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EA SPORTS FC 26

Saw this yesterday and really hope it's fake:

View attachment 404471

Not even sure what language it's written in, certainly not English!
It's 100% real. Works like NBA2K (from what I remember of that game) - for example: you see 3 rush fields, you go stand in one of the "Ready" spots until it fills and starts a game. You can "explore the world" to get to different game modes and shops.
 
This open world stuff...

It's clear that there's broadly two camps who play FC, and they're now recognised via the gameplay split ("competitive" and "authentic").

This split is here to stay, and it gives them license to push both sides harder towards their targets - i.e. the silly gameplay can be made 10x faster with traffic-cone AI and rugby scorelines, and the "serious" gameplay, which is nowhere near serious (yet), can hopefully get a lot more grounded and rewarding.

So we may well see more and more of the stuff guys like us couldn't give a toss about in leaks and PR, for views/clicks. Such as (if rumours are true) this open world where you can play Volta-style matches and mini-games, get your hair cut and spend $$$ on branded clothing for your avatar.

FC is practically a social network for kids and young adults, who don't really care if the game plays like football or not - in the same way they don't care if GTA has realistic car handling or not. A huge number of them use it to stay connected to each other, and it's a lot more of a personal connection than typing on WhatsApp. So, whilst having less-than-zero interest in it personally, I totally understand what they're aiming for.

The moaning about it from "big" accounts on social media is ragebait for views/clicks, IMO. Who cares if this mode is real? Just don't play it...

...but, that's as long as "we" get some big changes too. Which, if they're coming, we wouldn't hear about through leaks like these, because it's likely not something that can be monetised as easily (by EA or by ragebaiters).

I just hope that, eventually, we get a full product split between e.g. "FC Fun" and "FC Real", and then things can really fly. They've already proven people want "authentic" gameplay, so hopefully - if it gains in popularity - that day might come.

Let's be honest here; EA are our only hope. Every other football game developer just wants to make Ultimate Team clones and cash in while their game is "flavour of the month", because it's an easy cash-grab.
 
@Chris Davies @Matt10 @Mathgamer @saturator
I played one half on FC24 and one half on FC26.
I find it incredible that, tactically, the older game is actually better — and it confirms that FC‑IQ is far too rigid.Seeing Almería with 11 players behind the ball made me think: “Damn, now it’s going to be really hard to build an attack.” And I keep asking myself: why?For those of us who love offline gameplay… is this really the end of the road?

I know it is popular to always just say that the older titles are better in every way, but this is just not true. Nothing against you, but you didn't even use the same teams in both matches. Oviedo plays different compared to Almeria. Then it looks like you play on the highest difficulty, which makes the cpu just more overpowered and attacking.
I play FC 26 with OS Sliders on WC, because in my experience everything above that makes it even easier to score, since the CPU does not care about defending. I just played a half with the exact teams that you used in FC24. I would even dare to say, that the CPU is anything but rigid. Almeria starts with a very deep defensive line and counter attacks but during the half has some smaller possession phases as well. All of this is not perfect and maybe older games did it even better. But the claim that FC24 is tactically better is just wrong. The worst I could say is, that there is not a really big difference, besides the cpu is stopping and playing the ball back much more often in FC26 (which makes it feel more realistic in my opinion).



I had a game weeks ago with Liverpool against Arsenal and after Arsenal scored the first goal they actually stopped attacking and changed to a very deep line. I remember this, because I was surprised how natural this felt.

Again FC26 is not perfect, especially since it often looks and feels like it is on steroids. But thanks to the authentic mode I have the feeling that there can be a really good football game again in the near future. The game already does a lot of things right, even if it is with the help of sliders. Every time I play FC26 I have fun and not the feeling that I play it because I just want to play a football game. And this is coming from someone who put hundreds and hundres of hours in the old PES titles.
 
@Chris Davies @Matt10 @Mathgamer @saturator
I played one half on FC24 and one half on FC26.
I find it incredible that, tactically, the older game is actually better — and it confirms that FC‑IQ is far too rigid.Seeing Almería with 11 players behind the ball made me think: “Damn, now it’s going to be really hard to build an attack.” And I keep asking myself: why?For those of us who love offline gameplay… is this really the end of the road?


I think different.
I adapt a little my sliders after each update.
I think the game is better than FC 24 and 25.

The authentic mode is the real good feature this year.
I can play the career mode, online with little bug speed/

This year, the CPU made many crosses, great calls if you put a role for each player.
The new sliders help to bring more tweaks to the game to be slower and and except "tackle agression" slider, it's ok.

