* beta version of the gameplay v3 is available below
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hello,
I was hoping I wouldn't have to make this post, as It would be best for gamers to explore the new gameplay as we used to do every time a new pes game is released.
here are some notes and facts about SP football life gameplay:
Facts and Info:
- although football life 2023 uses pes21 as a template, it is not pes21, in fact, the gameplay and scripts are more than 90% different than pes in all aspects, the gameplay will always have tweaks and updates but it will not be similar to pes.
- a player who is running or off-balance will not be able to make a good pass or shot, although this is already similar in pes21, in football life the impact of that is much bigger, also a player who holds his head up to actually see the destination will be much more successful than if he keeps his eyes on the ball, observe the player body language before executing a command.
body language (movement) is more important in FL23 than in PES21 to make successful actions (dribble, pass, shoot, …)
- to better understand different aspects of the gameplay, I recommend playing some matches with a zoomed camera (close-up), to better observe the difference in the animations and movement of players, and to see how the body language of the player can drastically change the action of the player and the opposite reaction, on and off-the-ball movements are much more pronounced in FL23.
- although I always do tweaks and enhance the gameplay of various modes, especially ones that I'm not used to like FUMA, it will still be football life gameplay and not close to pes21, I don't want it to be similar to pes21, we already have that option if you are looking for the classic pes21 gameplay, any updates to football life will probably take us further away from the traditional pes gameplay.
- best defense for free kicks is to jump the wall at the perfect moment, note that players have different types of executing a free kick, to defend it you will have to feel what type of shot he makes, however, if you face Messi shooting from close range, your best defense would be praying or kicking the controller out of your oppositions hands,,,,
- In FL23, goalkeepers might look over-powered, sometimes under-powered, in legend difficulty, the goalkeepers would make more saves than they do in lower difficulty obviously, but even in legend mode, goalkeepers do make mistakes and do let unexpected goals in, also a low-rated goalie can make an unexpectedly great game, a superstar goalie can make stinkers too.
that also describes real-life goal-keepers, however, there are new GK scripts in development, which will make goalies feel more natural.
- FL23 activated more layers of AI actions and animations that were never active in any previous games, AI players will consider more options.
example:
AI player with the ball in pes gameplay:
the player will consider option 1, if it's risky he will switch to the second option, depending on the player he might consider a third one or just clear the ball or make a mistake if the player is low-rated, he will not re-consider one of the previous options.
AI player with the ball in FL23 gameplay:
same actions as in pes21 but, the player can actually re-consider previous options if they become open, this will make the players act much less robotic and the play less predictable, this applies to passes, shooting, defending, and other aspects.
same actions as in pes21 but, the player can actually re-consider previous options if they become open, this will make the players act much less robotic and the play less predictable, this applies to passes, shooting, defending, and other aspects.
that is one example, there are tens of similar actions all over the gameplay.
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Refereeing
yes it can get frustrating, yes it can surprise you, it will make you mad and sometimes it will make you laugh, but guess what? this is refereeing in football, perfect refereeing does not make a good simulation. and good refereeing does not make a perfect simulation.
info: the closer the referee is to the action the more correct his decisions would be, a foul committed away from the referee might go unnoticed or unfairly judged, this can be noticed best in fast counterattacks, offside decisions are very similar to VAR, but they can be wrong in very rare cases (< 5%)
referees can (but not always) be affected in home matches of a highly-rated team.
I would love to make refereeing look more realistic, but of course, I'm limited with what I have to work with and what I can actually do.
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Difficulty
the most realistic gameplay to sim real-life football would be super-star difficulty, for users who are looking for more challenge I recommend playing the legend level (available after winning 5 games in superstar level).
note that in legend, everything will be harder, AI can destroy your team if you don't have high team spirit or winning streaks.
Compared to standard pes21 gameplay, super-star is a little bit more difficult than pes21, and legend is a lot harder than legend difficulty of pes 21, maybe some users would still think it's easy, but for us mere mortals, it's pretty hard.
In FL23, an unbeatable streak will make a team play almost as well as having a winning streak, sometimes it is better to defend a draw rather than take the risk of going forward and losing, the AI does actually take this into consideration.
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Match Tempo
the tempo can vary drastically between matches, there are many factors dictating the tempo, so it is advisable to be cautious starting any match to see how the opposition's form is.
example:
if you are playing a good team who is struggling (lower position than they should be in), or if their coach is warned or about to be fired, you can expect a high-tempo start to the match, they will play much better than you would expect.
if you are facing a medium team who is on a winning streak, even if this team is much weaker than yours you will need to shed blood to win the match.
your team will be more prone to mistakes under such pressure.
Scripting
Some gamers talk about scripted gameplay or AI, fun fact: everything in any game is scripted, that is how games are made.
I try to make simulated football gameplay using scripts, making the AI seems clever and as close as possible to human opposition. at least to the best of my ability.
but a PC is a PC, and until true AI is invented, there will be no game without scripts.
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Gameplay Evolution:
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Gameplay Evolution:
the gameplay is being developed since SP v3 more than a year ago, it was never shared before as we have kept the standard PES gameplay in all previous series for PES games, primarily, the person responsible for all aspects of SP content is me (dido), with help and advice from my close friends (we are veteran gamers in late 30s early 40s in case you are wondering), we play a verity of modes and configurations including a shared master league with fixed cursers, so we can better observe and judge AI from both sides, the gameplay is tested on most game modes and settings, endless experiments has been tested and the gameplay will evolve as we progress, previous gameplay versions of FL will remain in the switcher as a backup or user preference.
gameplay enhancements in update 3:
- enhance passes (including FUMA)
- keepers will have a harder time blocking far shots
- other enhancements here and there
BETA version of the updated v3 gameplay:
* Replace in the game DATA folder (...\SP Football Life 2023\Data)
* This beta is under testing, the gameplay in update 3 might defer.
I advise everybody to use the gameplay of football life, learn it and adapt to it.
however, if you prefer the standard pes gameplay, you can still do so by using the FL switcher, users can also apply any of the many dt18 gameplay mods which usually make fewer changes to the pes21 gameplay, it was not easy to keep FL compatible with pes21 gameplay but it's done for alternative gameplay mods.
football life is highly experimental, and it is how my friends and I see a football game should be, gamers might or might not agree, there will always be things to make better and nothing is perfect.
in short, use any gameplay that makes you happy.
dido/SP
2-Feb-2023