Release date for the new match simulator

The time has finally come to switch the game over to the new match simulator.

As of Monday December 16th, the new match simulator will be used for all matches, and the old one will be turned off.

We feel that we have come so far with the simulator now, that it is superior to the old one in almost every aspect. That's why it is finally time to retire the old match engine.

We need YOUR help!

We know that there are probably still minor bugs and strange occurrences in match simulator, and we need your help to find them, so we can fix them.

Therefore, we ask everyone to cast a critical eye on their matches and report errors and irregularities in our bug report system.

Bug reports must contain the following information:

• A link to a match in which the problem can be seen
• The exact time during the match, where the problem can be seen
• Precise description of what happens and why you believe it is an error

Our prioritization of different types of flaws are as follows:

1. Bugs that completely prevent you from seeing matches or editing your tactics.
2. Game rule violations - if a player does something that violates the official FIFA Rules of the Game, without the simulator handling it correctly.
3. Strange behaviours - if players do weird things or move in a way that a normal person wouldn't.
4. Non-optimal behaviour - in short, situations where players ought to be smarter in the way they position themselves or how they behave during the game.

We will be working intensively with match simulator bug reports in this final week of testing, and we will of course continue working on it after the release for as long as necessary. We still have a few things on our own TODO list, most of which belong in category 4 - for example, we plan to teach players to positions themselves slightly better when there is a throw-in or corner kick.

Match simulator in the long run

In the longer term, our work on the simulator will revolve around new or changed features in the simulator and tactics editor (like maybe, possibly implementing some form of individual player instructions), refining how much players' stats affect their abilities during the match, documentation of all the tactics settings, making the match more exciting and action packed, etc.