FIFA 18 (Console Versions)

[Daisuk]

You are overestimating the most of the crowd who buys this games. Really, I don't want to sound elitist, but it's a fact that the general big bulk of the people who buys Fifa or Pes cares A LOT for licenses and for an immediate, fast soccer game to play online. Why? Because otherwise EA and Konami wouldn't make the games they are making. The sad truth is that us wanting a realistic, balanced game are a dying minority. To the point that all the alternatives we have from way more than a decade to this two titles, are just crappy parodies of soccer.

Making a good soccer simulation is too expensive to only do it for our niche. Our only hope is for the market to kinda change, or for the developers to really let us completely customize the gameplay, but I somehow doubt that either it's gonna happen. Especially if Fifa (and by reflex, in a couple of years Pes too) will stop the classic release to become an annual, pay to update game as rumours are saying.. in that case, prepare to say goodbye to any hope to ever see digital soccer as we purists like it.

Yet, there was a survey very recently that showed that the game mode most FIFA players played was surprisingly career mode! Something like 38% reported that they played career mode the most, then FUT followed after that. I couldn't find the link to the article, but it was posted quite a few pages back in this thread.

 

[Madmac79]

Yet, there was a survey very recently that showed that the game mode most FIFA players played was surprisingly career mode! Something like 38% reported that they played career mode the most, then FUT followed after that. I couldn't find the link to the article, but it was posted quite a few pages back in this thread.

I believe you, but still the good money for them are all on the online, not on a static mode like career. I think it's only natural for the SHs to try and bring as much people as possible there.

 

[hitmanuk]

1.08 out for both consoles..hearing some positive reviews

 

[Chuny]

hearing some positive reviews

Where?

 

[hitmanuk]

well from me now ive played it..also on operational sports and there's a defensive review on twitter..AI movement is much better now - legendary difficulty ripped me to pieces and the AI shooting and build up seems more varied

 

[Topaz]

Gotta try the update. The game needs to be more difficulty especially CPU attack. That and dribbling was personally my major issue of FIFA 18.

 

[bsmaff]

Having played quite a few games since the patch came out, the CPU attacking has been improved slightly on Legendary, but they still only score the same goal over and over where they just counter.

But the main difference is in defence, the CPU can now actually defend and is very compact and much more difficult to break down - I have gone from beating the CPU 4/5 nil every game to winning 1-0 and having some 1-1 draws.
They just seem to have stopped how easy it is to run through the defence and made it incredibly difficult to break the CPU down as their defenders just don't seem to ever wonder out of position.
Also since the CPU defence is now so compact, the super shoulder barge it does has now become so much more apparent and annoying.

It is again a patch where they fix one thing and break something else - Frostbite just ain't working.

 

[Melody-Mae]

Hi all, I'm currently waiting to start a new career save. Anyone know when EA typically update teams with January transfers ?

 

[Chris Davies]

Having played quite a few games since the patch came out, the CPU attacking has been improved slightly on Legendary, but they still only score the same goal over and over where they just counter.

I would say they pass straight to the striker maybe 20% less (and that's being generous), but they still just hit it straight forward all of the time, no matter who you're playing (usually passing back to a midfielder to hold it while he runs further forward, then getting the ball back again to shoot).

It's less like seeing the actual team play and more like seeing a ten-year-old who knows the exploits play. (Very much like the AI in PES now, actually...)

It is again a patch where they fix one thing and break something else - Frostbite just ain't working.

It's just so weird, you have moments every game that make it feel like you're playing a game with some kind of virus. There's no consistency in the engine. It freaks out all the time. You see CPU players about to receive the ball who in nano-seconds warp their body one way, raise their foot to sidefoot the ball, then warp into an entirely different position. Players kicking through their own standing leg to score. They slightly miscontrol a ball that's moving so slowly that it'd be pretty much impossible to do that. So often it does things that don't make sense.

Not to mention how broken difficulty levels are. Lots of people say World Class is more difficult than Legendary because of the way it makes all teams tiki-taka it about, but also - and I proved this to myself last night - the AI on World Class hits the target way more often than on Legendary.

I played six games against the same team (I was Hull, they were Córdoba, pre-season friendly). Three on World Class, three on Legendary. Exact same sliders. Taking all games into the equation, on World Class they had 22 shots, 16 on target (and eight goals). On Legendary, 31 shots, 8 on target (and one goal).

It feels like the code is a total, complicated mess. Frostbite has destroyed the potential. (But it's helped sales, given the graphics - FIFA 18's sales were the best yet.)

