PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2018

PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2018

Is PES 2018 AI scripting as bad as 2017?
This is the only thing I care about really, since I only play Master League, as PES 2017 was probably the worst one I remember in terms of AI match fixing.

How's 2018 in this regard? Having read some reviews it looks like it's more of the same BS.
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Beiträge 1628 von 28
First of all I enjoy losing a game where the other team outplays me. For me what drives me nuts is when the game decides a pass for me. I will choose a direction to an open player and it will end up passing to another player who conveniently is covered. This really starts to happen more often late in the game if I am winning. I also can't stand how my teammates are completely devoid of the ability or desire to act on their own in a positive manner to help me out. They will stand there and watch while the ball sits there and conveniently allow the other team to get it. You constantly feel like you have to personally control every player on the field, but when the action is happening too fast there is nothing that can be done. You can also tell the moment someone on a run is officially being controlled by you as they automatically slow down to allow the CPU to get past you to get the ball. Or they will go in some random direction to make sure that they specifically don't get the ball. That drives me nuts. Also the CPU really uses the ability to shield the ball, whereas since the CPU is also in control of your players doing this they conveniently don't use the shielding when it can benefit you, like say when you have the ball and are in a scoring situation. I can't remember over the past several weeks one time where my player shielded the ball. Rather the CPU just runs directly past me and just takes it without the slightest amount of resistance. I would rather control it as I don't trust the CPU to actually help me in those moments when I need it. I could go on and on, but I am done. This is still my favorite soccer game and I love it way more than last year, I just wish they could design their AI in such a way that it doesn't have to manipulate things in order to be competitive.
AI sucks hard...at previous pes AI was bad...but this year they destroy the game....its the first time after many years of pes that i want to change to fifa
Ursprünglich geschrieben von kerasmeno:
AI sucks hard...at previous pes AI was bad...but this year they destroy the game....its the first time after many years of pes that i want to change to fifa
Like FIFA is much better in the AI department. I'd argue that it's even worse.
PES 2018 is a perfect blend of RNG and scripting and so it doesn't matter how good you think are, the AI decides when the fun is over - so for the most part you're merely a puppet.

Given that the game operates off these little 'switches' (blends of RNG and scripting), even though the presentation (graphics, passing options general play etc) is better the amount of actual control you have over what you do has been decreased dramatically (on higher difficulties/online). Again in-game mistakes are not my own (at times during higher difficulties/online play).

Also, cursor change is worse than ever. Why did they add the "see next player" option when it won't ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ change to that player anyway?!?!?! It should have been called "see next player it won't change to" option.

Scripting/RNG and what to look out for:

- Generic shots - same shots over and over, usually at the keeper or over (yet when you play on easy the variety is suddenly much greater, your range, accuracy and variation are unrivalled yet go online and suddenly your player can only kick it over the crossbar or at the keeper!)

- Passing options, I tend to use the "send the player ahead of me on a run" feature a lot, which means the player in front is supposed to start running forward. But a lot of the time just stops, or doesn't run at all. Funny enough only when the difficulty is high, I'm online and the computer is angry - i.e. my team are suddenly playing like ♥♥♥♥. Players not making runs for you or coming to support you when you are on a break - ever get in that situation where you are forced out to the wing, none of your men come to help you, you become quickly isolated i.e. you are always forced to 100% non-scoring zones when initially in a position of advantage (i.e. you play a lovely ball over the top down the centre, yet suddenly you're closed down by three cyborgs - who are running backwards I'll add!) and forced out wide.

- Changing player - players won't change, or become very unresponsive (always at crucial times) or it changes to the wrong player at the wrong time or just doesn't change to the player you want (i.e. the guy closest to the ball), until they have reached a safe distance to do what they wanted, THEN IT CHANGES!

- Tackling/Defensive play: Players run into one another, tackles simply don't work or the ball just passes through your player even though you've timed the interception perfectly. Opposition blanket tackles and impossible physical recoveries + the old elastic rebound straight back to them no matter what happens, bobbles, deflections, tackles, the ball always miraculously ends up back at their feet.

Now add the RNG:

Relating to RNG, the focus is on consistency - I believe the AI now chooses from a range of options available for a certain pass/tackle/shot.
I will try to clarify using passes as an example. So let's say for a short low pass the computer will draw from 3 pass types, let's call them A, B, C, D, and E, where A is a straight pass to the intended target, where B is an alternative pass but also toward the intended and C, D and E are poor pass outcomes. Now once everything is going well (i.e. you are not getting squeezed by the scripting gods) the AI will only utilise the RNG outcomes from the A and B selection (unless you are a complete banana and did not actually direct your pass properly) but all being well (i.e you correctly directed and pressed the pass button) therfore you should see your passes nice and crisp as you want them. However, once the AI decides it's your turn to suffer then the RNG selection will largely be made from the C, D and E selection pool, and this applies to every aspect of the game and underneath I believe this is where PES 17 was better (and the previous titles) because they didn't have as much RNG.

