Well said. Agree, especially with: “eye candy doesn’t fix broken mechanics.”
EA, if you’re really reading all of these comments then that is the line I’ve seen in here that I would most want you take to heart — “eye candy doesn’t fix broken mechanics.” If you want FC Mobile to be more than a football-themed slot machine for winning player cards then you have GOT to fix the game mechanics — not with superficial/cosmetic tweaks like these most recent “improvements,” but with a more fundamental overhaul. Most of us don’t want to throw away our hard-earned money on a slot machine, but if the matchplay is realistic and consistently fun then the player cards become much more appealing (i.e., valuable). I, for one, wouldn’t hesitate to spend a few bucks on players if the matchplay felt consistent, realistic, and fair. However, as it stands, matchplay is so erratic (whether due to poor ping, bizarre AI, or other issues) that there are seriously diminished returns on paying for better players.
The feedback on this thread (and numerous others since the update — including in Bug Reports and elsewhere in General Discussion) is pretty consistent and unequivocal. (1) Ping (which was a serious point of pain before) has spiked ever since the update and is seriously degrading already inconsistent H2H play. Lag/latency can no longer be swept under the carpet and HAS to be addressed. (2) The so-called “improvements” don’t address the fundamental matchplay issues most concerning the community (put simply, they are superficial at best). There seems to be a general air of a bemusement from many posters because they feel EA is wanting credit for “improvements” that most users didn’t actually ask for, while neglecting much more fundamental issues. For example, one only needs to watch a Manager Mode simulation to see how unrealistic/nonsensical the AI defending is. So when EA asks whether tackling is “sharper” it kind of feels like it’s missing the forest for the trees. (3) Finally, many users don’t feel the “improvements” fully address the issues they purport to fix. For example, making a lofted ball stay in the air longer might mean it’s abused less on kickoffs, but might (unintentionally) make it a less valuable tool in other aspects of the game. In saying this, I don’t think it follows that EA should spend all it’s time and energy tweaking kickoffs (for example) when there are bigger, more pervasive issues that need attention. I’m simply summarizing what I generally see in the comments.
To me, the upshot is this: This sort of frank, real-time dialogue is overdue. Many of us post in here consistently and we seldom hear an acknowledgement or reply. That’s water under bridge. But if EA is truly earnest going forward about this being a two-way conversation then I would suggest that EA_Pulsar (or one of the CMs) reply in the next couple of days with a summary of what EA feels it has heard from us, thereby affording the community a chance to confirm and/or clarify. This would help (1) make the community feel like we’re really being heard (and that EA is simply “hearing only what it wants to hear”) and (2) avoid misunderstandings and prevent EA from wasting time on fixes/improvements that aren’t major priorities of the community. I admit that I’ve been super frustrated with (and critical of) EA’s lack of responsiveness in the past, but I would truly welcome a productive, two-way ongoing dialogue to make FC Mobile more fun and a better reflection of the sport we all love.
Community Manager
