BOBS MASTER LEAGUE ONLINE

Hi all, it's Bob here again!

I have been so caught up with life, fun and PES that I have lost track with posting here in THE PRO EVO MASTERS LEAGUE blog! My apologies go out to all of you that visit, and also to those that visit regularly.

So first of all, I thought I would fill you in on some of the new things that have happened with the blog and also what will be happening from here on in.

Some of the regular visitors may have noticed that the look of the blog has changed. I have changed the layout, design and also added a new header at the top. Within the header, you will probably notice that there is also a new addition to the team as well. I have not yet formally introduced the new member of the team, so here goes.....

Please welcome "THE MIDNITE KID" ! A fellow PES enthusiast, who loves nothing better than getting stuck into a good game of PRO EVO, especially online. He plays PES on the XBOX 360 and lives in Ireland. You will be seeing more from him, so if you have any questions regarding PES on the 360, feel free to ask any questions by posting comments on his posts. I play on the PS3, so in the same regards, please direct any PS3 related PES questions to me in my posts. In general though, any questions will be answered by either of us.

We are currently working together to bring you a better blog relating to PES and hope that if you have any ideas, you can let us know. This will help improve the blog for us, but most importantly for all you Die-hard players out there.

Posting days are going to be shown once we have decided when the schedule should be, but we need your support to make this one of the best PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER  sites on the net.

Now on with the post...........

I have been currently playing around with 3 modes in PES 2012. ML online, ML offline and BAL. Obviously, I cannot play all of these at the same time, and can only make so much progress with each one, but I wanted to make sure I had a decent start before 2011 was out.

In Master league Online, I have grown my team from the lowly 15mil default, to a fairly decent 38mil force. I have not yet had much real luck with my strikers, but from the funds I could use, there have been a few that have filled the slots when on form. I have strengthened my defence as much as my funds would allow and bought better players  by selling current 'out of contract' players and using some accrued income.

Income from games has grown from 600k (loss), 800k (draw), and 1.2m (win), to 900k (loss), 1.2m (draw), and 1.8m (win). So to round up, the more expensive your team, the more money you will receive, regardless of how the game ends. I think it has been programmed like this, to allow you to TRY and keep some of your more expensive players, even on a losing streak.

Sometimes it is hard to build your team further, especially on a run of defeats and when your players are all seeking new contracts at the same time, but you can allow for this by buying new and extra players when contracts run out in these positions. Other players may have different suggestions, but this seems to have worked for me.

I have not played anywhere near the same amount of games as most players have, due to concentrating on the other modes from time to time. This has left me undeterred though and I am quite happy sitting in division 4 with my current team. I have good and bad days when my run of games leaves me happy or not, but I always manage to bounce back from a run of defeats. I try and set my matches to play against a similar level, but instead of doing this, the game seems to give me a much higher division opponent with a team worth at least 10 times the amount of my own. I believe it all comes down to the rating which can change dramatically with a win/loss streak. This is wrong and should be addressed by Konami, and I am sure going to contact them about it. The similar level should be linked with the statistical value of the team and monetary value, not with the ratings. Seeing players with a team of top class players in a division 4 cup or even div 5 is wrong, because those players may have purposely lost games so they can easily win cups and gain money.

Is any of this fair? I will let you be the judge of that, as you know I have my own thoughts.

But without sounding too defeated, I will keep trying, and keep playing. I play honestly and will try my best. I am not the best player in the world, but I always like a challenge, especially a fair one. What is the point in cheating?

Well that is all from me for today my PES friends. Keep checking back for more updates on a future posting schedule, and I look forward to your questions and comments.

BOB

PRO EVO MASTERS LEAGUE - GUEST POST

Sunday's is guest post day! 

Unfortunately there are no guest posts for today as no one has been brave enough to write a post.

Not to worry though, as I am sure there are a few of you that will come through and tell everyone in the PES community how you have been getting on.

