The petty annoyances of PES2012 are legion. Off the top of my head, Jim Beglin constantly referring to the wrong side of the goal is one. “That went into the right corner of the goal,” he’ll say—when the ball has just gone into the goal’s left corner.
In established convention, the ‘facing’ of a goal is from the goal’s point of view. So the left side as a striker looks at it is actually the goal’s right side, and vice versa.
But this convention isn’t respected by Konami. Maybe it’s different in Japan, I don’t know.
I know it’s not actually Beglin’s fault. He just records the lines he’s asked to say. He’s not to blame for Konami using them in the wrong contexts.
Another annoyance comes in the pre-match setup screen. Often you’ll spend 5 minutes or longer tweaking your formation pre-match, slotting in all the right players and tweaking their positions, maybe even adjusting the tactical sliders to make everything just right.
And then you’ll accidentally double-press Circle and go aaaall the way back to the main menu, cancelling out everything you’ve just done. Now you’ve got to go back in, and do it all again…
There are more like that. The annoyances of football games in general, and PES2012 in particular, are not all about CPU scripting and glitchy collision detection.
Season 15 has stuttered slightly. Last time, I was hot on the heels of the league leaders, Manchester United, just 1 point behind. I’m still on their heels, only not quite as hotly as before.
That 1-point gap has become a 3-point gap, Their better goal difference effectively makes it a 4-point gap.
I suffered from two calamitous draws, one against Liverpool at home, the other against Shamrock Rovers(!) away. The latter team have an eerily lifelike Regen Pirlo as a craggy 18-year-old midfielder. He’s already pretty good, and while playing regularly for Shamrock Rovers he’s developing quite nicely. I’ll probably swoop for him in a couple of seasons.
In both matches I had good last-gasp chances to win that crashed against the post. First from Rooney, second from Forlan. If just one had gone in I’d be much better placed than I am now. As things stand I’m relying on Man Utd losing and drawing in order to catch up, while not dropping any more points myself. In this game, that’s a big ask.
I’m through to the semi-final of the Cup, where I’ll play… Mancheser United.
And after being eliminated from the Champions League I’ve gone straight through to the knockout phase of the Europa League. Where my opponents are Marseille. I’ve already played the first leg at their ground. I won the match 1-0. I should, fingers crossed, finish the job back at mine.
My big new signing, Sibon, is truly a beast. I’d like him to be a bit quicker on the ball, but I can’t complain about his physical dominance of the box. After a slow start, he’s now scored 4 goals in his last three games. Three of the goals were mighty headers.
I have mostly stuck to my usual style of play, and allowed chances for Sibon to occur naturally. As I said before his arrival, if he gets just 10 goals for me in this half of the season, and those 10 goals help me win something, he’ll have been worth every penny of the imaginary £40m I spent on him.
Max – agree, scout no point. The one who takes young talent and turns them to superstars is a Romanian – he has 2 for youth development, 2 for tactical, 3 technical but 5 for spotting potential. He is 1m. The trainer I am getting is 3m – he has 4 for form but also 4 for injury, fatigue, physical training and 3 for power. Tyndalopp is great for form but not good for fatigue. Now I have some internationals that is a problem.
by the way forgot to post in the penalty debate. I always go the way that is natural for the striker to hit it – right foot I dive to the right of the screen as you look (keepers left) and vice versa. As most players are right this means pressing down/right and I seem to save quite a few. I once saved 2 in one game. I haven’t noticed any difference with 1.06.
I wait to see which way the player puts it then dive, saved 3 of the 4 pens in a shootout the other night.
PES penalty system is awful, FIFA’s is much more skilled
Paul—I’ve always felt that quality DMFs are worth their weight in gold in PES. So much CPU play comes through the middle (especially in PES2012, eh). There have been some corkers in PES over the years. Mathieu, Prieto, Bradley, Gerrard, and now Neeskens for me. Only my fellow Classics-enabled PES2012′ers can share my joy over that player. You want breaking up of play and tireless work box-to-box and side-to-side? Neeskens is da man. When he turned up in my office ridiculously asking for the #10 shirt (at DMF?! yeah, right, Konami), I gave it to him without a thought.
With Neeskens, Farinos, Schweinsteiger, Gerrard, and Perrotta in my squad I’m so overloaded with DMFs that I might miss out on Heycory altogether in this PES.
max & uncle turf—you’re not tricking me back into the Training debate, no way.
I have absolutely nothing of any value to add except ‘uh… yeah… like, maybe get a good coach and that?’
Re. penalties, I was really good at saving them until recently. It was either just a flukey run that came to an end naturally, or it was the move up to Superstar (the change happened roughly then), or it was 1.06 (I’m a committed patch sceptic, so I only add this possibility for politeness’ sake).
NG- nobody mentioned the new unmentionable word!
We are trying to work how to get decent youths through our youth team and the best way to upgrade at these early stages with limited funds.
