What are football cultures?
Historically, it has been customary in England to fight for every ball, while in Brazil, showing good ball handling technique is appreciated. These differences are determined by the history of football development in the country and national culture. Thus, these football peculiarities can be called the football cultures of countries.
How will football cultures work in FTGW?
In modern football, there are no longer such stark differences in how footballers play in different countries. But we still watch the World Cup to see how each national team expresses its uniqueness.
Besides, some (or all?) football fans notice that the Spanish La Liga is perceived quite differently from the German Bundesliga.
So, differences in playing style exist, it's just hard to articulate them.
We decided that football cultures will be certain game mechanics that are only available to footballers of a specific nationality. These should be mechanics that are easy to understand and use in a match.
Here's a list of some football cultures currently implemented in our development version and which we are actively testing:
- England (fighting for the ball) - all footballers additionally have a first-level Slide Tackle skill. If a footballer already has Slide Tackle, then the potential of their skills increases.
- Germany (ball possession) - when a footballer uses the Hold action, the Control attribute increases by 30, not 20. Also increases the skill potential (making it harder to take the ball away with a Slide Tackle).
- Spain (tiki-taka) - all footballers additionally have a first-level Layoff Pass skill. If a footballer already has Layoff Pass, then the potential of their skills increases.
- Italy (defence through preventing penetrating passes) - all footballers additionally have a first-level Interception talent (which blocks Long Pass and Layoff Pass). If a footballer already has this talent, then the potential of their skills increases.
- France (strong special classes) - all footballers of special classes have increased skill potential.
- Netherlands (universal football) - all footballers of universal classes (except goalkeepers) have their attributes increased by 30%.
- Belgium (fighting for the ball) - when performing the Tackle action, the footballer's Defense attribute increases by 30%.
- Ukraine (playing through the flanks) - when performing an action from the flank, the footballer's attributes increase by 25%.
- Austria (playing through Lofted passes) - when performing Lofted pass, distance coefficients are reduced, making Lofted passes easier (standard values 25, 35, 60, 110, Austrian values: 15, 25, 50, 95).
- Switzerland (total pressing) - when performing the Pressing action, the opponent's Control is reduced by 25 (instead of 15), and the potential of defence from the skill (Slide Tackle) is reduced twice as much.
- Portugal (long passes) - all footballers additionally have a first-level Long Pass skill. If a footballer already has this skill, then the potential of their skills increases.
- Brazil (all footballers love to feint) - all footballers additionally have a first-level Rainbow Feint skill. If a footballer already has this skill, then the potential of their skills increases.
- Argentina (all footballers love to feint with speed) - all footballers additionally have a first-level Nutmeg skill. If a footballer already has this skill, then the potential of their skills increases.
This screenshot shows which countries currently have football cultures in the development version (countries with the "i" icon). The tooltip for Germany's football culture is shown at the top. Additionally, the screenshot reveals some additional new features that I haven't officially announced yet ;)
These football cultures may still change before the game's release; they are currently in the testing process. But I like the vast majority of them.
We have ideas for other countries that are still waiting their turn. But if you have any ideas for specific countries, we would love to hear them. We are especially interested in less well-known football countries.
I'm not sure if all countries will have their own football cultures in the final version of the game. Possibly, several countries might share one common culture. And some, the least popular in terms of football, might not have their own culture at all. However, the majority of countries will still have something to delight players with.
How do football cultures feel in the game?
Football cultures change the game in three important aspects:
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1. Playing in different countries
In the original game, the difference between Ukraine and England was only felt in that teams in Ukraine's Premier League were a bit weaker. And in England, rainy weather was more common. If you started the game in the Amateur League, there was no difference between England and Ukraine.
Later in the expansions, we added dependency of the cost and Giftedness of footballers on the country's rating. Also, the strength of teams in different countries became even more dependent on the rating. So in the higher leagues, a player could feel they were playing in a weaker country. But overall, there was no difference in gameplay between different countries. If you, as a coach, moved to work in another country, the scenery changed, but the approach to matches remained the same.
