New Match Settings unlock all new options and support for up to 4 teams!
Hello, everyone! Today's patch is a major one! The most requested feature since Bocce Time's release has been the ability to play with 3 or 4 teams, allowing for free-for-all matches when playing with a small group of friends. As of today, that playstyle is completely supported! You can now have up to 4 teams in play at a time, each with up to 4 balls to throw. No longer will you have to play 2v1's or round robin style when in a lobby of 3 players!
But, wait, there's more! A new "Match Settings" section has been added to the menu when in multiplayer games that gives the host new options to change up the flow and feel of the game. Additionally, the Half Pipe court has had a small but significant rework where the central beam has been made hollow, allowing balls to roll under it and opening up all kinds of options when deciding how to throw your balls into play.
For more information check out the full patch notes below:
Added support for up to 4 teams in multiplayer, allowing free-for-all matches up to 4 players (8 players can play across all 4 teams in any configuration, depending on ball count per team).
Added a new Match Settings section to multiplayer games with several new options for the host to set:
Number of teams(2/3/4)
Number of balls per team(2/3/4)
Turn order (alternating/proximity based)
Contact bonus (balls in contact with the pallino are worth 2 points when enabled).
Enforce bounds (when disabled, balls can be thrown from anywhere and everything is considered in bounds--effectively turning the entire park into a giant court).
Reworked the Half Pipe court to allow balls to roll under the central beam, removing the corners that had a tendency to trap them from time to time.
Improved the "Observe Pallino" functionality to support balls in elevated places like the top of the Tire Court or in the treehouse on the Picnic Area Court.
Added a restart game button in multiplayer for the host to reset the lobby's scores and balls.
Players can now change teams at any time, even during their turn.
Increased the friction of the sand in the neighborhood park.
As always, we'd love to have you join the game's official discord! It's the best place to meet new players and to participate in the game's ladder matches, tournaments and leagues!
Bocce Time now supports up to 8 players!
Hello, everyone! Today's patch is a small but significant one! 8 player support has arrived! This first iteration of 8 player support is still limited to 2 teams, so with 8 players you could have a 4v4 where each player gets a single ball. The plan is to expand support for up to 4 teams in a future patch, which would also allow for 1v1v1s among other team configurations.
As always, we'd love to have you join the game's official discord! It's the best place to meet new players and to participate in the game's ladder matches, tournaments and new leagues!
For more information check out the full patch notes below:
Expanded multiplayer support to up to 8 players! You can now play with up to 4 players per team.
Added integration between the game and discord. When players are searching for a Quick Match in game, a notification will be pushed to the #lfg channel in the discord so players know someone is looking for a game!
Reduced the erratic behavior of balls with spin when colliding into multiple objects at the same time.
Tweaked the physics slightly to prevent balls from rarely ignoring collisions with small obstacles.
Made it clear in the avatar customization window that the default head cannot be customized.
The game will now remember if the max score has been changed when switching parks and keep it set accordingly.
Cleaned up some areas of the UI.
That's all for now, but there's still plenty more in the works, so keep an eye out!
Player Avatars Have Arrived
Hello, everyone! Today's patch is another big one! Player avatars are finally here! This first iteration allows you to customize your player head with different head, hair, facial hair, eye, eyebrow and glasses combinations, with more options to come in future updates. The avatars are animated and lip synced to your voice in game. Of course, I know some of you love the Potato/Tic Tac avatar style, so that option still exists for those looking to rep the OG look. Beyond the avatars, the UI for the game has been completely overhauled as well! This new UI will allow for more options to be added and a nice community tab where players from the community discord can have their names and avatars posted for max bragging rights when they win community tournaments! If you'd like to get in on that action, be sure to join the game's discord! For more information check out the full patch notes below:
Added player avatars to the game! Head to the new appearance tab to customize your look.
Overhauled the entire UI to have more info and provide more options going forward, including a new community tab to show off winners of community tournaments from the game's discord.
You can now change your name in game in the new appearance tab.
Added new sound settings for ambient/wildlife volume and added the option to toggle player voices to 3d positional sound.