I just played the semi-final the day after the international and i won 2-1 after extra time! i went 1-0 down early in the first half and just thought fuck it i’m not going to win and went all out attack. I was doing well until the 85th minute when they ripped my deffence apart and were through 1-1, i stood up my keeper with square and press triangle at the last possible second and wiped out the CF and gave away a penalty. Only a yellow of course, even though there was no deffender in sight and the ball almost rolled in anyway. I SAVED IT! and from the rebound i counter attacked and got an equaliser. Into extra time my players had no stamina bar left what so ever apart from Sahafi so i stuck him up front on his own and pulled every1 else into the midfield to crowd out the ai. It worked and i got him through 1-1 a few times and managed to stick one in the top corner while under pressure from 2 defenders. Parked the bus and saw out the remainder of the game, the final is against Porto the runaway leaders of the league.
Max – congratulations, you are way ahead – regardless of the league. I am 4 games into season 4 in Div 2 and I’m in big trouble. My team is much better this season, I am playing well, keeping possession, creating chances (not just Ribeiro) but I am getting hammered every game by outrageous shots, diving headers, etc. I come off the pitch losing 4-1 wondering, eh – they only had 4 shots?! It’s not how I know SuperStar it’s how I remember Top Player was. The chairman now rates me a 9. If I can’t win a few games (and 3 of the first 4 were at home..) then I’m going to be sacked. I am desperate to keep going but it feels like those end of season big wins always cost me a really hard start to the next.
NG – I can’t remember if you’d won a trophy on SS? If not it must be very similar to how I’m feeling – if you don’t get a good start, or string together a run then you’re just marking time till next season. Seems a long while since you posted about silverware.
Max—sounds like an epic match and a valuable win. Careful in the final—playing the top team on the back of a memorable semi-final sounds like a recipe for the CPU to throw you a grim 0-0 battle in the final and snatch a crappy winner. Pray you get the first kick-off. If the CPU kicks off, watch out.
uncle turf—I have not won a thing on Superstar. My last silverware was two months ago in season 11, which was my last Professional-level season. (Currently on season 15, my 4th SS one.) That was just the D1 Cup—looking at the sepia-tinged picture of my winning eleven in that post makes me quite nostalgic.
NG – I thought so, that actually helps me put it into perspective – I need to finish top 3 which isn’t exactly a given in SS. Yes it’s a weaker league but all the free agents dropping down doesn’t help and my team is still averaging low-mid 70s. Please chairman give me more time…
uncle turf—what would you do in the event of a sacking? Will your purity of essence demand a full restart? Have you tucked a recent savegame away nice and safe somewhere?
If/when you get the final Chairman warning, be sure to play the following match—it’s something you might just have to go through, as I did and I think Paul and others too. Despite what the warning says, you can get away with a draw in the crunch match.
Now halfway through 8th season and finished top of europa league group and am in 4th position in the league. I have the 2nd best defensive record in the league with 16 conceded, but have only scored 22. I have Heycory 103ovr aged 25 and he is immense, good in the air, crunching in the tackle and can’t half whack the ball. When I get round to uploading some goals he has a couple of screamers which will definetly be on there.
Pele is retiring at the end of this season and I will have to try and get him paired with Owen just for old times sake.
the trophies i have won on superstar so far are 1 champions leauge,3 europa league,1 super cup and 1 club world cup but i am not fully sure i have to check the photo gallery to make sure but i do know that only got the carling cup(d1 cup) on top player and was using the first team and 1 eupora league also on top player.
NG – I haven’t had that yet but I can’t handle being beaten the way I am at the moment – 9 games in, 1 win, I almost went up in my second season what is going on?!
So guess what – I fired up my original, the ‘when this blog was just about to move up from Pro’ save. Season 7 in the Premier League. 11 games gone – 27 points, 2nd behind Arsenal. My team plays the same formation but instead of 69ovr, 72ovr, it’s Buffon in goal, De Kaam, Kmou, Chigrat, Neymar, Otam…I have 4 of the top 6 players in the world. Ribeiro has scored 161 career goals – he got 51 last season! (on Pro of course). I have a huge number of juniors I need rid of (now I know what true potential is) but I am gagging to give these boys a go on SuperStar.
You not having got a trophy yet has given me a cause. I have saved the default game but I want to (almost) enjoy it again!!
Lloyd—that last sentence is, in a nutshell, why Master League is great: ‘Pele is retiring at the end of this season and I will have to try and get him paired with Owen just for old times sake’….
barton—after almost 4 seasons on Superstar now, I can honestly say: very well done. Interesting that the title has eluded you so far. It’s the one I crave the most, partly because I think it’s the hardest of most. There’s so much in the way on Superstar.
uncle turf—I forgot that you’ve never actually played PES2012 on Superstar with good players. It’s quite a game on SS with better players, very rewarding, tough as nails, still as brazenly cheaty as the proverbial fuck when it wants to be, but with better players you have a chance.
