FIFA 19 Discussion (Console Versions)

[Topaz]

Thanks so much for all these previews guys, really appreciate it.

I keep going from hyped to "oh no the AI is going to be too easy" (@mfmaxpower), to "woah they've actually fixed quite a few little issues with Manager Mode" (@Redhat), to "it looks way too fast" (@Mikhail), to "the build-up play sounds beautiful" (@talucchesi)... Now another positive review from you @FootieGamer!

How am I supposed to feel?!!!?!

I am exactly on the same boat as you are. Trying to read all these different reviews where people contradict each other. However one thing most of them have in common are that bigger teams are harder to beat this year and tactics actually do matter for CPU. I really want to play with tactics on FIFA 19 and put weaker teams on long ball and see if they do tiki taka.

 

[JUNELELE]

I think all feedback should come with details on what mode/settings/difficulty you play lol, there are so many different ways to play the game that some valid points become moot in light of different settings.

For the speed I debate, I don't know. I assume some peoples opinion has something to do assisted settings, or maybe people don't have god chem/boosts in FUT yet. Because for me 18 was the slowest fifa this generation, and 19 is noticeably faster than 18 by a little bit.

I had a few more games yesterday. The shooting is atrocious right now. I'm hitting belters from everywhere with little error, there is severely less importance about body positioning and timing. Even on manual settings I am not expericing much joy scoring goals because I know in past games such shots would fly into row Z or be saved, whereas now my first time long rangers can be easily be kept low, and normal shots has ridiculous power on them. I do trust this will be changed for launch just because it's too ridiculous right now, and also I remember in previous years shooting was way OP in beta/demo (?) and it got toned down for release.

 

[VuZet]

If they don't implement the same night lighting for all types of matches (not CL only), I won't buy this game. Night CL games look 1000% better than normal games. It's not that washed out and dully. What the FUCK EA Sports do with the lighting? Why they change it regularly? Why they put some weird yellowish, greenish, redish, shitish colour effect on the game? The size of ball is something I don't even want to start commenting.. It's not point to come back to this topic over and over again.. I don't know if they are all blind there or it's an mechanical problem, but it's a SHAME.

 

[DerleiPT]

coz you play CM , CTT tactic works perfect for Kick off / quick match and there is huge difference between Burnley or Crystal palace and teams like Man city or Arsenal. Arsenal like to play like Barcelona with short pass nad almost zero long balls and Burnley or Crystal palace most of the time like to spamm with long balls. I dont know why CTT doesnt work in CM. Somebody need to report this . Thats why i dont want to play CM and for last months i play only friendly/ kick off

 

[PotatoCouch]

How do people get their hands on beta code?

 

[Xav1]

THE game looks decent. hmm

 

[P34SEMM]

I’m not impressed with what I’ve see. Gameplay wise.
FIFA’s presentation is of course amazing.
Not sure how anyone thinks visually/graphically Fifa is better than pes.
I love FIFA’s menus and ease of getting to what you want

 

[Gunslinger]

By golly, this game looks and sounds the part. Looking forward to downloading the demonstration so I can see how it plays.

 

[mfmaxpower]

Thanks so much for all these previews guys, really appreciate it.

I keep going from hyped to "oh no the AI is going to be too easy" (@mfmaxpower), to "woah they've actually fixed quite a few little issues with Manager Mode" (@Redhat), to "it looks way too fast" (@Mikhail), to "the build-up play sounds beautiful" (@talucchesi)... Now another positive review from you @FootieGamer!

How am I supposed to feel?!!!?!

Definitely depends on the mode people are playing.

For example, my biggest issue is how easy it is to score and beat the CPU. This isn't opinion - I literally had not lost or been kept to a cleansheet until losing to Chelsea in a cup match yesterday 3-1 (it was awesome!).

But I've run up against arguments in the beta forums - me arguing there's too many easy goals; them arguing no there's not - and then we realize they're talking about FUT and I'm talking about single player. (Also, the slide-tackle that @FootieGamer mentioned is a real thing, but only in FUT.)

If you're not someone who found 18 too easy, or if you like to use sliders to make it more difficult, then you should be pumped. The better defending against the CPU, all the little bits of class they've added, the custom tactics, and the huge improvements in how the CPU plays, for me, make this a potentially special FIFA.

