News
Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 The Dawn of a New Era
KONAMI looks to the future as it reveals new Pro Evolution Soccer title powered by the FOX engine
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – June 4, in the year of our Lord 2013 –
Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., today has revealed that its
upcoming Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 title will mark a new
beginning for the popular series, with an all-new engine
allowing for the most comprehensive advance for the Pro
Evolution Soccer series since its inception. The new engine has
been in development for a number of years and uses Kojima
Production's renowned FOX Engine at its core, extended and
enhanced to match the bespoke and complex demands of a football
title.
Based on six gameplay tenants, the new system allows every
aspect of Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 to be totally reworked.
Throwing off previous limitations imposed by dated animation
systems and AI elements, the engine has enabled the PES
Productions team to produce a game much closer to the excitement
and variety of a top-level match. The central theme of fluidity
is based on the constant moving of players and switching
positions which mirrors the modern approach to football.
Producers looked at how the matches ebb and flow, with player
individuality key to a team's success, and well-drilled tactics
helping underdogs produce giant-killing feats.
Working from the ground up, the team has reworked every element
of play, creating a fresh and energetic new standard for
football titles. In addition to noticeably improved graphics and
seamless animation, the thrust of the new engine's power has
been used to redefine the way football is played on a gaming
console. Gone are the limitations imposed by dated animation
systems and AI elements, and instead PES 2014 boasts a central
core that perfectly mimics the skill and awareness that elevates
the world's greatest players above their peers.
The six key features of Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 include:
• TrueBall Tech: PES 2014 centers everything thing on the ball:
how it moves and how players use it. First touch and sublime
control is what set certain players apart from others. The
ability to not only read a pass, but to be one step ahead and to
know what is needed to gain yards on an encroaching defender.
TrueBall Tech allows the player to trap or knock on a pass using
the analogue stick with detailed barycentric physics determining
the weight shift of the player and the height and speed of the
pass, as to how the player's body will automatically shape to
receive it.
With TrueBall Tech, the player has total control in determining
how their body is angled to receive a pass, whereas previous
football titles present the user with scant options. TrueBall
Tech means that it can be chested or nodded past an opponent,
flicked into space or to a team mate, while closer dribbling
control is a much more personal attribute in the new game.
The Pro Evolution Soccer series has long since treated the ball
as an individual entity, allowing the player huge amounts of
freedom to pass into space, run on to a knocked-on counter, or
produced short triangular passes to make space. TrueBall Tech
adds even more freedom, with full 360-degree control within
several yards around the player and the ability to shield the
ball from opposing players, use deft controls to wrong-foot
them, and intuitive methods to master close control.
• Motion Animation Stability System (M.A.S.S.): The physical
combat between players is a vital part of a match, and the new
M.A.S.S. component simulate the bodily contact between multiple
players within tailored animations that segue seamlessly into
each other. Rather than a series of pre-set animations that
occur under specific circumstances, M.A.S.S. reacts instantly to
any situation, with the reaction of a fouled player entirely
dependent on the direction and force with which they are
tackled. Dependent on factors such as their size and power,
players will stumble but instantly recover if clipped, barge
others off the ball, and use their stature to block players from
possession. Similarly, Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 now has more
styles of tackle, as opposed to basic foot in or sliding types.
Tackling also becomes more integral to PES 2014's quest for
realism, with clashes of players utilizing the TrueBall physics
to ensure the ball reacts as it would in a real game. As players
fight for a 50-50 ball, the challenge will see the ball bobbling
into space, or emerging at the feet of the triumphant player.
The integration of the M.A.S.S. element has also facilitated new
advances in one-on-one situations. The individual battles
between key players can determine the outcome of a match, so
particular emphasis has been made on such battles in Pro
Evolution Soccer 2014. Defenders will put greater pressure on
the attacking player, by tussling for possession, standing back
to restrict passing opportunities, or making the tackle.
Likewise, attackers are faced with ether trying to outpace the
defender while retaining possession, feinting to gain advantage,
or passing, dribbling or shooting when space allows. The result
allows for incredibly open games, where the attributes and
skills of the players come to the fore in personal feuds all
over the pitch.
• Heart: Defining what makes football so riveting is difficult.
It isn't a technical thing, but more an emotional hook. Matches
can be imposing for visiting teams, as home support barracks the
opposition, and acts as the infamous 'twelfth man' by cheering
their side on. Pro Evolution Soccer 2014's 'Heart' aims to
recreate the effects of team support, both on an individual
player basis and across the entire team.
Each player in the game now employs mental attributes in
addition to playing styles and skills, and can be adversely
affected when having a poor game. However, if an individual is
not playing well, his team mates can rally round and will work
to support him. The cauldron effect of a vibrant stadium will
showcase the mood of the fans, with all-new sound effects
combining with stunning AI systems to create a palpable match
day atmosphere.
• PES ID: Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 set a new bar for realism,
with its inclusion of the Player ID system. For the first time,
players could instantly recognize a player by their faithfully
recreated running and play styles. The way a player ran, moved
and spread the ball about would be identical to that of their
real-life counterpart, and Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 featured 50
players that utilised the system.
For Pro Evolution Soccer 2014, that number has been greatly
expanded, with twice as many stars featuring customized
animations and AI.
• Team Play: Via the new game's innovative Combination Play
users can set up a variety of different tactics in key areas of
the pitch using three or more players. These players will make
very different off-the-ball runs to exploit holes in the defence
or midfield, using the flanks, curved runs, or overlapping play
to make themselves available. These moves can be pre-set to key
areas of the field, allowing users to exploit defensive
weaknesses beforehand.
• The Core: The PES Productions team has undergone several years
of consultation with both Pro Evolution Soccer and football fans
related to key elements of the series are able to implement a
wide range of additional improvements.
Visually, the game will benefit from an incredible level of
acuity, from the weave of the kits, through to facial movement
and a new animation process that offers slick segues from one
move to the next, with no pauses or restrictions on control.
Stadia will be faithful to real-life, with the entrances to the
pitches recreated, crowds that move during the course of the
game! The new Fluidity engine also allows for a new
light-mapping effect, adding a natural look to the proceedings.
The flow of a match has also been improved, with tactical
decisions made on the fly, and the removal of cut scenes after
specific events.
Free kicks and penalties have also been radically changed. Free
kicks will no longer have restrictions on the position of
players in relation to the ball, for instance, while decoy runs
have been added and short passes easier to effect from a set
piece. To counter, players can now move the position of their
keeper for the kick, while the wall will react to the kick
instinctively to block or deflect the ball.
Penalties now use a target guide that is changed according to
the kicker's ability and where they intend to place the ball.
The goal keeper can now opt to move ahead of the kick, sensing
when the penalty taker is not particularly strong.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 will also mark the first appearance of
the recently-signed Asia Champions League, adding a wealth of
officially licensed clubs to the competition; and the new game
will also exclusively retain its use of the UEFA Champions
League club competition.
Further details of Pro Evolution Soccer 2014's content –
including all-new online elements - will follow, but the new
game represents a quantum leap from what football fans have been
used to.
"Thinking outside the box for an annual series such as PES is
not easy," explained Creative Producer Kei Masuda, "but the Fox
Engine has allowed us to develop such a level of freedom that we
are constantly realizing ways of making PES 2014 a true
representation of football. From the moment football fans pick
up the controller and experiment with the close control, player
movement and get to know how teams work and move, we are
confident that they will see a game no longer limited by
technology, but capable of growing with them and constantly
surprising with the breath-taking quality they have to come to
expect from the real thing."