Championship Manager 4 Online Guide - Guide for Championship Manager 4

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Championship Manager 4 Online Guide
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Contents:

1) Legal Stuff
2) Game Information/Requirements
3) Introduction
4) Updates
5) Getting Started
6) Online notes
7) Hints and Tips
8) FAQ's
9) Special Thanks/Credit
10) Contact information


Other Faq's by Colinvandam: Fifa Football 2003
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1) Legal Stuff
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This FAQ was created for personal use only and may NOT be put up on any web 
sites other than:

Gamefaqs.com 
IGN FAQ's
cheats.de
DLH.Net
cheatcodes.com

And this may NOT be reproduced under any circumstances except for either 
personal or private use.  It may be placed on a web site but ONLY with advanced 
written permission.  Use of this guide on any other web site or of any public 
display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you spot something that needs corrected
or modified in any way, or even submissions or questions that you may have 
towards this FAQ.  Send your e-mail to the address at the bottom of this FAQ 
and I will reply as soon as I possibly can.

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2) Game Information/Requirements (PC)
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Championship Manager 4 (CM4)
System(s): PC and Mac
Developer: Sports Interactive
Publisher: Eidos

Please note that it is known that slightly older PC's CAN handle this game with
the bare minimum of leagues running, but please check with SI Games before 
purchasing.  Also, I would be grateful if someone could send the requirements 
for Mac, full credit will be given in time for the next update.

Minimum Requirements (1 League with small database):
Intel P3 600Mhz or equivalent
Windows 98/XP
64MB RAM (128MB for XP)
Graphics: 1024x768, 32bit colour required
Audio: DirectX compatible soundcard

Recommended:

Intel P4 1Ghz or equivalent - CM4 is optimised for P4
256MB RAM

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3) Introduction
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I have decided to make this FAQ to answer the multiple questions asked about
how it is possible to play Championship Manager 4 online via the internet.  I
hope to answer any questions that any readers may have and they will be 
published here in future updates of this FAQ.  This FAQ will describe the 
procedures, requirements needed as well as answering general queries about CM4
online.

Playing the game online is very similar, if not identical, to the single player
offline game.  I highly recommend that you try playing CM4 online with a 
friend (if possible more) as there is nothing quite like beating your friend 
2-1 with a goal in the dying minutes.  Although the game is slower with a dial-
up connection, playing with Broadband ensures the game keeps it usual pace that
players are used to when playing offline.

This FAQ is designed SOLELY for the worried people who are baffled or want to
find more information about the network or online game of CM4.  I do not intend
in adding good player guides etc in the near future, but maybe could be added
in a future update to beef up the FAQ for those wanting a little more from it.

Finally, I am writing this by experience of the PC version of the game, and 
therefore some minor mistakes may be made between the two versions.  So please
point out any mistakes or differences there may be and I will be glad to sort
them out.

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4) Updates
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10/7/03 Version 1.00: First update, more FAQ's will be added as I receive them

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5) Getting Started
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i) Instructions for all

First off, you're obviously going to need a PC/Mac, a Championship Manager 4 
game for each person participating in the game and an internet connection.
Once you have that all ready and set up you're good to go, all you need now is
to arrange a time to start playing which is possibly the hardest part of 
playing a CM4 network game.

Next off, it gets a little complicated, but even the most basic of computer and
CM4 knowladge will be able to pull through fine.  Between the group of people 
you have arranged to play with, you must first select a person to 'run as 
server'.  All this means (for the people new to the CM4 Online scene) is that
the computer who is running as the server is hosting the game and the person 
who saves and loads the game each time you play.  When deciding who is to host,
consider the following factors:

What the fastest running computer out of the group?
What speed of internet connection does the host have?
Can the hosting computer handle many leagues at a time?

The hosting computer should be the most powerful and have the fastest internet
connection i.e. Broadband 150k or over depending on the number of players 
joining the game.

ii) Instructions for host
The person hosting the game should then select Game Options from the side menu,
followed by edit Preferences.  Then, tick the box saying 'RUN AS SERVER' (the
name of the server isn't necessary, but feel free to change if you please).
Once you have this all ready, all you need now is for people to join your game,
which tends to be the part people find most difficult to find.

The final stage is for the host to click on Game Options from the side menu,
and then Game Status.  It is from there that you will be able to note down your
unique game IP ADDRESS.  

**SPECIAL NOTE**
NEVER give out your IP address on internet forums, via instant messaging or
anywhere else UNLESS you are 100% sure you can trust the person you are giving
the address to.  Your IP address can be used for hacking etc. so be careful on
who you give it to.
/Special Note

Give the IP address to your friends, sit back and wait for them to join.  A 
whole new approach to CM4 is about to be born.

iii) Instructions for other players joining

Finally, the easy part goes to the remaining players joining the game, the
procedure for this is simple.  From the main menu (where you would normally 
select Start New Game or Load Previous Game), simply select 'Join Network 
Game'.  Once the database is loaded, click on the small box at the top right 
hand corner named 'Join Other'.  Finally, enter the IP address of the server
and you should be ready to go.  The 'Add new Manager' screen should immediately
appear just like the offline game, only this time, there will already be a few 
manager position's taken depending on the number of people already joined.

