Active Soccer 2023

[TheFoxSoft]

I am mainly a solo developer. There is a guy who is charge of the database and he helps me in betatesting and suggests some ideas. He is very competent and he has a wise vision of the game. Anyway I develop the whole game.
I basically made Active Soccer 2019 with no budget, the game relies on the Active Soccer 2 code written in 2014; the game looks so outdated in my eyes now that I am used to play Active Soccer 2023.
With Active Soccer 2023 things get serious, I am able to outsource a professional company to make the art of the game, there are motion capture animations, the SFX is now professionaly recorded, most part of the game has rewritten from scratch. From a production point of view the difference between AS2019 and AS2023 is huge.
About keepers, yes they are rewritten from scratch and they can have dozens of animations instead of just 3 available in Active Soccer 2019
With AS2023 I want to relaunch the series; the idea is to have AS2023 as starting point for a new sim/arcade series with a good managerial / tactical part. Of course it requires time, AS2023 will not be perfect and I can't add all the features I would like to add already in this edition....but I honestly don't have the EA or KONAMI budget. I just hope the game will have an OK following in order to let me continue to work on the game.

 

[*aLe]

I was wondering the same thing..
The way I see it - its like @Chris Davies said - there is more than enough small developers that create retro-fun-arcade football games that comes and go without much notice.

Yeah, one studio I can think of is Unfinished Pixel: they released a good set of arcade games (2 v 2 volley, tennis, football) and their latest football game (Super Soccer Blast - America vs. Europe) is fun and it should be a very good arcade base for them to expand on (currently it has little replayability cause there’s no career mode and it features like… 40 club teams or less, but it is fun to play).
It also has its particular style (pretty cartoonish) that makes you think “OK, this is a game from UP”.
As you said, though, there’s plenty of games that follow more or less the same principle and I’d have said Active Soccer 2019 was one of those, weren’t it for the career mode (which suggests that there’s more in it than “pick-up-and-play fun”).
It being more than a “pick up and play” game is evident also due to the fact that I had to enable moving and dribbling assists otherwise I would not be able to turn with the ball (even if it of course brought away much of the “Sensible Soccer” feeling from it).

With 2023 being a step forward (at least in terms of animations/keepers/UI as far as I can see from the trailer), it could aswell “elevate” to a point in which it’s fun to play but challenging enough at the same time… The kind of games that, in the racing realm, would be defined “simcade” even if it’s not a term I love.

 

[Madmac79]

I am mainly a solo developer. There is a guy who is charge of the database and he helps me in betatesting and suggests some ideas. He is very competent and he has a wise vision of the game. Anyway I develop the whole game.
I basically made Active Soccer 2019 with no budget, the game relies on the Active Soccer 2 code written in 2014; the game looks so outdated in my eyes now that I am used to play Active Soccer 2023.
With Active Soccer 2023 things get serious, I am able to outsource a professional company to make the art of the game, there are motion capture animations, the SFX is now professionaly recorded, most part of the game has rewritten from scratch. From a production point of view the difference between AS2019 and AS2023 is huge.
About keepers, yes they are rewritten from scratch and they can have dozens of animations instead of just 3 available in Active Soccer 2019
With AS2023 I want to relaunch the series; the idea is to have AS2023 as starting point for a new sim/arcade series with a good managerial / tactical part. Of course it requires time, AS2023 will not be perfect and I can't add all the features I would like to add already in this edition....but I honestly don't have the EA or KONAMI budget. I just hope the game will have an OK following in order to let me continue to work on the game.

Man, as you can probably guess by the replies we are literally thirsting for something like this. If that's your final goal I think you'll find large support, at least here in this community. Whatever it will be a wider success I have no idea, but I'm also sure there are LOADS of football gaming fans that would love to play something in the direction you want to develop.

 

[predator002]

This sounds exactly like my kind of game. I've always said if there is a football game inspired by the manager modes such as the ones formed by SWOS and Manchester United The Double, the will be guaranteed my money.

SWOS for the size, fun, playability, never ending search for hidden talent.
Manchester United The Double for 4 player career mode through fully licensed league/CocaCola/FACup. Negotiating with my mate on how I can buy his players for cheap was always great fun.

