GAME PARAMETERS

Parameters - Game Engine

For all those ESMS nerds out there, this is the current set of parameters being used in our version of the game engine of PBeMFF.

SENIOR MATCHES (Including Cups)

Home_Bonus = 500 (300/200 for cups)
Games = PBEMFF_Division_1
Attendances_Pack = 1
Cup = 1
Extra_Time = 1
Silver_Goal = 0
Fitness = 1
FitFactor = 30
Min_DF = 3
Max_DF = 5
Max_DM = 2
Min_MF = 0
Max_MF = 6
Max_AM = 3
Min_FW = 1
Max_FW = 4
Num_Substitutions = 5
Bench_Size = 5
Max_Chance = 100
Max_Skill = 40 (skill cap in game is 40 rated)
Positions = 1
Referees = 1
Reports_Style = 1
Reports_Type = 1
Rerate0_999 = 1
Skill_Abs = 1
Stats_Pack = 1
Stats_Details = 0
Short_Sheet = 0
T_Tactic = 70
Tactic_7 = 1
Tactical = 1
Team_Data = 1
DP_for_Yellow = 2
DP_for_Red = 10
Suspension_margin = 10
Max_injury_length = 7
Aggression = 1
Conceded_Sub_Apps = 1
Minutes = 1
Prompt_To_Finish = 1

Abilities:
AB_Goal = 60
AB_Assist = 52
AB_Victory_Random = 20
AB_Clean_Sheet = 20
AB_Ktk = 45
AB_Kps = 42
AB_Sht_On = 7
AB_Sht_Off = 7
AB_Sav = 44
AB_OG = -20
AB_Defeat_Random = -10
AB_Concede = -21
AB_Yellow = -10
AB_Red = -50

RESERVE MATCHES

Home_Bonus = 500
Games = PBEMFF_Division_1_Reserves
Attendances_Pack = 1
Cup = 1
Extra_Time = 1
Silver_Goal = 0
Fitness = 1
FitFactor = 30
Min_DF = 4
Max_DF = 5
Max_DM = 2
Min_MF = 0
Max_MF = 6
Max_AM = 3
Min_FW = 1
Max_FW = 3
Num_Substitutions = 5
Bench_Size = 5
Max_Chance = 100
Max_Skill = 34 (34 rated keeper is highest skill level allowed in reserves)
Positions = 1
Referees = 1
Reports_Style = 1
Reports_Type = 1
Rerate0_999 = 1
Skill_Abs = 1
Stats_Pack = 1
Stats_Details = 0
Short_Sheet = 0
T_Tactic = 70
Tactic_7 = 1
Tactical = 1
Team_Data = 1
DP_for_Yellow = 2
DP_for_Red = 10
Suspension_margin = 10
Max_injury_length = 6
Aggression = 1
Conceded_Sub_Apps = 1
Minutes = 1
Prompt_To_Finish = 1

Abilities:

AB_Goal = 40
AB_Assist = 32
AB_Victory_Random = 20
AB_Clean_Sheet = 20
AB_Ktk = 34
AB_Kps = 32
AB_Sht_On = 4
AB_Sht_Off = 4
AB_Sav = 36
AB_OG = -10
AB_Defeat_Random = -10
AB_Concede = -21
AB_Yellow = -10
AB_Red = -50

Skill_abs IS in use, meaning these numbers have the player's skill subtracted from it, meaning a more skilful player skills up a little slower than a weaker player.

Example: 30 rated midfielder would get 12 ABs for a pass in the seniors (he can't play in reserves)

Example 2: a 27 rated defender would get 18 ABs for a tackle in the seniors, and 7 in the reserves (bear in mind reserve players are often at a vastly weaker level so getting these actions is likely to be more frequent).

Example 3: a youth Defender in the reserves rated 18 would gain 16 ABs for a tackle in the reserves. If he is promoted to the seniors for the season, he gets 27 ABs per tackle.

Player Re-rates

Applies to both seniors and reserves
1-19 = 30 20 10
20-21 = 30 20 10
22-26 = 0 0 0
27-29 = 0 0 0
30 = 0 0 0
31 = 0 0 0
32 = -30 -20 -10
33 = -30 -20 -10
34 = -60 -30 -20
35+ = -60 -30 -20

As you see for the first few seasons decline is small and most of this will be covered by the abs gained during regular matches. Effectively the players are neutralised. However, the declines become more severe by age 34 which is to try and mirror realism. Of course, an absolute monster star player may still be competitive (a bit like a Messi who, whilst a shadow of his former self, is still a great player at an older age).

Goalkeepers tend to have longer careers and deteriorate more slowly in the real world, so we have catered for this too. GK reaching the age of 33 will receive 300abs EOS, ready for the new season, slowing down the affects of aging. GKs receive 300 ABs per season from when they hit 33, and every season thereafter, to ensure a more gradual, realistic decline

Game Bugs

ESMS is an old software, PBeMFF started in 2002 and ESMS outdates that. So it was designed in a time before fancy stuff and has its quirks and glitches. Here are a list of major known errors in the game engine:

1. You MUST put a GK in position 12 on the teamsheet. If you don't, it's adament you have an illegal formation. However, you CAN sub that "GK" on in any other position should you wish. So if you don't have a 2nd keeper, you put a DF as sub GK but can still use him as a DF so long as you have the relevant conditionals in place (eg SUB 4 12 DF IF MIN = 70 or SUB DF 12 DF IF INJURED DF, you have to tell ESMS that you want him to play as a DF)

2. If you have more than 6 DM, MF and AM combined, including subs, it's adament you have an illegal formation. Please ensure you don't do this, I will be fairly lenient as it's a game engine fault.

3. If you have 2 contradicting conditionals, they can constantly override one another, causing the game to simply run with minimal activity and lots of mindless tactic swapping. It has been abused before when someone was 1-0 up. You'll get a re-run game with 442N if you do this.

4. Sometimes, the game engine just thinks you have an illegal formation for the fun of it, or it will call conditional errors that aren't genuine errors. It uses notepad, and sometimes random characters can corrupt these old text files. In such a case the commissioner will find a way to fix it. It's not your fault. I will advise how to remedy.

5. There is a well-known glitch where if you play the MAX amount of any given position, then sub one off and swap someone else from the on-field players, into that position (even if the sub comes on and plays another position) it will think you have an illegal formation. You don't. But again, I had concerns this was being selectively abused so it's written into the rules to be careful around this. Let me demonstrate such an example:

Starting formation: 5122C (with DM)

You go 2-0 down and are trailing in 75th minute, it's not looking good.

You then sub off a defender, replacing him with a striker, seems legit, right?

You then change the DM's position into the DF role, giving you a 523 formation at this precise moment

What does this look like in conditionals? Here's a random example:

SUB 5 16 FW IF MIN = 75 SCORE <= -2

CHANGEPOS 6 DF IF MIN = 75 SCORE <= -2

So whilst you technically have a legit setup at that precise moment, ESMS says no and crashes mid-match. So sure, technically you've not done anything wrong, but if you know about it, you can use it to crash the game when you're losing, and it needs re-running. Not allowed. But it's such a murky one that it's easy to forget about this, so as a rule of thumb I show some forgiveness the first time I see it.

I will add any more known bugs here as and when I recall them.