4fansGames - indie football sim in development

N

normazimuth

League 1
Joined
18 May 2013
Haven't noticed this one being mentioned here yet - https://www.youtube.com/@4fansGames

It's currently a one-person development and he says his focus is to be on realistic gameplay, AI, tactics and offline play with ball physics already fairly developed.

It may come to nothing but at least shows some initial promise. Given Konami and EA's direction of travel, and the underwhelming state of every other more recent football game, fixating on crap online play and/or microtransactions ahead of legitimate gameplay, he probably has as much chance as of any of them in delivering a half-decent offline football sim...not least because that's what he's actually aiming to develop.
 
Yeah after being interested at the beginning, it looks more and more like bs.



If you look at the „exclusive“ screenshots (just 1:1 copy of real life photos) in this video, you start wondering, how there are these screenshots while the dev has not even released a full Gameplay Video. The first video on his channel is just the same animation sequence on repeat.
Even if it is just about showing off the graphics, shouldn‘t it be more important to first put focus on the real gameplay?
I mean even a greedy company like EA puts out raw gameplay videos, without the game graphics.
 
Call me naive but I do not see any signs so far that would suggest it's a scam. Usually with scam there is some monetization scheme which I don't see, yet. I really want this to be a true single dev project. If he's still in early development I can understand there is no playtest or gameplay demo. And even if it's true I know that chances that we will see or even be able to play some demo are very slim.
 
Martan said:
Call me naive but I do not see any signs so far that would suggest it's a scam. Usually with scam there is some monetization scheme which I don't see, yet. I really want this to be a true single dev project. If he's still in early development I can understand there is no playtest or gameplay demo. And even if it's true I know that chances that we will see or even be able to play some demo are very slim.
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What happened to that guy with Man Of The Match game he was developing? He started a Patreon or alike and seems to have disappeared to the Carribbean or something.
 
Pagi84 said:
What happened to that guy with Man Of The Match game he was developing? He started a Patreon or alike and seems to have disappeared to the Carribbean or something.
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He is by myself simply "started to play in Pirates of Carribbean Sea as a main hero" ? But do not filming at the same time his journey ? :COOL:
 
Martan said:
Call me naive but I do not see any signs so far that would suggest it's a scam.
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Is the engine he's using not just an old FIFA? Look at the stadium / adboards etc. - you don't tend to work on rotating adboards etc. first.

It probably is a scam - however, I am so desperate for a football sim, I'll put my hope and support (if not belief) behind anything at this stage.
 
Martan said:
Call me naive but I do not see any signs so far that would suggest it's a scam. Usually with scam there is some monetization scheme which I don't see, yet. I really want this to be a true single dev project. If he's still in early development I can understand there is no playtest or gameplay demo. And even if it's true I know that chances that we will see or even be able to play some demo are very slim.
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It does not have to be a scam. It can just be some made up bs. So far the dev has set up nothing to get financial support. While this is a sign, that it was not a scam (so far), it just tells me, that there is no game to begin with. I mean, why would you NOT have a crowdfunding page, if you call this "the most ambitious indie football game"?

First of all, people are desperate for every potential football game, especially since most people are tired of EA FC and eFootball. So if I would start a project like this, I would know from the beginning, that there will be a lot of people that are interested in this project. Then, working alone on this kind of game will take so much time and a lot of effort. And people pay for mods, which are way less work if you compare it to developing a new game from the ground. Before people understand this the wrong way: I know modders put a lot of effort in their mods and I appreciate their work. 🙏

Also: His next video will be about net physics. While we did not even see a full gameplay sequence with passing and while claiming, that he is in early development. I don't know anything about game development, but I guess net physics are something that get done, when the core gameplay is finished.
 
I think history is repeating itself. If you remember, we had something similar in the past that showed, if I recall correctly, Arsenal’s stadium with impressive photorealism. Then we had a video of net physics. Of course, after a while, the project just vanished.

