May 22, 2020

Eleven Table Tennis - Hillary

Hello All. Sometime 2 years ago, we came together and decided to rebuild the game from scratch. Part of this was driven by bug creep and layers and layers of 'temporary fixes'. Part by the quest release. But the biggest part was that we wanted to make the game much better and feature rich, but started to hit a point where any change to the game would add significant time development and testing time inconsistent with the degree of the the change...and the list of updates we want to add is vast.

In late February, we released the game to the Oculus Store for the quest, and since then, we've been working very hard with the community to fix issues, add features, and calibrate. The plan was always to get the game to a state where it was an obvious improvement for users in the previous version. Whether it is life getting in the way, my consistent inability to accurately estimate work time, or the fact that for everyone change we add, 5 more changes come to mind - we have yet to reach this point. At the same time, another issue started appearing relatively quickly; confusion and community separation between the original version (legacy) and the new revamped version (quest default, pc beta). Even though there are sooo many things I wanted to add before <the merge>, what's happening now is that users are getting hurt that are on the default version - as the online player count is draining into the revamp. As an example, at the time of writing this (9:40 pm EST), there were 21 active users in the legacy version...and 102 in the revamp. People on legacy are starting to ask questions like "is this game dead"...and it's far from that.

So, without further delay, we are flipping the switch and pushing the update to everyone. Once you download the update, it will be very obvious you are in a new game.

Things that are new:
1. unlike before, the AI actually hits the ball with a paddle object. Before, the AI was moving a paddle object that, when contacting the ball (with any part in anyway), would trigger the predetermined launch. This often lead to a result that didn't match the AI's paddle motion. Additionally, the AI now, instead of having 5 distinct skill levels, has slider with 100 positions. Also, there is a mode called "minimum mistake mode", where the AI acts more like a very very good player, who plays down to your level.
2. the physics has been significantly optimized. The overall consensus is that it's a lot closer to real life. I won't stop improving it until it matches real life completely.
3. The graphics have been optimized a lot. One user who has issues running the game at 120hz on their Index, was able to run it at 144hz without any issues.
4. The studio environment has been altered an cleaned up, the other environments have been removed. There is now a new environment called "The Chalet", and this one we are close to finishing:
https://projects.outstandly.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/arena4.png
5. The multiplayer code has been significantly optimized and more robust.
6. As far as mini games: quadrants has been updated. Targets and waves have been removed. Beer pong has been added. The ball machine has been modified, and recently a big update has been pushed that allows you to make drills very easily.
7. Many preferences, such as paddle position, come in the form of preset lists - so you can save multiple positions. If you are coming from legacy and really like your saved paddle position, make sure to save your preference.json file, and contact me with it. I'll be able to convert it (until I provide an automatic tool).
8. The table positioning system has been updated with the default functionality being the press and hold room button to reset view based on where you are standing and facing (make sure to go through the tutorial).
9. The multiplayer lobby is now paginated, vs single row scroll.
10. Spectator view for pc users is a bit hidden but it's still available (menu->settings->graphics->quality presets->spectator view
11. For ranked matches, the serve rules are more strict, along with a shot clock added (visible when you open the menu during a match). No more cheating by putting the headset down and walking away. The toss height isn't ITTF standard yet, as I want to implement a proper warning system for that to help with the transition. I will also be implementing a 2-3 second delay between points, because some players things it's cool to try to serve as soon as possible while the opponent is out of position. ..this is why we can't have nice things.
12. The game offers a lot of localization options. Some are google translated, many are hand translated. More will come - just ask for one that isn't there.
13. The game supports the RiftS/Quest 3d printed adapter natively (as in, there is a built in paddle position preset for it). Soon it will support the cv1 adapter. Find out more on our discord #peripherals channel.
14. a bunch of physics bugs have been fixed - such as the ball falling through the paddle when letting it roll on it.
15. The AI is no longer frame based, so it won't have an issue hitting the ball regardless of your frame rate.

Things that are different or missing
1. lighting has changed. There are mixed opinions on this, and we will be adding options in the future to choose the one you like the most.
2. there is currently no replay functionality. It will be added soon.
3. the AI doesn't use motion capture - that will be added.
4. There is no online spectator mode available - that will be added soon.
5. The physics may feel significantly different. In many respects it's closer to reality. I have a lot of planned work to improve it further.
6. the music has changed - and we intend to add many options such as playing your own songs, or selecting from online radio sources. (we'll look into spotify, but last time i checked, they don't allow it)
7. The ball bounce sound has changed, and 100% that will be updated.
8. For Oculus home users, the AI avatar is currently locked to your own oculus avatar. For Steam users, it is currently locked to my oculus avatar. I'll be adding options to modify the AI avatar soon.
9. Some textures may have been reduced in quality while trying to optimize. We will be adding options to kick up or down texture qualities based on your pc specs. The goal is to have as many people be able to play the game as possible.

