PES 2018 Demo Available Now, Post Your Impressions Here

I downloaded on Xbox, Thanks Steve.
Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

Up now on PSN, if you feel like doing the New Zealand thing...

Thanks for the Head's up Steve. Having my kids download it :)

I am "in" New Zealand hehe bout to play the demo now but first thing I noticed you can't change the formation or move players around in the formation screen which is a little disappointing.

That is a little disappointing but kind of goes along with other things I've heard. Konami want people to play the demo just to get a feel of the new game play and controls without focusing on other aspects of the game. Since this game is supposed to "feel" different then previous games.

The Hype is Real! 🤘 Thank You NZ ;-)

Made a NZ account so I could try this. Definitely seems fun so far, I like the feel of the game more than Fifa's, nice to be back, the controls are quite snappy and without lag, I like the models and animation variety, looking forward to PC version :). One thing I would love to see in PES is sliders for AI to adjust it a bit without feeling cheated. Will play some more.

I am enjoying what I played so far there there are some questionable tactics assigned to teams that really mess up the flow of the game example would be Argentina's 4-2-4 formation and Barca having Hug the line advanced tactic assigned. But I am enjoying it and overall think it's better than the beta. The graphics are great, I really love the little animations I see when players take some touches and the shooting feels weightier than the beta. There are still some legacy PES issues present but overall it is fun I am just happy Konami has got PES looking great and the animations they have in the game finally compete with other sports games out there. The have a great base now all they need to do is really work on the presentation and continue to fine tune the AI, tactics and positioning.
Oh and something I notice while playing against Barca was when they went up 2-0 they took off Neymar and Rakitc and switched to a 3-4-3 with Rafinha playing as an AMF I can say that is something that did not happen last year.

Thank you for the feedback. I can't wait to give it a try.

Some quick observations from the last 2 hours of watching a stream of gameplay against the AI. Animations are top notch. Hard to believe how far this series has come. When players score and they go to celebrate, everything is just one full motion. Crowds and pitch surroundings look really good. CPU aggressiveness on offense looks solid. Seeing a lot of thru balls, long balls, switch of play, and more. Guy I am watching is decent player and AI has been taking it to him at times. Ball seems more alive, especially in the air. Goalies look very solid of course most in the demo are top flight. Shooting looks great and game speed seems just right and not as fast as in the past.
My only concerns are the usual lack of fouls and lack of mid field tussles. The pitch just seems too large and open as there is just so much space. The thing is it works very well in front of goal and in the air as the contact animations and everything are there, it is just rarely seen. Could be a demo thing with it being so short, but I still say it will be below my sim standards as usual. Did see a nice card against the CPU for simulation at the top of the box though.
This is what I expected though and considering how much I enjoyed 17, I expect this to be a more refined version and a lot of fun again this year. Cannot wait to play it tomorrow and on PC at release.

I put the game on superstar full-manual to test it, and....
OMG I can't believe how bad the game is. Shockingly bad. The game has gone backwards from the beta. Now all the players feel like you are controlling agile floating twigs. The ball physics are insanely limited. The size of the field is insanely big so space is conceded at ease. I really can't think of a single upside. It is utter garbage.
I look forward to being told by someone in the pes authoritarian podcast "press" about the greatness of this game. HAHAH.

I played 2017 a great deal and I really enjoyed playing the demo. The ball felt extremely "alive" and I enjoyed the different styles of the teams. The Xbox version is a bit rough on the eye's so I'll definitely download it on the PS4.
Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

Wow my thoughts are exactly the opposite. I like the freedom of the players and the ball physics. The graphics look much better than 17 and the game plays a lot smoother.
I have read multiple sites say players will hate the feel of the players until they are used to them because they are so "free". With that in mind, I'm not going to judge anything else until I play longer.

Quick observations after 6 games, 10 minutes each, played on Top Player, assist on 1.
I drew 2, lost 3 and won 2
Positives:
+ Great lighting touches - shadows, reflections, grass, kits, colours - everything looks much crisper - especially in daylight (night light is still far inferior).
+ Player models look more realistic (more slender)
+ You can beat players with speed bursts and quick changes of directions, much more intuitive
+ AI seems better. Instead of retreating when you're in possession of the ball, CPU strikers and wingers now press you in your own half.
+ The game feels a bit looser, there are more stray balls
+ There are some very nice new animations, which make for an organic, fluid game.
+ Controls are tighter, more responsive
+ Players run at different speeds - you can really tell when you're jogging or running at full speed.
+ New free kick cam
Concerns:
- Night light is still far inferior. I hope Konami will give users the option to choose day / nigh in offline league mode, as I will always choose day. Last year, this option was locked and it defaulted to night most of the time. Konami please take note.
- Players still take forever to recover when they are tackled and lose the ball. Somehow the CPU does not suffer from this as much as the human controlled player
- The shots feel floaty when playing with advanced shooting. Shots lack zip and speed somehow. In contrast, when set on 'Basic' shooting is too assisted and too accurate.
- The defensive line is still way too deep, especially the fullbacks.
- When the CPU is under pressure and clears the ball, the ball still lasers always to a CPU player
- Assist at level 1 is still too assisted, whereas level 0 is way too loose and frustrating

It's up in the USA for Xbox One.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/pro-evolution-soccer-2018-demo/bxvrwvfclrsf
Nothing on PS4 yet.

You are a certified troll in your despise for PES, i don´t know how the mods didn´t punt you out already with all your spamming on PES threads.

Agree, the guy is annoying.

Fake news everyone, nothing to see here.
You're embarrassing yourself with such an inaccurate comment.
I never understood people like you; the fanboy, if you will.
Does EA pay you to lie? What about FIFA makes you make up stories, exactly?
I buy FIFA and PES every year; one for the bells and whistles, and one for authentic gameplay. There's nothing wrong with liking more than one game.

Won't fix all your gripes, but try Manuel Everything. On FIFA it's impossible for me to play manual, especially online because I think EA believes manual = sending your passes in an opposite direction (I use semi for most things except Shooting, Lobbed Passes and Through balls).
However, on PES, set EVERYTHING to manual and give it time. It is AMAZING. You actually control where everything goes once you get a hang of it. Manual shooting is weighted; through balls are hard as hell but amazing when pulling it off.
Remember, long balls, through balls, crosses, and passes in coverage are very difficult in real life so it's ok to lose possession in PES as well. Adds to the authenticity.

I cannot agree with this enough. Manual changed PES for me a few years ago when I finally made the switch. I am still pretty bad at shooting but when you score from distance, it feels amazing. Passing is hard at first but once you get the hang of it, it is very rewarding.
Through balls and crosses are still my main issues. But that makes me slow down and focus on a cross instead of just running to the byline and hitting the button to fire a cross in. Now I have to create space and have time to get the cross off.

Up on PSN now.
https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-us/games/pro-evolution-soccer-2018-demo/cid=UP0101-CUSA09581_00-PES2018DEMO00000?emcid=EAFranchise2017
Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

My biggest problem with the demo is the lack of fouls again and the fact that it is too easy to play the ball out wide and dribble down the sidelines to get a cross in. Granted it doesn't always result in a goal but it is like the defenders have no desire to try and win the ball or prevent the cross and that was on Top Player. I am still getting the game but it is concerning.

Anyone want to get a few shareplay matches later on tonight (assuming this feature works for the demo) I am curious to see what some human vs human matches are like with this code. I know I have KG, ezio, dmendy and ezsmilez psn ids. Just let me know psn Rammel29 I will be free between 6PM-9PM EDT tonight.

I enjoy the gameplay, besides lack of fouls. My only gripe would be no option files form XBOX, to add the realism to game. I know it is Microsoft fault, wish they had worked it out by this version of game. Just need to decide if I want to look past that and just have generic uniforms for teams no already in game.

Does full manual weight stick skills over ratings tho? Will a guy with a higher loaded pass rating be more success than one with lower or all I gotta do is time the pass right?

Ratings definitely matter, no doubt about it. I think it matters for 90% of the game.
One game this game lacks, for me, is moves. Whereas FIFA makes it too easy for me, PES makes it impossible; again, for me.
But take a flick as an example. If you press R3 when receiving the ball, he will flick it up in the direction you hold. I like to use this on throw-ins to get away from a defender by flicking it to the side.
You try this with Neymar and is very controlled. You try it with a 70 rated player, and if you're being guarded and have low skill/strength, your player wont put it where you need it and it can lead to a counter.
Another thing. I mostly only shoot when holding LT/L2 (manual shot, even though I play on manual anyways). If you shoot with Messi vs Ronaldo, you definitely see a difference in the speed of the ball.
Finally, something that most people dont know because they're used to FIFA.
Holding the SHOOT button does only one thing; decides how HIGH the ball goes. It has NOTHING to do with POWER.
Power is simply dictated by position/space/correct foot/running vs not.
In other words, you can hit a howitzer by just tapping the shoot button.

