FIFA 17 News & Discussion Thread

Chris Davies said:
Are you planning to play online or against the AI?

Seems okay online, but against the AI, and in my opinion, it's dreadful. As Middlesbrough, you'll dominate anyone (including Barcelona) on Professional, but on World Class or Legendary, the AI will spin around like ballet-dancers to keep the ball (the shielding is ridiculously overpowered), and you're powerless to do anything other than bring them down.

You see a little variety in pass length, now and then, but for the majority of the time all teams will play the same style of football - and if you get a lower-league team in the cup, prepare to have no chance to win (see my previous posts).

The physics etc. are excellent, as is the shot variety - but I find myself using the same tactics every single game to win, and it's not fun, or realistic, so what is it? (Again, just my opinion, lots disagree.)

I much prefer last year's game. This year has been 100% focused on the switch to Frostbite graphics, not the gameplay (oh yeah, career mode is unchanged, other than some pie charts).

(I say all of this after playing with sliders etc. for the last few months and repeatedly returning to the game - for 10 minutes at a time - because I love the graphics, frankly. If I hadn't bought it digitally I'd have sold it by now!)
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Planning on playing against the AI. I ended up buying it, as it was on sale. Regret it after only a handful matches. Went back to PES to see how they compared, and I have to say I just massively prefer the "feeling" of PES. But PES just isn't quite right either. Oh, well, that's how it always is, guess. The search for the perfect footy game continues. :p Thanks for the input, much appreciated! :)

I have to say though, again I just really preffered the feel of the FIFA demo more than the full game. Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me.
 
Daisuk said:
I ended up buying it, as it was on sale. Regret it after only a handful matches. Went back to PES to see how they compared, and I have to say I just massively prefer the "feeling" of PES.
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I think the transition to Frostbite has broken a few things. Players feel more "stiff", passing seems random (I appreciate the different feel of each kick, but there's no consistency between how you press a button and what the player does, IMO). You see some really, really weird animations while you're playing (like a player snapping from one animation into another with no blending, as if it's a magic trick).

Next year, it could be great - but even if it is, I'd bet the AI will be exactly the same, as it has been for years.

I've played FIFA and loved it since FIFA 13, but I really don't like this one at all. I just can't control the players...
 
Chris Davies said:
I think the transition to Frostbite has broken a few things. Players feel more "stiff", passing seems random (I appreciate the different feel of each kick, but there's no consistency between how you press a button and what the player does, IMO). You see some really, really weird animations while you're playing (like a player snapping from one animation into another with no blending, as if it's a magic trick).

Next year, it could be great - but even if it is, I'd bet the AI will be exactly the same, as it has been for years.

I've played FIFA and loved it since FIFA 13, but I really don't like this one at all. I just can't control the players...
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When was the last time the AI had a major overhaul. FIFA 12?
 
Mehtab said:
When was the last time the AI had a major overhaul. FIFA 12?
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I remember the AI becoming "playable", for me, for the first time, in FIFA 13. Prior to that it was the same, stale, robotic AI that had been in the game since... I don't know when.

The goalposts have moved, though. They're making so much money on Ultimate Team that it's a new era. They truly don't care if they get a career mode guy's money or not - look at the effort they made this year for us, i.e. a few pie-charts to look at.

They make the AI based on how it'll work online (will it cover your gaps if you run a defender up the pitch, because that's what kids will do, etc.) - not based on how one-dimensional, unrealistic or boring it is to play against. I love my football games but if this was the only choice, I wouldn't be playing any this year.
 
Chris Davies said:
I remember the AI becoming "playable", for me, for the first time, in FIFA 13. Prior to that it was the same, stale, robotic AI that had been in the game since... I don't know when.

The goalposts have moved, though. They're making so much money on Ultimate Team that it's a new era. They truly don't care if they get a career mode guy's money or not - look at the effort they made this year for us, i.e. a few pie-charts to look at.

They make the AI based on how it'll work online (will it cover your gaps if you run a defender up the pitch, because that's what kids will do, etc.) - not based on how one-dimensional, unrealistic or boring it is to play against. I love my football games but if this was the only choice, I wouldn't be playing any this year.
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The thing is online or not, the whole other 10 players is always mostly being controlled by the AI and if they still have the same stale, boring one dimensional AI on FIFA 18 then the game yet will have no replay value or dynamics. No matter what kind of gimmicky stuffs they do outside of the actual football but at the end of the day, it's a football game so what mostly matters is what is on the pitch. And I am pretty sure EA is aware that after FIFA 16, their hype is going downhill. I am expecting more control over how a team and player plays on FIFA 18 and an AI overhaul. I think it's about time now.
 
