Here we will take a brief look at the various FA's with FML.
There is 12 standard FA's within the game all covering various playing times.
There are various differences between the FA's mainly being Time of Play and Number of games required in a Season.
There is also a difference with the SFA match speed, the games in this FA are set at a medium playing speed. This is aimed at managers who want to play the game at a slower pace usually so they can have lots of banter during the matches and this also allows them to make changes more rapidly during the match.
THE FAs
Each team can join one FA, and listed below is each FA that you will have the chance to enter when you sign into FML for the very first time!
There is an FA to cover every:
PLAY TIME – Whenever you normally play FML, there is an FA for you. All play times are based on GMT. You can play games whenever you like, but an FA's play time is indicative of when most of its members will be online.
And every:
PLAY INTENSITY – Whether you play FML casually, moderately, or intensely, you will find an FA to suit your requirements. Casual and medium intensity FAs require an average of two games a day over a season, with high intensity FAs requiring three or four. In casual FAs users are not penalised for not playing games 'live', so the volume of matches means less.
Each FA has a profile screen displaying its play times, whilst the intensity of an FA is indicated by the level of its AI penalties. Those with the lowest penalties are for the Casual User (i.e. someone who feels they have little chance of being online enough to play most of their matches live), whilst those with the highest penalties should only be entered by the hardcore! (i.e. those with enough time to play alot of games ‘Live’).
The table below outlines each FA. Their full names, and more details about each, are listed on the next page.
Name Play Time Intensity
MFA 07:00 - 12:00 Medium
AFA 12:00 - 18:00 Medium
XFA 09:00 - 21:00 High
CWA All Day, Every Weekday Low
EEFA 18:00 - 21:00 Medium
AEFA 18:00 - 00:00 Medium
SFA 20:00 - 22:00 Medium
PFA 19:30 - 22:30 Medium
XEFA 21:00 - 00:00 High
NFA 23:30 - 01:00 High
MLFA 01:00 - 07:00 Medium
WCA Friday PM to Monday AM Low
WHY EACH FA IS IN THE GAME
Early on, our main priority is to make sure users are able to play lots of matches against other users live – so that rivalries and friendships can build, and that everyone can get to know each other. As a result, the FAs have been designed to be play style specific, so that whichever FA you join, you will hopefully be placed alongside others who sign in at the same time as you and play about as many games each day. With 12 FAs, however, there is plenty of variety. Read on for details of the different types of FAs available to you:
TIME SPECIFIC FAs
The most time orientated days FAs are the Morning Football Association (MFA), for users who like to get their games in early, and the Afternoon Football Association (AFA), for those who save the things that really matter in life until after lunch!
Many FAs have evening playtimes – this is simply because we found during Beta that most users play most of their matches during the evenings. Thus, of the time based evening FAs, there is the Early Evening Football Association (EEFA), for those who like to come home and have a few quick matches, the Primetime Football Association (PFA), for those who like to make FML the highlight of their evenings, and the Night-time Football Association (NFA), for those who squeeze in a few games just before bed.
During Beta we found that, as well as a fair few night-owls, FML has a pleasing amount of international users in different time zones. Whilst no combination of FAs will be able to match the exact requirements of 100% of users 100% of the time, we did create the Moonlight Football Association (MLFA), running through the night UK time, to ensure that we accommodated as many of those playing outside Europe as possible.
PLAY INTENSITY FAs
Most of the FAs described above are for standard users – those who play FML neither less nor more than most, and have fairly regular times at which they play the game. We are well aware, however, that not all fit that pattern, and other FAs reflect that fact.
For those who play more games than most each day, and log on more regularly, there are two Xtreme Associations. The original, the Xtreme Football Association (XFA), is for those who are liable to be online throughout the day, and like their games to come thick and fast. The last new official FA to enter the game in Beta, meanwhile, was the Xtreme Evening Football Association (XEFA). This is focussed around the evening hours, and is for those who play mainly at night, but, with a narrower play time, like their games even thicker and faster than those in the XFA. The XEFA was created in response to demands, mainly from those playing in the evenings, for another Xtreme FA to suit their unique play styles, which were previously unaccomodated within the game.
The cousins of the Xtreme FAs are the Casual FAs. These are for users who don’t have alot of free time, and expect to be online infrequently. The AI penalties are very light, so you will lose virtually no money by not being online. The FAs have been split into two; one, the Casual Weekday Association (CWA) for those who dip in and out of the game without any real predictability, signing in if and when they have time. The Weekend Casual Association (WCA), meanwhile, covers those who don’t have much time during the weeks but normally like to squeeze in a few matches on the weekends. The CWA has an interesting history – it began as a normal weekend association with higher AI penalties, but throughout every Game World we found that the play style of its members was very casual, and so decided to make it our second casual association.
THEME FAs
The final two FAs are a little different to the rest. The All Evening Football Association (AEFA) runs throughout the evening, and is for managers without a set play time, people who come home and like to play FML each night, but don’t really know when that will be. The Social Football Association (SFA), meanwhile, is arguably FML’s friendliest FA! All members sign up under the knowledge that they are required to play games at no more than medium speed. This encourages managers to chat as well as compete during games. In Beta both these FAs produced exciting community groups within the Game Worlds in which they were run, and we expect them to continue to do so in ‘Live’.
THE BEST FA FOR YOU
Choosing the best FA for you can mean getting the best possible FML experience. Here are some tips for choosing the right FA for you
Do not chase the largest FA and just join it because it is biggest. You need to join an FA which has the right amount of matches and requires the right level of involvement for you.
Do not join an Xtreme FA if you only play one game a day, for instance, as you will not be able to fulfill your fixtures! Equally, make sure the play times of whichever FA you join match yours as far as possible.
You can join the biggest FA, but if you aren’t online at the same time as the rest of its managers you won’t be able to play games ‘live’, and you will lose income via the AI penalties system.
Do not be afraid of joining smaller FAs. The community spirit is often even better if there are just a few members driving the direction of an FA. In addition, it means you are more likely to have access to the top tier of an FA, and the extra UFFA places that come with being in the top flight.
If you don’t mind working your way up from the bottom, join one of the tiered FAs, but if you don’t like the idea of being at the very bottom of a league structure join an FA with the ‘Flat Pyramid’ format discussed on the last page.
It is even more enjoyable to take part in an FA when you know the managers. Most FML users are very friendly, so don’t be afraid to chat to them during matches, or pop into your FA chat rooms to say hi!
If you have requests or ideas for your FA – for youth leagues, or reserve leagues, or, from season 3 onwards, a change to the FA’s format, let your member know, and they will discuss the proposal with the moderation team and put your idea to an FA wide vote if appropriate.
