EA SPORTS FC 26

[Sami 1999]

Yeah since they became EA FC the graphics took so many steps back. I think Fifa 21 on the PS5 is the only game, that looks somewhat realistic. Now everything looks even more like a cartoon and somehow the LOD also became much worse. Back in the XBOX 360 era they at least tried to have realistic colours and the whole look of the games were just more "mature" (especially Fifa 08 and 09)....

It's wild how poor the visual fidelity is from a gameplay camera perspective (which is what you see 95% of the time). The lighting is dreadful, unrealistic and cartoonish. Player movement is dripping with uncanny valley. Pitch textures and coloring have been off since FIF...

The LODs are the biggest offenders. FIFA rtwc 06 and wc 06 had almost full LOD during gameplay camera. Ronaldinho's hair would move during gameplay camera which truly looked next gen for it's time.

And on FIFA 08-11, the devs actually used clever techniques to add low res normal maps so that on somewhat close cameras [eg dynamic camera], the cloth wrinkles would still move. Compare that to newer games and the cloth wrinkles are just static during gameplay camera. And now with higher resolutions, it's even more obvious, even from tele cam.

The worst part is that high LOD mods have been possible ever since FIFA 2004 and it works perfectly unless you have a really low end gpu for it's time. Now we are on playstation 5 and LODs still look like it's a 20 year old game. The biggest offender in this case are Konami. LOD became really high in gameplay starting with PES 14 and it remained like that all the way until PES 21. But with eFootball they switched back to lower LODs. Like why?!



Another ugly looking aspect is the horrible black blob of shadows that are under players during overcast weathers/ shadow areas in day matches. It just looks like a huge black blob and not something you see in real life. And now that EA started using Temporal Anti Aliasing which is already an ugly means of anti aliasing image- every time the players and balls move on screen, it leaves a nasty ghosting trail. And those black blobs of shadows suffer the most- it leaves a black smear which just looks vomit inducing.


Grass looked best in ignite engine games. Frostbite engine games had decent looking grass too until FIFA 23 where it started looking like ass.

And finally, the lighting. I don't need ultra realistic lighting. Stylized lighting is fine too as long as it looks good. Look at FIFA rtwc 06, wc 06, 07 etc. They had very exaggerated cinematic lighting but it actually looked visually appealing/ beautiful. Whatever EA uses right now just looks neither realistic, nor it looks aesthetically pleasing to eyes. Only night matches have a bit of okay looking lighting. Day and overcast matches just look awful.


And you're right about the animations. It doesn't help at all. The skating and twitching automatically makes our brains think something looks wrong here. Can't believe, decade old games like FIFA 10 had better animations.

 

[sir_mamont]

I've pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition of this sh*thouse game, but expect nothing from it. Is there any chance to have some licenced brasilian teams in FC26?

 

[FC Bayern]

I've pre-ordered the Ultimate Edition of this sh*thouse game, but expect nothing from it. Is there any chance to have some licenced brasilian teams in FC26?

No, because Brazilian licenses are dodgy. The reason why Fifa had the Brazilian teams all licensed, but every one of those teams had fake players. If I remember, you have to get the license from the clubs individually, or the players individually, I can't remember which.

Plus, I believe Konami still holds a number of these, if not all

 

[dontellmama]

The LODs are the biggest offenders. FIFA rtwc 06 and wc 06 had almost full LOD during gameplay camera. Ronaldinho's hair would move during gameplay camera which truly looked next gen for it's time.

That's right. In R2WC, Ronaldinho's hair had physics and would sway, but this feature was later removed.

 

[Sami 1999]

No, because Brazilian licenses are dodgy. The reason why Fifa had the Brazilian teams all licensed, but every one of those teams had fake players. If I remember, you have to get the license from the clubs individually, or the players individually, I can't remember which.

Plus, I believe Konami still holds a number of these, if not all

would have been nice if the national team and the leagues were there but with incorrect squads at least. That way it would have been possible to just add the correct players back manually. They should add an option to import kits natively too, so that way even on consoles there would be correct kits.

