- [PATCH 1.01] Hardcourt Balls - Qualifiers | Demo - 7 September 2026
Patch 1.01 for Hardcourt Balls - Qualifiers DEMO released today!Release NotesFIXED: When scoring an Ace against an AI player with a Return skill of +1 or better, the Ace was sometimes ignored and play continued. Now, Aces are correctly recognized.FIXED: Tiebreak serves were are now switching correctly at scores of 7 and up.AI PLAYERS: Corrected some AI player statistics and added new graphicsCLEANUP: Some general code cleanupOutstanding issues / Working onINVESTIGATING: Reports of game stats sometimes not scoring correctly, in particular winners,Known issuesAI PLAYERS: Some AI player stats and graphics are incomplete and show up as generic.CONFIRMED: "Fault" may be displayed sometimes after an Ace.CONFIRMED: "Winner" may be displayed sometimes even if the opposing player manages to return the ball after using a Skill.
- Quick News Update - Demo & Twitch streams - 30 August 2026
Hello Tennis Fans!A quick update today. After a short summer break, I'm back working on the game. First off, though - thank you to everyone who tried out the Hardcourt Balls - Qualifiers demo! I hope you enjoy(ed) it. if you haven't here is a link:Keep in mind that some of the most fun elements of the full game, such as hiring & firing coaches, player progression, tournaments, 2-player games and season & career play are missing. But hopefully the demo showcased the core turn-based game play well enough.Bug fixesThe good news is that I didn't receive a million bug reports, so the game seems pretty stable overall. Yay. The bad news is that there is a pesky bug in there somewhere that shows up occasionally when the player hits an ace. The "occasionally" part is what makes this hard to reproduce and therefore hard to fix.Over the next few weeks, I'll be focusing on hunting this down as well…
- [HOTFIX] Hardcourt Balls - Qualifiers | DEMO - 29 July 2026
Quick hot fix for the Hardcourt Balls DEMO to fix a particular bug:FIXED: Game does not crash when adjusting volume slider before selecting a player avatar.
- Hardcourt Balls Demo Out Now! - 28 July 2026
The Hardcourt Balls Demo is out now, giving you your first chance to step onto the court and experience tennis as a tactical, turn‑based mind game.This early slice of the game includes:Fast, clear tutorials that teach the core mechanics in minutesFull matches against AI opponents, each with its own playstyleCreate your own player avatarSpecial abilities that can change the outcome of a game in a clutch momentHardcourt Balls is a strategy game disguised as a sports match — every rally is a puzzle, every point is a battle of wits. The demo shows exactly why this system works and why players keep saying, “Okay… this actually makes sense.”Jump in, play a match, and see for yourself.If you enjoy the demo, don’t forget to wishlist Hardcourt Balls — it helps a ton.
- Hardcourt Balls Live Demo Stream + Developer Q&A - 25 July 2026
We’re going live on July 28 at 8 PM EST with a full, courtside look at the Hardcourt Balls demo. This stream brings both sides of the court together: John McEncheese calling every bounce, roll, and chaotic moment with his signature energy, and the developer breaking down how the game works, answering questions, and showing off new details from the demo. Whether you’re curious about the turn‑based tennis system, want to see the demo in action, or just enjoy sharp commentary, this broadcast is your first chance to experience Hardcourt Balls up close. Tune in for a fun, loud, and engaging session that previews what’s coming next for the game!
- Hardcourt Balls Demo Releases on July 28! - 24 July 2026
The Hardcourt Balls Demo arrives July 28, giving you your first chance to step onto the court and experience tennis as a tactical, turn‑based mind game.This early slice of the game includes:Fast, clear tutorials that teach the core mechanics in minutesFull matches against AI opponents, each with its own playstyleCreate your own player avatarSpecial abilities that can change the outcome of a game in a clutch momentHardcourt Balls is a strategy game disguised as a sports match — every rally is a puzzle, every point is a battle of wits. The demo shows exactly why this system works and why players keep saying, “Okay… this actually makes sense.”Jump in, play a match, and see for yourself.If you enjoy the demo, don’t forget to wishlist Hardcourt Balls — it helps a ton.
