Understanding CPU AI in FIFA

[roswell0075]

The biggest misconception with FIFA is how the CPU works. There are a multitude of people who say there is scripting... or that the CPU simply cheats etc... There are also numerous threads on sliders with many trying to "fix" the game. Many of these suffer from the same faulty reasoning that is simply down to not understanding how the CPU AI works in the game.

In FIFA you have the ability to make changes to a teams tactics by utilizing the Custom Teams Tactics (CTT). This allows customization of playing styles for the team and individual positions. To be clear these changes are only temporary if you're playing against the CPU.

After you start a match there are several ways to change a teams playing style. On the D Pad you can press up or down to change the CTT's and/or you can change the defensive and attacking levels by pressing left or right on the D Pad. All of these actions have a huge impact on the game.

The biggest misunderstanding by gamers is that the CPU is always static. Meaning that once the game starts the tactics remain the same as the default... not true. The CPU changes strategy within the game to adapt to what you're doing.

This is why there are times the CPU will suddenly become very different. Its NOT CHEATING the CPU has simply changed tactics. This means that if you do not use the D pad OR refuse to recognize the fact that the CPU changes, then the game will forever feel scripted to you. You must learn to counter the CPU to be effective.

For example: If suddenly the CPU is all in your face and you can't get out of your own end, which seemed to come from nowhere, then the CPU has gone into a high press and/or changed the attacking levels. You must counter that action to be effective.

Now how you do that is your choice. depending on your CTT's you can defend deeper or counter with more aggressive attacking levels etc... choice is yours BUT you must do something. Think of the D Pad as a manager screaming on the sidelines... you can yell for your players to get forward OR press high but if a manger does NOTHING? Well then your team will usually lose. That's NOT scripting people. It's called AI and you must learn to counter it and when you learn this aspect of the game it changes for the better.

And for you guys obsessed with sliders? This is the biggest misconception on those threads. So much time is spent trying to fix the animations or running patterns of the defenders when in fact all of those elements are handled within the game and within the D Pad strategies.

Simply put. If you learn to effectively use the D Pad in the game and counter the CPU's actions the game is a lot more fun and very realistic as long as you're on the appropriate difficulty level.

Advice

Here are some tips for you on D pad useage.

Finding balance in play is the key to success, The biggest problem in the D pad strategies is the way the devs named the settings. If you push left or right on the D pad it effects your attacking and defensive levels (Park The Bus to All Out Attack etc...) But the D pad attack and defence levels are really more about how aggressive your players are. In other words, when you apply "attack" your really telling your players to be aggressive and vice versa. This means that if you're being pinned back by the CPU then it is usually best to use more attack minded levels than the defensive. It seems illogical I know but if the devs had just changed the wording then I think people would be less confused.

Here's my advice. Set your CTT's to mid level settings (40-60). This way your team has basic balance. Then in the game be aggressive with the attack/defend levels. If you do the opposite then you can hit problems. For instance... if you have your CTT's set to high pressure AND you use very aggressive attacking levels then your players will take those really weird angles to the player in possession. You'll see the CPU do this from time to time. To eliminate that you slimply change the aggression levels you have your players set at.

The game is simple to understand when you get this idea of team balance right. Basically FIFA is a game that is about getting these D pad strategies correct and making the right adjustments within the game as the CPU makes changes too.

[Matt10]

Quote: Originally Posted by roswell0075

The biggest misconception with FIFA is how the CPU works. There are a multitude of people who say there is scripting... or that the CPU simply cheats etc... There are also numerous threads on sliders with many trying to "fix" the game. Many of these suffer from the same faulty reasoning that is simply down to not understanding how the CPU AI works in the game. In FIFA you have the ability to make changes to a teams tactics by utilizing the Custom Teams Tactics (CTT). This allows customization of playing styles for the team and individual positions. To be clear these changes are only temporary if you're playing against the CPU. After you start a match there are several ways to change a teams playing style. On the D Pad you can press up or down to change the CTT's and/or you can change the defensive and attacking levels by pressing left or right on the D Pad. All of these actions have a huge impact on the game. The biggest misunderstanding by gamers is that the CPU is always static. Meaning that once the game starts the tactics remain the same as the default... not true. The CPU changes strategy within the game to adapt to what you're doing. This is why there are times the CPU will suddenly become very different. Its NOT CHEATING the CPU has simply changed tactics. This means that if you do not use the D pad OR refuse to recognize the fact that the CPU changes, then the game will forever feel scripted to you. You must learn to counter the CPU to be effective. For example: If suddenly the CPU is all in your face and you can't get out of your own end, which seemed to come from nowhere, then the CPU has gone into a high press and/or changed the attacking levels. You must counter that action to be effective. Now how you do that is your choice. depending on your CTT's you can defend deeper or counter with more aggressive attacking levels etc... choice is yours BUT you must do something. Think of the D Pad as a manager screaming on the sidelines... you can yell for your players to get forward OR press high but if a manger does NOTHING? Well then your team will usually lose. That's NOT scripting people. It's called AI and you must learn to counter it and when you learn this aspect of the game it changes for the better. And for you guys obsessed with sliders? This is the biggest misconception on those threads. So much time is spent trying to fix the animations or running patterns of the defenders when in fact all of those elements are handled within the game and within the D Pad strategies. Simply put. If you learn to effectively use the D Pad in the game and counter the CPU's actions the game is a lot more fun and very realistic as long as you're on the appropriate difficulty level.

