Greetings!
Quick update on the abilities and boost changes coming in V5 - which should be ready very soon, at this point I'm doing mostly bug fixes, and fixing up the UI for the changes I've already made. The thing I'm leaving till last is improving the AI, mostly Because I could spend months trying to make a better AI and you might all appreciate if I pushed out all these other changes before spending a few weeks just on AI alone!

There is another news item on the other changes that are coming in V5, in this one I just want to talk about boosts and abilities!

Today
So today, there are boosts in the game and each player can use 8 boosts of any kind during a match. Skill points can be used to upgrade individual player skills.

Boosts In V5

• Firstly, some boosts have been removed in V5 - Marking Mode, Extra Time are no longer available.
• Secondly, each boost type now has a limited number of uses per match. For example, you get 2x Speed boosts, 3xCombo boosts, etc. Basically you are going to have to be a lot more mindful when you choose to use a boost.
• Finally, the Curve Shot has become an Ability

So why is this happening?! Couple of reasons, but mostly to support the new Abilities feature (below) and also so that in a later version I could add a mode that would allow boosts to be collected like power ups on the pitch...

Abilities In V5

• In addition to the skills that you can enhance for players today, you will now be able to unlock Abilities for your players.
• Abilities are expensive - 125 points. You still have a 300 point limit per player, so if you want to unlock 1 or 2 abilities for a player, you need to sacrifice something else! This means greater variation in players.
• The good news is that the abilities are pretty awesome! There are 4 total, and most of them enable a Ability specific boost for a given player. These ability based boosts do not have a limit per game, so you can use them any time. Here is the breakdown of the abilities that are in V5:
  • Curve Shot - This allows the player to activate the Curve Shot Boost. It works just like the current curve shot boost today (except I have fixed it so that you can't do crazy shots that bend into the goal sideways)
  • Lob Pass - This one let's the player use the new Lob Shot boost - as you would expect it let's you lob the call at a very high arc allowing you to pass over your opponents players
  • Slide Tackle - this one let's you have a player perform a slide tackle. It works just like moving the player, so you still have to decide where you want the slide to end up, but the main difference is the player sliding moves significantly faster, allowing you to quickly snag the call from an opponent. It also has a cool new animation
  • Lastly is Expert Shooter Ability. This one is a little different in that it's a passive ability (there is no associated boost). A player with this ability has a significant advantage in terms of shooting accuracy, and more importantly they can shoot to the upper row of goal targets any time - whether a direct shot, or a combo shot. Players that don't have this ability will not be able to shoot at the upper row of targets. This is important because in V5 the goal is taller, meaning those high shots are a lot harder to block.

Finally, players that have an abilities have a little icon by their name that shows which ones they have.

As always your feedback is most welcome - here, private message or email ([email protected])