dontellmama
League 1
- 20 February 2023
Thanks, mate.
EA SPORTS FC 27
- Thread starter Chris Davies
- Start date
SP83
League 1
- 9 October 2012
They could easily fix half the issues with GamePlay by actually making the ball a separate entity again.
I mainly play FIFA 14. It's nowhere near perfect, obviously dated but I just love the freedom of the ball. It's not glued to feet, it bobbles about, players take bad touches, you get the ball 'break' into areas where you just can't resist but smash a 35 yard shot. You can hoof it clear and it doesn't laser guide to another player.
I spent a fair bit of time on FC24 lately. On the whole it's half decent but it suffers from the lack of above. I have seen a long ball whacked forward that has to be chased into space but it's very rare. There is something on these new games that gravitates the ball to the nearest player to it without any reasoning for the physics of it or how a ball should react in that circumstance.
I mainly play FIFA 14. It's nowhere near perfect, obviously dated but I just love the freedom of the ball. It's not glued to feet, it bobbles about, players take bad touches, you get the ball 'break' into areas where you just can't resist but smash a 35 yard shot. You can hoof it clear and it doesn't laser guide to another player.
I spent a fair bit of time on FC24 lately. On the whole it's half decent but it suffers from the lack of above. I have seen a long ball whacked forward that has to be chased into space but it's very rare. There is something on these new games that gravitates the ball to the nearest player to it without any reasoning for the physics of it or how a ball should react in that circumstance.
Hello peeps,
Long time no read!
it might be a lengthy one, so I apologise.
I have been away for a while because I basically gave up on football games altogether.
No matter the amount of feedback it felt like we and the developers were speaking different language.
So for my own mental health I decided to focus on other games, as there's plenty of good ones.
From time to time, however, I do be getting a little itch and I do play a match, or two. Which usually is enough for me to remember what sort of misunderstanding today's football games are. I have fully updated Pes21, Pes18, Pes17 and Fifa 16 installed on my PS5 drive.
There was a good amount of talks recently when they announced that PS6 might be digital only and the physical copies will be gone forever.
To be fair - I dont really give a fuck, coz 98% of my library is digital anyways, but that got me thinking about football games. Even now you cant, at least on consoles, buy and play any older footy games unless you have a disc. So this will suck for footy console players. We'll have to keep PS5, or PS4, just to be able to install them and play them.
Then I thought about all the old footy titles considered the best and looked at my shelf to see if I miss any.
I was missing Fifa 14. Somebody also told me they were playing it and F14 and F16 are the best Fifas ever made. I agreed on F16, therefore I had to try F14 also. So I got it.
I read the post above and I thought that I do need to, after a long time of silence, add my two cents to this discussion here.
Personally, after playing F14 for a while, I think I can safely say that - out of the box - its the best Fifa I have ever played.
The closest to the best PES games released.
The feeling on the ball, the shots, the AI team mates, the randomness and the ball physics are on pair with all the PES titles I cherished.
Its a bit on a faster side but then I started thinking - all the PES titles I loved were on the faster side - PES6, PES13, PES17 - all my favourite PES games were fast.
I always thought that realistic = slower pace. But I dont think this is the case. And I do believe that this is where developers are getting it wrong. They give us Authentic Mode, but what does it really do? It slows down the tempo of the game without fixing anything. It doesnt fix fundamental issues with the game - it doesnt fix magnetic fake ball physics, it doesnt fix complete lack of inertia in players, it doesnt fix their animation twitching.
I watched few clips from FC27 and my god - this is literally Epileptic Party. Players are running around, with their backs to ball, turning, twitching, sliding. I dont think I have seen a single deflection that would just go into space. Ball is zipping on some invisible string, it doesnt matter which way player is facing, as the ball will glue to him when it passes by. Its literally like watching a child playing football on the carpet with toy soldier and just moving them frantically when a marble is close.
It all just looks wrong. Its too frantic, its too twitchy, its too fake. And lowering the tempo to a snail pace will not fix anything.
REALISTIC DOES NOT EQUAL SLOW.
