Interfering With Play 05/02/08
Posted by Dan Bolas in Interfering With Play on Tue 05 Feb 2008
This week’s Interfering With Play focuses upon the edit mode of PES2008, and how it may be improved for later versions of the game. Of course, this is a much debated and ridiculed subject, seeing as up until the Next Generations of Pro Evolution Soccer, the edit mode was one of the most impressive aspects of the game, and thanks to option files, made the lack of official teams and strips almost bearable. As always, comments and e-mails are welcomed in the usual ways, regarding anything spoke about in this week’s column.
Seabass Letter: Editing
This week’s topic for the Seabass letter is regards the editing elements of PES2008, and possible ways it could be improved for 2009. Here, feel free to read the ideas, and comment on their importance to you as a PES gamer, along with developing any that may sound like a good idea. These are the collective views of many gamers, along with my own personal views and those of my PES playing mates.
The edit mode on PES6 for the Playstation 2 was as comprehensive an edit mode as has ever featured on a console football game. Aside from actually patching the game, a tactic used by most PC gamers, the level of editing that could be achieved using simple tools was fair better than anything EA or anyone had to offer. The fact that the X Box 360 version of the same game featured a minute edit mode that merely allowed name changes meant that maybe, Konami weren’t really concentrating on the editing power of the Next Gen, and PES2008 has proven this fact.
The first feature that defiantly needs to return is the pixel editor, allowing clubs badges to be edited using a simple, Microsoft Paint style program. This would, in turn, give the strips more authenticity by allowing the clubs real badge to feature on them. The pixel editor would be much preferred by many gamers to the use of a Digital Camera, which not only limits the amount of space required, but makes it harder to actually get the perfect image, due to lighting and texture issues. It is pretty obvious that Konami have experienced a great deal of problems regarding content editing, as the FA Premier League would be the first to put a spot to any unofficial shirts. I have made my own team each year, using my mate’s names and designing pretty accurate strips, however, this year I have been unable to do so. This is surely something Konami would encourage, and a pixel editor; with space for at least 500 badges, sponsors and logos is a must for the next version of PES.
A lot of people have brought to my attention the number of boots available on PES2008, and that it is nowhere near enough. From a personal point of view, 12 pairs of boots in a variety of colours suits me fine, however a lot of gamers seek more. The ability to customise patterns and styles seems a massive point on most people’s wish list, but a more realistic request from some is the option to have default templates, similar to PES6, and be able to customise the colours using the RGB scale similar to those for making kits. Just a thought but something that seems to be in the forefront of the PES gamers mind.
Having edited the game myself this year, I have noticed the poor scale of colours that can be used for shirts and shorts. Anyone familiar with Adobe Photoshop will know that the RGB scale runs from 0 to 255, giving a huge number of possible combinations and colours. The PES scale runs almost a third of that, which is hardly acceptable from a Next Generation game. People who have edited the game themselves have said they have found it hard to represent exact shirt colours for teams like Manchester United and Liverpool, with this being the main cause. Of course the option of more colours would also increase the graphical appearance of the game, something that every Next Generation franchise should be looking to do on a yearly basis.
One of the biggest shocks for most PES gamers was the shocking number of templates available for custom kits, meaning you could only create similarities to your team’s replica shirt. Despite each shirt providing a number of different combinations, depending on the colours and patterns used, it is still a step backwards from the last generation and again needs to be sorted out. Crazy options such as 12 different styles of captains armband are more than willing to be sacrificed in order to bet more realistic patterns for shirts like Portsmouth and Everton. Twelve did seem to be slightly a magic number for editing modes, as everything, from Font Styles on the back of the Shirt to the number of available short types all came in blocks of 12. Granted, it was Konami’s first multi-format Next Generation release, but 2009n needs an improvement on it.
The obvious options should also be included, the choice of the location of the clubs badge, with clubs placing it in the centre of the shirt becoming a more common occurrence. Also, the huge option of adding sponsors to the front of the shirt, a feature that makes plain kits look much more realistic. A step in the right direction would even be allowing the placement of test across the shirt, as opposed to the nothingness that currently fills the space.
And the final point is regarding the posers! Gone are the days of the simple, long sleeve or short sleeve shirts, with the UnderArmor wearing, tattooed celebrity player replace them. PES has always been the first for this, including gloves, caps, friendship bracelets, sock tape and many more ‘accessories’. Again, this needs to be updated further, ranging from things like tattoos on the players forearms to different styles of shorts. It is something that will no doubt be addressed in the future, but there is no better place to start than PES2009.
