Are the sliders "visual" or "practical" across various roles/tactics?

[OBONGO]

Not sure how else to word the question.

Are the changes in the various sliders in tactical instructions just visual, or are they practical? I am pretty sure they are mostly practical – but I am not entirely sure, so I would welcome a clarification.

That is, will a Mixed passing directness in Contain be the same kind of Mixed as in Attacking? Or is Attacking-Mixed a more direct passing style because its "slider" is about 20 percent more "to the right" than in Contain?

Does the basic closing down value in Overload mean pressing from the same "height" as the one in Counter? Or is there an actual difference of close to third of a pitch length, as shown by the pretty graphic?

Now these first two would seem to me fairly obviously "practical", judging by previous FMs etc.

But does a BWM have the same passing range on Mixed as a CM, despite the BWM "slider" being only a third of the CM's? Or does the BWM's have to be on "more direct passing" to have the same range as a CM on mixed passing? And is it the same kind of passing, since these two "slider lenghts" are the same? Or is there a difference by the virtue of the BWM being "more direct", albeit "same value"?

And is an Anchorman's passing "about 10 percent less direct" and RGA's "a bit more direct" than that of a DLP, as the "slider" suggests? On all other vanilla settings obviously as these values change.

Oh and one last thing, if they are indeed practical, are they literal? Like, can only think of the defensive line/closing down right now, is the tactical tool an actual representation of the defensive line ("roughly in front of our area" and "right from the halfway line"), or an abstraction ("not much" and "hella much")?

[Raniel3]

Well I'm sure they are practical, that is what you see is what you get. Otherwise what sense would it have made to implement them at all?

[HUNT3R]

That is, will a Mixed passing directness in Contain be the same kind of Mixed as in Attacking? Or is Attacking-Mixed a more direct passing style because its "slider" is about 20 percent more "to the right" than in Contain?

The more defensive strategies are direct at the back and short up front, with the more attacking mentalities being the other way around. So both sets are mixed.

Does the basic closing down value in Overload mean pressing from the same "height" as the one in Counter? Or is there an actual difference of close to third of a pitch length, as shown by the pretty graphic?

You're still setting these instructions from default for the mentality. Counter has a low closing down and Overload a very high default closing down.

But does a BWM have the same passing range on Mixed as a CM, despite the BWM "slider" being only a third of the CM's? Or does the BWM's have to be on "more direct passing" to have the same range as a CM on mixed passing? And is it the same kind of passing, since these two "slider lenghts" are the same? Or is there a difference by the virtue of the BWM being "more direct", albeit "same value"?

I'm not sure what this means. I just checked a Standard/Flexible setup and the BWM, quite clearly, has Mixed passing just as the CM/S, but it is still less direct. The bars are more to the left, so it is shorter than a CM/S.

Tbh, I don't see why it matters. If a player is playing too direct, shorten the passing. If he's passing too short, ask him to be more direct. ETC

[OBONGO]

Thanks HUNT3R, well you say you "don't see why it matters" but the thing is I sort of want to know what it is I am asking my players to do before I tell them to do something, hence my questions.

Closing down - so the default value changes with tactics, but the bar is not a "real" representation of "how far", meaning that if I pick Standard, the highest possible defensive line and maximum closing down, I will close down much sooner than if I picked the standard defensive line, despite the Closing down bars being of equal length?

Good to know, I sort of suspected as much but was not sure. What about the defensive line, is that also just an indication like with Closing down, or is it an actual representation of where on the pitch it will be (or try to anyway)? Having the pitch displayed suggests to me the latter, but apparently with CD it is the former so I am curious

Passing - I have a vague idea that the passing is not uniform across the team, yeah. But, say, Contain and Overload clearly have differently sized passing "bars". Are these sizes and positions indicative of something? They are noticeably different even on Mixed, so what would the actual difference, if any, be?

Would it be, I don't know, the average of the passing range or something like that? Or would the upper range of the bar show the maximum average passing range, meaning that on Contain, even the more direct passers will pass it shorter than most players on Overload, because their bar ends well before the Contain's begins?

