DEMO - 13th September
Teams in Demo - Barcelona, Arsenal, Man City, Marseille, Dortmund and AC Milan
Three minutes per half. Games in Man City's Etihad Stadium.
Looks like we're set to start getting some proper information on FIFA 12, following on from the screenshot reveal a few weeks ago.
EA's screenshot collection can be found here - FIFA 12 screenshots - a set on Flickr
19th August:
A collection of tweets from Romily Broad about Online Clubs.
Also PC version has better graphics options, can have far shorter load times, and uses Origin (because EA are *****).
18th August:
Further online modes explanation:
http://www.ea.com/uk/football/news/fifa-12-online-2
16th August:
Demo: 13th September
Ultimate team launching on release and on disc.
Gamescom Conference
28th July:
UK (+Ireland, Scandinavian and Middle East) cover will feature Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere (in the blue Arsenal away kit).
Find out who will be the cover stars of FIFA 12. | EA SPORTS Football
15th July:
Career mode details emerge to public press, some new features detailed below:
1st July:
Gameplay Producer Santiago Jaramillo explains how a player's vision attributes will affect the game in FIFA 12
Also pre-order bonuses are clarified:
30th June:
Standard Commentators: Martin Tyler & Alan Smith
Tournament Commentators: Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend
Alan Smith joins Martin Tyler as an in-game announcer | EA SPORTS Football
24th June:
Demonstration of how AI will play to its teammates' strengths
23th June:
Official confirmation of release dates.
FIFA 12 PC to be based on same engine as console versions.
7th June:
Q&A With David Rutter:
6th June:
EA Sports Football Club Announced
A whole new way to connect to FIFA | EA SPORTS Football
Video version: FIFA Soccer 12 Video Game, E3 2011: Football Club Walkthrough HD | Video Clip | Game Trailers & Videos | GameTrailers.com
30/09/11 = Release date
5th June:
If a comment on the menu screenshot by 'Rombroad' was by the real Romily Broad (community manager for FIFA) then found a bit of info on the menu: It will feature any player of your choice, and will be in your team colours. Blue coloured menu with Kaka in background.
Gameplay trailer, basically shows same stuff mentioned in yesterday's interview.
On EA or Facebook
2nd June:
Long interview between FIFA Soccer Blog and gameplay producer Santiago Jaramillo. Main topics being the new defending system, precision dribbling and the new impact engine.
4th May:
The first new gameplay detail to be revealed is that they've made a new collision and reaction engine, so players shouldn't be falling over needlessly anymore...
Teams in Demo - Barcelona, Arsenal, Man City, Marseille, Dortmund and AC Milan
Three minutes per half. Games in Man City's Etihad Stadium.
Looks like we're set to start getting some proper information on FIFA 12, following on from the screenshot reveal a few weeks ago.
EA's screenshot collection can be found here - FIFA 12 screenshots - a set on Flickr
19th August:
A collection of tweets from Romily Broad about Online Clubs.
Also PC version has better graphics options, can have far shorter load times, and uses Origin (because EA are *****).
18th August:
Further online modes explanation:
HEAD TO HEAD SEASONS
The first big thing I want to talk about for online in FIFA 12 is ‘Head to Head Seasons’. Traditionally, all sports games offer ranked quick matches, where skill points are awarded and users are ranked on a leaderboard. Outside of the top 100 users in the world, this type of online gameplay doesn’t feel very persistent, fun, or football. 2010 FIFA World Cup made a strong effort to change this model, and now FIFA 12 has taken it to the next level.
Seasons
Head to Head Seasons focuses on you, your season, and your division. There are 10 divisions to progress through, with 10 games per season to try to get promoted (and avoid relegation). Points are simple: 3 points for a win, and 1 for a draw; every game without points hurts your campaign.
We’ve also made an effort to balance the path to Division 1. In Division 10, where everyone starts out, you only need 12 points to be promoted to Division 9. For many of you, this will only take four games, but as you move up, the promotion thresholds get tougher and tougher. For the best of you that can reach Division 1, the goal is to win the ‘League Title’ and earn your trophy. At points along your seasons, the commentators will even discuss your recent performances and your current campaign.
To see how your division placement compares to the entire FIFA community, check out our ‘World Table’ screen which shows how many people currently occupy each division. It’s a great way to visualize your skill in FIFA in a way that a leaderboard rank just can’t do.
Flow
Creating this new mode gave us a chance to really revolutionize how you play online as well.
Traditionally, we find you an opponent and let you figure out the clubs you want to use, and then finally you adjust your lineup and tactics before the match starts. Of course this usually results in the ‘5-star dance’ where even if you want to use Portsmouth, you are forced to pick Chelsea to battle on even ground with the inevitable Real or Barca selection from your opponent.