It's not perfect but playable.
I will test the same teams on FC26 and I will post the video, you will see, this game is not full of trash.
But need more work from developpers to be realistic.

I'm a football fan so trying many sliders to share with others, it's not a work, it's a passion, I like trying something new.
But most of videos games are not made by fans for the fans, but only for making money. That's the big difference with 90' 20 games.

But a great footy game will be sold even more than FC 26
 
There’s a strong psychological component to enjoying any video game. Once you “lock in,” your brain normalizes around the experience. Issues like skating, teleportation and catch up animations are largely cosmetic - they’re a failure of the logic engine and animation engine conforming accurately. If you can play for a while, your brain will start to filter these things out and the game can be quite enjoyable.
 
There’s a strong psychological component to enjoying any video game. Once you “lock in,” your brain normalizes around the experience. Issues like skating, teleportation and catch up animations are largely cosmetic - they’re a failure of the logic engine and animation engine conforming accurately. If you can play for a while, your brain will start to filter these things out and the game can be quite enjoyable.
Yes i think so.
Sometimes, i 'm watching my videos and some terrible things were here. And I didn't see when I'm playing, I was so focused on my strategy, enjoying the fun experience.

Watching a video is not like playing a game. You have time to analyse all the actions, the animations, CPU reactions, bugs...

When I'm playing FC26, I really enjoy it. I have this chance. The mod and sliders community are very helpful to bring fun to this game.

But I'm so sad because many players have a very different experience, a very bad one.
When I saw their videos, the game is different, with a dumb CPU, with no fouls, no injuries, only ground passes. I don't know why.
 
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I know it is popular to always just say that the older titles are better in every way, but this is just not true. Nothing against you, but you didn't even use the same teams in both matches. Oviedo plays different compared to Almeria. Then it looks like you play on the highest difficulty, which makes the cpu just more overpowered and attacking.
I play FC 26 with OS Sliders on WC, because in my experience everything above that makes it even easier to score, since the CPU does not care about defending. I just played a half with the exact teams that you used in FC24. I would even dare to say, that the CPU is anything but rigid. Almeria starts with a very deep defensive line and counter attacks but during the half has some smaller possession phases as well. All of this is not perfect and maybe older games did it even better. But the claim that FC24 is tactically better is just wrong. The worst I could say is, that there is not a really big difference, besides the cpu is stopping and playing the ball back much more often in FC26 (which makes it feel more realistic in my opinion).



I had a game weeks ago with Liverpool against Arsenal and after Arsenal scored the first goal they actually stopped attacking and changed to a very deep line. I remember this, because I was surprised how natural this felt.

Again FC26 is not perfect, especially since it often looks and feels like it is on steroids. But thanks to the authentic mode I have the feeling that there can be a really good football game again in the near future. The game already does a lot of things right, even if it is with the help of sliders. Every time I play FC26 I have fun and not the feeling that I play it because I just want to play a football game. And this is coming from someone who put hundreds and hundres of hours in the old PES titles.

You’re right — I didn’t use the same teams because I couldn’t find Almería in LaLiga. But the result doesn’t change. If anything, it makes things even worse, and your video clearly shows it.When I talk about tactics and FCIQ, I’m referring exactly to those frames: Almería’s striker starts tracking the defender making a run, keeps following him, but the moment he steps outside his “assigned zone”, he simply stops. And that “zone of competence” is exactly what causes attackers to rarely track back beyond the halfway line.

Senza titolo-1.jpg

I’m not someone who blindly prefers older games — I even brought a video to support my point. I’m not saying FC24 is perfect, but tactically it’s less rigid than a game that supposedly has two years of “improvements” behind it.

Tactics are a completely different topic from how the CPU moves the ball. In FC26, new sliders were introduced that genuinely improve the CPU’s offensive behavior, but the defensive phase remains extremely lacking from a tactical standpoint.
 
You’re right — I didn’t use the same teams because I couldn’t find Almería in LaLiga. But the result doesn’t change. If anything, it makes things even worse, and your video clearly shows it.When I talk about tactics and FCIQ, I’m referring exactly to those frames: Almería’s striker starts tracking the defender making a run, keeps following him, but the moment he steps outside his “assigned zone”, he simply stops. And that “zone of competence” is exactly what causes attackers to rarely track back beyond the halfway line.

View attachment 404751

I’m not someone who blindly prefers older games — I even brought a video to support my point. I’m not saying FC24 is perfect, but tactically it’s less rigid than a game that supposedly has two years of “improvements” behind it.

