⚽ 10AM Gameplay Overhaul Powered by AI - Realistic • Tactical • Immersive - 🎄THIS IS FOOTBALL – NEW RELEASE OUT NOW!🎁

[amartingil]

Playing a UWCL with Juventus before diving into a complete career mode.
I'm halfway through the group stage and I got a win (comfortably defeated Carl Zeiss Jena 3-0 at home), a draw (0-0 against Nantes away, but I felt I deserved to lose) and a defeat (lost 2-1 to Benfica in Lisbon, and this could and should have been a draw).
Sitting in 3rd now (which would mean being sent home), but with two matches to play at home I think that the chance of qualifying for the knockout stage is still there.

I still find it different than men's football (and probably a little more difficult) but it's definitely fun and that's what I was after: fun without having to resort to unrealistic behaviours.

I saw that with some patience I've been able to create chances and breakaways (especially on the flanks with Cantore on the right and Bonansea on the left, with the chance to sub Lehmann in in the second half and leverage her acceleration if needed, like it happened against Jena).
As someone that likes wing play (it's most likely Virtua Striker 2's fault if I do), I must admit that I like how crosses have been tweaked to be effective but not too overpowered (not à la Virtua Striker 2 where two out of three crosses were goals).
The "banana effect" on crosses/long balls (sorry for calling it that way but I guess you get what I mean, see the Port Vale vs. Morecambe highlight that I posted some time ago) that I saw in some older releases of the mod (and in FC 24 while playing Clubs) has apparently gone and that's definitely an improvement.

Glad you’re getting the right level of challenge. Difficulty is one of the hardest things to get right. There’s a dynamic difficulty system that adapts the experience to the player. I’ve tried disabling it in the past, but I found that it can become very frustrating, as the CPU doesn’t ease off at all, even when you’re being heavily punished. It also makes it much harder to nail the right level of challenge overall.

Greetings!

Man, thank you for this. Best fifa experience ever for me. At first I had games with very high scores but than I realise that I was playing as fifa makes me play.
Then I told my to trust the mod and to play as I like, meaning, like real football. The result is magic. God bless you my friend.

Two questions:

(1) Is it possible to reproduce what you have done for fc24. Like If I modify everything you did in fc25 the same way in fc24 with an editor can I get a similar result? ( I've never modded but your mod inspired me so much that I started to watch Paul-v's tutorials...)

(2) In fifa 23 and fc24 when I use "player rotation" for switching I can rotate the "switch icon" from player to player and when I want I can hit the "switch button" to select that player. In fc25 when I do the same exact thing, the game choose another player (someone closer to the ball). So it brakes the whole purpose to use this mechanic. When I look into "gp_team_switching_runtime" there's nearly no difference between fc24 and 25. I tried to change values there anyway but didn't notice any difference in game. Do you have an idea about how to manage this issue. I also wonder if it's possible to interrupt definitively the constantly updating switch icon; I prefer to have absolute control over it.

Anyways.... thanks again for this mod icredible, if there's one thing that I can propose that you could name it "this is black magic"

Great to hear you’re enjoying it that much. Transferring mod tweaks between versions is extremely time-consuming, and there’s a very low chance that the same tweaks will work as well as they do in the version the mod was originally built for.
I’m planning to keep developing it for a while, as I still find areas that can be improved. I’ll add player switching to the to-do list. I have experimented with it in the past and managed to improve it, but because CPU player switching is governed by the same system, it ended up making the CPU too strong defensively. So if I revisit that area, I’ll also need to rebalance their defensive capabilities.

The gameplay is nice, but there are some criticisms to address for improvement. The CPU's defensive play is too weak; at world class level, you practically win without any problems, just by attacking down the wings to score, while the injuries are exaggerated – I get 1 or 2 per match.

I agree that I need to review injuries. Some of the adjustments were made to the conditions under which they can occur, meaning less intensity is required to trigger an injury. Depending on how you play (lots of aerial challenges leading to more collisions) or if the CPU becomes a bit aggressive with tackles, this can result in a higher number of injuries.
The severity you’re experiencing does seem excessive, and I hope it hasn’t messed up your career save.

