Update

Fifa 13 Scripting - Post 12

Just thought I would update you all on my findings so far and the set up I am currently running with.

I have just finished winning Division 1 back to back and it was by far the easiest one yet. That's not to say it was easy to win it was just easier than usual because of the changes I have made.

Using my own experience and of the comments by other readers of this blog I created the below team.

GK: Lloris

LB: Cole

CB: Koscielny

CB: Kompany

RB: Richards

CDM: Tiote

CDM: Garcia

CAM: Mata

CF: Suarez

CAM: Nasri

ST: Balotelli

Manager: None

80 Rating | 4.5 Stars | 99 Chemistry | formation 4-2-3-1

This set up gives me a team full of good players but more importantly it keeps me at 4.5 stars and because I don't have a manager under 100 chemistry. This way any team I come up against that has 5 stars, a higher rating, a higher chemistry or any combination of the 3 makes the game think my team is the underdog and the scripting goes in my favour.

As another added bonus I have one non-rare player being Koscielny this also gives me an advantage over players with a full strength rare team.

For those of you that think I blame all my losses on scripting take a look at the below screenshots. These were taken at 11:30am GMT on Wednesday 19th December 2012.

 

You could argue my record is quite impressive but yet I have still made this blog about scripting affecting games. This blog is not here as an excuse for losses it is here to make a point that it exists whether it contributes to you losing or assists you in winning.

If you compare the quality of the Real/Barca hybrid team I have previously talked about then on paper that team was far better. However, this team I have now has become easily the most productive. 

So much for an "Ultimate Team" don't you think?

Conclusions

Fifa 13 Scripting - Post 9

So I have come to the conclusion now that EA have practically ruined FUT.

I spent last night trying different team setups and I can confirm that if you create a weaker team the play is more favourable to you. However, there is a limit don't make it too weak because your players just won't be able to handle the opposition.

Then this got me to thinking what is the point in playing?

I just don't get it, why would EA think it is a good idea to create a game mode that encourages you to build an "Ultimate Team" and then limit your players abilities because your team is better than the oppositions - Is it just me or is that just completely idiotic?

If you want proof look at some of the FIFA youtubers that have created videos playing with an entire squad made up of TOW or TOY players and actually getting beat convincingly by basic 79 rated teams. Don't get me wrong most of the youtubers arent actually that skilled at FIFA they just make good videos but they aren't exactly crap. With a team like what they had it should be a convincing win not a loss.

What is the point in having a competitive game available if all that happens when you start winning is that your abilities drop and you are forced to lose a game because your opponent isnt that good.

We all pay good money to play this game and prove our abilities online against others around the world, it's all about the testosterone driven desire to be the best. EA have taken this away completely this year and we are now all dependant on whether the game wants us to do well or not.

Imagine any competitive sport where one player starts to play better than the other and then the powers that be decide it's becoming unfair and handicap the team in control. There would be uproar so why should it be any different on FIFA 13?

I'm sure there has got to be something a bit illegal about what they have done this year especially if we are paying money into FUT but not actually receiving what we paid for because of the limitations.

Thoughts?

As usual spread the word leave a comment.

Forum Post

Fifa 13 Scripting - Post 8


I know I said I was taking a few days off before I carried on with this but someone posted a comment on one of the forums and I believe it sums this FIFA 13 Scripting issue perfectly.

"If you dont think scripting is in the game then you're entitled to your opinion. I think it does exist and these are the reasons....

In most of my offline ultimate team matches I play i end up scoring between 2 and 5 goals by the 80th minute depending on the difficulty. I can almost always guarantee that the computer will score a consolation goal in the last 5 - 10 minutes of the match. I dont suddenly become complacent or worse at the game, the scripting raises the cpu stats/intensity/attack rate by an amount and probably reduces my players abilities. If you cant notice this then u arent playing the same game. I dont care what u say about EA trying to make it realistic etc and players getting complacent if they're winning in the final stages of a match, that shouldnt come into the game because it is a game and WE control the players. I dont want my soldier on COD missing his targets cos hes tired, or pissed off, or hes demoralized that soldiers get shit wages or something I want to control the game!

On ultimate team when playing online I slowly began to build a better team, but once my team reached level 85 they began playing like a piece of shit, im talking 30% posession a game. AND IM NOT PLAYING ANY DIFFERENTLY THAN I USUALLY DO! I agree that possibly the team couldve began lacking some balance in some way but not that much since the players I bought, in theory should have improved my team. And guess what, I sold that team and bought an average team with scott parker, hernandez and toite etc then put some bronze players on the bench to make it level 75. These guys play like their lives depend on it! I won the division 1 trophy 4 times and actually named my team "handicap team." Next I thought, ok I'll splash out on gareth bale, give me a bit of pace on the left midfield and Im a big fan of his in real life. Big surprise, my WHOLE team start playing like they're blind and obese so I sold him and my team went back to playing great again.

