[Matt10]

Quote: Originally Posted by roswell0075

The biggest misconception with FIFA is how the CPU works. There are a multitude of people who say there is scripting... or that the CPU simply cheats etc... There are also numerous threads on sliders with many trying to "fix" the game. Many of these suffer from the same faulty reasoning that is simply down to not understanding how the CPU AI works in the game. In FIFA you have the ability to make changes to a teams tactics by utilizing the Custom Teams Tactics (CTT). This allows customization of playing styles for the team and individual positions. To be clear these changes are only temporary if you're playing against the CPU. After you start a match there are several ways to change a teams playing style. On the D Pad you can press up or down to change the CTT's and/or you can change the defensive and attacking levels by pressing left or right on the D Pad. All of these actions have a huge impact on the game. The biggest misunderstanding by gamers is that the CPU is always static. Meaning that once the game starts the tactics remain the same as the default... not true. The CPU changes strategy within the game to adapt to what you're doing. This is why there are times the CPU will suddenly become very different. Its NOT CHEATING the CPU has simply changed tactics. This means that if you do not use the D pad OR refuse to recognize the fact that the CPU changes, then the game will forever feel scripted to you. You must learn to counter the CPU to be effective. For example: If suddenly the CPU is all in your face and you can't get out of your own end, which seemed to come from nowhere, then the CPU has gone into a high press and/or changed the attacking levels. You must counter that action to be effective. Now how you do that is your choice. depending on your CTT's you can defend deeper or counter with more aggressive attacking levels etc... choice is yours BUT you must do something. Think of the D Pad as a manager screaming on the sidelines... you can yell for your players to get forward OR press high but if a manger does NOTHING? Well then your team will usually lose. That's NOT scripting people. It's called AI and you must learn to counter it and when you learn this aspect of the game it changes for the better. And for you guys obsessed with sliders? This is the biggest misconception on those threads. So much time is spent trying to fix the animations or running patterns of the defenders when in fact all of those elements are handled within the game and within the D Pad strategies. Simply put. If you learn to effectively use the D Pad in the game and counter the CPU's actions the game is a lot more fun and very realistic as long as you're on the appropriate difficulty level.

I agree with a lot of what you said in regards to the CPU adapting to the game situation and match scenario. It is a script, but scripted is a bit of a loose/generalization that seems to serve more as something to blame versus actually seeing an abnormality in animation.

The D-Pad has little to do with animations however. You can go into defensive, balanced, all out attack, and the animations remain the same. It's more so the intent of the players on the field - and then the slider modifications compliment that intent. If you have a height of 100/100 and go all out attack, then you will be sure to find the midfield extremely cramped and you will see runs being cut off sooner than they would if the height was at 50.

I do agree that there is a rubberband effect of the CPU acknowledging the user's choice and then combatting that though. However, sliders aren't just geared for match scenario as that is just one element of the advantage of using them - but as you know in this sport, every inch matters, and essentially that is what sliders can achieve. It can make the difference of those inches and modify a behavior. So while "us guys" are obsessed, or so it seems, there is a lot of validity into why we choose to be.