 

[Colon]

Since we are talking about team licenses: Why does EA have to give unlicensed teams such bad kits? I really don't get it. As a console player I could live with fake logos and kits, if at least the kits would look like something, the teams wear in real life (it doesn't even have to be anything like the kit from that season). Inter and AC Milan for example: Just simple black and blue and black and red striped kits would be so much better than the disgusting fake kits they put in the game. That is just one more thing, where the art style and graphic is just so much worse than it used to be.

 

[FC Bayern]

Since we are talking about team licenses: Why does EA have to give unlicensed teams such bad kits? I really don't get it. As a console player I could live with fake logos and kits, if at least the kits would look like something, the teams wear in real life (it doesn't even have to be anything like the kit from that season). Inter and AC Milan for example: Just simple black and blue and black and red striped kits would be so much better than the disgusting fake kits they put in the game. That is just one more thing, where the art style and graphic is just so much worse than it used to be.

That's a thing that really annoys me about the game tbh. I mean, Lazio (Latium) had a sky blue and white kit, yet I've no idea what's in their brain for Atalanta, Inter and Milan? They can't just do a basic kit with blue and black for the first two and then red and black for Milan? Football Manager famously had a lot of missing licenses, yet still managed to do something with the kits

 

[oldbox]

About lighting and colors. Here are my screenshots from FIFA 18,19,21 (PC versions), taken from the same angle. All games have the same graphics settings (FullHD, ultra, x2 msaa), all matches time is 15:00, pitch wear is "easy", Sweden vs. Netherland, Stadium Neder, broadcast camera. In that order 18→19→21.

Spoiler: summer, clear weather

Spoiler: summer, cloudy

Spoiler: winter, snow

From year to year, something improves, something worsens, something remains the same. FIFA18 have best turf, FIFA 19 & 21 have better colors.

 

[Colon]

That's a thing that really annoys me about the game tbh. I mean, Lazio (Latium) had a sky blue and white kit, yet I've no idea what's in their brain for Atalanta, Inter and Milan? They can't just do a basic kit with blue and black for the first two and then red and black for Milan? Football Manager famously had a lot of missing licenses, yet still managed to do something with the kits
View attachment 372714

That looks so much better.

Either EA must have some data, that proves, that 99% of the players are around the age of 10 (because nobody older would like the design choices), or it is some kind of "revenge" to those teams for choosing Konami as their exclusive partner.

 

[Mathgamer]

I liked the tone of the colors in FC26, especially if we compare it to the last FCs.

 

[FC Bayern]

That looks so much better.

Either EA must have some data, that proves, that 99% of the players are around the age of 10 (because nobody older would like the design choices), or it is some kind of "revenge" to those teams for choosing Konami as their exclusive partner.

The revenge idea sounds very 'EA' tbh 😂 I can't remember what it was, but I seem to remember a game that even had fake sponsors on the kits (maybe a mobile or indie game I guess). There surely has to be something closer that EA are 'allowed' to produce. I mean, Konami has a fake Real Madrid, but it's still white, even if two shades of it

 

[HeWillKnockFourTimes]

The revenge idea sounds very 'EA' tbh 😂 I can't remember what it was, but I seem to remember a game that even had fake sponsors on the kits (maybe a mobile or indie game I guess). There surely has to be something closer that EA are 'allowed' to produce. I mean, Konami has a fake Real Madrid, but it's still white, even if two shades of it

I wouldn't be surprised if when the Konami contracts expire, EA use some kind of data to say that people didn't engage with the team in game as much as when it was licensed and how that could negatively affect the club's brand, and put that in their negotiations

 

[Mathgamer]

Also dynamic dribbling. Throughout development, we reviewed all the animations triggered during sprints, turns, and ball control. Some looked fine visually but weren’t responsive enough, so we cut or trimmed them, and introduced new ones. The result is that dribbling now feels as smooth and elastic as possible.

And for animations, responsiveness was one of the biggest points of feedback from the community. We found that the animation system wasn’t always selecting or triggering the fastest possible animations. So now, animations are shorter, more responsive, and trigger immediately when you press a button. In closed beta, players already said this made the game feel much smoother compared to last year.