And that's it, you have went though the pain and anguish of setting up CM4
online.  Wasn't that bad was it?
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6) Online notes
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As I said previously, the differences between the online and offline games are
marginal.  Here are the following differences between playing offline and 
playing online with friends:

On match day when different players have games on the same day, all games are
played simultaneously so there is little waiting.  Obviously, everyone must
have finished his/her respective match before everyone is able to progress on
match day.  The live league table is updated as normal with everyone's
results as they come in.

If another player has a match when you don't, you can choose to watch the game
or simply wait and view the latest scores and/or just play the game as normal
and wait for the match to finish before continuing the game.

The speed difference between online and offline is marginal when there are just
two or three players playing with Broadband.  However, as with all online 
games, the more people there are playing (and the more 56k'rs) then the lag 
will increase in proportion, so be aware on who and how many people you decide
to invite to your game.

As far as I know, 8 players is the maximum for any one network game of CM4.  If
this is wrong, please contact me.

On the Game Status screen, you can choose to disconnect from the game.  This is
where you can leave the game, but keep CM4 running, but you are taken to the
front screen again.
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7) Hints and Tips
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As Championship Manager 4 has no set walkthrough or guide this section will be 
to assist you as much as possible with some general hints and tips for the 
game.  There will not be too much here for the first few versions of the FAQ, 
but I hope to add many more as time goes on.  These tips will hopefully speed
up your game as well as enhancing your gameplay experience with CM4.

If you know a tip that is not mentioned here, or on any of the FAQ, send me an 
e-mail with your name and tip and you will be fully credited for your help.

1) Close down ALL running background programmes before starting/joining a 
networked game.  Push Ctrl-Alt-Del and close all programmes except from the few
obvious ones that are needed to run the game!

2) Make sure the host has the best computer with the best connection speed.

3) The processing speed of the computer is always more important than the
internet connection speed.

4) It is known that the host can control and make some decisions of ANY of the
joined players.  However, only on extreme circumstances should this function
be used, as it is known to cause some crashes to the online game when 2 people
try to make different managerial decisions under the same person.

5) Keep downloading the latest Enhancement Packs from Sigames.com, as some of
these actually speed up the game by a considerable amount as well as making the
game much more playable.
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8) FAQ's
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I'll be trying to update this section as frequently as possible when I receive 
e-mails from readers, so if you have a question that IS NOT answered here, that 
is relevant to the game, then I'll be more than happy to answer it.

Q: Is the online game playable as the addictive offline game?
A: Far more addictive.  Although it really depends on how fast the game is
progressing.  A fast, well-run game is far more playable and enjoyable than a
dull, slowly progressing game where the 2 players are situated in different
leagues.

Q: Is the Online game more likely to crash than in offline?  I like my saved 
games to be perfect.
A: Obviously, every game can crash at any time on any given period, most likely
the least wanted time of all.  However, from my experiences, the game has only
had a few minor crashes that would happen normally offline too.  Just put 
autosave on for regular periods (once every fortnight would be best) to ensure
no important results or signings are lost.

Q: Is the speed of the game any slower?
A: To put it bluntly, yes.  But the servers game is usualy not affected, so
just the joining players will suffer a slight delay between every new screen.
However, I have found that playing for a while you get used to the small amount
of inevitable game lag, and well worth the pause.

Q: Do i need the same enhancement pack as the host and other players?
A: Yes, every player must have IDENTICAL Enhancement Packs.  When the host 
updates his/her version, they should send an email to all the other players 
saying this and give the exact location of the download, so every player has
the same version.

Q: Are online games more fun?
A: Definitely.  You really need to play it for yourself to know how good CM4 is
when playing with other friend compassionate about the same game as you are.
Not to mention the thrills of beating them to win the Premiership, or proving 
that you can win the SPL with Partick Thistle.

Q: What is  the maximum number of people i can get to play one game?
A: I am not 100% sure, but I think it is 8.  If not, it could be infinite.

Q: Are online games really that hard to organise?
A: Depends.  If the person you are playing has never seen you and is in a 
different time-zone, then things can get a little but tricky.  Your best bet is
to play with someone you personally know and is willing to play online.

Q: I've heard of Clans.  Should I join one?
A: Sure, if your willing to play on the designated times, then clans can be a
great way to get the most out of CM4 Online.  For more on Clans, see the
contact section at #10.
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9) Special Thanks/Credit
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I owe a few people a thank you for helping me make this Championship Manager 4
FAQ.  In no particular order:

Gamefaqs: One of the best sites on the internet today and the number 1 source 
for gaming information.

SIGames: Great job guys, enhancement packs are a great job, no matter what
anyone else thinks.  Here's for the next Champ!

Kidd Krash: Thanks for taking the CM4 beatings well, maybe you'll beat me ONE 
day.
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10) Contact Information
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Fist off, here a few websites to get more information about the great world
that is CM4:

SIGames (First point of contact for official news and downloads) -
http://www.sigames.com

SIGames Forums (For the latest updates and fixes for new Enhancement Packs.
Also features online message board with Clan information etc.) -
http://community.sigames.com

My preference for contact would be over MSN, but an e-mail would also be OK if 
you wish to add or give any suggestions to the FAQ.  Also, please do not send 
any e-mails regarding PC enquiries about the setup or the technical side of 
installation etc.

In an attempt to reduce junk mail I have replaced the @ symbol with 'at'.

MSN Address: colinvandam AT hotmail.com
Hotmail: Ditto 

Copyright 2003 Colin Henderson