I really like the game a lot, I think the AI is great at intercepting passes and good positional awareness. The flow and pace of the game feels good . However my main gripe as I mentioned in the other thread will always be the distinct lack of fouls committed . I just can't get anyone to foul me at all and it takes me completely out of the game . No miss time challenges at all, defending is too perfect and never sloppy. They really need to change that and I hope this game is not going to be the final build of the game

Yep noticed that when I was practising pulling off a knuckle shot.
Your answer had more to do with skill moved or feints. If I'm coming down the flank and cross the ball on manual does it weight skill more than rating

Agreed. Offline in particular you kind of have to play manual passing/shooting otherwise the difficulty balance vs the AI just doesn't work over the long haul. And it creates that annoying end to end that people hate, because all you have to do is complete 2-3 automatic forward passes and sprint and you are practically in on goal, then when you lose possession that far forward the CPU will counterattack instantly with your team all stretched out.
Manual on FIFA isn't really necessary because it's already a slower, possession style pace by default with every team. Which isn't a good either.

I might be on later. If I see u on I’ll send u a message
Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

Not really my style of play so my crossing is mostly from lower (LB and RB). I found that Guerreiro has more power than Para', so looks like it.
Can someone else chime in as well?

I played a few games against my son and it was better than playing vs. the CPU IMO.

Not going to jump overboard on the lack of fouls yet as there are some fixes with formations we are limited from in the demo along with other roster edits and more to improve things. Not to mention the short demo time, so I expect it to be better in the full release. It is nothing game breaking like 16, but still, it is an issue. I honestly doubt things will improve as the feedback the devs get is more weighed on the UT side of things and not sim. Unless we get a bunch of those guys sending feedback they cannot draw any free kicks to use Beckham with, it will remain the way it is going forward.

Yeah I am getting this will be the case which isn't a bad thing I guess, I had a lot of fun playing against people the beta and 3v3 will be fun.

I don't expect it to be any better in the full release because the problem has existed in the game for years. They're not fixing it because they either don't want to or don't know how to....probably the former as it was fine back in the good old days of PES about 10 years ago.
I feel the problem with fouls is not so much the lack of fouls as the lack of free-kicks being awarded for fouls committed by the cpu. In PES2017, I would get blatantly hacked down by the cpu but very rarely was a free-kick or penalty awarded. Come to think of it, I don't think I was ever awarded a single penalty in my entire time playing PES2017, and I can't actually remember ever getting a free-kick within shooting distance. And the refereeing bias perpetually in favour of the cpu remains very irritating.
I find this demo to be underwhelming. What was good about PES2017 (the general feel and pace) remains good with some very slight improvements, and the numerous flaws remain untouched and have done for too many years. I can't be bothered listing them any more as they clearly can't be bothered fixing them, or even acknowledging them.

Here's my thoughts. I downloaded the demo, played 4 games, quit the game, deleted the demo, and that was it.
For sure day 1 purchase for me. Game is fluid and vintage PES. Got it on both PS4 and PC. Can't wait to play it on PC.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Operation Sports mobile app

I'm confused. You really liked the game but deleted the demo already? Nothing wrong with that, I have just never heard of that before.

Lol yeah, when I like a demo, I delete them. Actually playing demos that I know I like of games I know I'll get is a pet peeve of mine. Want the game to be as fresh as possible.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Operation Sports mobile app

I have played a handful of games on the demo and I love it, the animations the weight of the ball, strategy etc. The main thing I found was that it may be a bit easy. I was playing Superstar level (I'm Top Class normally) and I found it easy to disposes the AI and also to dribble around and get a shot off (not every time but quite a bit). I think the difficulty needs to be upped so the AI plays harder, tackles harder etc. The AI attack seems fine but I have most of the ball. I found this with a few of the teams and playing matches against teams of similar skill, i.e. Boca vs River and Barca vs Dortmund. I assume (hoping) the difficulty will be similar to previous PES games. I know ML is always harder but I find exhibition games can be tough too on PES 2017 and earlier games.
Anyone else think the demo maybe a bit easy?

I dont know what to say here. While i think the game is unbelievable in some areas like animations, they are insanely good and in so many contexts blows my mind some of the reactions.
The defense is just so bad in renders the game unplayable in my mind.
I so wanted this to be good. Besides the wide open spaces everyone is allowed the defense just dont do anything positive.
They hardly mark tight, they just run along side attackers without reacting to anything.
Any rebound or deflection in the box they still run the opposite way.
Just standing off attackers allowing them to do what ever.
On thru balls they step up first to allow the attacker behind them , that seems hard scripted in there come on no other reason for that other than its geared towards wild 6-5 affairs.
The game resembles a sunday league pub league not real footy.
Sorry to piss on the parade and i so wanted this to be the one.
The game is a defensive shambles im sorry.
So pissed off.
Whats with the fullbacks just running away from their winger just allowing him to waltz into the box.

So which one has the authentic gameplay?
I played 10 Games on Superstar Difficulty without 1 Foul being called, if you dribble past 1 player the CPU backs off until you get into the box, just following your teammates, not the Ball, same issue 4 years in a row now since moving to the Fox Engine
to me this feels like a fun little Arcade Game, nothing more, especially offline
btw last FIFA Game i owned was in 2003

I have played about 6 games on top player (fifa always legendary) and i think its too easy also. 3W/2D/1L but in all games i have posession over sixty and lots of shots and open space dribbles. Feel like i can roulette the opponent however i like. Sure a couple draws and a loss but by one goal and for my mistake. Defending is easy...i play 10min and -2 speed (last year on fifa i had to do alot job to even get a good shooting chance) gonna try next highest difficulty and with no control assists.

I'm currently on the field and will be downloading the demo over the weekend. I played the online beta and thought that was incredible!
After Reading some impressions here, I'm getting a different vibe: This seems more like PES 17.5.
So is it PES 17.5?

Your experience mirrors mine. Last year I was struggling to play on Top Player but in the Demo I'm able to dribble past defenders on Superstar and hold possession with ease. A case in point was a game against Germany on Superstar. I won easily 2:0, both goals coming from Neymar slaloming through the defense. I know he has a high skills rating but it was the lethargic reaction of the defenders which left me bewildered. In PES 17 defenders would be extremely aggressive once you approach the penalty area, they would tackle and slide in but in the demo they just jog around with little attempt to win the ball. This is the World Champion we are talking about, not just any team. The fact that this year strikers can beat defenders with quick changes of pace and directions makes them much more lethal and if defenders are going to allow that much time and space without challenging (even on Superstar), this is a recipe for disaster.

love to play pes 18

Played some games yesterday, tried mixing a lot of teams to get a bigger "vision" about the game. Graphics, sound, bells and whistles, i don´t really care for that, they are good enough for me.
As always, i found the demo very easy. However, i know that play now games in PES are always easy and the mode i always play (Master League offline) is on a difficulty of his own, it´s always much, much harder. So im not concerned with this matter for now.
I think PES is the best and the worst on two distinct parts: it´s at it´s best around the box, and at it´s worst away from the box (midfield).
I found the gameplay near the box the best representation of football i´ve ever played. The possibilities, the randomness, the feeling that any play can fail or suceed is the best thing in PES.
Unfortunately, the midfield game is nowhere near as good. Now, could the gameplay near the box be as good if the midfield game was improved in areas such as positioning and pressing? I don´t have a good answer but i can do a comparison: to me, personally, the great midfield game in FIFA has no equivalence near the box. It´s the opposite of PES, the absolute opposite. To me, FIFA is terrible around the box, no variety, no feeling of "anything can happen".
So, could it be that at this stage , a game with a good midfield game can not have a good game near the box, and vice-versa? I don´t know, but i feel that it´s the state of things now... let´s see.

Not at all. I see some issues (Lack of fouls being the biggest one) but I'm not seeing half the issues people on here are talking about. I think it all comes down to how you play really.
If I wanted, I could take Messi an dribble part everyone, just like I can in FIFA. But I play a slow, pass it around build up and have found it difficult at times to break the CPU down.

