EA Sports is hard at work on FIFA 12, and has detailed some of the improvements you can expect to see when the game releases later this year.
Read our FIFA 12 review.
Despite huge critical celebration of FIFA 11, EA Canada producer (and Brit ex-pat) David Rutter has promised that the studio isn't resting on its laurels for the next game in the series.
"I think we did a great job with the Personality Plus feature [in FIFA 11," he said, "but the the teams [AI] doesn't support that quite as much as it should.
"As an example, a team doesn't spot that if Peter Crouch in the area, they can lay a load of high balls onto his head."
Rutter also revealed that set pieces are getting a complete overhaul, and that EA isn't happy with interruptive in-game loading screens.
"Set-pieces are still a bit lame," he candidly admitted. "I get frustrated by not being able to do quick throw-ins, not being able to quickly select my free-kick takers, on the fly stuff. We're somewhat last-gen in the way the game cuts [before those things]."
Rutter also commented on where the FIFA series is headed in more thematic terms - addressing the developer's wish to add more "soul" into proceedings.
"Those moments where you take one [player] tp his old club and the boo boys come out, or his old team are more aggressive in the tackle towards him. SO you think: 'Wow! FIFA understands not just the game of football, but the sport and passion behind it'."
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Comments
33 comments so far...
MattyR95 on 23 Jan '11 said:
If they can sort the AI so that everyone on your team (apart from the one/s you're controlling) doesn't act like mindless zombies, then i'm sold.
C-Pk on 23 Jan '11 said:
How about removing all the assists from the game and making people actually play using their ability instead of pressing a button and having the action done for them?
THIS IS WHAT IS WRONG WITH FIFA. Get this sorted and you will have a much better, fairer game.
hi0marc on 23 Jan '11 said:
@ C-Pk
I play with the smallest assist possible (not the full auto settings you mean)
i think we need assists, otherwise 90% of players will play like torquay. We need a way of setting them apart though, in different play modes- such as 'arcade' or pro' and 'hardcore' which is something i believe EA to be looking into.
narratorjuan on 23 Jan '11 said:
That's all well and good, but will they change the game mechanic to stop most online matches becoming a midfield dirge? Tackle after tackle after tackle until the ball spills out into a favourable position for someone. Also I've lost count of the number of times I've beaten a left or right back with skill, get a few yards over them, only to have the ball snatched away by the beaten player who's made up space with an unbelievable show of pace. I could accept this if it were Ashley Cole or Clichy, but Scott Dann getting back on Ashley Young or Gabby Agbonlahor? It's not going to happen!
This is meant to be as close to the beautiful game as you can get, so why is long ball football played so often? I know why, because the defensive AI is criminally stupid when it comes to dealing with ball in the air. Who here honestly can say they've never had a defender inexplicably chest a ball down when all you wanted to do is head it up field or back to the keeper? And more often than not there's an on-rushing striker who'll steal the ball off the idiot defender, break away and score. So, nearly every time you play now, you have idiots hoofing clearances up the pitch trying desperately to capitalise on a defensive mistake. Beautiful game, my hairy posterior...
Another thing, when you want a quick match online, would it be so hard to put in a filter so you don't have to face gosh darned Real Madrid every single time? All these people ever do is stick Ronaldo up front and shoot from anywhere with him.
Sorry for the rant, but the FIFA franchise has come so far over recent years that these faults make FIFA 11 feel a giant step backwards. Honestly, the praise it's gotten beggars belief!
El Mag on 23 Jan '11 said:
You my friend should be a reviewer, this is what was missing from all the professional reviews and it needed saying.
Midjet on 23 Jan '11 said:
I just really, really, really dislike FIFA 11.
Imaduck on 23 Jan '11 said:
AI can now simulate fake injuries!
ricflair on 23 Jan '11 said:
I think there are lots of improvements that are needed. It would be very hard to pass it accurately without some assist as it's just not accurate enough, but some of the assisted passes are a handicap anyway! I've had a guy in space, ready to break through so many times, only for the through ball to be passed to someone at right angles to me. The player AI is also criminal at times. It's a great game, but they've really sucked some of the fun out of it for me. I find beating players pretty tricky (although I have been playing with my pro alot and he's not the most skilled) but the computer seems to be able to block every attempt and the only way to beat them is through passing and the runs your players make are just so stupid at times, they run forward all the time - every good player knows it's about diagonal runs!
