Archive for August, 2009
Posted by dougiedonut in PES 2009 News on Sun 30 Aug 2009
OK, as promised, I’ve put together my impressions of the build we got to play. Here goes…
General Impressions
I felt the game was a little faster than when I got to play it a while back at around the 50% complete mark. This wasn’t a bad thing, as the pace of play was still relatively slower than pes2009. Personally I’d have liked it a tad slower, as earlier, but i’m probably being over picky there.
We were told that this version was the same one that has been seen by the WENB boys (Big shout out to Adam and Suff!), so it was around the 70% mark.
The general look and feel of the matches was very impressive. You instantly get the feel that this is PES. I don’t want to keep going on about the graphics, as you’ve probably heard enough from various sources about how stunning the game looks, but the game looks STUNNING!
PES players are not graphics whores by nature, but the facelift the visuals has really enhances the whole gaming experience.
Match day atmosphere feels very good. The crowd noises are great. We only played on a standard LCD screen with stereo speakers, so weren’t able to comment on surround sound capabilities of the game. As Francis mentioned, there is a noticeable difference in cheers when home/away teams score, but I think we haven’t benefitted from hearing it on surround sound properly.
Again I was expecting to be able to hear away players being booed, and other little nuances like that, but they weren’t present in this build.
Unfortunately contrary to what Francis reported, crowd chants are still present. I played as Liverpool, and could still hear the world famous (not!) “Liverpool, Liverpool, Liverpool” chant that Konami has incorporated. It wasn’t as prominent as in PES2009 audibly, but it’s there and is enough to make me shudder. I’m really hoping that Konami ditch crowd chants for specific teams and concentrate on crowd dynamics matching the action on the pitch, so fingers crossed Konami do this for us. The ability to import team chants would take care of individuals who prefer to hear them in my opinion.
In this playtest, my main focus was on gameplay, and not on the various modes of play. I had a very brief look at the master league mode, and this time round you will need to either read the manual, or pay attention to the on screen help to get you into action. Which is very refreshing and a very welcome challenge which I think many of us will enjoy. Master League now has the revamp that we’ve been screaming out for.
I played on both the PS3 and 360 versions of the game. There are currently differences between them graphically and possibly a little in the game play too. Currently the 360 version seems to have a bit more polish to it as Francis mentioned. I don’t want to start a flame war on which version is going to be better or anything like that. I fully expect both versions to be pretty much identical come launch.
360 control
Now that we have 360 control we need to understand what it is in PES. First I can clear up that the PS3 dpad has 16 way control and the 360 dpad has 8 way control. I’m being told this difference is due to hardware limitations and should not be attributed to Konami.
Anyway the left analogue sticks have full 360 control. What this means for the control system is that when you are not in control of the ball you have full control of how players move. This freedom may come as a shock to some people. Because we’ve been used to the players pretty much knowing where to expect the ball, automatically having total control of where you position players can be a bit of a shock. Some people may complain initially that the ball didn’t go straight to a player’s feet, or that they moved away from the ball when they were receiving a pass. These are the sorts of things you are going to have to learn to do, as you would in the real game. The game is less on rails, and the onus is on you to control your players and move them as you see fit.
Well, now everyone should expect to get reacquainted with how to play the game. Yes it does still feel familiar but be prepared for some new thrills and spills as you get to grips with how to play the beautiful game.
360 control does not mean you can pull off physically impossible movements from one angle to another.
It means that you have a fully subtle range of movements which you have in a normall physical fashion.
You now have to think about what your players body position is and how to move into another position naturally. For example whilst running forward you can’t suddenly change direction and start running in angles greater than 45 degrees with no change in pace.
As I’ve previously said you can’t run full pelt then change direction by 90 degrees as you currently can.
Players slow down when trying sharper turning on the ball. This means that you have to learn to slow down and speed up to make full use of your new found 360 degree movement. The faster you are, the harder it is to make sudden direction changes – obviously highly skilled dribblers will have an easier time of trying that less skilled players. Yes there is familiarity in feel and play, but there are enough differences to make you sit up and pay attention to what you’re doing in game.
Player movement animations have been considerably increased. You now get the feel that there are different types of players with more movement styles evident. The last two PES games have had a very robotic feel to them, with the same singular player animations in use. Now you have a few running styles which feel more natural. The stiff comedy running is no more.
Long balls
Another great change that I also found was that long balls were more satisfying to pull off. I generally don’t use long balls all that much in my own playing style because I tend to find them to hinder my game rather than enhance it. Long balls previously used to slow down play for my liking. But now I felt that they were more useful and helped keep the flow of my attacks more. The ball physics are better than ever, and have a very natural feel which means you feel more in control of the ball and what you choose to do with it.