In FIFA 12 you pick your club, kit and lineup changes first before searching. For all you manual fiends out there, during pre-search you can also choose ‘Any’ or ‘Manual’ if you want to guarantee another manual user. When you choose to search, we take your Division, skill, location, controls, DNF % (essentially how often you ‘rage quit’), and Club star level to find an ideal opponent and take you straight into a match. We even make sure you see the kit you chose and prevent kit clashing in the game. This means Mr. Humber can use his beloved Pompey in Seasons without fear of being crushed by a 5-star club, and instead focus on the Southamptons of the world.
Cups
Similar to real life, Seasons features key cups with entry based on your division. There are four cups total, starting with the ‘EA Shield’ for the lower divisions, up to the ‘Premier Cup’ for Divisions 1 and 2. The cup window will open up every few weeks for a few days of frenzied action to determine who can earn silverware in four-round dynamic tournaments.
Your Season Hub will show you when the cup window is opening or closing, as well as your best cup finish and silverware. Of course we have full leaderboards to see the stats, trophies, and titles for you, your friends, and the top players in the world.
ONLINE FRIENDLIES
Of course, despite the popularity of ranked play online, a big part of FIFA is playing friends. Personally, I had many ‘friendlies’ in FIFA 11 online that provided me some of my favorite moments with the game with nothing to show for it.
Not so in FIFA 12! We had a simple concept: Provide a quick and easy way to play friends online, but track the results and make it feel like football.
In the Hub your friends list appears on the left. Select a friend, choose your settings, and play. The beauty of the mode is every game versus a friend becomes a season. Similar to Head to Head Seasons, you have 10 games, with the goal of ending with more points than your friend. If the points are tied in the 10th match, we even go down to the detail of goal difference to make the experience authentic. There is nothing quite like final win against a friend with your favorite club hoisting the trophy at the end of the match.
After a season, your next match automatically starts Season 2, so you can get started defending or retaining the trophy. The commentary team even talk about the status of your season to make it feel even more real and authentic. Play as many friends as you want, as many times as you want, and easily see the status of all your seasons in the Hub and leaderboards. Since these are matches between friends, it’s up to you what clubs, rosters, and settings you use (even Creation Centre teams).
PRO CLUBS
With such a big focus on making two new modes in Head to Head Seasons and Online Friendlies, we made a conscious decision to avoid major feature work in Pro Clubs and instead focus on bug fixes, tuning, and testing.
The incredible popularity of FIFA 11 and the complexity of Online Team Play at times made for a difficult year, and for FIFA 12 the efforts we’ve made to Clubs –both in the game and on the servers - should make for a much better experience all around. Stability and exploits are a key focus for us so that games are an enjoyable experience and fair for all involved. Secondly, we worked with a few members of the community on ‘little things’ like bugs and Virtual Pro accomplishments and unlocks that I think you will notice.
We hope you enjoy FIFA 12 online, whether it is climbing divisions, beating your mates, or growing your Pro online with your Club.
The first big thing I want to talk about for online in FIFA 12 is ‘Head to Head Seasons’. Traditionally, all sports games offer ranked quick matches, where skill points are awarded and users are ranked on a leaderboard. Outside of the top 100 users in the world, this type of online gameplay doesn’t feel very persistent, fun, or football. 2010 FIFA World Cup made a strong effort to change this model, and now FIFA 12 has taken it to the next level.
Seasons
Head to Head Seasons focuses on you, your season, and your division. There are 10 divisions to progress through, with 10 games per season to try to get promoted (and avoid relegation). Points are simple: 3 points for a win, and 1 for a draw; every game without points hurts your campaign.
We’ve also made an effort to balance the path to Division 1. In Division 10, where everyone starts out, you only need 12 points to be promoted to Division 9. For many of you, this will only take four games, but as you move up, the promotion thresholds get tougher and tougher. For the best of you that can reach Division 1, the goal is to win the ‘League Title’ and earn your trophy. At points along your seasons, the commentators will even discuss your recent performances and your current campaign.
To see how your division placement compares to the entire FIFA community, check out our ‘World Table’ screen which shows how many people currently occupy each division. It’s a great way to visualize your skill in FIFA in a way that a leaderboard rank just can’t do.
Flow
Creating this new mode gave us a chance to really revolutionize how you play online as well.
Traditionally, we find you an opponent and let you figure out the clubs you want to use, and then finally you adjust your lineup and tactics before the match starts. Of course this usually results in the ‘5-star dance’ where even if you want to use Portsmouth, you are forced to pick Chelsea to battle on even ground with the inevitable Real or Barca selection from your opponent.