Realistic means physics based.
The old PES titles were all fast by design, but the game would FORCE us to slow down. We had to adjust our body position, or slow down to receive the ball properly, or get a good angle before we took a shot. We HAD to slow down because physics was forcing us to do so. Because otherwise we would never score and we would lose the ball.
Now we have "Authentic mode", where you can press a button and take a shot from any angle, any position, any ball, because Mr Twitchy will WARP his body to make sure the shot, or pass will always go where we want them to.
I don't even know why I'm writing this. There used to be some EA devs lurking here, but I dont think they bother anymore.
Anyways, back to Fifa 14 I go. And if any EA dev wonder what's so special about it - they should play a few FC27 matches and then go and play F14 (next-gen) and see the difference. No mods, default sliders, normal speed. See what you used to have in comparison to what you have now.
Long time no read!
it might be a lengthy one, so I apologise.
I have been away for a while because I basically gave up on football games altogether.
No matter the amount of feedback it felt like we and the developers were speaking different language.
So for my own mental health I decided to focus on other games, as there's plenty of good ones.
From time to time, however, I do be getting a little itch and I do play a match, or two. Which usually is enough for me to remember what sort of misunderstanding today's football games are. I have fully updated Pes21, Pes18, Pes17 and Fifa 16 installed on my PS5 drive.
There was a good amount of talks recently when they announced that PS6 might be digital only and the physical copies will be gone forever.
To be fair - I dont really give a fuck, coz 98% of my library is digital anyways, but that got me thinking about football games. Even now you cant, at least on consoles, buy and play any older footy games unless you have a disc. So this will suck for footy console players. We'll have to keep PS5, or PS4, just to be able to install them and play them.
Then I thought about all the old footy titles considered the best and looked at my shelf to see if I miss any.
I was missing Fifa 14. Somebody also told me they were playing it and F14 and F16 are the best Fifas ever made. I agreed on F16, therefore I had to try F14 also. So I got it.
I read the post above and I thought that I do need to, after a long time of silence, add my two cents to this discussion here.
Personally, after playing F14 for a while, I think I can safely say that - out of the box - its the best Fifa I have ever played.
The closest to the best PES games released.
The feeling on the ball, the shots, the AI team mates, the randomness and the ball physics are on pair with all the PES titles I cherished.
Its a bit on a faster side but then I started thinking - all the PES titles I loved were on the faster side - PES6, PES13, PES17 - all my favourite PES games were fast.
I always thought that realistic = slower pace. But I dont think this is the case. And I do believe that this is where developers are getting it wrong. They give us Authentic Mode, but what does it really do? It slows down the tempo of the game without fixing anything. It doesnt fix fundamental issues with the game - it doesnt fix magnetic fake ball physics, it doesnt fix complete lack of inertia in players, it doesnt fix their animation twitching.
I watched few clips from FC27 and my god - this is literally Epileptic Party. Players are running around, with their backs to ball, turning, twitching, sliding. I dont think I have seen a single deflection that would just go into space. Ball is zipping on some invisible string, it doesnt matter which way player is facing, as the ball will glue to him when it passes by. Its literally like watching a child playing football on the carpet with toy soldier and just moving them frantically when a marble is close.
It all just looks wrong. Its too frantic, its too twitchy, its too fake. And lowering the tempo to a snail pace will not fix anything.
REALISTIC DOES NOT EQUAL SLOW.
Realistic means physics based.
The old PES titles were all fast by design, but the game would FORCE us to slow down. We had to adjust our body position, or slow down to receive the ball properly, or get a good angle before we took a shot. We HAD to slow down because physics was forcing us to do so. Because otherwise we would never score and we would lose the ball.
Now we have "Authentic mode", where you can press a button and take a shot from any angle, any position, any ball, because Mr Twitchy will WARP his body to make sure the shot, or pass will always go where we want them to.
I don't even know why I'm writing this. There used to be some EA devs lurking here, but I dont think they bother anymore.
