sessions for the entire week. Alternatively, you may also access this menu on any other day of the week. During a vacation, you may also enter a training program, but no training will be carried out. The following options are available: General (Goal: 100) : Once a player has reached a value of 1,000, the progress bar will be completely full and the player will receive an upgrade of 0.1 strength points. Energy formation. (max. 100): Players with an energy value below 30% may not be part of a When a player's energy value drops to below 30 % during a game, he will become extremely prone to injuries during the game. Stamina (max. 100): Players with a stamina value below 30% may not be part of a starting lineup. You can click on the "Co-coach" button to assign him the task of determining an individual training program for each player. The co-coach always comes up with excellent training programs. Click on the other buttons to set the same training goals for all players. Injured players will not take part in training. The green numbers and the colors of the progress bars show which area the corresponding player is training in the current week. You can also specify what you want each player to train. To do so, simply click on the corresponding progress bar. It then lights up slightly and the value behind it will be shown in a green font. The higher a player's talent, the faster he will improve with training. When a player is injured, the duration of the injury will be shown in weeks. Tip: As a rule, you can't go wrong with the co-coach.

20 5.3 Contracts This is where you will find an overview of all your players' contractual terms and agreements. Under "Overview II", you will see the bonuses agreed upon. If the contract expires at the end of the season and is not renewed, the player will leave the club without incurring any transfer fees. When a player's contract expires, the contractual term is shown in a red font. To renew a player's contract, click on the corresponding player and then select "Contract". In the top left area of this screen, you will find information on the player's current contract. At the bottom left, you will find the player's demands for signing the contract. His willingness to negotiate will also be displayed. You can now negotiate with the player on the terms of his new contract. Click on the various sections of the contract such as monthly salary, contractual term, bonus per goal etc. The aspect being negotiated is shown in red. Now click on "More" or "Less" to negotiate the value of the point selected in the contract. Depending on the offer, the player's willingness to negotiate may increase or decrease. If you overdo your demands, the player will lose interest in negotiating with you for a while. You will be able to try again later. To sign a contract, click on "Sign" on the bottom right, or on "Cancel" to break off negotiations. TIP: Do not wait until the end of the season to negotiate with an extremely important player if his contract is expiring at the end of the season. If the player leaves the negotiations frustrated, there may not be a second chance to negotiate again with the player in the current season. TIP: Left-click on the contractual term to edit its value. For the other categories, you can click and hold the left mouse button. However, ensure that the player's willingness to negotiate does not decrease too rapidly, in which case you should press the left mouse button multiple times in short intervals. TIP: If players receive a promotion/championship or non-relegation bonus, and the club is still not at the corresponding position in the league table from the 8th match day, the morale of these players will decrease more rapidly. If the team's ranking is good, the players' morale increases accordingly.

21 TIP: Click on the "ASD" image to enter a value using the keyboard. 5.4 Formation See section Transfer market This is where you can sign on players or take players you have previously placed on the transfer market off the market. To take one of your own players off the transfer market, click on the bottom menu bar on "Transfer market", search for your player, and click on him. Now select "Take off TM". General information: Players can only be signed on in January and June. Players who have changed their club during a season may no longer switch clubs during the active season. When signing on a player, you have three options. You can select from one of the following buttons at the bottom area of the screen: 1. Transfer market: This is where you can sign on a player that was placed on the German transfer list by a German club. Now you will see all players who are located on the transfer list. Click on one of the category headings to re-sort the list according to that category. Click on one of the two blue arrows to browse between multiple pages.

22 2. View clubs: This is where all the countries and clubs that are simulated in the game will be displayed. Select a continent and a country to view the clubs of the corresponding country. The clubs that play in that particular country will then be displayed in the middle of the screen. Select a club to display the corresponding squad. Alternatively, you can also list all the countries simulated in the game alphabetically. 3. Search for player: This is where you will find what is probably the most popular method for signing on players. You can describe players that you would like to sign on here. Click on the top left to select if you would like to search for a goalkeeper, a defensive player, a midfielder, or a striker. You can select multiple options. The selected options are highlighted with a white square. If you prefer, you can also limit the search to German clubs or clubs from the top countries by clicking on the fields in front of the flags. Click on the white or pink (small unit) arrows to configure the search parameters. Once you are done, click on the button labeled "Search". The results will now be displayed. Signing on a player: Once you have found a player you would like to have in your team, click on him. You will now be shown information on the player. Click on "Purchase" or "Loan" to select the type of contract you would like to offer the player. Tip: If you have a player on loan, the contract is always valid till the end of the season. At the end of the season, you may have the option of purchasing the player from the club he is on loan from. If the player is interested in a transfer, you will now be able to negotiate a contract with him. This takes place in a fashion similar to that described under section 5.3 Contracts. If you would like to poach a player from another club, you will need to negotiate a transfer fee with the club. Under the club's demands, you will find the transfer fee that the club is asking for. You can click on "Less" to attempt to reduce the club's demands. If their willingness to negotiate falls by too much, the club may no longer be interested in negotiating with you about the player in this season. A club would like one of your players to transfer over to them: During the transfer period in January and July, other clubs may sometimes attempt to poach your players. If you receive such an offer, you can negotiate with the club or decline to negotiate by clicking on the button labeled "Cancel".