Equally crossing from the wings is so much more satisfying since you now can practically pinpoint where you want the ball to go. I didn’t mess around with the types of crossing modes so it was in default mode, but there were times when my crosses went way over to a further area than I expected. But that was because I was expecting the usual semi auto crossing to take place where we generally know where the ball will go.
Shooting
Shooting also felt very satisfying. I felt like the players were really connecting with the ball.
Shots varied depending on body position so it was intuitive. Chipping has been fixed and I was instantly comfortable with them too. I scored a couple of great chipped goals, so thumbs up from me.
Goalkeepers
Unfortunately once again the keepers in the version we played did not allow you to choose which defender to kick the ball out to from goalkicks. The default first defender is still the only recipient of a short ball out.
Apparently you should be able to use the right analogue stick which is still the manual pass stick to take goal kicks and pass the ball to any player you see fit.
Keepers were ok I didn’t see any real dodgy clangers going in or anything like that.
The one new feature which was present which I think really opens up goal keeping was the ability to press the right analogue stick in to give you total control of the keeper. What this did was allow you to rush out at players in the area and give you more say in how you defend against an attack. Its a bold innovative system which works very well.
It will of course mean you will need to learn how and when to switch to manual control in play to stop
attacks, but ultimately you are rewarded with unprecedented richness should you be brave enough to try it.
One thing I should mention is that when you activate keeper control, you remain in control until you press the
right analogue stick back in again. If you don’t press in it again all your outfield players are CPU controlled.
So that could throw some people who expect the control outfield players automatically when the keeper plays the ball to anyone.
Odds and sods
Still present in this build were the old invisible barriers that we know and love to hate.
Again we were expecting these to not be present, but again it could just have been the feature wasn’t included in our build. Because of build differences I don’t want to be critical of the game.
Now that we have access to early dev builds of the game we must be careful to ensure we only report issues which we expected to have been dealt with and not moan about things which we are being told are being addressed. It is very easy to get into a state where this privilege that has been afforded to us by Konami could inadvertantly bring about bad publicity for them through basic miscommunication.
We are very keen to avoid this situation. I am expecting us to get to play at least one more build very soon. If the features are still missing at that advanced a stage, then I think we can begin to worry. But so far Konami have been true to their word in their dealings with us, and we respect that, and won’t do anything to misrepresent any information they afford us.
The trick stick still isn’t present as I had hoped. You still have to use R2( or RT on the 360) to trigger tricks with the left analogue stick/d pad. The right analogue still is still the manual pass stick. Again there have been mixed messages about this, so again it could be a feature that didn’t make the build played, so once again I ask you to reserve judgement on this for now. I will try to get the official position on this as soon as I can. So with the current implementation of tricks, being the same as pes2009, I felt a bit more comfortable with it, but given a choice, i’d ditch it.
Stadiums
There are 22 stadiums in all. The pitches have their own grass patterns, and look very lush.
They definitely are more pleasing to play on.
Summary
I left the playtest with a quiet confidence about PES2010. We’re well onto our way to getting a serious game that has bounced back. I am holding back from declaring my undying love for it, because we’re on the home straight, but the race isn’t over yet. It would be easy for Konami to start to wave to the crowds and even perhaps sign a few autographs, and offer self-congratulatory smiles to the crowds with the finish line in sight. But the big three sites which in my opinion are us guys at PESGaming, WENB and PESFan (in no particular order) will be continuing to provide feedback and request more out of Konami until the very last minute, because there are still small details to iron out.
I’m trying to think of negatives to point out, as I did with my previous playtest, but I can honestly say that there isn’t anything that sticks out that is fundamentally wrong with the game. We need to play a build that is closer to the finished product to categorically state whether the last few features that we want to see implemented are added (such as the invisible throw-in barriers, keeper goal kicks etc, as well as online play).
I’d like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to Konami for implementing 360 control in the game.
It’s absolutely amazing that after the complaints people made after the previous playtest, that Konami listened to what we wanted, and implemented a vital feature – and it works! It’s not a bodged implementation that partially works, but a proper new feature that they can be rightfully proud of. They listened to what we wanted to see in PES, so please do express your appreciation for the hard work Konami have put into adding features into the game at this late stage.
Finally, I’ve added a section below where I’ve answered a small selection of questions a couple of guys put forward.
PES Questions
Questions from Firsty First of the Firsters!:
1) Can you confirm who is doing the commentary and whether or not it is any better this year?
Usual commentary – nothing great – i think we need to help define what we’d like from commentary going forward.
2) Do the crowd chants sound droney still?
Droney but less noticeable. i used to get somewhat nauseous playing pes2009 because of the inane chants.
3) Did you get to play an online game?
I’m afraid not.
4) Did they say what new features will be online this year?
Sorry – didn’t look into this – will ask more next time.
5) Are there any differences with the free kicks this year?
Same free kicks well done though. You feel more in control of shots.
6) How hard are penalties now with the new controls?
As Francis said, in game the pens were different as you take them from the ingame camera view.