But by far the most annoying thing for me are defenders constantly pulling you back, as you get half a yard on them and unless your player is lightening quick, you can never get away from the defender or even stay just in front of him because they're always tugging at your shirt. It happens when you haven't got the ball to, the opposition just block you off NFL style at times.
I find the players lurch about too much as well, yet the computer never seems to have this problem. If you want to change direction, it can take an age for the player to actually do it. And why does it take a second from pressing slide tackle for the player to actually do it??
It'd be nice for players to get booed etc, but I think they really need to perfect the gameplay/AI before they think about crap like that.
Oh, and the manager playing me EVERY game in my career mode. And never subbing me. My player is f**ked and hasn't been given the chance to rest. I've been playing two matches a week for the last few weeks (within the game!) and my player starts every game with about 60-70% stamina and has none left after 70mins. Even if you never use the sprint button, he's still out on his feet by 70mins!
Imaduck on 23 Jan '11 said:
They should add streakers
chronicwombat on 23 Jan '11 said:
think fifa11 is a great game but theres still room for many improvements. this is by no means my definitive list but a few things just popped into my head.
1. taking away some AI assistance would be nice, although i cant see it happening cause people like having their hand held.
2. sort out defensive headers. so many times the defender wont 'lock on' to the trajectory of the ball from a cross, meaning that your 6"4 CB will just stand there and not even try to challenge the 5 foot striker who is about to get a headed tap in.
3. make it so that you cant have ridiculous, unrealistic formations.
4. have the option to use more than 3 subs for a friendly game. really dont understand why this isnt already implemented. there is no limit for subs in real life friendlies.
there are lots of other things that they can do too many to list but those 4 were on the tip of my tongue. oh and one other thing.....
RELEASE IT IN A PLAYABLE STATE NOT RIDDEN WITH BUGS AND MAKE SURE THERE ARE NO POSSIBILITIES FOR PRO GLITCHING!!!!!!!
Clusks on 23 Jan '11 said:
Can they make it in Fifa 11 so England (and John Terry especially) are rated correctly and are not world beaters. Seriously, 5 stars England and the Netherlands are 4 and a half? :S
marcofarlio on 23 Jan '11 said:
Throw ins annoy me so get them sorted!
i like jam donut on 23 Jan '11 said:
Can they just release a patch for this game at the end of next year and charge people £40 for it. It would save a lot of resources.
FlimFlam on 23 Jan '11 said:
The thing is, on paper England are world beaters. The game can only rate teams on the players they contain, though I would take issue with the Netherlands rating. If it was to start taking into account the slovenliness of the English side, that they don't appear to take any pride in pulling on the shirt, or the Italian who seems to think 4-4-2 will conquer the best the world has to offer, then no team will be a fair representation of themselves.
It's fantasy football, so you are given the players at the maximum of their ability, and if England played to their full potential, they would be right up there.
You clearly don't play the game.
Jensonjet on 23 Jan '11 said:
Of course they can... but they won't... there's too much money made from the captive audience, the devoted fans for the developers to consider such a thing.
When you compare the amount of work that goes into most other games (RGP, shooters, driving games, for that matter), sport games have to be the nearest we come to daylight robbery! Sadly it'll always be like this. We know developers will always take advantage of gamers if they can get away with it, and with sport games they can, and do! We're just walking bank account f*ckwits to them. At least that's the impression they give by charging full price every year for their updates.
Incidentally, those complaining about automatic passing... check out the other football game. That has completely manual passing, which works amazingly well. Admittedly the AI is almost as it sounds like you suffer in FIFA. It's amazing that you can sit down with new versions of these games and within minutes spot problem after problem, yet not one game tester, programmer, or producer have spotted them or care to fix them. Makes me wonder when the gaming industry will employee someone with the intelligence and skill to make half decent AI!?!?!
crazedfishuk on 23 Jan '11 said:
100 % yes to all the online gripes! Also, get rid of 'be a keeper' in online team play! How many times does someone choose that position, get bored and spent half the match trying to be an outfield player? Honestly don't understand it....It's like those people who go online TEAM play and then try and dribble the entire field and shoot whenever they get the ball-if you want the ball all the time then play online vs dammit! So many times I've laid the ball off, dashed into space and watched as the ball goes back to the keeper who starts feet juggling then decides to take everyone on only to lose out and concede....
nicostorm on 24 Jan '11 said:
Its a pity that all that extra work that goes into producing some of these RPG, shooters etc cannot produce a game that takes more than 10 hours to complete. As much as I loved Uncharted 2, COD 4, Mass Effect 2, COD5 etc etc, (even AC: Brotherhood didn't take that long to complete) I cannot feel aggrieved when I see the RRP of these games, knowing I will get little more than a week's fun out of them before its back down to game to trade it in. Now that's what I call daylight robbery.
