CPU clearances are insane. This must be patched

[Gonira]

but shouldn't these so called boosts be welcome for immersion?

i mean, away games are harder than home games irl; teams will play with more intensity in important games irl; teams will press their hardest for a goal if losing by one near the end of the match irl... why would you want to strip your career off of these dynamics?

last two years the only thing i hated was how cpu would become totally psycho like an on/off switch always exactly at the 80th minute when losing, but this year this seems to have been fixed to a more believable behaviour.

[Yeats]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gonira

but shouldn't these so called boosts be welcome for immersion? last two years the only thing i hated was how cpu would become totally psycho like an on/off switch always exactly at the 80th minute when losing, but this year this seems to have been fixed to a more believable behaviour.

Good to hear it's been toned down somewhat if that's the case.

There is CPU strategy coding in the game that makes sense, such as the CPU switching to attack and playing long balls near the end of a game when down a goal. That's different though than the boost coding, which turns every player, regardless of his ratings, into a dribbling passing speeding cyborg. Player ratings then mean absolutely nothing. There's nothing immersive about that and it's certainly not a football simulation at that point.

[Gnemi]

Thanks for posting the data, Yeats.

I'm fine with people saying they don't mind the boosts or the alterations in gameplay, but let's stop denying that they exist, mmkay?

I caught a lot of crap last year for my "Unwinnable" career mode fixtures thread and even without the data to support what I was experiencing anecdotally, it was ridiculous to assume that I was an EA conspiracy theorist.

I can say quite honestly, similar to Gonira, that I welcome the "immersion" changes in gameplay. Away fixtures, derbies, etc. should be more difficult. The only time I find it a bit (or a lot) frustrating is when I'm playing an otherwise normal match on my schedule but my AI opponent seems to be on crack. Last year, it was Arsenal. Didn't matter where/when/why I was playing against them, they just WRECKED me like a collection of banshee gerbils on amphetamines. Aaron Ramsay looked like Usain Bolt.

[Gnemi]

Oops, forgot why I even came here to post!

I definitely feel annoyed by the bicycle kick clearances. I'm okay with the AI clearances but the overuse of the bicycle kick animation is borderline absurd. Quite simply, that is not a very common technique for defenders, but if you're watching FIFA '14, you'd think every kid in the world is practicing bicycle kicks from the time they're 5 years old.

Also, it doesn't help that these clearances are not really clearances at all. Rather, they're lob passes because they invariably end up at the feet of the AI midfield.

[Yeats]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gnemi

I caught a lot of crap last year for my "Unwinnable" career mode fixtures thread and even without the data to support what I was experiencing anecdotally, it was ridiculous to assume that I was an EA conspiracy theorist.

I didn't see that, it was a good thread and discussion. The only thing is the word "unwinnable" doesn't work for me personally because games aren't scripted and pre-determined, they just become incredibly difficult to win due to the CPU boosts.

So as someone who understands how the boost coding works, what's your take? Is there boost coding in FIFA 14 career mode this year? Is it noticeably toned down? Or is it much worse as some people on Evo-Web are saying?

[Gnemi]

Yeah, first of all, I was being rhetorical (as I'm wont to do) with the term "Unwinnable". In fact, I did win some of those "Unwinnable" matches by repeatedly playing them because they were important cup ties against seemingly level or inferior opponents. For instance, I splashed 40 million quid on a squad over 5 years with Cardiff City and had ascended the ranks of the EPL. It was idiotic that I'd encounter Aston Villa in the round of 16 and find them damn near impossible to beat. Anyhow, those fixtures were technically winnable of course, but EA stacked the deck heavily.

Here's what I'm noticing this year more than anything:

A lack of parity with opponents. Everybody knows how enjoyable a variety of gameplay feels. My favorite sports game ever, College Hoops 2K8, allowed me to try out bench players against inferior opponents. Against really inferior opponents, I could start a couple freshmen and STILL trounce the CPU. In other words, there were games whose outcomes I could more or less take for granted. It wasn't often and it wasn't 100% of the time, but I could count on a few huge wins to pad my stats during a tough spell.

FIFA '14 doesn't offer this really...too many scrubby players are every bit as good as the world beaters and too many scrubby clubs are every bit as good as the UCL clubs. That's been a problem with FIFA for the last few years and it's a problem this year. The CPU seems too immune to circumstance. EA seems to use normalizing code to ensure that a CF for Doncaster Rovers is still pretty formidable compared to, say, Lukaku or someone of that caliber.

The 45 minute and 80 minute mega-boosts are either toned down or barely noticeable this year...and for that alone, I'm pretty grateful.

My single biggest annoyance with FIFA '14 at the moment is the magnetic tackling and toe-poking. It's not just the CPU, either. Humans benefit from this issue, too. It's simply far too easy to take the ball from another player right now. Possession football is possible via tiki-taka but not by holding. If you hold the ball, you WILL lose it when the CPU defenders close. Conversely, you can take the ball from the CPU if they hold it too long. I kinda like where EA are going with the idea because it discourages egregious use of dribbling and sprinting, but they've gone too far. If it were toned down 20% I'd be content.

[BL8001]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gnemi

My single biggest annoyance with FIFA '14 at the moment is the magnetic tackling and toe-poking. It's not just the CPU, either. Humans benefit from this issue, too. It's simply far too easy to take the ball from another player right now. Possession football is possible via tiki-taka but not by holding. If you hold the ball, you WILL lose it when the CPU defenders close. Conversely, you can take the ball from the CPU if they hold it too long. I kinda like where EA are going with the idea because it discourages egregious use of dribbling and sprinting, but they've gone too far. If it were toned down 20% I'd be content.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

An example I would have is this, and it's become something I sort of test every single match. If I kick off, I touch it about and get the game going and then I pass it out to the LM or RM and then do nothing threatening in particular with the ball which for some reason seems to draw in the heat seeking CPU. When they get near I hold LT and then move the left stick around producing the various shielding animations. It only takes about 4 seconds before the CPU comes around me and toe pokes it away.

The player who does this? Generally some ST with 44 defense tops.

I am not asking for 100% successful shielding. More that just if I am shielding please make it shielding.

Also I really really want to know how to do the CPU dribbling move where they are moving at regular speed and pull the ball back and half turn clockwise, which makes you follow them by shading on that side, but then with one swift Houdini move they drag it counterclockwise right back forward and off they go. It's a killer move.

Why can the CPU do moving drag backs at speed but I can't? From what I have read of the dribbling moves this move doesn't exist for the user.

[Gonira]

Quote: Originally Posted by Gnemi

My single biggest annoyance with FIFA '14 at the moment is the magnetic tackling and toe-poking. It's not just the CPU, either. Humans benefit from this issue, too. It's simply far too easy to take the ball from another player right now. Possession football is possible via tiki-taka but not by holding. If you hold the ball, you WILL lose it when the CPU defenders close. Conversely, you can take the ball from the CPU if they hold it too long. I kinda like where EA are going with the idea because it discourages egregious use of dribbling and sprinting, but they've gone too far. If it were toned down 20% I'd be content.

this x1000000