Slapshot: Rebound News

[h2]Improvements[/h2]
- Several netcode improvements have been made that will help improve the worst case scenarios
- Reduced the bandwidth usage of the game slightly to improve slow connections

[h2]Fixes[/h2]
- Futuristick now has a stick highlight
- Created a permanent fix for the Steam authentication change
- Fixed players sometimes being literally frozen (with ice) on the end game screen
- Patched a minor security concern that could crash servers ($200 bug bounty awarded to Wallie for reporting it)

[h2]Modding Policy Update[/h2]
Before today, our policy on modding was to allow it as long as there was no competitive advantage and didn't go around our monetisation. Unfortunately we need to take a different stance to maintain the competitive integrity and stability of the game. From this update onwards modding is no longer allowed. You'll notice if you have mods installed, the game will not work. Make sure to completely uninstall the game and install it again to fix this problem. We are not taking action this update so the news of the policy change can spread but from v1.4.0 onwards we will start taking action against the accounts of people that modify the game. In the past, we have seen mods as more advanced feature requests and have implemented several concepts into the game in an official capacity (clubs system for casters, arena changes, dark ice,..). There are a few cool mods that we still plan to implement officially after this change to make sure legit players don't lose out on any functionality. Thank you for your understanding.

[h2]The Road Ahead[/h2]
We've been asked about what the future brings for Slapshot, here's some more insight into our plans:
- We're currently working on an overhaul to the shop. A lot of people have told us they wait way too long for a rotation as the amount of cosmetics we have increases.
- Season 2 is in production. We're planning to create a smaller season pass with 30 tiers (which will also be cheaper). With a new season come season rewards, these are in production too. We're estimating a release for late October. An official announcement with the exact date will be made at least one month before its release.
- After the above, we plan to focus on a full game replay system as the next major feature. It's still some time out but it will happen!
- Of course smaller additions and improvements will still be made as always

Happy slapping!

[h2]Small fix patch (no version change)[/h2]
- Made the input sensitivity for the alternative mouse input more similar to the regular input. Players using the alt input may have to adjust their sensitivity!
- Fixed jerseys that hide pants not hiding pants correctly
- Fixed several minor problems related to pants in the preview images
- Fixed an issue with the Galaxy pants causing strange flares
- Fixed the stick jittering on the end game screen (body can still jitter a bit but just pretend you've had a lot caffeine)

GLHF
Oddshot Games

[h2]NEW[/h2]
- Added a 'pants' cosmetic slot (Added two pants to the featured shop now, three tomorrow + a pants shop bundle)
-- Hitboxes are always the same, the visual style of the pants will not deviate from the hitbox
-- For existing outfits, you'll need to explicitly select the default pants in order to start leveling it up
- Added an alternative mouse input system that is closer to how controller input is calculated (does not affect your input motion)
-- The feature is optional and disabled by default
- Added a new settings tab for arenas, including a new 'Arena Override' setting (requires premium)

[h2]Changes[/h2]
- The summer locker room makes its way back into Slapshot!
- Matchmaking arena rotation: Removed Outdoor and Slapstation, added Colosseum and Island
- Added an 'Open Details' option on cosmetics without variants so you can still see the description etc

[h2]Fixes[/h2]
- Fix for staying in spectator while your player character has spawned if you were spamming the camera flip button while loading in

[h2]Cosmetics[/h2]
- Added 17 pants cosmetics (some are in a new shop bundle, some others in the featured shop right now)
- Added two variants to the free default pants (primary and secondary colors)

GLHF,
Oddshot Games

Hello Slappers,

[h2]Celebrating Canada Day & July 4th[/h2]
From now until Sunday July 7th, two codes are redeemable through the shop!
- CANADA24 redeems a stick with the Canadian flag for Canada Day
- USA24 redeems a stick with the American flag for July 4th (Note: People that redeemed the stick last year will get an already redeemed message).

[h2]Patch Notes[/h2]
- Added the Canada stick
- Improved game setup process to help speed up game boots for some players
- Fixed party up navigation on controller
- Changed the premium secret stash refresh text to accurately say 22h instead of 24h
- Fixed an issue where the chatbox caused stutters in some scenarios
- Added August Patreon items (Futuristick, Croc Hunter hat, Diving helmet, cracked egg hat, Greek god jersey). Patreon supporters will vote on which ones they want to receive throughout this month.

Happy slapping!
- Oddshot Games

[h2]NEW[/h2]
- Added a 'party up' button on the end game screen for pubs. This way you can easily request and start a party with teammates you encounter
- Added a new free default hairstyle for long hair
- Reduced the cooldown for the Secret Stash premium refresh from 24 hour to 22 hours

[h2]Changes[/h2]
- Reworked the block stat, you'll be granted a lot more blocks now
- The score blocks award you has been reduced from 15 to 10
- The season challenges for blocks have been increase (easy 3->5 normal 5->10). This was reduced before because it was hard to get
- Improved our internal moderation system and process, repeat offenders will now receive longer mutes/bans
- Improved the way that the optional latency simulator calculates the latency to use
- The faceoff will no longer restart every time someone joins before the match starts but wait a second for other joins to not spam the whistle / positions
- Adjusted our internal database infrastructure to better fit our workload

[h2]Fixes[/h2]
- Drastically reduced CPU usage of servers, which has resulted in a huge amount of extra stability and consistency
- Fixed a few false positives in our internal automated moderation tooling
- Fixed a bug where the puck going out of bounds during goal celebration time resets the play
- Fixed our fallback server provider launching servers too far away from the target location when those locations are full

[h2]Cosmetics[/h2]
- Added July's patreon items: Ballistic mask, Eye head, Earth head, Liberty hat, Avocado head
- Added a long default hairstyle (see NEW section)

GLHF,
The Oddshot Games team