Sunday Rivals News

Incredibly happy to announce the launch of v.14.0, adding the long-awaited feature of custom teams to Sunday Rivals! This release gives you full access to customize your teams, from the stadium and grass colors, individual player ratings, down to what kind of facemask and socks a player wears. If it exists in the game now, you can edit it!





Overall player customization has been expanded as well, with new equipment choices, more uniform color options, and the addition of player heights and body types. Your BIG boys will eat up space while the little guys can slip through the narrowest holes in the line.



Along with the default league, you'll now have 4 additional slots to build out your own custom leagues using, 8, 16, 24, or 32 teams, with complete control over alignment and organization. Each league has its own HeadHunter tournament and records too!



As it's a first run, I expect there to be a fair amount of bugs and weirdness while we sand off the rough edges, but I can't wait to see what yall end up creating with this new feature! Feel free to share your creations in the Steam forums and on our Discord server:

discord.gg/dSuMe5w

There's a whole bunch more included, so please check out the full patch notes below:


League Customization

• Added 4 custom league slots along with the default league. Default league can not be edited
  
• Added variable league sizes
  
• Added league realignment options
  
• Added support and non-functioning information options for future updates
  

Team Customization

• Added team information and UI color options
  
• Added uniform designer
  
• Added stadium and field designer
  
• Added support and non-functioning options for future updates (weather, playbooks, coaching)
  

Player Customization

• Added big player model
  
• Added variable player sizing
  
• Added new helmets, facemasks, and visors
  
• Added uniform color options for neck and bottom of cleats
  
• Added skin, hair, facial hair, and eye color options
  
• Added gloves, arms, and socks options
  

HeadHunter

• Each league will now have its own HeadHunter and records, existing tourneys remain
  
• Changed scheduling to support variable league size and prioritize OVR range amongst teams
  
• Updated scoring to track 1 point per defensive tackle, decreased value of sacks by 1 point
  
• Reworked helmet positioning after defeating a team
  

Settings

• Reworked settings page to save on-demand rather than per switch
  
• Resolution options now include refresh rate
  
• Separated out controller speed into 2 options to allow for better high DPI mouse support in the UI
  

Frontend

• Redesigned frontend backgrounds and screen layout
  
• Added profile data and first time loading screen
  

Gameplay

• Removed ability to hold down snap during QB cadence to immediately snap the ball
  
• Delayed kicking meter display time until shutters are completely open
  
• Player collision radius scales with their body size
  

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a critical bug for first-time players that caused roster data to improperly load, blocking the game from starting
  
• Fixed a bug where the UI shutters would not completely clear the screen during a kicking play
  
• Fixed incidents where long player names extended offscreen during highlight segments
  
• Potential fix for unresponsive input collection during kicking plays
  

Hey yall, wanted to share a bit of the progress I've made for the next big update: Custom Leagues and Teams!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

There's still a fair amount of work left before I'm ready to release this (and probably a good amount after that, too) but I'm really excited to show off this long awaited feature and get it into your hands! I can't wait to see all the amazing things you're going to create...

With the release of v.13.0, I'm happy to announce the addition of a fully customizable skill level to Sunday Rivals! Custom skill level (sometimes known as 'sliders') will allow you to tune your Sunday Rivals gameplay experience to achieve the perfect balance of difficulty and challenge for your particular playstyle. Settings are separated between human and AI players and are fully editable in-game, so you'll be able to test them out while you play.



As a bonus, I've also added all 4 skill levels to HeadHunter and split up the record book into pages for each level. You're locked into that level for the entire tourney, so choose your team wisely... Expert is no joke!

Check out the full release notes below and feel free to share your custom setups in the forums if you find something that's working for you!

