Set-Piece Creator Revealed For Football Manager 2011 News

Sports Interactive and SEGA have revealed a Set-Piece Creator for Football Manager 2011 as part of a range of new features and improvements for the game.

The Set-Piece Creator, pictured right, is similar to the existing Tactics Creator in FM according to Sports Interactive, and will allow players to build custom set-pieces for use during matches.

In a TVG interview last month with Sports Interactive's Studio Director, Miles Jacobson, we mentioned some of the big features from last year's Championship Manager game such as custom set-pieces and asked whether they might appear in FM 2011. Here's what he told us:

"As I said, I didn't play the game [Champ Man 2010] for very long, so no is the answer to that. Whether it's something we want to do in the future, I think we've announced half a dozen pretty big things today and I'd rather be talking about those than what we might be doing further down the line."

It seems someone's been a bit liberal with the truth there. Nonetheless, as well as this Set-Piece Creator, other improvements have been announced today for FM 2011 including a revamp of the existing Press Conferences from previous FM games. These improvements include over 150 new questions, while the existing database of 500+ questions have been reviewed and revised where necessary.

Last year's big addition to the series, the Match Analysis Tool, has also been addressed. Users can now look at the match actions of their whole team on the chalkboard at once, rather than by individual players only. In addition, the chalkboard will now show data for offsides, free-kicks, corners, throw-ins, and clear-cut chances.

Sports Interactive is also turning its attention to some of FM's finer points, such as 'newgen' players (new players that are generated automatically in the game as it progresses). These 'newgens' will now take national traits and player styles into account to ensure that player types remain consistent throughout the life of a game save.

Other fine-tuning to FM 2011 includes the splitting up of player registration and squad number screens to streamline the process and, additionally, a revamp of B-teams and Amateur football. This revamp has been taken on due to fan feedback and, among other things, will allow users to start a B-team in their chosen club for appropriate leagues.