Write me your opinion on this article. I would like to know what you think about this.

Hidden player characteristics and their influence on the match engine.

This is an article written based on my discussion of AI. Decide for yourself whether you will believe it completely, partially or not at all. Experienced managers and players of the game often discuss how player performances develop and what factors influence matches. They have always drawn experience from senior training and the academy and found that players with the same basic characteristics can perform differently in a match, all of which indicated the existence of hidden factors. Yes, in Sokker.org players also have hidden attributes that are not directly displayed in the main statistics, but they affect matches and how many of them there are, or what they are, is a matter of speculation and we will write about them now.

Many "hidden" attributes were derived from experience in simulating matches and testing players. Match analyses, where community analysts compared player statistics, their performance and form with match results and derived mechanics such as: luck, concentration, mental abilities and others. Possible hidden skills in Sokker.org (e.g. luck, training efficiency, mental abilities, performance stability) are not official and completely public. The following information about them comes from sources in the Sokker community discussion forum - and therefore are only the opinions of players. So we can create an overview of official and alleged hidden skills of players in Sokker.org with an estimated impact on their game expressed in percentage. The percentages are only estimates and serve as a rough guide. They are based on a combination of official rules (Talent) and long-term community experience. Managers have come to believe that when building a team for a match, it is good to combine high basic skills with high-quality hidden abilities, so that the players' performance is stable and predictable. This description of the game engine - enigne combines not only official information (Talent), but also hidden skills observed by the community and will help you understand what the player himself is made of, or rather his qualities. The percentages in the following text are only approximate estimates based on the Sokker community and unofficial theories. However, the player's overall form (current form + fitness + morale) can significantly increase or decrease these percentages, so keep that in mind.

The distribution of influence in the match engine (the sum of everything together is 100%) and the rough, general distribution looks like this:

A) -

Tactics and instructions for the match from both opponents (their game plan, player roles, pressing intensity, instructions) affect the match by 14%

Pitch dimensions + surface + weather (although a smaller share, it really changes the impact of the game) by 5%.

B.)

The player's visible condition has a total of 55%.

This includes his skills and the equation where form x fitness x fatigue are multiplied. It can also be broken down into details individually as follows: Skills such as defense, speed and the like 33%. Form 10%, fitness 7%, fatigue 5%. But we will write about the details and how it is calculated later and below.

C.)

Hidden and semi-hidden player factors total 26%.

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But let's break it down even more into individual details so that we can describe them, and it looks like this.

Visible player attributes - e.g. shooting, speed ...

that is, what managers usually watch. Talent is a secret, but official and recognized attribute confirmed in the rules of soccer. It tells how quickly a player improves in training and brings his improvements to the match with his public - official skills. The player's skills then affect the match by 33%. In matches, luck and stability of performance may prevail in the short term, but in the long term, matches are decided to the greatest extent by talent, player training and these public skills of players.

Player Status

A player's skills are affected by their status: Form 10%, Fitness 7%, Fatigue 5%. Below we will show one example of how it is possible to calculate how these statuses will change a player's skills in a match.

The main hidden, but already unofficial factors are:

Luck

- This is a random factor that affects unpredictable moments in a match by 2%. Think of it as an increase or decrease in performance during key actions. Unexpected improvements or errors that cannot be explained by statistics. Luck in the game is not directly displayed and there are two theories about it. Either the system randomly assigns it to each player in the match, or each player is born with a different, predetermined and certain luck. - source of information: Community discussions from the forum and managers' experiences.

Affects: Shooting accuracy at key moments. Unforeseen changes in the result (e.g. ball bounce, miraculous save by the goalkeeper). In practice, "luck" can cause a player with lower statistics to perform unexpectedly well.

Training Effectiveness.

A player trains in training with the talent he was born with, that's fine and it's purely about training. But in a match, it's also about how well the training is transferred to the game. How well this innate trait is determined by how much the player increases his current qualities in the match. It should be about a 1% impact in the match. Source:- Derived from player performance analyses.

Mental Skills.

Some players have higher mental skills (both motivational and psychological) and using these players in key positions in the match improves the overall team game. Some players have a hidden ability to concentrate, courage, decisiveness. This affects how they react to pressure in the match and their accuracy at crucial moments such as penalties, the last minutes of the match and the like. The contribution of these skills to the match is a plus given to the players to the good by approximately 23%. The mental qualities that together make up the – 23% include
• - Decision Making 4%
• - Courage – 4%
• - Concentration – 3%
• - Stability of performance (consistency) – 3%,
• - Adaptability / Versatility – 3%,
• – Team chemistry 3%
• – Morale – 3%

We will write about this in more detail below.