Also, considering that I'll be playing women's teams...
I thought that a themed splash screen could be nice, so I tried doing one (hope @amartingil doesn't mind me removing Maradona):View attachment 394913

Love it 😍

Unfortunately not for me, 7 injuries in 3 matches and six of them very serious, at least 3 months each. In which position do you place the injury file in the mod editor?

Attachments​

🙏

Going to test it soon also in career mode, I'll let you know how it goes!

Next time, make a copy of your save, just in case the infirmary goes through the roof.


I have to announce that I’ve found one of the main culprits behind the FIFEsque ball physics behaviour, and disabling it makes an awesome difference.
So if you already felt that ball physics had taken a big step forward with this mod… this is the cherry on the cake 🍰

Even though I had already completely transformed the ball physics, there was still something that felt a bit “meh”. With this removed, ball trajectories now look much more natural, with a far more coherent travel speed. It has also eliminated the “banana” effect on some long balls and crosses.

On top of that, it seems to have eliminated the ultra-fast passing animations. Players are now consistently required to properly load the pass, resulting in much more reliable and believable animations.

That said, removing this has impacted game balance. Ball circulation is now slower, and it’s noticeably harder to get away from markers. Because of that, I’ll need to spend some time rebalancing things before release. I’ll also use this opportunity to tweak offensive and defensive phase timings, with the goal of increasing transition time and slowing down the overall pace of the game.

I’ll keep you updated 💪

 

[sleevel]

Since you seem to genuinely care about improving this and haven’t asked for money, here’s some feedback. As a point of clarification, I’m not suggesting your mod created these issues but it would be lovely if it could fix them.

- Something about standing tackles is very wrong (could be related to collisions - see next point). Timing a standing tackle correctly results in this unnatural triple bounce sound like a basketball and the ball being magically glued to the defenders foot and they gain possession. The result should be much messier and likely result in an errant ball.
- Collisions in general are strange. It’s like players are tangled up together rolling down a snowy mountain, like in a cartoon. In reality, a collision would result in players momentum canceling each other out (and a whole lot of pain), not springing off each other and somehow gaining energy.
- CPU defenders seem to pick off passes unnaturally well, to the point of seeming unrealistic.
- In general, players should be able to hold onto the ball better. Maybe a skill issue but it seems like the CPU can take the ball away any time they please.
- Too many turnovers. When I play, the ball is constantly changing possession. Longer runs of possession would help with the realism.
- Slightly more errant passes and shots would add a nice level of realism (especially while under pressure). These are where changes of possession should occur - mishit pass due to defensive pressure (not the defender snatching the ball).
- Players can change direction a little too easily. A bit more momentum, longer distance to stop might help.
- Agree in part about slowing the game down. It’s really more about dynamism. It needs to be slow in at parts, then frantic in others, like when in the final third. Usually modders overcorrect this to make everything slow, which makes the possession game in the midfield feel more right but takes away the excitement of the goal scoring opportunities.
- Reducing stride length might help with the skating. It isn’t bad (or my brain is getting used to it) but still occasionally I’ll see a player gliding about.
- CPU defense is quite aggressive with the desperation slide tackles, resulting in a red card in my last game. Could have been two but they missed one of theirs.
- User AI off ball runs could be more intelligent and incisive. In counterattack situations and in the final third, runners should make aggressive, daring runs. In general, movement creates space and opportunities and that’s lacking in FC 25.

 

[*aLe]

Unfortunately not for me, 7 injuries in 3 matches and six of them very serious, at least 3 months each. In which position do you place the injury file in the mod editor?

Attachments​

I've tested the mod in a career mode, and there's one thing I want to say to @FraSantiago (and I'm sure he'll understand it even without the caption):


Me l'hai gufata malissimo.