Has anyone tried using the new wingback Advanced tactic for some of the teams especially for teams that are set up as a 4-3-3? Crazy that you can change this but everything else is grayed out.

I love this game! Playing it I feel I really have to think like a soccer player and have an understanding of the game. I feel like when I score I have earned the score. When the computer scores on me it does not feel cheesy.
It really feels like the CPU is playing strategically against you and thinking through what it is doing. When I attack, I have to do so methodically and take into account what I am doing. I love this - the game feels fresh as a result.
Of course the game is not perfect - on Professional human players take too long to recover while CPU players recover quickly. Also, the presentation leaves a lot to be desired. @Konami: Just copy EA's presentation, it's just that simple. The graphics are also suspect on the Xbox One.
However, all things considered, I am excited about this game and look forward to playing this and NBA 2k18 over the next year.
Great job Konami.

I tried the new "defensive" tactic where you select one player to stay back at all times. I selected a midfielder and set him as DMF, it worked perfect. I like to play like Tottenham in real life, having wing backs attack and 1 midfielder drop between the two CB's, it worked just like that. Very nice addition.

Decided to give the demo a go even though I generally choose FIFA every year.
Game looks, feels, and runs very good and the ball physics are pretty amazing. I think the graphics for "background" things like the field, fans, and stadium look really nice too. Like most people I DO feel that PES offers a more realistic look and feel to the sport than FIFA does.
However... The problems I experienced the last time I got PES seem to still be there. It is still too easy to go down the flanks on attack for both sides. The defenders never seem to cover it and if you play with a crossing team you're pretty much overpowered. Also, my Goalie has been atrocious in the games I have played... He has let in a few goals where he never reacted at all and stood still. It seems to generally happen on close range headers in my case.
Is there any news of them adding sliders into the game? I could overlook some of these problems if we were given sliders to adjust. That's another major selling point for FIFA to me because we have some amazing people in this community who put hours and hours into crafting great slider sets.
I don't want to seem like I am dissing the game because FIFA definitely has its own problems, but the last few years I have gotten some really good gameplay out of it so I am hesitant to make the switch back to PES unless the problems I had before have been fixed...
I will continue playing the Demo and see if my opinions change at all. I have only played a handful of games so it would be unfair to judge it already, I am just seeing some of the same problems crop up again early on.

I barely managed to play three games today, it is really too end to end to my taste...

hi bro can u further explain how master league games r different? cuz i m like other ppl here feeling that play now is so easy, i can have ball posession over 70 all the time and just have full control of the game even on legendary, superstar level i mean, so please like talk more about how is a different story playing master legaue thanks

Are you playing with or without pass assistance?

Really disappointed to hear the tackle recovery lag is still being used to keep the CPU competitive. Konami need to smarten up and address the issues that have been in the game for years!
I haven't had a chance to get on the demo yet -I will tomorrow- but this confirmation of cheating, the same from previous years, has me prepared to forget about this one for 2018.
However, as always, will still be waiting to hear how the CPU plays in ML in the full release before I make my final decision.
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3010 using Tapatalk

You bring up some very good points for few year ago I use to complain about how PES midfield play was brilliant but use to go to crap once it got to the final third but here we are now and it seems to flip like you mentioned. Crazy to think it has come to that but you may be right getting that right balance might be harder than we think.

Do you feel like it is more end to than last years version? It doesn't to feel that way to me but the way the defence line is set up just frustrating I have to manually push the line forward to not allow an easy pass to the opponents forward. I think I am done with the demo though only because I have seen all that I needed to see and will just wait for the final version. Bhatti has stated there is a day one patch with some bug fixes but I highly doubt it will address all of my concerns. Overall I am still optimistic and look forward to the final version.

PES is by far the most authentic: weight of ball; looseness of ball; weight of players; animations; strategies; teams playing different styles, etc. Is it perfect? Obv not.
I buy both games every year and will always do so. FIFA doesnt come close. You can put Messi at CB and he will dominate at D; all teams play the same; very few outside shots, etc.
I will take lack of foulds against PC (online and local Multi is very different) over every team playing the exact same.

Hard to say because my last experience with pes 17 was with team tactics which reduced considerably the space between the lines. I am sure tactic will help in that regard because the game look more like a football game when using and playing against 451 teams. My game today were Argentina vs. Brazil X2 and River vs. Boca so not the best teams settings.
But man, the effort we had to put into 17 tactics to have it playing decently has tired me for another year. If you add to that players editing (by default players ratings and traits will be very likely quite poor ) and may be an untouched AI coaching (all attack when drawing ect...) then... you know...
Last year I found the demo amazing and I could not stop playing it also because all this was new for me (coming from fifa with the last time with pes back to PS2 days). For me, the new things in 2018 demo do not out balance the amount of annoying/repetitive aspects I get used while playing 2017 that have unfortunately been transferred into 2018. Plus there is also some downgrading in the aggressiveness department with less fouls committed by the cpu. In 2017 (and the demo too) they would have cut your leg if you tried to dribble in the last third.
I really hope the final game will be different (also because I am on PC now) but I doubt the major positioning/marking/space issues will be addressed in the mean time. Finger crossed, but not too much.

I hear you brother it was a tiring experience last year not sure want to go down that lane again and like you said there are issues that haven't been addressed this year. We may fair better on PC though with mods and patches we will see.

Well, from my experience, games played in ML are definitely harder than play now. There is a bigger sense of urgency on the way CPU plays, if you play a team that it´s your rival the game is even more difficult and full of tackles and cards, teams that are on the verge of being relegated are like walls defending. I have this experience every year. However, i do not buy players to improve my squad, and never play a 2nd season with the same team (to keep things fresh). Of course, if you build a team it might get easier on following years, but i don´t know for sure.

Like you, i also don´t feel it more end to end, but i do feel that it seems to be more space in midfield, the CPU put´s up a good defence around the box, but the cost of that seems to be let the midfield with more space.
I think this is the reason why we can´t have both. It just seems that no game, PES or FIFA have an AI developed enough to play midfield and around the box well, because these parts of the pitch require very different aproaches. But that´s just the feeling i get because every year it´s the same to me. Buy both games, prefer FIFA initially because the midfield feels great and gives a sensation of realism initialy, but eventually get frustrated with CPU offense being too boring and predictable, get frustrated with the lack of movement of my fellow AI controlled players around the box... and switch to PES because of that randomness and anything can happen on a given play feeling.

PC is definitely better for modding, but for console guys, like me, it´s a coin flip: hours editing tactics on PES or months tinkering sliders on FIFA and in the end both are flawed severely... :jpshakehe

I was really excited to play this, but honestly it's a marginal improvement over last year, with a slight reduction in the default game speed.  Still a good game, but the defensive AI is so bad that the goals, while at times gorgeous, just never give me much satisfaction, because the opportunities are so frequent and the space is so immense. 
I've tried playing full manual, but there's something about it I don't like, almost as if the players don't sync up the same way or recognize when passes are coming to them.  I'm admittedly pretty unskilled at manual passing, but in those rare instances where I play a perfect ball, it just feels like the guy doesn't time his run right or whatever and it makes the game feel kind of disjointed.  Maybe I need to give it another go, because on Pass Support level 1 I'm already bored.

this game got some serious aliasing issues--names on jerseys, hair, and crowd. not ready to compete imo.

I don't think anyone here would argue FIFA is better in those aspects. But those are pretty small complaints to have.

on PS3 .. ball physic is improved .. passing system &shooting(especially from distance) is good .. it's quite enjoyable depending what settings do you use(difficulty, passing level, camera) .. atmosphere is like in 2016 - '17 version .. BUT 60% is too much for old gen ..