Penalty modes still have the normal view we’re used to. Taking penalties is a bit more of an art form, which you would be best advised to practice with your better penalty takers.
7) Does/will the PS3 and 360 version have the faint offside lines like the Wii 2010 version does for when your players stray offside?
That’s a good idea, but unfortunately it’s not in there.
8) Did you get to see the Edit mode at all?
Sorry – i didn’t look at it – my bad! will make a point to further investigate next time.
9) What can you do in the training mode?
Usual training modes
10) Are there still ’sweetspots’ where goals can be scored?
Not that I could see in 2.5 hours of play. Goals were hard to come by. I had to work hard for openings.
Teams are harder to break down so I couldn’t just use the same tactic to break teams down to create shooting chances.
11) How do the new sliders work in real live gameplay? i.e. assigned to hot keys?
The sliders are settings you will tend to set pre-match, and perhaps at half time. there isn’t an option to change them ingame. I don’t think they were designed to be dynamic sliders, but there are options for auto-settings, where basically you can get the cpu to assist with formation changes during game to adapt to your play. Though I didn’t concentrate on seeing how this feature affected play.
Since this is a new feature, perhaps it can be matured over time to better suit our needs. Like yourself, I personally would like the option to change slider settings in game – but how do you do this intuitively and fluently mid-game?
12) Have the keepers got any better?
Once again we were prepped to expect the keepers to be a bit hit and miss, but once again I am pleased to say that I was fairly satisfied with them. they weren’t poor that’s for sure. there were some great animations during the game where the keepers made some great saves.
Questions from Aadam Dhorat:
1) Has konami removed the computer assist, meaning in the box does the player clear the ball without you telling him to, another scenario is if you are going to block tackle someone they do an auto slide tackle, and lastly when the ball is going to go out the player goes for the ball and you can’t stop the player moving?
I can’t say I noticed any such behaviour from defenders. I felt pretty much in control of all player actions during gameplay.
2) Has the passing improved or is it the same, when you pass does the player pass it to the closest player, or have they integrated pressure sensitive passing, like when you hold the pass button for a long pass or if you tap it, it it does a short pass?
The passing system is fundamentally the same. If you press the pass button normally you pass to the nearest player (in the direction of your choice), and keeing the pass button pressed passes to a player further away.
I think you are alluding to whether we have a pass meter which defines the strength of pass, which PES doesn’t have. Hopefully that is something we can look to get incorporated moving forward.
3) Has the game loading times been dramatically cut down because they are very long and tiresome?
I didn’t really look at that properly to be honest, but the guys from WENB did praise it, so it’s quicker – honest!
4) My last question is the shooting, Has the shooting styles been varied meaning is it the same shooting in the middle,top left,bottom left,top right,bottom right, can you shoot in between the middle and side post?
I didn’t try to exhaustively cover shooting, but what I did see of it, it was very good. I had no complaints about shooting – I hope that answers your question!
If there are any more questions you would like answered, please use the comments section to ask them, or email me, and I will look to dedicate my PES OFF!! article this Thursday to answering your questions.
Cheers
Dougiedonut
(dougiedonut@pesgaming.com)
Posted by francis in PES 2009 News on Sun 30 Aug 2009
A big thanks to ‘Diabyisking’ for linking us to this video. It’s quite a clear video of Pes 2010’s gameplay, and I’d suggest that it was the same 70% build which we played on Friday.
Thanks for all your kind words with regard to my article below. As for those with unkind words, I have nothing to say apart from that my article does what it says on the tin. I have no wish to enter into arguments or feuds with people, but I will again look into the introduction of usernames and passwords, as feedback from some regulars would suggest that the counteraction of inane ramblings would be quite welcome!
Thanks to WinningEleven’s blog linking to my article – they provide a great site for discussion and news in my opinion!
-Francis
Posted by francis in PES 2009 News on Sat 29 Aug 2009
Dougie and I attended a private playtest of PES 2010 yesterday in London. Due to other commitments, I could only stay for an hour so I’ll publish my review of the game (as it stands) and you can wait for Dougie’s (possibly fuller) review to be published in his ‘Pes Off’ column on Thursday. It is important to point out that the code/game which we played was the 70% complete ‘press build.’ This means that a lot of details are still to be added, so don’t take this article as gospel – especially with regard to small features which I may discuss as not being in the 70% complete game we played. ‘Firsty First of the Firsters’ and a few other regulars had left a few clear questions for us which I took with me to the playtest, so the majority of these I will attempt to answer, even though I had limited time.
I started on the Playstation 3 version of Pes 2010. What was clear from the offset was that visually, the game was stunning. The sheer graphical content and attention to detail was incredible, and this was also evident on the Xbox 360 version as the most visually compelling edition yet. Mark Lawrenson was commentating, and although I didn’t take much notice of the commentary it seemed concise and to the point.
