Detailed tactics settings

Recently, we have been working on expanding the tactical editor and match simulator with more detailed settings.

The aim is to give you more options to customize your tactics and experiment with them. The way we achieve this is by adding 6 new settings and redefining the current options in "Play style" as templates for the other settings.

In this blog post, I'll tell you a bit about how it will work.

This screenshot shows the new settings options. We haven't put a huge amount of effort into the design for this first iteration, since the entire editor will be redesigned at a later date, as you know.

The 6 new settings

One of the challenges of the project is actually explaining how the settings work in a way that is both comprehensive and easy to understand.

There is also an important trade-off of how specific the descriptions of settings should be; that is, whether we should tell you the exact numbers and the calculations they are included in, or just describe the overall effects. Some people will want the specific numbers and formulas, while others may feel that it breaks the illusion. Here, initially, I have chosen to describe the effects in a fairly detailed way, without the exact formulas and algorithms, but it is a difficult balancing act.

In the longer term, I hope that we can find a way to integrate the documentation directly into the tactics editor, but I don't want to put more work than absolutely necessary into the current editor, since it will be redesigned from scratch at a later date.

Therefore, the documentation will come in stages:

1. This blog post, where I initially describe in text how the settings work.
2. When the feature is ready for release: A number of new pages in the manual, with diagrams and possibly video clips - and links to these in the editor.
3. During the major redesign of the editor: If possible, documentation integrated into the editor, with animated/dynamic previews of the effects.

The 6 new settings are:

• Passing range
• Max backwards pass
• Focus
• Solo run
• Finishing readiness
• Finishing distance

Each setting has 5 levels. Level 3 will always correspond to what is the default in the current match simulation.

A setting can affect 1 or more aspects of the players' behavior.

Passing range

When a player has the ball, he will, based on several factors, at some point start to consider the possibility of passing.

In this situation, he will evaluate each of his teammates in a certain range around him as a potential receiver based on how threatened he is and how many opponents could potentially intercept the ball on the way.

This setting controls the minimum and maximum radius of the area the player scans to find a receiver. Only teammates who are within this range will be considered.

Passing range
	1	2	3	4	5
Radius, min.	3m	4m	5m	8m	10m
Radius, max	12m	16m	20m	40m	60m

Max backwards pass

This setting places an additional restriction on the scanning area mentioned above. Where Passing range defines a band between 2 radii around the player, Max backwards pass is defined as a stop line that runs across the pitch.

Max backwards pass
	1	2	3	4	5
Max distance behind	2m	3.5m	5m	6.5m	8m

If you imagine the pitch in the orientation you see it in the match viewer, with your own goal on the left and the opponent's goal on the right, a Max backwards pass of 5 meters means that we draw a vertical line from top to bottom, 5 meters to the left of the player.

All teammates behind this line will be excluded from the passing ability assessment.

Focus

Focus can be set from "Mostly through middle" (1) to "Mostly down flanks" (5), and it affects a number of aspects of how the team moves and acts when we are on the offensive.

Focus
	1	2	3	4	5
Width adjustment on offense	-8m	-4m	0	+4m	+8m
Bonus/penalty in assessment of fellow players' threat level based on distance from center	+20%	+10%	0	-10%	-20%
Distance to the opponent's goal where the ball possessor starts seeking towards the middle	45m	45m	45m	35m	25m

Width adjustment on offense affects how much the formation spreads out or contracts when we are on offense.

The formation is an invisible, living entity in the simulation, consisting of a grid with a point for each player. In most situations, players move about, with their formation point as their base - you could imagine them tied to it with a rubber band.

The formation moves around the field, changing height, width, and center point based on where the ball is and which team has it, and it can be stretched or compressed.

When a player has the ball and is considering a pass, he makes an assessment of the threat level of each potential receiver, and then he will pass to the least threatened teammate.

The focus setting can affect this choice of receiver through a Bonus/penalty in assessment of fellow players' threat level based on distance from center.

For example, if the focus is set to "Mostly down flanks" (5), then the threat level number will be adjusted by up to -20% for the players who are furthest from the center. The effect is that we increase the probability of passing the ball to teammates on the wings. If the focus is set to "Mostly through middle" (1), the effect is the opposite, and players will instead prefer to pass to those closest to the middle.

The last effect, Distance to the opponent's goal where the ball possessor starts seeking towards the middle, only affects the player who has the ball. The players' normal behavior when running with the ball is to run parallel to the pitch until they are within 45 meters of the opponent's goal. When they get there, they will start seeking towards the middle.

If the focus is set to 4 or 5, the player doesn't start seeking towards the middle until he is a fair bit closer to the opponent's goal. The effect is that he runs along the wings for a longer time.

Solo run

This setting adjusts how willing the player with the ball is to pass in relation to how "threatened" he is. The player constantly assesses his own threat level based on the distance, location, and number of opponents around him. When he feels sufficiently threatened, he begins to examine the threat levels of his teammates, and if he finds one with a lower threat level than himself, he will attempt to pass.

Solo run controls how willing the player is to pass by adjusting his own threat level assessment.

Solo run
	1	2	3	4	5
Assessment of own threat level	+20%	+10%	0	-15%	-30%
Opportunistic passes, distance from own goal	<60m	<30m	0	0	0

For example, if Solo run is set to "Very often" (5), the player will rate his own threat level 30% lower, and he will therefore be much less likely to pass.

Opportunistic passes means that as long as the player is within a certain distance (on the X-axis) from his own goal, he will always try to pass to a teammate who is less threatened than himself - even if he himself is not particularly threatened.

Finishing readiness

When the player in possession of the ball approaches the opponent's goal, he must decide whether to shoot at goal, pass to a teammate, or try to get into a better position. This is a complex calculation, with many factors and special exceptions, so it is difficult to describe in a way that the numbers in the table give you a clear picture.

One of the factors that goes into this decision is an assessment of how risky a given shot on goal is considered. This risk factor is based on distance to the goal, opponents in the way of the shot, and the angle of the shot. Finishing readiness adjusts this assessment up or down by a certain percentage.

Finishing readiness
	1	2	3	4	5
Finishing shot risk assessment	+30%	+15%	0	-15%	-30%

Finishing distance

This setting controls how close to the opponent's goal the ball owner must be before he starts to consider finishing.

Finishing distance
	1	2	3	4	5
Finishing, max. distance	14m	16m	18m	24m	30m
Finishing, min. distance	10m	10m	10m	18m	26m

Finish, max. distance specifies the longest possible finish that the player will attempt.

Finish, min. distance specifies the "last call" for the finish. If the player is closer to the goal than this distance, he will always try to finish, unless the angle of the shot is too sharp.

The old "Play styles" re-defined as templates for the new settings

As previously mentioned, the old play styles be reworked to serve as templates for the new detailed settings. Clubs without VM Premium will only be able to choose between the pre-defined play styles, and clubs with Premium will be able to put together their own customized play style using the detailed settings.

Here you can see how the different play styles set the new detailed settings.

The "Counterattack" play style is a challenge

As you can see, "Counterattack" is missing from the listing above. That's because some of its effects on players are quite difficult to convert to settings with 5 different levels.

I haven't completely given up on getting it included yet, but it will take some more work.

Possibility of changes/expansion

There are many other aspects of player behavior that it might be advantageous to be able to control, and for some of the settings that have multiple effects, one could perhaps argue that they should be split into separate settings.

Therefore, the above set of settings is not yet fully defined, and there may be additions or adjustments before we are ready for release.

I expect that we will be able to release the feature before Christmas.