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TAZ · Member Joined: 27 Oct 2002 Forum ID: 108

Seeing the screen shot under another topic brought up several gameplay questions. I know that the easy answer is "wait and see", but I am being swept up in the hype after seeing the screen shot.

The thing that stuck out in my mind was that I didn't see a referee on the field or assistants on the sidelines. This begs the following questions:

-Do the forwards make runs from offside positions? If so, does the defense get a restart?

-Do defenders engage in foul play?

-Are there professional (cynical) fouls to disrupt the flow of a high powered offense?

I basically want to know the extent to which the game resembles top flight football, or is it more like rec league--"love of the game"--purist stuff?

Chawag86 · Posted: Sun Oct 27, 2002 1:26 pm Post subject: Re: Some game play questions

Commissioner · Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2002 11:05 pm Post subject: Re: Some game play questions

TAZ · Member Joined: 27 Oct 2002 Forum ID: 108

I have been following the football thread from the other forums over to this one. I know that there has been discussion in the past about formation--and more importantly, changing formation--in the past. However, at that time, I got the impression that everything was still up for grabs.

My questions are as follows:

-What are the choices of formation to begin a game? There are a rediculous number of permutations that are technically possible. As we all know, a good number of them are absurd and can be neglected. How many of them made the cut?

-Is it possible to change formation (or what I am really driving at is strategy) based on the score of the game?

My sense is that game play will be like BB--you get a starting lineup and that is it. But I don't know if I am intellectually satisfied with that. In essence, FB is not BB. Poaching a goal on the road and then bunkering in is a pillar of top flight football. Is this sort of tactical adjustment even possible?

I'm not naive enough to believe that SB FB will be (or should be) everything that we see every Saturday. At the same time, I think that SB BB is satisfying because it captures the essential elements of the real game. Unfortunately, from an AI stand point, this is much simpler for BB than FB. I mean, in BB, your defense ALWAYS tries to prevent the other team from scoring. Then the offense ALWAYS tries to score as many runs as possible. However, in FB, since offense and defense are interchangeable, a priorty must be given to each. Furthermore, that priority will generally change over the course of a match.

I hope someone with knowledge of the game in its current form can shed some light. Like everyone else, I'm really looking forward to the new game. I just hope that the AI is complex enough to be satisfying. I would hate to see a team that bunkers in at the start, not press forward if the opponent breaks through to get one or two; and I wouldn't want to see a team that happened to nick one give up an equalizer because they continued to press. That just wouldn't make any sense.

Commissioner · Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2002 12:59 pm Post subject:

There are currently 7 formations from which you may choose:

3-4-3
4-4-2
3-5-2
4-3-3
3-3-4
5-4-1
4-5-1

(forward to the right)

No, you will not be able to change formations during the game. At its core its a SmallBall game, not your typical sports game.

I think the AI is amazing so far (but of course I am biased) but I suspect die hard fans will find some flaws.

We'll just have to see what you think when you try it for yourself.

Surprised

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TAZ · Member Joined: 27 Oct 2002 Forum ID: 108

I have been spying on the Alpha testing forum for clues. I get the impression that there is an objective scale for player skills. I am guessing that the format is similar to the way "mood" is handled in BB.

-Am I correct to say that players skills can be sorted relative to each other in addition to being compared to an objective scale?

That would be HUGE! I think that is a great feature that would allow a much deeper insight into a players abilities (and disabilities). The obvious follow-up is can we have the same thing in BB when FB is up and running?

dancinns · Member Joined: 29 Oct 2002 Location: CA Forum ID: 137

I don't know if this has been answered but how long are games expected to last? How long are the halves, 45 minutes? Is there overtime? Shootouts? Golden goals?

TAZ · Member Joined: 27 Oct 2002 Forum ID: 108

Please, oh please, just let draws stand! I can't stand any more of the Americanized overtime balogna. If a match ends on level terms, that should be it.

I'm hoping that since SB is calling it "football" instead of "soccer", we'll get the real deal.

gameshark · Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2002 4:32 pm Post subject:

it ends in draws

TAZ · Member Joined: 27 Oct 2002 Forum ID: 108

I want to bump a question that I asked a couple days ago that didn't get addressed.

What is the deal with the color code for skills in FB? Is it available for all skills in the same way that only mood is available in BB now? Where blue is bottom-of-the-barrel and white is "maxed out"?

This is the impression that I have gotten from eaves dropping on the alfa testing forum. An objective skill rating would be a huge tool for understanding your players as well as your team as a whole.

Please forgive me as I digress from my own point, but imagine if that were available in BB (and I hope that it will be soon). Teams playing in FOX park could see if their team really is fast all the way around the field, regardless of how they stack up against each other.

Either FB or BB, an objective skill rating would not only help a manager learn about his team. It would help to make them the team that he wants them to be.

I would appreciate the insight of a tester. What are the facts? Is it as big a deal as I'm suggesting, or is it not that helpful after all?

nmshooter

TAZ · Member Joined: 27 Oct 2002 Forum ID: 108

So is it a big bonus or no big deal?

nmshooter · Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2002 8:19 pm Post subject: Re: Thumbs up or down?

Geezer · Expert Joined: 24 Oct 2002 Location: UK Forum ID: 22

Games are 10 minutes, 5 a half,
Yes games can end in draws,
Yes skills can be sorted individually as well as all players by 'Average Skill' and yes having cream/white in a skill is a biggie.
And yes blue is rock bottom, although now I've been training for over a month i only have 4 blues on my whole team... all in reaction Rolling Eyes

Also i don't know if anyone remembers but baseball had this colour feature a long time ago but they opted for grey all round so that users had to pay more attention blah de blah, but I'm happy now skill icons returned to football Smile

It's definately not as complex as some of the questions you asked but the core game is still there, just without fouls which imho is a bit of a shame but I am sure most ppl will like it like this. Although offside has been recently implemented which is a definite bonus because i was fed up of having goal hangers win the game.

So.. any more questions Mr. Green