Or take the pass shorter instruction on Contain, it is very, very tiny. Does it mean the difference between defending and attacking players' passing range is gonna be much, much lower because it is such a tiny bar (i.e. even the defenders will play it shorter than virtually in any other tactic, and the attackers even shorter than usual)? Or is it just a representation of "everyone will pass a bit shorter than usual"?

As for the BWM thing - even on flexible, the BWM's "passing slider" is very short, but labelled Mixed. a CM(S) is also on Mixed, but like twice "as long". And, in order to be just as long, the BWM has to be put on "more direct".

Hence the question whether the visual representation is indicative of how expansive their passing will be (BWM's Mixed = rather short, CM's Mixed = balanced, BWM More Direct = sort of like CM Mixed, you get the idea). Or whether it is just a fancy button and Mixed is Mixed regardless of what it looks like.

[HUNT3R]

Thanks HUNT3R, well you say you "don't see why it matters" but the thing is I sort of want to know what it is I am asking my players to do, hence my questions.

That's fair enough.

Closing down - good to know, I sort of suspected as much, simply going by experience from previous FMs. What about the defensive line?

All the mentalities have defaults for all of these settings.

Passing - I have a vague idea that the passing is not uniform across the team, yeah. But, say, Contain and Overload clearly have differently sized passing "bars". Are these sizes and positions indicative of something? They are noticeably different even on Mixed, so what would the actual difference, if any, be? Would it be, I don't know, the average of the passing range or something like that?

Tbh, I'm not 100% sure what the size of the bar means. If I had to take a guess, I'd say it's the amount you're asking. A large bar will indicate you're asking quite a bit more/less. A shorter bar will indicate that you're close to the limit, so there's only a slight bit more/less you can instruct.

Or take the pass shorter instruction on Contain, it is very, very tiny. Does it mean the difference between defending and attacking players' passing range is gonna be much, much lower because it is such a tiny bar (i.e. even the defenders will play very short, and the attackers even shorter than usual)? Or is it just a representation of "everyone will pass a bit shorter than usual"?

Think I just explained it above. As said before, the defensive mentalities will have short passing up front to encourage possession there, rather than at the back. You will be close to the max, I'd say, so that's why you can only decrease the passing slightly.

As for the BWM thing - even on flexible, the BWM's "passing slider" is very short, but labelled Mixed. a CM(S) is also on Mixed, but like twice "as long". And, in order to be just as long, the BWM has to be put on "more direct".

You're asking a BWM to be more direct then. Overall, his passing will then still be mixed, but as the slider says, he is now more direct than without it. He's been given a larger range.

[OBONGO]

Thanks again, I really think we could use some official clarification on the bars and their relative size/effect/etc. Like what - if there is any - difference is there between a short bar that is Mixed and another that is still Mixed but is way way wider and a bit more to the left/right etc. Not just with passing, but all the settings basically.

As for the defensive line I do understand varying tactics have varied starting points, what I meant was aimed specifically at the representation of the d-line in the tactics screen. I assume that because the pitch is pictured, it does indeed show just how deep/high the desired line is supposed to be, like "right there on the halfway line" or "all the way deep down at the edge of the area"... which would seem fairly obvious, except with other sliders like closing down apparently being relative (as in "abstract" and not literally shown using a "1:1" picture) I was unsure.

[HUNT3R]

As for the defensive line I do understand varying tactics have varied starting points, what I meant was aimed specifically at the representation of the d-line in the tactics screen. I assume that because the pitch is pictured, it does indeed show just how deep/high the desired line is supposed to be, like "right there on the halfway line" or "all the way deep down at the edge of the area"... which would seem fairly obvious, except with other sliders like closing down apparently being relative (as in "abstract" and not literally shown using a "1:1" picture) I was unsure.

But you can see this in a match?

[OBONGO]

Sure, lots of things can be gathered from viewing a game, but I think you should know what it is you are asking your players to do before you ask them?

[Dagenham_Dave]

That's what pre-season games are for. Use then to experiment with various mentalities, etc. Then when the season starts, you'll have a better idea.