The menus are a lot clearer and much easier to navigate through; certainly less flashy than Pes 2009’s, and nicely stylised. The Champions League mode was not yet complete so I had a quick look at the training section. The regular ‘Free Training’, ‘Corners’ and ‘Free kicks’ sections were there as you’d expect on the training menu, and it will be interesting to see whether Konami implement customisable set pieces in Pes 2011 as they were clearly not in Pes 2010.
I then went on to play a quick exhibition match: Italy vs. Argentina. I can honestly say that the 360° movement has led to quite a big overhaul for Pes, and – wow – what a fantastic direction the series has taken! It is slightly hard to get used to the 360° movement, but this is a good thing. Dougie commented on the fact that this will lead to people having to almost re-learn the game, and that for the last couple of years Pro Evo has got to the point where people can play a new edition to quite a high standard from the offset. This version seemed as if one will need a bit of practice to become fully competent. I must point out at this point that the D-pad on the PS3 has 16-directional movement, whereas due to hardware limitations the Xbox 360’s D-pad still only has 8 directions.
So, the gameplay truly is great. No longer can you turn in four crazy directions within the space of a second, and one of the things I noticed was that the lofted through balls are magnificent (if executed well). Crosses into the box are now far more up to the player to direct in for the perfect ball. Once players master the art of crossing, I think there will be a plethora of fantastic headed goals coming their way! Lob shots are also much improved, and there was one point where I did a very well placed lob from outside the box, but Dougie’s goalkeeper dived backwards and pushed the ball just over the bar. The goalkeepers we didn’t really notice much difference with – we didn’t notice any silly mistakes and we saw a couple of brilliant saves, but as it was only a 70% version of the game, there’s still work to be done on the shot-stoppers! There were no handballs during the time I had with the game. We couldn’t play online as the servers aren’t up yet – although this is normal for a game which is still a good two months away from release, so don’t panic!
Time for a couple of small points which (as I mentioned) may or may not be in the final game. There are still invisible barriers for throw-ins, and the Goalkeeper still passes to the nearest defender from goal kicks no matter which direction you aim in; Paul however (who kindly set up the play test for us) said that there was a way to pass to a chosen defender from goal kicks – which brings me on to the ‘manual keeper control’. By pressing R3 (clicking in the right analogue stick), you can automatically take control of your goalkeeper for as long as you wish, at any point of the match during play, and sometimes even when the ball is out of play! Dougie selected his goalkeeper when I was about to take a goal kick, before the ball was kicked. Even if you have control of the ball in the opponent’s half, you can press the right analogue stick in and the computer will play for you, whilst your goalkeeper comes rushing up the field (well, if that’s what you chose to do!) We didn’t explore this so much whilst I was testing, but Dougie may well have had a look at the controls and so may have seen what you can do with the goalkeepers in manual control.
Penalties (during a game) are now viewed from a side-angle (well, just from the regular camera) which I found a quite strange. From a few tries I couldn’t understand how one would direct a penalty from a side-view, and I’m still none the wiser! Dougie said that when he played a penalty shoot-out, that the penalties were viewed being taken from the regular angle, so we’ll have to wait and see how that pans out.
We also tried out a few fouls to see how lenient or strict the referee was. There were a couple of late tackles, and unlike Pes 2009, the referee would call a few of them back as fouls. Two terrible tackles from behind (in random areas of the pitch) resulted in two straight red cards, and this leads me onto the crowd noise. The crowds didn’t seem to shout or scream any louder for fouls on home players, but they DID cheer noticeably louder when the home team scored, as opposed to when the away team did. The crowds no longer chant anymore, which sounds a lot better.
With regards to edit mode, I’m afraid I didn’t have time to go into it. Dougie however, may have done, so watch this space!
Some quick final thoughts for you guys. Having been in the same boat as you for the last year with regard to the development of Pro Evolution Soccer 2010, I have to admit to having held myself back from getting overly excited about another edition of Pes which could lead to unfilled promises. I read with trepidation a few reviews of this press build that have been going around recently, and although they were all positive (some incredibly so) I tried to keep from being a little optimistic.
But I can honestly now say Pes is back on track. You guys are going to love it. I don’t get paid to write ITR – this is an honest review, and I can certainly say that this is the best Pes I’ve ever played.
I’d like to thank Steve for setting us up with the play test, and Dougie for inviting me to come along! They’re both thoroughly nice guys, and it was great to meet D even if only for an hour or so. I definitely hope to see them again at some point!
As always, comments on your preferences to what I talk about, whether you liked it, or just general comments on the article, are all very welcome to francis_newall@hotmail.co.uk
Thanks,
-Francis
Posted by dougiedonut in PES 2009 News on Thu 27 Aug 2009
What a fantastic week of news and coverage from Gamescon we’ve had. Not only did we get news of key new additions to PES such as 360 control and advanced keeper control, but people got to play a Gamescon cut of code of the game. General feedback from the event seems to be pretty positive, but I’d like to clear up some confusion people have with the version of the demo.