I could go on and on.

All of the above (scripting) mostly happens when the AI goes berserk - you can clearly tell when this happens, look out for it, your passes are suddenly wayward, AI just blanket tackles everything and cuts your defence in two with 3 passes suddenly ending up 1v1 with your keeper, and your players just start acting stupid, cursor changes are more sluggish, you have no passing options beyond the middle of the park, suddenly your player takes big touches when controlling, and the AI just effectively does what it wants - ever have a goal scored against you and you could literally do nothing about it even though you knew what was happening in advance? Well that’s what I mean.

Once you know it you won't be able to ignore it.

Now I love PES - this isn't a negative rant, but the things that made it great are beginning to die off. Even when the AI doesn’t go berserk (and when I say this, it can happen in a 1v1 online with another human player, your team will just play like ♥♥♥♥ at times and suddenly the same will happen to his team and I'm sorry but that’s not what I want, I merely want my mistakes to be my own and they aren't).

The biggest issue with what I'm seeing is that the game suffers from split personality where your experience of the game will vary depending on what your settings are (i.e. offline, online, easy, hard etc.

Personally, I play the game on Professional and I do enjoy it because there are more passing options than any other PES, and some of the touches are bits of play are simply amazing, however the defending (when the AI turns off the tap) is atrocious (because the scripting negates any possible counter challenge) so basically you've just to sit and take it - now it has always been like this in PES, though not as bad, before (in previous titles) you could eventually close the computer down (usually not until deep into your own half) but because of the poor cursor change in PES 2018 AND the way players are momentarily 'sucked' away (hello scripting) from the ball only to be 'released' once your defensive players are just out of reach of making a successful tackle/interception, funny that!

The biggest issue with PES 2018 is that the gameplay consistency is all but gone now so once a threshold within the game has been reached (usually some point in an online game or difficulty above medium - think about that period after you score online), things stop working and this is how the interaction of the AI is dictated, and it's not right, it's Konamis way of trying to maintain balance online and stopping people from ever being able to master the game to a point of complete dictation - which is fair enough. Think about it, if there was complete consistency in the play and you were allowed to do what you wanted then you could (theoretically) score from anywhere, all you would need to do is get the speed, trajectory and power right, and if we had complete control then because we're adaptable people we could essentially 'break' the game by finding all the places to score, and of course those who had spent a religious amount of time studying every bit of the game would be able to know how to take it round every player. Because when things are black and white thats what happens, people figure it out, over time they discover that they just need to run up to point X on the pitch and press button Y with Z amount pressure and it's 100% goal. So to prevent this they throw in the RNG and scripting. But still that doesn't make it right.

But I just accept that now, I now accept there will be times where I just can't do anything and the opposition may score while that happens. Once I got over that I could focus more on the good bits which are fine when I'm playing offline. Sadly, however, when it comes to playing against my friends (1v1 versus) I can't ignore it, it makes me want to smash the game and go on a rampage to find the programmers hell bent with grievous intend, all because I am a competitive person and believe myself to be a smart player (or at least I think I am) and a person who believes they could beat half of the world (and all my friends) easily. But only when I am granted full control over my in-pitch choices, and I'm not. Online and versus play is just puppet yo-yoing and I can't stomach it.

Question is, where do we go from here?


Zuletzt bearbeitet von fatehasfans; 20. Okt. 2017 um 7:42
ridiculous things i had some across so far ( the ones that i remember)
- mustafi stand still and let the ball pass 10 meters ahead so the opposition striker can comfortably take the ball and scores ... the ball from my own goalie ... from a goal kick
- alcacer while dribbling outrun bellerin over and over again in a match ...
- ter stegen comfortably let the ball slip from his hands .... from a very weak shot (as weak as back pass), from outside penalty box ... ( i swear he already catched it) ... but he just let the ball slip from his hands ... so the opposition score equalizer at 91min
- u play beautiful football but in the end ... messi/suarez miss empty net or 1on1 v keeper from good position ... for ♥♥♥ sake ... messi /suarez ... miss empty net in one game more than in their entire career in real life ... this happens too effing many times
- can not get the correct player to defend like everyone (with proper IQ) have mentioned

how i wish i saved those the replays ... i could go on and go on ...

before some stoopid sh*t tell me i'm terrible player and go on switch to fifa .... I dont give an F about fifa ... I'm not among the best players but I still mostly win .... the script also works for my benefit at times .... which makes thing even more ridiculous .... scoring goals doesnt feel rewarding
pRick 8. Dez. 2017 um 12:25 
Ursprünglich geschrieben von katzenkrimis:
Ursprünglich geschrieben von Osiris^:

This is the only thing I care about really, since I only play Master League.