Anyways, back to Fifa 14 I go. And if any EA dev wonder what's so special about it - they should play a few FC27 matches and then go and play F14 (next-gen) and see the difference. No mods, default sliders, normal speed. See what you used to have in comparison to what you have now.
It's a massive shame that the definitive version of FIFA 14 resides exclusively on the Xbox One and PS4. I own both the PS4 and PC version and the latter is naturally inferior. Modding capabilities on the PC would be chef's kiss. There's always a caveat, it seems.
Pagi84
Championship
Welcome to the FIFA 14 fan club! You're playing vanilla, out the box, no update applied, right? As that makes a big difference, any update destroys the gameplay imo. I almost pretty much play default sliders, but think I added 1 or 2 points to 1st touch error and point off for ball speed.
IMO, my fave part of 14 is the inertia, I looove it and it is so satisfying using the defender's inertia against them.
dontellmama
League 1
- 20 February 2023
Ezequiel Vanzin
League 2
- 31 December 2022
If you play on PC, try playing FIFA 17 with the mod available on this forum; without a doubt, it’s the one that best captures real-life football right now—compact, highly physical, and featuring high-pressure defending. I’m really enjoying it! The number of fouls impressed me, too; I get about 10 to 12 fouls per match, playing 10-minute halves.After FIFA 17, we haven't had any decent games from EA.
- 13 August 2021
Has anyone playing the beta noticed authentic completely change? Just played it, and I really thought it was competitive, ball was zipping around and so were the players.
Have they stealth patched it or just me?
Have they stealth patched it or just me?
after reading what was said by the dev on X/Twitter, i expect it all to go to shit before 1.0 lol
- Thread starter
- Staff
- #580
Oh God... Which dev?
- 22 September 2017
This will be temporary speed increase you're experiencing I'm sure. They've happened in FC/FIFA for years. It happens every year too, as soon as someone feels it everyone starts blaming the updates and then by the time it settles back down the damage is already done and we see X accounts start posting gameplay footage from the 'day 1 gameplay' and how that was the 'real football' etc.
It will 1000% happen again with FC27.
If it's sped up, it will settle down I'm sure of it.
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I'm maybe crazy but damned, since FIFA 14 and FIFA 17 and the best demos ever PES 2018 Online- FIFA 15, I have so much fun.
I think it was a FC 26 bis with fouls.
But no, it's not. They fixed the 1 Vs 1 I don't know how.
The CPU has intelligent mouvs in defense and attack.
Everything is smooth, even with a slower speed.
Today, the gamespeed is highter than the other days, classic speed bug.
But the feeling with Authentic mode on, more error and a slower speed is great.
I don't know how and I'm the only one thinking that.
You take FC 26, with more fouls, a real CPU and great teamates, a better visual, less skating, a nice transfer market, many little tweaks for a better gameplay, better stamina, more different injuries, and you have FC 27 beta.
I think it was a FC 26 bis with fouls.
But no, it's not. They fixed the 1 Vs 1 I don't know how.
The CPU has intelligent mouvs in defense and attack.
Everything is smooth, even with a slower speed.
Today, the gamespeed is highter than the other days, classic speed bug.
But the feeling with Authentic mode on, more error and a slower speed is great.
I don't know how and I'm the only one thinking that.
You take FC 26, with more fouls, a real CPU and great teamates, a better visual, less skating, a nice transfer market, many little tweaks for a better gameplay, better stamina, more different injuries, and you have FC 27 beta.
Fake news!
I have provided official feedback to FC 27 gameplay team but from what I've played in the BETA, i don't not feel that at all. Atleast on the gameplay department. The changes between FC 26 and FC 27 in terms of gameplay are very very minimal. Probably the least amount of changes i have ever seen(even lower then the amount of changes between FIFA 17 and FIFA 18).
It's not my style but it's ok to think that.
EA is usually bad in term of IA and CPU behaviour but this year is like old time before FUT focus.
- 13 August 2021
When I read these types on comments, which is these super positive thoughts, and similar negative ones, i remember this important saying = Two things can be correct at the same time.
Also, why does everything have to be described as amazing or rubbish?
