Online Changes

[gcooley]

Has anyone else noticed that online has changed or is there some secret custom tactic that everyone I play against is using?

Here are a couple of things I have noticed:

a) My players are now out paced 60% of the time when before it was 40-50% of the time

b) All of the 50-50's in the middle of the pitch I am losing.

c) My passing now seems to have changed completely unless I am 100% accurate with direction and power my passes are now short (sort of like playing in wet weather) or go straight too the opposition.

d) My right stick control is either delayed or doesnt work at all.

e) Shooting.......this is more the keepers getting better though. Now 90% of my shots are going to the keeper or he is now closing them down so quickly

f) My general control feels wrong, my players no matter how delicately I turn or dribble will make 90 degree turns and lose possesion.

g) All of a sudden I am now seeing the same through ball (on ground) slip though my defenders who now run like they are stuck in mud and have no jostle/strength anymore.

I play with assisted passing and shooting (semi shooting) and manual everything else.

I have a reasonable internet connection and my controller works fine. I have nearly 700+ games between club and ranked so am not new to the game and a level of 17.

Is it me or is anyone else feeling that its playing a bit weird since the last time the servers were updated?

I mean I have lost 15 out 20 in the last 2 days which is odd for me i'm not the best but am a bit better than that.

What it looks like is the people I am playing are playing 100% aggression and pressure.

Ideas anyone?

[DOA KappaTango]

This worries mo to see you posting this Glen. I know your skill and approach to problems solving so trust your judgement.

I have seen a similar trend recently. I have also noticed ( I think ) that more people seem to be playing an increased level of pressure from the get-go. Setting the Attack Aggression high, and flooding the Midfield.

I noticed this mainly on Kick off. Instead of the usual 4/5 players in camera shot from the opposition, there is maybe 5 - 7 players playing high up the pitch.

I play a similar control method to you, but use manual shooting, semi passing.

[gcooley]

Hi Karl

Yes its a concerning thing. As of last week thur/friday I have struggled to beat even level 1 noobs (although some are definately new account people).

To put it in to perspective last week wednesday I had 1976 rank points.......by last night I had 1182.

Now I managed to win about 4 games since friday and have been battered just under 800 points in 2 days......2 days!

Now I am a reasonable player and definately not an exploiter I play manual matches with friends and use a healthy spilt of teams and always usually the same or less rated than my opposition.

What I did try last night after losing 80 points in 3 games and winning one game and get 15 back......yeay!.

Was to understand what was going on.

This is what I found (i cant explain the right stick or sprint thing at the moment)

The teams I were playing were ALL using 100% aggression and 100% pressure with very deep defense and packed midfields with either 3 up front or wide and attack minded wingers.

Now the formations arent usually a problem to play around you just have to use cuter passing or slow the tempo up. What I couldnt deal with was because the pressure and aggression were so high is that your players seem to be scared of the ball. The loose the ability to trap the ball or when they pass its eratic. This I believe is because your team feels "spooked" I tried to play deep, wide, slow, fast, high and nothing seemed to work.

I also know and use the hold off and turn but now its useless because the get so close its impossible.

I have a couple of theories on all of this.

Firstly I think that when people are using this system they are letting the AI do all of the work. You can tell when you are tackled and they win the ball the delay in when they take over the player. This is most prominent in the middle of the field where the ball will pinball around.

In using the AI to do all of the work and having the other 8 AI players closing and marking/pressuring the outlets for passes makes the game extremely difficult. Because of there aggression levels this is why they are jostling so hard and getting so close. This is reminiscient of how UTD play and win balls if that makes sense?

Secondly because of the formation they are using you have no option but to clear the ball anywhere near your box. I have tried to play it out and I dont get more than 2/3 passes before I am caught, jostled and then out sprinted. I have tried everything and yeah I will score a goal or 2 but will be litterally hammered the other end.

You have no passing options out and because of the pressure going back towards the keeper or defense is a bad idea. Conceeded about 5 that way alone by defenders not trapping the ball or clearing enough or not even able to "jostle/hold there own".

As a side note and to do with my controller/player control in offline and the areana and club games control is 100% fine tiny bit delayed in clubs but liveable. In 1v1 ranked my control is pretty much only good for 4 way direction and if i try to sprint it takes ages for it to register and if I use the right stick for anything (trick, knock on or first touch) it does nothing or it will just long touch the ball 30 feet when a defender is too close to you anyways.

I think this is to do with the crab walk fix. I rarely experienced it and always thought it was to do with the way you controlled your player when approaching the ball. What I think they have done is coded around some of the controller inputs in certain situations so when I expect something to happen its being deferred or ignored. The players who had lots of crab walking are not experiencing the same latency as I am. But this is just speculation on my part.

I would be interested to hear other peoples thoughts on this.

If the standard of online play has just got better in a week then so be it but if not some clues or discussion would very much help.