- DevLog # 8 - Hardcourt Ball Qualifiers! - 11 July 2026
Hello Tennis Fans!I've got some good news today about the upcoming demo release for Hardcourt Balls. Read on to find out more about when, how and what it will be, plus some additional info about an upcoming FAQ and Live Stream event.First though, as always - if you haven't already, please wishlist Hardcourt Balls. Wishlists increase the chances that Steam will show the game to other likeminded players. It's hard enough to find good tennis partners in real life, let's ensure that the player base for Hardcore Balls for the future multiplayer league is enormous :)Hardcourt Balls - Qualifiers (DEMO)So, the important stuff first. The demo for Hardcourt Balls will be released later in July as a standalone free to play game called Hardcourt Balls - Qualifiers. You can already find the demo page here:I intend to keep the demo up indefinitely due to the novel game concept which, quite frankly, i…
- DevLog # 7 - AI Players: Stats & Skills - 7 June 2026
Hello Tennis Fans!Today, I want to tell you a bit more about who you will be facing on the court in Hardcourt Balls. See, the AI opponents you'll play against are not just some generic random dice rollers. Each one of them is in fact hand-crafted to mimic the challenge of playing against some of the best players on tour today! But before we dive in, two things real quick: A) you may be wondering about the demo. Yes, it's coming along nicely. I will show more in the next update, but for now, just know that it will be called Hardcourt Balls - Qualifiers and arrive with its own Steam page. No date yet, but - soon-ish! B) Don't forget to wish list Hardcourt Balls and tell your friends about it! I can't emphasize enough what a difference this makes for a niche indie game!Unique player profiles!The AI opponents you will be facing in Hardcourt Balls are NOT randomly generated! Instead, they ar…
- DevLog # 6 - Exhibitions & Tournaments - 9 May 2026
Hello Tennis Fans!Big news first! I'm busy preparing a demo for Hardcourt Balls! I can't promise any specific date yet but I'm excited to hopefully soon be able to share the game with a broader audience. Stay tuned for more about this! And the best way not to miss any news is to Wishlist if you haven't already!In the last DevLog, I've briefly talked about Exhibitions & Tournaments, and today I want to expand a little bit more on how they work.ExhibitionsWhen you start off with a new player character, you will be limited to playing Exhibition matches at first. Specifically, you will have to play - and complete - three Exhibition matches in order to unlock tournament play. You don't have to win them, just play through to the end. OR - you win an Exhibition match. Winning means an automatic unlock of the Tournament mode!While you play your chosen player character, who you play against is d…
- DevLog # 5 - Coaches - 4 April 2026
Hello Tennis Fans!In the last DevLog, we looked at how you can create your own player character and touched upon coaches. Today I want to explain in more detail how important coaches are, and what role they play in advancing your player's skills (if it isn't obvious already, a crucial one!). The goal for me while designing this was, once again, to find a simple game mechanic that mirrors real world tennis challenges. But, before we dive in, as always, make sure to wishlist Hardcourt Balls to stay on top of upcoming updates and game news!Money Money MoneyBefore we can talk about coaches, we have to talk about money. Dollars. Ca$h. Moolah. $$$. Because you need some to hire a coach! (Except if you select one as your starting perk, see previous DevLog).You gain prize money by playing tennis. When you play an Exhibition match, typically you get a small amount of cash even if you lose, and a…
- DevLog # 4 - Player Creation - 15 March 2026
Hello Tennis Fans!So far we've looked at some of the core game mechanics (and we'll return to them when it's time to peel back another layer of the tactical onion in future DevLogs), but it's time to pivot to some other fun Hardcourt Balls features. Over the next couple of DevLogs, I'll explain more about player skills and progression, coaches, prize money, and AI players! Today, we'll start off with showing you what options are currently available to create your own player avatar.But first! Do not forget to WISHLIST to stay on top of future updates!CREATING YOUR PLAYERWhen you launch Hardcourt Balls for the first time, you will have to first create a player before you're able to play exhibition or tournament games. The game offers three player slots that you can switch between, allowing you to e.g. have a rookie, advanced and top player at the same time. You can also delete players and…
- DevLog # 3 - Scatter - 28 February 2026
Hello Tennis Fans!Before we move on to other fun aspects of Hardcourt Balls like players, coaches, tournaments and so on, I want to make sure to touch on another important basic game mechanic real quick. As usual, we'll do another, deeper, dive into this topic later on when we get to discuss some of the more nuanced tactics, but for now I'll just explain the basic idea behind scatter dice, what they do and how they work.But first! Do not forget to Wishlist to stay on top of more news and updates!SCATTER DICESo what are scatter dice? Quite simple. Whenever you miss your target roll, for each number you missed, you have to roll one scatter die. So, if your target roll is 7, and you roll a 5, you will have to roll two scatter dice. What are scatter dice? Like all the other dice rolls in the game, it's a 10 sided die where each number indicates the direction that the ball "scatters" to from…
- DevLog #2 - Serves & Aces! - 24 January 2026
Hello Tennis Fans!In the previous DevLog we did a quick introduction to the basic gameplay loop in Hardcourt Balls. I'll follow this up with a more detailed breakdown of the mechanics soon, but first I want to provide an important missing piece from that last overview. Namely, the Serve, which we simply skipped over last time. And considering it's probably the most important stroke in tennis, that feels wrong.So today I want to touch on the basic Serve game mechanics. Again, we'll skip over some nuances in the interest of giving a concise overview, and we'll get to more details in later installments.Before we begin! Do not forget to Wishlist to stay on top of more news & updates!THE SERVEUnlike regular strokes, when serving you cannot target the entire court but are restricted to the 6 tiles behind the applicable service court. Here's a graphic:The required roll to execute a successful…
- DevLog #1 - Basic Gameplay Example - 11 January 2026
Hello Tennis Fans!First off, thanks for checking out my upcoming game Hardcourt Balls. This is my first project as a solo developer and I'm super excited to finally start sharing some of my journey with you, as well as explain a bit more about the core game design and what - I think - makes it really special.I plan on posting DevLogs regularly from here on out with a lot of in-depth info about various aspects of Hardcourt Balls, requests for feedback and development milestones, so make sure to Wishlist so you can stay on top of all the latest updates:Gameplay ClipIn order to not overwhelm with info on the first day, today I'll provide a very quick overview of the turn-based game mechanics using a gameplay clip I recorded a while ago. No worries, more in-depth DevLogs will follow in the coming weeks, as well.So, here is a quick gameplay clip. Watch it in full, and then we'll go over what…
