Football Manager 2018 has improved transfer window AI and more contextual managerial performance tracking

Over the last few weeks, Inside FM 2018 has been going through the changes that the latest entry to the series is bringing along. There's changes to tactics, the graphics engine, and even details on the Football Manager 2018 beta, and now the final episode of the sports show parody is out. This final episode focuses on the AI the game uses for your computer opponents and the grading you'll receive towards the end of the season.

That AI, and the transfer market as a whole, is being changed to more accurately represent the transfer market's changes in the past few years. As transfer fees have skyrocketed and contracts have changed, Football Manager 2018 wants to reflect that. 

In the real world, clubs will often pay fees in installments, to comply with Fair Play restrictions, so that's being implemented into Football Manager 2018. The addition here is that 6-month installments are now available, as opposed to being forced into using 12-month installments alone.

Loans are being changed too, with the option of being able to loan until the next transfer window now being available, with competition bonuses also available as a part of contracts for loaned players. Minimum fee releases clauses are also being changed, given their popularity with clubs in real life, plus more options for bonuses based on goals like number of games played and number of goals scored in a season.

Finally for the transfer market, the AI is no longer so heavily focused on the top players at the best clubs, as recent performance has been made more important. If a player has done exceedingly well as of late, the larger clubs will look towards signing them regardless of their club. 

There's also changes to how you'll be judged as you play Football Manager 2018. Rather than your performance regarding expectations for team position being the primary point of analysis, context of what happens is now more important. For example, being able to pull the team out of a relegation stage will see fans, players, and the board of directors grow more of a liking towards you.

Football Manager 2018 where to buy

Full details on all of this will be available when Football Manager 2018 releases on November 10, although it's likely that we'll see more of this when the game goes into beta. That beta is likely to arrive later this month, as the estimated start date is two weeks before Football Manager 2018's release date.