Glen

[gcooley]

guess I am the only person experiencing this and that the whole online FIFA ranked players have got exponentially better in a few days...

[anselmoso]

Are you playing on XBOX or PS3? I'm on the box and didn't notice such drastic gameplay changes...

[gcooley]

I am on PS3

As I said it feels very different now and is hard to describe but all sense of accute control is missing and even simple things like tackling or jostling have me on edge as I know i will lose out more often than before.

[tomb33]

There may be something in the way teams are setting up. I don't get online much and peaked at about 1200 points but in recent matches have found I am far more likely to beat people around my own skill level (7) than those at 1 or 2!

There are games when you can't seem to get on the ball and the challenges are coming in thick and fast so much so that I changed a custom tactic to match the agression levels just to get a decent amount of possession

[gcooley]

Yeah Tom, its not just possession its how close they seem to be to you yet they are playing their defence so deep you should have some time and space to play abit.

Its just odd how its changed. I was losing to 17+ players and also level 1-5 players. It was all pretty random.

Like I said my players felt sloooooow and were weak as hell.

Just the control and accuracy and passing was all over the place yet they were passing like I was a sunday league side.

[jamielfc89]

i find on this game some days i can be outstanding an on other days i cant pass the ball straight, my players keep running offside, my goaly doesnt have a clue lol and worst of all i cant score to save my life grrrrr!!!

i am really good at the game i just find it to be like jekyll and hyde

[tat Fletcher]

yeah i noticed this to at my mates place the other day

[gcooley]

So its not just me with the AI and the other team seriously just killing my team doesnt matter who i am they will always out pace me, always stronger and will always be so close to any of my players that if I can get the ball more than 10 feet i am doing well. This is if my passing decides to work normally and not under hit everything or pass to a completely different player and or the other team

[jamielfc89]

and also i find a soon as i go above the 500 mark in the rankings i have a really bad run of games lol i just cantrol it

totally agrre wiv you gcooley, im sure this game is fixed

[vg88roland]

Originally Posted by jamielfc89

and also i find a soon as i go above the 500 mark in the rankings i have a really bad run of games lol i just cantrol it

totally agrre wiv you gcooley, im sure this game is fixed

Nerves, mate.

[masterbrew]

I've noticed my players missing easy passes as well and refusing to receive it. I think it's a matter of your players being under pressure when they pass that makes them screw it up.

Must be some of those online players here on this board that recognize their own play in what Gcooley described, how do you set up your team and custom settings?

[Magic_Drogbaaa]

I always get this feeling whenever I'm on a bad run of form. I can't seem to pass the ball, my player run around like headless chickens and I just can't finish. I completely see where you are coming from. One day, everything will run smoothly, but the next day, it all goes wrong. Theres no middle ground with this game.

[ImperialGendarme]

Originally Posted by TOM07

I always get this feeling whenever I'm on a bad run of form. I can't seem to pass the ball, my player run around like headless chickens and I just can't finish. I completely see where you are coming from. One day, everything will run smoothly, but the next day, it all goes wrong. Theres no middle ground with this game.

Lol exactly same thing happend to me this week.

[gcooley]

im glad im not the only one experiencing this.

[ImperialGendarme]

When I was in a bad run, I always tried harder and tried to concentrate, but it just didn't work, especially playing against teams with maximum defence pressure

[gcooley]

maybe it is just the amount of pressure and aggression but I am definately loosing out in the strength and pace battles. But it would explain my suicide passing and p!ss poor shooting at the mo I guess.

[LFC_Aaron21]

Yep ive noticed this aswell. Im level 21 at the moment and i find that one day i can go on a 10 streak and beat most opponents with ease then the next day my passing is shocking and my finishing is way off, and get done by some level 1's!!

[gcooley]

hmmmm do you think there is some sort of handicapping system going on to "get" the points back in to the system that the guys who abused the lvl1's with galaxy took.

It just seems odd that I can play ok 90% of the time dont win them all but i play consistantly to having 2/3 days of playing the same way yet knowing that i am being done by the game and or opponent every match.

[LFC_Aaron21]

Its hard to describe what the problem is, but i can't understand how i and many others can win so many games in a row convincingly, then the next game you can't string many passes together and you miss chances that would normally just fly in the net!

[jamielfc89]

the more and more i read this it just makes me play worse cos now im constantly thinking that its scripted lol

[gcooley]

I agree Aaron

For me not only does my passing become odd. Like only half strength but it also picks a completely wrong player and not where the stick is facing.

My players also react slower and will not sprint or if they do its too late as they are shoved off the ball.

I have gone from a 10 + streak down to -6 +1 -4 or so now (I gave up lastnight).

Something is not right, be it lag or their tactics (but 10 people using the same tactics is not plausible) or maybe everyone is now amazingly good...

[gcooley]

Originally Posted by jamielfc89

the more and more i read this it just makes me play worse cos now im constantly thinking that its scripted lol

Did you read my first 2 mega posts is it the same sort of thing for you???