In FIFA 12 you pick your club, kit and lineup changes first before searching. For all you manual fiends out there, during pre-search you can also choose ‘Any’ or ‘Manual’ if you want to guarantee another manual user. When you choose to search, we take your Division, skill, location, controls, DNF % (essentially how often you ‘rage quit’), and Club star level to find an ideal opponent and take you straight into a match. We even make sure you see the kit you chose and prevent kit clashing in the game. This means Mr. Humber can use his beloved Pompey in Seasons without fear of being crushed by a 5-star club, and instead focus on the Southamptons of the world.
Cups
Similar to real life, Seasons features key cups with entry based on your division. There are four cups total, starting with the ‘EA Shield’ for the lower divisions, up to the ‘Premier Cup’ for Divisions 1 and 2. The cup window will open up every few weeks for a few days of frenzied action to determine who can earn silverware in four-round dynamic tournaments.
Your Season Hub will show you when the cup window is opening or closing, as well as your best cup finish and silverware. Of course we have full leaderboards to see the stats, trophies, and titles for you, your friends, and the top players in the world.
ONLINE FRIENDLIES
Of course, despite the popularity of ranked play online, a big part of FIFA is playing friends. Personally, I had many ‘friendlies’ in FIFA 11 online that provided me some of my favorite moments with the game with nothing to show for it.
Not so in FIFA 12! We had a simple concept: Provide a quick and easy way to play friends online, but track the results and make it feel like football.
In the Hub your friends list appears on the left. Select a friend, choose your settings, and play. The beauty of the mode is every game versus a friend becomes a season. Similar to Head to Head Seasons, you have 10 games, with the goal of ending with more points than your friend. If the points are tied in the 10th match, we even go down to the detail of goal difference to make the experience authentic. There is nothing quite like final win against a friend with your favorite club hoisting the trophy at the end of the match.
After a season, your next match automatically starts Season 2, so you can get started defending or retaining the trophy. The commentary team even talk about the status of your season to make it feel even more real and authentic. Play as many friends as you want, as many times as you want, and easily see the status of all your seasons in the Hub and leaderboards. Since these are matches between friends, it’s up to you what clubs, rosters, and settings you use (even Creation Centre teams).
PRO CLUBS
With such a big focus on making two new modes in Head to Head Seasons and Online Friendlies, we made a conscious decision to avoid major feature work in Pro Clubs and instead focus on bug fixes, tuning, and testing.
The incredible popularity of FIFA 11 and the complexity of Online Team Play at times made for a difficult year, and for FIFA 12 the efforts we’ve made to Clubs –both in the game and on the servers - should make for a much better experience all around. Stability and exploits are a key focus for us so that games are an enjoyable experience and fair for all involved. Secondly, we worked with a few members of the community on ‘little things’ like bugs and Virtual Pro accomplishments and unlocks that I think you will notice.
We hope you enjoy FIFA 12 online, whether it is climbing divisions, beating your mates, or growing your Pro online with your Club.
16th August:
[video=youtube;istUJhYecmI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=istUJhYecmI[/video]
Demo: 13th September
Ultimate team launching on release and on disc.
Gamescom Conference
28th July:
UK (+Ireland, Scandinavian and Middle East) cover will feature Wayne Rooney and Jack Wilshere (in the blue Arsenal away kit).
Find out who will be the cover stars of FIFA 12. | EA SPORTS Football
15th July:
Career mode details emerge to public press, some new features detailed below:
1st July:
Gameplay Producer Santiago Jaramillo explains how a player's vision attributes will affect the game in FIFA 12
[video=youtube;aWTTIwphjz4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWTTIwphjz4[/video]
Also pre-order bonuses are clarified:
30th June:
Standard Commentators: Martin Tyler & Alan Smith
Tournament Commentators: Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend
Well-respected broadcaster and former England forward Alan Smith was unveiled today as part of the main English commentary team for EA SPORTS™ FIFA 12, joining long-time commentator Martin Tyler as the primary voices of this year’s title. FIFA 12, chosen Best Sports Game by the E3 Game Critics, launches September 27 in North America and September 30 worldwide.
“Alan will bring a fresh, new perspective and insight to FIFA 12, working alongside the trusted and well-known voice of Martin Tyler,” said David Rutter, Senior Producer of FIFA 12. “As one of the top-tier broadcasters in the UK, he brings enormous knowledge and expert analysis to the game so that we can deliver the most authentic FIFA experience this year.”
“The natural chemistry that Martin and I have developed working live matches for TV has transferred very well to the virtual broadcast booth,” said Smith. “I’m really looking forward to FIFA fans hearing our work this fall as we bring all the match day emotion and excitement to this year’s game.”