 

[vialli82]

@TheFoxSoft i really, really which you the best for your project, even if it's more arcade i like how the game move and the overall football "ambiance".
But about the number of league....
That's too much to me, the more you got league the more you got randomness (something i hate : i prefers only 3 league but the most accurate possible).
Infos are often really fakes on the net and it took me 1.5 months just to found the real for Premier League + 4 teams.

Height and weight are important, but i suggest you, as many stats will be random, but with height only you can already got a standard.
And don't add weight in your info : it's way too hard to found.
One last thing : try to not add players with zero information about it like PES an FIFA does, where you can't even found a picture... Remember that your game is visual, well don't focus too much on faces just the basics (hair/skin) we don't care for a long distance, do like ISS Deluxe

I sincerely which you the best and it's sad that there's not the advanced tool/camera which gives all you need to know about the player on the pitch (height, weight, best foot, running type and all stuffs)
Don't know if you've heard about it. But well, whatever : it won't stop me to buy it if you manage to get a PS5 release

About the SWOS managerial it's genius, but your game is in good 3D, more demanding etc., so good luck about it. I really love what i readed even if i don't like that much SWOS or Kick OFF, i didn't know that the career mode was so advanced, and yours seems even more.

Again, good luck. About gameplay one last thing : the game seems a bit too "aerial", passes shoots etc., the ball should be a bit more on the ground for passes. A ball physics a bit more heavy and it would be even better.

Congratulations and all my respect @TheFoxSoft , it's the most interesting game not only because we're offline players. But it's looking authentic.
And like you said it's a start, a very good one an there's still way too improve year after year, don't loose focus and motivation mate!

 

[༺Ƥeຮ༻]

Wow, fox... all that alone? OMG.. you are amazing! It looks like big teams with big money, mo cop studios as .... omg. .. I forget how the game was called... wait... UFL... ufl.. yes and they have worked on this game for a long time and it's still garbage.
Yes, your animations are still bad and physics is not great but hey, but looks like you are really talented and if you add 11 vs 11 I will come to help I have so many ideas about substitutions and how can work on a mode like that, and I'm pretty good with PS, CRD, AI, AF, and Vegas.

 

[vialli82]

Didn't know he did it literally alone. Probably a small help here and there but... From my point of view it's "one man army"
Have no words. it's more than just "Exceptional"

I would have said less demand or critic on my post. Try to found some help here and there for the database or stuffs like that mate.

 

[༺Ƥeຮ༻]

Didn't know he did it literally alone.
I got no words. it's more than just "Exceptional"

Yes you are right I just read some comments and yeah just saw what is the deal.

 

[marion2000]

I'll wait the release! it seems a really interesting game, and something different from nowadays trying to iper-simulation, giving us also a complete carreer mode!

 

[TheFoxSoft]

@vialli82
thanks for your feedback. The info on the players is accurate, the guy who is helping me on database is very very competent. He knows international football and his work is really exceptional.
About being too "aerial", yes I agree. Active Soccer 2023 is exactly in the mid of a transition between the Kick Off 2 / SWOS era and the first ISS PRO era. This is because Active Soccer 2019 is inspired by 16 bit classics and in this edition I am working more on the simulation part.
In tne future the idea is to get that "simcade" level that I am looking for.
About preferred foot and custom running animations it can be added in the future editions 👍

 

[TheFoxSoft]

Wow, fox... all that alone? OMG.. you are amazing! It looks like big teams with big money, mo cop studios as .... omg. .. I forget how the game was called... wait... UFL... ufl.. yes and they have worked on this game for a long time and it's still garbage.
Yes, your animations are still bad and physics is not great but hey, but looks like you are really talented and if you add 11 vs 11 I will come to help I have so many ideas about substitutions and how can work on a mode like that, and I'm pretty good with PS, CRD, AI, AF, and Vegas.

I agree animations and ball physics, of course are not comparable with PES or FIFA.
Again, this is a starting point, I am already studying solutions for the next editions.
Just consider I started to work on Active Soccer 2023 in September 2021, developing a football requires a lot of resources and time. I don't want to deceive anyone, 2-3 editions will be necessary to reach the game I am aiming for. ie: a simcade football game with deep managerial and tactical part.

