Discussion: Tactics spam & angry comments

2026-02-23 18:56#309740 gimn85 : The thing I'm most surprised about is that you guys don't have aggressive autosave approaches given the less-than-optimal stability of the game on release.

I've just checked my Bordalas-Norwich save file. Saved 64 times. As I have it on autosave after match (single file) - and then make specific save points that I feel like I might need to use for videos later down the line.

Granted, my focus is on "realistic" results, so I don't think people are going to accuse me of cheating when I finish 7th or get sacked.

Do you have that many crashes?
Have you logged a bug report as they can arrange a ticket for Sega to contact you.

My game is more stable than FM24.

2026-02-23 20:20#309742 Knap :

2026-02-23 18:56#309740 gimn85 : The thing I'm most surprised about is that you guys don't have aggressive autosave approaches given the less-than-optimal stability of the game on release.

I've just checked my Bordalas-Norwich save file. Saved 64 times. As I have it on autosave after match (single file) - and then make specific save points that I feel like I might need to use for videos later down the line.

Granted, my focus is on "realistic" results, so I don't think people are going to accuse me of cheating when I finish 7th or get sacked.

Do you have that many crashes?
Have you logged a bug report as they can arrange a ticket for Sega to contact you.

My game is more stable than FM24.

No. Relatively few, but also significantly more than I ever had with FM24 (except when skinning - but those were crashes of my own making). But, as it did crash a few times in my first few weeks with it, it's just become good practice to have an aggressive auto-save policy. After all, why risk it? With content turnaround being so tight, I don't want anything that might set me back (a video takes me about 40 hours, add on a full-time job, and weekly releases means a lot of crunch).

I have recently had five crashes within the Dover game. It was that issue with the assistant manager which was patched recently.

When the game crashed, I had to play those matches all over again, as I have a policy of saving roughly every four to five matches or after a month if there are no matches.

For me, when I see too many saves, it is a red flag for save-and-load gameplay.

I understand you are a content creator and this is a way of protecting your work, but we are talking about uploading tactics which, in some cases, are tested using holiday simulation. I do not think you need "20" saves to do that.

Knap has already shown this can be achieved with two.

This way, anyone could create a “wonder tactic” every day with weaker teams. Then people who download them end up with completely different results.

This rule was introduced to control certain users’ tactical achievements which could not be replicated by other testers. Some users, like GYR and Knap, had no issue publishing that screen.

The person from whom we/I wanted clarity has now decided not to post here anymore, he is going to create his own website so he could bypass that rule which speaks volumes.

Yes, that really speaks volumes and shows that every one of his tactics was a cheat. Because if everything were alright, he could just keep posting here. For someone who claims to spend about 12 hours a day playing the game... SAD.

2026-02-24 07:25#309744 luk4sh31 : I have recently had five crashes within the Dover game. It was that issue with the assistant manager which was patched recently.

When the game crashed, I had to play those matches all over again, as I have a policy of saving roughly every four to five matches or after a month if there are no matches.

For me, when I see too many saves, it is a red flag for save-and-load gameplay.

I understand you are a content creator and this is a way of protecting your work, but we are talking about uploading tactics which, in some cases, are tested using holiday simulation. I do not think you need "20" saves to do that.

Knap has already shown this can be achieved with two.

This way, anyone could create a “wonder tactic” every day with weaker teams. Then people who download them end up with completely different results.

This rule was introduced to control certain users’ tactical achievements which could not be replicated by other testers. Some users, like GYR and Knap, had no issue publishing that screen.

The person from whom we/I wanted clarity has now decided not to post here anymore, he is going to create his own website so he could bypass that rule which speaks volumes.

Simulating in small chunks and then saving is arguably more ripe for manipulation, surely? Much easier to constantly replay a small batch of 4-5 games to ensure the results you want than, say, repeat the whole season each time. If you're going to arbitrarily claim a set number of saves is a red flag, then anything above 2 (the initial save after setup, and the save at the end of the simulation) should be excluded.

Of course, the issue ultimately driving this discussion in the first place is the combination of hyperbole and saturation - Larger-than-life results, supplemented by little detail, released on an almost daily basis.