I'm conflicted with this demo. The game feels good, feels fluid. Graphics are good. Differences between certain players is nice to see. Then there's the AI and defensive positioning and spacing. It feels like you can EASILY control every match. I'm finishing games with nearly 70% possession and the AI defense just gives up loads of space and doesn't react to lobbed through balls or early crosses. As someone said earlier, it just feels unrewarding to score at times. I'm having some fun with it despite that, but it's definitely an issue and is making me want to reconsider purchasing.
Sent from my LGLS992 using Operation Sports mobile app

Guys, please send your feedback to both @officialpes and @Adam_Bhatti on Twitter. It may not help this year :y220:, but can certainly help for future versions to plant that seed for change. Slower speed and PC finally being upgraded this year all stem from that feedback, so it works. Be respectful with critical feedback and not all negative and they will listen.
After finally playing the demo for 2-3 hours last night, I agree with most. The fouls are an issue along with the midfield play. I am seeing decent contact and fouls, but refs logic is just not kicking in. If we could mix the midfield play from FIFA 14/15 with this game and have solid ref logic, it would be a classic. I do love the defending though. Risk and reward is great. Have to learn to stop spamming the help button pulling everyone out of position and just get back and defend by playing the angles and keeping them in front of you. I thought the demo was easy at first on Superstar, but then went on a losing streak as I got into that rush up the field offense only mentality. A lot of that is the short demo time, but focus is going to be key for defending again. Tactics will be huge this year, so I will wait to pass final judgement till we see the full release as hopefully much of this can be fixed or limited apart from the refs.

DB,
Yeah manual (no assistance) on PES is very input dependent. What I mean is that sometimes it takes a second or two for your foot/leg to complete the animation and "catch-up to the ball" in order to make contact. I've learned over the years to anticipate the pass and press the pass button a little early. In FIFA often the animation speeds up to get the pass/shot off giving the impression that the game is super responsive.
Another thing that also helps is the arrow modifier. I believe it's either L1 or L2 on the PS4. I'll use it when I'm not under pressure and trying to pick out a riskier pass. It's a good learning tool until you get comfortable with manual passing.

Man, PES 2018 continues the downward spiral for this once-proud series.
PES has regressed to the point where FIFA is a better simulation of football. Can't believe I'm writing that after thinking back to 10 years ago, when PES was a proper sim and FIFA was ice hockey on grass.
The defensive AI is pretty bad this year. Definite regression.
But the biggest flaw for me is how the CPU treats the midfield like a dragstrip. The CPU just motors through the midfield, with very little patient buildup play. PES has become even more arcadish than FIFA, something I never imagined.
Sure, PES uses a few back passes and long balls to add variety to the CPU attack. But I saw nothing other than Route 1 from the CPU attack last night, moving at warp speed through the midfield, regardless of my formation or tactics.
Combine that warp speed with rubbish defensive AI and awareness for human-controlled teams, and all the CPU needs to do is snap one quick pass through the midfield and one through ball past the back line, and it's nearly a breakaway for the CPU striker. Time and time again.
I applaud Konami for offering this demo, as always. It made my footy game decision very simple this year. I just put another circle around the release date for FIFA 18. Not only will FIFA 18 be deeper and have the official global license, I'm guessing it will be a better football game this year, too, as PES 18 hasn't set the bar very high.
I can't wait to read gaming media reviews of PES 18 claiming it's a better sim than FIFA 18, as that's been the false narrative for the PES series ever since EA got FIFA's sh*t together a few years ago.
Sure enough, we'll read reviews about how "plucky upstart Konami may lack the licenses, polish and depth of its competitor, but it provides a more realistic, organic football experience than FIFA."
Pure cut-and-paste BS from the last two years, if this PES 18 demo is any indication. EA will need to screw the gameplay pooch with FIFA 18 for it to be less realistic than the PES 18 demo.

never before since probably the ps2 era has this game seem to have a great sense of playing just the ball.
many times even in fifa im busy looking at what the players legs are doing because of poor running animations and that stopping the immersion.
not with pes 2018 they seems to make the running uniformal and it looks leaps and bounds better

For those that have played PES in the past how is Master League compared to Fifa's Career mode? I downloaded the demo and I found the gameplay much better than fifa, and I've seen on YouTube on how to get teams transferred on the game with file options. Really thinking about making the switch this year, depending how Career mode is compared to Fifa.

I'll have my demo review out shortly. I know KG is working on his. I'm exhausted of talking about the same things, but I guess I'm not surprised when no feature ever listed defense, or off-the-ball positioning.

I'm not really a fan of your overall negative tone here, but you're probably right about this. Since about PES 2015, critics have been hailing the return of PES, and I believe last year it got some crazy high review scores.
Unfortunately, aside from the critics on this site, most reviewers for big media outlets play these sports games for a few days and make a judgement.
IGN gave PES 2017 a 9.5/10. There's definitely a narrative out there from critics who want PES to be better than it is, just because it makes for a better story.

Its negative because these games have lost sight of what they are about and are to busy trying to out gimmick each other they cant see their own ****ty games for what they are.
Sorry this is my Favorite genre and im just fed up with it all every year.
Konami have lost the plot with their defensive game im afraid.

Terrible looking game on XB1 (not the S, not 4k...but neither are any other of my games). The worst looking sports game on the system, by far. I also still have my ps3 and the game looked better on the ps3.
Gameplay was great on the Ps3 but a little sluggish on the XB1. I am no soccer pro, but in general the game seems solid gameplay wise. Konami should just make this a PS4 exclusive if this is how they're going to treat XB1. This is my first year with XB so I had no idea.

Finally got a chance to download and I play some matches.
I recommend that people who find the game too easy, particularly with regards to keeping possession, try switching to +1 speed and all manual. I find it necessary when playing the CPU.
Pros
Game looks better. I'd say day games are a full step up from last year. New player models are way better.
Gameplay feels tweaked enough for me to justify a purchase. Can't decide if the slower gameplay is a net positive, but I feel like it at least creates a different feel. I preferred +1 speed last year, and this year even more so.
Cons
Having every team by default have 4 advanced instructions, and all of them activated from the start, seems like a specific attempt by Konami to trigger Matt10 lol. Gonna have to delete all of those when the full game drops. I think this might be why people (myself included) are seeing the CPU pull of some wonky and OP attacking plays leading to goals.
Seeing some sluggish/delayed response times from AI teammates when receiving manual passes. Also, those passes seem too weak, but that's just an initial impression after a few matches.
Night matches visual still underwhelming.

Another general con:
Still seeing those odd Konami glitches that shouldn't make it past quality control ...
Camera doesn't adjust quickly enough on a change of possession. If I gain possession of the ball in my own penalty area, and face the opposing goal, the screen should change to where at 75% of the screen is the area (upfield) that my player is facing. This is a problem that was kinda fixed when they added the new "dynamic" camera in PES 2015. But now it's back to being clostrophobic and weird. Meh.
On corners, the display says that pressing R1 will "fix pass trajectory and direction." Pressing R1 last year when they still had that ball trajectory laser indicator (for lack of a better term) did nothing, and this year it's somehow even more useless. What does R1 do there? Nothing? Why is that on the screen? Meh.

It's been interesting reading what people think so far. One thing I've seen discussed (and not just here) is the lack of fouls. Have a decent amount of fouls ever been a thing, on any soccer game? Or any game for that matter? I remember NBA2k didn't really do well with fouls either.
Still waiting on the PC demo; Konami site says "The demo for PC will be released on mid-September". So I suppose I'll just continue reading, and enjoying the incessant whining from PC folks about a lack of a demo :)
One question for anyone who played a lot of last year: How difficult was it to get an online game, especially in the myTeam portion? I realize FIFA will be more popular, but I'd be more apt to buy PES if there's at least a decent USA presence for online.

I'm really impressed by the demo, more so than the beta. I love the lack of predictability that plagues my experiences of FIFA and the graphics and gameplay here were very positive experiences for me. I'll buy this one.

Sounds ridicilous. I'm playing on PS, but still XB1 shloud be way ahead of last gen consoles visually

A )
They really need to get rid off those imaginary lines 1) at which red players (ST, CF, Wingers) stop dropping back in defense; and 2) at which blue players (CB and the FB not involved in the attacking side) stop when their team attack (basically the midfield line). You can't have team cohesive block with that approach of coding the game. No professional team on earth does that.
It will be possible to improve that with fluid formation.
B)
The cpu build up is too vertical. In professional football the ball moves way more often laterally because playing between the lines (when the lines exist) is tricky. With 2017, once we corrected to some extent for A) with fluid formations the cpu persisted playing vertically and this made possession teams quite poor at retaining possession.
I hope that once compression/team blocks will be addressed with fluid formations, the cpu will be less blinkered with its build up this year.
PS: I understand that some vertical play is required to get proper match scenario in a standard 10 minute game.

I did just have a decent game finally. It was against Inter, Fluid formations where on for both teams.
Im sure it is just their default tactics but at least it was playable , you just have to press the a button on defense constantly so your d men will at least close down.
Its a lot of effort though.
Im scared to go back and Play Dortmund though that direct ball to Aubameyang just exposes how far out of position your center half's can be, they play way to far apart.
I feel a little better towards it but not a lot.