Skill Levels

• Added custom skill level to the game, giving access to all 22 settings (10 human, 12 AI)
  
• Custom skill level sliders can be edited while in game
  
• Further balanced beginner and expert skill levels
  
• Last selected skill level is remembered between games
  

HeadHunter

• Added the ability to select skill level at the start of a new tourney, which is locked until completion
  
• Record book is now divided into 8 pages to support records set at each skill level
  
• Previous records and in-progress tourneys have been reset to support the update
  

Gameplay

• Added variance to receiver route speed based on ratings and skill level
  
• Deep fly routes are extended an additional 10 yards
  
• Increased knockback power for weaker tacklers
  
• Decreased effectiveness of diving tackles
  
• Decreased likelihood of weaker runners breaking multiple tackles
  
• Defenders make more of an effort to step in front of receivers on deflection attempts
  

This update focuses on expanding and improving on a number of gameplay issues on the defensive side of the field. The majority of the defensive playbook has been revamped to provide a broader, more useful selection of plays to work in all scenarios. You can check out your plays now in game by holding down LT/RT on the controller (just like on offense) and toggle through defenders too! On the field, player collisions have been updated to allow for bumping the ball carrier on missed and broken tackles, hopefully providing for more dynamic moments. Zone AI has also been improved to give defenders a better understanding of players positions on the field.

While a lot of these updates touch the gameplay side of things, how that experience plays out differs across all players. In this update, I've added 3 experimental skill levels (beginner, normal, expert) for you to try out and see how they play. Normal is what you've played in the past, while beginner and expert scale in opposite directions to provide for different levels of challenge. Give them a shot and let me know what you think!

There's a whole bunch more in v.12.2, so please check out the full release notes below:

Controls

• Holding LT/RT on defense brings up a defensive play preview and allows for toggling control of defenders without the AI snapping the ball
  
• Standardized the selection order when toggling through players on defense
  

Difficulty

• Added 3 experimental skill levels (beginner, normal, expert) to try out
  

UI

• Updated playbook field position display to better show hash mark, first down, and field position
  

Gameplay

• Eliminated jittery rotations on collisions, allowing for more predictable bumping between players
  
• Missed tackles, broken tackles, and jukes no longer phase through defenders, allowing for additional collisions and bumps to take place during a play. Low STR rated runners will get slowed or knocked back when holding down protect
  
• Players no longer cease moving immediately after a tackle, allowing for additional hits and collisions to ball carrier
  
• Increased likelihood of missed tackles based on runner and tackler's TKL ratings
  
• Greatly improved blocking on field goals and extra points
  
• Greatly increased ability and likelihood of QB to move around in pocket and avoid sacks
  
• Slightly increased AI QB's wait to throw time
  
• Slightly decreased slowing while turning, improving open field agility for higher AGL players
  
• Decreased energy recharge time for power moves
  
• Decreased downtime for failed blockers and boosted their blocking ability on subsequent block
  
• Running backs no longer attempt to make illegal downfield blocks during passing plays
  
• LB/CB zone defenders better adjust to receivers within their zone assignments
  
• Safeties sag less off deep routes
  

Playbook

• AI is now able to utilize the entire playbook, removing situational requirements for some plays
  
• Defensive category 'run stop' has been renamed 'stack' and features new or significantly reworked plays using a more consistent 4-4 formation
  
• Defensive playbook now displays each play's balance of attack vs. defend values
  
• Defensive formations have been normalized to better mask what play has been called
  
• Most defensive plays have been rebalanced to provide a better range of strategy and tactics
  
• Short passing routes have been elongated to increase route time
  
• Plays HB Tunnel, HB Phalanx, FB Knuckle, and QB Hero have been reworked
  
• New play HB Elbow replaces FB Dozer and swaps position with HB Phalanx
  

Added a few improvements on the controls side of things, as well as turning on Unity analytics to help me track gameplay trends and gather some HeadHunter statistical data. Full patch notes below:

Controls

• Moving the left stick/directional keys no longer impedes the player from snapping the ball
  
• Controller dpad can be used in menus and in game
  
• On the playcalling screen, players can now easily close out the 'special' popup menu by pressing the back button (B/CIRCLE/6)
  

Analytics

• Enabled Unity analytics to track gameplay trends and aggregate data