Update log
Full Football, Tactics & Glory update
The complete published notes, normalized for clean reading and source attribution.
Extracted changes
- Balance
- Gameplay
- Events
Introduction
In the new World Championship DLC, we have significantly improved the game world simulation: from the AI of non-player clubs to match simulation and the game world economy. But before discussing these changes, it is worth looking back at how the world simulation functioned in previous versions of the game.
If you want to find out about the simulation in the new DLC, skip straight to the final section.
However, the full article reveals interesting details about the world simulation that you might not have known before.
0. Early Access - Primitive Simulation
When the game launched in Early Access in 2015, we focused on two things:
engaging match mechanics;
a satisfying sense of progression from the Amateur League to the Premier League.
Everything else was smoke and mirrors.
This is how the core simulation elements worked:
- CosmeticMatches between AI clubsonly clubs in the player's country play against each other. In other countries, club standings at the end of the season are generated by an algorithm.
Match algorithm for AI clubs - we use a fast-simulation algorithm that calculates the match score based on formations and footballer Attributes. Notably, a weaker team could often beat a stronger one if they had the right Skills and a good formation.
- CosmeticFormations and AI club squadsteams select footballers for matches in a fairly primitive way. Formations are chosen from pre-made templates.
- CosmeticTransfersAI teams do not participate in transfers. When the player sells footballers, they vanish. Footballers on the transfer lists are generated out of thin air.
- CosmeticEconomynon-existent. The entire game balance is built solely around the player's team.
- CosmeticAI club developmentnon-existent. They serve merely as decoration.
Since the game world wasn't "alive", we could easily control team squads to keep them looking realistic and ensure teams always had the necessary footballers.
1. Official Release - World Simulation 1.0
In 2018, we released the first version of a fully-fledged simulation. This was the foundation upon which all future world development was built.
Previously, the game focused on your journey to the top of football with everything else as a mere backdrop; now, the world around you evolves alongside you:
Matches between AI clubs - clubs in the Premier Leagues of other countries on the player's continent now also play against each other. Furthermore, basic statistics for footballers and final league positions are collected.
- CosmeticMatch algorithm for AI clubsno changes.
- CosmeticFormations and AI club squadsteams are now better at selecting footballers for matches. However, the formation selection algorithm remains the same.
- CosmeticTransfersclubs in the player's country buy and sell footballers on the market. Clubs in other countries have their own transfers, hidden from the player.
- CosmeticEconomyclubs in the player's country and in the Premier Leagues of other countries on the continent earn money from matches and spend it on transfers and contract renewals.
AI club development -
all AI footballers gain experience in matches and learn Skills during training. Experience gain varies depending on the club's infrastructure.
AI clubs in Premier Leagues could receive stronger footballers than their Youth Academy level would normally allow, as clubs otherwise couldn't remain competitive over 10-15 seasons.
For the first time, the game world felt alive. However, club development over 15 or more seasons became a major issue for the simulation. The game attempted to simulate development processes relatively honestly while keeping calculations as fast as possible.
This meant that all clubs competed for footballers on the transfer
Source