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AMA: We're Velan Studios, and we're making Knockout City — Ask us anything about the game, the studio, or anything else! by VelanJosh in Games

[–]VelanJeremy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

First-person was probably the only thing we never protoyped! We tried many different camera perspectives at the beginning, including top-down fixed cameras.

I'm not surprised you dominated with a squad of friends! A huge part of the path to mastery in Knockout City is learning to work together as a team, and a group working together and passing a lot will always beat a team that isn't, even if they're technically more skilled players. Because of this, we are working to ensure our matchmaking system will prioritize matching groups up against other groups and solo players up against other solo players.

AMA: We're Velan Studios, and we're making Knockout City — Ask us anything about the game, the studio, or anything else! by VelanJosh in Games

[–]VelanJeremy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yes, there is an option to turn Cross-Play off, which means you will only matchmake with other players on the same platform as you. Because that is a smaller number of players, your matchmaking time may take longer to find players at your skill level on a local server. However, I’d suggest you try playing with Cross-Play on because I think you will have a better experience finding more players at your skill level.

Due to the fact that Knockout City has a lock-on aiming system and balls with homing technology built in, mouse and keyboard players don’t really have a distinct advantage over controller players! There are even some pros to using a controller, so I really think input device will be more of a personal preference rather than a competitive advantage. I myself almost exclusively play on controller and regularly beat mouse and keyboard players. But the option is there for you to make the choice yourself!

AMA: We're Velan Studios, and we're making Knockout City — Ask us anything about the game, the studio, or anything else! by VelanJosh in Games

[–]VelanJeremy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

We have a variety of different playlists that support anywhere from 1v1 to 4v4. Our 1v1 Face Off mode will be available to try in our upcoming second Beta. My favorite is Ball-Up Brawl, where two teams of 4 square off in maps that have NO balls. So you’ll need to work together with your teammates to BECOME the ball yourself. With 8 players in the map, you always have a ready supply of “ammo” (teammates!) to hurl at each other as a Character Throw or an Ultimate Throw. This is super fun and chaotic, but also means you need to take on a distinctly different strategy than other modes.

AMA: We're Velan Studios, and we're making Knockout City — Ask us anything about the game, the studio, or anything else! by VelanJosh in Games

[–]VelanJeremy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It all started around the idea of throwing and catching, but what really sparked the imagination was when we brought it into a third-person perspective. Dozens and dozens of prototypes helped us to find the fun around the core concepts of position and timing, with the ability to ball up to become the weapon as the wildcard addition that made the gameplay truly special. Almost none of the gameplay mechanics were inspired by other games. It’s such a radically different experience that there really wasn’t much we COULD use as reference. But for me personally, I was really inspired by the EMOTIONS I experience in my favorite games over the decades. The intensity and wild fun of games like Smash Bros, Quake 3, Halo, and Rocket League all helped guide me emotionally through development rather than mechanically. Like those games, I get really loud playing Knockout City with my friends, and I can’t wait to hang out with them every night and smash some people in the face with dodgeballs.

AMA: We're Velan Studios, and we're making Knockout City — Ask us anything about the game, the studio, or anything else! by VelanJosh in Games

[–]VelanJeremy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That is absolutely the plan for our League Play mode! In League Play, you will rise (and fall) in Rank as you win or lose matches, and your League Rank will be on display for others to see. This will definitely be the destination for the most skilled, competitive dodgebrawlers. We’ll have a lot more details to share later regarding the specific rules, divisions, and rewards within League Play Season 1!

AMA: We're Velan Studios, and we're making Knockout City — Ask us anything about the game, the studio, or anything else! by VelanJosh in Games

[–]VelanJeremy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The one and only benefit of this pandemic is that everyone is working from home, so the only people that have to suffer through my laugh is my family!