Spoiler: 🦉🦉🦉🦉

Yes, I think that @FraSantiago has a point here. Injuries in cup mode are OK (maybe because usually cup matches are three/four weeks apart, so the "light" ones can be recovered from without particular issues?) but in career mode they're a little bit too many.

 

[amartingil]

Hi lads,
Theatre of Dreams Edition is what comes next. Not just another update, but a true turning point for the 10AM project, and very likely the last major game-changer of this cycle. Everything that has been built so far has been pointing toward this moment, a version of football that finally feels like football again.

This edition is driven by two simple but powerful ideas. The first is to slow the game down to something that resembles the real sport through physics, weight and human movement. The second is to give the player more attacking freedom than ever before, not by making things easier, but by giving you more control and more responsibility over what happens on the pitch.

To achieve this, player movement has been reworked almost from the ground up. Every layer of locomotion has been refined until the system finally behaves like a human body. Players now carry mass. They resist sudden changes of direction. Momentum matters. But none of this comes from cheap sprint caps or slowing down animations. When a player should explode, he explodes. When he should struggle, he struggles. The difference is that you now have to earn that explosiveness through body positioning, timing and awareness. A single well-timed touch can break opposition ankles and open space in a way that feels physical, not scripted. Composure becomes a real skill, and because players are no longer able to defy their own inertia, the entire tempo of the match naturally drops into something far closer to real football.

Passing has gone through a similar transformation. Semi-assisted controls are now truly semi. If you have ever wished for the freedom of full manual without the frustration of constant misfires, this is where everything clicks. Power, direction and intention are no longer suggestions. You decide how hard the ball travels, where it bends, how much space you lead into and what kind of risk you are taking. The game no longer pulls your passes onto invisible rails. That means build-up play becomes creative again. You can tease space, drag defenders out of position, and release runners with the same nuance that real players do on a real pitch.

Because of this, the ball itself behaves more naturaly. Passes no longer launch with artificial acceleration. Trajectories vary. Speeds vary. Angles vary. The game stops feeling like a series of perfect deliveries and starts feeling like a living exchange between players and physics. Similar to what happens under manual controls. And that changes everything about first touch. Players now receive the ball from far less predictable situations, which forces them to truly adapt rather than snapping into pre-baked control animations. Some touches are clean. Some are messy. Some force you to improvise.

The final area to be reworked is tactical positioning. Players are no longer trapped inside rigid, pre-designed zones dictated purely by their role or starting position. The invisible cages that used to define where a player was “allowed” to go have been loosened, allowing football to breathe again. In both attack and defence, players now respond far more to what is happening around them than to what their position label says they should do.
This means that tactical judgement and situational awareness finally carry real weight. A centre-back will now run wide to shut down a dangerous winger if the threat demands it. Midfielders drift forward and sideways to offer passing lanes, to pull markers away, to create space for others. More players will naturally break into the box when an attacking moment appears. The poitional structure bends, stretches and reshapes itself based on the flow of the game. The result is football that feels far more organic, far less scripted, and far more alive. Movement never stops. Players are constantly adjusting, reading danger, sensing opportunity, filling gaps and creating them.

I can hardly wait to release it. It already feels incredibly good to play, but there is still one last cherry to place on top of the cake. As I said earlier, this may well be the last truly definitive release, not because development will stop, but because there are very few areas left that can still deliver a dramatic leap in quality. (I still will keep finentuing things though and i would like to focus on doing some retro teams/players modding).

Before that, though, there is one final piece that must fall into place. The Attacking CPU. My last push will be to make the AI manage the ball with more intelligence, attack with more purpose, and become genuinely dangerous in ways that feel realistic.

For now, I will let the football speak.
Sit back, watch what is coming… and allow yourself a little green-eyed envy.


(The black crowd is only a trick to be able to capture the gameplay properly without losing performance)

 

[amartingil]

I’ve left you some footage so you can see how things are developing.

​

I’ve been tweaking the difficulty levels, and it’s become clear that CPU IQ is tied to them. The goal was to enhance decision-making without introducing superhuman reactivity or ultra fast processing speed, which often leads to that familiar feeling that difficulty comes from cheating rather than intelligence.

