Questions to Devs and Rants About Gameplay

[Amare]

I feel I need to ask a few questions of the game developers because I am becoming increasingly upset with the lack of simulation with the gameplay in recent iterations of the FIFA series.

I watch a game of football on a weekend and later that afternoon, I'll boot up FIFA and can't help but feel cheated by the game itself.

There are some totally egregious aspects of the game which I feel are ignored, or underdeveloped regarding the gameplay we come to receive upon purchasing the game.

The first major difference I come across is the total lack of focus but on pressure on the CPU opponent.

Watch a game at any level IRL and when the back line or GK is pressured, or in a situation where it's better to be safe than sorry, they will often get rid of the ball out of play, or play it long up the pitch.

Looking at FIFA this year, it becomes frustrating upon forcing the defence into a less than desirable situation, that they are cool as a cucumber in turning out of trouble (despite poor dribbling and agility stats) and being able to shake off opposing players far too easily (even if they are in their own 6 yard box) - you just don't see that happen IRL. Not even Pique, or Thiago Silva would have the audacity to try and shake off a ST like Lukaku by turning away from him when being pressured so intensely

And if the defender doesn't feel obliged to Ronaldinho his way out of a pressure situation, the defender will simply play a precision pass to a team mate regardless of body position, pressure or what not. IRL, when being pressured, a defender will suffer in terms of pass precision, hence why defenders play the percentages and play the ball out of play, or whack it long.

The lack of effect that pressure puts on passes in this game is also a frustration. Jurgen Klopp's Dortmund and Guardiola's Barcelona are known for pressuring the opponent into a bad pass in order to regain possession quickly once it has been lost. But this style of play is not possible in FIFA because once again, players do not feel pressure and it has no effect on accuracy or precision of passes, even in the final third where teams are seemingly able to tiki-taka there way into any scoring position they so choose.

My frustration grows from wanting a simulation game of football, where opposition teams from time to time will suffer with possession and pass accuracy stats. I'm consistently seeing opposition teams with 55% possession and 95% pass accuracy against a Barcelona team which I try to keep as realistic as possible, in that I play possession football and pressure defence.

If CPU defenders played more like RL, where they would play the percentages rather than play for possession both these stats would become more realistic.

Even the best teams struggle against a possession/pressure team. Barcelona had 63% possession against Juventus in the UCL Final last season. Whereas I'm struggling to get 50% possession against Sporting Gijon in game!

I have a number of frustrations with this game, but none so more than this constant struggle for simulation statistics with is affected by CPU players feeling no pressure at all when this is one of the main aspects of football in the modern day.

Is 'feeling pressure' something that can be implemented into the game engine? or are we still in the era where we need to take a step back and realise these 'players' are just pixels and therefore won't play like real life and that that is something that we need to accept? Is the desire for simulation football an unobtainable pipe dream?