Now, starting the game in a particular country, you will feel a completely different gameplay. In England, the game will be fast-paced because everyone has Slide Tackle skill, so it's impossible to keep the ball. In Germany, on the other hand, progress to the enemy's goal will be built through ball control. In Spain, thanks to Layoff Pass, the ball will quickly move to different areas of the field. And in Brazil, even a defender will be able to slightly improve their position by dribbling past an opponent.
Even such a situational bonus as in Ukraine (+25% to all attributes if a footballer is on the flank) significantly affects the gameplay. Especially in the lower leagues. Because now you think about whether to try to take the ball directly or move one square, get a boost to attributes and try to tackle from there. I was personally pleasantly surprised by how this variety feels.
This screenshot shows Ukraine's football culture in an Amateur League match. The footballer in the yellow shirt is tackling from the flank. Pressing the Ctrl key will bring up a tooltip that shows the effects influencing the footballer's attributes.
For experienced players, it might be interesting to try to raise a team from the Amateur League, starting the game in hard mode. You are guaranteed to have a new exciting experience in each country.
Moreover, players who change clubs every season, moving to work in other countries, are guaranteed an interesting experience.
2. More interesting transfers
Previously, a footballer's nationality did not matter. If you needed a midfielder with a third-level Long Pass, it didn't matter what country they were from.
Now you will think twice before sending a scout to another country. Because now you have an interesting choice.
For example, in the same situation with a midfielder with a Long Pass. If you find such a footballer in Portugal, he will be more effective in giving Long Passes. If you find one in Spain, in addition to the Long Pass, he will also have a Layoff Pass. If you find one in Austria, in addition, he will be more effective in performing Lofted Passes.
The number of interesting combinations and possibilities in team building has significantly increased.
In my team (on the left) - many footballers are from other countries. Some footballers I bought just for their Giftedness, attributes, age, and skills. But some I bought because, in addition to their characteristics, their football culture suited me. For example, I have CD Croux from Belgium. He gets +30% when performing the Tackling action. RD Bushell from England already knows Sliding Tackle, so his skill potential is increased. In this campaign, I play with yet-to-be-announced new settings that increase the difficulty of the game for experienced players. With these settings, increasing skill potential is critically important.
3. National Teams
When we first implemented the management of national teams, it was somewhat interesting, but there was a slight disappointment that, for example, the Ukrainian team was different from the English team in terms of footballer levels and the number of 5-star talents. Overall, if you relied on tactics like Long Passes and runs into the penalty area, there wasn't much difference between the teams.
However, when we introduced the first iteration of football cultures, the differences between the teams became much more noticeable and interesting. For instance, Portugal would be more effective in using Long Pass tactics. But Italy would fairly counter this strategy, so against this country, you would have to use a different approach.
Playing against each national team, you can prepare differently for the match. Additionally, football cultures can be used situationally, at unexpected moments, sometimes leading to the creation of your own unique football stories that happened only in your game. This makes the World Cup and Continental Championships (Europe, America, etc.) an intriguing spectacle.
We hope to add the ability to watch matches of national teams. So you will not only manage but also watch how the teams use their strengths.
Summary
Football cultures fundamentally change FTGW. It will still be the good old FTG, but much more diverse and with enormous additional depth created by each individual culture.
If you get tired of playing in England, you can always start playing, for example, in Spain or Ukraine, and get a completely new gaming experience. If you could easily play 1000+ hours before, now the game becomes even more variable and interesting.
We are open to ideas for football cultures that could be added to teams from Asia, Africa, America, and the lower part of the European ranking. We have our own ideas, but if someone suggests something better than what we have, we would be happy to listen.
How to follow the development progress?
First and foremost, visit the game's page and add it to your wishlist. This way, you will receive an email from Steam when the game goes into Early Access or Full Release.
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