Thursday, November 30, 2006

Improved A.I (v1.4)

Yet another update!

Version 1.4 has just been uploaded and can be downloaded from the usual link.

This version has improved A.I so the defenders actually defend and don't run off like little school girls when the opponents are attacking your goal. The strikers should also play a much better game now.

The passing routine has also been tweaked a bit so it should be more precise.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Uziana Review Addictive Football

The guys over at Uziana have done a great review of Addictive Football. It scores 7 out of 10 (I hope it's out of ten!) and is a fair review.

A quote from the review:
"Addictive Football features a bunch of game-modes including knock-out cups, amateur and pro league and tournaments. All of them are great fun, but the best part of the game is the custom game mode. Using the mode you can create your own team with different skills, it’s great for practicing but even more fun to create a superb team and trash the competition."

From the review it sounds like they had a lot of fun playing it, which is what the game is all about. They also make some good points about the A.I and passing.

I'm currently working on an update (not another one I hear you cry!) which has improved the A.I, especially the defenders, and I've also tweaked the passing of the ball. The passing won't always be perfect as I think that would go against "the real game", in that you can never 100% of the time do a perfect pass.

Another quote:
After a while you will get the hang of it, but the passing part of the game is still extremely hard with an 8-way gamepad.

I also find playing the game more difficult with an 8-way gamepad. If you have a gamepad with analog sticks then I'd suggest using them. It's much easier. My personal preference is the keys though unless I can rig up my old Competition Pro joystick that I used to play Kick Off with.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

3 Changes in one month (v1.3)

or the title should read "Addictive Football v1.3 is ready".

Get the new demo Here

The new version has the "not-so-perfect" keepers included. I was quite surprised at how such a small change could really make a difference to the game. It's a lot more fun having un-predictable goalies as the action doesn't seem to stop as much.

and a new screenie for you (nothing to do with goalies though)

Concrete Pitch with player names displayed - Click to Enlarge

Monday, November 27, 2006

The Perfect Keeper

In Addictive Football the keepers are damn good. They always keep hold of the ball if it's hit at them, which is very unlike the real game.

I'm currently working on a bit of code which makes the keepers not so perfect. If the ball is hit at them they may not be able to keep hold of the ball and will punch the ball back into play. This makes it great fun especially for scoring on the rebound. I've also added a sound effect of the crowd going "Ooooohhh" when this happens, which really adds to the atmosphere.

There's a bug in the code at the moment which I'm hoping to get fixed by tomorrow. It then needs a good test before releasing it.

Friday, November 24, 2006

Addictive Football v1.2

Just uploaded version 1.2 of Addictive Football. The demo can be downloaded Here

In this version we've added the following:

* Names appear above players' heads during the game. Can be turned off from the Options menu.
* Player Name Editor. Allows you to rename each player in every team.
* Improved A.I.

In the demo version you can have a look around at the Name Editor but you can't save or make any changes. This is only available in the full version.
Screenshot of the Name Editor can be found Here

We're also offering a 15% discount off Addictive Football for the good folk who read this blog.
Just go to the purchase page and click on the Buy Now button. Near the bottom of the actual purchase page there will be a box called "Discount Code". Your discount code is UPM000X4.

This offer is available until Thursday 30th November 2006. So be quick to take advantage of it.

As always, all feedback would be appreciated

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Edit Player Names

In the latest version of Addictive Football you can edit the team names in the game but that's it as far as customization goes. So I'm currently working on an update so you can edit the player names for each team.

When you now play the game the players' name will appear above his head. There will be default ones supplied with the game but you can then go into the lovely editor I've just written and change every single name for every team.

Here's how the editor looks so far:
Team Name Editor: Click to Enlarge

It's really easy to use. You just click on the Team you want to change (left side of screenshot) and then you can just type over the original name. Clicking the Save button (bottom right) obviously saves your changes.

If you don't like having the players' name above the heads in the game then there's always the option to turn the feature off. Hopefully we should have the new version with the editor ready for a release tomorrow :)

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

New Version Uploaded v1.1

We've just uploaded a new version of Addictive Football (v1.1), which has the following changes:

* Players running speeds have been increased slightly.
* Players passing speeds have been increased.
* Demo download size is now smaller.

Only small changes but they do speed the game play up.

