EA SPORTS FC 25

Well I have to say, the last session (which I streamed) wasn't as enjoyable as the first.



The good bits were still there, but the bad bits really came to the fore - so much so, I have to wonder if there was a tuning update that's pushed when you first start the game, but not installed until the next time you boot it.

Some more negatives for the list:

> The 1v1 core was really obvious, with several instances of two strikers passing the ball between each other horizontally, and the RDM running out, while the LDM stood perfectly still in the middle empty space (not marking the other striker, and not blocking any passing lanes)... doing nothing of defensive worth...

...then as soon as one striker passed to the other, the RDM would retreat in a completely useless way to stand in the middle of empty space, and the LDM would fly forwards to replace him.

Whack-a-mole stuff. It looks, and feels, stupid. Horribly dumbed down from where FIFA was 10 years ago.

Teams still don't defend as a unit - they position as a unit (with the exception of the 1v1 assigned defender when the ball-carrier is near), but they don't move in packs, blocking a pass with one guy, approaching the ball carrier with the other.

It's just not football. It's not a team game, it's still 1v1 at its core. To be brutally honest, I don't know if I can get past that.

> The speed of player reactions, responsiveness, defensive twitchiness above League Two was just alien-like. Physically impossible stuff. Without a "slow speed" option, which has been cruelly taken from us (even though it was buggy as hell), I don't think I can really enjoy the game outside of League Two.

This is why there are FC24 Pro Clubs leagues where all the players are given OVR 45 attributes... Plays great in those circumstances, plays completely manic otherwise.

> I didn't see a single foul tonight other than the patented "AI tries to break your legs from behind in a totally unrealistic fashion, with no attempt to get the ball". That was patched into FIFA as a response to single player complaints that there were no fouls - it was a terrible non-"fix" then and it is now. But it's too deep an issue for a quick fix.

> I ended up switching to manual passing because my pass accuracy with Middlesbrough was, with semi controls, 90%+, which is (frankly) so stupid... What's it like on assisted for God's sake?!! But the AI's pass accuracy was also super high as mentioned before.

> All deflections and "misplaced passes" still go direct to the feet of the opponent (even on "manual" passing), with no loose balls or 50/50 balls ever allowed by the engine. That's a heartbreaker for me, because it's just so obvious, so fake and so frustrating - that every movement of the ball is on rails, and completely inorganic.

> If you play it, put the game on Legendary, switch player-based difficulty on, and play with/against a very average team. You'll immediately see the worst of the game.

Before you say "well, dur" ... it's about seeing just how bad the engine gets, and even outside of Legendary it does all this stuff... just slightly less often. Stuff like: the absolutely crazy dribble speed, twitchiness, lightning-fast 100-degree turns and back again, 100mph bullet passes with ping-pong passing, no first touch ever required. The fact that it's possible for that to happen at all within the engine, shows the core faults that can't be magicked away by a sim switch or slider.

...

I still enjoyed every goal I scored, and even the ones the AI scored, because there was work involved in all of it. But I just can't ignore all of the above.

Compare all of that to every game before FC and it's just so laser-guided, twitchy and physically inconsistent.
 
Irvine09 said:
the trial only appears when you go to the ultimate edition version. If you go to the standard edition it won’t show up.
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I spent £1 on the 14-day trial of Gamepass Ultimate (includes EA Play) and installed the Standard Version before I heard there was any doubt about it. The trial will appear on this version:

1. Start the game. It'll ask you what the hell you think you're doing (words to that effect).
2. Choose the option 'View in Microsoft Store'.
3. Select the EA Play Trial-

And you're in.

I only had time for a couple of matches tonight. It was... OK. I was expecting to like it more than I did. It was all right.

I was dismayed to find that the much-heralded Simulation setting is only a set of pre-configured sliders. I thought it was something partitioned off from the rest of the game. Surely this means that changes to the overall game will affect the Simulation settings – unless EA also change their Sim sliders whenever they tweak the gameplay?

I had one weird bugbear: I'm convinced they've set up the wind speed effect the wrong way around. I cranked wind speed, and wind effects, up to High and played around deliberately trying to see the effect. And it does have an effect, but the opposite way around. The arrow would point one way but the wind seemed to blow in the other. With it on High this is obvious and it really bothered me.