I agree with a lot of what you said in regards to the CPU adapting to the game situation and match scenario. It is a script, but scripted is a bit of a loose/generalization that seems to serve more as something to blame versus actually seeing an abnormality in animation.

The D-Pad has little to do with animations however. You can go into defensive, balanced, all out attack, and the animations remain the same. It's more so the intent of the players on the field - and then the slider modifications compliment that intent. If you have a height of 100/100 and go all out attack, then you will be sure to find the midfield extremely cramped and you will see runs being cut off sooner than they would if the height was at 50.

I do agree that there is a rubberband effect of the CPU acknowledging the user's choice and then combatting that though. However, sliders aren't just geared for match scenario as that is just one element of the advantage of using them - but as you know in this sport, every inch matters, and essentially that is what sliders can achieve. It can make the difference of those inches and modify a behavior. So while "us guys" are obsessed, or so it seems, there is a lot of validity into why we choose to be.

[WatchMeDrive]

Quote: Originally Posted by fakeassc

Just gonna tell you, as a PC player, there is literally game code in FIFA 18 that says "adaptive difficulty" and involves changes in the CPU's (and user player's) abilities depending on shots on target, goals scored, etc. If you're a PC player, add a couple lines to the locale.ini. I can literally change the difficulty of the game while in the middle of a match. 0 = Amateur and it goes up from there. If you make an offense Legenday and defense Amateur or Semi, watch as they dance around the defense. Play player career mode (so you can see how your CPU teammate and CPU opponents react to changes) and see how your game changes in the middle of the match.

Do changes to locale.ini take effect when the game is open? I always closed the game down first, make the changes, and reopen the game.

Also, does Home/Away refer to User/CPU or Home/Away sides?

[terrycurran62]

There is absolutely scripting in fifa. Its the worst i have seen in fifa 18
When theres two minutes extra time being played and the game plays and plays until the cpu scores, is that the referee changing tactics?
Of course there is scripting, look at the coding its in there and this year its hard coded so it cant be removed
EA put scripting into the game because they want to fix outcomes and force people who play FUT to spend more money.
Just look at the coding with something like frosty editor. much is in there.
This years fifa is almost completely ruined by scripting.
The game also plays very differently on pc to console.

[terrycurran62]

Quote: Originally Posted by WatchMeDrive

Do changes to locale.ini take effect when the game is open? I always closed the game down first, make the changes, and reopen the game. Also, does Home/Away refer to User/CPU or Home/Away sides?

you will fina a very good locale.ini file at soccergaming.com. It really improves the game. You have to edit your locale file every time fifa updates on origin.
I have found that without mods, that fifa 18 career mode is hopeless this year. There are so many coding errors that ea have no intention of fixing. They are there to be seen in the coding and need to be changed using frosty to get rid of them.

[roswell0075]

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Quote:

So while "us guys" are obsessed, or so it seems, there is a lot of validity into why we choose to be.

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To be clear...not a shot at the "slider guys" I'm actually one of them! I just wanted to get this out because I see a lot of people with a misconception about the game and how it plays.

[GaloVingador]

I think I have asked this before, but can you force half lenght to a non-selectable option (like 12 or 13 minutes?) in locale.ini? I saw people doing this in the demo to get rid of the 4 minute lenght limitation, but I wasn't successful in using the same codes in the full game.

[Romano338]

Call it "adapting" if you want... Fact is, AI is harder if you're decent. Difficulty "pro", "world class", means nothing since AI changes depending on your level. And it can be done in very obvious and cheating ways.
The problem is, there IS scripting, it's only a problem of what people call it. I've read so many people say there isn't scripting, but there is "this" and "that", and the this and that they talk about is the definition of scripting.

EA advertised some game around the scripting... they say it's not in Fifa, but why would they develop a technology for some sport games and not put it in other sports games?!