For the first time ever, FIFA 12 will feature two English broadcast teams, and more than 10,000 lines of fresh commentary, making the game sound new and different all year long. The second commentary team, featuring Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend, will call tournament matches, giving these games a real-world broadcast feel and sound. Fans will also have the option to customize the audio to their preferred commentators for any matches.
“Alan will bring a fresh, new perspective and insight to FIFA 12, working alongside the trusted and well-known voice of Martin Tyler,” said David Rutter, Senior Producer of FIFA 12. “As one of the top-tier broadcasters in the UK, he brings enormous knowledge and expert analysis to the game so that we can deliver the most authentic FIFA experience this year.”
“The natural chemistry that Martin and I have developed working live matches for TV has transferred very well to the virtual broadcast booth,” said Smith. “I’m really looking forward to FIFA fans hearing our work this fall as we bring all the match day emotion and excitement to this year’s game.”
For the first time ever, FIFA 12 will feature two English broadcast teams, and more than 10,000 lines of fresh commentary, making the game sound new and different all year long. The second commentary team, featuring Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend, will call tournament matches, giving these games a real-world broadcast feel and sound. Fans will also have the option to customize the audio to their preferred commentators for any matches.
24th June:
Demonstration of how AI will play to its teammates' strengths
[video=youtube;wY2YcCk37Mg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wY2YcCk37Mg[/video]
23th June:
Official confirmation of release dates.
22th June:
FIFA 12 PC to be based on same engine as console versions.
7th June:
Q&A With David Rutter:
[video=youtube;JUKG4OQ5Juw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUKG4OQ5Juw[/video]
[video=youtube;XVndaGuT43k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVndaGuT43k[/video]
[video=youtube;kKcERxU-EHI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKcERxU-EHI[/video]
[video=youtube;jjTtVpY01sE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjTtVpY01sE[/video]
[video=youtube;XVndaGuT43k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVndaGuT43k[/video]
[video=youtube;kKcERxU-EHI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKcERxU-EHI[/video]
[video=youtube;jjTtVpY01sE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjTtVpY01sE[/video]
6th June:
EA Sports Football Club Announced
Today at E3, I had the honour of announcing EA SPORTS Football Club, a new social experience for our fans that will arrive this fall with FIFA 12. Now that the big announcement is done, I wanted to share why I’m particularly excited about this new service for our fans and what it will mean in this year’s game and beyond for the FIFA franchise.
So why did we decide to create EA SPORTS Football Club? We really see it as the next level of the connected, socially engaging experience that’s been at the heart of FIFA for some time. Right now, millions of fans play FIFA online every week, connecting and competing with their friends and rivals around the world in head-to-head matches, Online Team Play, Career Mode, and Tournaments. And beyond the console, more than 4 million people visit easportsfootball.com every month, where they post videos of their greatest goals, create and download items from Creation Centre, manage their Ultimate Teams, track their Leaderboards, and share accomplishments with the rest of the world. This has shown us how connected people want to be to their FIFA game, and how their passion for the sport drives their love of FIFA.
FIFA is an experience that’s enjoyed by millions of fans around the world…many of whom play FIFA on multiple devices or platforms. These fans share a competitive spirit and desire for a connected experience whether they’re playing FIFA on an HD console, on their iPhone or iPad, or on Facebook. Our vision for the future is to connect these experiences through EA SPORTS Football Club to enableprogression and status across all your FIFA experiences. So whenever you play, and whatever you play on, you’ll be earning rewards and achievements that fuel your one single identity …across platforms and through the years.
As I said, competition is one of the fundamentals of EA SPORTS Football Club. This year, every match matters - and everything you do in FIFA 12 will be measured in a meaningful way. Whether it’s an offline game against the CPU or an online tournament match, you earn EXP to build your Level. When you compete against your friends, you can build your status and gain the bragging rights that every one of us as gamers enjoys.
So what makes Football Club different than what we’ve done in FIFA to date, or any other gaming experience that’s out there today? There are lots, but two that really stand out for me.
First is Support Your Club, a central part of the EA SPORTS Football Club experience that deepens your connection to your favourite team. In FIFA 12, you get the opportunity to represent your club and contribute to their success in everything you do and every time you play. Whether you’re a fan of big clubs like Real Madrid or a lower-tier club, all your accomplishments and achievements in the game will support your team’s position in our Support Your Club League Tables. It doesn’t matter how many fans support each club; what matters is how well they play and how often they play. The tables will be reset each week to allow for new challenges, renewed rivalries, and fresh storylines. FIFA 12 will never feel stale, and the tribal passion that fans have for their club will shine through.