I see the woodwork is still very prominent in this game. EA's focus group players must love dramatically CRASHING the ball against the bar and post 3-4 times a match. I'd rather see the ball miss the goal completely, personally.

I didn't mind the game, overall. At this point I doubt I'll go past the 10 hours though.
 
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peroberilo said:
ahhh, man ... i spent 6 euros for nothing, either refund or add another 10 to get EA playPro ...
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You might have to wait until 00:00 am 20th Sept for the trial to appear. I'm in Indonesia, but my account is the UK one, so had to wait until midnight UK time to download.

I'll try it after I've finished work & give my initial feedback, but if it's similar to FC 24, I'm sure I can find some enjoyment
 
Go to the Standard Edition of the game and scroll down to the "In this bundle" and choose X/S edition. After that you will see Free Trial option that you need to buy/confirm.
 
I'm going to keep it super simple for now. First impressions are very, very good. They've clearly made an effort here and it's obviously better in almost every way from default FC24.

The movement is significantly improved and feels immediately better than what we've had for a long time. I really don't understand those who are saying it's still a skating mess now, it absolutely is not.

The implementation of FC IQ on the ball from my early tests is very good. It's not a rigid, silly implementation (Fox engine, I'm looking at you), but it feels nice, natural and impactful. I would like to see some more 'personality' off the ball also, but from my on ball tests so far, it's definitely a good thing and can add a lot of depth to our experience.

Collectively the defensive side of the game needs work for sure. 1v1 is unfortunately still there, even on simulation mode. It's nowhere near the FIFA 21 levels of it though. I have many ways I plan to address this when (hopefully) I'm able to mod.

There's clear improvements though in the actual interaction between a defender and an attacker. Defenders no long 'slide' off the attacker as they would previously, there's more differentiation in tackling abilities also and the CPU does in general make more use of the defensive tools available to it.

I look at the game a little differently I guess, I look at it as a base to mod from and these are some of the little, but important details I was looking and hoping to have to work with. Definitely work to be done, but it's definitely the best base we've had in quite a long time.

Need to spend more time, but my very initial impression is that there's a clear and definite step (not skate ;) ) in the right direction!
 
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The camera customisation is still broken / poor. The zoom option barely works, everything looks so zoomed out despite the various camera options.
 
And I'm curious if they've improved the overall performance of the game on PC compared to last year's version. I wanted to try fc24 with the Anths mod, but stuttering in cutscenes and replays and random freezes on start screen made me stop playing after a few tries. With Rtx 4070 Ryzen 5600 and 32gb ram this definitely shouldn't happen even on Ultra settings.This is Fifa, not Black Myth or Cyberpunk
 
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Can someone share a squadfile? even in pvt, thanks :)

I'd like to try out how this year the engine react to attributes following the new roles and not the inflexible way we have now
 
sir_mamont said:
This gives me a hope. Have you tried it on classic mode?
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Just the once. It's not like a totally different game, but it is faster, and that for me is unacceptable.

You could tone it down with the speed sliders, but then the whole balance of the game is thrown off.

Right now, if you play a League Two game, the pace is really nice. But the EPL / Champions League is like playing FUT - it's truly stupid how arcade-fast it is.

Slow it down with sliders, and you might get the top level working better, but when you play a League Two game, it'll be like playing in mud (and not in a realistic way).

I've only played 10-11 games so I haven't truly fiddled with sliders properly yet, but if I could stay in sim mode, I'd much prefer to. I've read that there are more benefits than just the speed (e.g. different AI).
 
Do you guys remember if there was a Black Friday sale for FC24 last year?

Kinda still on the fence, but I might wait till the end of November to purchase FC25 if that's the case.. Not only will there probably be sales on Steam/EA app, but this will give time for @Anth James to keep developing his gameplay mods. :TU:

Match intros being back are a major plus for me.. They should've never, ever left. And I've liked some of what I've seen in the gameplay videos. I will keep an eye out for further reviews/comments in the next few weeks, this thread is going to be full of activity. :LOL:
 
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Anth James said:
I'm going to keep it super simple for now. First impressions are very, very good. They've clearly made an effort here and it's obviously better in almost every way from default FC24.

