FIFA 11 Demo Impressions XBOX360/PS3

Curious to know what control settings you all are using?

The reason I ask is, I'm typically an all manual player but with my frustration with the demo growing I decided to revert to square one in my most recent sit-down with the demo, and I found the game quite enjoyable on a mixture of assisted-semi settings. I'm more than a little ashamed to admit it, but it made me rethink why I bother playing with manual passing, at least against the CPU.

Seems to me this game just isn't built with manual controls in mind, which I know is stating the obvious, but as someone who had become attached to manual passing especially, I guess I would have hoped by now that FIFA would have found a way to make a manual player feel "welcomed" - for me the game is still a little too intense, fast paced, starved for space, and aggressive (when playing vs the CPU at least), to have to worry about manual passing in addition to everything else.

I'm finding it to be a bit of a conundrum: some of the goals (I actually scored more than 2 in game!!!) are beautiful, the type that can be near impossible to pull-off with manual passing because of the extra time it takes to power a pass properly; but on the other hand, there's something missing, and I feel like I'm not just cheating but betraying an ideal.

Part of this has been brought on by the time I've been spending with the PES demo. In PES passing is done quite well imo, a mixture of semi-assisted. What's important is PES reminded me that passing in a football game should be a source of joy and not frustration, which is what it's become for me in FIFA, frustrating. Much of this I think stems from how soft passes are in the FIFA demo, and hopefully they'll have a little more zip on them in the final.

Anyone else having similar issues?

Placebo said:
Start a two player match with two controllers, set up the teams, go to kick off, pause, select sides and move one controller to the middle so the AI takes over :)
Click to expand...

You sir, are a genius. That or I'm a complete dumbass. Either way, I've gonna give this a go next chance I get.
 
Use whatever you find the most fun and satisfying, or the best compromise between the two if necessary.

Personally I set everything to Manual except player selection, which I put on the new 'Air Balls' setting (or whatever that is named). I enjoy the challenge of manual controls and therefore the greater satisfaction it brings when I pull something off.

While trying the PES demo recently, I found the assisted passing a little boring in comparison. Having to weigh and angle each pass is part of the fun, I think, whereas assisted can become stale and routine. Occasionally it would choose a pass that I didn't want, which was annoying. I also don't like the fast-slow way that the ball moves on ground passes in that game.

There's also a strategic aspect to manual, in that you might think twice about attempting a difficult manual pass whereas on assisted you'd fire it in there without a care.

Conversely, the manual lob pass in PES is much better than the FIFA manual lob pass, being actually, y'know, remotely manual! A shocking concept :P
 
nerf said:
Use whatever you find the most fun and satisfying, or the best compromise between the two if necessary.

Personally I set everything to Manual except player selection, which I put on the new 'Air Balls' setting (or whatever that is named). I enjoy the challenge of manual controls and therefore the greater satisfaction it brings when I pull something off.

While trying the PES demo recently, I found the assisted passing a little boring in comparison. Having to weigh and angle each pass is part of the fun, I think, whereas assisted can become stale and routine. Occasionally it would choose a pass that I didn't want, which was annoying. I also don't like the fast-slow way that the ball moves on ground passes in that game.

There's also a strategic aspect to manual, in that you might think twice about attempting a difficult manual pass whereas on assisted you'd fire it in there without a care.

Conversely, the manual lob pass in PES is much better than the FIFA manual lob pass, being actually, y'know, remotely manual! A shocking concept :P
Click to expand...

That's my point and why I was asking - the answer used to be manual but I'm having a tough time enjoying it right now; by making pass velocity significantly slower and the super high effectiveness of defenders, I'm finding manual to be an even more disadvantage than before. Previously I've been okay with the disadvantages because I enjoyed the freedom, but now I don't know. I switch on the WC game and the answer is easy - I play manual and I enjoy it; that sadly is not the case with the FIFA demo. Part of the problem for me is that I have to lower the difficulty level this year to be at all effective on offense, but if I drop below Legendary the game begins to become a little to easy playing defense.

I agree with your feelings on PES. In fact, my earliest posts in the PES threads were regarding the level of assistance and automation, and the amount of times the CPU "chose" to pass to a different option that I'd intended. I still find that I'll score goals with a player I didn't even mean to pass to! While these concerns remain I've largely become accustomed to it and now I absolutely loving passing in PES. I'm still struggling at times but I'm finding that many of my earlier issues have become almost trivial to the overall experience. At first I didn't think I'd be able to go back from Manual in FIFA, but now it's almost become an afterthought.