The second point is the FIFA connection to the real world of football, and all the drama and storylines it creates that makes the FIFA experience deeper and more rewarding than any other in the world of video games. Football Club will connect fans to the real-world events and emotion of the sport through challenges and storylines injected into the game, ripped from the headlines of the Sports sections of newspapers around the world. We’ll have a dedicated team who will follow the highs and lows of the football season, and make FIFA 12 feel fresh and new all season long. For example, if Manchester United beats Manchester City in a big derby match, we could make that into a Football Club Challenge and you’re given the opportunity to take on the challenge to avenge Man City’s defeat. If you succeed in the challenge, you’ll earn extra EXP, grow your status, and help drive your club to the top of the tables.
EA SPORTS Football Club will be a big hit for all the different kinds of players out there. For the hardcore football fan, we’ll be constantly feeding the game with cool and engaging real-world content to drive deeper competition with your friends and deeper connection to your favourite club. For the more casual soccer fan, you will be rewarded with a rich social experience that allows you to track progress and achievements in the game in a cool and fun way, against friends and against the world.
Here are some screen shots of EA SPORTS Football Club that give you a flavor of how it will work and what you can expect later this year. We’ll have much more to say, more to show, and more to look forward to in EA SPORTS Football Club.
So why did we decide to create EA SPORTS Football Club? We really see it as the next level of the connected, socially engaging experience that’s been at the heart of FIFA for some time. Right now, millions of fans play FIFA online every week, connecting and competing with their friends and rivals around the world in head-to-head matches, Online Team Play, Career Mode, and Tournaments. And beyond the console, more than 4 million people visit easportsfootball.com every month, where they post videos of their greatest goals, create and download items from Creation Centre, manage their Ultimate Teams, track their Leaderboards, and share accomplishments with the rest of the world. This has shown us how connected people want to be to their FIFA game, and how their passion for the sport drives their love of FIFA.
FIFA is an experience that’s enjoyed by millions of fans around the world…many of whom play FIFA on multiple devices or platforms. These fans share a competitive spirit and desire for a connected experience whether they’re playing FIFA on an HD console, on their iPhone or iPad, or on Facebook. Our vision for the future is to connect these experiences through EA SPORTS Football Club to enableprogression and status across all your FIFA experiences. So whenever you play, and whatever you play on, you’ll be earning rewards and achievements that fuel your one single identity …across platforms and through the years.
As I said, competition is one of the fundamentals of EA SPORTS Football Club. This year, every match matters - and everything you do in FIFA 12 will be measured in a meaningful way. Whether it’s an offline game against the CPU or an online tournament match, you earn EXP to build your Level. When you compete against your friends, you can build your status and gain the bragging rights that every one of us as gamers enjoys.
So what makes Football Club different than what we’ve done in FIFA to date, or any other gaming experience that’s out there today? There are lots, but two that really stand out for me.
First is Support Your Club, a central part of the EA SPORTS Football Club experience that deepens your connection to your favourite team. In FIFA 12, you get the opportunity to represent your club and contribute to their success in everything you do and every time you play. Whether you’re a fan of big clubs like Real Madrid or a lower-tier club, all your accomplishments and achievements in the game will support your team’s position in our Support Your Club League Tables. It doesn’t matter how many fans support each club; what matters is how well they play and how often they play. The tables will be reset each week to allow for new challenges, renewed rivalries, and fresh storylines. FIFA 12 will never feel stale, and the tribal passion that fans have for their club will shine through.
The second point is the FIFA connection to the real world of football, and all the drama and storylines it creates that makes the FIFA experience deeper and more rewarding than any other in the world of video games. Football Club will connect fans to the real-world events and emotion of the sport through challenges and storylines injected into the game, ripped from the headlines of the Sports sections of newspapers around the world. We’ll have a dedicated team who will follow the highs and lows of the football season, and make FIFA 12 feel fresh and new all season long. For example, if Manchester United beats Manchester City in a big derby match, we could make that into a Football Club Challenge and you’re given the opportunity to take on the challenge to avenge Man City’s defeat. If you succeed in the challenge, you’ll earn extra EXP, grow your status, and help drive your club to the top of the tables.
EA SPORTS Football Club will be a big hit for all the different kinds of players out there. For the hardcore football fan, we’ll be constantly feeding the game with cool and engaging real-world content to drive deeper competition with your friends and deeper connection to your favourite club. For the more casual soccer fan, you will be rewarded with a rich social experience that allows you to track progress and achievements in the game in a cool and fun way, against friends and against the world.
Here are some screen shots of EA SPORTS Football Club that give you a flavor of how it will work and what you can expect later this year. We’ll have much more to say, more to show, and more to look forward to in EA SPORTS Football Club.