Decision Making

- this is the ability to choose the optimal solution as quickly as possible and increases the player's quality in the match by 4 %. It can be described as a secret plus improvement in the accuracy of passes or shots. Source: - Match analysis and community discussions.

Courage / Confidence

- is a player's mental toughness that increases their public skills in a match by 4% due to the fact that it increases their success in risky situations and 1v1 duels. Source: - Community experience, match analysis.

Concentration

is the ability to maintain performance during a match and brings the player a 3% advantage in a match. Understand that it acts as a reduction in mistakes. Source: - Match observation experience.

Consistency

determines how often a player performs close to their stats and it contributes to their skills in a match by 3%. If a player performs consistently well, then he has high concentration, courage and determination and all this brings less fluctuations in his match performance. Source:- Managers' experience and match analysis.

Adaptation / Versatility

- is the player's ability to play well in multiple positions. These qualities add approximately 3% to his public skills in a match and are useful in a match when changing tactics or changing the player's position. Source:- Experience from player rotation in matches.

Team Chemistry / Teammate Position / Teamwork (who the player has around them), Team Chemistry .-

It is synergy with teammates, influence and influence has 3%. Hard to measure, more of a long-term effect. Understand it as not the effect of your tactics in the match, but just a certain increase in its influence in the match.

Morale.

Morale is rather semi-hidden: you don't see the exact numerical impact in the engine, but you know it exists and has an impact. Morale is an officially displayed parameter – it is not completely "hidden" in the sense that you cannot see or influence it anywhere. Think of it as the influence of the team's and player's mood on their commitment and success in the match. The match is influenced by it by about 3% . It is also partially displayed in the game, but the exact impact in the match engine is hidden.

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And finally, let's get to the most complicated part.
Now let's go even deeper, let's calculate how form, fitness and fatigue affect a player's visible skills such as his defense, attack and the like.

How will form and fitness affect a player's other public skills?

The mathematical equation contains the combined and joint effect of form, fitness and fatigue on the player's final performance in a match. For example, if a player is in 95–100% fitness and form, he has a chance to perform in a match close to his maximum statistics. Conversely, a player who is tired or has low morale will have reduced efficiency, even if his basic and public player skills are high. Public player skills have a high impact on the match, up to 33%, but they are significantly influenced by form, fitness and fatigue in the match, which also have a certain influence in percentages and this explains why a player in 95–100% form plays "above paper".

Formally, the player's public skills (e.g. shooting, defense) are multiplied by his current form and fitness and the hidden resulting skill he has in the match is calculated by the performance multiplier.

In layman's terms, how it works is written below:

The player's basic skills are e.g. shooting 12, technique 11, speed 10, but the soccer engine multiplies these numbers in the match by the value of Form (which the game already displays), Fitness (current fatigue, duration of deployment, regeneration), Fatigue, or hidden readiness (if he played many matches in a row or did not have a break). The result of the equation is a hidden but real skill that the engine will use to simulate the action in the match.
Example

A striker has a shooting level of 12.

His form is at 90% and his fitness is only at 80% (e.g. he is tired). We convert these percentages into the following numbers and multiply them. So 0.9 × 0.8 = 0.72 Then we multiply this result by the value of his shooting, so 0.72 × 12 = 8.6

So in the match he behaves as if he had a shooting of around 8.6. Therefore, even a talented player with top skills can look weak in the match if he is in low form or overloaded.

Remember that this is not an officially confirmed Sokker algorithm - these are observations and discussions of players on the forums. The exact weights for form, fitness and fatigue are not publicly known, but in general, form has the greatest influence from this point on. If we break this point down into details, form has an impact on the match of 10%, fitness 7% and fatigue 5%.

The word multiplier is essentially a multiple of the original value, which takes into account other factors (form, fatigue, morale...). Instead of the engine reducing or increasing each skill separately by a fixed number of points, it uses a common multiplier - one factor that reduces or increases all skills at once. For example:

Form 100% → multiplier 1.0 (nothing changes).

Form 80% → multiplier 0.8 (everything is 20% weaker).