Tactics are a completely different topic from how the CPU moves the ball. In FC26, new sliders were introduced that genuinely improve the CPU’s offensive behavior, but the defensive phase remains extremely lacking from a tactical standpoint.
I agree. FC IQ is a regression and folks like @Anth James can attest that FC 26 and FC 25 tactics system is just a glorified preset version of FC 24 so even less control and more predefined. Like the roles are just player instruction presets.
 
I saw a sequence today in the Arsenal Nottingham Forest game today that reminded me about FC 26: one of the Forest players had the ball at the top of the 18 and both Liverpool defenders backed away from him. I don’t know if this is a case of life imitating art, or they were allowing him the long shot, to avoid getting beaten off the dribble. Still, I don’t know how tactically that could be the right decision.

I then watched the rest of the game with the keen eye to see if there were any other sequences with defenders backing away, and there weren’t. Some cases were defenders didn’t engage, sure, but never backing away. And in most cases, they were pressing the ball.

Another observation is that players generally run in straight lines. They don’t make erratic, micro adjustments. The decision making engine in FC26 needs some kind of reponse dampening mechanism. While adjustments in position are certainly happening in a real game, they are not perceptible because they are subtle and players are running in generally straight lines.
 
Even the most dedicated slider guys have given up on this game. The staccato “FCIQ” and playstyle super-abilities really ruined what was already in decline.
 
It is quite easy to abuse this game and result in a twitch fest. I was holding RT-LT, in an attempt to face up dribble (like FIFA 14). This actually results in full speed sprint shielding, which is a bit like a Heisman stiff arm. Very bizarre.

It’s also quite easy to play a slow and sensible match with this game. Turning authenticity features on and cranking down sliders will help.
 
Don't you find guys the FC26 pitch ( stadium ) too small?

I recently came from FIFA 22 & some PES and the FC26 pitch is instantly smaller than the player vs pitch size i played in those games. Feels like 11 vs 11 on futsal
 
Don't you find guys the FC26 pitch ( stadium ) too small?

I recently came from FIFA 22 & some PES and the FC26 pitch is instantly smaller than the player vs pitch size i played in those games. Feels like 11 vs 11 on futsal
I wouldn't say so personally. I kinda understand the feeling of it, the play can sometimes feel a little cramped, but I find there's always space to play in and find a way around the defence (even if most cases, they just win possession back so easily)
 
Match played on FC24.
Look at how much more physicality there is compared to FC26 — and I’m not just talking about fouls.
The defensive lines feel more compact and there’s more density in the midfield. Manual controls are also less precise. The ball isn’t completely free, but it’s still better than in FC26.

I’m not trying to convince anyone — I don’t care about that — but some dynamics present in this chapter (which is not perfect!) have been removed in favor of a more direct and simplified style of play.
FCIQ seems to work better in some situations, but in others it completely breaks the tactical structure.

 
Who was the user here who regularly (and, in their defence, entirely fairly) ranted about Premier League pitches becoming as scuffed as Sunday League pitches mid-season?

Today's their lucky day:



... although the very first paragraph in the gameplay pitch notes, available here, is pretty terrifying. Whether it's in "competitive" or "authentic", it's still absolutely shocking to me.

Improved accuracy and speed of ground passing, with impact being most noticeable on players with higher passing attributes.

How can it possibly be MORE accurate? The ball must not be a factor in anything any more, it truly is just a circular icon on the screen being whipped around like a mouse cursor rather than an object being kicked at a certain contact point. "They want 100% pass accuracy, give it to them, we cannot upset them."

It beggars belief. How can the gameplay people behind the scenes truly think this is what's needed, in a football game, and one that was already totally unrealistic.
 
Match played on FC24.
Look at how much more physicality there is compared to FC26 — and I’m not just talking about fouls.
The defensive lines feel more compact and there’s more density in the midfield. Manual controls are also less precise. The ball isn’t completely free, but it’s still better than in FC26.

I’m not trying to convince anyone — I don’t care about that — but some dynamics present in this chapter (which is not perfect!) have been removed in favor of a more direct and simplified style of play.
FCIQ seems to work better in some situations, but in others it completely breaks the tactical structure.


Yep, sadly it's true.. I been trying to alternate between FC26, FC25, FIFA 23 & FIFA 22 to start a career mode and as soon as i launch FC25 or FC26 (even if with gameplay mods ) it feels off. It doesn't look & feel like football. Players are just all the same, no weight in them. Specially FC26, all players feel like paper straws,no gravity.. idk how people claim it's an improvement over 25 when basically both are awful
 
Who was the user here who regularly (and, in their defence, entirely fairly) ranted about Premier League pitches becoming as scuffed as Sunday League pitches mid-season?