Good to see your impressions Dub; for night matches did you try adjusting the brightness and contrast in the system settings. I thought they looked fine on my TV, adjusting the contrast made it look a bit better for me.

Wow, game is so smooth. So much more than the beta, very responsive.
Pros:
Dribbling: you can tell the difference between dribbling with Messi and Dybala, Messi's touch is so much close to the feet which allows him to quickly change direction at speed and get past defenders easily. Dybala is similar but he is not as fast so you can't quite dribble the same way. Also, with players like Messi you can get tackle and lose the ball momentarily, recover it and then keep dribbling. I hated that you couldn't do that in PES.
Animations: Players don't look stiff anymore, they are just so smooth.
AI: AI offense on Top level and Superstar is no joke. I got killed by Borussia on the counter, they kept feeding long ball to Obemeyeng and he was lethal. Also, AI is so much better at finishing. On one occasion, Di Maria received a lofted through ball where he was going to be 1 one 1 vs the keeper, I aggressively tried to rush the keeper to stop him after his first touch but his first touch was a cheeky little chip shot that left my keeper hopeless. My instant reaction was literally Savage.
Shooting: Advanced shooting is the way to go. Love finishing hard against the far post with a low powerful shot.
Graphics: Amazing. Only complain is that there's still a yellow halo effect when you Borussia's stadium.
Cons: Not enough fouls from CPU in non treating areas. I've been able to get a free kick here and there around the penalty box but the AI would never foul you in your own area.
Biggest con by far is that I have to wait two more weeks for the full game to come out and Konami won't probably have updated roster by thenz
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I agree I love the little touches players make with dribbling they really stepped up their game in the animation department also the ball physics always a joy to watch.

They fixed this this issue last release date and stated they will have current transfers when the game drops.

There is definitely a lot of good things in this game that i enjoy immensely, but some things leave me baffled. One example of an unbelievable thing that happen in a game yesterday:
I was Inter, was playing against Barcelona. I won 2-0 (ok, nothing baffling here) but Barça had 1 shot ALL game! An entire game (with the maximum 10 minute time in the demo) and they shot 1 single time! It was on the 1st half, an easy save for my GK. And i had 54% ball possession, i didn´t even dominated the game! It was an even game, but one of the best offensive teams on earth had 1 shot!
I am even more baffled because this was the exact criticism i had on FIFA, the CPU offense was stagnant and not threatening at all! And then this happens...
Ok, it was one game (i got so sick with it that i stoped playing) but it was one of those things that could never happen! The cpu offense was so helpless it was hard to see... maybe it´s the tactics, but if they can´t get the COVER TEAM tactic right they won´t get ANY tactic right...
On a positive side... i think that this year the online game might actually be very good!

Am I the only one having played 50+ games and fouls continue to be non existent? Jeez, we had the same issue in '16... I understand that a lot of people might not care at all with this, but it's a game killer to me.

How dare you: Remember, Konami makes the most realistic sports sim on the market with PES. Say it 100 times, and it might come true ... :)

I played pretty much all day yesterday and you articulated my experiences in detail. Thank you for that.

They better have real and current transfers when this game ships. Absolutely no excuse to not ship this game with 100% accurate squads now.

I think the potential for fouls is there the same as last year, but hopefully it's just the condensed nature of the demo that makes fouls seem rare. I was fouled a couple of times in one of the matches I played.

Yeah agreed Dub. Last year (PES 2017) wasn't bad with fouls in ML apart from the craziness of rivalry matches. I had a few Valencia-Villarreal matches end in 11v7.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My thoughts on the PES 2018 DEMO:

This was my experience as well, as long as it is not PES 15-16 bad, I averaged a lot of fouls in my Master League games (20 min matches btw) and I even went on a 3 game spree of drawing penalties but I still always conceded more than I drew. I feel this is also the same with Fifa as well gameplay slightly different in Friendly matches than the Career/Master League matches.

A lot of fouls also comes from play style. I got a decent number of fouls called in 17 and I also don't hesitate to go in hard if the computer has an opportunity to break or even sometimes if I get pissed.
Nothing dirty, but I'll be darned if Hazard roasts me over and over.

From our PES 2011 BAL team up days I can attest to this.
You were our Verratti!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I hope the shooting/scoring is only this OP because it's a short demo.

I've spent some time with the demo now, and the biggest take away I have is: this game would be amazing with all that field in between the boxes removed.
Seriously, the game plays really well when you're trying to break down a defense in the box, playing just outside of it and trying to penetrate in. Outside of that, however, the game breaks down. It's like the transition from one end to the other is merely a formality and lasts as long as it does purely because the sport designates the dimensions of a field. I guarantee you, if this game was based on a fictional sport that was a hybrid of football and hockey, it'd be legendary.
Unfortunately, for those of us looking for an accurate representation of football, 2018 still isn't it. This game continues the arcadey trend from the last few years. But when I think about it, maybe we shouldn't be so surprised with what the game is becoming. End to end play, high scoring games, no fouls... These aren't flaws, they are fundamental design choices by the dev team.
We all like to compare new releases to the legendary PES years, but I'm starting to think this doesn't make sense. We are hoping for the dev team to recreate PES' past achievements... but today's dev team is totally different from the one that had a vision to recreate the beautiful game with all it's perfections and imperfections. PES 16 and 17 both instilled in me the feeling that Konami have no desire to recreate what many of us want, instead they are focused on creating an exciting and fast paced game with widespread appeal. With 18, I'm more convinced than ever that the PES brand has no intention returning to its roots.
The demo technically plays well, but it's just not for me. No patch in the full release will change fundamental design choices.
Sent from my ONEPLUS A3010 using Tapatalk

Fouls are indeed few, but my games are low scoring affairs. I like the strategy elements.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Operation Sports mobile app

Agreed. Even with some of the issues PES has, I do not see FIFA doing any better as both have their issues. The PES devs have stated they listen to the quantity of the feedback, so that is naturally going to be the UT crowd that mostly play online only. Same for FIFA. We are lucky to have gotten a few changes for the better like slower game speed as there are other forums going crazy saying it is too slow....
We have to keep sending our feedback to these devs to plant those seeds or find a better way for our voice to be heard by going directly to the programmers of the game itself. Till then, we just need to make the best of what we have and I think just like 17, we will be able to make 18 playable when the full game unlocks.

Good info video as usual Matt. The only point I disagree with is the players graphics design. To me it's definitely ugly, they look like masks that are glued to the head, like the good old spitting image days.

its R2 by default. i use it and it works!

Brilliant analysis above by Kashik. BINGO. Nailed it, man.

Have you noticed the turf deterioration pattern? What kind of animal has this foot print? Also at half time everything has been cleaned up, good job the gardeners!

Konami being receptive to our community feedback.
All you can ask for at this point!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's awesome to read and it is one of the main reasons why I am remaining optimistic.

Respect to Bhatti for even just tweeting back. That's more than we get from the other game.
Has me optimistic that the full release gameplay will be different.

What does it do tho? We don't have that guiding line anymore, so what needs to be fixed into place?

A couple ?'s about that:
Does the R2 fix the line/trajectory even tho it still appears to move on the screen?
Dubcity: are you sure the lines are removed, or do they need to be turned on via the RB? I'd hate to see the lines removed...I'm not great at FK's as it is and not having those guides would really make things hard.

I'm surprised just at the idea that it could be changed for release. It used to be that a demo was pretty much what you would expect from the game. I'm glad to see they are willing to be that responsive.

That's what I don't know. My guess is it did nothing and no one cared enough to question Konami on an odd bug like that

Those lines are completely gone now. I liked them too.

Today was a great day on Twitter. Not only did KG get thru to Bhatti, he even asked Matt10 to send future feedback vids his way. These guys planting seeds for us. Thank you both.

Yeah. But it made FK way too easy. I like it better this way. Practice and ratings will mean more now.

Here is a few goals scored.
Messi FK
Didn't realize you could do low ground shots had to share this due to Ozil pulling out this kind of finish.

