The Master League adventures thread

[Deco]

This video contains a prime example of the kind of momentum scripting I was talking about above: you score at 48', the CPU equalizes at 49'.

Great video. Really enjoyed watching your long ball efforts play out.

Yeh James they scored directly from kick off after my goal .. my tactics are down as possession play and short pass but you have to do what you can to survive .. .I'm in a relegation battle at the moment so a long ball to a target man can be very effective, as you know if you try dribble or pass your way through midfield you would surely get caught and punished. I keep getting beaten by the odd goal and it's very hard to come back if you concede first . .the AI tends to shut up shop. Speaking of momentum I played Empoli the other day and went 1 up early on and spent the rest of the match desperately defending. . like the Alamo they just kept coming and eventually they breached the walls twice at the end to score. .. I knew it was coming and couldn't stop it. I'm finding lately that the best att/def level is on green bar, blue allows them park outside the box.

 

[James Beaver]

I'm finding lately that the best att/def level is on green bar, blue allows them park outside the box.

One exciting option is to push up the defensive line and go for lowest A/D.

 

[Deco]

One exciting option is to push up the defensive line and go for lowest A/D.

That in my view would be suicide unless you had extremely nippy defenders or were an expert at the d pad offside trap. Although in saying that the high defensive line can push the opposition back and prevent midfield domination by them.

 

[James Beaver]

That in my view would be suicide unless you had extremely nippy defenders or were an expert at the d pad offside trap. Although in saying that the high defensive line can push the opposition back and prevent midfield domination by them.

I have won some important matches with those tactics, most recently yesterday.

I have a theory about why it works. In this game momentum means that the ball will bounce the CPU's way. If we let them roam around our box, they will eventually score from a rebound or some other way. However, with a high defensive line, low A/D and tight marking it is possible to make the midfield so dense that it will cut the supply to CPU attackers. Furthermore, they are less likely to win possession near your goal, which decreases the danger even further.

Part of the equation could be keeping the energy level of your CBs high enough towards the end of the match.

It's not realistic, I agree, but it's the best method I have found so far.

 

[Deco]

I have won some important matches with those tactics, most recently yesterday.

I have a theory about why it works. In this game momentum means that the ball will bounce the CPU's way. If we let them roam around our box, they will eventually score from a rebound or some other way. However, with a high defensive line, low A/D and tight marking it is possible to make the midfield so dense that it will cut the supply to CPU attackers. Furthermore, they are less likely to win possession near your goal, which decreases the danger even further.

It's not realistic, I agree, but it's the best method I have found so far.

I'll look into it tomorrow. . . do you not find with tight marking that it can open up gaps in your defense sometimes through the defender following the attacker out wide or into midfield?

 

[James Beaver]

do you not find with tight marking that it can open up gaps in your defense sometimes through the defender following the attacker out wide or into midfield?

Yes it can. That's one of the reasons why I don't use it for two attackers (in such a case I use a DMF to mark the other). But if the CF roams out of danger area, he's also out of the game, so to speak.

The CPU will sometimes drag the CB out and then try to make a quick run with the CF, but for some reason I have found it to be less of an issue lately.

 

[Chris Davies]

Oh man, I fall in love with this game over and over again. (This is on Superstar, too - with 60-65 team spirit.)

Played for the first time in a week last night, as Hull. I'm in February 2017 now, 9th in the table, after a run of good results in the new year. Liverpool (5th) were up next, and their gegenpress / tiki-taka is a nuisance to play against. I was dreading it.

A few signings in the transfer window, though, have given us more width. I bought Kingsley Coman who I could see matched up with my tactics (counter-attack and long-ball basically), as well as bringing in a younger centre-back to replace the ageing (and now transferred) Dawson, and sit in front of my earlier signing Matz Sels in goal.

I set up to counter, rather than just defend, and Sels was in good form, though we forced them to shoot from distance most of the time.

I WISH the PS4 Share button had caught the entire game, but it only got the second half - so I just exported the highlights...


The first goal was a manual shot - which I managed to hit straight at the keeper... (Facepalm.) But luckily, I hit it with enough power for it to go through Mignolet's legs.

The second was my favourite - not even the little dribble from Neustädter, but the sliding shot to guide it into the corner. Beautiful.

Their goal was a bit naff - my defender literally running away from Coutinho, and it looks bonkers. But I'll let him off.

Still 9th in the league, though Liverpool dropped to 8th (ouch). I'm gunning for a Europa League spot, but I'm something like 9pts off and the team are pretty tired...

