I don't dare to tell you - but the release will be delayed again :-(

It's not that I have not been busy. I probably could have forced the release in October but this would not have been good for the overall result. I don't want to release the game before the "high level AI"(the one that does strategic decisions and positions the players) works the way it should - but I can not finish the high level AI as long as I keep changing the basic actions a player has available. Nevertheless, there has been a lot of progress in the last month:

• I added several serve types (jump-float serve!)

• a very versatile standing/running attack was added. This really adds a lot to the gameplay because you can now return the ball much better in situations where you just had to give your opponents a free ball before.

• you now have many options while setting the ball: you can try to help the attacking player to get past the block by intentionally setting the ball a little more inward (or outward) or by quick setting the ball before the blocker reaches the net.

• blocking gameplay was refined

• the flying trajectories of the ball are now even more realistic - every kind of spin is possible and realistically taken into account

• if you don't hit the ball perfectly the ball bounces away much more the way it would in reality(this is surprisingly difficult to get right!)

• the camera view was changed - when you are in the air trying to attack the ball you now have approximately the same view a real player would have - this makes the game more difficult but also a lot more immersive.(if you don't like it i will add an option to turn it off)

• almost ALL animations were improved

• many aspects of the overall look of the game were improved- especially the sand now looks MUCH better

• players can now be left handed

• fixed a lot of bugs that you will never know about :-)

I really really hope I can release the first version by mid-November. To give you a hint of what to expect I added a picture portraying the new sand and I will upload a short gameplay video to the video section. (without sound - sorry!)