- Version 2.34 is now available! - 11 September 2021
What's New in Version 2.34... Axiom Labs: AI Tweaks While we're working on some new features we made a couple of tweaks to the bots within Axiom Labs to make them a little friendlier towards new players. We also fixed an issue with the inner wall's refraction which caused the ball to disappear on impact from certain angles.
- Version 2.33 is now available! - 4 September 2021
What's New in Version 2.33... Axiom Labs: Weapon Bloom Weapon what now? For those unfamiliar with the concept, weapon bloom is the term used to describe the method of simulating the effects of a weapon's recoil and the player's movement on a weapon's accuracy when fired, visualised by the expansion of the crosshair on screen. In this version we're only taking into consideration the weapon's recoil as a modifier on the weapon's accuracy and not the player movement, though we have added sights to each weapon which will increase accuracy when used. So how does it work? When you fire a weapon, you'll notice the crosshair will expand briefly before contracting again. The longer or faster you fire, the wider the crosshair will get, and the less accurate your shots will become. Stop firing, and your crosshair will contract, returning your accuracy to full. Why's it there? We tried adding in 't…
- Version 2.32 is Now Available! - 28 August 2021
What's New in Version 2.32... Axiom Labs: Zone 3 Thinking outside the box What if... you could fly outside the walls? Our thinking was this might allow the player more control of the ball and a greater sense of spatial awareness by allowing them to get behind the ball when it's at the edge, while also gaining a strategic view of your teammates positions before taking a shot. So in Zone 3, we've done just that! In place of the walls, we've created a transparent, rippling energy field. When the ball collides with the wall it bounces off it as normal. But, when the drone collides with the wall, it will pass straight through, allowing the player to turn and fire on the ball from outside the pitch. We've also expanded on our physical Armory idea from 2.31 and created an area just outside the pitch on either side where you can alter your loadout mid match once inside. To access Axiom Labs, si…
- Version 2.31 is now available! - 20 August 2021
What's new in Version 2.31... Axiom Labs: Weapon Loadouts SMG and a Pistol? Shotgun and an Assault Rifle? Whatever your preference, we've added the ability to easily swap out your primary and secondary weapons to customise your own loadout. Loadouts can be changed at any time during a match by entering the Armory zone and hitting 'B' on the keyboard. There are currently 6 guns to choose from, but our aim is to try playing soccer with as many weapon types as possible, so get those suggestions in! Known Issues The player cannot interact with the Weapon Loadout screen until they have clicked once to bring it to focus. The previous version of the default weapon crosshair will be shown until the player switches weapon.
- Version 2.30 is now available! - 13 August 2021
What's New in v2.30... AI Weapon Updates In a terrifying move towards a Skynet inspired dystopian future, the bots can now use the new hitscan weapons and ammo pick ups. We've also added more behaviours to help them pull the ball away from the walls and out of the corners. Their accuracy is still a little OP, but we're looking to add bloom accuracy modifiers to the player weapons which should allow us to control the bot accuracy more effectively than their original system.
- Version 2.29 is now available! - 6 August 2021
What's Changed in Version 2.29... Tweaks & Bug Fixes Fixed an issue which allowed players to visibly pick up ammo when their ammo was full. Added a "Max Ammo" message when trying to pick up ammo when full Fixed an issue causing accuracy to show as 0% for hitscan weapons Added Reload and Weapon slot 3 to options menu Added auto reload when picking up ammo when empty
- Version 2.28 is now available! - 31 July 2021
What's New in Version 2.28... Axiom Labs: A New Hope Weapon System Over the last couple of weeks Neal has been putting together a new weapon system in Axiom Labs that allows us to more easily create and modify new weapon types for us to experiment with. We now have the ability to play with... Firing System (Hitscan & Projectile) Firing Mode (Single Shot, Auto, Semi-auto, Burst Fire) Impact Strength Fire Rate Recoil Strength Range Reload Time Magazine Size Ammo Capacity Movement Speed HitScan vs Projectile Until today the game has only fired projectiles at the ball - whereby the drone fires a physical object which has to travel through the air and physically collide with the ball. This method is trickier as the player has to account for the speed, distance and trajectory of the ball, the speed of the projectile and their own movement and speed when going to fire. So we wanted to see what…
- Version 2.27 is now available! - 16 July 2021
What's New in Version 2.27... Axiom Lab Tweaks While we're busy working on a new weapon system and redefining the laws of physics, we've made a few tweaks to the new Axiom Lab arena this week. The ball material has been updated to respond to player hits with an orange or blue glow, and changed the skin itself to read a little better. We've also bathed the arena in neon and removed the spotlight effect which was a bit too distracting. Bot Improvements We continue to improve our bots' ability to offer a competitive experience with new logic to make use of Dash and strafe to better position themselves behind the ball.