FC27 is definitely doing some good things with AI, theres a game in there, and the matches I'm facing against AI are really great sometimes. A pre-season match vs Man City was completely different to an away match against Real Sociedad. However, what makes this competitive or unique is not feeling great to me. I'd like them to balance the physicality calls, clear pushes and barges from behind are fouls but not called.
Speaking of which, has anyone noticed the stumbling animations (EDIT: they named it off-balance dribbling) where the player keeps their balance after a challenge? Don't think I've seen it once. Is it a FUT thing?
dontellmama
League 1
- 20 February 2023
I have seen the off-balance dribbling twice in videos on YT.
- 13 August 2021
When you get a chance, or see it again the future, can you please link it me? Only twice seems super limited for a headline gameplay feature, but maybe I'm missing the context.
For me, the GOAT is FIFA 14 nextgen. A masterpiece.
I used to play it even if I have the last FIFA/FC. Thanks to retrocompatibility.
I have nothing to win or lose. If nobody trust me, it's ok, I can live with it.
I play with Authentic mode with these settings :
- speed at 35
-acceleration at 47
-ball speed at 48
-error pass at 65
-error shot at 65
- pass speed user at 40
- pass speed CPU at 38
- aggressivity at 99
- longshot at 60.
FUMA/ 8 minutes/ Legend / wind off wheather on
Try and tell me.
I have some skating animations, gamespeed bugs sometimes, but the overall feeling is what I want for years.
- 13 August 2021
Hey just want to say full respect to you and your opinion. I feel positives too, but I guess what grates me comments of ‘best since x game’ or ‘x feature is best ever’ etc. I mean we’ve had it for a few weeks, let’s take it for a little longer maybe?
Works both ways though, the over negative comments aren’t needed either for the same reason.
The above is relevant for both eFootball and FC, wild swings constantly, give it some time please 🙏
But to be fair, I’m not a FUMA player so you’d know better 🫡
- Thread starter
- Staff
- #591
Everyone's entitled to an opinion, and to call someone a liar is a dick move. (But I'm going to assume it was a "banter" comment made with good intentions.)
We can talk like adults. I personally cannot have fun with this game because I can't help but see (and feel) who it's been designed for. The hyperfocus on the "Competitive player" over the last 5-6 years can't be undone with what I'm sorry to say is a glorified slider set (yes, Authentic gameplay specific features do exist, but if anyone can honestly say they transform the game then - again, I just massively disagree).
But everything is subjective, and nobody is lying. Don't you wish you loved FC too? I know I do.
We can talk like adults. I personally cannot have fun with this game because I can't help but see (and feel) who it's been designed for. The hyperfocus on the "Competitive player" over the last 5-6 years can't be undone with what I'm sorry to say is a glorified slider set (yes, Authentic gameplay specific features do exist, but if anyone can honestly say they transform the game then - again, I just massively disagree).
But everything is subjective, and nobody is lying. Don't you wish you loved FC too? I know I do.
We all have our opinions and all of them are subjective. Nobody is lying here at least that is what I believe. Since FIFA 17 I haven't had fun with FIFA and I don't think that will change with FC27. I'm a little but jealous of @saturator that every year he sees the positive aspects and enjoy the game. So I know if he likes the game, that doesn't mean that I'll do. 😄
- 13 August 2021
I kind of feel the same way after playing the TrueFoot mod for FC26. Not that I think the overall experience is life changing, but the first touch mechanic is close. It emulates real life so much without causing frustration, only injecting realism.
All games available (and the FC27 beta) don't even try to implement a true first touch feature. Really hard to ignore now that I've experienced it
I understand mate, no problem. I'm an optimist.
Since FIFA 17, every title of EA has a big issue : monster sliding, dumb CPU, no foul at all, bad goalkeeper, boring gameplay.
FC25 was horrible with no team introduction and a boring gameplay. FC 26 brings the separate gameplay : competitive and authentic.
With the new career producer, it was fun but the lack of fouls and some competitive gameplay in the authentic one, I know that EA can do a better job.