We aren't done updating it, by far.

You may have a lot of questions, some issues (hopefully not too many), some concerns, or just want to talk about the game. The discord is very active, and I spend probably too much time responding to people there - and I don't intend to stop.

me:carrotstien
discord: https : //tiny. cc / vr11 (no spaces)
email: devs@forfunlabs.com

PS: as far as the old (legacy) version is concerned: We will be shutting off soon after this posting (letting people finish their matches)..and as of this posting, no new users will be able to join the multiplayer there. We will be providing branch that users will be able to pick if they really want to stick to the legacy single player mode. Just look for public beta branches soon after this post. We definitely do not want to support two multiplayer communities, as it hurts both by reducing player counts.

May 9, 2018

Finally Beta and Master merged together!

Eleven Table Tennis - Hillary

Hi All!

Well that took a minute...

We have finally reached a point we are confident enough to share with everyone on the master branch. Since the last message, there have been many update to the beta branch. One of the big issues we kept battling is the connectivity between users. Now we finally reached a state where everyone should be able to play multiplayer with everyone else without any issues.

As before, if you see a bug, or have a question, or want to say hi, or want to schedule a match with a fellow player, please join us on our discord:(https://discord.gg/s8EbXWG)

I'll try to include all of the updates compared to the master version, along with any issues still outstanding.

Updates:

1. As of this release, the default branches of the Oculus Home and Steam versions of this game will be on the same code body and same multiplayer system. That is, users from one can play against users from another.

2. In order to play someone, either get challenged and accept, or find someone in the lobby and challenge them. People can set themselves to appear offline or set themselves to auto accept challenges. When you get a challenge, you will see a spinning notification, along with a notification panel. Point and press the buttons to either accept or reject the invitation.

3. While in a room with a user, the game starts in practice mode. During this mode, anyone in the room, including spectators (see below), are able to grab and hit the ball around .To the side of the table will be ranked and unranked buttons. Both users need to make a selection to start the match. If there is disagreement, the match type defaults to unranked.

4. Spectators! A new button has appeared. "Active Rooms". Clicking it, will bring you into a view where you can see the matches that are active, who is playing them, and even, if applicable to the type of match, and to the preferences of the main 2 players, spectate.

That's right SPECTATE.

Not only can you look around and watch a game, but while the two main players haven't selected the mode to start the game in, everyone has the ability to grab the ball and hit around - so you can have informal 2 on 2, or 4 on 4..or really whatever you want to do.

While in the room, there is a new button "ROOM" which lets you see who are the people in the room. Each person has their own row, and anyone can hide or control the volume of any other person. The main two players (host and challenger) additionally have the ability to kick out a spectator. Once the actual game starts, spectators lose the ability to hit or grab the ball. (eventually we'll have legit doubles)

There is also a new area which tells you and everyone else in the room what the score is. MP games are now all best of 3.

If the match is unranked, spectator requests should still go through - but if the match is ranked, and started, spectator requests will not be allowed. So if you want to spectate on a ranked match, you need to arrive before the match starts. This will be updated in the future.

5. Another update is that when you play MP now, you will see the head paddle and controller models exactly as your opponent is using - and default headset models are the actual headset models (thanks HTC for providing one for the Vive). Gradually we'll add a headset model for every headset to everyone can be represented :)

6. Speaking of headsets, you can now set the headset of the AI.

7. Mini games have a leaderboard and save score, and finally after the long wait, we now have ranked matches!

8. Currently it is basic ELO with everyone starting at 0, but we'll probably tweak as time goes by and we tune the rates.

9. There is a new button on the main menu. It's just a question mark, but reveals a view that has buttons that opens up links to an FAQ, or contact info, or a discord invite.

10. The match history button now works, and shows you your last 100 matches.

11. The rank profile button now works, and shows you the top 100 players sorted by ELO ranking. To see your own ranking, when you press on multiplayer, look to the left to see user information.

