Its more on rails coz it creates less collisions. Less collisions mean less fouls.
Everything is connected.
They put it more on rails and increased power and accuracy of holding X defending, so it doesnt get called as a foul.
Now they know they cant just reverse it. (Or they dont want to reverse it).
So they will look somewhere else. What can make it more smooth and without struggle?
Well how about we decrease physicality, so AI wont be able to hold you back from behind?
And like that - everything that made it special is getting fucked.
Not to mention the pass meter (at least on manual) will fill up faster now to counterbalance the more difficult dribbling. Its only half a second or so but its enough to make passes feel less physical and more shallow and cheaper.
Let me elaborate
just a bit an unnecessary amount, because i believe what they did to the passing is exemplary for the changes between 1.0 to 1.2. Where the former is more about rythm, instinct and
feeling and the latter represents better the strategy, challenge and
ratio. Both are parts of football and both versions offer something thats very good. But man, if they can hit that sweet spot somewhere in between.
So, in my eyes, what the demo showed us, was that passing should mostly require not just a tap, but an actual and thick button press. Just like a real pass requires effort, time and concentration. A nuanced and subtle power meter can go a long way in translating that physicallity and suspense. In the demo every pass felt tangible somehow and releasing the pass became the climax of you finding that bit of space to perform it.
Not saying it is an anti-climax post-patch, far from it, but its just not the same. I do not feel i need that tiny bit of extra space every time to perform a more difficult / longer pass. I do not feel that me pressing the button actually represents the time it takes for my player to swing his leg, look up, look down and hit it with effort and intention.
What i do feel and see is that, when i am done with my press, there's often a very tiny delay and the resulting kick seems too fast in relation to my press. Its like watching a movie where the audio is just a few miliseconds faster then the video.
Surely Konami knows the faster the meter fills, the less weighty and tangiable the act becomes. They study that connection between input and output on a daily basis. First touch passes require just a tap because you will need to substract part of the power the ball already from your normal timing. And i also believe that when you are under pressure and being held down, a pass requires slightly more power. These contextual requirements are great and add to the feeling that you are dealing with real physics. But if that meter is too quick, all that detail wont be pronounced enough to get me involved.
Say for example a 3m pass in the game requires a 3 millisecond press, while a 6 meter pass a 4ms press. Now, you would be able to perform one or the other with some practise, but still a 0.3 or a 0.4 would press would
feel about the same thus you have to actively think about it. And what about a 4 or 5 meter pass in above example? Our brain wont even be able to differentiate between 0.325 and 0.375 miliseconds.
Only when the meter fills up slowly enough, you will be able to seperate a 4 meter pass from a 5 meter one simply by muscle memory. With say 10 different passing gradients in your muscle memory arsenal you feel much more comfortable on the ball then only 6 options that make you feel slightly nervous of overhitting. Thus, a too frantic power meter impacts the whole experience on multiple levels.
In summary i just feel the adjusted mechanics are aimed to stimulate the brain more then the instincts. It seems i now have to rely more on predictions of what the game will do next in order to decide my next step, instead off relying on my muscle memory and football instincts. All in all this makes me feel less in control and ultimately slightly less involved. Thankfully, there is long grass which makes the pass meter behave in a more natural manner.
Sorry for the long one, its sometimes so damn hard to explain something rather subtle in a second language.