Link: https://feed4gamers.com/game-news/3...xclusive-interview-with-the-gameplay-team.htm

 

[Paul-v]

Also dynamic dribbling. Throughout development, we reviewed all the animations triggered during sprints, turns, and ball control. Some looked fine visually but weren’t responsive enough, so we cut or trimmed them, and introduced new ones. The result is that dribbling now feels as smooth and elastic as possible.

And for animations, responsiveness was one of the biggest points of feedback from the community. We found that the animation system wasn’t always selecting or triggering the fastest possible animations. So now, animations are shorter, more responsive, and trigger immediately when you press a button. In closed beta, players already said this made the game feel much smoother compared to last year.

Link: https://feed4gamers.com/game-news/3...xclusive-interview-with-the-gameplay-team.htm

that entire first paragraph goes into the wtf bucket.

"they looked realistic but we want it to be arcady as fuck so we fucked it up"

 

[Chris Davies]

Also dynamic dribbling. Throughout development, we reviewed all the animations triggered during sprints, turns, and ball control. Some looked fine visually but weren’t responsive enough, so we cut or trimmed them, and introduced new ones. The result is that dribbling now feels as smooth and elastic as possible.

that entire first paragraph goes into the wtf bucket.

"they looked realistic but we want it to be arcady as fuck so we fucked it up"

Yeah, "elastic" is the exact opposite of what I want personally, and a reason why I don't like FC.

This is where the big issue comes in... How do you split a single game in two when things like this ruin the "simulation" mode?

Are we seriously going to get different animations depending on the mode? I don't know. But if we don't, then it can never really be a different game.

 

[DerleiPT]

Not in authentic mode

The changes to the gameplay range are designed to address three key community priorities: Immersion, Realism, and Less Predictability.

The main differences in gameplay include:

-Authentic sliders

-Weather effects, including wind, rain, and snow

-Slower dribbling and skill moves

-More accurate clearances, blocks, and shots by the RB

-More realistic tackling accuracy

-Improved AI defense with tighter defensive lines and defenders delivering realistically when the ball is close

-More detailed and compact midfield positioning

-More detailed header information and header accuracy

-Cross-kicks and crosses tuned to actual success rates

-Evasive players who can sometimes be hit

-Further transition through transition

-Human-like break and recovery animations

 

[drigOrange]

A video to make everyone happy.
At least the colors look good. I like that saturation.

 

[Topaz]

Not in authentic mode

That just slows down animation which makes things look even worse. Slowing down animation does not equal realism.

 

[Paul-v]

Not in authentic mode

when you cut an animation, you lose the section of the animation that makes it smooth and life like. which introduces "jank" like animations to suit "reaction times".

when you have "authentic" and "competitive" modes, they will artificially alter that cut animation by speeding it up or slowing it down. it wont reintroduce the original content. therefore you still have jank animations.

 

[Colon]

Yeah, "elastic" is the exact opposite of what I want personally, and a reason why I don't like FC.

This is where the big issue comes in... How do you split a single game in two when things like this ruin the "simulation" mode?

Are we seriously going to get different animations depending on the mode? I don't know. But if we don't, then it can never really be a different game.

But to be honest, I could live with bad Animations and still have a lot of fun. Even in PES 5, PES 6 or more recently FIFA 16 there are bad animations, even for that time. But those Games have better AI, which makes the Games feel more realistic and more fun at the same time.

Watching the Video @drigOrange posted, the biggest issues are still 1v1 and how passive the AI is. If the Game would fix this and make the AI more challenging in a natural way, the Game would already be good in my opinion. Because of the weird physics not as good as the Games mentioned above, but still good enough.

 

[oldbox]

Yeah, "elastic" is the exact opposite of what I want personally, and a reason why I don't like FC.

This is where the big issue comes in... How do you split a single game in two when things like this ruin the "simulation" mode?

Are we seriously going to get different animations depending on the mode? I don't know. But if we don't, then it can never really be a different game.