 

[[-Slayer-]]

Presentation and cutscenes seem pretty cool and "new gen", but when the match starts, it still anoys me, unfortunately. Ball physics and running movements keep unrealistic for me (i'm not a hater, i played FIFA from 07 to 17). I'm impressed by the visuals, but the gameplay didnt catch me. Also the "cutscenes" dont match with the graphics on the pitch, its really strange.

 

[Sami 1999]

I’m not impressed with what I’ve see. Gameplay wise.
FIFA’s presentation is of course amazing.
Not sure how anyone thinks visually/graphically Fifa is better than pes.
I love FIFA’s menus and ease of getting to what you want

Well, I find fifa visually better because of the cloth physics. Pes doesn't even come close to fifa in that. Then again, I'm obsessed with cloth physics. And animations on cutscenes look much better on fifa, especially when running both pes and fifa on 60 fps. Pes cutscene animations look jerky, fast and abnormal.

But faces and lighting on Pes is 10 times better than fifa.

 

[FootieGamer]

After me saying I found Fifa 19 slow, I played a couple of games last night and it was 100mph. Didn't help that there was a bit of lag too.

I think when you play CPU it's a good looking game. When you have 2 humans both sprinting everywhere it doesn't look so classy.

 

[Chris Davies]

I think when you play CPU it's a good looking game. When you have 2 humans both sprinting everywhere it doesn't look so classy.

That was immediately evident in their FUT 2v2 reveal, it looked like kids running around in packs.

Just hoping the AI provides a variable, not-too-easy game...

 

[Chris Davies]

Daft little presentation thing, but I really like this.

 

[Placebo]

That is a nice little touch, presumably (hopefully) it will be implemented further down the leagues, can't wait to play the Scunthorpe v Grimsby shitty ugly town derby!

Watched someone's beta video earlier and it's disheartening how little change/improvement has been done with CM (as expected), zero new features from what I can see, they'll claim UCL/UEL as a new CM feature, it's not, they'll claim the new tactical stuff is a CM new feature, it's not, anything that's added to the core game that then coincidentally adds into CM is not a new fucking CM feature!

Edit: Oh no wait sorry I did see something new in CM, you now get to choose from multiple answers in press conference interviews, I guess that's something, very little but something, lazy fucks just copied and pasted it from last year's journey, but hey...

 

[Chuny]

I don't know whether I'm going to like this FIFA or not yet. But there's definitely a lot of hard work from EA in 19.
Now, it might not be in the areas I would have liked them to work and improve on... I don't know. But I can appreciate the amount of new stuff. Specially in the graphics department. The environment around the stadium, the CL atmosphere. The little cutscenes. The presentations. The draw. that little cinematic with players getting under the bus in their tuxedos. I mean... impressive.
If they can bring a little of that FIFA 16 flavour to all of this, I think I'm sold. Career Mode - The only mode I play - was already very good and with a lot of depth (I don't know what else people expect from this mode). So I'm really looking forward to this game now.

Specially after how disappointing PES have proven to be. It is still a PS2 game at heart, basic. So goddamn basic.
FIFA has SO many layers, everywhere. In every aspect of it. There are layers. You can see feel them. Even when you don't like the fundamental approach they have taken this year or last year, or the year before...

 

[Topaz]

That is a nice little touch, presumably (hopefully) it will be implemented further down the leagues, can't wait to play the Scunthorpe v Grimsby shitty ugly town derby!

Watched someone's beta video earlier and it's disheartening how little change/improvement has been done with CM (as expected), zero new features from what I can see, they'll claim UCL/UEL as a new CM feature, it's not, they'll claim the new tactical stuff is a CM new feature, it's not, anything that's added to the core game that then coincidentally adds into CM is not a new fucking CM feature!

Edit: Oh no wait sorry I did see something new in CM, you now get to choose from multiple answers in press conference interviews, I guess that's something, very little but something, lazy fucks just copied and pasted it from last year's journey, but hey...

They love to add gimmicks feature rather than something the players will find useful. Things like pre-season friendly, negotiation cutscenes, etc. If anything, the press conference will probably have the same option as FIFA 18 but with a cutscene to make it even more tedious and tiresome.

 

[Bond!JamesBond!]

yeah, i see a full year of work here. not 18.5 to me.

 

[bsmaff]

To me CM needs a few improvements, which TBH is the same list of improvements needed since FIFA started.

As I mainly play a career as Exeter.