To achieve this, I set defending and reactions at World Class level, while pushing attacking behaviour to roughly twice Legend difficulty in aim to reach the upper decision-making ceiling. I also disabled adaptive difficulty, this creates a much more stable CPU, removing that scripted sensation where the AI can feel overpowered one moment and disconnected or naive the next. It also gives me far greater control over how the CPU behaves.

I tested this setup in both the Champions League and the Libertadores. While the Champions League experience was very good, it was in the South American competition where I had one of the best football gaming experiences I can remember during the whole group stage. The Boca vs Botafogo match is a great example. The tempo and overall flow were outstanding: a dominant first half from Botafogo, followed by a shift in momentum after the red card, then a composed and intelligent push from Botafogo with ten men to find the equaliser. Their build-up play and composure were great (their goal is an example). The match had everything, a genuine tactical battle, natural changes in game flow, fast transitions mixed with slower build-ups, spells of possession dominance, and constant dramatic fight for the 2nd ball. For me its a milestone to se tha EAFC can deliver a challenging experience that felt fair, realistic, and human.
Is tempting to release, but I'll keep refining until greatness is reached.

Happy to heard any comments from you regarding to the matter.
PS: The Velasco goal its one of the most beatiful goals realism wise I've seen lately. That stretch shooting animation after the tackle. OMG 🔥
Sweet dreams

 

[Frankfor85]

The previous versions of your gameplay were very nice, but there were a few things I didn't really like. The ball physics sometimes bounced strangely and had somewhat unnatural curves, especially on crosses and long throws. More generally, I felt it tended to be too easy, even when played in full manual and on Ultimate difficulty. The videos you posted of the new version look very promising. The goal the CPU scored despite being outnumbered is fantastic! Above all, the pace of the game seems slow and calculated, just the way I like it (I play 40-minute matches). I agree with you that the main focus is on difficulty, which always tends to be too easy and have unnatural peaks. In my career, there are games where the CPU literally stops; in fact, it moves to let you pass, not pressing, not playing. I can't wait to test your next version! I'll just point out two problems with the vanilla game that I hope can be fixed: 1) sometimes the CPU tends to make rather stupid and useless slide tackles, resulting in a red card (this also happened in the demo game you posted); 2) when taking a corner, they position themselves terribly, losing their balance without logic, and leaving themselves open to easy counterattacks. Good luck, and thanks!

 

[fatgoat]

Almost gave me a heart attack with that "Football Kingdom" in your post lol. I love that game, I wish it was on PC.....

 

[Frankfor85]

Hi, any news on the new version's development? Is the work progressing? It looks really promising, thanks!

 

[*aLe]

Hi, any news on the new version's development? Is the work progressing? It looks really promising, thanks!

I'm also impatient to see what @amartingil comes up with (to the extent that I paused my career mode until the new version of the gameplay is out), let's give him time and I feel we won't be disappointed.
That Boca goal is sweet indeed, can't wait to see more of that gameplay!

 

[FraSantiago]

I haven't opened the game since my last post, this new modification is what I'm looking for, I want true realism, I hope it will be released as soon as possibl

 

[amartingil]

Hi, any news on the new version's development? Is the work progressing? It looks really promising, thanks!

I'm also impatient to see what @amartingil comes up with (to the extent that I paused my career mode until the new version of the gameplay is out), let's give him time and I feel we won't be disappointed.
That Boca goal is sweet indeed, can't wait to see more of that gameplay!

I haven't opened the game since my last post, this new modification is what I'm looking for, I want true realism, I hope it will be released as soon as possibl

Hi all, apologies for the lack of news in the last couple of weeks. Life has kept me a bit busy.
Things are going awesome with regards to the development of the next issue of the mod. The CPU is capable of playing in a very mature way and can even dominate some games, making gameplay more challenging and immersive. I have also been further refining ball physics in order to remove any strange behaviour and make the ball behave as naturally and realistically as possible. I’m trying to get a very robust experience where those unrealistic moments that can break immersion disappear or are reduced to anecdote level. I have also refined the overall mechanics to make the game as grounded and smooth as butter as possible. I think I’ve reached 99% of what can be tweaked to get all these factors at their best.