Free kicks are still too easy, scored the first one I took with Coutinho.
I think they were perfect back on the original PlayStation
Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports

Good day indeed for all of us PES fans.
We've got a great group of PES and FIFA guys here dedicated to make the better game better. Let's keep it up!
One cool little thing I've seen a lot of this year is after you score a goal the guy who scored and assisted will celebrate together.
Also, as a Chelsea fan I'm ashamed to say I enjoy playing with Liverpool the most in the demo.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

First time on here. I played both games all my life although Winning Eleven is more common here in South America than FIFA. Truth is I played the demo with its little flaws but it made me put aside FIFA 17. Now I play it and it bores me. Hopefully ML is what I expect this year but the demo sealed my purchase.

Getting on PC. Played xbox one version demo thought it looked great

The great thing about Konami and Bhatti, they said 2018 is the part 1 of a 3 part cycle they have. They are going to be building off of 2018 and will take advice from the community. Bhatti is already getting involved listening and interacting with people. Just don't be a jerk to him, give him constructive feedback and he will be very professional back.
I'm not seeing half the problems other people are complaining about. I'll admit, I'm not the best PES player as I was a FIFA player for so long, I'm still new to PES. But playing full manual in superstar is very challenging for me. I'm enjoying 2018 very much.

This is in regards to R2 and holding the lines in place: it doesn't.
(this is in 17). I tested it in numerous corner kicks. I setup to kick towards the GK, then moved the guides so it would curl out into the box, pressed (and held) R2 and then let it return. And the kick went straight to the GK every time. It doesn't work as far as I can tell.

Just a couple of highlights I threw together quickly:

1st clip - Really nice whipped in ball from out wide by Guerreiro that catches the Colo Colo keeper in two minds. PEA gets on the end of the end of it but puts it right at the keeper who saves it. Love the head-tracking by Guerreiro who spots the run and then looks down before hitting the cross.
2nd clip - Just some manual build-up by Dortmund. A delayed 1-2 with Castro & Schurrle ends with Schurrle continuing his run into the box and a backheel to PEA who finishes across the keeper. I like how PEA calls for it as soon as Schurrle gets the pass.
3rd clip - Boca-River action. I managed to fight off the River defender and found a trailing runner who just hit a rocket that the River keeper had no chance at.
4th clip - Sturridge on as a late sub and doing what he does best, get shots off. Up 1-0 late thought I'd let it rip and he just hit it sweetly. Dortmund was stretched trying to find the equalizer giving me an acre of space.
5th clip - Coutinho & Milner play a quick 1-2 with Milner finding Mane's near-post run. Mane does the rest after fighting off the defender.
6th clip - Perisic on the wing hits the cross to Candreva at the far post who does a great job at getting his head to cross and playing it back across goal for Banega who was on his horse and he buries it first time into the back of the net. Probably my favorite goal so far because it just came out of nowhere.

this games very balanced on Player camera full manual

Like last year, I'm hoping that the midfield can be fixed with formation/tactical changes.
There is too much space between the three line given the way the formations are set up in the demo. Most teams play with a front three. This can be a problem when the "attacking fullbacks" tactic is used for the opposition because the three up front won't track the outside backs. In 2017, this was easily fixed by switching the wingers to outside mids in the defensive formation.
Plus factor in that most teams in the demo use the "conservative" instead of "aggressive" pressure setting. This makes the midfield battles too tame. It becomes too easy to work the ball around in tight areas since the AI isn't aggressive enough in the tackle.
On top of that, most teams play too high a line for too much of the game. The AI responds to this by playing very directly.
All of these issues make the game far too end to end for my liking. This is why I wish Konami allowed us to use all of the tactical options in the demo.

Matt was working with the demo to make the defense more agressive and close spaces. Worked well actually.

I read this is getting a big day one patch which is very interesting that is also my notice to delete this demo and move one haha. I already played it enough and I want to keep this game fresh, very excited we don't have much long now. :D

I just play on cameras I wouldn't normally give a chance like Player Cam and Live Broadcast. Player Cam is cool but the sudden camera changes can get a little disorienting. It's not as bad when you're just controlling one guy on BAL though.

I have been doing that and playing as a GK. Things I'd normally never do but I'm having fun messing around with it on the demo.

i had some fun last night when playing 3 matches of GER vs ARG. one of the matches i uploaded.
i tried to play build up and keep posession. it got a little hectic at the end... but that was all down to myself getting hectic... eagerly trying to score! :D

Great video, couple of questions, what camera settings are you using? Also graphically it doesn't look as good as it does in the videos on here!! I'm on Xbox One, any advice on settings etc to make it look better as it looks nowhere near as sharp when I'm playing
Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

I find on the cams other than Dynamic wide they give you the perception of less space which helps the feel of the game a lot.

thnks to marcelohilter for sharing xbox db
little consideration about db& competitions
after a quick look competition structure doesn't seems change, that's a bit boring, One great lack is right that.
Ok, Konami doesn't have all the teams licensed , Ok, is not totally their fault (due EA buy,buy,buy sometime just to remove from KONAMI db) and they are trying to achieve more results about that , BUT is really inconceivable why they doesn't put the right number of teams that compete in the competitions, WTF . Put more fake teams, that doesn't care, we can edit them but why castrate the starting of a competitions every year.
And i bet my 2 cents that the ranking of the leagues are again related to the average Overall of the teams (ATT-MID-DEF)
again 10 teams in CL playoff round (in real are 20) , again less team in EL.. the competitions are identical to 2017 (just an happy note that they have putted 5 english teams in CL).
If KONAMI lack of licenses they should give us more freedom, a good edit tools not a ****ty edit mode that is never in line with bin files and could only create issues (talking about 2016 and 2017)
BTW i don't think that they have implemented nothing on new over edit mode.
Ok is not the final db (cuz they could change with the DLC on day one) but i think that for this year that's what we have.
And last thing about fake teams, if they could create classic teams with realistic players value BUT Fake players name, why they don't do the same about all the rest... in three years of development that never come in mind?
There are tons of modders and editers that will be only happy to help without wait the next months after the release to do the same for private/public purposes
3 thousand of players (keepers excluded) with less of 70 of stamina... banega with 68, bah
thats based over 13000 players means that almost 1/4 of the players of the db are not able to finish a match without be exausted, for me is a little exaggerated
I don't speak about the stamina of the kepeers, i never understood their POV about this attribute... a keeper should be able to play almost the whole season without turnover, but with value of 55-70 is pretty impossible.
Have someone tested Banega in a full match with Inter during demo or beta?
Have stamina different impact than 2017?
http://www.pesmaster.com/pes-2018/search/?age=15-32&goalkeeping=40-40&stamina=40-70&sort=ovr&sort_order=desc

After playing more games, Defensive AI it's broken. You literally can dribble your way to the opposing team's area with literally no challenge.
I scored 5 goals with Icardi on Superstar against BD. Last year, I played in Professional.
Needs to be patched.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have the same worries and i'm not optimistic about D1 patch after reading Chris Davies post here
https://www.evo-web.co.uk/threads/pes-2018-playstation-xbox-discussion-thread.77510/page-184

Do you have a video of this? Not that I don't believe you but I keep seeing people say this but I just don't see it. I play on the hardest difficulty and attacking around the box is not that easy.

He used literally twice in the same sentence, what more proof do you need?
:)

Haha you got me!
But really, I'm not saying I don't believe him. I just keep hearing people say they can dribble to the goal and I'm curious to see it.

You can definitely run through the midfield at will in the demo. This was a huge problem in PES 2015-2016, and last year it was still there if you wanted to find it. But it's back in a major way this year. The AI defensive positioning is the culprit. You can choose not exploit it, but that's a house rules decision.

advanced tactics are the only thing open in demo. so when everything is open in full game it shouldn't be easy to dribble through midfield

First thing i'm doing is removing all the advanced tactics from every team i want to play as or against. Aside from that, i'm not sure what we would change to fix it (assuming it's still a problem). Adjusting every CPU teams tactics to have them play in a similar way is not an option. That's a sign of a broken game.

Also, I don't need to foul AI to steal the ball as well, need more physical contacts, other than that, everything seems good, will probably get the full game!

Agreed. Hell, Matt10 has already found some fixes using advanced tactics in the demo now to shore things up. When we get full control of team tactics and formations, that is when we can make things better and teams will still have their unique playstyles. Not to mention the patch that may help as well. I'm not jumping off that cliff yet till all options are at our disposal.
Only thing I am worried about it how long it takes for an editor to be made for PC as I would bet they changed enough to make the old ones not function for this new version. I plan to port my MLS rosters over from 17 to this one, but afraid I may be in for some major work, especially with kits since they changed the template for those already. :zzz:

yeah, here's what i think. Sense they loosened the game up, ball, pressing, and player animations have improved. Foul system is off where the game knows where a foul should be triggered. So they need to tweak it until it's fixed. But don't go back to 2017 extra tight pressing and ball to do it.
I really believe by PES 2020 this games a gem.