 

[Topaz]

Having played quite a few games since the patch came out, the CPU attacking has been improved slightly on Legendary, but they still only score the same goal over and over where they just counter.

But the main difference is in defence, the CPU can now actually defend and is very compact and much more difficult to break down - I have gone from beating the CPU 4/5 nil every game to winning 1-0 and having some 1-1 draws.
They just seem to have stopped how easy it is to run through the defence and made it incredibly difficult to break the CPU down as their defenders just don't seem to ever wonder out of position.
Also since the CPU defence is now so compact, the super shoulder barge it does has now become so much more apparent and annoying.

It is again a patch where they fix one thing and break something else - Frostbite just ain't working.

Agreed. I went back to FIFA 17 modded. This game have no hope.

 

[hitmanuk]

We must be playing a different game as I've seen lots of variety of goals and different types of attempts ..lob shots, volleys , one twos and shoot ..ladt game on legendary 10 min half I didn't see two shots the same out of the 12 the AI had

 

[bsmaff]

We must be playing a different game as I've seen lots of variety of goals and different types of attempts ..lob shots, volleys , one twos and shoot ..ladt game on legendary 10 min half I didn't see two shots the same out of the 12 the AI had

Maybe we are playing different games, as I have never seen the computer score a lobbed goal.
Against me the computer scores the same goal over and over, but I guess it is more down to the way I play the game - I dominate the game and normally always have over 60% possession every match.

To me the last patch has taken the little fun which was in the game out of it.
The frustrations with FIFA 18 are just too great again, all the small things that annoyed me were masked by the fact I was winning and scoring pretty freely, but instead of making the game more difficult and the CPU have better AI, EA have decided to just make the AI defence and midfield more compact and play much deeper.
This has now made it in the games I played incredibly difficult to score and break down, and the really bad bugs of players not being able to do incredibly simple passes, through balls going to where the CPU wants to put it - rather than where I have pushed the controller for it to go , and last of all the most annoying thing the super shoulder barge which the AI can do at any time when within 2 yards of your player, which then magically gives them the ball back - This wouldn't annoy me so much if I could do it too.

To me the latest patch has destroyed any fun from the game for me, and EA have once again taken the lazy developers approach instead of fixing something the hard way and actually make the AI and game better they have taken an easy option and just made all the teams more compact.

 

[bluewomble88]

It's just total nonsense to say the AI scores the same goal every time. Nonsense.
Believe me, I can find plenty of niggles with this year's edition but I'm seeing so much variety from the AI when it attacks.

 

[Chris Davies]

It's just total nonsense to say the AI scores the same goal every time. Nonsense.
Believe me, I can find plenty of niggles with this year's edition but I'm seeing so much variety from the AI when it attacks.

The only AI goals I've seen in about 10 games of the new patch so far (though that's only against three different teams, I've been replaying games with different difficulty levels etc. to try and find a balance) are either... A) Mega-fast first-time tiki-taka passing around the outside - then inside - of the box, setting up a first-time tap-in that's impossible to miss, or B) 5+ first-time passes and a first-time shot that you couldn't do anything to stop.

The vast majority of those starting off with the AI getting possession in their own half*, hitting it to someone with a clear path to the striker (e.g. a winger), and then smashing it straight up to that striker, who holds up the ball while the AI runs forward.

There's much less variety this year than last year, in my eyes. Absolutely no doubt. It's all forward passes, whenever a half-opportunity arises - and there have been at least two interviews I've quoted several times where the producer says "yeah, we did that to make it more fun".

*Usually because of this, and boy does it make me want to smash up my controller (I've even put the "guidelines" onto the screen so you can see the discrepancy between your aim and what actually happens):

players not being able to do incredibly simple passes, through balls going to [EXACTLY] where the CPU wants to put it

What's funny about it is that you can easily see when a "switch" is flicked - and I hate talk about scripting etc. - but I was playing a game where the AI was actually playing slower, less first-time stuff for about 60 minutes, and then I substituted one of my best players for a youth player. Suddenly, everything was a first-time pass. Their style changed COMPLETELY and I was 1-0 down within five minutes.

Even worse is hitting a pass for players to run onto, and watching them keep an invisible-wall's distance away from it when it would be so easy for them to sprint onto it. They watch the AI run across and steal it - and I don't remember it being quite as bad as that pre-patch.

It feels like a real mess of code at the minute, to me.

