FIFA 21 Final Patch Notes Fixes Before Game Launch
FIFA 21 is exactly two weeks apart from launch, which means it should be a final product by now. right? Error! EA Sports has just revealed a long list of changes they’ve made to the game engine over the past few weeks. This isn’t an unusual process on its own, but some details make us wonder how FIFA 21 crashes at launch.
FIFA 21 Release Date
FIFA 21 will arrive on Friday, 9 October 2020, that’s just 16 days away!
Early Access via EA Play
EA Play is the new subscription service for exclusive access to the latest EA titles.
Replacing EA Access, the service will get members involved in the EA Play First Trials – starting Thursday, 1 October.
RE-BRAND – EA Access has now become EA
There is only one way to get early access to the full game from Tuesday, 6 October, and that is by pre-ordering specific editions of FIFA 21.
Platforms
FIFA 21 is coming too early for next-generation consoles, so it will initially be released on PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch.
The game will then become available on the PS5 and Xbox Series X version with next-generation improvements, but it will not be a separate version of FIFA 21.
First FIFA 21 Patch Notes
The aforementioned changes have been introduced in the form of stadium notes. Technically this means we have the first FIFA 21 patch before the game itself becomes available. This could only be a good sign.
Aside from the EA bollockry, the game was beta tested by quite a few players in August and it was expected that changes would follow. This is a beta tester after all.
However, the mere existence of things to fix is still alarming. Dealing with every aspect of these presentation notes can be a hassle for a week, so you can just see the presentation notes themselves and come to your own conclusions.
The fixes are coming in all major aspects of FIFA 21 – gameplay, FIFA Ultimate Team, Volta, Career and Pro Clubs. Here are some highlights from the pitch notes in each category:
FIFA 21 Gameplay
The announced FIFA 21 defense appears to have had trouble holding out in beta with some major fixes for pegging holes:
The tackle and dribbling mechanisms have been improved to reduce instances where successful tackles cause the ball to rebound to dribble.
Improved marking in transit situations. In some cases, the defenders were not tracking the runs well enough, creating easy goals from crosses.
FIFA 21 Ultimate Team
Well, well, well. The final team. The cash cow. Is it any surprise that there have been so many complaints that beta testers have made about “FUT not communicating clearly enough”? We wonder why that might be. In theory, EA has improved in all of that. The fact that they had to speak for themselves.
The changed wording in the events screen within the goals to better communicate if the rewards are available and the requirements for obtaining them.
Better communication and fast in-game links for access to new features like events or limited-time FUT friendly matches.
FIFA 21 Volta Football
Volta Football was a real train-wreck in FIFA 20 and EA really needs to search to make sure this isn’t the case again. They had to start from scratch with the look of things as players just couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on in the beta version of Volta.
Player indicators encountered a problem at the start of the closed beta which made it difficult to distinguish between players. This issue was addressed with a major update during the release of the Closed Beta. There are also other fixes for foot index issues that are addressed for launch.
The texture of Volta Football Stadium is being revisited for an early title update, and the goal is to replace the black reflective surface with a brighter color.
FIFA 21 Career Mode
There are two “how to miss this” career mode errors fixed with these pitch notes. However, if that’s all the testers have to offer, we can really get a decent FIFA 21 career status. Fingers crossed!
Weather options were missing from a trigger that matches the new functional mode. We’ve added this setting again to allow you more control over match conditions.
There was inconsistent behavior in the player’s lifestyle when, on occasion, the player was chosen by the manager but there was no option to play. This problem has been fixed.
FIFA 21 Professional Clubs
Professional clubs do well on this patch, with only two fixes to the situation. Since we’re going with two sections for each section, we’ll skip the explanation and go into presentation notes directly.
There was no option for players to choose CM as their default pro site. We have added CM Center to offer a complete midfielder package alongside existing CAM and CDM sites. It comes with its own set of starter themes.
We’ve received notes about lack of speed for some virtual pro jobs, especially for CB and CAM / CDM situations. We’ve made some general fixes and tuning adjustments for player growth for your virtual pro and also updated the pace for certain placements.