Form 110% (if it were above average) → multiplier 1.1 (everything is 10% better)

A multiplier is essentially a "power amplifier or attenuator" of performance. It's a simple way to combine multiple influences (form, fitness, fatigue) into one number, which is multiplied by the base value. Maybe it's also used for other hidden skills, who knows....

Conclusion of my debate with AI.

Divoch ...

I'll tell you the truth. In Sokker, managers decide to put players in matches primarily based on the players' public skills, their current form and fitness. Nobody considers hidden qualities when composing a match, but many curse the match engine because it sometimes doesn't turn out the way it should.

AI ...

That's a very accurate summary of reality in Sokker. Most managers do exactly what you say - they only monitor visible skills, form and fitness, because that's the only reliable and measurable data.

What you describe as “engine bashing” is actually a combination of:

Randomness in the simulation – every match has a certain element of randomness to avoid it being completely deterministic.

Hidden factors – luck, consistency of performance, morale… that are not publicly displayed in match statistics.

Tactical nuances – small changes in tactical setup or instructions in a match can have a bigger impact than they seem.

Many managers therefore feel that "the engine failed in their game", but the truth is that the expected result of the match based on the visible skills of the players is simply not coming. Long-term monitoring of the performance of players (even if they have lower skills) can reveal that some of them have better consistency, or are blessed with more luck in key moments. And that is why it is sometimes worth keeping a player in the team who looks worse "on paper" but is reliable in matches.

Now let's write some tips on how to recognize the hidden qualities of players:

Monitor the performance of a player in matches and compare his actual performance on the field with his visible statistics. If a player performs better than his statistics would indicate, then he probably has high mental strength or consistency. If a player performs worse, his low concentration or training efficiency may be to blame.

Analysis of improvements after training. Watch how quickly a player improves in different skills. A player who improves faster than others with the same training has a higher Talent (official hidden skill). Compare players of the same position and age in the same training and revealing the differences will tell you a lot.

Experimenting with training. Set up different training programs for a player and watch which statistics improve the most. This way you will estimate the effectiveness of the training and the player's adaptability (hidden trait). Watch the player's reactions to match pressure.

Watch the player in important matches, or during penalties. If he performs consistently, then he has high concentration, courage and determination. If he makes mistakes under high pressure, his lower mental strength is to blame.

Comparing different positions. Put the player in different positions and watch his performance. If he maintains high performance outside his main position, it means that he has high adaptability / versatility.

A player who plays more matches gains more training effect. It is not only the number of matches played, but also the length and intensity of the game (full match vs. substitution) is important. Tired players or players with low fitness can train less effectively. Fitness is very important and affects player performance. It is estimated that each fitness level corresponds to approximately 8 minutes of a match in which to perform adequately and then decreases evenly as the match progresses, if the fitness is no longer there for the remaining minutes.

Collect and compare data over the long term. Create a table of player performance and progress. Track data between form, fitness, training, match results and reveal patterns of hidden qualities of your players.

Tracking procedure:

Record basic data: Player name, position, current form and fitness.

Choose a group of players – starting lineup + important substitutes.
Watch matches – record their performance, form, fitness, scores and your own assessment.
Watch progress after training sessions – how much the player’s skills have improved.
Compare with other players in the same training position and you will reveal the player’s talent and the effectiveness of the training.
Observe performance in a match under pressure – penalties, decisive matches, difficult matches, all of this will reveal the players’ mental abilities and their resilience.

Gradually record an estimate of hidden abilities according to observations (Talent, Luck, Training Effectiveness, Mental Ability, Performance Stability, Adaptability, Concentration, Courage/Confidence, Determination).
Experiment with different positions in a match – a player maintaining good performance in different positions = adaptability / versatility.
Write notes: Record special observations (e.g. performance under pressure, adaptation to a different position).

Long-term analysis – after 5–10 matches, average your ratings to see the consistency of your performance. After 5–10 matches, you can basically create a profile of each player, where you can see the strengths and weaknesses of their hidden skills.

Compare players to each other to know who to put in key matches.

Estimating hidden skills

Hidden skill - How to estimate it?