Meanwhile, in his first video, the guy mentions he’s been working on the project for six months. Six months, and he has produced a result that companies like EA and KONAMI haven't even come close to achieving in years. And a single person did this in just six months? Also, in all the development cycles I’ve seen over the last few years, the first steps are always focused on gameplay, not graphics. Furthermore, he shows up without mentioning who he is, what his background is, or providing a website. I hope it’s actually something, but I’m almost certain that it's all being done for likes and subscribes.
 
broxopios said:
I think history is repeating itself. If you remember, we had something similar in the past that showed, if I recall correctly, Arsenal’s stadium with impressive photorealism. Then we had a video of net physics. Of course, after a while, the project just vanished.

Meanwhile, in his first video, the guy mentions he’s been working on the project for six months. Six months, and he has produced a result that companies like EA and KONAMI haven't even come close to achieving in years. And a single person did this in just six months? Also, in all the development cycles I’ve seen over the last few years, the first steps are always focused on gameplay, not graphics. Furthermore, he shows up without mentioning who he is, what his background is, or providing a website. I hope it’s actually something, but I’m almost certain that it's all being done for likes and subscribes.
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Someone on the Discord told him not to go on Evo Web because people are suspicious. It's definitely shady though.
 
Chris Davies said:
I stand corrected!
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Can never say that phrase now without adding "...said the man in the orthopedic shoes" at the end.

Back OT, I've played so many terrible games in the Mega Drive, PS1 and PS2 era (and a lot of you guys probably before that as well). So there's no guarantee a game outside of the top two will fill the gap everyone has been wanting. Saying that, there's a good number of indie games that gain popularity and it seems with today's modern tech, it should be easier these days to put out something that isn't too far away from a quality product. Time will tell if this title will a) see the light of day, as so many projects end up in the can for various reasons & b) if it does, will it scratch the itch everyone is hoping it will
 
I've been trying to hold back a little but I just want to say something.

In Unreal Engine and with a little bit of knowledge I would say 75-90% of the community here could produce what has been shown in the videos. I'd say give me 2 uninterrupted days and I could do the same. And thats not me being a dick or anything, its just obvious to anyone whos dabbled with this stuff in the past.

I can almost say with a certainty that the assets shown are stolen and the animations are either from a pack from the store or also stolen. The animation sequence shown in the centre circle is an asset from the store too.

A football game becomes hard to make when you trying and make the ball work in a realistic way and have interactions with the characters. You'd think its easy but it REALLY isn't.

So nothing from the existing stuff released shows me anything other someone taking assets from games and then dabbling around in Unreal Engine and thats it.

Once again, sorry to be a total dick about this and I hope to be proven wrong
 
Paul-v said:
I've been trying to hold back a little but I just want to say something.

In Unreal Engine and with a little bit of knowledge I would say 75-90% of the community here could produce what has been shown in the videos. I'd say give me 2 uninterrupted days and I could do the same. And thats not me being a dick or anything, its just obvious to anyone whos dabbled with this stuff in the past.

I can almost say with a certainty that the assets shown are stolen and the animations are either from a pack from the store or also stolen. The animation sequence shown in the centre circle is an asset from the store too.

A football game becomes hard to make when you trying and make the ball work in a realistic way and have interactions with the characters. You'd think its easy but it REALLY isn't.

So nothing from the existing stuff released shows me anything other someone taking assets from games and then dabbling around in Unreal Engine and thats it.

Once again, sorry to be a total dick about this and I hope to be proven wrong
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I know sometimes genuine indie game devs can promise the world to try and please would-be fans, but I find some of the communication from the dev a little too... Ambitious. Even saying it could come to mobile as well. Or saying the edit mode would be amazing.
 
Paul-v said:
Once again, sorry to be a total dick about this and I hope to be proven wrong
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You're not a dick. Everyone with a bit of common sense is sceptical about this I believe.
I am, too, but it doesn't imply that I have common sense. Still, on the other hand, having common sense implies that one doesn't trust this thing blindly.

First of all, it sounds too good to be true. And this is a big, flashing warning sign to me.
Then, the video shows good lighting but also features assets (and animations, like you said) that are either taken from another game (is it even legal?) or the default ones of the engine (not that there's anything to be ashamed about in this, but I wouldn't use it as bragging material).
On top of that, I seem to understand that the next video will be about net physics. Who on Earth would work on net physics before having a credibly behaving ball? And if you had a credibly behaving ball to showcase, wouldn't you do that before showcasing how the net reacts?