The movement is significantly improved and feels immediately better than what we've had for a long time. I really don't understand those who are saying it's still a skating mess now, it absolutely is not.

The implementation of FC IQ on the ball from my early tests is very good. It's not a rigid, silly implementation (Fox engine, I'm looking at you), but it feels nice, natural and impactful. I would like to see some more 'personality' off the ball also, but from my on ball tests so far, it's definitely a good thing and can add a lot of depth to our experience.

Collectively the defensive side of the game needs some work. 1v1 is unfortunately still there, even on simulation mode. It's nowhere near the FIFA 21 levels of it though. I have many ways I plan to address this when (hopefully) I'm able to mod.

There's clear improvements though in the actual interaction between a defender and an attacker. Defenders no long 'slide' off the attacker as they would previously, there's more differentiation in tackling abilities also and the CPU does in general make more use of the defensive tools available to it. These are some of the little, but important details I was looking and hoping to have to work with.

Need to spend more time, but my very initial impression is that there's a clear and definite step (not skate ;) ) in the right direction!
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The ball is still glued to the players feet, but at this point this must be baked into the engine. My biggest complaint with Fifa was always how every opponent plays the same above World Class, but World Class and below is far too easy. Legendary on previous games grinds you down over time. You might do well in the first game, but it's like play Man City every match regardless of the opponent, eventually it's going to get to you and you'll let your guard down.

In 25, based from my play session last night, opposition teams generally play to the game plan that you'll be briefed in the pre match report, so you can choose your starting 11 based on this. If it's a kick and rush team then field your tall centre backs, if its gegenpressing then you're going to get a lot of counter attack opportunities. Tiki taka I found very hard to break down, I think this is most similar to the 'default' legendary of previous years. But still no ridiculous goals where their striker ghosts through my defence like they aren't even there. For the most part defending works as intended.

I've not had any 'scripted' moments yet either. In one game I went behind to Man United after dominating the match. They were on top and it was a struggle for a while, but at no point did I feel like the game was predetermined where you go 2 or 3 goals down and there's nothing you can do about it. I played the match like you would in real life, try to ride out the storm and wait for an opportunity. It felt very rewarding.

It's a good step, at least in this build. Like I said variety of opponent was my biggest problem for years in offline game modes. I can live with the other 'Fifaisms' as long as this holds true and each game has novelty. I hope it doesn't change.
 
After watching Chris playing on legendary last night, it was enough for me to give this a swerve.

Several times, he stopped dead with the ball and the only player engaging at all was the defender in front of him, the 1v1 kicking in. All the others just stopped, no runs or anything.

Plus, the AI making unrealistic passes I saw a few times. Have an easy 5 yard pass forwards but contort their body and play a weird looking ball to a player behind them. That and the dribbling and skill moves for no reason.

It does look a bit more 'solid' overall but it isn't enough to make me think 'wow, I need this game'.

I'll stick with FIFA 16 for now and maybe have a look at this in a few months when it's cheaper. I'm still on PS4 and checked the price - it's about £65!! Stuff that.
 
I played it at the end, I looks better than expected.

Passes and first touch control are still unrealistic, specially if you play with top teams ....

But 3 games I played, 4 goals were scored on Legendary - Simulation sliders.
In FC24 4 goals were normal in half-time.

AI is improved, footplanting is better than FC24, but still there are problems when players turn faster then they should.

But overall, at least its improvement over FC24
 
The 5 a side mode is decent. In career mode its used to play games with your youth academy players, so you have more of an attachment to them before you throw them into the first team.
 
Anybody getting the message that your trial has expired even though you haven't even got past the initial loading screen? On Xbox and in the UK
 
Is anyone else experiencing stuttering issues on PC? Even the menu feels sluggish, as if I'm playing at 30 FPS.

I used to play EA FC 24 at 4K without issues, but now it's different. I've lowered the graphics settings, but the problem persists. The game also takes a while to open.

I'm playing on a Ryzen 5 5600x and an RTX 3080. Anyone else having this issue?
 
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