Q: How detailed will the transfer system compared to previous versions? Are transfer prices less predictable?

A: Putting it simply, the transfer system is brand new. There’s no code remaining from LMA Manager 2005 in that area of the game. Where you’ll notice the difference are in the negotiation options available to use, and in the AI that determines how clubs and players react to your offers.

In the club-negotiation stages we’ve introduced staggered payments, appearance bonuses, sell on clauses and player-swap deals. In the player-contract negotiation stages we’ve introduced relegation/promotion clauses, along with scoring, win and man of the match bonuses.

These choices really open up negotiation options.

In terms of the AI, CPU clubs now have stats that determine how cleverly they’ll negotiate, and also how they’ll play the transfer market themselves (so they can tell a carthorse from a wonderkid, or not as the case may be). The player you’re trying to sign will assess your club reputation, your ambitions, style of play, if they think they’ll get regular first-team football and even if they have friends at your club before deciding to put pen to paper.

Q: Could you explain how the new training matches will work? Are there any other additions to the training involved in LMA 2006?

A: Basically, you get to divide your squad into two teams and play a match. We’ve brought this in for two reasons. Firstly, you can use it to get your players more comfortable and familiar with the tactics you’ve created. Secondly, you can use it as a practice, by getting one of the sides to play using the tactics your next opponents will be using (assuming your scout has predicted them correctly).

Basically, the training match can be used as a dry run for your next competitive match.

Training has changed in other ways - you now have detailed weekly training reports for every player at your club (including the youth squad), rather than the quick overviews you had in LMA Manager 2005, along with recommended training regimes for each player.

You can also build and upgrade your training ground, expanding on the stadium-construction features we’ve always had in LMA. The better your ground, the better results you can get in training.

We’ve also redesigned many of the training screens, particularly the training schedules, to make them easier to use.

Q: Can we expect to see any differences in the tactical options this year?

A: We’ve added more formation customisations. You can now set a ‘distribution value?to bias towards central or wing play. You’ll also be able to bias your wing play to favour the left or right sides, allowing you to play to your squad’s strengths.

We’ve also added more dugout shouts (quick tactics set-ups) for use in the 3D match.

Finally we’ve given you five tactics slots to fill and switch between, rather than only having one at a time. These can be loaded and saved from memory card.

Q: Are we able to talk to the players this year, such as criticising them or praising them on their performances?

A: Player interaction has been expanded for LMA Manager 2006 with the growth of the ‘happiness?module of the game, where players will email you when something’s unsettling them (for example the training is too hard, or the tactics are unsuitable, or if he has a lack of friends at the club) and it’s up to you to sort things out any way you choose.

We try to avoid game features that have simple ‘yes/no?response options, which is also why we’ve avoided the standard “praise/criticise?half-time team talks. It’s not that we feel the feature is a poor idea, but implementations we’ve seen of this in other games are very limited in terms of options, and even a mildly experienced player can soon manipulate the feature by learning the ‘good?responses, leading to it rapidly becoming repetitive. Once we have a design for a system we’re happy with, you’ll see it in future versions of LMA Manager.

Q: Have the staff reports (such as scouting reports) been tweaked this year?

A: Yes they have. Your trainer now gives detailed progress reports on every player in your squad (even youth players) compared to the more general overviews of previous LMA Manager games. Scout reports are also more detailed, giving hints as to some of the new hidden stats in LMA 2006 (such as Flair, Injury Proneness and Work-Rate). Your scout will also report on opposition managers now too, detailing his strengths and weaknesses.