:11 should be a foul?
:20 WTF is the worthless CB doing?

Thats a good video showing how bad the defending is in this game.
The back peddling,
The marking of territory and not reacting to whats in front of them.
How far apart they are,
Their willingness to do nothing.
1 on 3 and none of them did anything.
The only thing missing is the last ditch slide tackle that does nothing because they reacted after the forward does anything.
The extra touches inside the box so you cant clear it first time and let the forward poke it in because the forwards always react first then the defenders just follow.
I pressed the row z button not the take it off the shin button.

Smh,
What level was that on CJS?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If anyone can give direct feedback to Konami just ask them to remove the invisible lines keeping defenders from moving to attacking half, forwards from defending etc. There would be a lot less problems with the gameplay if there were more freedom in adjusting players's positions. In 2017 editing game plans had pretty limited effect on actual formations.

professional

found something : game balancing
game speed adjust the speed of the ball and player movement. but the ball slows down a bit more than the players do as you decrease it.
on 0 default speed we see defense struggle to get into passing lanes and block shots.
on -1 i seen this become less true.
on -2 even more so.
on +1 defense struggles a lot.
on +2 defense gets embarrassed.
my scores on professional difficulty got lower as i turned the game speed down.
the defense was able to block shots and get into passing lanes for steals more.
test this out fellas.

That seems like poor programming overall then. Slowing the game speed should allow the same results as if it is sped up.
The issue I have with slower gamespeed is the ball in the air is a balloon. It gets pretty tiring seeing crosses that should be whipped in take 5 seconds to reach the goal.

on -1 it was ok to me on player camera but that view looks different than side camera for ball speed but it does improve AI defending

I think control lag and player response is too bad in gamespeed -1, also those airballs are bit too slow like Matt said. I played PES 2017 with gamespeed -1, but on this demo response is much worse than last year.
Good thing is, couple previous years Konami have patched response better with lower gamespeeds. And every year new demo makes response bad again and they start to patch it better at full release. Weird development.
PES 2018 maybe has even too good response in certain situations with normal gamespeed, its good and bad thing.
Intersting to see what gameplay and tactics seems when at full release i try both teams without advanced tactics. For hardcore soccerfan over twenty years and usually buying both soccergames, first time it comes close not buying any soccergame. But i am hopeful PES 2018 can deliver, even tough demo is bit too open, easy and almost like too arcade for mine kind of simulation guy. Played PES 2017 ton of and have been on love PES since Pro Evo 1.
I hope we have a good game coming, but based on demo lots of thing need to gets better. But based on feedback everywhere, it seems that Demo has getting lot of love from casual gamers and even FIFA players are starting like PES again. Hardcore guys have been bit more crumpie and disappointment.

That's my impression as well, but surely that's the exact problem difficulty levels are supposed to solve. I don't get it.
Either things are too complicated under the hood and konami can't do it, or online is the only focus and that dictates how the game plays offline across all difficulty levels.
My only hope is the first patch (it will certainly tell us what konami thinks about it), and even more so the guys who'll try to find a solution with tactics/editing. They should be in the game as legendary stars, because without them I would have written this game off already :)

Matt - This was a really well done piece of commentary. It's measured, and professional in it's critique and highlights the issues we have.
One thing I cannot understand, and perhaps Madden was trying to make a move in this direction, is why can't we have one code base for Arcade, or one type of logic for 7 minute halves vs. someone playing 15 minute halves, and another for a more sim game. I don't understand why we say that "end-to-end is what the casual footy gamer wants to play" and assume that's why PES is going in this direction. Why does there need to be a direction is my ultimate question.
I say build the best sim games possible, and have lower level difficulties lack defensive aggression and positioning. It seems like it would be much easier to build a sim style game, that's difficult, and then "break it" to make it arcade-ish for people who want a mode like that.
Just my thoughts.

Tactics won't fix a whole lot honestly especially if we cannot edit Attack/Defence levels and if they don't address the player responsiveness. Teams that play 4-3-3 can have their forwards track back as I noticed there are two factors to get this activated for user and CPU. First is on defence, the team has to drop their defence level to blue or lower, notice in the screenshot below Coutinho is actually covering Piszczek's run while Mane is in the process of tracking back.
Second is Marking, especially teams that have Fullback's who like to push forward. If you have your two wide forwards mark them you will notice they will do their best to cover them when they push forward, the only downside is that is drains their stamina drastically. The only issue with marking is that the CPU may not use this at the start of the game so we may also run into the same thing of WF's not tracking back especially with teams like Barca. And that all comes down to defence level's, Barca and many other high possesion teams by default in PES don't drop it down to the level which is shown in the above screenshot causing so much and the end-to-end feeling of PES. We will just have to see when the game is released but I just don't want anyone to get their hopes up that tactics will fix a lot especially when issues are deeper than just that.

Yes, unfortunately that's true, there's only so much that can be done. But I thought attack/defence levels were somewhat figured out last year, I remember the thread by papinho. But it took many months to figure that one out. I do also recall that some teams had hardcoded tactics. It's a bit disappointing to see Konami hiding away editing options and hardcoding things. Doesn't sound like pes, and this mindset makes me lose almost all hope that they'll ever consider implementing sliders as well.

Good post Royce. Definitely agree with all of that but with PES it seems like you fix one thing (marking the wingers) it opens up another issue (backline plus CDM behind the most forward attackers).
That screenshot looks like all of Dortmund's attackers have stopped their runs and are checking back but no one on Liverpool reacts. Liverpool is suspect on defense but not that bad lol. No one steps to even cut off a passing lane to the attacking trio.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think this is spot on, as is JimmyDeicide's comments about fullbacks defending the wings. It's abominable, but I think our friend Matt10 has some ideas to fix with advanced instructions / tactics.
We'll see what can be done about midfield, but right now, it's a problem.
With that said, I dunno what to say...I absolutely love and enjoy PES 17 and very likely PES 18.
I'm very excited about the option files, master league, and another year of PES getting all my time and attention. It's just sooooo effing FUN.

LOL! No doubt a foul, but also like a bug to me. The term hit the ground running sprang to mind there. Amazing agility maybe....
One thing on fouls, it is pretty much a given the patch will not help with those. Bhatti has made several remarks lately on it. They are afraid it will ruin the balance as one adjustment throws another thing off. I think we know a bit about that when dealing with tactics, but it really sounds to me like they have no control over it as he did mention them needing to have new systems in place for fouls and referee logic. It will pretty much be up to us to get things in place to draw more fouls again this year. I think it can be done as Matt10s demo work already showed promise, just wait till we can get longer game length and other adjustments unlocked. If I can get it close to 17, I will be fine, but really hope they add something going forward.

One could be tempted to wonder if there's any balance to be ruined.
But hey, it's safe to say that this is what they want to try this year. Let's see how it will work out...

I also enjoyed PES 17, not enough to play it all year, but i did play a ML until the end ant it was good.
But this year, there will be no day one buy of any football game for me, unless FIFA18 demo blows me away (highly unlikely from what i have seen on videos).
The good thing on PES demo is the length of it. Compared to FIFA´s is a much better way to gauge the state of the game. Unfortunately for them, it can also blow up in their faces, because you really do have time to notice whats wrong with the game... let´s see that day one patch, and what "general gameplay fixes" are included.

I've never picked up PES on launch day, does it have digital preload, or wait till release download?

I used to buy the phisical copy of the game, but i believe you can download the game a couple of days earlier to your hard drive and play it when it releases. But im not really sure...

I stand corrected, maybe. Bhatti just posted this:
"Hey guys, quick update. Team are testing something to increase fouls. Potential patch coming in a few months. Lots of testing taking place 👍
We pushed the topic, the team may have a solution. But of course challenge is balance, but I'm pleased it's being looked into deeper."
No guarantee this will happen, but glad to see them looking into this. Feedback works guys!

I think it have preload two or three days before release.

