Hi Folks,

I sincerely hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season! Here at Axis Games, we took a nice break and enjoyed lots of time with family and friends. We are now back to full-time development, and I’m happy to share some of the things that we’ve been working on since our last update.

 

Player Nameplate Upgrade

This is a small update, but one that adds a lot of value. Visible in the image below, player nameplates have been given a much-needed upgrade. In addition to the player’s name, their position and number will now be shown. This should be helpful in identifying specific players, and the team-colored background helps make it more visible.

 

User Action Indicators

One of the goals for Axis 2026 is to increase the engagement and enjoyment when controlling players. To address this, we’ve added a new User Action Indicator feature. These indicators will pop up whenever a specific action can or is about to happen. Here’s how it works: whenever certain user-controlled players are in a position to or are already about to perform an action, an indicator will pop up above their head with a button, the name of the action, and a progress bar. If the user holds the specified button, the progress bar will fill up (it fills up quickly). If the progress bar gets full before the action starts, the player will get a temporary boost in the appropriate attribute for that action only. For example, in the image below with the CATCH user action indicator, if the user can hold A long enough to fill the green bar before the catch starts, the receiver will gain a small, temporary boost to their catch attribute for this catch attempt only.

The purpose of this feature is to make gameplay more interactive. Consistent feedback revealed that some find playing defense in Axis 2024 boring, so this allows user input that is meaningful and provides a reason to control a player on defense – in addition to making actions on offense more rewarding. Indicators will show for a variety of different actions including, but not limited to: catch, break tackle, tackle, defend / intercept pass. For spectated matches or matches played in Code Mode, User Action Indicators will not show. Additionally, the feature can be turned off in the options, if desired. Finally, for players who still wish to sit back and let the AI control all 11 players on defense, we’ve added in the ability to completely deselect a player. Before the ball is snapped, players can cycle between which player they want to control. Cycling past the last or first player will deselect any player, meaning the AI will control all 11 players. At any point, the user can press the A/X button to select the nearest defender to the ball.

 

Star Player Indicators

Another small upgrade we’ve added is an indicator below star players on the field. The indicator is the Axis Games ‘X’ logo and will be visible under players who have an A or A+ rating. Generally, teams have between 0-2 players in this category. The indicator is helpful in identifying players to avoid or target when reading the field pre-snap.

 

Pass Trajectory, Lob Passes, & Pass Type Display

The final area that we worked on for this update was related to passes. We spent time working on the pass trajectory, ensuring that both short and deep passes used the proper angle and speed. Additionally, we added the lob pass type. Users and AI can now utilize three pass types: normal, bullet, and lob. To throw a normal pass, press and release the pass button. To throw a bullet pass, press and hold the pass button. And to throw a lob pass, double press the pass button. To visually identify which type of pass is thrown, a small display will accompany lob and bullet passes. These changes help improve the overall pass game, as different pass angles and speeds are needed in various situations.

 

As always, we would love to hear your feedback! Feel free to reach out to us using any of the platforms below!

Discord: https://discord.gg/YFuF9TSZKV
Twitter / X: https://twitter.com/axisfootball?lang=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AxisGames/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theaxisfootball/

Best,

Danny Jugan
Founder & Lead Developer, Axis Games