My point is EA have this system to make money, they are well known to be the greediest game publisher ever to exist. If you have a good team they will limit its ability in order for you to get annoyed and think u need to improve and maybe buy more packs, or even your first pack, they dont give a shit aslong as you buy packs. If you have a crap team then what will happen is the stats will get boosted until your team reaches a good level then they even it out just to piss you off and make u think "maybe my team needs strengthening" and go buy a pack or two. This is due to the fact you got so pissed off that you gave away that 3 - 0 lead because your players suddenly started moving really slowly and passing to the opposition and their goalkeeper has better reactions that a cat on speed. Also they want crap players to keep playing, not to give up after they lose 15 games on the trott which would happen if the handicapping wasnt in the game. Fifa can be the most infuriating game, not because Im crap at it, which im not, im average, infact i dont actually know how good I am at it because it all depends on whether my players are half asleep or not which i have no control over. I know on seasons I usually win, probably because of the lack of handicap (no packs in that game mode!) Its so obvious and has really put me off the buying another fifa game. Also they ban anyone who mentions handicapping/scripting on their forums, and a disgruntled employee of EA posted a screen shot of players intensity in a match depending on the score which atleast proves momentum exists anyway."

Do you agree?

Weak vs Strong - The Results

Fifa 13 Scripting - Post 7

So I have spent a little time trying out the idea behind wax[]'s comment of how weaker teams at a certain rating actually have momentum in their favour.

I dropped my team down to 79 rating and removed my manager to allow for a 96 chemistry with some other adjustments in formation etc.

My first match was against an all German, Bundesliga team with some quality players so I knew that this was going to be a good test. The match kicked off and I felt in control, my players moved with fluidity and I was creating chances regularly. He went 1-0 up but that was my own mistake that caused the goal. I came back into it straight away and scored right from kick off. Final score ended 3-1 to me.

Now this guy I played was alright but I could tell by his build up play he had just pumped a lot of money into the game to get the team he wanted and he hadn't actually worked for it. The cracks started to appear in his game straight away and I then exploited them for the win.

I carried on playing and conceding due to my own questionable defending but still winning. I felt like I was having a bad day like every player does but somehow no matter how bad I was playing I was still getting the result and even more importantly the 3 points.

It was a good feeling but seeing as I was playing poorly and my oppenents didn't seem good enough to capitalise on it I didn't feel as if I was testing this theory to its full potential.

As a result of the quality of my play taking a dip I felt like taking a break from FIFA and seeing as my copy of Assassins Creed 3 had finally arrived it felt like the perfect time. So I switched off FIFA with a plan to resume in the next couple of days.

As usual leave a comment and spread the word.

Weak vs Strong

Fifa 13 Scripting - Post 6

Another section of this momentum debate (which is what it has become on the forums) is the possibility that a weak team on Ultimate Team actually has more of an advantage over teams that are stronger.

For example a team with 3 or 4 bronze or silver players playing against a high rated gold team actually always seems to have momentum on their side to balance the game. The weaker team will play stronger than usual and the stronger team will play weaker.

Numerous times players have told me they have beat a strong gold team with their starter bronze team not because they were better but just because no matter what the opposition did they just couldn't score. Either this is because the bronze keeper becomes superhuman or the attackers just miss every opportunity.

An interesting example was raised by one of the readers of this blog the full comment can be found here (opens in a new window) but I have chosen a section of it below.

"Since I noticed that it was harder to control de ball with the bronze players, I started to experiment with chemistry so that the overall rate of my team could be lower without giving away my gold players, I was really impress to discover that my gold team played much better without a manager and with the chemistry of 96, than when they had a manager and a chemistry of 100, I have managed to have a gold team with good players rated 174, team rated 79 with chemistry of 96, I did that by having three bronze players rated at 40 on the bench and moving my cf to play as st, so they still have the green lines between them, but the chemistry gets a little lower specially because I did not use a manager, all I can tell you is that since I did that, the force is with me, I almost never get screwed by the CPU and my team plays much better" - wax[]

This is something I have never directly attempted to do but it does make sense to things I have experienced in the past.

I have found from building my team from scratch and working up through the divisions every time I play a better team I seem to do well either winning comfortably or drawing when, on paper at least, I should have lost. However, as soon as my team becomes far superior as in the case of my Barcelona/Real Madrid hybrid my matches became to be more and more difficult.

It was actually easier to play when I had weak links in my team.

What are your thoughts on this?

As usual leave a comment and spread the word.