Ahead of its November 10 launch, Football Manager 2018 has so far teased its Dynamics system, its overhauled scouting system, and its new Medical Centre, among a number of other features. Naturally, these deal with the behind-the-scenes side of Sports Interactive’s esteemed footie/soccer management sim, however the latest instalment will also double down on its ‘Matchday Experience.’
As portrayed in the following trailer, FM 2018 introduces a new graphics engine, as well as a number of UI and HUD tweaks, that enhance how matches play out and how you interact with your team. New motion capture animations lend a new degree of realism to games, with goalkeeper movements a particular focus of the developer.
Over to Sports Interactive:
As detailed there, the new engine now supports DirectX 11, against previous games’ DirectX 9. On-pitch lighting and textures have been “significantly enhanced”, and there’s now more movement variation from one player to the next. These improvements “make it easier for the match view team at SI to make changes in the future,” we’re told, and stadiums now play a bigger role in outlining scale and depth.
“It’s not just the background tech that’s improved, the graphics have too,” says Football Daily’s Joe Tomlinson above. “Our art team have worked closely with our sister studio at Creative Assembly this year to improve the player models and stadiums… this affects how a player moves around the pitch and operates on the ball, which leads to a more authentic portrayal of the players during a match as a result.”
Football Manager 2018 is due November 10 (that’s two weeks this Friday). Until then, here’s the devs on what’s changed on the transfer market and board interaction front:
Look out for our early impressions of FM 2018 this week, as well as an interview with Sports Interactive’s Miles Jacobson.