Dribbling is one of the main aspects of a football video game. All the developers' words about "authentic", "realistic", "simulation", "new features" are broken down by the realization of dribbling and physics. The implementation of dribbling in FC26 exactly the same as in FIFA22 - FC25: no weight of a footballer, no inertia, unrealistic 180 degree turns in an instant, GK and CB as high-speed dribblers. In these games, player don't notice dribbling, just running, passing, and shooting. This arcade gameplay not for a 30-minute match, it's for a maximum of 5 minutes.

About different modes. Perhaps there will be something similar to the appearance of women's teams in FIFA 16, where for the first time there was the implementation of female motion capture, but only for 12 teams. I think that it is this thing made the difference between "male" and "female" gameplay in FIFA16-19 (i don't know how it looks in F20, not play).

 

[Marlon Anthony]

But to be honest, I could live with bad Animations and still have a lot of fun. Even in PES 5, PES 6 or more recently FIFA 16 there are bad animations, even for that time. But those Games have better AI, which makes the Games feel more realistic and more fun at the same time.

Actually that's the trade off you have in this games especially PES 5 & 6, that unless you super cancel, an animation cycle has to complete which gives the impression of clunkiness to some but it's a lot more realistic then players ignoring inertia for the sake of convenience.

 

[Ezequiel Vanzin]

Sorry but saying that PES 5 or 6 is realistic is too much for me, I grew up playing these games, they are extremely fun but far from realistic, I'm tired of making passes from area to area without any interaction, the game is frantic, I think there is a bit of nostalgia in this forum, but the game is far from realistic, nothing today would be as interesting as that time!Football today is extremely physical and there is little space to play. In PES 6, I think that if I wanted to score goals in the Maradona style, dribbling from midfield to the area and scoring goals, dribbling today is actually very scarce in modern football and is a game of patience and passing!

 

[Marlon Anthony]

Sorry but saying that PES 5 or 6 is realistic is too much for me, I grew up playing these games, they are extremely fun but far from realistic, I'm tired of making passes from area to area without any interaction, the game is frantic, I think there is a bit of nostalgia in this forum, but the game is far from realistic, nothing today would be as interesting as that time!Football today is extremely physical and there is little space to play. In PES 6, I think that if I wanted to score goals in the Maradona style, dribbling from midfield to the area and scoring goals, dribbling today is actually very scarce in modern football and is a game of patience and passing!

When was the last time you played 5 & 6 out of curiosity? I'm not trying to be rude to you but to say they're far from realistic is an exaggeration. Those games, especially PES 5 captured the fundamentals of real football while balancing it with fun with the technology at the time that modern football games choose not to.

This is even before the mechanics of 360 dribbling, passing ranges & advanced physics, everything was brutally contextual & you certainly couldn't run the pitch like Maradona on those games unless you played on a low difficulty level.

Furthmore those games captured the style of football in the mid 2000's which as you say is very different now with everything being systemic & possesive compared to the flexible & improvised style 20 years ago, so it's strange to compare 5 & 6 to what modern football resembles anyway.

 

[Ezequiel Vanzin]

The game is very limited, passing from midfield to a striker, they go towards the foot without any problems, high speed, predictable. I've played for 10 years and I know what I'm talking about. Today it's only good for fun, but the mechanics are very simplistic. There's no way to compare a game from 2006 with the current ones. It's the same thing putting the player in modern football, but I guarantee it doesn't do anything! I'm tired of putting a defender with 80 speed in the attack and he was my top scorer in ML lol! Of course, it's my opinion. Each person here has a favorite game, so there will never be a consensus on which game is ideal and which is closest to reality. Anyway, my opinion is worth as much as anyone's, so it doesn't change anything to say that PES 21 is better or FIFA because there will always be people who disagree and there is no one who is right or wrong!

 

[simogto90]

Sorry but saying that PES 5 or 6 is realistic is too much for me, I grew up playing these games, they are extremely fun but far from realistic, I'm tired of making passes from area to area without any interaction, the game is frantic, I think there is a bit of nostalgia in this forum, but the game is far from realistic, nothing today would be as interesting as that time!Football today is extremely physical and there is little space to play. In PES 6, I think that if I wanted to score goals in the Maradona style, dribbling from midfield to the area and scoring goals, dribbling today is actually very scarce in modern football and is a game of patience and passing!

