You touched on some important points there, I have experienced this and I have also experimented with it. Back in PES6 I used to create some teams with all the Players Perfect, and by perfect I mean all the Stats in 99 and all the Special Abilities.
And by playing against those "Perfect Teams" I didn't win most of my first matches, I eventually came up with the right formula -but- the Point is that teams with better players have too much of an advantage. We all know that in reality -- having world class Individuals doesn't translates into a world class Team.
The game lacks "Team Chemistry". I can basically play with whomever in the same team, and still come out winning. I can play Riquelme, Valderrama, and Zidane all in the same team -and- still end up winning with no problem. Which is completely Unrealistic.
Anyways, I completely agree about Categorizing players.. But maybe players should be categorized by Stats. And maybe we can have a good List for Animations and Dribbling Movements, so that each and every player feels unique.
I have a lot of ideas on my mind, but right now I don't have the time. I think you touched on a very important point, something that Konami has never managed to implement into any PES, and something that deserves good Thinking. I hope I can "eventually" come up with something.
And as for the "Team Chemistry" Concept, I have something that I think would take the game from "Old Gen" to "Next Gen". I'll post the whole (long) elaboration below.
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Now to the point I wanted to post this time, it’s about the “momentum shifts” in a Football Sim.
I’ve played PES for years now, and there’s Cheating in all of them. It’s like some games are “Scripted” to a certain extent.
Those “lucky” goals that the COM seems to score countless of times. Goals product of GK spills, free-kicks, corner kicks, and penalties.
And then there’s the Super-Com mode, a Mode in which the COM is always faster and stronger than you regardless of the distance. At times you can even slide with a perfect tackle, and for some reason, the ball takes an unnatural effect and falls right back at the COM’s feet.
This is when I notice a difference in momentum, when the COM suddenly becomes significantly faster and stronger than me, I know the momentum is against me.
I think the “momentum” Concept needs to improve, because it’s Limiting the development of the PES series. It’s one of the key flaws holding PES back.
The momentum changes regardless of Logical things such as possession or player Stats. There doesn’t seems to be any Reason for the sudden changes in momentum.
I think Konami haves to revolutionize their game in this aspect, they need to have an unbiased concept, so that they can have a Reason behind every AI-Controlled shift in momentum.
This will require New Concepts such as an in-game “Confidence Level Gauge”. And also New Stats such as “Mentality” and “Consistency”.
A system consisting of 2 Stats and a “Confidence Level Gauge”. Both Stats Dictating the “momentum shifts” on the pitch -via- the Confidence Level Gauge.
The Confidence Level Gauge, to Represent each player’s Confidence or Form throughout a Match. It could go from 1% to 99%. And it would Vary depending on the Mentality and Consistency stats of each individual.
And how will the "Confidence Level" dictate the "momentum shifts" in a game??
Simple, if a player haves a Low confidence level of 50% -- his Stats will go down significantly, for a given time during the game, or until he can get himself back into the game.
And by the same logic, if a player haves a particularly High confidence level -- his Stats would go Up for a given time.. this is when everything seems to go right for that player.
Everything from Stats to the happenings on the pitch would have an influence on the Confidence Level of each individual and team.
So that the “momentum” can be measured by an unbiased concept. Meaning that if we summed up each Individual’s Confidence Level, that would lead to the Team’s overall Confidence Level.
Meaning that the “shifts in momentum” would be in favor of the Team with the better Confidence Level, and against the team with the lower confidence level.
And considering that Football is a game of stringing a few passes together, building up play, and “eventually” coming up with the End Product.
We need to take into further consideration that variations are endless. Sometimes a Play consists of just 3 Passes, whereas other times a Play consists of 15 Passes.
We should also acknowledge that If a game has an average of 30 Plays per game between Both Teams, a Football Sim should have an average of 30 Shifts in Momentum per Match.
Meaning that each Play had a Distinct momentum. Maybe in one particular play the momentum was 70% against you.
The momentum could keep increasing steadily for one side, or it can twist and turn for the entire 90 minutes. Maybe in one play the momentum is 30% in your favor, and if you keep building up on that for the next 5 or 10 plays, the momentum would be 80% in your favor by the 11th play.
Which would result in your team being faster and more focused than your opponents, you’d have more “luck” than your opponents. The momentum would be on your side.
This would come hand-in-hand with the “Team Chemistry” concept. It would introduce “Team Chemistry” into the game.
Because if your Attacking Midfielder doesn’t gets the ball, his confidence level will go down -and- consequently his Stats will go Down.
A player with a Low Confidence Level will also have Lower quality for some plays, because his Stats will go down momentarily, or until he starts getting himself back into the game.
So if your Defensive Midfielder is having an off-night, his Stats will go down. And probably, if the Defensive Midfielder is having a bad game, your Attacking Midfielder won’t see much of the ball. Meaning that some of your Attacking players will depend on some of your Defensive players — This is “Team Chemistry”.
And Team Chemistry isn’t just about having a star-studded team, it’s about fitting talent appropriately and balanced. In many cases quality isn’t the most important factor, most titles are decided by the Team with the best Chemistry.
Maybe the “team chemistry” concept can have more to it, but this would be a great start in my opinion. As well as it would fix the random “momentum shifts” that have become an annoyance.