Firstly, if they did as Donut suggested, this isn't saving the consumer any money, in fact you'd be worse off, as I don't know any one who paid £40 for FIFA11, as pretty much everyone had deals on for it. As DLC the price is going to be fixed at least for the initial release time frame.
Secondly, I have never got peoples complaints with sports game releases every year, and particularly FIFA. Fifa 10 was in my machine up until the day before I brought Fifa 11. in terms of gaming hours, sports title are easily best value for money, at least for me, and many of my friends. Not like some of these "epic" games which take 8-10 hours to complete, + a few weeks multi-player (if Im lucky), then its straight to trade it in. For all its annoying bugs, Fifa 11 will still be regularly in my PS3 up until the day on Fifa 12's release. A years play for the £29 I paid on launch day seems like pretty good value for money from where I stand.
mattant79 on 24 Jan '11 said:
The referee's need to be sorted out, They give freekicks away too easily (Especially Pennyfeather lol),
Realistic unbiased player stats aswell,
Newcastle Utd, Andy Carroll 74?
Man Utd, Macheda 78? Hernandez 79? Bebe 74?
Andy Carroll is better than the 3 of those put together, Just because he play's for Newcastle he has poor ratings.
Apart from those faults, There is not much to improve on, I do prefer the penalty taking on fifa 10 than 11.
morrison on 24 Jan '11 said:
They really need to sort out the fact that when you pass the ball to a player he runs back from it so the defenders just walks in front of you and get the ball.
Tackling needs to be better, every tackle is either a free kick or it rebounds of your guy and goes to the other team!
make it less of a midfield battle! amount of boring 1-0 wins me and my friends have cause its so congested in the middle
But apart from that i love fifa
nutterguitarist on 13 Mar '11 said:
Before anything about the crowd booing players and quick throw ins are done, EA should be looking at improving game play.
I play on world class and legendary and it seems that...
1. Refs are too strict (even the lenient ones)
2. Almost every game I play ends up with the opposition having no bookings and unless handballs are on usually less than 5 fouls.
3.Passing is a joke. If my team are 'breaking away' players don't make runs and if they do its straight into the oppositions defenders, so when i pass the ball he is still running away from it and I can't send a lobbed through ball to him because the defender will ALWAYS outrun and fight me off the ball. Even if I am using strong players like drogba, lukaku, or fast players like messi and pato. Sometimes even the simplest of short passes go astray. Like straight to an opponent or out for a throw in!
4. Players don't run into space or make themselves available for a pass if you're in trouble.
5. If you have a couple of yards on a defender and you latch on to a through ball the defender will always catch up and shove you off the ball. Even a player with an average speed (if a couple of yards in front) would be able to keep a distance for a player with a decent speed, because its not 100 meters they're running its 50-70 yards.
6. You're players hardly ever give you support when in the box, but really there is no point because if you do get support the opposition will always make a clean tackle.
7. Pitches seem too small. Maybe its just me but they seem to be too narrow, hence all the packed midfield battles.
8. Teams don't really stick too their formation, the wide players always seem to be in the middle of the field.
All in all that when I go up the difficulty levels not only do the opposition get better (which should happen obviously) but my team seems to get worse!
Worse passing, shooting, decision making, support, worse runs, worse refereeing, tackling, defending.
So please get at least some of them things sorted, then think about adding things to the game
krewcal13 on 24 Mar '11 said:
When are they going to put teams like Ghana in the game.How many more good world cups before they go in. No offence but they are putting teams in that dont even qualify for any tournaments in but successful teams are being lest out.It needs a serious update.Who remembers team chemistry, if they improved the AI so that players made better runs teams like Man city would be hard to play with and other teams like Chelsea,Man U and Liverpool will be playing with some style.
Showboat8 on 27 Mar '11 said:
Gameplay overall is ok in my opinion needs some tweaks with ai contolled players.
The thing i think they need to sort out is Career mode. The player growth was a joke and there was no depth to the game at all you couldn't upgrade staff/stadium or have anything to do with finances. I got quickly bored of this and migrated to other games or Ultimate team.
gbell92 on 30 Mar '11 said:
The problem with FIFA11 is its still not realistic, i mean in the world xi where the hell is KAKA, and I believe C.Ronaldo isnt in it either? Also I know its a small thing but in every FIFA game the crowd has always annoyed me the developers spend so much time on players, stadiums etc its like they just scribble in the crowd at the end cus they are fed up, the crowd needs to be improved dramatically!
also when an attacker makes a run i try and set him away but the ball goes to a totally different player that really annoys me! also I think they need to get player personalities updated such when say rooney gets a yellow card show his reaction etc
If all this is done and most of the comments on this are read by developers and introduced then it will be absoloutly awsome!
gbell92 on 30 Mar '11 said:
Also i think the manager mode you should be able to be the actual manager of that team so say u are man utd, you get to be sir alex ferguson, and arsene wenger at arsenal.. And actualy be them be in the dressing room at half time give an actual team talk! be on the side lines giving orders to players etc i think that would be amazing.
brocky7 on 2 Apr '11 said:
few years ago in manager mode you had to start with the lower league teams but now you can pick any team you want i think you should start of with the lower league teams again and then either stay with the same team the following season or choose another team that wants you to manage them when the season finishes and i also think you should bring in the blue square premier league aswell as if you get a team promoted you should get that leagues badge on the sleeves instead of keeping the original league badge that they start of with in the game and bring back the choice of sponsors you could have sponsoring your team i know none of this will probably happen but if fifa want to make there game more realistic then they should do the things i said but either way what ever the ea decide to do ill still buy it when it comes out
ckaka22 on 4 Apr '11 said:
fifa 11 was very good but still it needs some improvement
1.players who are very fast and thin/small can’t beat a defender for pace as the defender pulls him back.therefore only players who are fast/faster than average and strongly built can beat defenders without tricks.eg messi can’t beat an average defender while running at him, for pace
although the pulling back feature is awesome
2.players like walcott and vela are very thin and short but yet they easily win headers from defenders like mertesacker,samba etc.
3.the moment when you change directionand when the player actually changes direction,there is too much gap.
4.the set pieces are very lame.abilities like swerve and dip should be added in the players, ability so that when he takes a freekick or takes a shot at goal, it would be more realistic and he’d have a better chance of scoring.
5.the control of some players have to be improved.in personality pro you did that,a person with greater control like xavi or iniesta or fabregas can turn quickly or make circles with shorter radius but the first touch is very bad and when changing the pace of the player,players with great control like xavi,iniesta,fabregas loose the ball easily
also players with good control should have the ability of fast lane changing,which helps in a one on one situation or if u have space to run into after beating the defender
7.transfers are very unnatural.players from lower clubs should be not that difficult to get.
8.in thefirst year of manager mode,you can straightaway sign the team of your choice ,i would prefer that we earn a reputation with lower clubs first and then get to sign with big clubs.so that will make the career mode more interesting because when you sign with your fav team/big team you can be bored in 2-3 seasons.
9.more options in practice mode.different keepers and small challenges eg.power challenge or accuracy challenge etc.
10.i feel there should be practice sessions in manager mode so that your team stays sharp and morale is also boosted.
11.the manager should give interviews.
12.why is there no hand ball?.in fifa 10 it was too frequent ,in fifa 11 it simply doesn’t happen
fifa 12 is good but it would be great if they added some of these features
cheesecake1234 on 7 Apr '11 said:
In the Scottish league they only have the Scottish premier league in fifa 12 they should have also division 1,2c and 3
frankieboy on 14 Apr '11 said:
On manager mode you should be able to offer a player and money, or just a player, in trasfer mode. I've found that I havem't been able to afford a player that I wanted but I could've got him If i had been able to offer one of my reserves aswell.
thomaswoodroffe on 17 Apr '11 said:
well..first of all i think the gameplay on fifa 11 isn't bad so im not going to have a huge moan about that, apart from when im running full speed down the wing with someone like Walcott and suddenly Bramble has caught up with me.
The crowd is awful..literally has been exactly the same since fifa started if you spend so much time trying to perfect everything else on the game then you should also spend a little more time making the crowd a little bit more realistic.
I also think that there should be a BE A REF season, this doesn't appeal to most people obviosuly but as a referee i think it would be pretty cool to be able to be on in the game.
Career mode: two major moaning points:
1) the player growth is awful! I have jack wilshire score 20 goals in a season and he grows by 1 if i'm lucky sort it out! and as soon as a player gets to 28 they start dropping even if they are putting in good performances week in week out.
2)The amount of money you recieve for being promoted winning cups etc is awful! Im plymouth argyle and I got prmoted to the premiership and won the FA cup..you would think by doing this i could now try to compete in the premiership and buy players around about 75-80 overall? WRONG. My team is now basically exactly the same overall as it was when i was in league 1 and no matter how good i am how does Timar defend against Rooney at the end of the day,
SORT IT OUT FOR FIFA 12.
YourAverageGamer on 18 Apr '11 said:
I, for one, have just read the first page of comments and agree with most of them. Some, however, like the one complainign Andy Carroll is only a 74 rated are ridiculous! If you think about it, the game was made before he ever got noticed as a good player! Look at him on Ultimate Team, hes about an 81, in-form 84!
Thats why I personally am a massive fan of UT. You build your team, buy players, forced to make them fit together via the chemistry feature, its everything you could want! You cannot improve your team without playing matches, entering tournaments or selling on the trade market. However ( you get far too small bonuses from doing tournaments, even the Super Gold Cup only benefits around 1,500 coins, which is nothing on the trade market! ) Which brings me onto my next point, the trade market is WAY out of proportion! In-form cards, for example, even if the rating is under 80, they still are being sold for over 10k coins!? And a silver 75 rating selling for more than a 80 rated gold!? A card, rated 85 sells for around 5k, a card rated 85 also sells for 15k?! ( Xabi Alonso, Real Madrid, 5k - Pique, Barcelona, 15k )That needs to be sorted out. But overall UT is by far the most fun Ive gotten out of FIFA11! It is sort of like manager mode only better in every way!
Still there are small things which need to be looked at and tweaked, mainly for me, its that when playing online, you always come up against 85+ rated teams with 100 chemistry. My record was 30-8-0 before I was confident enoughto venture online! And I ventured with a 82 rated 93 chemistry team, and was being beaten by 6+ goals simply because he had one good player?! ( David Villa, 87, with increased ratings scoring every goal? ) That is quite frankly, BULLs**t!
Overall, I came onto the forum not to bitch and moan and simply think no matter how much is wrong with the game, no one can argue that it is by far the best football game there is.
ashley90 on 22 Apr '11 said:
1. fifa 11 need to make the gameplay better because when you have got a striker who has 92 sprint speed and a defender with 71 sprint speed and the defender can catch you up before your near the box to shoot. so they need to inprove that.
2. in manager mode they need to inprove your players stats because when your in disvision 1 or 2 none of the players ratings go and you dont have enough money to by new players. so at the end of the season they need to up all the players ratings on how you have played in the season.
3. try to make it where no one can hack the pro because every one now has a hacked pro and it makes the game boring and crap to play.
4. make it where you can change you pro states like smackdown vs raw 2010. so when you play a match with your pro gets exp and you can inprove your sprint speed, balance, volleys etc.
5. when you are playing online, pro clubs its just a dog fight, takle , afder takle untill they kick the ball out or some one gets a lucky touch and get to run with it for about 2 sec then gets takled again they need to make the game pace slower or something so you have more time on the ball.................... and get rid off holding the button a to run then takle someone because every one does that and it makes it boring and harder.
Wrim23 on 14 May '11 said:
Tbh, when playing Be A Pro, as soon as a player like Rooney is through on goal. 6 yards out he skys it and its up to me on my own to win the game...losing all of my stamina in the process, and consequently being ruled out of the next game. so the AI improvement would be a welcome improvement to a already amazing game. Also Pro Clubs needs a revamp so teams cant just quit it we score it the 1st minute... such a pee take!
iball22 on 16 May '11 said:
so i am a massive fan of fifa, and i love to play career mode as just a player. For this game mode, they should make it much more difficult to break into the starting 11. After a few good reserve games, you may get a chance on the bench in a cup game or a league game. THen maybe get a start after a few good performances off the bench. Because right now it is way to easy to get in the line up. Also the manager should sub you on and off in games. My final disappointments of this mode is that a young player is not often picked for big games, the manager should pick the experienced players for those games. Then how you move up the club, in your first season you should not be able to become a captain at 16 yrs old. It was a joke, you should be at the club for a few seasons and be a good player and be a a bit older. Also bring back playing for the national team, but make it hard to be on the team depending on the skill. for example making the spanish national team would be a lot harder than the Welsh national team. Besides those few adjustments the game was great, keep up the great work. I cant wait for the new game, should be great!!!!