Firstly, the version that will have been prepped for Gamescon will have been taken from a specific point in development, and then cleaned up seperately for the event itself. In the meantime, PES2010 development has continued. So by the time the demo was unveiled, the latest stage of development is in fact further along the road. So the people complaining about the game not being particularly advanced need to understand this.
Secondly, I recall seeing a comment from someone complaining about why FIFA’s playable version was more complete than the PES version. The answer to that one is quite simple – both games have different release schedules, hence are at different stages in development. PES2010 will be released a good 2 to 3 weeks after FIFA10 hits the street.
I’d like to say that I’m sorry if we were not passing on news during the event, as did PESFan and WENB, but I had a very busy week at work (Sods law it would happen during Gamescon week!), and I didn’t see much value in regurgitating news already available that most of you will have seen on those sites already anyway.
Unfortunately due to Wordpress limitations I’ve been unable to show screenshots of the new game covers for the PS3 and 360. If anyone is a whizz with picture compression, then please give me a shout, I’d appreciate it very much.
I remember the feedback to my playtest a while back, where many people shared my disappointment with us not having 360 control. Since then, Konami have amazed us with news that they’ve incorporated the functionality into the game. I’d appreciate some feedback to what you think of this news.
I’d also like to let you guys know that PESGaming.com have been invited for another playtest due to take place tomorrow. Unfortunately Dan is unable to join me for the session, but after much persuasion, I was able to convince Francis to join me. It took 0.133 seconds for Francis to agree.
So you should benefit from having two seperate impressions of the game, which is always a good thing. I believe the version we will be playing will be much further ahead than Gamescon code, so we should be able to form stronger opinions on where the game is.
I plan on using the weekend to put my thoughts together for my write up, as I don’t want to rush it. I know how important the playtest review will be to many of you, and so I want to try to give a comprehensive review of it. I will look to publish my review probably either on Sunday night or Monday next week, with a view to hold a Q&A session during next weeks article, so you get the opportunity to clear up any issues you may have with the review.
For now, I’d appreciate your thoughts on the Gamescon videos you’ve seen, and if you have any specific questions on areas in the game you’d like me to have a look at for you, then feel free to tell me now. I’d like you guys to partake in this opportunity we have to look at the game.
Thanks for reading
Dougiedonut
(dougiedonut@pesgaming.com)
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Mon 24 Aug 2009
IWP League Champion 2009: Ivan Kostic (Internacional)
Welcome to this week’s Interfering With Play. I am actually on holiday this week, and whilst the luxury of 5 star accommodation and being secluded from civilisation may be heaven for many people, for me, it is important I stick to my commitment and carry on with the weekly column. This week has seen a number of leaked videos in the form of You Tube clips, many of which are not true representations of the stage Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 will be at before release. It is for this reason I have personally avoided posting them on the site. If you find a clip you would like to share, feel free to do so within the comments section, however, I am holding back until official game play video is released by Konami. With this said, I am well aware that the guys from PESGaming.com are attending a play test at some point over the next 10 days, and I am pretty sure they will be voicing their opinions of the current game build, 360 movement and all, within the next week or so. It is with much regret that due to being on holiday, I am unable to attend the event, but at the same time know Double D and Francis will keep you up to date with the need to know information. I will speak to the guys following the play test, and if there are any burning questions you have, please drop me an e-mail, and I will try and put together a sort of Q & A for them for when they get back. With that said, lets move on to this week’s Interfering With Play.
“It’s About Time For My Arrival”
Due to my holiday, this week’s column will be slightly on the brisk side, but hopefully the content featured on PESGaming.com within the next few weeks will more than make up for it. What I will say, before I go any further is that I find myself being a little disappointed with, well, myself actually! Following the latest news and seeing some of the videos and screenshots that are out there, I can’t help but feel excited about Pro Evolution Soccer 2010. It actually looks like the game many people have been expecting for the last couple of years, and as Pro Evolution Soccer 2 was for the Playstation 2, the first real offering of pure quality from Konami on the Playstation 3.
