A new animation engine elevates matchdays with far most realistic dribbling and player movement.
A brand new pressing system brings a new level of intelligence, unlocking smarter decision making and realism.
The new Wide Centre Back role replicates the latest tactical innovation allowing you to turn defence into attack.
NEW ANIMATION ENGINE
In FM21, off the ball animations were significantly improved with a new locomotion system, but it led to a disconnect in quality between on the ball and off the ball animations.
One of the main points of focus for the animation engine was to build a new system built around the new addition of root motion.
This means the movement of 3D models is now based off of the animation of their skeleton which gives a much broader range of movements to the 3D models in-game.
The previous animation engine tied players to the 2D discs that formed the basis of our switch from the 2D to 3D view.
With the new animation engine, players can move off those discs to give themselves more flexibility of movement and motion and it allows them to make more realistic touches on the ball too.
You’ll immediately notice that players move much more naturally and realistically than before. Players 'sliding' or 'ice skating' is a thing of the past in FM22.
Also improved the AI decision-making when dribbling and added in a whole new range of dribbling animations as well, as players are more aware of the ball at their feet than ever before.
You’ll see much more variety now when players turn on the ball and look to cut inside – some of these are subtle additions but there are some major new movements that have been added such as Cruyff turns.
BRAND NEW PRESSING SYSTEM
The main defensive development this year has been an overhaul to the pressing system in the game.
Added pressing triggers as part of a complete overhaul of the existing pressing system. This means that players on the defending team have much greater awareness of when they should and shouldn’t press.
Everything is much more closely linked to your defensive team instructions which now dictate the angle that players will go and press the ball.
Each player now has the concept of their sprint capacity so they know when they have the energy to press and when they need to conserve energy and drop back into their tactical position.
Each player's sprint capacity is based on their stamina attribute so it's more crucial than ever to implement training sessions around fitness and conditioning if you’re going to play a Gegenpress style.
If you have a squad that is lacking stamina then playing a Gegenpress system over the course of 90 minutes isn’t the best idea in FM22.
Refined defensive shape and structure as part of the pressing overhaul.
There's also a new opposition instruction built around pressing triggers that you can use to target players in the opposition backline who are weak on the ball.
FURTHER AI ENHANCEMENTS
The match AI in FM22 has taken another step forward with a suite of upgrades that make them the most intelligent in the series' history.
The most significant overhaul is on accuracy and inaccuracy, making sure that the number of errors on shots, passes and headers is more realistic compared to real-life data.
Rebalanced the way that the length and difficulty of a pass affects the accuracy so, for example, long-range through balls will have less chance of finding their target.
The way under hit and overhit passes look in the match is also significantly improved.
Errors have been applied to first touches for the first time, so it’ll be more obvious when players have overhit or mistimed their first touch.
This all leads to a more realistic representation of how possession and momentum shifts over the course of a match.
Also revised the way that the overlapping and underlapping team instructions work in the match engine, not just for players on the ball but also how players off the ball react and operate around players overlapping or underlapping.
WIDE CENTRE-BACKS
You’ll be able to use Wide Centre-Backs as part of any defence with three central defenders and will include the ability to set attack, support and defend duties to the role.
They’ll often position themselves at the base of your attacking triangles in wide areas.
The rest of the team will adapt its shape to prevent themselves from being overexposed to counter-attacks when you’re using the Wide Centre-Back role.
Implemented a large number of positional rotations for different situations to ensure that players will respond logically to the Wide Centre-Back role, regardless of the system you’re playing.
ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS
For those of you who prefer to play with the 2D match view, added a new feature to auto adjust the zoom level based on the dimensions of the pitch.
Whether you play in the 2D or 3D view, you'll benefit from more variation in the commentary around the most common match events.
Source: Official blog
