FC is better this year and it burns a bit more: criticism and wish list
Reposting because I just now realize I posted it on the wrong board. Whoops...
I want to try and be constructive, because I hope that someone with insights can answer me, and also, as a beginner game developer myself, I know that making games is hard. Also, English isn't my mother tongue, and I will be using AI when I am dead, so please forgive some imperfections. With that much said, let's begin.
I'm gonna be a contraian and say that I like the gameplay core, expecially on authentic setting. And this is why this year burns a bit more.
Because it's one thing to have a straight up rubbish year with no potential (I am looking at you, FIFA 19), but this year the potential is there, and having untapped potential to me feels worse than having a straight up bad game.
Gameplay related issues have been mentioned so many times I won't waste time reiterating points made by so many other players.
And again, I overall do like the gameplay. Sure, I wish that you wouldn't need sliders to have an acceptable level of challenge once you start to become a more advanced player, but I am also grateful for them being there. Oh, here's a nitpick, I wish there were more slider presets, maybe taken from the community: online there's some REAL good slider presets for all kind of different experiences. Most people don't know that, unfortunately.
Then there is the sleugh (Is it the right word? Too lazy to check) of UI bugs that riddle the Career modes. I think that everything that is not the core gameplay engine should probably be scrapped and redone, there's way too many issues and limitations with the current systems that disallow the game being at its fullest (There is a hardcoded reason why there can't be too many leagues in Career mode, I'm looking at you, compdata files). My wet dream is that EA can pull a page from what OG Assetto Corsa did, making a separate .exe from launcher and core game. This allowed the community to develop a custom launcher which was way better than the original. Imagine how a passionate community could exploit this concept.
The biggest problem I have this year is actually with the roster: it's way too small. I don't know if EA is terrified of having non licensed teams, but considering FM has a real high risk of fumbling this year, being able to have more national teams and leagues to choose from would boost potential manager careers by A LOT, and give EA the potential of tapping in a market of people who would otherwise not be captivated by FC's career offering.
Why is there no Brazilian NT? Sure, the federation license might be a KONAMI exclusive, but if you have the license to FIFPro, why not just putting the 23 best brazilians in a national team with a fake logo or just the brazilian flag? Older games did it with other national teams, why not now?
The thing that baffles me is that I don't really think it would require THAT much more effort and budget that a company like EA can't improve on this.
The detailed simulation makes me think that EA is thinking about this, and I really hope to see steps towards this goal the next year. For now I'll enjoy FC 26, which I reiterate, i do like. But I will be gritting my teeth thinking "What could have been.."
Finally, maybe more of a nitpick: Classic teams. Like, I don't know, Italy 2006, FC Lombardia 2010, Arsenal 2004, Brazil 2002, that sort of thing. Maybe could rip a page from WWE 2K and go full Showcase mode, maybe with different themes each year, or something. Imagine being able to replay that World Cup or Champions League final, for example... If they even included classic stadiums it would probably be worth it even if they were DLCs.
So, yeah this is it. Thanks everyone for reading, hope y'all have a fantastic evening. And if someone from EA reads this and has insights, I am curious of what those could be.