As stated earlier in this conversation, I think positive reinforcement is a far better approach than putting up barriers. Introducing a thumbs up/voting/labelling system to validate and elevate good submissions both provides social proof (which is super useful for people visiting the site looking for something to download) and encourages positive uploading behaviour, rather than seeking to tear people down.

I actually save many times because I use the same save for many tactic formations and TIs PIs.

I was testing how easy it was to run a clean save.

The other use of game status screen is to show editor has not been used.

As I constantly rate tactics by performance trying to artificialy improve results would be detrimental to my comparison table.

I think you have misunderstood me. When I was referring to my save policy, it was about manual play, not holiday testing. But if your intention was to point out that I could still play those five matches — yes, I could. However, it is harder to win those five matches again than saving before each game (manual play). This is quite important when you look at cup matches, where you can only play one match to get to the next round.

This is my personal preference: I would rather lose five finals and win one fairly. I actually recorded my last episode from my Dover save, which was over a span of six matches, including one match in the cup. I did it to show how I play the matches, not to prove my credibility but it can do both in that instance.

I do personally believe that showing a tactic when you have saved your game 70 out of 70 matches played is a red flag.

I have never stated that it has to be saved only twice when holiday tested. I have said that a high number of saves could indicate foul play.

I recently tested one of the tactics from FM Arena, and I think I had three saves. I saved once, as it is rather a must, but since I was trying to do multiple tests for consistency, I saved a second time with all the settings so I would not have to change the coaching responsibilities and upload the tactics again. Then the third was the final save. I do not see why people would need more than four or five.



For me, it is all about selling your tactics rather than being honest about your achievements. In the later stages of the game, when the most important matches kick in, it is easier to manipulate those wins if we allow multiple saves.

To the last comment you made, I want to make it clear that I have no personal vendetta against anyone who makes money from content. As someone who has spent years playing this game, I just want people to understand — especially the children who are looking for help. It should not be about instant results or a way to capitalize on them.

I don’t think it would be fair to go back to not showing the game status screenshot and trying to analyze the number of saves (+editor). It would only make it look like it was done to push him out of here. Now that he has left, there’s a gap to fill, and people want to do the same.

I would also add this:

Josh did not leave because people were calling him out, as he was posting tactics constantly.
Josh did not leave because he was asked to reduce his content uploads to every two days.

He left because he was asked to prove credibility of his claims.

I will leave it at that.

The point of this thread has been to find solutions to issues that kept occurring repeatedly in terms of larger-than-life results and high upload frequency (as gimn85 accurately described the situation), which caused angry comments.

Several good ideas were brought on the table and I feel progress was made towards improving the transparency for tactic submissions and establishing a discussion framework that doesn't tolerate abuse while encouraging critical feedback.

As you might know, I despise drama and seriously value peace of mind. Therefore I have no interest in addressing speculation or making announcements. That's not who I am and what I stand for. What matters is to ensure everyone feels welcome to share their tactics here.

There's more work to be done in order to implement all the qualified ideas. I'm also going to introduce a brand new area for real life tactic emulations, dedicated to the memory of a friend who passed away a few months ago.

@luk4sh31

You make a lot of good points here and I particularly like this one "As someone who has spent years playing this game, I just want people to understand — especially the children who are looking for help. It should not be about instant results or a way to capitalize on them."
It's easy to use editor and get results, and this is just me when I play I want to manual play and get results based on what I built and accomplished all that goes out the window if editor is used to manipulate the players CA & PA and game, again this is just me.

I have struggled immensely with FM26 in the beginning and if it wasn't for @luk4sh31 & @Parisian i would never been able to start my Sampdoria revival save.

2026-02-24 12:32#309753 luk4sh31 : I think you have misunderstood me. When I was referring to my save policy, it was about manual play, not holiday testing. But if your intention was to point out that I could still play those five matches — yes, I could. However, it is harder to win those five matches again than saving before each game (manual play). This is quite important when you look at cup matches, where you can only play one match to get to the next round.

