Well Hello There Balls and Girls!
Welcome to the latest for Countryballs: Modern Ballfare! In this update we wanted to focus on improving what the nerds call 'game feel'. This is us revisiting mechanics and systems that weren't quite up to the quality level we were happy with and to bring them more in-line with a game that is working its way out of Early Access.
So, basically, this will mean the game feels a little bit tighter, a little bit more satisfying, and a lotta-bit more awesome! Everything from animations and fine gameplay details to network performance and perfecting that right colour of brown for the throwable poop - you are welcome ;)
New Features:
- Our first historic flags! You can now dress your balls up as the: Soviet Union, Roman Empire, Holy Roman Empire, Kaiserreich Germany, Prussia, Byzantine Empire.
- Version 2.0 for the Bot AI is out! Now with improved pathing, performance, and attack logic. (Psst, they also use melee weapons for the Bats n Balls Game Mode!)
- There is now a multi-kill system, so it'll make you feel even more like a chad getting those double kills!
- Starting your own match is now easier and simpler to understand with the revised game setup flow.
- There are now session intro animations that explain the current game mode after the lobby!
- We remade the Crosshair and Hit Marker system from the ground up! There is now reticle spread when firing, indicators for blocking melee or having your melee blocked by another player, aaaaaand when returning projectiles! All the animations in this area have been improved to be more juicy.
Tweaks:
- Removed the hidden Zombie screen from the Main Menu in preparation for the full mode coming soon ;)
- Tweaked the spread of all weapons.
- Enabled Scoreboard, Text Chat, Pause Menu, and Loadout in Pinata Mode.
- Changed the text chat to display player names instead of Country names - whilst it was funny at the start it got kinda annoying :D.
- Improved the visuals of the Killfeed display.
- Changed the layout of UI toggles to be easier to use.
- Kills made by your Police now count to your kill total! (For Srebrny)
- Added an exit sign above the exit in the Slavic Disco.
- Removed the input binding for the PauseMenu from > key.
- Added input readout for Spectator Mode to the Input Screen.
- Added Game Mode descriptions to the Host and Server Browser screens.
- Tweaked the UI icons for the server browser to be clearer and match the new Game Mode screen icons.
- Removed the region select toggle from the Server Browser as it isn't functional yet.
- Reblanaced the Bot use of the Chainmask weapon so it was less punishing.
- Made 10 minutes the default time option for sessions.
- Made 12 players the default player count for sessions.
- Made Bot full fill be the default for hosting sessions.
- Made it a little easier to get the Sniper in Bunkertown.
- Lowered the speed boost by the Deus Volt skill by 30%
- Changed spawns in Bunkertown that were too close to obstacles causing navigation issues on spawn.
- Tweaked projectile hit-back radius per weapon so it is easier to hit back at your enemies with melee swings! Batter up!
- Tweaked some prop positions in Rooftops for better player pathing.
- Removed the Ninja Rope skill... for now :D
Fixes:
- Fixed issues where the Bots liked to path to the edge of Valley too much and could get stuck.
- Fixed issues where the Bots didn't roam around enough in Bunkertown.
- Fixed an issue in which friendly Bot names would appear red like enemies.
- Fixed an issue where Bots could spawn in Pinata mode if a player left during Pinata Mode.
- Fixed an issue where Bots could survive the transition into Pinata Mode.
- Fixed an issue where the Bot difficulty sometimes wasn't respected from the Host screen.
- Fixed an issue where Bot health would sometimes be higher than it was supposed to be.
- Fixed an issue where friendly Police would attack friendly Bots!
- Fixed an issue where the jetpack skill activation wasn't smooth for client players.
- Fixed an issue where friendly Bots would attack friendly Police!
- Fixed an issue where the jump pad wasn't smooth for client players.
- Fixed an issue where Bots would instantly disappear when they were replaced by a player instead of correctly exploding.
- Fixed an issue where you got stuck rolling if you opened the Loadout or PauseMenu whilst rolling.
- Fixed an issue where the melee hit box could get stuck on which could make you a melee god.
- Fixed an issue where the order of weapons in the mouse wheel weapon switching wasn't preserved.
- Fixed an issue where the Raygun and Pulse Rifle didn't show HitMarkers when hitting an enemy.
- Fixed an issue that awarded the player XP for killing Police.
- Fixed an issue that added Police kills to your total.
- Fixed an issue where Police killing each other would appear on the killfeed.
- Fixed a floating rock near spawns in Valley.
- Fixed an issue where you couldn't see your own eyes when double jumping.
- Fixed an issue where the birds in Valley where stuck and wouldn't move.
- Fixed issues around incorrect flag colours, including: Botswana, Nicaragua, Somalia.
- Fixed an issue where the reloading animations on the HUD didn't display fully.
- Fixed an issue where firing the last shot in a weapons magazine wouldn't play the weapon recoil mesh animation.
- Fixed some issues where you could fall through the map in the sewer tunnels in BunkerTown.
- Fixed an issue where using the Volt and Viking skills at the same time would stomp over your melee weapon when the skill ended.
- Fixed some issues where you could sometimes spawn in a broken spectator state on fresh maps after Pinata Mode.
- Fixed an issue where you could use the Bomb Belt skill during Spawn Protection and the skill would become disabled.
- Fixed an issue where using the Spitfire skill wouldn't correctly return your HUD when the skill ended.
- Fixed an issue where you could get stuck in the Slavic Disco if you entered it whilst you were a Big Ball.
- Fixed an issue where the big flashing poles on Rooftops didn't have collisions and you could hide inside as a Small Ball.
- Fixed an issue where the end-match M.V.P would clip through the map if you were in the Slavic Disco when it was triggered.
- Fixed an issue where the battle music would sometimes be cancelled by other players using the Slavic Disco and Russian Vodka skills.
- Fixed an issue where the health scaling on the HUD wouldn't display the correct amount of health.
- Fixed an issue where you could get hitmarkers in the Crosshair when hitting non-player objects.
- Fixed an issue where menu buttons could get stuck in their highlighted state.
- Fixed an issue where menu arrows could get stuck in their enlarged state.
- Fixed an issue where the church bell tower in Bunkertown had a mesh with stretched UVs
- Fixed some floating grass on Valley.
- Fixed some issues with the chosen match kill limit wasn't respected when in a match and could end early.
- Fixed a whole bunch of issues around the server names and their representations in the UI.
- aaaaaand lastly hopefully fixed crash dump files getting generated locally so they can be sent directly to our faces for fixing!
Special shout out to Srebrny and the rest of our Discord members for helping us find bugs to be squished! :)
If you made it this far then you are a trooper and we love you! There is more awesome content coming soon as we balls deep working on the...