That is the main points I have received on the editing front in the e-mails and comments. Any build up on this or possible ideas related to these can be sent to me via e-mail or left as comments at the bottom of this article.
It Hurts To Be This Good
Now I am in my mid twenties, I find myself in a gaming situation very different to that of my teens and even my childhood. I have always played a lot of computer games, and whilst football games and sporting games were always my preferred choice, I have dabbled in all genres, some which agree with me, others that I truly am poor at. However, since the PS3 release, I have found myself flying through titles, completing them at will and whilst enjoying them, wishing that some would put up a bit more of a fight. I play most of my games on the Normal to Hard settings, and don’t spend every waking minute playing them, yet have completed a staggering 7 PS3 games in 9 months. Bear in mind, I have never completed Super Mario Brothers 3, and never had the patience to stick at the puzzles of the Monkey Island or Dizzy franchises, and always resorted to walkthroughs. As a gaming generation, are we just getting better at games, because it is more socially accepted to play them, to earn the bragging rights of completing a game down the pub can replace how cool the car you drive is. Or is it that developers want to get us through games quicker, as a way of making you feel good about yourself, and willing to purchase more of their titles, and support that particular franchise at a later date. Any views on this subject would be more than welcome.
96,97,98,99, Paused
It wouldn’t be a football website if we didn’t mention the Beckham situation, and the fact that Mr. Capello has decided to leave him out his first England squad. Most football fans, and England fans have enough common sense to see what Beckham has done for English football, and indeed the image of the game all over the world. His face in as associated with the sport as Tiger Woods with golf, or Michael Jordan with Basketball, and his legacy as a player, irrelevant of what happens over the last few seasons of his career will live on, thanks the defining moments that have happened before. Least we forget the kick on Simone, the two corners he planted in the Champions League Final, The free kick against Greece and the ‘dodgy’ Portuguese penalty spot. He has answered a lot of his critics with the ball at his feet, none more so than Capello himself, who told him he could leave Madrid only to ask him to sign a new contract following his excellent performances in helping Real to win La Liga. There is a huge media circus that surrounds the ‘Spice Boy’ and maybe Capello didn’t wish to have his first game as England coach remember as being Beckham’s hundredth, and with so much young exciting talent coming through, he had perfect excuse to play the fitness card. Of course, Beckham signed away his competitive football career when he joined LA Galaxy, but its pretty obvious he will be fitter now training with Arsenal than he will ever be in his time in the states, an area that are still very much in love with Brand Beckham. Your views on this current footballing hot potato would be welcomed, although by the time some of you read this, the friendly will have been and gone, and it will be either a case of ‘Who Needs Him’ or ‘Get Him Back’!
Slightly shorter than usual tonight, due to the fact I have a fair bit of other work that must take some sort or priority, however, as many regular readers know, you are more than welcome to reach me in a comment form on here, or at danbolas@hotmail.com if you want to vent your opinions one on one. I try to reply to all e-mails, but in some cases the sheer volume makes this impossible.
Thanks for Reading
Good column mate! I think Beckham should play just so Capello could get it outta the way but now he’s dragging it on in terms of media focus and spotlight that the team probably doesn’t want come WCQ.
Editing:
1) It should be possible on the 360 to port across option files - right now its not supported officially, which means that a lot of people are risking bans on live because of something we should be allowed to do.
2) Edited teams should be available for online play. I think its a crying shame that our edited creations can’t be used online. I can see a good reason to ensure all players have their default stats, as some people will change them, but why not allow us to use kits we have created/modified?
3) We should have the ability to share/swap option files with updated kits/teams officially supported.
4) We should have unlimited goal save slots.
5) We should be able to upload goals scored to a common site where we can view them online via our PCs, or consoles later.
6) We should be able to edit 100% (which includes the kits, boots, flags, and player faces too)
7) webcams usage for editing should be enabled and supported
8) Ability to install custom versions of the game as created in various PES forum sites) onto hard drives for PES should be supported. If someone goes out their way to create a proper champion’s league edit, then why can’t we be allowed to play them, without having to mod a machine?
9) A silly one - but it would be nice to be able to edit the colour of pitches! You used to be able to change the colour of the pitches on the ZX Spectrum (on Match Day 1 & 2) - why can’t we do this on our state-of-the-art machines??
Over and out.
P.S. Dan - substitute “definitely” for “defiantly” in all your articles - please!! B-)
we need a return of the base copy of players so we can build all star teams without messing up all of the league teams
edited teams players should be able to be used online, maybe not in ranked matches, but definately in friendlies. that goes for master league developments as well.
if players don’t have their real names because of licence issues, then surely they can be just one letter out like on previous versions, so Hullit instead of Gullit to make editing names much quicker.