 

[Deco]

Oh man, I fall in love with this game over and over again. (This is on Superstar, too - with 60-65 team spirit.)

Played for the first time in a week last night, as Hull. I'm in February 2017 now, 9th in the table, after a run of good results in the new year. Liverpool (5th) were up next, and their gegenpress / tiki-taka is a nuisance to play against. I was dreading it.

A few signings in the transfer window, though, have given us more width. I bought Kingsley Coman who I could see matched up with my tactics (counter-attack and long-ball basically), as well as bringing in a younger centre-back to replace the ageing (and now transferred) Dawson, and sit in front of my earlier signing Matz Sels in goal.

I set up to counter, rather than just defend, and Sels was in good form, though we forced them to shoot from distance most of the time.

I WISH the PS4 Share button had caught the entire game, but it only got the second half - so I just exported the highlights...


The first goal was a manual shot - which I managed to hit straight at the keeper... (Facepalm.) But luckily, I hit it with enough power for it to go through Mignolet's legs.

The second was my favourite - not even the little dribble from Neustädter, but the sliding shot to guide it into the corner. Beautiful.

Their goal was a bit naff - my defender literally running away from Coutinho, and it looks bonkers. But I'll let him off.

Still 9th in the league, though Liverpool dropped to 8th (ouch). I'm gunning for a Europa League spot, but I'm something like 9pts off and the team are pretty tired...

Great win on Superstar buddy.

 

[Deco]

Udinese battling to stay in Serie A face Napoli one of the top 5.

 

[Chris Davies]

Udinese battling to stay in Serie A face Napoli one of the top 5.

Nice hard-fought victory, nothing in this game is sweeter than that!

 

[Deco]

Udinese stuck in the bottom 3 with Frosinone continually 4 points ahead of them in 4th from bottom.


We beat Bologna 1-0 in the following match and then got beaten by Sampdoria 2-0.

 

[Deco]

Two average matches . . hard to find many 'highlights' in them.

 

[James Beaver]

@Deco

That's some good, tight football you've got there. Solid TS as well.

 

[Chris Davies]

A few games after the 3-1 win against Liverpool (see my last post in here), I had an away game against West Ham, 2pts above me. A win would push Hull (me) into the Europa League slot that West Ham were holding onto. Which is the dream, for me.

They lined up with a 3-4-3, and I was rubbing my hands together. I figured that if we hit the wings, with my pacey new wingers, their lack of full-backs would mean an easy win (on Superstar, I thought I'd get an easy win on Superstar, what was I on).

Noble put them ahead after 10 minutes - they were dominating possession in midfield, and no matter how I tried to clear it they just kept coming back in waves. Eventually a tight passing move in the box left Noble with the keeper to beat from six yards out. 1-0.

Five minutes later, they had a corner. It was headed away, then bullet-passed to Noble in the area, who controlled it somehow, struck the shot right at the keeper, who saved the ball, which then hit a defender on the back of the heel, which then rolled softly underneath the diving goalkeeper and into the net. One of the softest and most bizarre-looking goals I've ever conceded, he dived out of the way more than anything.

Five minutes after that, Payet scored a rebound from distance, and it was all over, really.

In the second half, I ended up putting four in the final third - LW, AM, RW, ST - and dropping the CMs down to DMs, to try and hit long-balls and get something back without having to build up play against a superior midfield. It created at least three golden opportunities that were missed - Bokani had a free header which he headed straight at the keeper, Coman had a one-on-one from a cross which he volleyed over the bar, and Hernandez got himself a one-on-one which he put wide (I should have used the "manual" button and hit a manual shot to make sure it went in, but I didn't trust myself).

But that was that. We're still only 5pts off that place, and it's only February/March, but when it seems like we're a game away, the team - or is it me - falls to pieces...

(I'm still not sure how they managed to defend their wings so well just using their wingers!)

 

[robbieryan]

Howdy y'all, been away for a while. still been playing PES when i can.

after a bit of a crappy middle season, I have taken Ternana on a surging run up the table.

ONE game to go and the table looks like

1. Delfino 79
2. Benevento 73
3, Empoli 73
4. Ternana 72
5. Bari 70

it would be a miracle, but I could actually steal auto promotion.

my final game? away at Empoli... playing in one, two...