The whole concept of the Guest post, is to give other players the chance of their say about PRO EVO. What are your likes and dislikes about the game? Do you have a great story to tell about your progress in your Master league, on or offline? Or do you have a group that enjoys regular meet ups to play tournaments or cups? These are just a few ideas on what you could write about.

Don't be afraid to speak your mind (just watch the language!). Pro Evolution Soccer is one of the best football simulation games on the market, and although Konami do not have all of the licences to the team kits and player names etc, you can still find decent option file updates that others in the community have kindly created and made available for free, so others can enjoy playing PES without switching to the rival game that is fully licensed.

I myself am an avid Pro Evo player, and love to participate in matches against other players. I do have gripes about the game itself, but it doesn't stop me playing! There are of course those out there that decide to cheat somehow when playing online matches. I don't know as of yet how they do it, but generally I don't see why they have the need to cheat. The whole point in playing the game is to have fun and try and win. If you have a good match and lose, but the other player is a decent individual that has not cheated and has won the match just because they have scored more goals, then I feel that is a good game. If you play your socks off and the other player somehow influences the game into letting him, or her win without putting any effort into the game, then in my eyes, that counts as a void game! There should be a way to weed out these individuals, and give the good, honest players a chance of some decent games.

Until next time peeps.......................Keep playing!

BOB

AN OVERHAUL OF PES 2011???

Since the likes of PES 5, the game of Pro Evo has undoubtedly moved down within its own ratings. Most of these reasons have been taken from the annoyance that is the scripting of the AI elements.

The enjoyment of playing the game has changed dramatically to the extent of a match having its own so called "story" being played out. Of course you have the satisfaction of scoring a few goals and winning a match, but in general, you simply cannot play the game without it somehow changing the course of events that are going to actually happen.

For an example, I played a game in Master League mode. My team were on good form, with mostly orange and red arrows. The opposing team were not on good form, with a few green, but mostly blue or purple arrows. Plus the opponents team were generally lower in stats than my own. 

This was all in offline Master League.

I was counter attacking any waves they were sending towards my goal, and keeping passing going very well.

Possession was high for me, giving me the chance to find a route through on goal. 

After launching a good few attacks which ended up with no goals, I continued to press on and see if I could eventually score. My shot to shots on target ratio was spot on and I had not put any wide or over. But still nothing went in! They did not have the best of defences, but always seemed to stop the ball or take it off me without a single free kick.

The second half came and brought me with a couple of options. Carry on with the style of play I was currently using, or change the tactics and move around them a different way.

I decided to stick with the same and continued to form attacks and defend as needed. After 10 Min's of the second half, I managed to score from a corner, but only just. In a twist, My star striker had been injured and ended up being subbed ( I later learned he was out for 12 weeks!).

Within a few seconds of the restart, they opponents formed an attack and passed the ball to their striker into the middle and headed towards my goal. I had 3 defenders still back and 2 were close to the attacker. When I tried to change my player to the closest one and try and close down the attack, it would not let me somehow. After plenty of L1 button pressing, I had my defender selected and sprinted after the attacker,

It was too late! The AI had been given that edge over me by gifting them a piece of scripted play that allowed them time to get through before I could defend myself. They had the keeper to beat though. Surely I could control the keeper enough to save my lead?

"Errrrr" said the keeper. 

I used the triangle button to bring the keeper out, but he moved one step, stopped and watched in awe as the player ran past him and slotted the ball in the net. This was a gift from the AI God who just wanted to give them a chance I suppose. Well the chances came thick and fast, and no matter what I did, I couldn't play the same as the first half. In the end, the game finished 3-1 and left me seething and wanting to throw the game away! I was not impressed. The other goals should not have happened either. 

You know when certain parts of the game are not right, and generally, if Konami want to keep the PES franchise going for years to come, they seriously need to sort this out. Its one thing giving AI players more individual functions and making it harder for you to play the game, but scripting the game so it allows the computer a comeback if things are not going their way is wrong. If you are a good player, you should get the goals you deserve and win the game, not have it thrown in your face by the game turning on you.

