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So let’s look at the technical side of how this new and improved attacking AI system is going to improve the game. Well, first of all there have been extensive improvements made to the offensive positioning code. To put that into language we can all understand, this will basically stop indecision when players are making runs off the ball. They will now run with conviction and evaluate space far more intelligently. Another welcomed new feature to attacking AI is ‘curving to stay onside’. We see players such as Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Sergio Aguero perform this type of movement all the time! This stops players from making static 180-degree turns and heading to the sidelines before making their runs. This more realistic movement now helps the flow of attack within FIFA 13. Another way in which we will see improved player intelligence in FIFA 13 is the ability for attacking players to naturally separate from defenders and create more space to receive a pass. This kind of movement is absolutely vital when moving forward with the ball!
We’ve talked about forwards curving their runs to stay onside, but what about curving around defenders in order to create space in behind them? The new feature ‘curving to space behind’ comes to mind. This little beauty will stop players from floating off out of an attacking situation and as we’ve already mentioned when discussing the offensive positioning code, it will help them understand exactly where the valuable space is and head for it with conviction. Essentially, what these improvements will do is to help the players direct the play more, giving us an incredible variety of options when going forward with the ball.
In football you get the occasional player who just always has a knack of being in the right place at the right time, is this just pure luck? Or is there more to this? The players who consistently do this are not lucky; they are intelligent and have great footballing brains! The FIFA 13 creators understand this and as such have created this whole new concept called ‘thinking two plays ahead’. In order to implement this into the game they have created a far, far more complex code than that of FIFA 12. All this means is that players will now actually have the ability to scan the field and help their team in advanced positions by understanding the likely paths that will create the most space in a particular situation. We will see decisive runs and much more work off the ball! However if a player is tired/fatigued he will find this a lot harder and there will be a noticeable drop in his work rate, as is the case in real life.
Now we know what you’re all thinking, there have been so many new improvements to the attacking AI in FIFA 13, but will the opposing defenders be able to cope with all this? The answer is yes! The creators of this game have reiterated the fact that it really does all come down to finding that right balance in all areas of the pitch in order to achieve that optimum level of realism within the game. A new feature for defenders has been introduced in order to help defenders cover all these new types of attacking movements; it is called ‘lateral containment’. This helps defenders defend against the new types of curved runs and also helps them stay in front of the attacker. The introduction of new clearance animations should also help to counteract this new arsenal of offensive weapons.
Below is a summary of all the points covered in attacking AI and also a few other new features to the game:
- Vast improvements to the offensive positioning code
- Attacking runs with more conviction (less indecision)
- Players evaluate space better
- Curving to stay onside
- Opening passing channels
- Curving to space behind
- More fluidity in attack
- Players direct play more
- Much bigger variety in types of goals scored
- Thinking two plays ahead
- Players work more off the ball
- Lateral containment movement
- New pass types (added elevation in certain situations)
- New clearance animations
- New celebration animations
Let us know what you think in the comments below!