So I have no expectation. I said that the 2 trailers of gameplay and career were the worst to date.
But my first match was ok with Authentic. The second one too.
Other big change : the CPU was more competitive on quick match than on career mode. It's over, the gameplay is the same now.
EA made little tweaks, no flashy ones, but it works.
2K sports is coming and EA made some changes to be competitive.
2K kills NBA Live with NBA 2K. If FC didn't change, it will be the same punition.
DerleiPT
Pes Master
- 29 October 2009
- Team
- Chelsea FC
Animations look better and ''softer'' with sprint/acceleration 45 but cpu defence line is easier to exploit :/
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bsmaff
World Cup Winner
I played the game Sunday, so not sure if same patch but the game was still crap and brainless easiness.
The problem with authentic mode is the ball is not loose and still contains a magnet.
The fouls are not the fouls we want but just the CPU sliding tackle you in stupid places knowing it won't win the ball.
The attacking play doesn't require any thought process to create chances.
The issues with the game is that authentic mode is just the game with sliders.
The last playable version for me was FIFA 19.
The absolute best version of FIFA I ever played was the BETA for FIFA 14 NG, with the full release very close to this.
FIFA 16 is probably the next best as it had different ways to score.
FIFA 17 is very close to 16, as has quite a few improvements to the gameplay but the variation to scoring isn't there.
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- 13 August 2021
Wild to see so many people mention FIFA 14 NG, never had great memories but might have to dig it out.
Going back to the old games is wonderful, but so far the desire to keep playing doesn’t stick. Only ‘old’ game that managed that so far is PES 21. FIFA 16 is one I’m trying now for a season, I think I might make it.
bsmaff
World Cup Winner
I downloaded a '99 patch for PES21.
There were a lot of aspects that were good about the game but it was completely ruined for me by the CPU constantly scoring the same goal and the goalkeepers being worse than Vicario on a bad day.
When the Jog Dribbling slider was introduced, I thought it was meant to reduce the speed of on-ball animations and make turning and dribbling movements slower. I thought the developers had finally separated animation speed from the Acceleration slider after all these years and introduced Jog Dribbling specifically for that purpose.
But that was just wishful thinking.
Once again, the speed of on-ball animations, turns, and dribbling movements is tied to Acceleration and Sprint Speed. The Jog Dribbling, Sprint Dribbling, and Controlled Sprint Dribbling sliders are apparently only about how far the ball moves away from the player's feet. In other words, the more you increase or decrease them, the farther or closer the ball stays from the player's feet.
So once again, we're forced to choose between slowing down on-ball animations and turning movements, and keeping the rest of the gameplay functional. Yes, lowering those values does make on-ball animations and movements slower and somewhat more natural ( at least to the extent the game allows. The unnatural player bending, sliding, and poorly constructed animations are still there.) But at the same time, it creates a whole host of other problems.
For one, defenders become extremely difficult to move with, and defensive starts and bursts of acceleration become severely compromised. The existing defensive gaps and problems become even more frustrating. On top of that, player movement and runs through defensive lines are heavily affected, which seriously damages the overall gameplay structure.
It’s honestly unbelievable that the speed of the game’s animations is tied to Acceleration, while the developers still haven’t provided dedicated sliders for slowing down and making on-ball animations more realistic. I don’t know. Maybe the problem is rooted in the core design philosophy of a game built around competitive, online-focused gameplay and perhaps in the HyperMotion animation system, which has turned out to be an absolute disaster. A failed and disastrous project, seemingly built around creating animations for a competitive, online-focused football game rather than an authentic football simulation.
But that was just wishful thinking.
Once again, the speed of on-ball animations, turns, and dribbling movements is tied to Acceleration and Sprint Speed. The Jog Dribbling, Sprint Dribbling, and Controlled Sprint Dribbling sliders are apparently only about how far the ball moves away from the player's feet. In other words, the more you increase or decrease them, the farther or closer the ball stays from the player's feet.