 

[bsmaff]

It's just total nonsense to say the AI scores the same goal every time. Nonsense.
Believe me, I can find plenty of niggles with this year's edition but I'm seeing so much variety from the AI when it attacks.

They don't score the same goal over and over, but 80% of the goals are the same..

Pass to striker, super shielding pass to midfielder or winger, then that midfielder/winger through balls it to striker and that is it.

If the CPU has any sort of possession in a build up or slows the play down it becomes too easy fore me to defend against that sort of attack, so that might be a reason for not having much variety in goals scored against me. If it isn't a quick counter - then the CPU simple doesn't score.
I believe this might have something to do though with me playing on Attack and Ultra attack, and always having my full backs overlapping and making forward runs.

 

[bsmaff]

Even worse is hitting a pass for players to run onto, and watching them keep an invisible-wall's distance away from it when it would be so easy for them to sprint onto it. They watch the AI run across and steal it - and I don't remember it being quite as bad as that pre-patch.

It feels like a real mess of code at the minute, to me.

That is something I notice all the time too..

The new patch for me has taken the game backwards, the shortcomings are much more apparent in the latest patch.

 

[Chris Davies]

The new patch for me has taken the game backwards, the shortcomings are much more apparent in the latest patch.

I fell out of love with PES in the early PS3 days because of how blatant the "cheats" were, and I switched to FIFA because - if there was any AI cheating in there (which there definitely was, you can't make a challenging game without it) - I couldn't see it, and so I wasn't turning the game off in a rage when I lost. (As soon as the AI takes over, your input is meaningless, so why play.)

Suddenly, with the switch to Frostbite, either A) the AI has resorted to more of these programming "shortcuts" to free up some resources, or B) the "camouflage" for those shortcuts have been taken away by the new graphics engine, revealing the bullshit that the AI does.

I'm going with A, because even in FIFA 17 I never felt like my pass was being so perfectly telegraphed right to the feet of the AI. With FIFA 18, I feel like it's going down the "aggregated attributes" route of PES, where if your player's passing ability is "beat" by the AI player's defending ability, your player just straight-up passes the fucking ball to him...

 

[Veprikator]

Hi all, I'm currently waiting to start a new career save. Anyone know when EA typically update teams with January transfers ?

They are updating it on the fly, usually in a couple of days, most (maybe all, didnt check all teams) of the transfers (even those from january 31th) were already done yesterday

 

[Chuny]

FIFA has some code called "adaptive difficulty" which is exactly what Chris Davies was talking about a few posts above. It's the "flip the switch and the script is on" thing. So even if you hate talking about scripted gameplay... well, it's a fact. Which is why I always encourage you guys to get a good gaming PC and play it on PC. You can download all sorts of mods that will definetely improve this kind of stuff. Removing Adaptive Difficulty, changing the way the AI plays, the aggressiveness, etc. And then, to put the cherry on top, once you have the game as you like it, you can perfect it with sliders.

I'm enjoying FIFA 18 a lot at the moment.

Still think graphically it's not all that. Frostbite isn't that charming for me. I prefer PES graphics heavily.

 

[EA_and_Konami_Duopoly]

I was dumb enough to purchase the downloadable version of FIFA 18 (during the Xmas sale on the PSN)- and stupid enough to download the latest (1.08) patch. I was fooled by the patch notes that stated something about the CPU no longer being so ultra attack-minded (something like that).

Last year I bought the DVD version, but made sure that I didn't download any patches, and actually enjoyed playing the game (after a few minor slider changes).

This years' version of the game is an absolute nightmare, and it's obvious (at least to me) that both EA Sports and Konami have both decided to destroy the game for offline players. I am extremely suspicious of both companies- it's not by accident- it's as if they have signed a pact to purposely render the offline modes totally unsatisfying and rage-inducing!!

In simple terms, the AI doesn't make any logical sense, it's totally abysmal.

In FIFA 18, the CPU is like an attack-minded obsessive compulsive idiot, it plays like a 10 year old boy. There's no subtlety, no finesse, it's juggernaut city- on crack! It's like a bull in a china shop- on steroids. It's painful to play Career Mode, I cannot finish a season!!

Then there's the old 88th-90th minute CPU goal bullcrap, and the MOMENTUM that makes your team play like a bunch of senile old ladies after you've won a few career mode games. I remember hating FIFA 2004- but in those days I used to only play online. These days I only play offline (too many cheating players/laggers/disconnecters etc).

__________________________________________

Just some jumbled thoughts about the nightmare that is FIFA 2018.