Video version: FIFA Soccer 12 Video Game, E3 2011: Football Club Walkthrough HD | Video Clip | Game Trailers & Videos | GameTrailers.com
30/09/11 = Release date
5th June:
If a comment on the menu screenshot by 'Rombroad' was by the real Romily Broad (community manager for FIFA) then found a bit of info on the menu: It will feature any player of your choice, and will be in your team colours. Blue coloured menu with Kaka in background.
3rd June:
Gameplay trailer, basically shows same stuff mentioned in yesterday's interview.
On EA or Facebook
2nd June:
Long interview between FIFA Soccer Blog and gameplay producer Santiago Jaramillo. Main topics being the new defending system, precision dribbling and the new impact engine.
FSB: High pressure, high aggression and auto-tackle have been community pet hates for a few years now, how conscious of this were you when implementing Tactical Defending?
Tactical Defending fundamentally changes the way you defend, bringing in an element of timing and positioning that we didn’t have before. These go against being overly aggressive and the auto-tackle that we had before. So, implementing Tactical Defending isn’t just about changing the mechanic of defending, but also to create depth and ask gamers to think about how they should defend every situation.
FSB: How has swapping the old pressing system for the new Contain mechanic changed the way you defend in FIFA 12?
The old system would do everything for you, and because it had only one thing in mind (go to the ball and tackle it), you couldn’t really defend differently in different scenarios. This also meant that you never had a lot of time on the ball, because there would always be a defender going full speed at you and launching a tackle as soon as he could. The new contain mechanic assists you to be in a good position to mark the ball possessor, which will make it easier to then manually commit to the tackle. In FIFA 12, once you lose possession, instead of just looking at the ball and going straight for it, you will need to see the big picture of the play developing, position yourself to contain first, and then go in for a tackle at the right time.
FSB: What are the main differences between Skill Dribble (FIFA 10/11) and the new Precision Dribble in FIFA 12?
Skilled Dribble allowed you to face the defender and then use change of pace at a 90-degree angle to try and beat him. Precision Dribble is 360 degrees, covers more contexts, and it is not so much a tool to beat a defender (although it is powerful at this too), as it is one to keep possession of the ball when there is a lot of traffic around you by having very close and responsive ball control. In addition, Precision Dribble gives you the ability to dribble while you are shielding the ball, which is something we didn’t have before. Also, while you would have to manually trigger Skilled Dribble most of the time, Precision Dribble is much more accessible and will trigger contextually in a great variety of situations.
FSB: How does Precision Dribble affect the pacing of FIFA 12′s gameplay?
It has a massive influence in the pace of FIFA 12 gameplay. For the first time, you will be able to slow the play down as the dribbler even if you have one or several defenders closing you down. This is only possible because of the new precision dribble touches – how close they keep the ball, and how responsive the turns are. You will now get into areas such as the top of the box, a crowded midfield, down the wing, etc., where you would have had to get rid of the ball right away (by shooting, crossing, or passing). I can’t tell you how much fun it is when you can get creative and buy yourself some time in these situations!
FSB: This new level of precision in player dribbling will undoubtedly make players like Messi more powerful than ever. How do you plan to balance this?
Players like Messi will be better at Precision Dribble than others, that’s true, but it is in no way an exploit or an easy way to score goals. Moreover, in the past we and the community have felt that players like Messi are not as powerful in our game as they are in real life, so this is a change in the right direction. Besides, Messi’s got 52 goals this season, I think real world managers and defenders are still trying to figure out how to neutralize him.
FSB: You’ve described the Impact Engine as the biggest change to FIFA since rebuilding it for the next-gen consoles. How long has the Impact Engine been in development?
Around 2 years.
FSB: How does the new Impact Engine affect the physicality of FIFA 12′s gameplay?
It will make every player interaction follow real world physics; will prevent clipping (players’ legs and arms going through each other); will give you unprecedented variety and accuracy in all the falls and stumbles in the game; and it will enhance other features such as shielding, push and pull, etc.
FSB: Can you explain a little more about the new Self Injury mechanic and how muscle tears and strains will be calculated?
We can now determine how much a player is stretching on a shot, a pass, a clearance, etc., and we also know how tired they are. As in real life, exhaustion increases the risk for these types of muscle injuries. So, depending on a player’s fatigue, how prone he is to injuries, whether he is coming back from injury and not fully recovered, and the actions that he is doing on the field, we can determine if an injury is likely in a particular situation.
FSB: With the new physicality of the Player Impact Engine and self injuries, should we be worried about lots of players going off injured all the time? How have you made sure this is balanced and realistic?
The frequency of self injuries will be balanced so that it only happens at the appropriate times and reflects the frequency of these injuries in the real world. You will also be able to customize the injury frequency and severity in Game Settings, in case you feel it should be different. With respect to the Player Impact Engine and injuries caused by collisions, the aim is not to create more or less injuries, nor to flood the game with dramatic falls, but rather to give you an accurate result based on what happened on the field.