So once again, we're forced to choose between slowing down on-ball animations and turning movements, and keeping the rest of the gameplay functional. Yes, lowering those values does make on-ball animations and movements slower and somewhat more natural ( at least to the extent the game allows. The unnatural player bending, sliding, and poorly constructed animations are still there.) But at the same time, it creates a whole host of other problems.
For one, defenders become extremely difficult to move with, and defensive starts and bursts of acceleration become severely compromised. The existing defensive gaps and problems become even more frustrating. On top of that, player movement and runs through defensive lines are heavily affected, which seriously damages the overall gameplay structure.
It’s honestly unbelievable that the speed of the game’s animations is tied to Acceleration, while the developers still haven’t provided dedicated sliders for slowing down and making on-ball animations more realistic. I don’t know. Maybe the problem is rooted in the core design philosophy of a game built around competitive, online-focused gameplay and perhaps in the HyperMotion animation system, which has turned out to be an absolute disaster. A failed and disastrous project, seemingly built around creating animations for a competitive, online-focused football game rather than an authentic football simulation.
TRACAB and the Future of Animation and Gameplay in EA SPORTS FC
EA’s acquisition of TRACAB might initially look like nothing more than a move to gain access to sports data. But when you look at the technology behind it, the story is much bigger than that. TRACAB can turn player movements from real matches into movement and skeletal data. In other words, instead of always bringing a player into a studio to perform a movement for Motion Capture, EA could extract movement data from something that actually happened during a real match.
That distinction is extremely important.Real football is full of movements that were never pre-designed: the way a player changes direction, maintains balance after contact, rotates their body when receiving the ball, runs, reacts when losing balance, and hundreds of other subtle movements that might never be recreated exactly the same way in a Motion Capture studio.
When EA announced the acquisition of TRACAB, it specifically emphasized this potential: using sports data, AI, and Machine Learning to create more natural animations and simulate the behavior of real athletes. So, if this technology is fully integrated into the EA SPORTS FC production pipeline, the future of the game's animations could look very different.
Imagine a very specific movement by a player being captured during a real match. The movement data is extracted, transferred to EA's animation system, processed, and then that same movement can potentially be recreated in the game. This means the gap between “what happens in real football” and “what we see in the game” could become significantly smaller.
But this is where my first concern begins. We still don't know exactly how deeply EA has integrated TRACAB into the core animation production pipeline of EA SPORTS FC. What we have officially seen so far suggests that EA is experimenting with using TRACAB data in its own Simulation Engine. Project Assist, introduced in 2026, is an experimental project that combines Real-Time Tracking data with EA's simulation engine. So the technology's potential is very clear, but there is still a significant gap between potential and actual impact on the game.
View attachment i1COvlWSdqQJyw_remux.mp4That distinction is extremely important.Real football is full of movements that were never pre-designed: the way a player changes direction, maintains balance after contact, rotates their body when receiving the ball, runs, reacts when losing balance, and hundreds of other subtle movements that might never be recreated exactly the same way in a Motion Capture studio.
When EA announced the acquisition of TRACAB, it specifically emphasized this potential: using sports data, AI, and Machine Learning to create more natural animations and simulate the behavior of real athletes. So, if this technology is fully integrated into the EA SPORTS FC production pipeline, the future of the game's animations could look very different.
Imagine a very specific movement by a player being captured during a real match. The movement data is extracted, transferred to EA's animation system, processed, and then that same movement can potentially be recreated in the game. This means the gap between “what happens in real football” and “what we see in the game” could become significantly smaller.
But this is where my first concern begins. We still don't know exactly how deeply EA has integrated TRACAB into the core animation production pipeline of EA SPORTS FC. What we have officially seen so far suggests that EA is experimenting with using TRACAB data in its own Simulation Engine. Project Assist, introduced in 2026, is an experimental project that combines Real-Time Tracking data with EA's simulation engine. So the technology's potential is very clear, but there is still a significant gap between potential and actual impact on the game.
And this brings me to what I think is a much more important question:
If EA's main priority is still building EA SPORTS FC around the needs of online gameplay, can TRACAB really have the impact it promises?