A patch to increase fouls in a "few months"? Ouch...
Glad that it´s actually something i don´t really consider game breaking, i can get by a game with few fouls, no real problem with that.
There is no evidence whatsoever in what im about to say, it´s just my opinion on what´s going on with PES since the social networking took place and all this feedback thing (regarding PES only! I have seen feedback really working on other games).
Before social networking (and update patches), konami guys just made the game they thought it should be done with no outside influence or pressure on the design of their game. And i think they got used to it and have continued doing it, i don´t really think the team actually listens to Bhatti, or anyone for that matter, unless its a very quick and simple thing.
The consecutive years of easy lag cheating on MLO, the consecutive years of R2 placed shot, the changes in MyClub that nobody wanted, making getting a star team quickly and easy (remember MLO from PES11? Yeah, good luck in having a star team after 3 or 4 months!).
So, this we "might" have a fix for fouls in a few "months", and asking community for videos helping to identify what´s wrong, as if they couldn´t see for themselves the obvious lack of midfield play for example... it´s exactly like the time were they asked to send videos of people who lag cheated.
Remember? It started with PES 2011, continued on 2012, everyone complaining loudly, and then on PES 2013 they "aknowledged" the problem by saying they were banning people, asking videos and lot´s of stuff (see pesfan and pesgaming sites from those years)... all a lie, in PES 14 the top players had 0 losses in more than 1000 games played (because they lag cheated).
Now this problem is largely gone, after 5 years or so, but it wasn´t for the videos sent, or Bhatti doing something relevant with the team, it was just that they finnally had the time, money, will, whatever, to do it.
Again, this is the feel i get from this Community - PR Guys - Dev Team interaction, it´s not factual or anything, but it isn´t far fetched looking back 5 of 6 years...
And yes, i like PES, and that´s wy it really bothers me! :p

You can say that about pretty much every game tho. Unless it's some huge gamebreaking problem that they have received 90% consistent negative feedback about from literally everyone who has played the game, devs aren't in a hurry to fix the issue in an instant. Main thing they are worried about first is making sure servers are working right to ensure people give them money for microtransactions.
I mean, by comparison FIFA had issues with lack of fouls for literally 4 years and did nothing. PES is actually listening to the sim players somewhat this year, which is kind of amazing.

Ooh. My spot just got the full game in. They're open till 10pm so I might just head down there now or tomorrow morning

Nice I knew you would pop in here around this time. Looking forward to your impressions.

Just picked it up. I basically took a break from the '17 soccer games, pes and fifa. I did get pes last year but didn't play much at all. So my impressions probably wont be that great. However, if you guys have questions I'll do my best to answer them.

Play a few matches yesterday before work and noticed there's still an issue with the ease at which the AI will pass the ball and just a complete lack of midfield.
Played as Dortmund and noticed neither CM held position so the second I lost the ball it was to the races for the AI.
Defensive AI is also poor. I watched an attacking mid make a run from 30 yards past my 3 CBs and none of them picked him up.
So as enjoyable as it is to score goals using the player cam, overall I'm seeing the things that made me stop playing sooner rather than later unfortunately.

Played the PES Demo for the last few days, having really enjoyed 2017.
At first I thought, it's nice that the AI is challenging me now and scoring goals, but the more I played the more I found there was little if anything I could actually do to defend them. Quick counters, balls in behind the full backs and I'm wide open.
Equally, I could do the same back to the AI. Whilst it was nice spreading the odd 40 yard pass it takes the fun out of it when you realise you can pull it off nearly every time.
Quite torn on whether to purchase FIFA or PES this year now. Going to see what the FIFA Demo comes up with and decide from there; my issue with PES is if the offline AI isn't up to scratch the rest of it's online offerings aren't that great.

Its a shame we dont have sliders in PES :(
Like marking tightness, def.line, etc would really help to tweak the AI

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but don't all teams have these in their team settings? So some teams will mark tighter than others, play a high line, etc.
That said, I'm pretty much always in favor of sliders, it would be something that would benefit PES for sure.

Gameplay sliders might be okay if they only had like 5 of them. FIFA's sliders are like an endless rabbit hole to hell.

Fair enough. And to be completely honest, one of the reasons I generally hold off buying fifa is because of the sheer amount of testing that goes into figuring out the sliders when a new patch comes out.
I'd be interesting to see what sliders we'd be given if Konami ever went that route.

last night was so much fun with this demo with friends.. it was a blast!!!
me and other 2 buddies from my fifa league got together at my cousins house and played this demo all night last night.
we played 3 v com co op and we also played some 1 v 1.
this game is the best footie game ever when it comes to 1 v 1 or mutliplayer that I ever played. both my fifa guys were impressed as well..
in fact one after we all left .. he sent out a group txt that read to the entire fifa league
"Even tho it was merely a demo, That was the most gratifying video game experience in years - PES 18 is a must own"
I couldn't agree more... I don't quite get some of negativity for this game by some.. It's a video and it's suppose to be fun and addicting. That is exactly what PES is... and for me this might go down as one of the best footie and sports games of all time. I just want want the full game to play like that beta or demo or maybe better and I will be very pleased.
The human vs human aspect for this game and the competitive part of this game for me beats any sports video game currently out on the market hands down. this game will do good in E sports I would imagine. FIFA 1 v 1 experience and 2 v 2 co op does not even come close to this game. this game will be the new king of competitive footie vs others..

exactly.. but this is coming from a guy that sliders don't mean as much to me since I'm mainly about playing against others humans Not the boring AI unless I'm practicing to get better. FIFA's AI is more boring compared to what I have played against the PES AI any ways.. the sliders does not help that. That's not to say I wont ever play offline .. I will .. but it's what I spend less with the game
PES doesn't need sliders. and if they ever did do some I totally agree with you and I hope they only add a very few. doesn't need as many as FIFA.
but if your only interested in ever playing the game only offline and always against he computer AI. FIFA might be the game to get still for that. for me though.. playing competively against humans in footie games is where it's at.. nothing in sports video gaming gets better than that. FIFA online clubs is probably one of the best modes in the sports video game market for years. but now PES is just to good when it comes to competitive aspect of the 1 v 1 or multiplayer battle. the skill is involved and you can control the outcome much more in PES vs FIFA. fifa is to much scripted when playing human vs human and you can easily lose the match playing against someone not as good as you. IN Pes I don't see that problem. Plus the football is more realistic in the 1 v 1 games and using tactics and formations.
bottom line for me, when i play PES this year so far with the demo and online beta.. the controls feel more fluid and responsive to me and just feels right. when I can hit a volley or this and that. it does what it should when I hit the button while in FIFA they same play would of hit me in the chest and bounced off. I just have way more control in PES I feel which I like.
another thing I like.. is PES manual keeper is spot on. and allowing this online is something FIFA got away from years ago because people would just go on the keeper and let the AI play d for you. well that's one of the many reasons why this game is better than FIFA.. you can't do that in PES.. but you it's great that they let you get on the keeper to try to stop anyone that tries the same goal over and over and manually stop it. this game has everything you need to make it an excellent e sports game. there is nothing you can't stop or control. in fifa there is to much scripting and stuff out of your control that can happen. IN pes .. the better and smarter skilled player is usually going to win most games. this is what i love most about this game. If i lose i felt i deserved to lose. in fifa that's not always the case.. in fact it happens often where I felt i should of won but still lost if that makes sense.

I have seen some pes18 footage played at a high level as an e-sport on twitch. Yes it must be exciting, yes the skill level must be high. But it looks like a different sport. People care about beating the other guy on pes so they will not use football logic but rather game logic. There's no pretence for realism, if you can do something stupid looking that your human opponent won't read, then that's the way to go.
So no matter how good it might be, it's just something completely different. I guess me and many others are interested in a soccer/football video game that replicates the real thing, not in something that is basically a new sport in it's own right, hence the divide.

Had a lot of fun with the demo tonight. Saw some new foul animations and actually (miraculously) drew a penalty. Dribbling is a blast.
Say what you want about the CPU AI, but they definitely made the game harder than last year. CPU is super tough on Top Player, and I can't imagine playing on Superstar. They eat you alive with through balls and crosses into the box. Professional might be a useful difficulty level this year.
The trick will be finding the sweet spot where the game is challenging but not cheap and OP. Some of the CPU goals on Top Player just feel dumb..Maybe professional with manual passing/shooting and +1 speed.

very true, to many sliders becomes a mess. Passing accuracy and shooting accuracy sliders would improve PES lots.

FYI, the PES 2018 demo is now available on PC/Steam.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/592580/PRO_EVOLUTION_SOCCER_2018/