Mehtab said:
I am pretty sure EA is aware that after FIFA 16, their hype is going downhill.
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I hope you're right - I did get that survey through which essentially said "do you like the game or not and if not, why not" (I mentioned it in here at the time), which suggests to me they're a bit shaken. But I can't imagine they've sold any (or many) less copies than before, it's still in all the top 10s and everyone I know plays it...
 
FIFA 17 broke the record number of sales in the first week for a FIFA game, it's doing fine. No reason to expect any sort of deviation from EA.
 
P34SEMM said:
This is the trouble. Even with the most powerful consoles ever both games still come up short. Is it too much to ask every team to play how they play in real life? Clearly it is cos its never happened.
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Yeah, it's a bit surprising. I remember thinking before the ps3 arrived that football games had to kick off bigtime, and although a couple of games have been decent, it's like football never got a truly next gen game even on ps3, let alone on the newest gen of consoles. PES this year looks like a ps3 game. FIFA looks great, but yeah, plays like FIFA 15 or whatever, nothing new. And say compared to racing simulators or say a call of duty game, is nowhere near realistic or close to a simulation. I realise it's hard to please hardcore fans of a genre though, but the evolution of the game, so to speak, has been minor.
 
P34SEMM said:
This is the trouble. Even with the most powerful consoles ever both games still come up short. Is it too much to ask every team to play how they play in real life? Clearly it is cos its never happened.
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Both will have their excuses handy of course... With EA its just that they make enough $$$ as it is so why bother making teams play realistically? No incentive to do so unless enough people complained like crazy about this and stopped buying the game.

As for Konami.... well.... Both Asim Tanvir and Adam Bhatti fill me with ZERO Confidence that they will feed back anything USEFUL to the devs that make PES.... UNLESS Faces and Boots and Messi's hair is what everyone wants rather than much needed changes to the way the game plays!
 
EA need to give us a simulation mode, Where it is a stats based full manual game for us purists.

Let the kids enjoy their FUT, Pack opening scams and basketball like end to end action.

More sliders, Come clean on the scripting, More variey in AI and a proper set of tv style cameras instead of the limited stuff they're serving.

Oh and also FIFA should stop EA from monopolizing the licensing, Only one or two football games is just a joke.

It's 2017 FFS
 
shez said:
EA need to give us a simulation mode, Where it is a stats based full manual game for us purists.

Let the kids enjoy their FUT, Pack opening scams and basketball like end to end action.

More sliders, Come clean on the scripting, More variey in AI and a proper set of tv style cameras instead of the limited stuff they're serving.

Oh and also FIFA should stop EA from monopolizing the licensing, Only one or two football games is just a joke.

It's 2017 FFS
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They won't because it won't make them money. Unless simulation mode was like a DLC or something you unlock with coins.
 
Tried it yet again last night - I wish I hadn't got a digital copy because I keep going back to it, loving the stadiums more than anything else and then feeling gutted that I just don't like the gameplay.

I scored a long-range goal and it felt great, I have to say. In FIFA, I feel like you have to catch it right to score them, and it's mega-satisfying. But the flow of the game is just... Well, it doesn't flow. Passes (and occasionally shots) feel almost randomised in terms of power, and moves break down because of it, without you doing anything wrong.
 
Chris Davies said:
Tried it yet again last night - I wish I hadn't got a digital copy because I keep going back to it, loving the stadiums more than anything else and then feeling gutted that I just don't like the gameplay.

I scored a long-range goal and it felt great, I have to say. In FIFA, I feel like you have to catch it right to score them, and it's mega-satisfying. But the flow of the game is just... Well, it doesn't flow. Passes (and occasionally shots) feel almost randomised in terms of power, and moves break down because of it, without you doing anything wrong.
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This sums up how I feel about FIFA. Shooting is really good and far better than PES for me.

The flow of the game is all over the shop and its too fast and frantic. Doesn't represent the pace of the beautiful game at all.
 