Anyone who complains about scripting is just terrible at playing the game.

Losers will find any excuse to justify their losing streaks. They never blame themselves and their own stupidity.

I'm blanking teams like crazy in my 7th year with Millwall. Goose eggs happen frequently.

My defense is great now, but it's going to get even better.

Script complainers are a joke. If you believe in scripting then you are just as dumb as the rest of these guys. I could play my next game over and over again, and get different results. Due to deflections, luck, a bad ref call. You can't duplicate a match. This isn't scripted. These gamers are just bad at playing the game. They whine and complain, blame Konami, but the the truth is, they haven't got a clue what they are doing.

They should go back to playing FIFA and Football Manager. Their brains wouldn't be challenged so much, their stress levels would drop, and they'd feel good about themselves again. Like, 'look at me, I'm really smart, I know what I'm doing' type of thing.

You're retarded if you think scripting doesn't exist in this game, do you even know what scripting and RNG is ? Did you even try to play a master league match on Legend difficulty ?
Zuletzt bearbeitet von pRick; 8. Dez. 2017 um 12:27
Ursprünglich geschrieben von Osiris^:
This is the only thing I care about really, since I only play Master League, as PES 2017 was probably the worst one I remember in terms of AI match fixing.

How's 2018 in this regard? Having read some reviews it looks like it's more of the same BS.


It's a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ travesty - looks great and at times feels good but everything feels 'controlled' by AI. When AI decides - Your players run away from the ball etc. good ol' cursor delay at crucial times (wink wink AI), same old generic shots - you push left/right/up/down or whatever angle you try to create when shooting and your shot/header ends up being hit straight at the keeper - but then as if by magic in 1/10 of your shots actually goes where you want when you score.

Keepers are also super Godlike and long shots are practically non-existent and I won't even go into what they've done with the freekick system, utter trash ♥♥♥♥ now - useless. Tried FIFA it's just as ♥♥♥♥.

But apparently, if you're stupid, both these games are amazing!
Zuletzt bearbeitet von fatehasfans; 8. Dez. 2017 um 14:06
wh1te 29. Dez. 2017 um 13:06 
It's still the same disgusting ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, players will see the ball passing right next to them and they don't give a ♥♥♥♥ they will only wait until the enemy striker has it to try something. and many other silly errors that are not that silly when you're playing against the AI cos it always ends in goal. agains you of course.
xxHammxx 10. Apr. 2018 um 14:16 
Ursprünglich geschrieben von Osiris^:
This is the only thing I care about really, since I only play Master League, as PES 2017 was probably the worst one I remember in terms of AI match fixing.

How's 2018 in this regard? Having read some reviews it looks like it's more of the same BS.


It’s pains me to say it but the gameplay in PES2018 is heavily scripted/unbalanced in places!( very Noticeable on derby games)This is not me being a sore looser and just a knee jerk reaction, ( I am a loyal PES player since its inception in 2000)but when you play a Derby game or perhaps a 3rd team in a row That’s a 77 average rating, The A:I are just ridiculous!!!! On the Top player setting they will just play you out of the game. GNK Zagreb had a fullback who’s is able to draw 5 players in and dribble around them, and play a thru ball to the open space since he just took out all the defenders. I want the Game to be challenging Konami, but not outright Unfair.
I haven't played this game for about 6 months and I had a day off work today so thought I'd kick back and pick it up again. What a waste of time. You literally spend the entire game screaming at the screen because your players are doing nothing that you tell them to do.

The fake "stalls" in your player movements so the AI can regain possession or to stop you getting shots/passes off is criminal.

Just spent an hour of what was a relaxing day off work getting pissed off at some dumb cheating game.

Completely done with PES.
RetO 28. Apr. 2021 um 11:18 
Ursprünglich geschrieben von katzenkrimis:
Ursprünglich geschrieben von Osiris^:

This is the only thing I care about really, since I only play Master League.

Anyone who complains about scripting is just terrible at playing the game.

Losers will find any excuse to justify their losing streaks. They never blame themselves and their own stupidity.

I'm blanking teams like crazy in my 7th year with Millwall. Goose eggs happen frequently.

My defense is great now, but it's going to get even better.

Script complainers are a joke. If you believe in scripting then you are just as dumb as the rest of these guys. I could play my next game over and over again, and get different results. Due to deflections, luck, a bad ref call. You can't duplicate a match. This isn't scripted. These gamers are just bad at playing the game. They whine and complain, blame Konami, but the the truth is, they haven't got a clue what they are doing.