More physics tweaks. Most noticeable is that wood now provides more bounce.
Thrown balls that leave the throwing area but manage to come to a stop within it will no longer come back to your hand as they have entered play at that point.
Added an option to remove the minimum throw speed threshold when releasing the ball. With it disabled you'll be able to drop the ball without your hand moving. This might be helpful to those finding that they can't release the ball from time to time(primarily for those on Quest).
With this patch live, focus will be turning to support for up to 8 players (and up to 4 teams). Additional customization options will also be worked on and added in future patches.
That's it for now, everyone! Until next time!
New Park Available! Head on down to Serafin Pier!
Hello, everyone! Today's patch is a big one! The game's second park, Serafin Pier, is now live on the main branch for all to experience! The pier is an atmospheric new location (screenshots below) full of new courts to challenge you and your friends. Speaking of friends, if you're running short on competition, you should join our growing discord where you can find more people to play with or compete in community tournaments!
Other patch notes include:
Many physics improvements, most notable is that balls no longer roll farther while in contact with walls.
Player voice audio no longer scales volume by distance. This will return in a future update as an option.
Balls that land in the starting throw area will now return to your hand to be thrown again, so accidental drops will no longer penalize you.
Botty has had his AI improved all around. He's a bit more accurate across all difficulties and he can handle most situations better than previously.
The pallino marker radius indicator should no longer flicker between a team color and white and the scoreboard should be more in sync with it when teams are tied.
Botty got a makeover in preparation for actual character avatars coming in the next major patch!
To commemorate the launch of Serafin Pier, Bocce Time will be 15% off for the next two weeks, so if you haven't picked the game up yet, now's the best time to jump in! With the new park live, I'll be turning my attention to character customization. Look forward to that in the next major update!
That's it for now, everyone! Until next time!
Introducing quick match queuing and community tournaments!
Hello, everyone! Today's patch is a small but significant one that adds some much needed functionality to the game. You can now queue up for a quick match and then jump into single player to enjoy yourself and maybe unlock some ball designs while you wait for an opponent. This should significantly increase your chances of finding an opponent as previously players were likely to stop searching for a quick match if an opponent wasn't found immediately. Now players can enjoy playing against Botty while they wait!
In other news, I'm planning to start hosting tournaments every weekend, with the first starting this weekend! If that's something you'd be interested in, be sure to join the discord to sign up!
Other patch notes include:
Notifications now render in front of everything else, including physical objects to maximize legibility.
Some visual effects like ball trails that would sporadically fail to sync up when more than 2 players were in a lobby should now be more consistent.
The Picnic Court has had some slight changes made to its layout and collision in the back corners to prevent balls from potentially being rolled out of bounds.
With this update out of the way, I'll be diving directly into production of the next park, a beach themed one with all new courts to play on! While that's in the works, I'll be keeping an ear out for features the community are interested in, so if you have something you'd like to see, be sure to let me know in the forums or over in the game's discord!
That's it for now, everyone! Until next time!
Road Map for Bocce Time!
Hello, everyone!
I'm Anthony, the solo developer working on Bocce Time! I've got big plans for the game going forward that I'd love to let you in on, so without further adieu, let's jump right into it!
In the coming months there are 3 main things I intend to implement into the game:
The ability to play against a bot while in queue for a quick match.
A second park (at the beach!) with another half dozen courts or so.
Player avatar customization.
Beyond that I'll be listening to the community very closely for feedback regarding quality of life features and physics changes people would like to see. With that in mind, I'd love to invite everyone to the game's discord where our budding community is taking shape. There's a LFG channel to try to find matches and weekly tournaments are currently in the planning stages.
If things go well, there will be a lot more in the game's future, as well! I'm really excited to see where we can get this game as a community and I hope you are, too!
Unrelated to Bocce Time! I should mention that my previous game, Vengeful Rites, a VR RPG is currently participating in the Steam Summer Sale with a huge 60% discount. If adventures full of enemies, puzzles, boss fights and exploration are your thing, I'd appreciate you checking it out!
