Realistic Animation Selection FM27 – tackles and dives that fit the moment, by HILDEGARNES

Realistic Animation Selection FM27 is a small mod that changes how the 3D engine picks animations. As a result, a defender arriving at full speed makes a different tackle from one standing still, and keepers stop diving for balls at their feet. It is by HILDEGARNES (Medhi Garic), the creator of Realism Match Engine.

Why every tackle looked the same

FM27 has no shortage of animations: it has thousands. The problem, according to the author, is how it chooses one. For each action, the engine compares the moment to a weighted model. Those models are plain JSON files stored in shared\data\sianim\schemas.

In several of them, most of the weight sat on things the engine cannot know yet when it decides. For example, how fast the ball will leave or how high it will go. Meanwhile, the player’s own situation barely counted: approach speed, distance to the ball and body angle. So a defender at full pace and a standing defender got the same tackle.

What Realistic Animation Selection FM27 changes

In short, the mod edits 18 of those files and nothing else. In fact, it adds no new animations: it only changes what the engine pays attention to. Also, every action keeps its total weight, so the mod redirects the engine’s focus without amplifying it.

Sliding tackle and keeper catch weights, before and after, based on the author’s figures (Image: FMPortugal)

The changes fall into five families:

• Goalkeepers (6 files): the dive depends on how much ground the keeper has to cover, not just on ball height.
• Tackles (3): the sliding tackle is chosen by the defender’s approach speed, not by how fast the ball leaves.
• Aerial (3): headers and overhead kicks depend on the distance to cover and the height of the ball.
• Skills (5): the rabona, first touch, throw-ins and keeper distribution.
• Kicking (1): the strike depends on how the ball arrives, and delivery direction and elevation finally matter. Crosses use the same file.

The mod’s 18 files, by family (Image: FMPortugal)

What it does not change

The author is upfront about the limits. Dribbling and close control are not driven by these files, so the same dribble will keep coming back. Skill moves cannot be varied either, because their clips carry no physical data to tell them apart. Finally, there are no volley animations for male players: only four exist, and all are female.

Testing was done by eye. First, he changed each family on its own. Then he watched a match before moving to the next one. In his view, four of the changes are clearly visible, while the kicking one is subtler. Since he cannot measure this part of the game, he asks players to report any action that looks wrong.

Who is it for

It is for anyone who watches matches in the 3D engine and is tired of the same tackle and the same dives. It is also easy to combine with other mods. For example, it works alongside the same author’s Realism Match Engine, since that one edits simatch.fmf, a completely different file. For a TV feel, add 3D Live Action Cam too.

Realistic Animation Selection FM27 download

This is version 1.2.0, from 12 November, in a ZIP of about 24 KB. It was built for game version 27.0.1. On top of that, it works with existing saves and new careers, as well as skins, databases, kits and graphics.

Download – Realistic Animation Selection v1.2.0

Things to watch

A game update will put the original files back. So after each patch, you need to reinstall the mod. To uninstall, copy the 18 files from the originaux\schemas folder back into place, and nothing is left behind. The full list of changes, action by action, is in MODIFICATIONS.txt.

For now, there is no before-and-after video. If you like the result, the author accepts donations on Ko-fi.

The files are hosted by their original authors. FMPortugal only points to the official download page — all credit goes to their creators.

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