I say I am disappointed of this because for the past two years, I have held my cards pretty close to my chest and almost ‘not looked forward’ to the latest PES, and whilst the games may not have lived up so many peoples ideas, I have enjoyed both titles and saw PES 2009 as a step forward from its 2008 counterpart. Now, with the promise of my Wolves team on PES 2010, and features which Konami could have only dreamed about just a few short years ago, this instalment is the first one that has the ability to let me down. That might sound negative, but this time Konami have actually done it right. They have listened to the community, they have taken views on board and they have potentially improved online. They have acquired another new license and revamped the control system. This is definite progress and is genuinely exciting. This is the Konami PR system working, and for that, I doff my cap to the company. I know there are many people here who have openly gone on record saying they too are excited about PES 2010, I hope beyond hope for my own sake, for Konami’s sake, and for the sake of this very community that Konami don’t let us down. This time, they may just have got it right,
“You Just Don’t Know”
Just a quick one. In my PES history, the first game I always play is Real Madrid against Everton. Always has been since club teams have featured on the game. Don’t know why and am not really too fussed about the reason either. I am sure a lot of you guys have your own mini rituals for PES, some of which I already know. Anyway, the case in point is the fact that having updated PES over the past few days, I find it impossible to build a Real Madrid team out of the players at the club without feeling I should be playing at least three others. For example, last year, when you were Manchester United, you had to occasionally leave Tevez or Berbatov out just to fit in. But with Madrid, no matter which formation you play or how you swing it, there are just too many good players. Whereas in the past, Barcelona were the online team of choice, surely Real Madrid will be everyone’s go to club when it comes to climbing the rankings.
I don’t know if any of you have any views on this, but I think its pretty fair to say that Madrid as an attacking unit will be pretty incredible in real life, but on PES, the players that Real have signed seem to be the ones that are the ‘best’ PES players, and for this reason, I hope Konami have sorted out the defending to help you combat the Kakas and Ronaldo’s. Any one who wishes to say anything about this, please feel free to comment.
“Everything Is Wonderful Now”
Last bit this week, hopefully too many of you won’t begrudge me the slightly shorter column. I have already received 20 applications for the online IWP League 2010. Just in case you’re a little unsure or curious, this is just a shortlist from which the final league applications will be sent to. Of course, if online play isn’t up to scratch on PES 2010, I expect a number of people not wanting to take part for obvious reasons. At the same time, I am aware that some people may not be 100% sure about the league format or how the whole process of the IWP League works. If you have any questions or queries, please feel free to e-mail me them and I will get back to you either personally, or in next week’s column. If you wish to apply, please get in contact using the address below, and send your name, age, location and gamer tag, along with the format you play PES online.
That’s your lot for this week. I expect big news from the guys over the next few days, so please make sure you check back for all the latest PES2010 information. As always, please feel free to leave comments and get your views across to the PESGaming.com public. It is not surprising that interest is heating up and there will be a lot more people for you to discuss and share your views with. Finally, the e-mail address for all your points and questions is interferingwithplay@hotmail.co.uk. That is also an address I use for Windows Live Messenger, so if you want to chat to me about PES issues, please feel free to add me. Now, back to the holiday.
Thanks for Reading
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Mon 17 Aug 2009
IWP League Champion 2009: Ivan Kostic (Internacional)
Welcome to this week’s Interfering With Play. This time of year is now the ‘business end’ of the Pro Evolution Soccer development stage, as final builds and official play tests start becoming a regular occurrence. Most of you are well aware of various gaming conventions that are occurring over the next few weeks, and there a number of opportunities for journalists (and ourselves) to get a play of Konami’s offering this year. I have always said that hype can be as negative as well as positive for a game, and the current generation of consoles have experienced this more than most. Games such as Haze and Kane & Lynch promised so much during their developmental phases only to flop upon release, and whilst this in no way reflects where PES 2010 is heading, it is important to take all the PR information with a pinch of salt. The bottom line is there are very few games that are still deemed ‘playable’ after being owned for 10 months, yet for me, Pro Evolution Soccer has always been one of ‘those’ games. Lifespan and enjoyment is as much of a requirement of any PES as game modes or features, and this is something I hope Konami have stuck by this year. It is a personally very busy week for me and therefore this week’s Interfering With Play will be slightly on the shorter side. The new look PESGaming.com is getting closer, and we are looking at a September release date. This week’s column comes to you a day early, to coincide with some latest PES news. With that said, lets crack on with this week’s Interfering With Play.
“Where Is The Love?”
Well, most of you will have read these statements within the comments section, but I will bring them to the main page by copying and pasting some of the most influential ones. Konami have recently given out news of new features for PES 2010 including:
360-degree control will be available on both the PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox 360 and PC-DVD versions of the game via the analogue sticks on the respective controllers. The system will allow players to spread the ball with ease, opening up new attacking and defensive possibilities. PLAYSTATION 3 owners will also benefit when using the Dual Shock’s D-Pad, but Xbox 360 and Win D-Pads are limited to eight-directional control due to technical limitations of the hardware
Simpler Skills: Moves such as feints, drag backs and upper body feints can be applied more naturally when taking on or trying to beat an opponent. The PES series has long been associated with clever flicks and tricks, and PES 2010 will boast the most to date.
All-New Animation: Key animation related to dribbling, running, turning, etc, has been reworked and enhanced, creating a more natural and organic feel to the way players chase down balls, change direction and move around the pitch. The result is a more fluid and natural look to the game.
