Not surprisingly, the number one piece of feedback that EA received this year was to improve the Artificial Intelligence (AI) in FIFA 13.
They’ve listened and pinpointed the main problem with the AI to be attacking intelligence and in a bid to improve the FIFA 13 AI they’ve completely stripped down and re-factored the offensive position code.
The results look to have leaped FIFA 13 Attacking intelligence forward to something that finally resembles real footballer’s thinking.
Part of the decision to introduce the revolutionary tactical defending was to open up space on the pitch and up until now this space has been wasted.
It wasn’t being used intelligently and attacks seemed forced and build up play was static.
To better make used of all this new found space EA have introduced a number of FIFA 13 attacking intelligence improvements can be broken down as:
- Decisive Runs
- Curve To Stay Onside
- Curve To Space Behind
- Curve To Open Channels
- Thinking 2 Plays Ahead
FIFA 13 Attacking Intelligence
Decisive Runs
When making an attacking run previously players used to evaluate the end point of the run only.
This created indecision as play progressed and the AI didn’t really cope with change very well.
If a defender got in the way of the attacker and the end point of his run he’d usually just give up and stand there like a lemon whilst you shouted “Lazy b**tard” at the TV.
In FIFA 13 the AI will now evaluate the whole run, not just the end point.
What this means is that is that the AI will now make runs with a lot more conviction.
Because the AI is evaluating the whole run as play changes the runner will “think” on the spot and adapt to reach the end point.
This makes attacking runs a lot more decisive and aggressive giving you more confidence in the ability and movement of the players around you.
Curve to Stay Onside
Picture the scene… You’re on the counter attack with an AI team-mate.
You draw the defender and look to pass it to your team mate who’ll be clean through on goal!
Only to find he’s standing 6 yards offside looking slightly confused. Not only that but he now decides he’s going to start running in the opposite direction!
Sound familiar? Well worry no more. All is about to change!
In FIFA 13, AI players are now aware of how play’s developing and if they’re likely to run offside they’ll hold their runs accordingly.
Not only that, they’ll curve their runs to stay onside and open up their bodies to communicate where they want the ball played.
This will drastically improve the flow of the game.
They’ll evaluate the space around them, work to create passing channels and drift laterally to create a separation between them and the defender giving you an option to play the ball to feet.
FIFA 13 AI
Curve To Space Behind
Options in and around the box have been scarce mainly because the AI in previous versions of FIFA only really made runs in straight lines.
This meant that that to find space without bumping into defenders, attackers runs often took them away from goal and out of danger areas.
In FIFA 13, because the AI is evaluating the whole run they’ll now curve in behind defenders to run into that valuable space where they can do some damage.
This will create a tonne of new options around the box and considerably increase the types of goals you can create.
FIFA 13 AI Thinks 2 Plays Ahead
In a bid to make AI think more like real footballers in FIFA 13 they’ll now think 2 plays ahead.
This means that they’ll now work hard to support players that the ball might come to next, not just the ball carrier.
It dramatically increases the flow of the game by creating lots more natural passing options.
Until now AI players held their positions and waited for play to progress to them before becoming active.
The FIFA 13 AI improvements mean that players will now evaluate scenarios and anticipate which players are likely to receive the ball and bust a gut to provide support.
But What About the Defence AI?
Despite the blistering reception the improved FIFA 13 Attacker Intelligence received there was an air of apprehension as to how the defensive AI would hold up against these new, highly intelligent attackers.
We were reassured by the fact that the attacking intelligence would be dependent on players attributes (for example Attacker Positioning) and players at different levels would obviously have different abilities.
Short term fatigue would also be factored into the equation.
EA’s gameplay producer, Aaron McHardy assured us that the defensive AI held up well and the defenders will still track runs the same whatever the attackers motive.
Again we’re reminded that “Balance is key!”
FIFA 13 AI Improvements Summary
FIFA 13 AI is smarter. Runs are decisive and aggressive and space is used a lot more intelligently.
Build up play is going to feel a whole lot more natural and you’ll notice a new level of fluidity to your game.
The movement provided by the FIFA 13 AI improvements will create much more freedom and unlock countless new ways to build attacks.
It will open up a huge variety of the types of goals you can score.
We’re sure that this move to re-engineer the FIFA 13 AI will be an enormously welcome addition to FIFA fans everywhere!
Let us know what you think!
Editorial Opinion to follow.
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Must see this is one element of Fifa that has driven me mad,players just run and stop,,,,like it`s time for a cup of tea for them….I have read all your info on Fifa 13 and as always ultimate Fifa jsut gives me the information I am looking,,,good work on getting this out Graig….cheeers
We say some video of the AI in action of the FIFA 13 test bed and it looked really encouraging! Hopefully attacking build up play will feel a lot more natural.
Thanks for the kind words too – really appreciated.
How about giving pc fans complete freedom of choosing the keys and not restricting them to a few possible. How abt making the controls a bit managable for PC fan. It is a masterpiece on joypad, but many pc fans, like me, like to clutter with keyboard keys!
Pls make the player mode better, a little bit drama
È la solita minestra costosa, paghi il gioco che resta pressoche lo stesso si rinovva solo il database dei giocatori,poi la solita truffa con i
pacchetti lo happy hour (presa per i fondelli),per non parlare
delle partite online ‘taroccate’ perchè i clienti sono tanti,
bisogna far vincere tutti,in fin dei conti devono vendere il loro
prodotto.
Speriamo che con PES si riprendano il mercato,la concorrenza è
la medicina migliore e il 2013 sarà il momento giusto.
Non lo comprate, fate bene i conti non costa circa 70 euro.
poi si tratta si aria fritta.
Would it be possible if you could add some ‘scandals” in manager mode, just to make things more interesting /realistic, loving the new developments keep it up fifa!
what about improving the defense. The fact that no one marks and that players wait for the ball to come to them instead of attacking the ball when heading.