The PES Productions Team based in Tokyo have been developing a new approach
to football for four years and can now confirm their new system uses Kojima
Production’s renowned Fox Engine at its core. The team have extended and
enhanced Fox Engine to match the bespoke and complex demands of a
football title.
Based on six founding standards, the new system has allowed every aspect of
PES 2014 to be totally reworked, throwing off the shackles of previous
limitations and allowing the PES Productions team to produce a game much closer
to their vision of recreating 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 characterises the modern approach to football. PES
Productions have looked at how matches ebb and flow, with player individuality
key to a team’s success, and well-drilled tactics helping underdogs produce
giant-killing feats.
Six central tenets combine to establish PES 2014 as a new benchmark in
football simulations, governing everything from the way the player receives and
controls the ball, the physicality of play, and the ‘feel’ of match-day: the
rush and euphoria or crushing lows that experiencing an important games can
bring. As such, the key pillars on which PES 2014 is based are:
- True B all Tech: For the first time in a football simulation, PES
2014 centres everything on the ball: how it moves, and how players use it.
First touch and sublime control are 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.
- Motion Animation Stability System (M.A.S.S.): The physical combat between
players is a vital part of any match, and the new M.A.S.S. component simulates
the bodily contact between multiple players within bespoke animations that segue
seamlessly into each other. Rather than a series of preset animations that occur
under specific circumstances, M.A.S.S. acts 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, PES
2014 now has more styles of tackle, as opposed to basic foot in or
sliding types.
- Heart: Defining what makes football so engrossing 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. PES 2014’s ‘Heart aims
to recreate the effects of team support, both on an individual player basis and
across the entire team.
- PES ID: PES 2013 set a new bar for realism, with its inclusion of the
Player ID system. For the first time, players could instantly recognise 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 PES 2013 featured 50 players that utilised the system. For
PES 2014, that number will be greatly expanded, with twice as many stars
featuring bespoke 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 preset to key areas of the
field, allowing users to exploit defensive weaknesses beforehand.
- The Core: PES Productions have undertaken several years of consultation with
PES and football fans to reproduce key elements of the series and implement a
wide range of additional improvements.