FIFA 18 will set new standards in gameplay. Players should react faster to your input.
A new engine, a new story mode – FIFA 17 introduced major innovations in the FIFA series. FIFA 18 is unlikely to match these innovations. Instead, this year’s FIFA installment aims to build on the foundation of FIFA 17 and improve the most important aspect: What happens on the pitch.
According to EA Sports, FIFA 18 makes the biggest leap in gameplay innovation. Thanks to “Real Player Motion Technology,” there is a new animation system in the game that aims to achieve a new level of “responsiveness.” In German, this term is translated as “Reaktionstempo.” It means that players react more directly and immediately to what you input on your controller.
vg247 spoke with Matt Prior, the producer of FIFA 18, about this innovation regarding responsiveness.
Every step is an opportunity for a new action
This is a wish that many FIFA fans have high on their wishlist: “When I press the pass button, the player should pass!”
The phrase “I pressed the button!” has surely been shouted by every FIFA player at some point.
With FIFA 18, this responsiveness should improve. Players are promised to react faster to your input, according to Prior. Every step represents an opportunity to change direction and execute a new action. You no longer have to rely on predetermined animations that start and finish.
Because when such an animation is running, as a player you have no control over the character. You have to wait until it has finished before the player can react.
According to Prior, everything has been done for FIFA 18 to improve player movements. They should react directly and not first trigger animations.
In theory, players in FIFA 18 react faster than before when you press a button. However, the size of the players on the pitch is also taken into account: Tall players with long legs take larger steps and therefore take longer to react. A Messi or a Griezmann, on the other hand, are “more responsive.”
How “noticeably” this new feature actually improves gameplay will be revealed to us at the latest with the demo launch of FIFA 18. Then we can test the new mechanics in detail.