Your Default Superstar challenge was admirable (and still is—it’s not over yet, I know), but after several weeks of wearing a hair shirt whilst laying on a bed of nails, you deserve to play your old save again. Albeit now on Superstar, of course—where it’ll be very interesting to hear how you get on.
NG – you’re not wrong, I need to feel the enjoyment of using players with high stats before jumping back in at the sharp end.
It is interesting for the future of both games though that I can compare the two and in mid season 7 I still have Shimizu, Ribeiro and Palmieri. Shimizu is declining in ability, transfer listed, yet full ‘happy with club’ (obviously pre-transfer trick), Ribeiro is 73ovr (69 in my Div 2 game), Palmieri 82ovr (78 in Div 2). I have a handful of ‘come from youth team’ who are mid 70s – way behind equivalent youth players signed from Other. It suggests to me that your youth may produce the odd gem but not as reliably as scouting Other and that the defaults just never get to the top – none of the ones I have sold appear in any top lists. My back 3 are all 100+, Jig is my first reserve on 91 – Palmieri is clearly there just for me to feel I retain a link. Saviola is 69ovr – I reckon we’ve realised thanks to your postings that it is just too long to wait and almost impossible to indulge too many team places on development of lots of youth players. I’d been nurturing Mellthrop from youth yet he is still only 79ovr at 21 – Farinos and Heycory are sitting there nearly 20 points higher at a younger age. I’d love to know if anyone has got a default up to the 90s as that’s the minimum in my starting 11 (apart from Ribeiro)- and that’s only season 7. If I do a start again on SuperStar I think I would have to scrap the reliance on youth/dafault development and look to buy Other. Full marks to Max if he can make it.
anyone – ever enabled ‘master negotiator’? I assume it just makes your scout better rather than changing how negotiations are done.
uncle turf—my understanding of Master Negotiator is that it does make Negotiations more likely to fall in your favour. I’m no more than very very slightly aware of it as a thing, though, so it could be something else.
Just played this morning’s quota of matches—time is so precious just now—and they were deeply satisfying. Four seasons ago I was surprised to find how rewarding Superstar can play. With good players of course. I have no knowledge of how it plays with lesser players, never mind Defaults, and I don’t want to know. I think for you a few seasons of playing SS with good players would stand you in good stead for another tilt at the Default challenge. There might be just enough time before September.
Farinos has been good for me but not as staggeringly great as I thought he would be. But I think we all know that how we all individually play the game plays a huge part in determining the qaulities of Farinos, Sibon, et al. There’s no formula.
Too many Youth players spoil the broth. They just hang around, making occasional subs’ appearances, taking up space in the squad list. Two or three are manageable, any more and it’s just a pain waiting for them to mature. It feel like ages ago that I got Rooney, for example, but it’s only this morning, weeks later, that I looked at him pre-match and thought he was worth a starting place.
Uncle turf- its a shame ur default league is on hold but for the best if u weren’t enjoying it, I thought Belhanda might have tipped the scales in ur favor. I have used that master negotiator a few times but it didn’t make much difference. I have played a few saves where I take a current team to the league title then quit, only making a few key signings. I think it just improves your chances of signing players and negotiating lower prices but I still had trouble signing the players I wanted.
Max—with uncle turf I think it was a case of him going straight from his old save—Professional difficulty, good players—to playing Superstar with Default players. As we all know Superstar can be something of a slow (or fast) martyrdom at the best of times. With Defaults… eh, I don’t even want to think about it.
NG/Max – yes, that’s right – I never played my recent double winning 7 season game on SuperStar. when NG went up and some folk followed I got all pure and decided to try from the start on SS. God knows why I also decided defaults and youth only – I should have kept that for Pro, or tried SS from the beginning doing as I pleased. Which incidentally…”would stand you in good stead for another tilt at the Default challenge. There might be just enough time before September”….is just shameful in how it manipulates my emotions. I have already set the game up – Gateshead, new strips, 3.9m in the bank, Schmidt, Palmieri, Camacho, Shimizu and Ribeiro signed, a load of defaults on the transfer list, a slightly tweaked formation (2CBs!) and bids in for Tolchotryzn and a couple of others. I’m going to play around with the season 7 first but then it’s SS from season 1, open rules on buying (although lack of cash often makes that irrelevant till season 2). A clear ‘only get youth if they will make it’ policy is necessary – I could get regen Kmou for 300k.
uncle turf—have you given up on your existing Default save again before you even get the Chairman warning?! That’s twice, if so—why don’t you want to play that crunch game?! For me the crunch game was one of the most memorable parts of this whole career. In fact, it might not be possible to get through a career without facing a crunch game.
All the best with the new adventure, which sounds much more sensible. Take off that hair shirt and get up from that bed of nails. It was lunacy to dive cold into Superstar with Defaults. So are you going to go straight into the new one, or play some of the seven-season save to acclimatise? I recommend a full season. Superstar is a harsh mistress, as you know.