I'm not giving up on FIFA but at this point I see just loads of wasted potential - it's like FIFA is the wealthy son of billionaire with every opportunity possible available to him, but instead wastes his life in drugs and booze; while PES by contrast is the underprivileged but hard-worker who's had every hurdle imaginable to overcome and yet succeeds in the end! It honestly won't take much tweaking for me to really like FIFA 11, so hopefully I'll be singing a different tune in a few days.
 
eliasg said:
I think that manual controls feel like semi in FIFA08.

Is it me or anyone else noticed this???
Click to expand...

FIFA 08 wasn't 360 dribbling, thus it wasn't 360 passing, so I find it too difficult to make that comparison. Manual was a frustrating experience in 08 because while on one hand it was great to not be bound by the stupid CPU "assistance" you still were hamstrung by the limitations in angles you could play.

I actually just played a handful of matches in the WC game and found I had a much easier and more enjoyable time playing manual than in the demo. As others have suggested, I agree if feels as if there is more assistance with aim in manual controls in the demo, so I suspect the reasons I like it less in the demo is 1) that pass velocity is much slower in the demo and 2) general gameplay differences, such as the increased pressure and effectiveness of defenders in the demo.

In fact, I thoroughly enjoy the WC matches I played, and the only aspect of the demo that I missed was the new lob pass. After playing the WC game I feel even more strongly that the demo gameplay is unbalanced but also after playing the WC game I'm optimistic they'll make the proper adjustments - it's hard for me to imagine that FIFA 11 wouldn't be an improvement over the WC game. It's not as if they're adding anything major that could "break" the gameplay. Well, maybe none except for the 360 physicality thing.

I'm still unhappy with the lack of proper midfield play and the emphasis on counter-attack football, not to mention the absence of the usual suspects like proper preferred foot mechanics and footplanting, but the game has no good excuse to not be a solid football game after having a solid base to build from in the WC gameplay.
 
FIFA08 was 360 passing if I remember correctly. There is a big difference between passing/shooting and dribbling and they aren't linked to each other.

As for settings, I just really scewed myself up in a way. I put PES on regular difficulty (medium) and put it on +1 speed and it felt really good. I had time on the ball and the responsiveness was a lot better because of the faster setting. Played 3 or 4 matches and had a good time trying to work the ball and create space, I could keep possesion but the defense was too good so I ended up trying crosses but it didn't help. The cpu punished me in one match from a foul near the area with a great freekick. Then I tried a match on FIFA...

...I was shocked out how poor it felt in comparison, considering after playing the demos last week I was reasonably confident FIFA would be the game for me, with PES a decent back up if I get bored. It was mostly the pressure in midfield which felt shockingly high and very, very annoying coming straight from PES. I can imagine PES players being totally turned off by it before even completing a single match. Fortunately I can set up the CT's again, like 10, to make it playable which is good. However I'm really happy PES felt controlable again for me as it means I've got a very good back-up, which might even turn out to be the game I'll play more. Shows how much difference settings can make to games.

A few more days to go now. :D
 
TikTikTikTikTik said:
FIFA08 was 360 passing if I remember correctly. There is a big difference between passing/shooting and dribbling and they aren't linked to each other.

As for settings, I just really scewed myself up in a way. I put PES on regular difficulty (medium) and put it on +1 speed and it felt really good. I had time on the ball and the responsiveness was a lot better because of the faster setting. Played 3 or 4 matches and had a good time trying to work the ball and create space, I could keep possesion but the defense was too good so I ended up trying crosses but it didn't help. The cpu punished me in one match from a foul near the area with a great freekick. Then I tried a match on FIFA...

...I was shocked out how poor it felt in comparison, considering after playing the demos last week I was reasonably confident FIFA would be the game for me, with PES a decent back up if I get bored. It was mostly the pressure in midfield which felt shockingly high and very, very annoying coming straight from PES. I can imagine PES players being totally turned off by it before even completing a single match. Fortunately I can set up the CT's again, like 10, to make it playable which is good. However I'm really happy PES felt controlable again for me as it means I've got a very good back-up, which might even turn out to be the game I'll play more. Shows how much difference settings can make to games.

A few more days to go now. :D
Click to expand...

In FIFA 08 dribbling was not 360 and the ball could only leave your feet from the angles you could move at, thus I'm almost certain it wasn't 360. I vividly remember my frustration at having manual controls but not 360 freedom and 08 was the first FIFA game I owned, having only owned PES before. I'm wrong a lot but I think I'm right on this one.