Fine-tuned Close Control: The PES Productions team has worked to improve trapping of the ball and basic close control elements, giving the user more ways to spread and move the ball around effortlessly.
Manual Goalkeepers: PES 2010 will be the only football title to offer users complete control of the keeper. Players can switch to their goalkeeper at any time, and will enjoy total control of his actions.
I am not a big fan of copying and pasting information, however this has been confirmed by Konami, and therefore must be reported to the community. The term drip feeding information is something Konami thrive on, and whilst this information may not seem like a lot, it is enough for many people to get very excited about PES 2010. Your views are, of course, very welcomed on this issue, but be prepared for much more news over the next few days.
“Change Clothes”
Following that piece of hot news, I am personally going to discuss an idea that I believe may well be the future of editing within football games. Of course, this is all opinion, but it is something so simple that it would allow casual editors the ability to create their favourite players or teams in a mater of minutes as opposed to hours. It is no secret that PES encourages editing, and this past years game was a testament to such. The ability to upload chants and images made designing kits much easier, and made the in game action sound much more personal to each team playing on the field. One thing that PES has always been excellent at is giving individual players their own feel, and this is something I hope they will continue to address in future instalments of the franchise.
However, one of the most frustrating issues of editing is dealing with the numbers related to player stats. This is, at the core, data entry and the system Konami employs (the scroll through numbers) is time consuming, annoying and in many cases impractical. If you’re editing an entire team, including youth players and reserves, your accuracy towards these stats would start to waver, and you would get players that not only don’t feel realistic, but actually reflect their real life counterparts in no way at all!
One solution offered to this was a Football Manager to Pro Evolution Stats converter, an outstanding piece of software in itself. However, it isn’t actually compatible with either game, which means you have manually enter the players stats from Football Manager into the converter, and then manually enter the new stats into Pro Evolution Soccer. Again, if your passion is editing this might seem like a lot of fun, but for the casual gamer who wants the most realistic football gaming experience their timescale allows, it is simply not practical.
My solution is pretty simple, and kind of relates to the base copy feature used in older versions of PES. Base copy was the art of copying one player already featured on the game into an empty slot, and allow them to be edited to suite your needs. For example, if I were to look into creating Ebanks-Blake for Wolves, I may have base copy of Yakubu from Everton, as both possess similar physical and footballing characteristics. I would then modify the relevant stats to make the Wolves Striker more like his real life counterpart. This base copy idea was since removed from PES, but if it was tweaked slightly, it could make editing a doddle. Editing players physical appearance is never really too difficult. Selecting a hairstyle, facial hair and boots is all quite straight forward. I would then leave the option of gamers to manually input the stats themselves, as has been the case on previous PES titles, or use a Filter to help them get the stats that best suit the player they are making quickly and easily.
The example of this would be as follows. Let’s say, for example, I was looking to create a Newcastle United for PES 2010, and needed a Steven Taylor for my back line. I would create a decent looking likeness from the tools available, and then select the filters from features such as, “Is Better Than”, “Is Worse Than” “Plays In A Similar Style To” or “Is Quicker Than”. By using a number of these, the game could select the appropriate statistics to coincide with the gamers requirements.
To me this idea sounds so simple, yet it could really change the way we as a community edit the game. With teams such as Arsenal using so many youngsters in various competitions, it would be an ideal way to bulk up squads quickly and accurately. Your views on this issue would be greatly appreciated, as it is something I feel Konami could really get on board with, albeit maybe for PES 2011!
“It’s Coming Round Again”
Arguably 6 months away, but I am setting the wheels in motion for the 2010 Interfering With Play League. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, feel free to check on the IWP League mini site at www.iwp.pesgaming.com. Over the past couple of years, I have ran the competition exclusively on Playstation Three, however this year I would like to try and incorporate a X Box 360 or PC division, based upon interest.
The concept is pretty simple. The league is open to all EU gamers playing that EU version of Pro Evolution Soccer 2010. Your game must be running the latest patch, be configured for online play, and you must have an active internet connection. All games must be played online, and the twist is the selection of teams used for the league is what is considered to not be “top clubs”. Last year, there were over 100 applications for 15 places, and this year I am looking to double the number of participants again.
If you are interested in taking part in this in this year’s competition, please feel free to e-mail me with your name, age, location, gaming format and gamer tag. I will also be more than happy to answer any questions you might have. The e-mail address is featured in the below paragraph.
That’s your lot for this week’s shorter and different dated Interfering With Play. Dependant upon PES info, there might be a great deal of posting this week, and therefore I will no doubt be on the site later in the week posting more news. interferingwithplay@hotmail.co.uk is the place to send all league applications, as well as any other queries or comments, the alternative being to leave a comment in the area below. As the PES news begins to heat up, it also might be a good idea to bookmark PESGaming.com or add us to your favourites.