Demo is in the usual place at http://addictive247.fileburst.com/addictivefootballdemo.exe

If you like the game why not grab yourself a copy for only $19.95. The full game has loads more to it and features 5 different game modes to play. I can also testify that the 2 player game against friends is great fun after a long night in the pub :)

Monday, November 20, 2006

Official Addictive Football Website

The official Addictive Football website is up and actually contains some more content now. You can visit it Here

As well as hints and tips and more screen shots we've just added a Free Stuff page which has a couple of desktop wallpapers. We'll continue to add to this page with more free goodies over time.

There's also a new Partners Page which has some links to external sites. If you've got a football or gaming website that you'd like included then details on how to get linked can also be found on this page.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

New Version (2)

The new version of Addictive Football has just been uploaded.
The changes mentioned in the post below have all been implemented. Get the free demo of the game Here

If you like the game then why not help support the Indie Gamer movement and buy a copy from Our Website

Go on, you know you want to!

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Update

What a boring title!

Still working on the next update which hopefully should be released tomorrow. The new version will include:

* Improved A.I - Seems like this will be an ongoing thing.
* Improved Goal Celebration - When you (or the CPU) score a large 3D version of your player is shown in the bottom left corner of the screen doing his goal celebration dance.
* Passing speed - The speed of the ball when passing has been increased slightly.
* Extra polish - Box outlining each score, Logo embossed into the ground of the Astro pitch, whistles when there should be one, better goal! and goal kick text
* Bug fixes - A few small bugs have now been fixed.
* View or Config keys - You can now view the keys or configure them from within the menus instead of going through the Options.

A big thanks to everyone so far who has given us feedback on the game. It really is appreciated. If you want to help out then please download the demo at http://addictive247.fileburst.com/addictivefootballdemo.exe and contact us with your thoughs by using our contact info at http://www.addictivefootball.com/contact.htm

Friday, November 10, 2006

The work continues

Been playing around with some small changes to the player A.I today so that the players' react a bit more realistically. Think I've finally got it how it should be now.

This weekend we're also going to be working on another update which will see quite a big change to the goal celebration routine. When you score, a large screen will appear in the play area called the "Player Cam". It will show a large 3D version of the player doing his goal celebration. We might also adjust this code so we can include a "Streaker Cam"!

We haven't done a big release for the game yet as there's a few things we want to change first. Hopefully the next version will be out early next week. In the meantime though, everyone can help us out by downloading the demo and giving us some feedback. We want to know your thoughts on the gameplay in general, player A.I and any bugs you may spot. Also, anything you think would be cool to add to the game at this stage.

The demo can be downloaded at http://addictive247.fileburst.com/addictivefootballdemo.exe

and you can get in touch with us from our Contacts page at http://www.addictivefootball.com/contact.htm

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

New Version

A new version has just been uploaded - Here

This version has the following improvements:

* You can now control the goal kick. Press the Pass button to do a short but precise kick to a team mate or press the Shoot key to boot the ball upfield.
* A couple of bug fixes to do with Player Vs Player code.
* Text on Key Config page explaining the controls.
* A couple of other minor bug fixes.

The official Addictive Football website is now up and running and can be found
Here. I'll be doing some changes over the following week but the site is fully functional for now.

Monday, November 06, 2006

Updates and Changes

Over the weekend I've been making some changes to the game after receiving some feedback.

The new version will be released this week and it will include the following:

* You can now control the goal kick when your keeper has the ball. Pressing the Pass key will do a short but precise kick to one of your players while pressing the Shoot key will boot the ball upfield.
* A couple of bug fixes to do with the Player Vs Player code.
* Extra text on the Config Keys screen(s) explaining what the pass/shoot keys do.
* Goal celebration animations improved/changed.

I'm really glad that I never went full out on the launch last Friday as I wanted to do a bit of a "soft release" first to catch any bugs. First impressions definately do count and I think the game will be much better received when the new version is out there.

Friday, November 03, 2006

Addictive Football is Released!

Finally!!

The demo and full game are now available. More information about the game including screenshots and the demo can be found at http://www.addictive247.co.uk/addictivefootball.htm

The demo lets you play a 1 or 2 player friendly with 4 of the teams and also lets you have a go of the Amateur Knockout Cup. You can also have a short go of the Custom Game mode. Most of the other options are locked down but you are able to view them to see what they're like.

The game is priced at $19.95 and if you'd like to buy it then please go to http://www.addictive247.co.uk/purchasefooty.htm

This is version 1.0 but it will be a continuing project for us as we strive to improve it and add loads of new features. We'd love to get your feedback about the game so please feel free to post about it here or on the Addictive Football Forums

The official home of Addictive Football will eventually be at www.addictivefootball.com when I get around to building the site.

New high quality version video can be downloaded Here
YouTube video is Here

Enjoy :)

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Addictive Football Demo . . .