Oh yeah, have the referees lost their whistles!? There's another thing- both EA Sports and Konami are encouraging poor sportsmanship and outright dirty play. There are some crazy conspiracy theories out there, but I ask you to, at least for a few seconds, ask yourself this:

Are Konami and EA Sports working together (to destroy offline football gaming)?

There will never be a third game, only two turd games.

Thanks for reading, I'm just so angry about getting ripped off by those two POS companies! PES 2018 suffers from something that has marred that series for a number of years now- scripting that enables the CPU to score at will, and of course, hardly any fouls being called.

We can't go back to PES 5 (or 6)- we can't enjoy the latest instalments of FIFA and PES...

Offline football gaming,

R.I.P.

 

[superleeds1]

Your right of course, only today THIS.It will not stop until the powers that be decide its too much gambling for minors.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...anies-making-hundreds-millions-gambling-like/

 

[EA_and_Konami_Duopoly]

They're raking it in with those stupid modes- that's what has killed offline football gaming. They have destroyed the offline game to try to force people to play FUT and MyClub, just to get some kind of satisfaction from their purchase.

Never played FUT or MyClub, never will!

Money has no conscience, they say- add EA Sports and Konami to that...

 

[Chuny]

Your right of course, only today THIS.It will not stop until the powers that be decide its too much gambling for minors.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...anies-making-hundreds-millions-gambling-like/

Makes me sick...

The most disgusting of it all is that they don't even invest 1/4 of the profit back on the game itself. You'd think that with all the money EA or Konami get from the copies they sell and their money-making game modes, they would at least make huge strides in the development of their games, to make it more and more real and appealing. But no, both games have felt and looked more or less the same for year. With some changes here and there, but not up to the expectations one had for football games in 2018.

 

[bluewomble88]

Just finished my first session in career mode at AFC Wimbledon, scored 40 goals and now worth £26m. Do I just sit back and wait for offers to come in or do I have to request a transfer?

 

[Gunslinger]

I was dumb enough to purchase the downloadable version of FIFA 18 (during the Xmas sale on the PSN)- and stupid enough to download the latest (1.08) patch. I was fooled by the patch notes that stated something about the CPU no longer being so ultra attack-minded (something like that).

Last year I bought the DVD version, but made sure that I didn't download any patches, and actually enjoyed playing the game (after a few minor slider changes).

This years' version of the game is an absolute nightmare, and it's obvious (at least to me) that both EA Sports and Konami have both decided to destroy the game for offline players. I am extremely suspicious of both companies- it's not by accident- it's as if they have signed a pact to purposely render the offline modes totally unsatisfying and rage-inducing!!

In simple terms, the AI doesn't make any logical sense, it's totally abysmal.

In FIFA 18, the CPU is like an attack-minded obsessive compulsive idiot, it plays like a 10 year old boy. There's no subtlety, no finesse, it's juggernaut city- on crack! It's like a bull in a china shop- on steroids. It's painful to play Career Mode, I cannot finish a season!!

Then there's the old 88th-90th minute CPU goal bullcrap, and the MOMENTUM that makes your team play like a bunch of senile old ladies after you've won a few career mode games. I remember hating FIFA 2004- but in those days I used to only play online. These days I only play offline (too many cheating players/laggers/disconnecters etc).

__________________________________________

Just some jumbled thoughts about the nightmare that is FIFA 2018.

Oh yeah, have the referees lost their whistles!? There's another thing- both EA Sports and Konami are encouraging poor sportsmanship and outright dirty play. There are some crazy conspiracy theories out there, but I ask you to, at least for a few seconds, ask yourself this:

Are Konami and EA Sports working together (to destroy offline football gaming)?

There will never be a third game, only two turd games.

Thanks for reading, I'm just so angry about getting ripped off by those two POS companies! PES 2018 suffers from something that has marred that series for a number of years now- scripting that enables the CPU to score at will, and of course, hardly any fouls being called.

We can't go back to PES 5 (or 6)- we can't enjoy the latest instalments of FIFA and PES...

Offline football gaming,

R.I.P.

If you look past the outdated graphics (which aren't that bad), you actually can go back to PES 5 or 6. Many of us have.

 

[mfmaxpower]

Based off some of the harshest criticism in here, I agree it really does seem like I'm playing a different game. It ain't perfect, that's for sure, but I'm playing on all default settings, no sliders, on Legendary, and having quite a bit of fun.

Though I'd love to see greater tactical depth and variety, I agree with those who are seeing decent variety by the CPU. Seeing the CPU attack the same way, score the same goals - that's not the experience I'm having.