I've been a PES nut for over a decade now and want to give FIFA a fair crack. I had 14 but didn't like it because the offline modes were so poor. What modes are there in 17? I want to just play a league offline against the AI - no coins, no management, no chemistry. Just pure football in a league format. Is it possible?
 
bluewomble88 said:
I've been a PES nut for over a decade now and want to give FIFA a fair crack. I had 14 but didn't like it because the offline modes were so poor. What modes are there in 17? I want to just play a league offline against the AI - no coins, no management, no chemistry. Just pure football in a league format. Is it possible?
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Yes, there is a mode for leagues and cups.
 
bluewomble88 said:
I've been a PES nut for over a decade now and want to give FIFA a fair crack. I had 14 but didn't like it because the offline modes were so poor. What modes are there in 17? I want to just play a league offline against the AI - no coins, no management, no chemistry. Just pure football in a league format. Is it possible?
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I was a pes fanatic back in the day then a fifa one from 08-16 ..I wouldnt waste your time ..for me they have got something wrong this year ..weather it's weight or flow of play or the switch to the new engine ..maybe a combo of things ..it plays horrible in my opinion..when you go from a fifa game to a pes game straight after the improved flow of play is immediately obvious to me..saying that I'm more confident that ea will get it right next year than I am of Konami improving the outdated visuals and atmosphere..pes for me this year
 
bluewomble88 said:
Would you suggest FIFA 16 instead? Does that have leagues and cups for offline players like me?
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Just my 2 cents... I never really liked FIFA until FIFA 16 came out. Best football game since the PS2 PES days, in my opinion. It doesn't look as good but I think it's plays a much better game of football than FIFA 17. FIFA16 has all the offline leagues, cups etc... you'll need, I imagine. .
 
Thanks for the reply.

Just to confirm - it's possible for me to choose 20 teams and put them in a custom offline league, round robin style like in PES yes?

Fifa 14 doesn't offer this which is so annoying.
 
fifa 16 was the best fifa and football game for me too, they had the opportunity to take there football game to another level if they focused on team tactics as well as refining a few other areas which wasnt much but instead they went all cheese and focused on story modes and other shit and for me the game went downhill again, and cos of that, gave pes a massive boost, its gonna be a great year for football this year, fifa knows they cant fak around now cos pes are on a mission and they have caught up alot and if fifa dont improve on certain gameplay areas, this year pes will put a dent in there sales, im very confident about that.
 
Keep coming back to this (sorry, I've said this about ten times in the last couple of months), and I've got a question.

I used the default sliders last night and started making my own tweaks, and other than ball physics I couldn't explain*, I enjoyed it more than I have before.

My biggest problem last night was the CPU's defensive line. It is ALWAYS perfect (this is on World Class and Legendary), no matter who you play against. It's literally ruler-straight, which looks ridiculous, and you so rarely see a situation where it's one striker against one (or even two) defenders, in my experience.

I never see a through-ball played to someone who runs behind the defence and gets a one-on-one with the keeper, because the defensive organisation is always perfect.

Does anyone have any advice on how I could go about fixing that? Any sliders that might break it a little bit?

*I set up a defender with a perfect shooting opportunity three times, and I'm guessing because his finishing attribute was too low, his shots were so weak they might as well have been passes, straight to the goalkeeper - but I think that's a rubbish way to go about things. Any professional footballer can smack a ball, especially when they're not being marked.
 
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Chris Davies said:
Keep coming back to this (sorry, I've said this about ten times in the last couple of months), and I've got a question.

I used the default sliders last night and started making my own tweaks, and other than ball physics I couldn't explain*, I enjoyed it more than I have before.

My biggest problem last night was the CPU's defensive line. It is ALWAYS perfect (this is on World Class and Legendary), no matter who you play against. It's literally ruler-straight, which looks ridiculous, and you so rarely see a situation where it's one striker against one (or even two) defenders, in my experience.

I never see a through-ball played to someone who runs behind the defence and gets a one-on-one with the keeper, because the defensive organisation is always perfect.

Does anyone have any advice on how I could go about fixing that? Any sliders that might break it a little bit?