Players won’t be getting injured all the time, and they won’t be subjected to types of impacts that don’t happen in the real world. You could play against a very aggressive team, but that doesn’t mean that half of your players will get injured. In short, just like in real football, you could go several games without a single injury, then every once in a while someone picks up a knock, and one match you may get two severe injuries and now it’s time to look at the depth of your squad, etc. – all based on authentic factors (impact or stress on a body part or joint, player’s propensity to injury, fatigue, and more.)
FSB: Developing Player Vision as an attribute must have been difficult, how do you determine whether a player has “good vision” or not?
We have experts all over the world that watch teams and players week in and week out, and we use their feedback to determine our players’ attributes. For vision, we will be looking at those players who, beyond their great execution of passes, are able to pick out options that other players (or you as a spectator) would not normally see. Xavi, Fabregas, Ozil, Modric, are some examples of these types of players.
FSB: Your team mates understanding each other’s strengths and weakness is a great addition but how black and white will this system be? Will players always cross early if Peter Crouch is in the box?
No, we are not ‘hard-coding’ that every time Crouch is in the box his team-mates should put a cross in. Rather, we are infusing players with an extra level of intelligence that modifies their decision-making. So, while it is more likely that a player will cross the ball in if Crouch is in the box, he is still analyzing the whole situation, and if there is a better option (still accounting for the fact that it is Crouch in the box), he will choose to do something else.
FSB: The Pro Player Intelligence vision maps “allow different players to capitalise on different opportunities” how hard was this to implement and balance?
It’s been a lot of work tuning the size, growth speed, and other factors related to the vision maps. Thankfully, we have a development tool that allows us to run a particular scenario several times, and only changing the players involved, to see what outcome we get. This way we could test several situations where someone like Xavi or Fabregas would do something different from J.S. Park, Malouda, or other types of players.
FSB: We’ve heard “threat” and “opportunity analysis” mentioned in relation to the player vision maps, could you expand on this a little further?
Basically, each player on the ball, at any given time, is faced with several opportunities – he could dribble, or he could pass the ball to his team-mates – and threats – all the defenders that are also in the way of these passes or dribbling options. A player like Xavi is able to very quickly process all these opportunities and threats, see the big picture, and make a decision based on all that information. Most players in the world, however, get distracted longer with all of these threats and options, and they tend to choose more obvious choices because you don’t have that much time on the ball in a real game. These differences in behaviours and decision-making are what we are replicating with the vision map.
Tactical Defending fundamentally changes the way you defend, bringing in an element of timing and positioning that we didn’t have before. These go against being overly aggressive and the auto-tackle that we had before. So, implementing Tactical Defending isn’t just about changing the mechanic of defending, but also to create depth and ask gamers to think about how they should defend every situation.
FSB: How has swapping the old pressing system for the new Contain mechanic changed the way you defend in FIFA 12?
The old system would do everything for you, and because it had only one thing in mind (go to the ball and tackle it), you couldn’t really defend differently in different scenarios. This also meant that you never had a lot of time on the ball, because there would always be a defender going full speed at you and launching a tackle as soon as he could. The new contain mechanic assists you to be in a good position to mark the ball possessor, which will make it easier to then manually commit to the tackle. In FIFA 12, once you lose possession, instead of just looking at the ball and going straight for it, you will need to see the big picture of the play developing, position yourself to contain first, and then go in for a tackle at the right time.
FSB: What are the main differences between Skill Dribble (FIFA 10/11) and the new Precision Dribble in FIFA 12?
Skilled Dribble allowed you to face the defender and then use change of pace at a 90-degree angle to try and beat him. Precision Dribble is 360 degrees, covers more contexts, and it is not so much a tool to beat a defender (although it is powerful at this too), as it is one to keep possession of the ball when there is a lot of traffic around you by having very close and responsive ball control. In addition, Precision Dribble gives you the ability to dribble while you are shielding the ball, which is something we didn’t have before. Also, while you would have to manually trigger Skilled Dribble most of the time, Precision Dribble is much more accessible and will trigger contextually in a great variety of situations.
FSB: How does Precision Dribble affect the pacing of FIFA 12′s gameplay?
It has a massive influence in the pace of FIFA 12 gameplay. For the first time, you will be able to slow the play down as the dribbler even if you have one or several defenders closing you down. This is only possible because of the new precision dribble touches – how close they keep the ball, and how responsive the turns are. You will now get into areas such as the top of the box, a crowded midfield, down the wing, etc., where you would have had to get rid of the ball right away (by shooting, crossing, or passing). I can’t tell you how much fun it is when you can get creative and buy yourself some time in these situations!
