Week Three Questions
21. There is huge interest in exactly how the new Internet Support feature of FIFA 2001 will work. Can you please explain it to us in more detail?

Internet play will be based around EA's new INTERNET MATCHMAKER service provided through EA.com. Players can launch the match maker service from within the game or directly from their web browser. Once a player has registered, he/she can pick a region of the world to find other FIFA players in. There will be an interface to create or join games, pick all your game options, and create or join in user chat rooms to meet and beat your opponents. As well: For users who wish to connect directly to another user via a known IP address there will be an in-game screen.

22. Will the players have their names printed on the back of their jerseys like in Euro 2000?

The player names are not on the back of the jerseys as EURO2000. However, this year the players and jerseys have more detail than ever before and including the official crests, and sponsors of the teams. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the graphical improvements in FIFA this year (especially if you have a high end 3D card). Check out some screenshots to see for yourself.

23. Will the controls for FIFA 2001 on the PC be the same as previous versions?

Yes, the controls will be very similar to FIFA2000. Some of the skill moves are a little different.

24. Will the popular indoor soccer feature make a long awaited return?

No, the FIFA team has concentrated on developing the most realistic outdoor experience possible. The indoor feature was not considered for this year.

25. Can "lob goals" be scored in FIFA 2001?

It's not really a supported feature because of the way the passing and lobbing logic works. If there's a pass receiver close to the goal then the lob will most likely go to that player. If your in on goal with no pass targets a pass will be slotted into the corner of the net with a side foot shot or lobbed over the keeper depending on what button you push. We've added more control to the shooting interface this year by allowing users to "power-up" their shots. This added control will allow you to choose direction, height and power. Of course, there's a trade off between blasting the ball and the accuracy of your shot.

26. Will the referees show the 2nd yellow card first before the red card, because in 99 and 2000 the ref displayed a direct red card after the player had recieved a yellow card earlier?

To simplify things, the referee will pull out a red card in cases where a player receives his second yellow leading to a red.

27. Have the free-kick options improved, for instance, you would probably like a different free kick option when just outside the box, from when you are in your own half. And is there an ability level for takers of free kicks? For example Roberto Carlos, Mijhalovic, and Beckham are going to be better than some others.

The ability of free kick takers is drawn from their shooting attribute. Beckham, Roberto Carlos, and Mijhalovic all have highly rated shooting attributes so the answer to that is yes. The kick takers interface only allows you to specify 1 player. (What you mention is a good idea though so we will add it to our list of things to consider for the next FIFA)

28. How many difficulty levels will there be in FIFA 2001 and what will they be?

We have retained the 3 difficulty settings from previous years (amateur, professional, world class). The AI team has spent a considerable amount of time tuning each setting. The gap between each difficulty has been reduced just slightly

29. Will we be able to adjust the weight and height of players in "Create a New Player" option?

This is a feature that we are considering for the next version of FIFA.

30. What steps have EA taken to improve the commentary? In FIFA 99 you had this great feature where the goalkeeper saved and the commentary sounded: Great save, by Barthez... and called the 'keeper's name. The re-introduction of this, and more commentary (saying the score when a player scores a goal {It's Owen... he's equalised! Three three!} rather than at the restart) would make a much better atmosphere.

Each year we try to add more and more context to the commentary. As you play through season modes you'll find that the commentary evolves to track the team's progress. In addition we rewrite the entire script and re-record the player names. You'll also notice a distinct improvement in the sound environment this year as we've inversted a fair amount of work creating on-field ambience. We've given the user the option of changing to an on-the field level mix. When players get close to the camera you'll hear them celebrating, you'll hear the crowd roaring and chanting as well as bone crunching tackles and thundering kicks.