- Version 2.26 is now available! - 9 July 2021
What's new in version 2.26... Axiom Labs Axiom Labs is a new map created to test new features and changes that we're making to the game. It's designed to be a bit of a holo-deck blank canvas so that we can quickly and easily make changes to things like the pitch, dimensions, obstacles, game modes, vehicles etc. without having to spend months updating models and textures. In this version we're specifically testing changes to the pitch size - it's now double the width and length of the original. We're interested in whether increasing the space around the player creates more opportunities for the player to dribble and pass the ball, or if you just spend all your time feeling like things are too far away. We've kept everything else the same - so your drone speed, shot range and ball physics are all as they were, just in a bigger space. How do I find Axiom Labs? Launch Axiom Soccer Select Pl…
- Version 2.25 is now available! - 1 July 2021
What's changed in Version 2.25... AI Behaviours The bots hadn't seen much love in a while, so we've started updating them to make better use of our recent changes. This allows them to use the vertical space on the pitch (previously they couldn't fly), respect their teammates (they would happily shoot the ball from beneath your feet), stop scoring own goals (yeah... ) and generally be an all round better opponent! We've still got more work to do on them, with the shield and dash behaviours being added for our next release, followed by a greater focus on adding more dynamic plays to their behaviours.
- Version 2.24 is now available! - 26 June 2021
What's Changed in Version 2.24... Controller Bindings We've updated the controller bindings to include the new Shield (Left Trigger), Dash (B / Circle), Weapon Cycle (Y / Triangle) Ascend (RB) and Descend (LB). We've also updated the bindings within the menu which were still referencing the old control scheme. Controller Dual Zone Aiming We've also replaced the old controller aiming system with a new Dual Zone setup. This separates the thumbstick into two zones, a steadier, more accurate inner zone and a faster, more sensitive outer zone. The inner zone accounts for ~90% of the thumb stick's area, while the outer zone accounts for the last 10%, allowing you to have greater control over your aim while also being able to turn sharply when you need to.
- Version 2.23 is now available! - 19 June 2021
What's New in Version 2.23... Weapon Cycling As part of a move towards trying out some new gameplay formats and weapon types (LMG, SMG, Assault, Shotgun ...Sniper?), both the primary and secondary fire modes have been moved to Left Mouse Click and can be switched back and forth using either Middle Mouse Wheel or with 1 and 2 on the keyboard. Right Mouse Click now activates the shield added in v2.22, allowing you to activate it without interrupting your control of the drone. Bug Fixes & Improvements We reduced the default match settings to 2v2. We fixed an issue preventing matchmaking from filtering version number.
- Version 2.22 is now available! - 12 June 2021
What's New in 2.22... Energy Shields The Defender's dream and a Striker's nightmare, the Energy Shield brings a new tactical element to the Axiom pitch! Left Alt now brings up an energy shield in front of the drone which can be used to deflect the ball and player projectiles. The idea was to create a new way to play defensively, whether that's defending the goal or defending your striker from opposition fire while they're making a run for the goal. It's a first iteration on the idea so Neal and I would love to hear your feedback on how useful you find it! Bug Fixes & Improvements We fixed an issue which prevented players from seeing another players drone rotations when playing online. We swapped Dash and Descend round on the keyboard. Dash is now on Left Shift, and Descend is now on Left Ctrl.
- Version 2.21 is now available! - 4 June 2021
What's New in 2.21... Dash & Roll Increase your ball control with dash and roll, a new feature designed to give you a burst of speed when you need it most! Tapping Ctrl now performs a single dash in whichever direction you're travelling, with an added roll when combined with left or right strafe. This is especially useful for switching from one side of the ball to the other when dribbling or for heading off a ball shooting towards your goal. Bug Fixes We fixed an issue which caused players to be loaded straight back into a match when trying to exit to the main menu.