All of this (for the fellow Italian members, but I'm sure that also some from abroad will remember it) screams "Gioventù ribelle" to me.
Hyped as a revolutionary game, it turned out being a mess, with default assets and sounds taken from the Unreal Engine God knows which version, and it didn't even get released as a game! You had to "run" (well, "running" is definitely a big term here) it through the SDK to make it work.
Everyone willing to have a good read (and a good laugh), you're welcome: https://kotaku.com/georgia-meloni-italian-pm-fps-shooter-game-pope-unreal-1850163072
 
The net physics thing reveal as a next step is more than a bit weird, indeed.

Anyway, I wouldn't stress too much. The current landscape is so empty and desolate that I'm willing to hear out (without getting any hopes high) whatever promise of a football game there might be out there.

Heck, I've gave a chance to supposedly revolutionary modding projects (two in particular that involved Pes 5 and Pes 21 comes to my mind) that turned into sweet nothing... I've totally accepted it might never get any better than what we had.

So, in the end, if at least the effort is real, great, if it's not time will tell sooner than later and nothing of value wiill be lost.
 
This a little odd thing to be saying for a solo project of only 6 months? I'm not a dev but..
(From the discord)

Hi everyone, apologies for being a bit absent! It's been insane the last several days, honestly....

Just wanted to say hi and thanks to everyone for joining. I am going to show Discord some more love as soon as things settle a bit and the next vid is released. But I need to keep cooking and push hard for the next couple of days. I do see and hear all of you though and I intend to respond to everyone in time.

Some other brief things to note, in particular lessons learned from the last video:

- Find out how to implement a controller overlay for when I use a controller in a demo-type video
- I'm already in the process of changing the way the player faces in jockeying mode (should face the ball at all times and not be locked into any facing)
- Input button will be changed to R2 and will need to be held down to stay in jockeying mode. Releasing will return to "normal mode". Keen to hear if this is sounds like the best way. Come at me 😅

Cheers and speak soon!
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2k has been working on a new sports game for a few years now, but no one knows when they will officially announce it. Considering the rumors that it is football and who they are hiring and who is leading this project, it is logical to think that it is football. Just for comparison.

He probably worked for himself before, as far as graphics are concerned, tried and learned... I think it is probably more that he started the project 6 months ago.
 
HeWillKnockFourTimes said:
This a little odd thing to be saying for a solo project of only 6 months? I'm not a dev but..
(From the discord)
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It screams that it is someone who isn't at all knowledgable and learning as they go. There's nothing wrong with that but it can mean its going to take a very long time until its "done". If it is "done" ever.
 
Paul-v said:
It screams that it is someone who isn't at all knowledgable and learning as they go. There's nothing wrong with that but it can mean its going to take a very long time until its "done". If it is "done" ever.
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Yep. And so many of comments are people suggesting things that are... Like there's some basic football game engine someone can just plug in and start modifying. Feel like even if this is genuinely someone working on something, they're going to get a ridiculous backlash from their fans when they realise the reality of game development.
 
HeWillKnockFourTimes said:
Yep. And so many of comments are people suggesting things that are... Like there's some basic football game engine someone can just plug in and start modifying. Feel like even if this is genuinely someone working on something, they're going to get a ridiculous backlash from their fans when they realise the reality of game development.
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I think its just people get exceptionally hyped when they see something, it could be anything and less knowledgeable people see somebody do something half decent and expect its half finished.

I wanted to give it a go myself again and I found the engine much better than previously with handling physics, so I dug out my old assets and put them in and had a bit of fun doing it. lol



If people here think its a good idea, ill start a thread on it.
 
He's released his net physics video -

Not really detecting signs of scamming or bullshittery yet. His next video will be the most telling yet - ball physics and dribbling, etc.

He's definitely got a mountain to climb to deliver a decent football sim, even something that matches ISS Pro Evo 2 from 25+ years ago but some people can do amazing things. eg. this guy has been developing an amazing looking historical F1 sim for the past few years, single-handedly - https://www.youtube.com/@mascotgames.
 
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