Team lists could be available on live to down load.
should be able to save goals scored online
thats it for now
And another thing - where have all the classic teams gone?
why can’t we either have classic club/national teams in the game from the beginning (or as unlockables), or be allowed to import these teams into the game via option files etc?
We have hard disks on consoles now too, so why can’t we use them to benefit our gaming experience?
One of the biggest benefits of modding a console is that all of this is possible through the many gaming communities around.
(as well as bootlegging - but give people the option of adding their own gamer content without having to mod their machine, and I think most people would welcome it)
Hi Dan,
Great article. Although I am not a regular editor myself, it would be great to have much more clubs teams in the game that was is supported right now. Why not adding a few more leagues in the game such as the Belgian, Portugese and Japanese leagues, if these leagues are easier to support in PES from a copyright perspective than the Premier League?
What I also would encourage is that the option file no longer includes the statistics and achievements of the individual player, but that these would be captured via a separate file. This would make it possible for the individual user to either get unlockable items via this separate file on the Internet or by unlocking these all by himself.
Furthermore, the statistics of the user (e.g. goals scored, games played etc.) should also be a separate file so that the statistics are truly the stats of the player itself and not of the person that created the option file.
Cheers!
Hi Dan,
Thanks for the article. My point is simple, although I do agree with much of what was mentioned in your article. They need to bring back the “base copy” option. When making my mates in a team its invaluable, one of my friends plays and runs just like Joe Cole, another is a spitting image of edwin v d saar!! It boggles the mind why they remove small things like that, maybe they dont think they are necessary, but if so why keep them in the games for the last load of editions….oh well….rant over!
Good letter Dan. I’d love to hear what Seabass has to say about it. There are many areas of the game that I think lack the ‘next gen’ touch, but none more so than the edit mode, which seems to have gone back 8 years. It’s just bizarre. As you say, I can’t get my team’s kit looking any way accurate, yet I can choose from 18 captain arm bands? Who gives a shit. Also, such emphasis on putting your face in the game? I want a real football simulator Seabass, not me instead of Ronaldo on the wing for Man U.
Surely, the sky should be the limit with the amount of space we have to play around with on next gen consoles? I have 60GB on my PS3. Enough room to modify the kits, emblem, boots and faces of every team in England! Not just the Premiership.
One thing that really got my goat up in PES2008 is the laughable amount of stadiums on offer. Nearly every ground in the EPL features of FIFA 2008 (which by the way look 10000 times better than PES), yet not one on PES2008? First of all I thought it was a licence issue, but then the PS2 versions has quite a few?? Given the size of the HDD, why not let us edit everything!? Hell, let us create our own stadiums if we wish. Where is the harm?
Forget PES for 5 minutes!
What just recently happened to Lewis Hamilton in Spain needs to be discussed.
My opinion;
The fact that most public figures to have “condemned” this foul racism have made such statements as “The FIA should consider cancelling the Spanish GP if there is a repeat of these actions” tells you all you need to know! CONSIDER! REPEAT! Are you mad?
These types of statements portray the massive depth to which racism runs through all of Europe.
These types statements are said in stern response to racism, but, use such weak words and show no willingness too take real action.
Sad days indeed.
How about the fact that no-one seems to have questioned why his car randomly slowed down for half of the final grand prix before speeding up again or the fact that the pit didn’t call him in until his tyres were so knackered in the previous race.
Smells fishy if you ask me. Talk about racism from fans, I get the impression there are a lot of people within F1 that don’t want a black guy winning the championship.
Its so very very true that PES9 should have a better edit option, but with so much to wish for lets forget about boots, it has very nothing to do with game. Lets have Basecopy, more shirts, Pixel maker ect.
mn9ajas, that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve read in a long time nd I frequently read the forums!
“Smells fishy if you ask me. Talk about racism from fans, I get the impression there are a lot of people within F1 that don’t want a black guy winning the championship.” <– utterly absurd and pathetic. If they “didn’t want a black guy winning it”, McLaren would have been thrown out of the championship like they deserved to be.
About editing:
1-wheres the old editing mode?
2-make a player mode better
3-stadiums names(real ones)
4-make my own team mode better
5-stadiums for my team
6-new boots and emblems
7-new balls
8-more hair styles and run styles
9-a lot of celebrations
10-not just one celebrations per player e.g.C.Ronaldo celebrates in different aways
ITS WAS NOT BAD AFTER ALL!
pro is the best game.i like very much