AI has always been a sore spot for much of the community in FIFA games gone by and the developers were very aware of that feeling too. That’s why for FIFA 12 we have a whole raft of new AI behaviours all under the banner Pro Player Intelligence. This new set of features aims to pick up where Personality Plus left off and send it rocketing in to orbit for FIFA 12. Here’s a run down of the features that make up Pro Player Intelligence in FIFA 12.

[DISCLAIMER] The videos that we saw were from both the Test Bed environment and live FIFA 12 gameplay. Whilst what we saw was incredibly impressive, these videos are chosen with the express intent of demonstrating the new FIFA 12 features as simply as possible. FIFASoccerBlog will not be providing a definitive opinion on these new features until we get our hands on the game, we’re simply going to relay what we saw and what we were told.

Team Understanding – Players now understand the strengths and weaknesses of their own team mates and the “type” of player that they are. We were shown a video example of Luca Toni holding up possession and because of this his team mates were actively trying to support and provide passing opportunities. The midfield players realised that if Toni was holding up possession they would need to get beyond him to create a scoring chance and attempted to make expansive forward runs.

We also saw a very similar example this time with Xavi picking the ball up in possession. Knowing Xavi’s incredible range of passing and vision the players around him came to life making darting runs off the ball.

Strengths and Weaknesses – Players have a better awareness of their own abilities too and will try to perform to those strengths. You can expect deft dribblers like Messi to try and take you on whilst strong midfielder’s like Song will look to play more simply and try to break up play.

Pro Player Intelligence – The best video example we were shown of Pro Player Intelligence in action was centred around two identical scenarios with just one player swapped over each time. The first example showed a winger heading to the by line with Peter Crouch as the centre forward, the winger crossed the ball early due to Crouch’s height and aerial ability. In the second scenario the winger went to the by line again but this time it was David Villa in the penalty box. The winger instead of crossing early checked his run and turned back inside looking for support. The winger was aware of David Villas weakness in the air and chose to start another phase of play rather than cross.

The Vision Attribute – Another big part of Pro Player Intelligence for FIFA 12 is the development of the “Vision” attribute which was largely redundant in FIFA 11. The vision attribute will now affect the passes that players can “see” based on a new technology called Vision Mapping.

Vision Mapping – is an under the hood technology which calculates a players field of vision. Cesc Fabregas for example has a an almost complete 360 degree field of vision with only directly behind him the unknown. This allows Fabregas as a play maker to make passes that other players simply cannot see.

Vision Mapping Distance – As well as field of view, Vision Mapping also effects the distance a player can see. We were shown a video of Fabregas picking up the ball and turning. As he turned his vision map opened up way in the distance enabling him to hit a 40 yard through pass with incredible accuracy and weight. We were then shown the same sequence with a player that had a lower vision attribute than Fabregas, who when turning couldn’t see anywhere near as far in to the distance. When he played his 40 yard through pass it was easily intercepted by the defender.

I hope to god that EA release videos of Pro Player Intelligence in action as it’s so difficult to explain with the written word. Needless to say the technology looks fantastic but how it pans out and is balanced in game is another matter.

What do you think about Pro Player Intelligence?