Thanks everyone for the support. I really appreciate it! 👍

 

[Hayes]

I agree animations and ball physics, of course are not comparable with PES or FIFA.
Again, this is a starting point, I am already studying solutions for the next editions.
Just consider I started to work on Active Soccer 2023 in September 2021, developing a football requires a lot of resources and time. I don't want to deceive anyone, 2-3 editions will be necessary to reach the game I am aiming for. ie: a simcade football game with deep managerial and tactical part.

Thanks everyone for the support. I really appreciate it! 👍

So any chance for you guys to get FIFPRO License or is it too expensive to get ? Would be cool to get real player names. Afaik FIFPRO license is not exclusive, right ? I saw some of android games have FIFPRO License like dream league soccer

 

[bsmaff]

So any chance for you guys to get FIFPRO License or is it too expensive to get ? Would be cool to get real player names. Afaik FIFPRO license is not exclusive, right ? I saw some of android games have FIFPRO License like dream league soccer

Not really much point in paying for a license - With the game releasing on PC.
Just make it modable and real names will be available within hours of release.

 

[Emroth]

Not really much point in paying for a license - With the game releasing on PC.
Just make it modable and real names will be available within hours of release.

Dont forget about consoles. This game is scheduled for both, so its a bit arrogant statement.
Altho I agree that he doesnt need licenses. There are workarounds.
Apart from modding support, which obviously would solve all issues on PC - Edit mode for consoles would be greatly appreciated.
Old Pes style edit mode would be awesome - where you could change all the names, stats, kits and draw sponsors and badges in game.

I started to work on Active Soccer 2023 in September 2021, developing a football requires a lot of resources and time

This is still amazingly fast development considering that you started from scratch and were mostly on your own.
Now you will have some fundamentals that you can start tweaking in the future.
Hopefully soon you will also be able to get some help since the franchise might pick some attention. Its easy to see that you have wider scope than all other arcade kick-off style games from the past.

 

[vialli82]

Yes : take a look at AO Tennis and all : they got a support to download missing players.
You should not make it PC only : there's a lot of console gamers who wants to play your game. Like me and many people here.

So something like a plateform online, whatever if it's a simple website to made change and share would be great, and you can directy add the modding stuffs on the Edit mode > then when it's done "upload". And make a ranking by popularity of download or something like that

Thanks in advance and don't forget : more platform to play, more people will play your game, more download etc.
Please don't create a Steam exclusive game. We all hate exclusivity here. Now you will get help from Sony and Microsoft to convert your game, don't worry about that

We sincerely wants to play your game semi-arcade fun style with realistic career mode. What you did is innovating, and i can't give you my congratulations at each post : what you did is a titan work. And you started on 2021... It's unbelievable. Especially when you see some soulless football games try.
The one you purpose have a real soul, that's what's missing from all others football game, even the supposed AAA ones.

And i really think what i say, it's not because you're on Evo-web, and the one who created Active Soccer and i i'm licking your boots lol, i don't have anything to won to said it.

 

[Madmac79]

I'd completely ignore licenses and focus all the resources on gameplay/atmosphere/modalities as well. Then with a decent edit mode the problem doesn't even exist.

As for time, I think we are all more than aware that developing a good simcade might take a long time, plus you are working more or less alone - so nobody is really watching the clock. Personally I'm really hyped at the idea of a serious developer graduaòòy developing something like this, possibly giving an ear to the community in the meantime.

Make it the Dwarf Fortress of the football games !

 

[vialli82]

@Madmac79 Also completely don't care about licences, partnership when there's an edit mode.

For aesthetic i can do without carrying at all too, i'll see later.
But for database and real names, it's another story : i got hard to play without correcting it.

Finally a Football game with edit mode after tons of Online FUT copy/paste game.
I hope there's a Fifpro licence, the only important one for not having too much work. BUT there's also some others licences for some leagues apart.

Hope you won't get too much issue with Bundesliga for example. But i think it was a contract against Konami especially from EA.