23 5.6 Players on loan Here, you will see an overview of all players that you have loaned to other clubs in the active season. All data provided refers to the point in time at which you loaned out the player. Your professional squad may consist of up to 25 players. For example, if you have loaned out 5 players, you can have a maximum of 20 players in your squad, as the 5 players on loan also count as part of your current squad. At the end of the season, players on loan will be returned to their squad. It may also happen that clubs make you an offer to purchase a player at the end of a season. 5.7 Training camp This is where you can visit one of the twelve training camps to choose from twice in a season. Players lose energy and stamina during vacations, training, and games. You can improve both stats at a training camp by working on them intensively. Furthermore, at the camp, players will be given a crash course in improving their individual and tactical skills (general training). In particular, extremely young and talented players will be able to improve their playing skills here! To find out more about a particular location, click on one of the red dots on the world map shown. Information about the location will then be shown on the left side of the screen, as well as the price for booking the two-week training camp. Which training camp you choose is entirely up to you. To book a training camp, click on the button labeled "Book". The duration of the training camp will appear in your calendar once you have placed the booking. You will be informed on the progress of each of your players on the day of departure.

24 6. The club This is where you will find all the relevant menu options related to your club. 6.1 Employees You can hire employees and assign them tasks here. Co-coach: When asked to do so, the co-coach takes care of the formation and manages the training program. To hire a co-coach, click on the "Hire" button. The co-coach will then receive a contract lasting 24 months. When the 24 months have passed, the contract will expire. If you would like to dismiss the co-coach, click on the button labeled "Dismiss". Depending on the time remaining in his contract, he may demand severance pay. To assign tasks to the co-coach, click on the button labeled "Tasks". You can now set the energy and stamina values at which the players will be required to train to improve their energy and/or stamina. For example, if you would like a player to undergo training to improve his energy once it falls below 55, click on the arrows to set a value of 55 here. If you have not hired a co-coach, you will need to come up with a formation and a training plan on your own. In addition, the co-coach can be given criteria according to which players are chosen for the formation when multiple players have the same strength. Stamina coach/goalkeeping coach/youth coach When you hire these coaches, your players in the relevant areas will benefit. Doctor/Masseur Injured players benefit from the services of these employees. Psychologist She takes care of players when their morale is extremely low.

25 6.2 Youth players Here, you will be presented with an overview of all your players from youth teams. In addition to the professional team, your club also consists of the following 6 youth teams: Youth Youth Youth Youth Youth Youth league league league league league league A B C D E F 17- and 18-year-old players 15- and 16-year-old players 13- and 14-year-old players 11- and 12-year-old players 9- and 10-year-old players 7- and 8-year-old players 25 players are shown in each youth league. Tip: 17- and 18-year-old youth players can switch over to the professional team at any time. If an 18-year-old youth player is not promoted to the professional team at the end of the season, he will leave the club. To transfer a youth player to the professional team, click on him, and then on the "Professional squad" button on the bottom left. The progress bar "Upward tendency" shows the player's percentage progress in reaching the next possible promotion point. At the beginning of each season, you should determine the sum of money you would like to contribute to the youth players in the active season. This is a one-off payment. To do this, click on the two light blue arrows to select an amount or click on the "ASD" image to enter it using the keyboard. Once you are done, click on the button labeled "Set". The higher the amount set, the more likely it will be that players progress more rapidly and that you will find better talents when your youth teams take on new players. At the beginning of the game, the youth players will not be very good, but if you invest a lot of money into youth work over a period of several years, you will come into possession of much stronger youth players. Youth players develop better the higher you are in a league. If you would like to rename one of your youth players, click on the button labeled "Rename".