You know, I saw that some people actually preferred +2 speed in PES so I gave that a whirl and changed it after 10 seconds - it was like playing on fast forward. Haven't tried +1 so maybe I'll give that a go. Been playing at 0.

Yeah, the pressure in FIFA ruined the demo for me, especially after playing a lot of the PES demo. That some people love it makes me think I'm doing something wrong, so I'm going to try to be patient when I get my dirty mits on the game in a couple days. I'm praying that pressure is toned down and from some of the vids of the final release, it looks like it is slightly. Just to check to see if I'm going crazy or not, last night after playing the FIFA demo I played a bunch of WC game matches and the difference is night and day - not only is pressure less intense in general, defending isn't nearly as easy and effective as it is in the demo. Passing velocity is much better too. Behind high pressure, the ease at which they've made tackling and defending in the FIFA demo is my next major issue (followed by slow pass speed) - I can get the ball back from the CPU with such ease it takes the fun out of it. As a former defender I take offense at that.

I never adjusted the CTs in FIFA 10, mainly 'cause MM ruined the whole game for me, though laziness surely played its part, but I might take the time and adjust them in 11 if I end up liking the final game enough. But doesn't it take forever?! Even if gameplay tweaks are made (and I'm optimistic some have been based on impressions on the official forums of those who got early copies) it will still depend a lot on whether CM is any good. I imagine CM will work properly and not have damaging issues like MM last year, but I'm worried that it's become so lacking in depth that I won't be as immersed as in the past. This alone may drive me to ML and make PES my primary game. Maybe I'll try to get into the online side of FIFA, at least Clubs, to make my purchase worth it.
 
nerf said:
Speaking of controls, I'm probably stating the obvious here, but not every 'knock on' with the right thumbstick is the same. A slight lean knocks the ball less far than pushing it all the way.
Click to expand...
gameklip said:
Didn't know it was analogue this year too.
Click to expand...
Oops. Apologies, I have to hastily retract this as it is completely false.

The difference in knock-on distance is actually based on the speed of the player's movement at the time. I think there are three distances: one from standing/walking, one from jogging, one from sprinting (increasing the heaviness of touch relative to speed).

What I'd done in the arena was to lean the stick softly while walking, saw it was a soft-ish touch, then followed that up by flicking the stick harder, and saw a heavier touch. But by that point the player had been running to catch his earlier touch, so of course he was moving at a higher speed! Silly me.

In fact, further investigation in the arena shows that the 'deadzone' of the right thumbstick is so large that anything less than an almost-full-lean of the stick is pointless anyway. Flick away.

So, yeah. That was a lie. Deal with it :SMUG:
 
Just had a good visual example of what we were discussing on the previous page re: RT shielding.

YouTube - FIFA11 Demo - Improved Shielding

As soon as I'd turned away from the first defender, I released everything else and just held RT. The dragback and the subsequent twist to face the sideline was all Ronaldo's own work, and it prevented a successful slide tackle.
 
nerf said:
Oops. Apologies, I have to hastily retract this as it is completely false.

The difference in knock-on distance is actually based on the speed of the player's movement at the time. I think there are three distances: one from standing/walking, one from jogging, one from sprinting (increasing the heaviness of touch relative to speed).

What I'd done in the arena was to lean the stick softly while walking, saw it was a soft-ish touch, then followed that up by flicking the stick harder, and saw a heavier touch. But by that point the player had been running to catch his earlier touch, so of course he was moving at a higher speed! Silly me.

In fact, further investigation in the arena shows that the 'deadzone' of the right thumbstick is so large that anything less than an almost-full-lean of the stick is pointless anyway. Flick away.

So, yeah. That was a lie. Deal with it :SMUG:
Click to expand...

I hope it does eventually become analogue, sometimes I lose the ball because I knock it too far, when ideally I could do with knocking it half that distance just to make a bit of space. Shame really.
 
mfmaxpower said:
In FIFA 08 dribbling was not 360 and the ball could only leave your feet from the angles you could move at, thus I'm almost certain it wasn't 360. I vividly remember my frustration at having manual controls but not 360 freedom and 08 was the first FIFA game I owned, having only owned PES before. I'm wrong a lot but I think I'm right on this one.

You know, I saw that some people actually preferred +2 speed in PES so I gave that a whirl and changed it after 10 seconds - it was like playing on fast forward. Haven't tried +1 so maybe I'll give that a go. Been playing at 0.