. . . is not ready yet!! Sorry that's just plain cruel :)

The build of the demo version has started as feedback on the last test version has all been good. A couple of minor little hiccups have been fixed but nothing major. The game seems solid enough for us to go ahead and release.

I always get nervous at this point. I hate building demos and Addictive Football seems to be a tricky beast. It's hard to know what to include and what to leave out. Most demos leave the player hooked and then end the demo, which is a lot easier to do with say a platform game than a football game.

I'm doing the usual thing like cutting out the number of teams you can play with etc but I think it makes the game look kind of ugly now. I think I'm just used to seeing the game in it's complete state. It seems mean to now rip it apart and leave a few scraps in the demo. Anyway, work on this butchery continues and I'm hoping to get it in a "happy" state by tomorrow.

Another problem I've had over the last few days is the massive amounts of ideas I've had for the game. The engine is solid enough and we could just keep adding to it but then the game would never get released. It would be "feature creep" overload!! I've got a nice list of things which will eventually get added to the game.

Which brings me nicely to the old age question of . . . "When you release the game, is that it?" No chance matey is my reply!

Addictive Football is going to be a continuing project which will progress, improve and mature over time. Hopefully we can get a community behind the game which will keep fresh ideas rolling in as we strive to make Addictive Football the best 2d footy game after Sensible Soccer (Amiga version, of course)

Monday, October 30, 2006

Final Test Version?

I sent out what I've called "the final test version" to all our testers this afternoon. If there aren't any amazingly stupid bugs in the game then this will be the version that we use to create the demo.

That means you might actually be able to get your hands on the game ready for the weekend. However, holding your breath is not advised as it will kill you.

You can also head on over to SWOS UNITED where the fantastic moderators there have given Addictive Football it's own little sub-forum. Thanks for that guys, much appreciated :)

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Last minute changes

Over the weekend I've been playing around with changing the passing routine within the game to make it more realistic and playable. At the moment when you press the pass key the code will try and pass to the nearest player to you. This worked out pretty good but did have it's drawbacks in that you could end up passing back towards your own end if you were running up field.

So, what I've done is for the new pass routine to work out which one of your players' is nearer to the goal you're going for and then make a pass in his direction. This also means that the power of kick for the pass has been increased so that nice long balls can be played. So far it's working out much better but I still need to tweak it a bit.

I've also been adding some more polish to the game and have added sound effects in for when the ball bounces off ad boards or goal posts etc. It's amazing how such a small change like that can really make a difference.

All the detail for every pitch type is now complete (hurray!). I thought we'd never get the concrete pitch looking right but it looks fine now.

Also got the domain addictivefootball.com which will be the official home for the game along with the Addictive 247 website. Just got to build the bloody site now and try and get the game finished!

Will we release the game this week??

Thursday, October 26, 2006

The Latest Screenies

Here's a few screenshots showing the game in it's almost complete state.

Opening Menu Screen
Click to Enlarge

Custom Game Mode
Click to Enlarge

Grass Pitch
Click to Enlarge

Indoor Pitch
Click to Enlarge

Medal Tournament
Click to Enlarge

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Game Polish

I've spent most of the day working on little things that will just make the game look that little bit better and add some polish. The menu options now slide in on the right side of the screen and theres a few sound effects when selecting an option. There's also some text that pops up on screen explaining what each option or game mode does. It's not exactly rocket science and most people will be able to tell what "Friendly Game" is but it's good to get these things in.

Two bugs were also spotted by one of the testers so I've now fixed them. Nothing too exciting but so far the game seems very solid. I'm still not 100% happy with the concrete pitch detail so Phil's making some changes to the graphics.

Funnily enough today was meant to be release day for the game. Oh well, tough! It will probably be next week now. To keep everyone happy here's a screenshot of the opening menu . . .

New Addictive Football Main Menu Screen - Click to Enlarge

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

. . . The end is Near

Been extremely busy over the last few days trying to get the remaining graphics into the game. All the menu backgrounds are now in and it all seems to be coming together nicely.

The Trophy Cabinet is now included which shows any of the cups or medals you've won in the game. I'm still working on the pitch detail which has become a right pain in the arse. It's difficult to get the right balance of spectators without taking your eye away from the action. The grass and astro pitches are fully complete but I've still got work to do on the concrete and indoor pitches.

The latest beta version of the game went out this morning so I'm awaiting feedback from the testers. I think there'll only be one more test version after this one before release.

So, the end is in sight but we're not quite there yet.