Will probably correct teams and players names between two sessions

 

[marqisspes6]

I agree animations and ball physics, of course are not comparable with PES or FIFA.
Again, this is a starting point, I am already studying solutions for the next editions.
Just consider I started to work on Active Soccer 2023 in September 2021, developing a football requires a lot of resources and time. I don't want to deceive anyone, 2-3 editions will be necessary to reach the game I am aiming for. ie: a simcade football game with deep managerial and tactical part.

Thanks everyone for the support. I really appreciate it! 👍

Well we could probably mod most of the animations by our own when the game comes out if we found which files are and how to open them, about ball physics think the fact that even on pes5 we have changed them to the point we like it, although i know that probably will be some stuff that will come first, also animations are quite hard stuff to work on

 

[slamsoze]

@Madmac79 Also completely don't care about licences, partnership when there's an edit mode.

For aesthetic i can do without carrying at all too, i'll see later.
But for database and real names, it's another story : i got hard to play without correcting it.

Finally a Football game with edit mode after tons of Online FUT copy/paste game.
I hope there's a Fifpro licence, the only important one for not having too much work. BUT there's also some others licences for some leagues apart.

Hope you won't get too much issue with Bundesliga for example. But i think it was a contract against Konami especially from EA.

Will probably correct teams and players names between two sessions

If you have missed , there is a previous post, where he explained the legal issues, he had already with Bundesliga, leading him to very bad path and results.

And it pretty much prooved what you also were saying for years, that someone cannot even use the names of the Cities of Germany to resemble a fake one.

https://evoweb.uk/threads/active-soccer-2023.92430/#post-3888553

 

[bsmaff]

Dont forget about consoles. This game is scheduled for both, so its a bit arrogant statement.
Altho I agree that he doesnt need licenses. There are workarounds.
Apart from modding support, which obviously would solve all issues on PC - Edit mode for consoles would be greatly appreciated.
Old Pes style edit mode would be awesome - where you could change all the names, stats, kits and draw sponsors and badges in game.

Sorry, I missed the part where the game stated it was being released on consoles.
Only saw the opening forum, where it stated the game was being released on Steam - Hence why I said that licenses doesn't matter.

But I do stand that the licensing would be a waste of money providing a decent edit mode is available, where the correct team/player names can be added to the game.

 

[normazimuth]

Hi Chris, yes the career mode is really close to SWOS career mode.
Each player has different attributes (speed, acceleration, shot accuracy, shot power, pass, cross, header, defending, stamina, technique, aggression, keeping) and those reflects the behaviors of the players in the pitch. There is also a transfer screen in which you can analyze all the players on the market, or purchasing free agents or even legends (if you enable this option).
I agree with you about little depth of current arcade games, unfortunately Active Soccer is not known as many others but I put a lot of effort to recreate different tactics, movements of the players, 1 - 2 pass, pass on empty spaces, etc. I tried to offer a lot of way to play the game in the pitch.

This is a simulation of the AI

Sounds like a really promising project. I'm particularly interested in seeing a football game with interesting and varied cpu opponents.

Will the AI (cpu) players play to their individual attributes, so a strong cpu team could have certain players who are not so strong and that will be apparent on the pitch? eg. a cpu team can creates lots of chances but have a striker who tends to miss them, or they have a weak left-back so you can target your attacks down that side, or a weak goalkeeper who is more likely to spill the ball, so it is worth taking long shots at him as he may save it but only parry it back into the danger area?

Will the different cpu teams have different styles of play and tactics? And will cpu teams change tactics and formations during a match in reaction to match events?

I'm also one of those who grew up with Kick-Off 2 and SWOS. I seem to remember KO2 had a tactics editor where the pitch was divided into about 12 segments and you could set each of your players positions on the pitch when the ball was in each segment. It was a very nice approach to tactics.

 

[*aLe]

The more I read this thread, the more I think this is getting extremely interesting: a game caring about the offline players and putting the spotlight on the career mode was what many of us were looking for. From what I've seen it's being developed with passion and you're open to suggestions/constructive criticism and that's even a better sign.