Pes6 had a really bad defensive a.i and i could stay with your statement,but on Pes 5 and expecially We9le dribbling like Maradona Is a lot more harder than any great fifa title too.
We10le fix quite much the pes6 defensive a.i and even there is not very easy to dribbling past a whole team.
Plus these old games had a better ball physics than new ones and a better interaction with player/ball/opponents that makes defending a lot more rewarding due the fact you really have to position your body and steal the ball from your opponent's feet: this Is something that even the best fifa games and all Pes on Fox engine lacks where u just have to bring your player in opponent's proximity and trigger an animation that will "drain" the ball from his feet.
Plus PS2 Pes are the games where players indiciduality shine the most.

 

[Marlon Anthony]

The game is very limited, passing from midfield to a striker, they go towards the foot without any problems, high speed, predictable. I've played for 10 years and I know what I'm talking about. Today it's only good for fun, but the mechanics are very simplistic. There's no way to compare a game from 2006 with the current ones. It's the same thing putting the player in modern football, but I guarantee it doesn't do anything! I'm tired of putting a defender with 80 speed in the attack and he was my top scorer in ML lol! Of course, it's my opinion. Each person here has a favorite game, so there will never be a consensus on which game is ideal and which is closest to reality. Anyway, my opinion is worth as much as anyone's, so it doesn't change anything to say that PES 21 is better or FIFA because there will always be people who disagree and there is no one who is right or wrong!

The mechanics are simplistic by today's standards of course, but it was pretty much cutting edge for its time 20 years ago & it was revered as the best football game ever made & even today, people still adore 5 & 6 & make no mistake about it, those games are just as deep as they are fun, that was the delicate balance they achieved back then.

I suppose the relavance this has to FC 26 is that with the powerful technology, experience & understanding the developers have at their disposal now, mechanically the series has regressed so much that it's staggering. Even 10 years ago the depth & fundamentals of FIFA 16 were near perfect & was accepted for the same balance of simulation & fun, but it's been culled in favour of thoughtless instant gratification for a new generation of players who don't care about the risk & reward satisfaction of football & just want an arcade FIFA Street but on an 11 a side pitch.

It's strange because you'd think modes like Volta would appeal to that kind of taste & they'd keep the traditional game to a more respected standard but here we are, you can't please everyone but they're sort of trying with the split between competitive & authentic gameplay.

This is the first time in a while they've acknowledged publicly there's a demand for both experiences, the question at the moment is will they truly honor that gulf going forward as it currently seems like it's the same gameplay but with one being slightly slower than the other & doesn't really account for the key variables nessacary to make it feel like the simulation we're asking for.

 

[Colon]

Actually that's the trade off you have in this games especially PES 5 & 6, that unless you super cancel, an animation cycle has to complete which gives the impression of clunkiness to some but it's a lot more realistic then players ignoring inertia for the sake of convenience.

Don't get me wrong. I totally agree with you. My point is, that some running, passing or shooting animations in those games were not really good, even for the standards at that time. But we still love those games, because overall the games feel like football and are just more fun. And one reason for that is, that the AI is more challenging/difficult. So if Fifa would fix the AI, I could live with bad animations.
Now we have bad AI, bad Animations and no fun. Especially because the games are too easy.

 

[Topaz]

But to be honest, I could live with bad Animations and still have a lot of fun. Even in PES 5, PES 6 or more recently FIFA 16 there are bad animations, even for that time. But those Games have better AI, which makes the Games feel more realistic and more fun at the same time.

Watching the Video @drigOrange posted, the biggest issues are still 1v1 and how passive the AI is. If the Game would fix this and make the AI more challenging in a natural way, the Game would already be good in my opinion. Because of the weird physics not as good as the Games mentioned above, but still good enough.

Whilst PES 5/6 didn't have a lot of animation key frames and selection, they didn't cut animation either so the animation was fluid since they all completed. I think that's the part that puts me off and FIFA 17 didn't do that. They did a little bit with FIFA 18(which made it seem like they were running in the mud). And they went full gung-ho in FIFA 19.

 

[DerleiPT]