TrueFoot 1.5 — FC 26 Realism Gameplay Mod: Game Speed

Two things carry this build. The first is the one I’ve wanted to ship since the start: FC 26 has its own Game Speed option and keeps it switched off. This version unlocks it, so Slow, Normal and Fast all work with the mod. Tempo becomes a setting in the menu instead of a file you install. As far as I know, no other FC 26 gameplay mod has this yet.

The second is that the CPU was pushed to play harder, because that’s what nearly every message after 1.4 asked for. Most of that work is defending: runners arriving free in the box, through balls walking past the back line, defenders jogging beside you instead of challenging. Some of it is on your own side of the pitch, which is the part you’ll notice fastest.

Before you install: update FIFA Mod Manager to 2.1.1. Older versions are the first thing to check if the mod doesn’t apply or the game launches unmodded.

Game Speed, unlocked

The hidden Slow / Normal / Fast option is switched on and works with the build. Nothing to install, it’s in the gameplay settings.
Normal is what the build is tuned around. Fast if you want a quicker match, Slow if you want it heavier.
Tempo was stabilised across modes, so Kick-Off and Career should sit at the same pace and the setting should hold where you put it instead of drifting when you load a save.

Pressure: the second man

Three separate things were letting you carry the ball unchallenged for far too long, and none of them were the tackle itself.

A midfielder joining a press was capped at roughly 40% of full speed, so the second presser could never actually get there. That cap was removed, and the step-up speed for midfielders was raised off zero.
Defenders hold a contain stance for less time, and the team press builds faster, so a long unchallenged carry out of your own half should be rarer.
Give and go was closed up. The marker was abandoning the runner on a wall pass, which is why a simple one-two walked through the back line. That threshold was pulled right back, and midfielders track runs from further out.

Defending

It’s a rebuild rather than a nudge, so this is the part worth judging over a few matches rather than one.

Marking was reworked to track the man in front, so runs into the box should get picked up instead of arriving unmarked.
Through balls behind the line were tightened — they shouldn’t be a one-button answer anymore.
Centre backs were tuned to step in and tackle at an angle, rather than running alongside the ball carrier to the edge of the area.
Standing tackles were pulled back to commit at a sensible range, so you should see far fewer legs thrown at nothing from three metres.
Fouls were adjusted so a challenge that takes the man down is more likely to be given, even when a toe touched the ball first.
Pressing support was raised — holding midfielders should join the press in their own half, and defenders step out sooner.
The standing tackle read window is tied to the defender now. A good one should decide quickly, a weak one should hesitate, rather than every defender throwing a leg at the first opportunity.
Wingers track back instead of leaving the wide areas open behind them.

Your side got harder too

Worth saying plainly, because you will feel these before you feel anything else.

Your own defending does less by itself. The assistance window you get for holding the tackle button was cut below the base game’s own value. Contact range, strength and angle were left alone, so what weakened is the automatic lock-on, not the physical game.
Shot blocking was levelled. The AI was blocking from roughly half the distance an assisted player was, and defenders moved at about a third of full speed to get in front of a shot. Both were raised, so blocks should look deliberate on either side.
The CPU’s hidden physical bonus was nudged up a little. Small, and pace-neutral by design.

The CPU

Combination play was opened up. One-twos and short support around the ball carrier are more likely, so it should play through you rather than around you.
Through-ball timing was tuned, so it should find the runner at the right moment rather than a beat late.
Ball retention under pressure was raised, and it should be readier to shoot inside the box instead of forcing one more pass.
Reaction to the scoreboard was brought forward. A CPU side that goes behind should press noticeably harder, and start doing it early rather than only in the closing minutes.
Free kicks were reworked — the CPU should take them directly far more often instead of tapping them short, and long-range specialists were pulled back from near-automatic.

Keepers

Distance shots were tuned toward parries and spills rather than clean catches. Close and mid-range saves were left where they were.

On the ball

Dribbling should read more distinct between players. The carrier re-evaluates where to push the ball far more often, which is what made CPU carrying look like it was running on rails.
Shoulder contact was calmed down.

Still too easy?

That’s what the supporter Tuning Pack’s new Difficulty category is for: eight options, each tuned to the hardest setting the game files allow, and they stack. Worth knowing even if you never install one, because it explains a lot about the base game:

It stops raising the CPU’s off-ball work rate after Professional, so Professional, World Class, Legendary and Ultimate all run the same amount.
It stops improving the CPU keeper after World Class.
It caps a CPU mid-range shot at half power even on Legendary, so it never struck a clean one properly.

Those were raised, alongside CPU pressure, attack intelligence, defensive awareness, ball security, its hidden boosts, match composure, and a handicap on your own side. The mod itself stays free, always.

Add-ons

The line-up is unchanged: Fouls (Stricter / Looser), Motion and Motion+.

Load order matters: add-ons go below the base mod in FIFA Mod Manager. The bottom mod wins, so it overrides the base. Full walkthrough on the install page.

The team sheet holds from 1.4 — Custom gameplay, Authenticity OFF, sliders 50 / 50, Referee on Default, Player-Based Difficulty ON. Weather and Wind are your preference. What’s new is that Game Speed is yours now: I play on Normal with the Motion add-on. Install the base mod first, then put any add-on below it, and make sure FIFA Mod Manager is on 2.1.1. Full step-by-step on the install page.

Free as always, and still a work in progress. The defending work here came straight out of the clips and comments people sent after 1.4, so if you want the next build to go somewhere, a comment on Nexus, evo-web or YouTube is the best way to pull more people in. And come talk in the Discord — that’s where the next version gets shaped.