My biggest complaint this year is just how easy it is to score against the CPU, although the most recent patch seems to have helped a bit. Playing a Stoke City CM, my goal scoring record has been Man City-esque. In my second season I'm absolutely dominating the league. Like someone else mentioned, prior to the recent patch I was scoring 4-5 goals all too often, and thankfully it appears like the patch has tightened things up considerably, as I've actually had a string of losses and ties, and my scoring has dropped. I'm interested to see if this persists.

 

[DerleiPT]

variety of goals is there , i dont know what game you playing but it depends what team you play against and custom tactic. Some teams like to score from outside of box , some like to use long cross etc..... it all depends of team custom tactic (passing , crossing , shooting) and guys dont compare career mode to exhibition match. CM and hunter mode is broken and unplayable , scripts ,scripts, scripts...... I play only exhibition match and every teams play in different way(custom tactic works very well) and 70% of goals is not like copy/paste.

 

[JurkyZg]

Hi, is possible to put own chants in ps4 in fifa18?

And is there any update of official hair and face?

 

[EA_and_Konami_Duopoly]

If you look past the outdated graphics (which aren't that bad), you actually can go back to PES 5 or 6. Many of us have.

For the past few years I've meant to buy a copy of the game (PC) from Amazon, but I have never got 'round to it. That has to be my favourite football game- I hated it at first- but once I learnt how to tackle (changed from PES 4), I loved it. I wasn't a massive fan of PES 6, but it was alright. I'm not sure I can go back to 8-way movement and fully assisted passing (I've been using full manual in FIFA, ever since they brought that in).

_______________

Anyway, back to FIFA (Career Mode)...

Over the weekend, I took a look at: FIFA- 14; 09, and 12. It's almost as if they haven't changed how the CPU plays: Forward! Forward! Forward! Very little (if any(!)) lateral passing, the same with passing backwards- almost non existent.

Absolutely boring. Was there ever a 'golden age' with football games? I have to say that I spent half my time modding PES 5- adding boots, balls, kits, stadia etc. That was half of the fun! I'm 12 years older now, it's hard to think I'd like it just as much today.

FIFA's Career Mode is an absolute disgrace this year. When I first played it, the CPU passing was so weird, and it played like the Benny Hill Show on speed! I like to play at a slower pace, so of course I altered the sliders to make it a little bit better. The game is aimed at speed demons who don't care about creative play, probably through lack of patience, they just want instant gratification. Why the hell is it so difficult to have a 0-0 draw these days? It's even worse with PES to be honest. Football shouldn't be about ice hockey score-lines.

Over the past few years, I've had the following problem with Career Mode:

When it gets to about December, it's like a switch is pulled, and then all of a sudden I can't (/can hardly) score, and I get ripped off with outrageous scripted goals (usually right near the end of the match). Career Mode's momentum script really spoils what could at least be an okay game. I have resorted to altering the CPU's slider settings in my favour, just for one match every now and then, just to kill the enforced momentum! Prior to that, I can't stop scoring!

The graphics are crap, the colour is drab, it's like EA Sports have stuck two fingers up to us.

Sack the EA Sports team, get new developers and programmers, start from scratch. I wish 2K Sports (or some other company) would make a good quality football game. It annoys me so much how Konami and EA Sports are up each other's arse- happy to stagnate, there's no competition. They are taking the piss out of us, they see the flaws in their respective game- they put them in there on purpose!!

Each year we hope they'll change- they never do, well... yeah they do actually- for the worse!

Look at the lack of refereeing- done on purpose- by BOTH companies! How do they sleep at night? Scum!

________

(I play on 'Professional'- with full manual settings. I find World Class to be even more of a scripted nightmare with even worse juggernaut-style CPU AI logic that play totally attacking football- boring and rage-inducing!)

 

[el niche]

Based off some of the harshest criticism in here, I agree it really does seem like I'm playing a different game. It ain't perfect, that's for sure, but I'm playing on all default settings, no sliders, on Legendary, and having quite a bit of fun.

Mmmmm, you know what, I kinda feel the same. I came back to '18 after leaving it aside and giving PES/FIFA 16 a chance again. I'm having quite an enjoyable time, I know it will wear off, but its not the end of world or trash as people make it seem. I was 10x more dissapointed with PES this year (thats money I'll never get back unfortunately). I also am finding that Legendary lately plays a bit better for me but I am seeing the same thing as you regarding goals, I don't know if I should up the CPU marking.