Because these two directions are not always aligned. Real football isn't necessarily fast, responsive, or predictable from a controller's perspective:
- In real football, a player needs time to turn, stop, or change direction. Their body has weight, their balance can be disrupted, and contact with another player can alter their movement.
- But in a competitive online game, players expect to press a button and have the player on screen react almost immediately. This is where some of TRACAB's real-world data could potentially be sacrificed for Gameplay design.
If a real-world movement is extremely accurate from a physical standpoint but causes additional Input Delay, makes the player feel too heavy, or reduces Responsiveness, EA probably can't simply implement it unchanged in the name of Realism. And this is exactly what concerns me about TRACAB and the future of FC. The technology can be incredible, but if the core philosophy of the game remains Competitive Online Gameplay, the animations will ultimately have to adapt to the Gameplay not the other way around.
In that case, TRACAB may become less of a “direct source of game animations” and more of a massive source of data for training Animation, AI, and Simulation systems. EA could use thousands or even millions of examples of real-world movement to teach its systems how real players actually move. But ultimately, the game engine itself would decide which part of that movement to reproduce based on the Gameplay situation. And I think this scenario is actually more likely than TRACAB completely replacing Motion Capture.
In such a system, an animation might not be exactly what was extracted from a real match. Instead, the game engine may have learned from real-world data “how a player should move” in that particular situation. That could be a very interesting direction for the future of EA SPORTS FC. But there is another risk. If EA continues to optimize a large part of its Animation design around speed, Responsiveness, and Online Gameplay requirements, much of TRACAB's value could end up being used beneath the surface of the game.
But there is still one big “if.” EA has to decide how far it actually wants to push Realism. Because if the ultimate priority remains Competitive Online Gameplay, Input Responsiveness, and fast player control, TRACAB cannot bring the entirety of real football into the game. In that case, the technology may be incredibly powerful, but the game will constantly have to compromise between “being realistic” and “being playable.” And perhaps the most important question for the future of EA SPORTS FC is this:
Will TRACAB actually bring real football into the game, or will it simply help EA simulate real football more accurately while Gameplay limitations continue to determine what ultimately makes it into the game?
The answer to that question could determine whether EA's acquisition of TRACAB ultimately becomes one of the most important technological developments in the history of EA SPORTS FC or simply another powerful technology whose potential remains largely constrained by the game's design limitations.
In that case, TRACAB may become less of a “direct source of game animations” and more of a massive source of data for training Animation, AI, and Simulation systems. EA could use thousands or even millions of examples of real-world movement to teach its systems how real players actually move. But ultimately, the game engine itself would decide which part of that movement to reproduce based on the Gameplay situation. And I think this scenario is actually more likely than TRACAB completely replacing Motion Capture.
In such a system, an animation might not be exactly what was extracted from a real match. Instead, the game engine may have learned from real-world data “how a player should move” in that particular situation. That could be a very interesting direction for the future of EA SPORTS FC. But there is another risk. If EA continues to optimize a large part of its Animation design around speed, Responsiveness, and Online Gameplay requirements, much of TRACAB's value could end up being used beneath the surface of the game.
But there is still one big “if.” EA has to decide how far it actually wants to push Realism. Because if the ultimate priority remains Competitive Online Gameplay, Input Responsiveness, and fast player control, TRACAB cannot bring the entirety of real football into the game. In that case, the technology may be incredibly powerful, but the game will constantly have to compromise between “being realistic” and “being playable.” And perhaps the most important question for the future of EA SPORTS FC is this:
Will TRACAB actually bring real football into the game, or will it simply help EA simulate real football more accurately while Gameplay limitations continue to determine what ultimately makes it into the game?
The answer to that question could determine whether EA's acquisition of TRACAB ultimately becomes one of the most important technological developments in the history of EA SPORTS FC or simply another powerful technology whose potential remains largely constrained by the game's design limitations.
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Where did you get that video from? I don't remember EA ever confirming TRACAB for any FC game, all I know is they acquired it cpl years ago or so but they have not implemented into the game.