I've been playing Active Soccer 2019 for a while during the weekend and I can't hide that it feels somehow rough (but I've already said that): the potential is there, the feeling is good (I managed to make it feel more similar to the good old Amiga games by disabling all the assists), but the gameplay feels a little clunky in terms of animations (turning, keepers diving and such). Of course I'm looking forward to the new version because already from the trailer it looks way better, so I have no doubt it will also play better.

I agree with what many of us said before though: being on a not-that-big budget, I don't think it would be that wise to spend some of it onto licences.
The chance to easily edit player and team names (and, well, maybe adding user-made kits, even if I don't think Xbox supports uploading things like PlayStation and PC do) would be enough I guess.
I'm not a fan of "fake" players like the ones you used in Active Soccer 2019 honestly, because I've always thought they take away some of the immersion (thinking about ISS 98's Belbiero for example... No way. I'd rather call him "Del Nero" as it does sound good and most of all proper in his native language) but I think they're the best solution to have people immediately recognize players when you can't call them by their real name).
I can't really ask for totally fictional players (which are of course different from fake ones in the terms that at the beginning of a career you won't know where to find that strong and experienced Portuguese striker that usually you'd find at Man Reds, you won't even know if such a player exists and you should resort to scouting) even if it would be the best solution for me from a "career immersion" point of view.

Keep it up @TheFoxSoft! 💪

 

[millossobek]

the potential is there, the feeling is good

Nice. Not to try to sound too poetic or anything, but feeling is the most important aspect of a football game. It's a collection of innumerable little things that, added up, create an entire gaming experience. I think that's one of the reasons why after all these years, PES 4, 5, and 6 remain almost universally loved in the community, these games got something right, whether it was a combination of gameplay or design, it's the experience of these games that have stood the test of time. Hearing that you liked the feeling of Active Soccer 2019, even if you found it somewhat rough around the edges, is very encouraging for the 2023 edition, as it seems to be a major upgrade! I agree, this thread is very interesting, there's a good number of us here who are looking forward to this and are passionate about football gaiming, and Active Soccer looks really promising! All the best @TheFoxSoft bro!

 

[vialli82]

If you have missed , there is a previous post, where he explained the legal issues, he had already with Bundesliga, leading him to very bad path and results.

And it pretty much prooved what you also were saying for years, that someone cannot even use the names of the Cities of Germany to resemble a fake one.

https://evoweb.uk/threads/active-soccer-2023.92430/#post-3888553

I didn't missed, i forgot that post...
Damn, why. Sincerely. Those owners of Bundesliga think they're like apart or "supreme" in the football full big panel or what?

At least Brasilian (also Ecuador) got a system to "protect their players" (they said, i don't know where they're really under protection) but they leave any games assigning fakes names. And on FM all fakes Brasileirao got fakes teams names, Ecuador i don't remember, but real players.

That game of exclusive licence throne must stop now. It's been exactly 17 years now. As much as i love Bundesliga since forever, i hate that, the people behind this.
Yes, it's a top 4 league in the world. They should be more open for all devs with their exclusives, they don't understand they litteraly "block" a bit devs to recreate full authenticity. And it's the players who paid the price.
When you know that a game got it since those 17 years, and another managerial game since 3-4 years... I don't see where's the problem for another game to have the rights too.

 

[TheFoxSoft]

Thanks again for your support. It motivates me to do my best.
@vialli82 the idea about a web based team /player editor is really great! It would even work on consoles.
@*aLe about Active Soccer 2019 I found it rough around the edges as well
@normazimuth this is an aspect I am working on. I would like to have each team to play differently, according to the manager way of playing and player skills. I honestly aware I can't implement everything in this release. I don't think I can create something as complex as I would like to do immediately. But something not too complex can be included in this release. Kick Off 2 has a very clever tactic system, something similar has been implemented in the game.

I can evaluate the FIFPro licensing in the future if it will fit the budget.
I also understand that I must make the game moddable

 

[*aLe]

Mate, may I suggest you a couple of things?