Proper competition rules, still EA are failing in this area.
I swear they had this in one FIFA years ago - But each club should have "Facilities" so Training / Youth Academy / Ground Development and so fourth
This should then dictate the following:-
Training Grade - a L2 club with 1 star training shouldn't be training players with an A grade, but 5 star should only get an A-C say and not an F when automating the training.
The quality of youth players produced.
The Ground should mean that once your in the Prem with Exeter you can upgrade the ground so your not playing at Town Park - So basically when you upgrade you can change to a different Default ground like Ivy Lane.

There should also be other factors which dictate which players you can sign.. Rather than if I start the game with Exeter give myself a Billion pounds, i should not be able to sign Ronaldo, they would outright refuse.
Football Manager has club reputation which dictates this surely EA could add this too.
Just little things to make a big difference.

Kits should change, L2 badges in the Prem shouldn't be a thing.

One new point though - Remove the carp player negotiation thing it was good twice, but then a chore.

 

[Chris Davies]

I swear they had this in one FIFA years ago - But each club should have "Facilities" so Training / Youth Academy / Ground Development and so fourth
This should then dictate the following:-
Training Grade - a L2 club with 1 star training shouldn't be training players with an A grade, but 5 star should only get an A-C say and not an F when automating the training.

Absolutely bang on. Kills longevity when a first-year investment in a youth scout gives you a team of 18-year-old superstars within a few years, at any level.

Kits should change, L2 badges in the Prem shouldn't be a thing.

I don't know if that's laziness or a license restriction. I really don't.

I've always suspected it's a license thing (you're recreating the kit as-is, including the league badge) - but... In the beta, you can see the Champions League sleeve badges being pasted on top of the previous sleeve badge and/or the sponsor. So for example, something like Everton's "Angry Birds" sleeve logo ends up with a badge slapped over it, so it reads:

A(Badge)Y
B(Badge)S

I refuse to believe it'll be like that in the retail version - and yet... Those sponsor logos aren't stored in separate files, they're just "on" the kit file (same with the PL logos for example), so... Maybe it will be, if they're not going to separate every little sponsor on a shirt into separate files and then code in their position so that the game inserts them dynamically, or not if a different competition badge would obscure it.

 

[mfmaxpower]

I don't know whether I'm going to like this FIFA or not yet. But there's definitely a lot of hard work from EA in 19.
Now, it might not be in the areas I would have liked them to work and improve on... I don't know. But I can appreciate the amount of new stuff. Specially in the graphics department. The environment around the stadium, the CL atmosphere. The little cutscenes. The presentations. The draw. that little cinematic with players getting under the bus in their tuxedos. I mean... impressive.
If they can bring a little of that FIFA 16 flavour to all of this, I think I'm sold. Career Mode - The only mode I play - was already very good and with a lot of depth (I don't know what else people expect from this mode). So I'm really looking forward to this game now.

Specially after how disappointing PES have proven to be. It is still a PS2 game at heart, basic. So goddamn basic.
FIFA has SO many layers, everywhere. In every aspect of it. There are layers. You can see feel them. Even when you don't like the fundamental approach they have taken this year or last year, or the year before...

There's like literally no depth to CM, so no idea what you're referring to. For years now, it's essentially just been playing matches over and over again, with nothing to think about, nothing to manage, nothing to strategize for.

Yes they added melodramatic cutscenes for transfers, but no only do these get old fast, but we're talking about a feature that only comes into play during the transfer windows.

Yes they added player training but does anyone actually bother with the mini games? Cause if you don't - and my lord I can't imagine playing five mini games between every match - then there's nothing to it (not to mention it's OP).

There's press conferences, but all that is is literally pushing a button to choose a selection that no one has ever known whether or how they actually have an impact.

Yes they added a transfer deadline day mechanic which essentially just breaks up a single day into multiple days, but again it's something we only encounter during transfer windows.

The Global Scouting Network feature has always been somewhere between terrible and lackluster, and most people just rely on SoFIFA for scouting.

The new Champions League inclusion is really just new visuals and audio, and like @Placebo says, it's total bullshit calling it a new CM feature when it's not solely for CM.

So... where's the depth?

(Also, whatever new features they may add for 19, including the supposedly new press conferences and manager customization, they're not in the beta. So guess we'll have to wait and see about those.)

 

[Placebo]

They made such a big deal of pre-season tournaments then ruined the addition of them by making your English league 2 team go on a pre-season tournament, as if a League 2 team can afford to go to a pre-season tournament in Dubai or something stupid!

 

[Placebo]

Yes they added a transfer deadline day mechanic which essentially just breaks up a single day into multiple days, but again it's something we only encounter during transfer windows.

