Initial Setup

I've been asked to talk about the sort of options a new user faces when they sign up to FML. Now, i know that much of this is likely to change before the end of the beta, so I will talk in fairly broad strokes about what's on offer. Also, it's been a long time since I started, so the memory's a bit hazy...


So... options. The big choice naturally is your team name. While you can change it at any time, clearly it's going to be a biggy. Before I got into the beta, one of my biggest concerns was that the random or comedy names would annoy my football sensitivities, and it did put me right off. Maybe I have some sort of OCD about formatting as well, to be honest, all lower case or capitals would right upset me. In reality, it hasn't bothered me in the slightest; some choose football style team names (Frecheville Blades, Winford Wanderers etc.), some go for something a bit more comical (The Holy Goalie, Leeds United).

One then can also choose home and away kits (there's a wizard to help choose from 20 styles just now and about a zillion colours; apparently some of the options don't involve red and white stripes), logo, stadium info (pitch dimensions, style of turf), upload a photo for yourself, etc. Again, lots of options - you'll be able to personalise your team to the exact degree you want. As a moderator, I have to keep an eye on the choices people make, and make sure that they aren't trying to avoid the profanity filter or choosing names that may be offensive to other users. We have an enormously diverse userbase, so it's an important task.

Some personal details go in - date of birth goes in, though only age is displayed to others, nearest city, nationality, country of residence - we often see people starting unofficial competitions to find e.g. the best team run by an Italian. Favourite club of course - naturally the Blades fans always do well, though I'm ahead of José Nadé as GW4's top ranked Blade just now.

There will be a lot more to come from Sports Interactive on this closer to launch that I'm not allowed to speak of yet as well - the key fact is that you'll end up with a team unique from any other.

Some idea of the possibilities are shown below in my team profile; of course, I can't let you see my cash balance!