*I set up a defender with a perfect shooting opportunity three times, and I'm guessing because his finishing attribute was too low, his shots were so weak they might as well have been passes, straight to the goalkeeper - but I think that's a rubbish way to go about things. Any professional footballer can smack a ball, especially when they're not being marked.
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Chris I use default sliders lately and find game more enjoyable but in a different way than pes in terms of variety. Pes has a lot variety in tactics but fifa have more variety in player movements and shooting. Only slider I changed is first touch to 55 and playing on slow. There is a lot of potential under the hood, EA must work on implementing tactics better not just formation and slow the game by default.
 
Chris Davies said:
Keep coming back to this (sorry, I've said this about ten times in the last couple of months), and I've got a question.

I used the default sliders last night and started making my own tweaks, and other than ball physics I couldn't explain*, I enjoyed it more than I have before.

My biggest problem last night was the CPU's defensive line. It is ALWAYS perfect (this is on World Class and Legendary), no matter who you play against. It's literally ruler-straight, which looks ridiculous, and you so rarely see a situation where it's one striker against one (or even two) defenders, in my experience.

I never see a through-ball played to someone who runs behind the defence and gets a one-on-one with the keeper, because the defensive organisation is always perfect.

Does anyone have any advice on how I could go about fixing that? Any sliders that might break it a little bit?

*I set up a defender with a perfect shooting opportunity three times, and I'm guessing because his finishing attribute was too low, his shots were so weak they might as well have been passes, straight to the goalkeeper - but I think that's a rubbish way to go about things. Any professional footballer can smack a ball, especially when they're not being marked.
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I think it might be the way I play the game and the way a set my team out with the custom tactics.

I also try a slow build up and try to move the ball around and use the through ball when a player is in a good position, and occasionally get a good goal scoring opportunity although not a one on one but this is due to the AI's defensive line being pretty much perfect the whole game on World Class.
I have not played Professional on FIFA 17, as the experience on FIFA 16 was just boring and winning every game 4/5-0, without even having to try.

I also struggle to score on the game unless I play 4-2-4 dominate the possesion and dominate the play and just know eventually you can get a decent chance to score and when I score the first goal then I can normally score 2/3 goals a game.
The only exception comes when the computer plays 5-3-2 then the computer is just asking for a hammering.
 
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bsmaff said:
I also try a slow build up and try to move the ball around and use the through ball when a player is in a good position, and occasionally get a good goal scoring opportunity although not a one on one but this is due to the AI's defensive line being pretty much perfect the whole game.
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This is the problem I have, I don't want to be forced to play the same slow build-up style against every team because if I try to counter there's a perfect wall of defenders ready and waiting every time.

I don't mind having to do that against certain teams, but I'd like to be able to hit the wings and get in behind the back every now and then against the less organised teams...

What annoys me the most is that this problem has existed for the last five years.

Is it tied to difficulty level? Is it so rigid on all of them?

bsmaff said:
The only exception comes when the computer plays 5-3-2 then the computer is just asking for a hammering.
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So that's the same in both games then - last night I beat Chelsea 4-0 on the highest difficulty on the other game, purely based on their formation being too cautious, I think. Such a shame.

But I'd settle for the AI defensive line being torn every now and then - it's ridiculous playing in League Two and never getting a real counter-attacking opportunity because of how perfect the opposition defence is...
 
Chris Davies said:
So that's the same in both games then - last night I beat Chelsea 4-0 on the highest difficulty on the other game, purely based on their formation being too cautious, I think. Such a shame.
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The reason why I find winning against teams playing 5-3-2 or 3-5-2 is because the Wingbacks play so high up the field, since I play 4-2-4 my wingers are always behind the defenders hence pass to my RB/LB then lob through ball over the top and bingo acres of space and not a defender around.. CB comes out to then get close and intercept and then you can pass in the centre to someone who again has lots of space and it becomes pretty easy.

But I play an incredibly attacking formation and have incredibly offensive instructions within the Team Tactics, otherwise when I play 4-4-2 for instance the wingers are always too much in the centre of the pitch and not where I would want them to be and rarely score any goals due to the AI having literally no players ever move out of position.
 
I wish there wasn't a thing such as difficulty. Difficulty should be based purely on who you play with and who you play against. I have always hated having a difficulty. Difficulty should be based of player and team attributes, not something that is rigid and hardcoded. This is why PES and FIFA will never be a true sim for me. They both are Call Of Duty of Football genre. What we need is ARMA of football genre.
 
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