Today's their lucky day:



... although the very first paragraph in the gameplay pitch notes, available here, is pretty terrifying. Whether it's in "competitive" or "authentic", it's still absolutely shocking to me.



How can it possibly be MORE accurate? The ball must not be a factor in anything any more, it truly is just a circular icon on the screen being whipped around like a mouse cursor rather than an object being kicked at a certain contact point. "They want 100% pass accuracy, give it to them, we cannot upset them."

I feel stupid for having hope again. It beggars belief. I can't have faith in the people behind the scenes who decide this is truly what needed to happen.

Anyone know when this update is out on console?
 
Played two matches last night, lost both 🤣 First, Celta beat me when I was Real Madrid, then I lost to Rayo Vallecano as Athletic Club. Both times by one goal, and the latter match I was against 10-men for 20-30 minutes. I wouldn't call it a fantastic game, but it's certainly not a terrible game. Perhaps decent is the word, and it looks good (at least from my bespectacled eyes)
1000107432.jpg
 
Really enjoyed this breakdown of FC from a "competitive" player's point of view, which I find really interesting.

The crux of the video is that FC cannot qualify itself as a competitive game, because there aren't multiple ways to break down an opponent - only one "meta" - and the fact that a "meta" exists shows that the fundamental gameplay design is simply one-dimensional (everyone seems to want a grounded game with real world restrictions to every team's / player's abilities that forces you into different approaches to break down different setups, instead of simply ping-ponging / sprinting through every team, using every team).

 
Really enjoyed this breakdown of FC from a "competitive" player's point of view, which I find really interesting.

The crux of the video is that FC cannot qualify itself as a competitive game, because there aren't multiple ways to break down an opponent - only one "meta" - and the fact that a "meta" exists shows that the fundamental gameplay design is simply one-dimensional (everyone seems to want a grounded game with real world restrictions to every team's / player's abilities that forces you into different approaches to break down different setups, instead of simply ping-ponging / sprinting through every team, using every team).


I assume in this case “meta” is short for “metastatic”?
 
I assume in this case “meta” is short for “metastatic”?
META = most effective tactic available. In every online game there is META which is certain character, playstyle, mechanic etc.

In FIFA for years META is the small players with great dribbling. Every now and then META changes to broken set pieces, crossing, long shots etc. but in general META boils down to making your opponent - either AI or controlled players - to make a mistake. This is why FIFA/FC can't ever be competitive with controlling more than one player. Best would be Pro Clubs for e-sports, but EA needs to monetize FUT the most.
 
Interesting change to PEGI (the European game age rating system) which could impact FC, as the article calls out:

Eurogamer: Video game PEGI age-ratings are changing in Europe and it's probably not good news for EA SPORTS FC
Video game age-ratings are about to change in Europe. The Pan-European Game Information age-ratings body, better known as PEGI, which determines the age-ratings for games everywhere in Europe apart from Germany, is about to make arguably the most significant update in its history.

In June this year, four new categories are being added to the age-rating criteria which will attempt to tackle elements of addictive design in games, unmonitored online communication, and - the big one - paid content in a game including systems like loot boxes.

The result of these changes will mean that a game like EA Sports FC, which is routinely awarded a PEGI 3 rating, but comes with a separate in-app purchases warning because of the Ultimate Team blind-bag card packs the game sells, will now likely be age-rated PEGI 16.
 
You guys using the "Authentic" mode is nerfing the game experience. This is the "Slow" mode problem all over again. The AI cannot cope with Authentic mode at all making it a much easier and simpler game than intended. Switch to Competitive, turn off the "Authentic features" and use the sliders (go to 99 error if you have to). Trust me, if you find the game boring, you will get a better, more exciting game using Competitive.

With some small changes via modding, this game has gone from a 3/10 playing vanilla "Authentic" to 9/10 using Competitive as a base. I am having as much fun as vanilla FIFA 17 or modded FIFA 20. First time in years that I have found the AI actually good. The problem is EA have made a great game underneath all the smoke and mirrors and for some reason don't understand how to make it work or just remove the features that make it great. They are so scared to just go for it and its really causing an issue. I felt like Authentic took parts of the slowest gameplay mods and then put it in there. There's no thought or testing. Just an easier, "slow" game with dumb AI.

//sorry for the rant

Hey Paul,

I did a small comparison: i opened FIFA 23 & FC26 in two separate windows with FET. I just wanted to compare the values of FIFA 23 Gameplay attribulator files vs FC 26 simulation gameplay files. I looked into some of the files and to my surprise the values are all identical for both games ( looked into multiple files & different categories).

Question : Am I missing something or why the gp files have the same values for both games ? Thanks
 
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