What's up, ballers!
CBT2 has been dropping dimes for six days straight. These past six days, we've seen countless clutch moments and felt pure fire from every single one of you. Every bucket, every matchup, every piece of feedback – we've got it locked down.
This isn't just a test; it's a team-up, a journey we're on together.
We're rolling out a hotfix, tomorrow without downtime to square away some issues:
We're planning a hotfix on June 24th to tackle the following:
- Adding multilingual display for "Private" info on personal profiles.
- Tweaking the volume and rhythm of the lobby's background music.
- Optimizing multi-language localization, fixing some UI text layout issues and inconsistent translations.
- Patching up the frequent "Reconnecting to server failed multiple times" prompts in-game.
- Correcting language display errors for the "accept" and "reject" buttons in invite prompts.
- Resolving issues where some parameters weren't called successfully.
- To resolve error code 10011 caused by network issues in the launcher, please log out of your account, clear the cache, completely close the launcher (including background processes), then restart and log in again.
For detailed steps on how to clear the cache, please visit:
https://www.free-dunk.com/news/RMXab190739458
All these updates are based on player feedback, and we appreciate your patience and assists. Plus, we're still working on other bugs you've reported and will hit you up with updates ASAP once they're fixed.
Player Feedback Central & Priority Fix List (TODO LIST)
We've racked up some valuable feedback and suggestions these past few days. We've got them on the board as high-priority items:
1. Rebounding, Stealing, & Blocking Mechanics
Many of you felt the "rebounding, stealing, and blocking felt weird." We get it. We've broken down the current in-game logic and mechanics to help you understand the hustle behind every loose ball
1. Rebounding Mechanics
- Timing the board: When the ball starts to descend and flashes, hitting the D button will give you a better shot at securing the rebound.
- Rebound success rate is affected by multiple factors like positioning, height, wingspan, jump, Rebound attribute, and the strength of the rebound-specific skills used.
- Lower network latency (ping) in-game gives you an edge in grabbing boards under the same conditions.
- Pro Tip: Box-out is key to the rebound game. After using a box-out skill, opponents within a 120-degree fan-shaped area behind your player won't be able to snag the board, even if they jump.
2. Stealing Mechanics
- When swiping, the closer you are to the ball-handler's dribbling hand, the higher your success rate. Trying from the opposite side will significantly drop your chances.
- The closer you are to the ball, the higher your steal success rate.
- Higher Steal attribute and skill strength (e.g., Quick Steal is better than Normal Steal, advanced skills trump basic ones) boost your success rate. Success rate has an inverse relationship with the opponent's Dribble attribute.
- Pro Tip: Your steal success rate will jump significantly if you swipe after stopping a dribbler.
3. Blocking Mechanics
- Timing: Different layup and shot animations (including trick moves) have unique block spots (optimal block timing). You'll need practice to master these; hitting the block spot makes it easier to swat the shot.
- Angle: When blocking, you need to be in a direct line between the offensive player and the hoop, as blocks require a specific angle.
- Distance: Some block moves have distance requirements. For example, to block a long-distance dunk, you need to be positioned closer.
- Assuming the above conditions are met, the defender's height, wingspan, Block attribute, block skill strength, and the offensive player's Offensive attribute all impact block success rate.
Based on your current feedback, we're prioritizing optimizing rebound performance to make the feedback clearer and the feel more solid when triggered. If you've ever felt like you "touched it but it didn't count" in-game, please tell us: which player you were using, what move, and the in-game situation. This is huge for our optimization work.
2. Player Progression & Balance Adjustments
This is a hot topic for many players, especially those who've played other versions. Rest assured, FREE DUNK is built on a fresh concept. Big shout out to players and partners from other versions who gave us the opportunity to bring this title to you – seriously, thank you. But FREE DUNK's design logic is different from past products. Even though we consider them "our own kids."
For future versions, we're making these adjustments to progression and balance:
- Redesigning the account and player growth rhythm, adding clear guidance.
- Designing more progressive missions and rewards based on player development paths.
- Pack and training resource allocation will be more aligned with actual player needs and pace.
- For balance, we'll keep fine-tuning skills and stats by referencing character usage rates, win rates, and community feedback.
3. Future of Squad & Badge Systems
We've recently received a lot of feedback and questions about the Squad and Badge systems. Here's some extra info and our game plan:
1. Badge System Expansion & Clarification
It might be that our in-game explanations weren't clear enough, leading to some misunderstandings. To clarify: Badge buffs currently apply at the entire account level. Whether you're in Quick Match or Arcade Mode, as long as you've got badges equipped, their effects are active.
We'll keep expanding badge types, sources, and strategic pairings to add more depth and strategy to this system.
2. Squad System Optimization
The Squad system is still in its early stages. We'll keep optimizing the experience, including linups management, player configuration, and squad progression, so this system can carry more advanced gameplay in the future.
3. Integrating Squad Play with Arcade Mode
We're also cooking up plans to bring squad mechanics into Arcade Mode, letting you roll with your custom-built team in more games, breaking free from single-mode limits. Plus, we've started internal talks about community ideas like "team-up Arcade" and "squad leagues," and we're hyped to make them happen with you down the road.
Report Tech Issues & Bugs
We're super sorry about any bumps in the road right now. We know FREE DUNK isn't perfect out of the gate, but we're committed to fixing it with max effort and action.
If you're down to help us out, please hook us up with the following info whenever you hit a snag:
- Player ID
- Operating System (Win10 or Win11, 32 or 64-bit)
- Network Connection (Wi-Fi, wired, VPN, etc.)
- Screenshot or video of the issue happening
- Game log files (In the launcher, click {Open Directory} → find the {LocalLog} folder → send us the files from that time period)
Your assists will seriously speed up our fixes. Thank you!
About Live Streams – You Dig This Vibe?
We also ran some live stream events during this CBT2 run:
- From the creator showdown of "台灣噁男 vs. 偉民與宇軒"
- To the epic best-of-seven clash "波謙 vs. TheAnswer"
We saw players with different styles, strategies, and in-game moves, and felt the community's passion.
So, do you like these kinds of live streams and events?
What kind of creator collabs or match formats do you want to see in the future?
Hit us up in the comments, or drop your suggestions on Discord / via customer service email.
And if you're looking to join the creator crew, feel free to sign up for our creator event: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeQZmgElUjgv99GfgubmRZa8bJ7Sy-ohj2jdS4Qtvr6nJb1RA/viewform
Finally, Thanks for Hooping With Us
FREE DUNK isn't a perfect game from day one. But we're striving to make it better, little by little, with every chat with players, every update, and every tweak.
What you're giving us isn't just test data; it's the fuel for growth and the direction we're headed. We've got more updates, events, and content cooking up, and we're hyped to bring you a more complete game on launch day.
Big thanks again to everyone who jumped into CBT2. We'll keep grinding, and we're looking forward to walking this path with you all.
—— ALLEYSFIELD