Super Slam Dunk Touchdown
Release day is here... It's Game Time!
Retro Roots
SSDT is an all-sports mashup in the spirit of the irreverent classic 8 and 16 bit sports titles of yesteryear. It's a return the days when sports games were more about fun than realism, when social gaming meant hanging out with other people in the same room, and when you didn't need to learn 12 buttons to play a game.
Modern Technology
Powered by 3D physics, SSDT mixes crazy arcade action with the latest in Sports Science! Hockey pucks don't behave the same way on turf as bowling balls do on ice. Each player throws, kicks or hits the ball like they would in their own sport: American Football players toss spirals, hockey players make slap shots, and basketball players shoot for the hoop. The spin on the ball, the weight of the ball, the friction, bounciness and shape of the ball, as well as the surface you're playing on all make a difference.
Arcade Action
There's no rules in Super Slam Dunk Touchdown. Just get the ball into the net, hoop or past the uprights to score the most goal points! Use teamwork, strategy, and violence to get the advantage: Defend your ball carrier, fake out the goalie, tackle a streaker, pass, punt and punch your way to sports victory!
Now available!
Available now on Steam, Super Slam Dunk Touchdown supports 1-6 players locally. Game controllers are supported as well as keyboard and mouse controls. Steam Controller and Steam Streaming supported with X-Input enabled.
The beta is here
The beta features:
- Updated UI
- Updated art
- Keyboard and Mouse controls
- A new controller configuration interface
- Lots of little bug fixes and improvements
Tipping Goat is dedicated to supporting this game after launch, and will be adding more fixes and features for the FREE Season Mode expansion next year. Thanks for playing!
State of the Build
It's getting to be crunch time at Tipping Goat, and some big outstanding TODOs are getting checked off. There won't be a new build until I get the new features in, but here's what you have to look forward to with the next few builds:
Updated UI
The current UI is a cheap and dirty menu system I wrote at the start of the project. Since then, Unity has come out with a new UI system (one that you've seen on the team selection screen) and I've been working to change over most of the old menus to the new UI. Here's the new UI feature list, and most of this is complete:
- Menus are mouse, keyboard, touch or joystick driven
- Mouse cursor for UI added
- Better Options menu with plus/minus buttons and checkboxes
- Overhauled controller configuration menus
Controller Config Overhaul
Speaking of, this screen needs its own feature list! I have completed all the joystick controller config changes, and am starting on custom keyboard controls. Here's what to expect:
- Independently set the primary and secondary buttons
- Added an independent Back button for menu navigation (pass will still work in this regard)
- New default controls for many types of sticks, following the controller's own definition of Shoot/Pass = Accept/Cancel (generally A, B or X, O in the case of playstation). Turbo has been moved to "R1" or the upper-right shoulder button in most cases. Swap remains Y (or Triangle).
- New Deadzone setting for each stick.
- Customizable keyboard controls, finally! This took a while because A) I needed a new UI and B) playing with the keyboard is a bad experience. B may finally be addressed as I have added a new way to play with the keyboard...
- Mouse customization! Keyboard controls will have the option of aiming and shooting with the mouse.
And speaking of mouse control...
The keyboard + mouse control works how you might expect:
- The keyboard moves
- Hold down the mouse button to aim. Then, drag the mouse in the direction you want to shoot and let go when ready.
- When the mouse is not in use, the keyboard controls behave in the default manner.
Needless to say all this is quite a bit of work, but it is coming along nicely.
What about the Steam controller?
Well I have some more information about what the problem with the controller is, and it's really a Steam issue. When the Steam controller is connected to Steam, Steam takes over the interpretation of all joysticks, breaking Direct Input in the process (the lovely legacy controller system that allows 6 players at once in SSDT). Steam probably does this to hide all the real sticks from games so that when streaming a game from another device, Steam can send those joystick inputs through to the host computer and hide all the host computer's controllers. But it only works with Microsoft's newer (and 4-player limited) input system, Xinput.
In order for SSDT to function when a Steam Controller is connected and Steam is running, it must be put into Xinput mode from the options menu. This will limit the number of players to 4 and only allow Xinput controllers (such as the Steam Controller, Xbox 360 or Xbox One controllers). This is an option for this reason; if you want 6 players you would turn Xinput off, and if you want to use the Steam Controller you would have to turn Xinput on.
I am considering a popup if no controllers are detected to help with this.
Bummer
I know! Tell me all about it -- it's been frustrating me since I got the controller. But here's some slightly more fun facts:
- After the new build is ready, I plan on working on improving the AI
- I am still targeting end-of-year for release
- New box art is being worked on this very moment
- SSDT seems to work with Steamlink (when in Xinput mode). More testing is needed.
That's a long update, so I'll get back to work!
Build 1.5a now live on Steam
1.4.96a is live with bug fixes
Updated AI in v1.4.95a
Click for a full list of changes
SSDT v1.4.9a is live
Check out all the details in the forums.
The latest
What I've been seeing is new players stuck in 0-0 matches going overtime endlessly. To partially deal with this, I want to implement a Sudden Death Overtime feature where the next point wins the game. For one, it takes away the time limit, and people will have time to score before time runs out. But I am also seeking a way to deal with the goalie situation in Sudden Death Overtime -- I'd rather not eliminate them completely but I'm playing with some ideas.
To further address this I'll need a couple other features in place, but they are larger than anyone should have to wait for the next build. Hopefully this feature will make the game friendlier for new players. When the new update is ready it will also go out with a new random event that I think you all will like. The event is in place now and just needs art at this point.
I hope everyone has been enjoying the current build, and if you're struggling against the AI, I recommend practicing shots in Shot Practice mode, and for the love of all that is precise, use a controller with an analog stick to play :)
There will eventually be a tutorial, but that's a bit further down the road.
Version 1.4.8a is now live
Team Color Selection: Choose from 4 different unlocked color palettes (for now) for each team by clicking on either "HOME TEAM" or "AWAY TEAM" on the team selection screen. Add some personalitity to your team and some more color to your screen shots!
Always Control Ball Carrier: On the team selection screen, click the OPTIONS button, then click CPU. You can enable Control Ball Carrier there. When this is enabled, one of the human players on each team will automatically control any CPU player that picks up the ball. It's an "auto switch" feature ideal for single human teams. The player icon now flies from one player to the next to better communicate player switching.