New Manager Advice

Read this page first, if there's any additional questions an unofficial newbie help Discord server has been set up at https://discord.gg/SJPvJNW. Feel free to ask around!

What do I need to know at the base level?

Two things. One: This is a tournament to entertain the people of 4chan. This is NOT a tournament to get self-glory, or to become the best for competition's sake. We're all here to have fun, and while winning is fun, being a jerk about it ruins the fun for many others. Do not pour too much of yourself into the results of the games, and while losses will get you shitposted against, learn to take that in stride. Basically, remember the old mantra: It's just Virtual Divegrass, you should really just relax.

Second: Don't get discouraged. You WILL get PES'd at some point or another, where you lose a game you should have won. We're all here to laugh at stupid AI memes playing stupidly. Stupidity is built into the foundation of the 4chan cup, and it WILL happen to you. When bad things happen to your team, you WILL get shiposted against. If your skin is too thin for this, you may want to reconsider managing. You will need thick skin if you hope to last, but you also need to remember that this isn't a serious competition, and that banter is a two way street. Don't be a jerk, but don't let others run over you either.

What Non-PES things will I need?

Skype and IRC. Skype is used for the "Rigcam", which is a real-time view of the game you will want to see while managing. The stream on Smashcast has a long delay between when it happens and when you see it, so this is a must to manage. IRC is where you will send the rigger instructions (unless it's a pastebin, those go to the rigger on Skype). Instructions are not accepted anywhere else, so please make sure to familiarize yourself with IRC and register your name on the 4cc server as soon as possible.

How do I install PES?

Start off on the Installation page. There are helpful links and instructions, but don't be afraid to ask for a little help. Even veteran managers have had trouble installing various PES games, so don't feel ashamed about needing to ask for some help.

After that, go to the main page for the current version of PES (Curently Here ) and download the save (which goes into the KONAMI/Pro Evolution Soccer/Save folder in your "My Documents" folder) as well as the aesthetic CPKs (which go into the Program Files/KONAMI/Pro Evolution Soccer/Download folder). Our version of the game needs the aesthetics CPKs in order to function, so even if you only intend to test you still need them.

How do I make a legal team

Main Article: Export Making Advice

Download one of the PES editors on the Tools page, follow the guidelines on the Rules page, and use the Auto ATF or you'll end up on the Fools page! The Auto ATF checks your export to see if it's legal to the current cup ruleset, and if not it will tell you what the errors you need to fix are. Be sure to re-download the AATF before every cup, as rules change often. You will get sanctions against you if you submit faulty exports, so be careful! If you need help with this, feel free to reach out and ask others for assistance.

Also feel free to use this Spreadsheet to keep track of your team. It has built in counters set to the current ruleset so you can plan out your team's stats in advance.

How do I not get blown the fuck out

Try and make a balanced team, and look at other teams to see what's been working recently. See what makes them tick, watch their games and identify who their important players are. While the medals would be obvious choices, there's often more than just those four players who contribute heavily to a good team. Then go into the editor to see what kinds of cards they have. For example, often midfielders will be given passing cards if they're on the outside wings, or given certain playstyles such as Anchor Man so that they can defend better if playing back. Try to find out why each player is set up as they are, and that will give you greater insight on how to build your own players. I must stress, though, DO NOT copy them. Most often they have a plan behind their team which most people would not be able to decipher from outside of their manager/management group. Use them as references, not guides.

The other thing is to make a plan for your team BEFORE making any changes. Use this as your base to fill out your teams' stats and cards. When you run tests, only run a few (3-4) and be sure to watch those games so that you can see who is and isn't playing to the plan and what tweaks you should make. Try running against multiple teams as well, because different tactics will respond differently to different tactics. Try not to trust singular, but do be aware that overtesting is just as bad. I would recommend testing more in the preseason than the mid-season, as your goal should be to make a team that can play it's football over another team instead of chasing that other team.

Also, feel free to join memevitationals to help get used to PES. Many memevitationals are not good for trying out serious tactics, since everyone else will be running silly things in an attempt to make even dumber PES things happen, but they are good for getting familiar with making exports and learning how to get around PES' menus.

How do I make an aesthetics export

Download the template from the wiki, stick your files in as instructed, and send it out. It may be helpful to download another team's export to see how everything is supposed to be laid out, as well. It's tough to understand at first, but also tough to explain in short, so if you don't understand something, feel free to ask around for assistance.

How do I interact with my board

Make a thread for polls only, unless you're managing for /sp/, /mlp/, or /vg/. Most boards will ban you for making a thread, so be ready to take a 3 day vacation just in case. You will also need to "stealth" your thread, hiding it so it can last longer while also letting it be somewhat visible to the userbase. Some do this by posting soccer-related board-related topics/pictures, while others achieve this by mentioning the cup but also making the thread useful for other purposes. You'll have to work with this and find out the best method for your board.

How do I get new aesthetics

Contact /aesco/, the aesthetics council. Talking to anyone from there will at least get your request into the hands of people who can possibly make it happen. There are tutorials to help you get started learning to make your own aesthetics (and /aesco/ has people willing to help you through the process), but if you don't want to then this is the way to go.

How do I maintain our wikipage

Familiarize yourself with your team's Wiki page. You'll need to keep this updated after each game, so be sure to figure out where everything is! Try to see how each part of the page works. Remember that you can use the Preview tab in the Edit mode on any page to see how your changes will display, so use this to figure out how each section works and what wiki code can do.

How do I get involved in the cup community?

Though this is optional and joining a community isn't necessary, There's multiple ways if you do wish to: -Post on /4ccg/, the /vg/ general for the 4chan Cup. While it can get shitposty, there can be a lot of useful discussion there and it's somewhat of a communal ground. -4cc IRC. While it's mostly used for off-topic talk in the offseason, there's almost always people there willing to help with any issues you have. Don't be afraid to jump in with questions if you need to! -Join the 4cc Discord for news updates and discussions. -Join the /aesco/ discord to talk directly to aesthetics makers. -Join your team's discord if there is one and communicate with the fans when you can't on the board. REMEMBER: Your team's discord is a splinter of the board's community. IT IS NOT THE BOARD ITSELF. Feel free to take suggestions from it when setting up your roster poll, but DO NOT POLL ONLY THE DISCORD. The team represents the BOARD users, not the DISCORD users.

Advanced Section

So, you've been blown the fuck out and can't understand why. Likely, it was PES, but if it happens consistently then you'll need to take another step. While I don't want to exactly "direct" you to any true tactical end, I do want to give you some guiding advice. First of all, I'd reccommend that you up your basic football knowledge. While the beautiful game doesn't directly translate into PES, the more you know about how a football team generally works the better ideas you'll be able to generate. You can watch real football matches, look up blogs, and just generally seek out info. After that, You'll want to sharpen your knoeldge of how PES' cards, advanced tactics, playstyles, and other moving parts work. Here's some helpful links for that:
http://pesmastery.com/pes-tactics-formation-tutorial/
http://www.operationsports.com/features/2639/breaking-down-advanced-instructions-in-pes-2017/

As an added tip, in the middle of the cup there's always the option to re-watch your previous game (either though the Smashcast's VOD function or the Klaxa Archive and try to figure out where things went wrong. You may be able to fix things up for your next nightly export!