FSB: This new level of precision in player dribbling will undoubtedly make players like Messi more powerful than ever. How do you plan to balance this?
Players like Messi will be better at Precision Dribble than others, that’s true, but it is in no way an exploit or an easy way to score goals. Moreover, in the past we and the community have felt that players like Messi are not as powerful in our game as they are in real life, so this is a change in the right direction. Besides, Messi’s got 52 goals this season, I think real world managers and defenders are still trying to figure out how to neutralize him.
FSB: You’ve described the Impact Engine as the biggest change to FIFA since rebuilding it for the next-gen consoles. How long has the Impact Engine been in development?
Around 2 years.
FSB: How does the new Impact Engine affect the physicality of FIFA 12′s gameplay?
It will make every player interaction follow real world physics; will prevent clipping (players’ legs and arms going through each other); will give you unprecedented variety and accuracy in all the falls and stumbles in the game; and it will enhance other features such as shielding, push and pull, etc.
FSB: Can you explain a little more about the new Self Injury mechanic and how muscle tears and strains will be calculated?
We can now determine how much a player is stretching on a shot, a pass, a clearance, etc., and we also know how tired they are. As in real life, exhaustion increases the risk for these types of muscle injuries. So, depending on a player’s fatigue, how prone he is to injuries, whether he is coming back from injury and not fully recovered, and the actions that he is doing on the field, we can determine if an injury is likely in a particular situation.
FSB: With the new physicality of the Player Impact Engine and self injuries, should we be worried about lots of players going off injured all the time? How have you made sure this is balanced and realistic?
The frequency of self injuries will be balanced so that it only happens at the appropriate times and reflects the frequency of these injuries in the real world. You will also be able to customize the injury frequency and severity in Game Settings, in case you feel it should be different. With respect to the Player Impact Engine and injuries caused by collisions, the aim is not to create more or less injuries, nor to flood the game with dramatic falls, but rather to give you an accurate result based on what happened on the field.
Players won’t be getting injured all the time, and they won’t be subjected to types of impacts that don’t happen in the real world. You could play against a very aggressive team, but that doesn’t mean that half of your players will get injured. In short, just like in real football, you could go several games without a single injury, then every once in a while someone picks up a knock, and one match you may get two severe injuries and now it’s time to look at the depth of your squad, etc. – all based on authentic factors (impact or stress on a body part or joint, player’s propensity to injury, fatigue, and more.)
FSB: Developing Player Vision as an attribute must have been difficult, how do you determine whether a player has “good vision” or not?
We have experts all over the world that watch teams and players week in and week out, and we use their feedback to determine our players’ attributes. For vision, we will be looking at those players who, beyond their great execution of passes, are able to pick out options that other players (or you as a spectator) would not normally see. Xavi, Fabregas, Ozil, Modric, are some examples of these types of players.
FSB: Your team mates understanding each other’s strengths and weakness is a great addition but how black and white will this system be? Will players always cross early if Peter Crouch is in the box?
No, we are not ‘hard-coding’ that every time Crouch is in the box his team-mates should put a cross in. Rather, we are infusing players with an extra level of intelligence that modifies their decision-making. So, while it is more likely that a player will cross the ball in if Crouch is in the box, he is still analyzing the whole situation, and if there is a better option (still accounting for the fact that it is Crouch in the box), he will choose to do something else.
FSB: The Pro Player Intelligence vision maps “allow different players to capitalise on different opportunities” how hard was this to implement and balance?
It’s been a lot of work tuning the size, growth speed, and other factors related to the vision maps. Thankfully, we have a development tool that allows us to run a particular scenario several times, and only changing the players involved, to see what outcome we get. This way we could test several situations where someone like Xavi or Fabregas would do something different from J.S. Park, Malouda, or other types of players.
FSB: We’ve heard “threat” and “opportunity analysis” mentioned in relation to the player vision maps, could you expand on this a little further?
Basically, each player on the ball, at any given time, is faced with several opportunities – he could dribble, or he could pass the ball to his team-mates – and threats – all the defenders that are also in the way of these passes or dribbling options. A player like Xavi is able to very quickly process all these opportunities and threats, see the big picture, and make a decision based on all that information. Most players in the world, however, get distracted longer with all of these threats and options, and they tend to choose more obvious choices because you don’t have that much time on the ball in a real game. These differences in behaviours and decision-making are what we are replicating with the vision map.
4th May:
The first new gameplay detail to be revealed is that they've made a new collision and reaction engine, so players shouldn't be falling over needlessly anymore...
Xbox News: FIFA 12's Impact Engine is "biggest change" to franchise since FIFA 07 - Official Xbox 360 Magazine
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