The latest v1.6 update brings major improvements to goalkeeper behaviour, defensive shape, physical play, headers, restarts and CPU decision-making, alongside a rebuilt Tuning Pack.
🧤 Keepers Come Out
This was one of the hardest behaviours to solve. Keepers previously stayed on their line and waited, with attempts to change their behaviour having little effect. The game was ultimately found to use a goalkeeper behaviour tier, with the default tier ignoring aggressive settings.
- Reads the runner, steps out and commits at his feet.
- Comes out on angled attacks too, not only through the middle.
- Dives for balls he is not going to reach, making the goalmouth feel more alive.
- Holds a slightly higher starting position instead of constantly living on his line.
🛡️ Defending Built Around Shape
- Fullbacks hold their zone instead of chasing a winger inside.
- Midfielders cover across the pitch, making the diagonal runner a midfield responsibility.
- The deep midfielder tracks a runner all the way back and remains involved in the second press.
- Defenders step out for players coming at them rather than following players running past them.
- The CPU continues pressing inside its own half.
🔨 Fouls and Physical Play
- Contact is assessed more accurately, so challenges that deserve a whistle are more likely to receive one.
- Tackle intensity varies by team and match situation, with some games becoming noticeably scrappier.
- Shoulder duels last longer and carry more physical weight.
- Shielding is rewarded, making the ball carrier harder to dispossess with a simple bump.
- Winning the ball manually is less automatic than before.
🎯 Headers Split in Two
- Headed shots are sharper, with strikers meeting crosses more accurately.
- Headed passes are deliberately looser.
- Knockdowns and clearances are more likely to drop into open space instead of finding a teammate automatically.
- This creates more second balls on the ground and encourages midfield battles.
⏱️ Restarts Closer to the Modern Game
- Goal kicks and throw-ins are taken more quickly.
- Goalkeepers waste less time before putting the ball into play.
- Corners and free kicks remain unchanged, giving players time to get into the box.
⚡ The Rest
- CPU shooting from distance is more powerful.
- CPU vision has been improved when selecting passes.
- Free kicks now have more realistic pace from players who are not dead-ball specialists.
- Goalkeepers are more willing to kick long instead of always rolling the ball out.
- Match ball weight and air drag have been tuned for a more realistic feel.
- Fatigue-driven injuries favour knocks rather than substitutions.
- Losing teams continue trying to play instead of simply fading out of matches.