- Version 2.20 is now available! - 28 May 2021
What's changed in 2.20... Vehicle Acceleration Somehow we both got our Covid19 vaccines in the same week, so we ended up having to spend a few days on the couch nursing our vaccine hangovers. But we still managed to make a few positive adjustment to the drone's manoeuvrability on the pitch, most notably doubling the rate of acceleration when moving in any direction. This is especially noticeable when switching direction quickly or strafing from left to right, something that felt pretty slow and cumbersome before. Check out the update and let us know what you think! What's coming up in 2.21... Dash & Roll We want to try adding a dash that gives you a quick burst of speed in any direction when used. Unlike the previous boost system which could be held until your energy ran out, this would be a single 'on-tap' action with an added roll on strafe, Star Fox style! Quick Turn Front Flip to Ro…
- Version 2.19 is now available! - 22 May 2021
What's changed in 2.19... Weapon Range Adjustments We've adjusted the range of the Primary (LMB) and Secondary (RMB) fire modes. The Secondary fire mode returns to being a shotgun-like close range weapon ideal for striking the ball, while the Primary fire's range has been focused on dribbling. To help judge your range, we've also added some new projectile VFX alongside an additional HUD indicator. Bug Fixes We fixed an issue that prevented a player creating a match with bots disabled. Known Issues A couple of players have reported being loaded straight back into a match when trying to exit a match to the Main Menu. XeNo reported the issue back in March, but up until today we had been unable to reproduce it. Please let us know if you come across this!
- Version 2.18 is now available! - 14 May 2021
What's New in 2.18... We're testing out a modified version of the original ammo system to reduce spam fire, but without forcing you to return to your goal area to reload. The more powerful secondary fire (RMB / LT) now has an Energy System. Each time you fire, it uses energy. When you stop firing, it regains energy. Rapid fire will quickly drain your energy until the system is forced to do a full recharge, during which time you can't fire. We've only added the energy system to the secondary fire for the time being to see what you think, so check it out and give us your thoughts! https://store.steampowered.com/app/903730/AXIOM_SOCCER
- Version 2.17 is now available! - 7 May 2021
What's Changed in 2.17 In addition to our aerial changes in 2.16, we've added the ability to increase or decrease your height using Space to Ascend and Shift to Descend. This applies a force to the top or bottom of your drone, allowing you to also move forwards or back while your drone is in a vertical position. This allows you to better position yourself behind the ball and control the angle of your shot. https://store.steampowered.com/app/903730/AXIOM_SOCCER
- Version 2.16 - 25 February 2021
What's Changed in 2.16... This update brings significant changes to the drone's movement and control on the pitch, making it smaller, faster and more aerial, but still just as easy to control! Grab the update and let us know what you think! https://store.steampowered.com/app/903730/AXIOM_SOCCER Drone Movement & Control The drone now flies vertically in the direction the player is aiming, allowing the player to make better use of the vertical space on the pitch without having to use separate keys. We've also added an acceleration curve with a higher top speed when maintained to make the drone faster and more agile to fly without boost. Drone Size We’ve reduced the size of the drone giving the player more space to move around and more screen space to play with. Bots & Goalkeeping Both bots and players can control the goal keeper by middle mouse clicking on where they want to move it to, b…
- What's Changed in 2.4.7... - 5 October 2020
Welcome to 2020! Oh, wait... So it's nearly 2021 and quite frankly most of us will be glad to see the back of 2020. But in amongst the doom and gloom we have some good news to share, and that is we're back! "Oh, you were gone?" Ah, well, yes. Quite. We ran out of money. Like, over a year ago.... But good news everyone! We have some more! And we're going to spend it on hats Axiom Soccer! So what are you waiting for?! Download Axiom Soccer, check out what's changed below then let us know what you think over on our Steam Community Hub! We'll be doing regular releases throughout each month so stay tuned for more updates over the coming weeks! Malcolm - Producer CEO, Earthbound Games https://store.steampowered.com/app/903730/AXIOM_SOCCER Ball & Projectile Physics Physics Engine - Our physics engine now uses a deterministic physics simulation (read predictable) rather than the non-determinist…