Yeah, the pressure in FIFA ruined the demo for me, especially after playing a lot of the PES demo. That some people love it makes me think I'm doing something wrong, so I'm going to try to be patient when I get my dirty mits on the game in a couple days. I'm praying that pressure is toned down and from some of the vids of the final release, it looks like it is slightly. Just to check to see if I'm going crazy or not, last night after playing the FIFA demo I played a bunch of WC game matches and the difference is night and day - not only is pressure less intense in general, defending isn't nearly as easy and effective as it is in the demo. Passing velocity is much better too. Behind high pressure, the ease at which they've made tackling and defending in the FIFA demo is my next major issue (followed by slow pass speed) - I can get the ball back from the CPU with such ease it takes the fun out of it. As a former defender I take offense at that.

I never adjusted the CTs in FIFA 10, mainly 'cause MM ruined the whole game for me, though laziness surely played its part, but I might take the time and adjust them in 11 if I end up liking the final game enough. But doesn't it take forever?! Even if gameplay tweaks are made (and I'm optimistic some have been based on impressions on the official forums of those who got early copies) it will still depend a lot on whether CM is any good. I imagine CM will work properly and not have damaging issues like MM last year, but I'm worried that it's become so lacking in depth that I won't be as immersed as in the past. This alone may drive me to ML and make PES my primary game. Maybe I'll try to get into the online side of FIFA, at least Clubs, to make my purchase worth it.
Click to expand...

Can't remember 08 tbh, but I know for sure that dribbling and passing/shooting aren't dependent on each other. 09 had 360 passing/shooting but didn't have 360 dribbling. I've always been under the impression that from 07 passing was 360 as that was the whole point of the new engine...

As for CT's, it's actually pretty easy and quick to do. I was worried aswell for 10, but you have 20 slots, so you end up making about 15 "generic" ones (long ball Bolton, wingcounter Villa, possesion arsenal, etc) and save the rest for your own team. All you end up doing is going into the team menu and just select one of the generic ones from the list and you are done. What you do need to remember, and something I forgot, was to do it for all the major european leagues, the lower divisions and / or any obscure league you fancy playing during CM. I forgot in 10 and playing really low league teams in the cup was horrific and the same for CL matches. Pressure ruined it, but for the teams/leagues that you have done the difference is big enough to make it worthwhile. And I'll be editing it anyway as I want to choose which stadiums I'll be playing in and renaming them aswell.

And +2 on PES is way too fast, +1 is just about right for me atm, although I might switch down lower once I get used to the response issue's.
 
Hi guys,

Seen most of you about on the official fifa forums. Had a gutful of that forum for obvious reasons.

I've read all the posts in their entirety on this thread and it's interesting to see how different the opinions have been.

After the first couple of times playing the demo it left me feeling very underwhelmed. Maybe I was expecting too much, maybe it was talked up too much by the guys at the Emirates etc, maybe it was EA's fault for talking up the improvements.

In any case I decided to go back to the demo with an open mind and without trying to play the game like FIFA 10/WC. It soon became apparent that FIFA 11 is head and shoulders above FIFA 10/WC.

I had actually watched the Barca vs Panathinaikos just before loading up the demo and tried to play the Barca way. Lots of short simple passes in the middle of the park if under pressure I would lay it back to Pique or Puyol and start my attack again. Obviously if it was on I would fire a crossfield pass to my fullback/winger with Xavi or Iniesta. To my surprise I started to see the AI being pulled out of position and gaps started appearing in the oppositions team.

This felt much more rewarding (and realistic) rather than get the ball to Messi or Villa and use their pace.

I share some of your frustrations with the tackling (too easy) and the AI which I hope will be resolved upon release but I'm really enjoying the demo and cant wait for tomorrow.

Although the defending is too easy I'm not sure that it will be when you are playing a fellow human. :P I know the tackling should be about timing instead of button mashing but I think part of the problem is the dumb AI. For example if you see a defender starting to zero in on you, you would think that subtle movements to either side would help avoid the gung ho style defending (the AI don't attempt to move in some cases).

Overall I think there has been significant improvements to the passing, shooting, movement, animations, goal keepers and graphics for FIFA to remain the leading football game on the market.

To hear that the demo we have played is a 6 week old code just makes more excited about the games release.

I hear what people are saying at PES, admittedly it has improved massively from the past 3 pieces of crap that have been served up but it still lacks in so many ways.

Maybe it's just me but I just cannot get any enjoyment out of a game that assists my with passing and scoring goals. If I scored a 20 yarder into the top left hand corner I would still feel unfulfilled as it wasn't 'all me'.

Anyway that's my thoughts... I'm off home :COAT:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom