[PassionOfTheFoot]

This from http://www.soccered.com/


*How does it compare to Pro Evolution Soccer realistically and fun wise?

On the realistic side, definitely because our player models, stadium realism, kits backed by the licenses should be more than satisfying. From the fun perspective we will be hoping to find out from you guys. But we personally consider this years gameplay to be better than PES. We would like to be more descriptive but in respect to TIF, PES, Winning 11 and other football products we would rather let the product speak for itself.

Here's all the Q's and A's.



This is where you will find the answers to your questions. You cannot put questions in this topic, only view them. If you have a question please use the other topic.

Thanks.



Although I'm not a hockey fan, I was quite gripped by last years NHL franchise mode and card trading feature. I really miss this sense of longevity in the fifa series.Can we expect something this year? If not, in the near future?

EA's Total Club Manager implemented the Fifa 2002 engine into their game and spoke out their ambition to release future versions simultaneously with Fifa. Do you guys look into the possibility of using their managerial engine for upcoming Fifa versions? i.e. A career mode in which you can play with your favourite team as well as manage a budget for buying new players, developing youth players, etc.


EA Answers:

Q1 - We don't have a card trading feature like NHL. As for next year we are currently thinking about how a career or franchise mode could work with FIFA.

Q2 - TCM and FIFA may become tied closer together - we're just statrting the design phase for the next year now so the deatils of how this will work are still being determined.




EA recruited someone from the NBA Live scene for their staff (Tim Tschirner). There are a lot of talented people on the FIFA scene, from face-makers to patch-makers like the guys from FIFA FX. Could something like this happen with EA's famous football game?

EA Answers:

Yes -that possibility exists - we are always looking for talented people. We really appreciate all the effort and dedication the patch makers put into updating and enhancing the game. Some of the work is surprising in its quality. I think going forward we'll be keeping a closer eye out in the FIFA scene.



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09-24-2002 06:02:PM



Matt Holme
[Matt Holme]
Club President

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 501
CANADIAN_10 asks:

1. Please describe the shooting.

2. Do you guys find FIFA 2003 as a Simulation or Arcade?


1. The shooting this year has been completely re-written. You still power up your shots with the power bar but the first thing you'll notice is the power bar is attribute based. When you power up it increases both the speed and the height of the shot. A very low powered shot will just slot the ball past the keeper. If you're sprinting you'll stretch out and just poke the ball past the keeper like Ronaldo. This is perfect for when the keeper is charging out or you're breaking away. As you power up the shot elevation rises so a medium powered shot correspondes to a mid height shot with high speed. As you approach the top end of the power bar you're power increases but you're accuracy decreases. This makes it very difficult to hit the top corners but very rewarding when it does happen.

2. Definitely simulation. But there is an action and simulation setting you can choose from.



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09-24-2002 06:10:PM



Matt Holme
[Matt Holme]
Club President

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 501
Cozmo asks:

The formations and strategy in the fifa series are really getting old now. I don't think you've changed them one bit for a while and when u've done it it's been for the worse.
Are we going to witness a really completely redesigned tactical system in which you can choose any insane formation you want (say 3:3:4 or etc) and more diverse strategy options not the same 3 defensive and offensive styles? And also will you be able to assign to an individual player wether he should make runs and how far up the field he can go and etc.
I think fifa badly needs that because being something of a hardcore player myself in Fifa 2002 and World Cup basically there's 1 or 2 strategy/formation styles which everyone uses and it gets really boring in a multiplayer games.

EA Answers:

We have re-done all the formations from scratch and we concentrated on the most common formations because we wanted to make them have much greater impact on the gameplay. We have added an all-out attack and all-out defense state. All of these states are going to be used by the CPU. You'll see the benefit of wingers playing will play and attacking mid-fielders supporting strikers and the general shift of CPU formations depending on scores. This will also be a focus of FIFA going forward.



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09-24-2002 06:16:PM



Matt Holme
[Matt Holme]
Club President

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 501
Nickclubman asks: (answers below question)

* How does the shooting system work, can shots be sent over the cross bar without full power and wrong angle if you're not careful?

We answered that above, but also we will say that this year we've added all new animations for shooting, passing and crossing. Yes shots can go over cross bars without over-powering, in addition they can roll across the goal mouth.

*Are the goalkeepers harder to beat and is the balance between striker and goalkeeper better?

Goalkeeper has been completely re-written from last year. We spent months tuning the balance between shooting and the gk's ability to save the ball. The balance between the gk and shooter is dependent on the difficulty level. The gk and shooter attributes are taken into account to an extent.

*Does the AI defence always run back with the player, or do they sometimes go straight in for the tackle?

Depends on difficulty level, the score and the position of the defender.

*Can you foul a player by tripping them up, or shoulder barging them to hard. Not every foul is done by a slide tackle.

You cannot foul them but you can shoulder barge them off the ball. We take into account the players strength to resolve to the jostle.

*How does it compare to Pro Evolution Soccer realistically and fun wise?

On the realistic side, definitely because our player models, stadium realism, kits backed by the licenses should be more than satisfying. From the fun perspective we will be hoping to find out from you guys. But we personally consider this years gameplay to be better than PES. We would like to be more descriptive but in respect to TIF, PES, Winning 11 and other football products we would rather let the product speak for itself.

*Do players play and have the animations of the real life ones, like Beckham technique in free kicks and R.Carlos's run up in free kicks. Do players act like their real life counter parts?

In relation to free-kicks they certainly do. You will definitely be able to recognise players like Carlos, Beckham and Nakata when taking free kicks.

*Can the goalkeepers get booked or get sent off?

No.



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09-24-2002 06:30:PM



Matt Holme
[Matt Holme]
Club President

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 501
1. Will all the teams have correct rosters, or will some teams have player names like no.1, no.2 etc like in FIFA 2002?

2. Will there be swedish commentators in the game?


EA Answers:

1. The rosters all contain real names. We try to include as many teams and players as we can in the game. Usually when there is an ommission it is due to business or licensing reasons that are beyond EA's control.

2. Sorry - no Swedish commentary. It will be Motson and Ally McCoist.



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09-24-2002 06:37:PM



Matt Holme
[Matt Holme]
Club President

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 501
I think I can speak for the vast majority of the soccer gaming community when I say that among us fans, there has been a growing mistrust and even lack of interest of the FIFA series and EA Sports in general, mainly due to some very dissapointing FIFA titles released in the past few years. It's also widely known amongst the Soccer gaming community that Konami's WE/PES series are hands down the best soccer games available today, so my question is....has EA sports taken this into consideration and what has (if anything) been done to compete with the realism and LONG-TERM enjoyment of Konami's games?

EA Answers:

EA wants to continue its success in the soccer business and that means that we have to recognise and accept the challenge of Konami and other soccer products. You'll see this reflected directly in this years product. The two main goals we had were authenticity and realism.



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09-24-2002 06:41:PM



Matt Holme
[Matt Holme]
Club President

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 501
I've been playing PES/WE games by Konami lately because I get a better feel that I'm playing a real life game than I could ever get from a FIFA game. Frankly, I'm content with their games even tho they don't boast the greatest leagues that the FIFA series does. The core of the game and the love for the game of football is evident in their product. All the leagues in the world cannot replace this vital ingredient; realistic gameplay.

I still have some hope in FIFA, but it is fading fast. This year with the seperation of the ball from the player is a step in the right direction, however that is a small step in the right direction. How do you think this years versions and those to come could convince me to take FIFA as a serious soccer gaming product?

EA Answers:

Firstly I would say we have taken to heart the concerns that FIFA fans have had about the game in prior versions, especially concerning the gameplay.
We have added a whole new layer of tactical behavior on the cpu side. Separating the ball from the foot is just the tip of the iceberg. Our key areas were responsiveness, realism and consistancy.
We guarantee that our love and respect of the sport is very high and we hope its going to reflected in this years product and future products.
Good to see that you still have some hope left and we hope that we'll convince you in the future and please continue with the constructive criticism like you have provided us with in the past.



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09-24-2002 06:51:PM



Matt Holme
[Matt Holme]
Club President

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 501
And what about the multiplayer mode, are there any plans to make online leagues?

This years PC product will have a re-vamped match maker service and we are working on plans to increase the feature set on that. And yes, it is free. As for leagues we are looking into it.



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09-24-2002 06:55:PM



Matt Holme
[Matt Holme]
Club President

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 501
I would like to ask if the training mode is included. If not, don't you think it should be included so that players can learn how to use the new freekick system, new passing styles and new moves?


EA Answers:

No for this year but watch this space. What you have said are the exact reasons why we are actively thinking about this feature.



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09-24-2002 06:57:PM



Matt Holme
[Matt Holme]
Club President

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 501
Can you give us a little description of how the game feels when you play it?

Matt Holme and a bunch of other FIFA fan site guys are over here who will all be giving their opinion ASAP.



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09-24-2002 06:58:PM



Matt Holme
[Matt Holme]
Club President

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 501
What about the different AI's ? please tell specific things not "yeah we rewrite a lot the AI" tell differences !!!

EA Answers:

Watch the CPU keeping pocession when they are up by one goal or more and theres only a few minutes to play. And most speciicly the GK, shooting, passing, marking, tackling, crossing are more or less total re-writes.

Changes:
GK: Decision making, charging, animations, general position
Shooting: As described earlier
Passing: Short pass and through pass. Short pass we have removed the power bar so that you can do quicker passes, precise passes over a shorter distance.
Through-pass: You have the power-bar. You can through pass to any part of the field.
Marking: User mark mode requires patience on the conservative tackling button (hold) and CPU marking incudes second player who comes up for support. Marking as a whole on the CPU side is now a team effort. The opposition doesn't give up even after they are beaten.
Tackling: Conservative tackling, last year you'd press the button and it would immediately perform a tackle. This year you hold it down to contain the attacker without commiting yourself. You can jostle with the player when you tackle from the side. You will continue to control your player even while you're jostling.
Crossing: This year you don't have to aim towards the box to cross, you just run down the wing and once you enter the crossing area is crosses for you (once you press the button).



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09-24-2002 07:11:PM



Matt Holme
[Matt Holme]
Club President

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 501
The heading also important for the high ball, so is it more easy when we want to head?

EA Answers:

The new model is based on timing. As the ball approaches two players jostling for position. The user who presses the especially assigned header button with the most precise timing will win out.



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09-24-2002 07:13:PM



Matt Holme
[Matt Holme]
Club President

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Posts: 501
Just to elaborate on my mate valioso's question. It's pretty gutsy to say that your game is better than PES. I say that because you have improved your gameplay, this is all well and good. The main thing you suggest is the seperation of ball and player. Step in the right direction. However, games like PES have been in that direction from at least 3 years now. Saying that your game is as good as PES, is saying that you have made a quantum leap in the same direction. How did you accomplish this?

The biggest allocation of resources in the history of EA. We drafted people from all of our key studios, predominantly Europe.

[Playable Back]

very interesting stuff. Thanks for posting that. Living in the states I have not had the luxury of playing PES, etc.... and probably never will so as always I am excited about the next version of FIFA.

If it's similar to what they produced for WC 2002 I will be pretty happy. But it sounds like it's going to be even better than that so I think I'll be very happy.

[eric515]

I agree, Playable Back. WC 2002 was very challenging, but still had some remnants of the old FIFA series. Hopefully, this one will have the fell of a real match. Hopefully, they will make it harder for the CPU to score from 45 yards out every game!!

I also hope they make it more common for the CPU to commit fouls, actually sub, etc. That always bothered me, that the CPU never fouled or subbed.

[Playable Back]

eric515, I couldn't agree with you more about cpu committing fouls and making subs, etc...

I read somewhere that the cpu WILL make subs in '03 version

[thepremierleague]

Usual EA Bull Shi*t.

No wonder it out sells Pro Evolution Soccer, people believe and buy, then complain about what's wrong with it in the thousands of Fifa forums.

EA promises to rectify it in the next release, everyone gets excited, and the cycle continues forever.

If they actually made it properly, they would never be able to promise much better versions each year and not make as much money.

Incompetance makes it sell each year.

'Next Time' should be their slogan.

[PassionOfTheFoot]

Originally posted by thepremierleague
Usual EA Bull Shi*t.

No wonder it out sells Pro Evolution Soccer, people believe and buy, then complain about what's wrong with it in the thousands of Fifa forums.

EA promises to rectify it in the next release, everyone gets excited, and the cycle continues forever.

If they actually made it properly, they would never be able to promise much better versions each year and not make as much money.

Incompetance makes it sell each year.

'Next Time' should be their slogan.

Well look at the difference between Fifa 2001 and Fifa 2002. Fifa 2002 was a major improvement. Then 2002 Fifa World Cup came out and improved a little over Fifa 2002. Now Fifa 2003 rolls up, and it sounds like it's a major improvement over 2002. Almost the whole game is completely re-made from scratch.

Yes, Fifa will probably never compare to Pro Evolution Soccer, or ISS, but who knows? Maybe Fifa 2003 will be a shocker and actually provide some competition for PES2. Not likely, but we'll see.

[KDdidit]

Well my bold statement on EAsports is that they suck. Of course I've still bought every FIFA game dating back to the genesis (was it even called fifa back then?). It was so long ago Crystal Palace was still in the premiership I think. Anyway it's a decent game and all, but there's always too much going on that just isn't realistic and that's what bugs me. But who knows, I'm sure I'll get the new one and then go back to CM a week later, no one said I was smart.

[dtoste]

I think we all know deep down that Fifa 2003 will let us down again as it always does. They talk about the gameplay improvement I'll believe it when I see it. There will probably be no Champions League, or World Cup mode and I have heard little about how many teams and leagues will be available doesn't sound like they have added any debt to the amount of leagues you can play with. No online gaming for PS2 so that you could atleast download teams. And they keep mentioning a special mode with 18 club teams.....big freekin deal. I knbow I will still be tempted to but it but I know it will suck. I just wish Konami would release Pro Evolution here. I wialso wish World Tour had the ability to put logos on the jerseys if that was the case I would probably never go back to fifa.

[thepremierleague]

The only Fifa game that ever blew me away was the very first Fifa game on the Megadrive.

Even then the gamplay was critised. After you got over the amazing graphics and sound, the gameplay was extremely flawed.

It's amazing after all these years now we are up to the 2003 version, and it's exactly the same story.

[Mia Stud]

The best soccer title available in the US is the MLS Extratime and Gamenight series by Konami, which uses a version of the PES Konami game engine.

I played Gamenight for the first time this June after never hearing about it. Now, I'm hooked, I play the game everyday, and I'll never go back to Fifa's trash again.

Fifa has the name recognition, so all soccer gamers have to spread the word that Konami's MLS Extratime is a much better series.....