Unfortunately, you will have to wait a little more, as I still want to address one thing that can take you out of the experience very easily: certain teams, especially those using a deep defensive line tactic, behave extremely passively and sit too deep. This can be due to how the defensive system behaves under this specific tactical approach, but there is also one thing I would like to explore further. In the team table in the squad file/database, it is determined how each team behaves against an opponent who is better, equal, or lower in terms of rating. This is what makes some teams aggressive even if they are inferior, or passive even if they are superior. These games where the CPU behaves extremely passively are a huge game breaker, and I want this sorted.

Sorry for not launching updates, but as I said, I want the next one to be the last full release. I also plan to add some graphic and soundtrack elements to make it stand out right from the start.

I’ll leave you with a couple of videos so you can watch how things are going. The Ghana vs Scotland match is particularly impressive in how intelligently the CPU plays.

 

[Frankfor85]

I also think the fluctuating CPU throughout career depends on squadfile and tactical attitudes, which are somewhat randomly adjusted within a range. If you could truly make it more stable, consistent, challenging, and aggressive, it would really be a game changer! Thanks and good work!

 

[FraSantiago]

I also think the fluctuating CPU throughout career depends on squadfile and tactical attitudes, which are somewhat randomly adjusted within a range. If you could truly make it more stable, consistent, challenging, and aggressive, it would really be a game changer! Thanks and good work!

I agree, I think you should associate one of your squad files with the tactical settings of the individual teams, but unfortunately, it's too long and demanding a task.

 

[berat6834]

Hello, I just discovered your mod and I'm so sorry I didn't discover it sooner. The game has become very beautiful. I'm just stating my opinion, I'm not sure if this is a problem. The shots go very powerfully, for example, I step across but they go to the crossbar.
On the contrary, in the finesse shots, even though I filled 3 or 4 bars, it goes so slow that the goalkeeper can easily save it. Enjoy your work

 

[berat6834]

Hello, I just discovered your mod and I'm so sorry I didn't discover it sooner. The game has become very beautiful. I'm just stating my opinion, I'm not sure if this is a problem. The shots go very powerfully, for example, I step across but they go to the crossbar.
On the contrary, in the finesse shots, even though I filled 3 or 4 bars, it goes so slow that the goalkeeper can easily save it. Enjoy your work

pls watch my video. i just tap the shot button and its get 2 bars but my shoot going to space. pls help me.

 

[SmichiW]

pls watch my video. i just tap the shot button and its get 2 bars but my shoot going to space. pls help me.

also had this problem playing with my brother the last days

 

[amartingil]

pls watch my video. i just tap the shot button and its get 2 bars but my shoot going to space. pls help me.

also had this problem playing with my brother the last days

Is like this by design. The idea is to make power bar input more challenging. In vanilla, is almost impossible to send the ball over the bar, as an almost full power bar aims to top goal area. What i did is made power input more sensitive, so going over 60% of power will send ball to high and there are more chances for it to go over roof the more you try to blast it as in real life.
However, there is another parameters that makes shooting height too random that altogether with my tweaks makes too difficult to control shooting power. This issue will be corrected in the next release.

 

[berat6834]

Is like this by design. The idea is to make power bar input more challenging. In vanilla, is almost impossible to send the ball over the bar, as an almost full power bar aims to top goal area. What i did is made power input more sensitive, so going over 60% of power will send ball to high and there are more chances for it to go over roof the more you try to blast it as in real life.
However, there is another parameters that makes shooting height too random that altogether with my tweaks makes too difficult to control shooting power. This issue will be corrected in the next release.

So, if we lower the user shot error slider setting for now, will it work or will it cause distortions?