Whatever happened to a fair game and good sportsmanship?

Rant Over, but hopefully the next post will have a more positive note.

MASTER LEAGUE ONLINE - POINT SYSTEM

Hi and welcome back to the Pro Evo Masters League. 

It has come to my attention recently that the whole point system within the online master league is completely loopy!I am sure that I am not alone on this one either!

There is also the issue with the money earned per game during your online matches.

To me, it is very confusing.

Now here are a couple of examples of what we are up against. The whole point of the master league is to try and compete with other players for a chance to move higher up in the ranks. You do this by playing others with your master league team that you create, and the same goes with the other player. OK so we know what to do.

Within your master league team, you can buy and sell players at any time you wish, providing you have the funds to do so.

Firstly I will address the revenue system. You have to pay a certain amount based on the popularity of your team. My team at present costs me about 45k to enter a quick match. I know I have the money to enter, so I carry on and progress to the match. When the match has finished, I get to see how much I have earnt, then the process to take my fees and give me my revenue goes ahead and voila, I have my profit. Do I get much profit? Well you would have though that by winning a game you get more than  you would if you don't.

One thing I noticed was that whether I win lose or draw, my revenue does not seem to be affected by the result. The only time I have seen the revenue change substantially is when I end up being drawn against a div 1 or 2 player. The most I have gained from an online master league match was about 150k, giving me 100k profit or thereabouts. My worst has been 42k giving me -3k after fees! The 150k was after a 2-2 draw against a div 2 player. The 42k was against a div 4 player that beat me 1-0. But I have received 80k from a losing match against a div 5 player before. 

So the point is, is there an actual structure to the revenue system? Because at the moment, I cannot seem to find one!

As for the points, They seem well up in the air! You may gain 10 points from a win against a fellow division player, but they seem to lose 7 points. Why? I am still stumped. The only major differences I have seen is when you manage a win or draw against someone much higher in the ranks. But there still seems to be no proper and fair system!

I may not be the best at realising things, but keep us informed Konami! Let us know what is actually going on!

I will try and do a bit more research about the master league online soon. There must be some way of finding out how you can improve your rank or at least know how it is worked out.

Until next time PES fans, 

Catch y'all laters!

A BIT ABOUT PRO EVO!

Thanks for coming back to my blog which is all about PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER or as some just say PES. Any of you that do come back regularly will know that I post about all areas of my gaming experience within PRO EVO. I just love playing the game. The most up to date version is of course PES 2011, which undoubtedly is the best version yet. The graphics and realistic playability are definitely improved within this version, but there are flaws within the game. 

As I often browse the Internet for other PES related sites and articles, I have noticed that many people moan about the flaws, but still they are very passionate about the game. I ask myself "why do you moan about the game, yet still manage to say its the best football/soccer game ever?". There are many that whinge about the licences within the game and say that its competitor (which I will not name) has all the licences and they should get them! Well to be honest, if you are one of these people, then why do you not realise that the reason why the other game has all the licences is because they have the SOLE rights to them! This means only they can have them! Does this make any sense at all to you? PES does have a couple of the licences, but they do have the option to customise the game. This means you can download an OPTION FILE, for FREE! You then copy and save the names, kits etc and hey presto you have all the right content to aid in your gaming experience with the game you keep saying you love and prefer!

This should help these people I think, but I am sure there will be more that want to moan. I have seen and experienced more flaws, but in this world I have also noticed that no one is perfect. Konami does try to fix these flaws to keep these so called fans happy through the help of online patch updates. The update takes just a few minutes (at most) to download, then install, then hopefully some problems fixed! Definitely a good idea in my eyes, but it still won't silence the moaning fans. 

My ending view is "KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK KONAMI!" and "NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO, THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A MOANER OR TWO!"