FIFA 13: Impact Engine

Battle For Possession

The Impact Engine was introduced in last years FIFA 12 but as we all know, there were some well documented issues. When it worked properly it looked and reacted brilliantly but there were some serious flaws which EA are looking to iron out in FIFA 13 as well as building some additional layers on top of the existing engine.

Impact Engine

The Fixes

• The Impact Engine in FIFA 13 has a much better understanding of how to resolve complex collision situations. When players fall on each other, new logic has been added to get players to roll away rather than trying to stand up together.
• Joint tensions and strengths have been realigned from the bottom up to resolve issues with broken limbs and players exploding off one another. In FIFA 12 joints strengths were quite simply too strong, this has now been resolved.
• Referees now have a much better understanding of contact situations and will react much better to collisions and obstruction.

Push Pull

• Push Pull can now happen all over the pitch in FIFA 13 wheras in FIFA 12 it was restricted to only the player with the ball and the defender in contact.
• Players will now be genuinely affected in Push Pull situations and can now be knocked off balance by defenders. This could result in the player losing the ball, a freekick or it could cause an off balance shot or pass.
• A new range of off balance player animations have been added to FIFA 13 to compliment this.
• Defenders now have better decision logic to chose whether it’s more effective to Push or Pull in different situations. For example, defenders will now use their body to step across attackers to push in front of them.
• Referees now have a much better understanding of Push Pull situations.
• New intelligence has been added so that defenders will shield the ball as it runs out of play.
• As a defender in FIFA 13 you need to find a balance between what you can and can’t do to unsettle an opposition player using Push Pull.