They added the mechanic in the usual EA broken way, you make a bid at 9am and it can take until 6pm to get a reply on deadline day FFS! Apparently bids are being sent in by carrier pigeon!

 

[Chuny]

@mfmaxpower
You are looking for innovations. I get it. But for me, CM has had depth for 3 years in a row now. They had it good already 3 years ago, and they have been adding little stuff that are GOOD. Like training players, better scouting, better negotiation system (excluding the tiresome cinematics), now they are adding the whole UEFA package.
Going any further, they might risk becoming a little too arcadey. Or too complex. For example, I wouldn't like to be in charge of the finances (if that's what you're suggesting).

I don't know. Maybe it's just me that value CM because of how poor Master League has been for 5 years in a row now. It makes me appreciate Career Mode a helluva lot more.

 

[Placebo]

They've done nothing to improve the scouting since they added in the scouting network, one year they suddenly decided to add a random search when you start a CM and they claimed that as a feature, it's completely random and doesn't take the squad you have into account, every CM the first thing you have to do is recall that scout!

Adding the U23 games would be a huge improvement for me, being able to move players between senior and U23 squads for reasons of fitness/experience etc, just playing matches between U23 teams in training grounds/parks with 12 men and a dog watching would make a huge different to the atmosphere, and if you can't be bothered to play the matches just let the AI academy manager take charge.

At the very least things like staff recruitment should be a thing again (was it ever?) older players becoming player/coach and things like that, as you get more money being able to hire a better class of coach/assistant, maybe your assistant decides to take a manager's job and you need to find a new assistant. The level of your coaching team should influence how well your squad understands their tactics and roles etc. etc.

 

[Chris Davies]

Something I'd love to know - but I fear I already know the answer - is if players recover less stamina day-to-day in the career mode.

As things stand you never have to rotate your squad. That one change alone would make it infinitely more playable for me - it's made worse by the fact that altering the acceleration slider by a few points affects the stamina a player uses.

 

[Chris Davies]

Kits should change, L2 badges in the Prem shouldn't be a thing.

Woah, bizarre we were talking about this earlier (and I was talking about how badges are appearing on the top of badges/sponsors). The FIFA career mode Twitter guy (@FIFACMnetwork) that @Redhat mentioned just posted this:

EDIT: Something else that's just been brought to my attention thanks to that guy.

The supposedly confirmed "customise your manager" changes, and "answer press conference questions like in the Alex Hunter mode" stuff, isn't there in the beta. Hm.

I don't believe for a second they would produce a beta and leave out new features that will be in the retail release. What's the purpose of a beta otherwise? So. Someone's been fibbing.

 

[Placebo]

Something I'd love to know - but I fear I already know the answer - is if players recover less stamina day-to-day in the career mode.

As things stand you never have to rotate your squad. That one change alone would make it infinitely more playable for me - it's made worse by the fact that altering the acceleration slider by a few points affects the stamina a player uses.

In Fifa19? Would like to know this too, kind of think we used to be able to fix with mods, before they locked everyone out of modding It's getting better and I think CM can be pretty well modded now but not as good as at its peak.

Woah, bizarre we were talking about this earlier (and I was talking about how badges are appearing on the top of badges/sponsors). The FIFA career mode Twitter guy (@FIFACMnetwork) that @Redhat mentioned just posted this:

Talk about doing it in the most amateur way possible! I'm hoping that's a placeholder because that looks worse than not having the badge!

 

[Chris Davies]

Talk about doing it in the most amateur way possible! I'm hoping that's a placeholder because that looks worse than not having the badge!

I can't imagine it'll be like this in retail - the Champions League badges look absolutely mental, placed half over PL badges and half over sponsor logos in some cases.

And yet... As I said when I quoted @bsmaff, from what I understand, it would mean the current kit files (one image, including league badges and sponsors) would all need changing, and a system putting in place where all badges and sponsor logos are contained in separate files and then dynamically inserted onto each kit by the game.

I'd imagine the new kits have been created without the league badges (old kits and rosters are currently in the beta) so I'd imagine they'll be fine. But some sleeve sponsors might interfere, maybe.

 

[Placebo]

Yeah the problem was always that the default league image was baked onto the kit hence it couldn't be changed, all you need is the kits having a plain arm and then the logo is applied each season. I mean we have a modding team that managed to do that for years, your shirt would have different logos for each competition was great!