 

[Deco]

Quick highlights from Udinese v Fiorentina. .. . . .Fiorentina led me a merry dance in this one as they usually do .. . waltzed around us like we weren't there. .I had one half chance which was blocked but what a finish for their second goal.


Here's the whole first half of Juventus v Udinese . .I used a 4-5-1 formation and low att/def . .I thought that I defended very well and was trying to nick a goal but it's difficult with one man up front.. . . I genuinely believed that I could take them in the second half .. .but I didn't figure in the fact that they might have other plans. . it ended up 2-0 to Juve but unfortunately the unreliable recorder on the Ps4 didn't record the second half as I would have put up the whole match and cured some people's insomnia. . this match was so relaxed and open to whatever you fancied, plenty of space and time to work out moves compared to other matches.

 

[James Beaver]

Here's the whole first half of Juventus v Udinese . .I used a 4-5-1 formation and low att/def . .I thought that I defended very well and was trying to nick a goal but it's difficult with one man up front.

It looked pretty realistic, taking into account the teams involved. As for attacking in such a match, not only does the single attacker hamper you, but also the low A/D, which decreases the number of runs.

... but unfortunately the unreliable recorder on the Ps4 didn't record the second half

The recorder has never, ever failed me if I use it as follows:

1. in share options, set clip length to 15 minutes, or whatever the maximum length of one half is
2. start playing, no need to press any recording button
3. when half ends, press share and then save clip
4. start playing second half
5. when half ends, press share and then save clip

Works every time.

 

[Deco]

It looked pretty realistic, taking into account the teams involved. As for attacking in such a match, not only does the single attacker hamper you, but also the low A/D, which decreases the number of runs.


The recorder has never, ever failed me if I use it as follows:

1. in share options, set clip length to 15 minutes, or whatever the maximum length of one half is
2. start playing, no need to press any recording button
3. when half ends, press share and then save clip
4. start playing second half
5. when half ends, press share and then save clip

Works every time.

James, I forgot to mention that I was missing 5 key players and my TS had dropped 20 points .. I was settling for the draw .. in the second half I changed between 3-5-2 and 4-3-3 but it didn't make much difference .. .I find lately that you must have at least 4 in midfield preferably 5 to stifle the A.I. . . . . .for some reason as well if I set the A/D to green I get caught out by good teams whether this is adaptive A.I or not I don't know.. as regards the recording I usually press record, set for 30 mins but stop at half time and start again and stop at the end, if I press share at the start it asks me where I am sharing to e.g youtube etc. BTW did you notice the Udinese leeper throwing his arms in the air in triumph at the end of the first half? Happy to have kept a clean sheet lol.

 

[Deco]

Lucky break?

 

[robbieryan]

Lost 3-2 to Empoli and finished 6th

then smashed Ascoli 4-1 in the QF

Empoli again in the semi finals, won the first leg 1-0, got hammered 3-0 in the second

another season in Serie B for Ryan.... Bari lost their semi final 5-1 to Crotone too

 

[James Beaver]

. . . . . .for some reason as well if I set the A/D to green I get caught out by good teams whether this is adaptive A.I or not I don't know..

This. In my case this risk is huge if I have A/D green and lose possession in midfield.

as regards the recording I usually press record, set for 30 mins but stop at half time and start again and stop at the end, if I press share at the start it asks me where I am sharing to e.g youtube etc.

If you follow the instructions in my post above, when you press SHARE then square () will save the clip (without uploading it anywhere).

And it doesn't fail.

BTW did you notice the Udinese leeper throwing his arms in the air in triumph at the end of the first half? Happy to have kept a clean sheet lol.

I think quite a few halftime animations are copied from full time (disappointed players etc.).

 

[Isslander]

Fulham have made it to the Premier League, edging out Newcastle in penalties for the last spot. For some reason, the Fulham board is not very impressed with the season, calling it "avarage", the twats, and scraping together a few bob for the transfer fund. The Icelandic manager, curiously named The Ponk, is not impressed, threatening to leave the team the minute something better comes along for his services.
Sadly, that hasn't happend, as only Newcastle was interested.
During the summer, he couldn't get Italy from their croup in the World Cup, but they still wanted to keep him on. Strange, as The Ponk didn't even show up for most of the matches, leaving his co-coach, Mr. A.I. to deal with things. And even though he handled the team during the WC itself, most world class teams probably would not be happy with a quick exit right after the groups.
Doesn't really matter, The Ponk decided to take an offer from Iceland to coach the national team. It seemed quite romantic, the Icelander himself getting the manager's job of his own Country, after making it abroad. But after only two international friendlies, it's quite apparent that he only did it to rest his own men, as quite a few of them are in the Fulham team. Not one of them featured in the friendlies, and although a draw and a win against Romania and Slovenia is acceptable, the press has, well, pressed him on the matter, which he promptly responded by telling them to sod off.
The start of the Premier League has been all over the place, a 1-0 loss against Leicester, a draw against West Ham and a stunning 4-0 victory against Burnley, which has somewhat silenced the criticism about him nearly only buying Icelandic players, as the goals were made by Bjarnason, Gunnarsson, Sigþórsson and Guðmundsson. Also, The Ponk has got praised for refusing to sell Lucas Piazon, who assisted every single goal in the match, playing two differen positions on the pitch.