They should go back to playing FIFA and Football Manager. Their brains wouldn't be challenged so much, their stress levels would drop, and they'd feel good about themselves again. Like, 'look at me, I'm really smart, I know what I'm doing' type of thing.

He's too "good" to notice some sudden change of paces, gameplay, errors, and whatnot in the game that he said has spent quite some time playing and mastering. Scripted AI is some sort of code that would trigger a certain booster for the AI during gameplays. Most of the time you can still win them, but those scripts are just too annoying to deal with. Having played this game so many hours and become "good" at the game, I'm surprised you haven't noticed some weird thing suddenly happening in your entire time playing this game, or maybe beginner level gameplay's script doesn't make that much of a different compare to that of Super Star level. Thing such as player suddenly stops running (delayed running), walking away from a pass (watching a pass going to the opposite team), AI defender outpacing a fast runner (Muscular defender with 70+ speed vs Bale), AI defender constant interceptions, and unbeatable AI goalkeepers are some of the annoying things that happen in PES gameplay. I doubt you have played this game much, that's why you never noticed any of the problems. I bet these poor players here discussing thing issues can beat you as easily as they beat those Top Players AI (with or without scripts). So maybe next time, try to understand more before actually spitting **** because it makes you sound like an ignorance nerd.
Old thread but I'm seeing this now and it's extremely frustrating. I have to write it somewhere. I NEVER complain about scripting anywhere in all the other sports games I play, I usually laugh at threads like this. But what I'm seeing here is ridiculous. There's no other explanation for it other than scripting or level scaling or rubber banding.

I did great on my current save for the first couple of seasons but now it seems almost entirely random as to whether I do well or not. I'll have a game where things look alright (though not like before) and then I'll have a game against a 2nd division level team where my players act like they'd never seen each other in their lives until the whistle blew to start the game. Stuff like:

Goalkeeper throwing the ball out to a left back, and the left back apparently not seeing it and just jogging forward as the ball rolls out of bounds behind him.

Attempting to play a long ball from midfield, and another one of my other players runs right in front of the player kicking the ball and the ball rockets off the back of his head all the way back to my penalty area.

Own goals. Defenders not even close to being in position. Guys having an obvious through ball opportunity or open man and instead trying to run it through 3 defenders. Especially the through balls. That was how I scored a lot of my goals in the past, but now I haven't seen one in months. When someone does attempt one it is straight into a CB's chest. And forget winning a header. I don't think I've won a header in the opposition penalty area all season and I'm halfway through now.

I mean, my tactics familiarity is over 90. My team is more talented than last year and on paper is as good or better than all except the most elite opponents, but if I put this squad as it plays now against my season 1 squad that came in 2nd in the Championship I'd lose 70% of the time.

Basically my forwards never score anymore, nearly all of my goals are rando efforts from fullbacks and midfielders, and my defense is erratic. In fact halfway through the season, my leading goalscorer is a fullback. Only one of my strikers has any goals at all. You watch an attack develop or a corner get taken and you just know your players aren't going to do anything - just get dispossessed in the lamest possible way, whiff on a header, hit a really weak, contested shot, or miss the goal by 3 feet. Every time. And my most talented players are attackers, mind.

And the thing is, I tend to do better against good teams as though I'm being elevated to match up with them. So it doesn't matter if I'm playing Manchester United or Bishops Stortford... my chance of beating each one seems to be about the same. And it's not like the tactics are affecting me - I can clearly see that my players play much worse against weak teams, making idiotic mistakes and showing over the top lack of judgement. There's no way that's natural.

I don't know man. I have over 100 hours in the game, and the last 5 hours I'm pushing through, hoping things will get back to where they were before but I'm about done with this. As I write this I've scored one goal in the last 4 games, which was an own goal by the opposition, like enough already.

I'll add that anyone who thinks this game is a more in-depth management sim than Football Manager is not as smart as they think they are. There's just something funny with this title. And it's a shame because I really liked the game until this season I'm playing now.
Zuletzt bearbeitet von AlterEgo45; 19. Feb. 2022 um 18:46
So after another 3-0 loss I said ♥♥♥♥ it. Next game I put my goalkeepers as forwards, played everyone out of position, and used the worst possible strategy. My tactics familiarity was 39.

Lineup [ibb.co]

I didn't sub anyone, didn't change anything, just left everyone out there. I won 1-0.

Result [ibb.co]

And I saw the AI team making the same dumb mistakes that my own players usually make. It wasn't luck. I had 48% possession and outshot them - 2 shots with 2 on target for me, 2 shots with 1 on target for them.

We're halfway through the season and my reserve goalkeeper now has more goals than all but one of my strikers.

This game is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ wack. How did I not see this before? How were people defending this? I'll never touch another PES title after watching that.
Zuletzt bearbeitet von AlterEgo45; 20. Feb. 2022 um 16:42
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