Talent - Speed ​​of improving stats during the same training session
Luck - Unexpected improvements or mistakes that cannot be explained by statistics
Training effectiveness - Increase in stats according to training type + coach quality
Mental skills - Performance under pressure, penalties, important matches
Performance stability - Small fluctuations in performance, constant match scores
Adaptability - Ability to perform well in multiple positions
Concentration - Player maintains performance throughout the match, fewer mistakes
Courage / Confidence - Success of risky actions, 1v1 duels
Determination - Accuracy of passes and decisions, especially under pressure

Here is a specific guide on how to quickly increase team form on Sokker.org:

Set up a good training session for your players and have them train in a good defensive formation of 442 or an offensive formation of 433. At the same time, don't overtrain them by giving them you will give one training session in the match after another - do not tire them out unnecessarily. Player rotation in the match and fatigue. Monitor the fitness of the players: ideally it is above 90%. Put players who are below 80% of their fitness on the bench at the right time in the match, let them regenerate. Use substitutions during the match so that the best players are not exhausted. Morale - Players with high morale perform better. Increase the morale of your players by putting them in an important match. Give younger players a chance to play in the match and their motivation will increase. Players with high morale can better use "luck" and mental skills.

Lineup selection: Build the team in the match according to the natural position of the players. Avoid "temporary" players in foreign positions - they reduce form. Monitor which players have the best mental and technical attributes for a given tactic. Special tips: Players with a focus on mental skills + fitness = better stable form. Adapt your match tactics to the current form of your players and if some of your players are exhausted, try a more defensive formation. Quick trick: Before an important match, give your players appropriate training + rest, keep fitness above 95% and morale above 90% → their form will increase significantly and their performance in the match will increase.

Formation training and also Advanced training: Determining the specific correct formation and focus of the training (e.g. offensive, defensive) affects the performance of players in the match. Consequence: Better trained players are more likely to perform well and form. Health and fatigue: Monitor the condition of your players. Exhausted players, if they are tired or injured, have lower form. Therefore, use player rotation in matches and give them some rest days. Pay attention to injury treatment and breaks so that players have optimal performance. Match lineup selection: Players in their natural position and with the right playing style are in better shape. Don't underestimate synergy - e.g. combinations of players who work well together increase the chance of higher performance in a match. Mental and special attributes: Some players have higher mental abilities (motivational, psychological) - using these players in key positions improves team play. Monitor their statistics in game matches and adjust tactics in matches. Tip: If you want to maximize match performance, focus on rotation and rest. Basically, keep players fresh before important matches so that hidden attributes can be fully expressed.

Remember,

that the given hidden characteristics of players are not known, and neither are the exact weights of these attributes. So don't take this article and the numbers as a hard truth, but from the perspective of the community posts on various Sokkra forums it fits. It is also worth mentioning that in different matches and leagues the behavior of the engine may differ, which can affect how much the hidden attributes will manifest. It is also worth adding that luck and chance can help in the short term, but in the long term the effect should be balanced.

And finally, the last important advice to be successful in matches. Pay attention to the form and condition of your players, because this is what increases the effectiveness of their hidden and public abilities. When building a team, it is good to combine high basic skills of players with high-quality hidden abilities, so that the performance is stable and predictable.
(edited)

No hidden skills in SK. Thread to be closed.

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edit:

1) adjusted the percentages because there was a mistake.

2) merged almost all hidden skills into the mental abilities category. (Of the hidden skills, only talent and luck do not belong to mental abilities.)

but....but...what about BMI :D

BMI is not a hidden value, as it is clearly documented on each player’s profile page. The issue with BMI is that it is a 'dead' value – it is present, but not implemented in the match engine..

What about height is that taken into account?

I've read that taller players are better attackers. But that's also just the opinion of one coach of a national team.

I know...

:D

So nothing concrete that it actually means something in the match engine?

Sorry for the ignorance, but from what I know, a tall, chubby player will accelerate slower, and a short + skinny player will accelerate faster. Am I wrong?!

And playing higher has the option of getting a headshot before a shorter player, no?

My understanding was that height was never implemented. Headers are typically won by the first player to get in set position under the ball.
As for BMI. High BMI players are slower to accelerate.

To my knowledge, height was implemented around 2010. BMI, however was not.

And it is like DIDIz says

+1 but I am not portuguese to confirm

not really...
bigger players have too much muscle so they are less explosive
slim players have too little muscle and accelerate also slower.
The closer players are to the perfect bmi for the game... 23.75 the faster they are
The smaller players are, the faster they accelerate