• Please, let us remap controls fully. Right now, in the Xbox One version of Active Soccer 2019 (which is the game I'm obviously basing the suggestions on), if I wanted to use 'X' for shooting I'd be forced to use 'X' also for sliding. I'd rather use 'B' as in PES/eFootball.
• A "one-button-does-all" scheme as in SWOS (with a "the longer you press, the higher the ball goes" approach) would also be cool.
• In Active Football 2019 it looks like when the game "decides" where a player must receive a pass, the player is "locked" and can't move away from that spot (or is forced to reach it, even against the user's will, if he's not already there... Like if there's a force field that pulls the player there): it would be cool if we could "free" the player from this lock (holding a button perhaps, much like PES's "super cancel") and move him freely even while receiving a pass (even if it means a more difficult first touch control).
• Somehow the players get confused at times (couldn't spot a "common" situation when this happened when I saw that, but I saw that two or three times already in, like, 20 matches played) and turn left-right-left-right quickly for a couple of seconds. Not game breaking, but not that good to see. I'm aware that it won't be fixed in 2019 (and I'm not asking you to do so by any means) but it's just a thing you may want to look at in 2023 (if it still happens at all).

Please @TheFoxSoft try not to see this as a bash at the old version of the game.
It's criticism of course, but it's meant to be as "constructive" as possible and it comes out of good will. ☺️

 

[TheFoxSoft]

you are welcome, your feeback is a good and constructive one and it helps me a lot. Thank you very much!
- I know what you mean, in Active Soccer 2023 the slide is remapped to Cross button like in PES
- One button does all will not be well received nowadays. I tried to do it with Active Soccer 1 and 2 but people are get used to play with multiple buttons. With the shooting and crossing button the more you hold the button the more higher / longer the shoot / cross will be. Did you try it?
- In Active Soccer 2023 (and if I remember well in AS2019 as well) you must press once the dash button to control the player and move him freely.
- that ball control has been rewritten from scratch, any found issue will not be present.

May I ask if you would like to have in AS2023 the option to disable all the assistance? I mean everything full manual, including pass reception and dribbling?

 

[millossobek]

May I ask if you would like to have in AS2023 the option to disable all the assistance? I mean everything full manual, including pass reception and dribbling?

Personally, I am a fan of pass assistance 1, but I'm sure there are quite a few that would like to play manual, so having this option is a good one to cater to everyone's tastes.

 

[normazimuth]

you are welcome, your feeback is a good and constructive one and it helps me a lot. Thank you very much!
- I know what you mean, in Active Soccer 2023 the slide is remapped to Cross button like in PES
- One button does all will not be well received nowadays. I tried to do it with Active Soccer 1 and 2 but people are get used to play with multiple buttons. With the shooting and crossing button the more you hold the button the more higher / longer the shoot / cross will be. Did you try it?
- In Active Soccer 2023 (and if I remember well in AS2019 as well) you must press once the dash button to control the player and move him freely.
- that ball control has been rewritten from scratch, any found issue will not be present.

May I ask if you would like to have in AS2023 the option to disable all the assistance? I mean everything full manual, including pass reception and dribbling?

Personally, I would like to have the option of everything full manual, provided the game still works well, unless it is very difficult to program whilst retaining a decent level of coherent gameplay. And to help balance the gameplay, it's possibly important that if the player is on full manual (and that makes that game more difficult to play), that the cpu team is also somehow less "assisted/scripted" .

In terms of multiple buttons, do you think there's scope to have a button to specifically choose to header the ball. As you know, when receiving a high ball in PES, you press the shoot button and the game decides whether to perform a normal kick, chest the ball, overhead kick or header, based on context but sometimes makes a choice that you didn't want. It would be interesting to see if you could implement a control system where the user always decides what action to perform in those situations, even if it means that if they make a bad choice, the outcome is the player you're controlling makes a mess of it on the pitch. eg. they receive a high cross and press kick instead of header and completely miss the ball or attempt an overhead kick, or they receive a lower cross and press header instead of kick, so the player dives down to try to header it and either pulls of a diving header or makes a mess of it. Possibly do it on top of existing pass and shoot buttons as a button combo, eg. pressing shoot + L1 = headed shot, pressing pass + L1 = headed pass.

It possibly adds too much complication for you to program that?

 

[bsmaff]

@TheFoxSoft

Do you have an estimated release date for the game?
Or if you plan on making it early access before release?