This is my personal preference: I would rather lose five finals and win one fairly. I actually recorded my last episode from my Dover save, which was over a span of six matches, including one match in the cup. I did it to show how I play the matches, not to prove my credibility but it can do both in that instance.

I do personally believe that showing a tactic when you have saved your game 70 out of 70 matches played is a red flag.

I have never stated that it has to be saved only twice when holiday tested. I have said that a high number of saves could indicate foul play.

I recently tested one of the tactics from FM Arena, and I think I had three saves. I saved once, as it is rather a must, but since I was trying to do multiple tests for consistency, I saved a second time with all the settings so I would not have to change the coaching responsibilities and upload the tactics again. Then the third was the final save. I do not see why people would need more than four or five.




For me, it is all about selling your tactics rather than being honest about your achievements. In the later stages of the game, when the most important matches kick in, it is easier to manipulate those wins if we allow multiple saves.

To the last comment you made, I want to make it clear that I have no personal vendetta against anyone who makes money from content. As someone who has spent years playing this game, I just want people to understand — especially the children who are looking for help. It should not be about instant results or a way to capitalize on them.

I don’t think it would be fair to go back to not showing the game status screenshot and trying to analyze the number of saves (+editor). It would only make it look like it was done to push him out of here. Now that he has left, there’s a gap to fill, and people want to do the same.

I would also add this:

Josh did not leave because people were calling him out, as he was posting tactics constantly.
Josh did not leave because he was asked to reduce his content uploads to every two days.

He left because he was asked to prove credibility of his claims.

I will leave it at that.

And I think you've misunderstood me. Apologies for not being clear. For the avoidance of doubt when I use "you" I mean the royal/collective "you" - not you specifically. Apart from that last one there. Between "not" and "specifically". That was referring to you. As was that one.

I'm not saying not to post screenshots of game status. I'm saying that making judgements based on how many times a file has been saved is completely arbitrary if it's anything but 2. If you are using that to inform whether a tactic gets put onto the site, or whether you are using that to inform a comment you might add to an upload, it comes from a completely arbitrary reference point.

Your personal approach is perfectly reasonable and fine, and to you it's logical. It requires me to take you at your word (and from a personal standpoint, I will always choose to believe you unless shown otherwise). But determining that people who take a different approach are suspicious, is just bias, and that is inherently unfair IF it then informs your interaction with their upload.




Now for me, it is logical to have autosave on as it protects me, and it's on single file so it overwrites the save AFTER each match. So that should make it impossible to go back and replay the game - as it essentially treats it like an "Ironman" save. Or at least that would be the case if FM didn't have its automatic "last save backup" file (which has me thinking: what if I name the file "last save backup", does it have a backup name for it's backup files?).

My way isn't "better", but it also isn't worse. It's just different. As it would also be for someone who only gets an hour or two to play each night, so only plays a couple of games between saving. But come - let's say - May, they might have a tactic they want to share that is the result of love of the game, many seasons of a career, and many occasions of clicking save before going to bed for the night. If they come here and see people demanding game status screens and judging people based on the number of saves, they're not going to bother uploading. It doesn't matter if you'd treat them differently. They won't know. They will make their decision based on what they see in the tactics area.

And that's why I will continue to advocate for approaches that centre around positive reinforcement. You can elevate the good, without discouraging those who just want to add to the conversation or share their work. And you can do it in a way that makes the site a pleasant place to be.

My way isn't "better", but it also isn't worse. It's just different. As it would also be for someone who only gets an hour or two to play each night, so only plays a couple of games between saving. But come - let's say - May, they might have a tactic they want to share that is the result of love of the game, many seasons of a career, and many occasions of clicking save before going to bed for the night. If they come here and see people demanding game status screens and judging people based on the number of saves, they're not going to bother uploading. It doesn't matter if you'd treat them differently. They won't know. They will make their decision based on what they see in the tactics area.

Mods can just tell this fictional person to add a few screenshots before it gets uploaded on the page.

Game status also shows
Date created and
Game time
Editor used

These should indicate a long term save rather than a tactics test.

It should be obvious if more saves are needed or a test stopped for any reason.

Providing a game status screen is only 1 additional screenshot and not an onerous request.