Thanks for Reading
Posted by francis in PES 2009 News on Sat 15 Aug 2009
Gamescon
So, as expected there will be a lot of news announced next week, with ‘GamesCon’ in Germany on Wednesday. This is one of the largest gaming events of the year, and many developers take this opportunity to let gaming fans see their latest offerings, and to unveil the majority of new features for upcoming releases. Here at PesGaming we try our best to give you the latest FACTUAL Pes news, and as has been mentioned before, we don’t deal with speculation.
However, one largely unmentioned point is that on Monday at 10am, the embargo is to be lifted for journalists and the like who have played the most recent code. This means that they are free to release articles and to tell the world about the most recent version of Pes 2010, so a lot more information will be available to everyone. It would seem that Konami are really trying to let the game and those who have played it do the talking, and attempting a bit more promotion via word of mouth and articles such as this one on fan sites around the world, rather than the over-hyped, over-glamorised promotion we have seen them release over the last two years. This leads me down the path of optimism as we draw nearer the release of Pes 2010. It would seem to be crunch time this year for Konami; with many die-hard Pes fans having ‘defected’ over to EA’s Fifa, if Konami don’t get themselves back on track this year, I fear that the series might find itself at a standstill.
PesGaming.com’s Fantasy Football league
As I mentioned earlier in the week, there is a PesGaming Fantasy Football League. I will try my best to get a few prizes for those who take the top places at the end of the season. You can make a team at;
http://fantasy.premierleague.com/
And the PesGaming league’s pin number is; 1094261-218093.
There are (at time of publication) 109 entrants, including myself – so it is a massive league, and one which will be interesting to follow as the season goes on. If you haven’t yet joined, make sure you do so within the next few hours, as the league will close to new entrants at 11.30AM BST, Saturday 15.08.09. Last year I think there were about 10-12 entrants, so this year’s league will be different to say the least!
Looky here
This week’s lookalike was sent in by Reece Jackson, and I have to say it’s definitely one of my personal favourites out of the ones which have been sent in by ITR readers! If you have a lookalike then please email me on the following address!
As always, comments on your preferences to what I talk about, whether you liked it, or just general comments on the article, are all very welcome to francis_newall@hotmail.co.uk
Thanks,
-Francis
Posted by dougiedonut in PES 2009 News on Thu 13 Aug 2009
Well we’re a few days away from Gamescon, and can expect to get lots of news and views from the event. Konami are keeping tight lipped on what they are going to be presenting, understandably so, and so the excitement of the event is building up nicely.
Now that we are reaching the tail end of the development cycle for PES2010, we can finally expect to get more concrete details on what the game will shape up for real. The next set of playtests, and indeed the Gamescon event which will allow attendees to get their hands on the game for the first time, which will give us all the feedback we’ve been dying to hear.
PES is more than just a game to many, many football fans. It has harnessed our passion for the sport in a manner bettered only by playing the game for real. As we all know PES has fallen on hard times of late, and is at a crossroads right now. Many of us are frustrated with the game currently, especially when we consider the pedigree of Konami’s development teams. In only a matter of days we will get more evidence of how PES2010 has made a comeback. The game carries the hopes and fears of gamers around the world.
So until then we have what may be an agonising few days wait before we get what should hopefully be lots of great news on improvements to the game.
Traditionally prior to the release of a new PES game, I generally stop playing the current version a month prior to the new release being made.
This serves a couple of purposes:
1) I play other games which lay neglected due to PES not leaving the machine
2) By not playing PES for a month means I’m practically frothing at the mouth for the new game.
This year however, I’ve not clocked up my usual hundreds of hours on a PES game. I’ve played PES6 for nearly 2.5 years. I stopped playing PES6 a few months ago, and haven’t really played PES2009 this year properly. So I’ve kept myself busy with other games, and have craved the return of PES. By the time PES2010 is released, I think I will be practically certified crazy. I enjoy shoot-em-ups, and various other sports games, but there’s no real substitute for the king of sport PES. I’ve missed the buzz and adrenaline that PES generates.
How many of you guys do something similar to me with PES, or do you play the current version until the new release is ready?
It will be interesting to hear your PES rituals if you have any.
Anyway, that’s all from me this week, and next week should see the dawn of a new era in PES games.
Thanks for reading
Dougiedonut
(dougiedonut@pesgaming.com)
Posted by francis in PES 2009 News on Wed 12 Aug 2009
I’ll make this quick as to not push Dan’s IWP down the frontpage anymore. For those of you who haven’t yet read it, scroll down a little for the 100th edition of his cracking column.
Run by Alex S (this year too, I think) you can make a team for the fantasy league at;
http://fantasy.premierleague.com/
And to join the PesGaming.com league, you will need the pin-number which is 1094261-218093.
It’s free to play, and if I can get hold of a few prizes then maybe there will be some for the top two or three.
Kudos to ‘Firsty First of the Firsters’ for reminding us all!
-Francis
