Smart Assist: The difference of having it on before the match and turning it on during the match and why you can't identify it anymore.
I had some free time today, so I decided to run a few tests to better understand why sometimes I’m almost sure my opponent is using Smart Assist, but I can’t see any indicators like auto clearances, power gauge color changes, etc.
So I started testing whether it could be related to opponents turning Smart Assist on during the match instead of having it enabled from the start. Curious to see if that affects the indicators or how the game displays them.
For this test, I decided to play a few co-op matches with my friend, and I turned Smart Assist on before the match started. As you can see, nothing strange here, the power gauge changes color while making a pass, clearly showing that I’m using Smart Assist.
Look ast that presure, bro had no chance lol
Same thing happened to dribble, by just randomly flicking the RS button Rummenigge performed marseille turned because the game knew it was the best dribble choice.
https://i.redd.it/4ry45zf4940h1.gif
After that, I told my friend to turn Smart Assist on during the game so I could try to identify if I would notice any gameplay changes during the match, and also check if the indicators would appear after enabling it mid-game.
https://i.redd.it/1p68nylh640h1.gif
Maybe this isn’t the best example, but if you pay close attention, you can see that I performed a pass intended for Messi, but the ball went to Aubameyang instead. That part is fine. The strange thing is that, for a split second, the game suddenly switched the cursor from Aubameyang to Messi so his player could intercept the pass, and then immediately switched it back to Aubameyang and once again, no auto clearance no change on power gauge, nothing, just some changes on the gameplay.
https://i.redd.it/ktg28j9c840h1.gif
And for the last example and probably the most common way the game sabotages defenders.... He made a pass to Rafael Leão, who is a GP version against the latest Nesta. Nesta was clearly protecting the ball, and suddenly the game pushed him away so Leão could basically teleport into a through sliding pass against Bergomi.
Then, once again on the shot that led to the goal, you don’t see the power gauge changing at all. The only thing visible is the gauge instantly jumping from 0 to around 50% without the bar actually loading normally.
Just to be clear, I’m not saying this is the most reliable or definitive test. But it definitely shows some interesting results. I’ll keep deep diving into this during my unemployed free time to see what Konami is really cooking for non–Smart Assist users, especially since they promised a filter option a long time ago and it still never came.