12. Apparently the ball freezing bug is still happening sometimes. For now, there will be a new button while you are playing a match. "Request Ball Reset". If both users press on the button, the point will be reset - and whoever is supposed to be able to grab the ball should be able to grab the ball. If this still doesn't fix it, the issue is with the underlying multiplayer messaging channels, and please let me know on the discord.

13. By default we are turning off logging and spectator view to save performance.

14. Levels should be loading much faster now.

15. If you are looking to play against an AI that doesn't make any mistakes once it hits the ball, let me know on the discord. If enough people ask for it, we'll add a UI element for it.

16. Paddle surface changes: the max spin setting in this new build is higher than the max was before. This was done to match modern paddles' tackiness. Unless you are an advanced player, the suggested spin value is around 50%.

17. The physics are 100% deterministic - which means there will never be a disagreement as to where the ball is or what the ball hit. That being said, the receiver of every shot might appear to hit the ball after a second bounce only due to latency. What matters is what each person sees in their own view when they are returning a hit.

18. All preferences are now stored in the JSON file "preferences.json" near the EXE of the game.

19. Localization. We are adding other languages to the game. You can select a language through the settings view:

Known Issues:

1. replays are a hit/miss right now.
2. There is a bug with the paddle collision physics that prevents you from letting the ball roll on the paddle correctly, and or causes issues if you have a very push-y stroke and low paddle speed setting.
3. The table/ball custom color doesn't work perfectly at the moment, but the saved colors should work fine.
4. The audio is a bit sensitive. If your opponent doesn't hear you, check that your mic icon is moving. If it isn't, check that when you start the game, the mic you are using is the only mic that is active.
5. Occasionally spectator requests might stop appearing and appear to expire. If this keeps happening, please restart the game.
6. The AI hasn't been revamped yet.

Future:

We are far from done working on this game, and have very big updates in the works. Especially interesting to anyone who is looking for the utmost highest level of realism, we have acquired a slow motion camera and will making the game match reality 1 to 1.

Slow Motion test

As always, come join the discord. We are always there ːsteamhappyː

Jan 25, 2018

Big updates incoming and arrived if you are on beta

Eleven Table Tennis - Hillary

Hi All!

We've been hard at work grinding down bug after bug reported to us by the very active community we have on the discord (https://discord.gg/s8EbXWG)

This update is applicable to the beta (now will be public), and the version on Oculus Home. There are some minor issues with the AI and paddle collision sometimes, and we are working hard to fix that so we can release to the wide steam audience.

Updates:
The huge cross multiplayer update system was released to a smaller audience and Oculus home users, and it was a hit and miss with the connectivity. We have sharpened all of the code and it should be all hits from now on.

Friends and Match history are still in the works, but a new button has appeared. "Active Rooms". Clicking it, will bring you into a view where you can see the matches that are active, who is playing them, and even, if applicable to the type of match, and to the preferences of the main 2 players, spectate.

That's right SPECTATE.

Not only can you look around and watch a game, but while the two main players haven't selected the mode to start the game in, everyone has the ability to grab the ball and hit around - so you can have informal 2 on 2, or 4 on 4..or really whatever you want to do.

There is also a new area which tells you and everyone else in the room what the score is. MP games are now all best of 3.

Another update is that when you play MP now, you will see the head paddle and controller models exactly as your opponent is using - and default headset models are the actual headset models (thanks HTC for providing one for the Vive). Gradually we'll add a headset model for every headset to everyone can be represented :)

Speaking of headsets, you can now set the headset of the AI.

Mini games have a leaderboard and save score, and finally after the long wait, we now have ranked matches!

Currently it is basic ELO with everyone starting at 1500, but we'll probably tweak as time goes by and we tune the rates.

Many people have been missing invitations because the FOV isn't human vision width yet - so the notification panel will have a beep associated with it that should get everyone's attention.

As always, if you have any issues, what so ever, please reach out to us.
We can be reached on the discord (best), or email at devs@forfunlabs.com (medium), or just somewhere here on the forum (ok).

----

So many updates are on the horizon, come join the discord to get the latest scoop!

--PS, i forgot to press the button, so after this post, about 5-10 minutes the beta wasn't available, now it is.

PS2: forgot to say. There is a new button on the main menu. It's just a question mark, but reveals a view that has buttons that opens up links to an FAQ, or contact info, or a discord invite.

PS3: fixed lan plan

Update: rolled out a fix to remove the AI from an MP match if you get challenged mid AI match.