New in FM22: Animation and Match Engine Changes

Following on from our introduction to the new Data Hub we're looking at what's new in the Football Manager 2022 Match Engine.

Sports Interactive have announced that FM22 features a "new animation engine". Sounds exciting right? Does this mean we're finally going to get FIFA style graphics?

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Unfortunately not. In previous games players didn't really touch the ball when dribbling and it could look pretty weird. But that should be a thing of the past now. While that is obviously great news for those annoyed by players feet sliding all over the place. It sounds like it's a bigger deal for the developers themselves, or as they put it "the new animation engine is our foundation for growing going forward". So we can expect continued gradual improvements over the next few years then.

The big difference is that apparently the old animation engine was still based on the 2D match engine, which meant player movements were still restricted by the shape and position of the underlying 2D disc. But that's not true anymore, which means a player's body can move off this disc and make much more realistic touches of the ball.

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The next thing improved in the Match Engine this year is "Pressing". FM22 introduces the concept of a "sprint capacity". Players now know when they can and can't press. According to SI this means that "a plug-and-play Gegenpress system is going to be a thing of the past". Challenge accepted tactics makers?

Also updated this year is the "accuracy" (and inaccuracy) of passes, shots and first touches. This is now linked to pressing, presumably with more inaccurate passes when under pressure and more accuracy when not, which, according to SI themselves, was not simulated very well in FM21. This may also be linked to the concept of "sprint capacity" and general tiredness as well, it's not clear from what we've been told so far.

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SI have announces some additional changes:

ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS

When viewing match stats during a game, you can now view first half and second half stats as well as the overall totals from the match. We’ve also added in more contextual information such as the attendance and weather conditions to the match stats page on the touchline tablet. xG is not only viewable on the match stats screen but it’s now included in match reports as well so you’ve got a clear idea of what the final outcome should have been.

 

For those of you who prefer to play with the 2D match view, we’ve added a new feature to auto adjust the zoom level based on the dimensions of the pitch. This is especially useful when playing in smaller stadiums where the default zoom level may not be optimal. 

 

Finally, 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: https://www.footballmanager.com/features/match-experience