 

[Deco]

Lost 3-2 to Empoli and finished 6th

then smashed Ascoli 4-1 in the QF

Empoli again in the semi finals, won the first leg 1-0, got hammered 3-0 in the second

another season in Serie B for Ryan.... Bari lost their semi final 5-1 to Crotone too

I've never won promotion through the playoffs . .has to be directly up .

 

[hitmanuk]

i got my first penalty 6 games into the master league..my first in probably 100 games. i missed it , skied it and then lost 2-0 ..still bottom of the championship

 

[Deco]

i got my first penalty 6 games into the master league..my first in probably 100 games. i missed it , skied it and then lost 2-0 ..still bottom of the championship

The first season is a nightmare buddy I sometimes sim it.

 

[Deco]

A great battle on Superstar manual . .well worth a watch lads.

 

[hitmanuk]

8 games in and i have my 1st win as wigan lifting me off the bottom of the table. 2-0 against brighton hove albian..first goal coming the 70th minute edge of the box into the top corner..the second goal in the 88th miunute using manual override shot..love this game

 

[Deco]

Noooo! The R2 button on my controller snapped off in my hand... .ffs, funny thing is if I press my finger in the gap I can still perform close control but it won't work for controlled curl shot . ... if I was paranoid I'd blame scripting.

 

[Deco]

After a mixed bag of results but still keeping my head above water.. .I decided to try out a tweaked 4-5-1 and stick with it for the entire match.


One thing that I miss in this years ML which was in last years edition is when the AI goes behind they change formation and attack. . likewise when they go ahead they change and defend and you actually saw the formation change on the screen.

 

[Chris Davies]

Noooo! The R2 button on my controller snapped off in my hand... if I was paranoid I'd blame scripting.

Amazing.

Since moaning that Superstar was too difficult, I managed a few wins, the team spirit has gone up to a maximum of 72, and I've won 7 games in the last 10...

Buying two great wingers who had a high compatibility with my tactics in January - Coman from Bayern and Farfán on a free - has completely changed the game.

With six games to go, the table looks like this...

4th (CL) Manchester United 73pts
5th (EL) HULL CITY 62pts
6th (EL) West Ham 60pts
7th (EL) Southampton 58pts
8th (__) Stoke City 55pts
9th (__) Liverpool 55pts

I was thinking a realistic goal would be to build the team spirit and qualify for the Europa League next season, but with six games to go, we're right in the mix - but West Ham are driving me mad. (Champions League is within reach, which would be insane for the first season, but I'm 100% not aiming that high...)

One thing that I miss in this years ML which was in last years edition is when the AI goes behind they change formation and attack.

Funny you mention this...

My last game was against Middlesbrough and it was one of my favourites. They were battling for a point from the get-go, and even on Superstar they just weren't interested in scoring (other than on the occasional counter-attack). They were defending so deep, and so well, that I just kept running into brick walls.

In the 70th minute, I threw a ball into the box, and Mbokani - my target man, who was great for 10 games, terrible for 10 games and is now on fire again - held off a defender to perform a bullet-header and give us a goal.

Middlesbrough changed immediately - you could feel the momentum shift, and it felt a little bit cheaty, until I realised that as soon as I got the ball back, I could do a long ball to Mbokani (standing on the half-way line with nobody around him), run up the pitch and score a second. Which he did...

...n't do, he hit it straight at the fucking goalkeeper!

But it was the most hard-fought, realistic, satisfying game.

There's a lot wrong with the game - I never have to play my subs or my reserves for example, there's just no point, all you need is 11 players (hopefully European competition changes that) - but my God, the gameplay is so good.

COME ON YOU TIGERS! WE CAN DO THIS!