AUTOBALLGet it on Steam

Patch notes

What's new on the pitch

Every update to Auto Ball, newest first: new animals, balance changes, fixes and the little things that make a match feel better.

Latest: v0.184.3 - A fresh look
v0.184.3Latest

A fresh look

A new font across the whole game, refreshed portraits for nearly every character, and a smaller shared unit pool that makes contesting a build matter.

  • 1 balance
  • 4 polish
  • 2 fixed

Balance Changes

  • The shared unit pool is smaller. In an 8-player lobby there are now 18 copies of each 1-cost character, 16 of each 2-cost and 14 of each 3-cost (down from 30, 26 and 22), with one extra copy per tier for each player beyond two. Since a 3-star unit takes six copies, only two or three players can 3-star the same character - if you all chase the same build, someone comes up short.

UI & Quality of Life

  • The game has a new font, Exo 2, used everywhere from menus to the match HUD.
  • 31 of the 32 characters have refreshed portraits with more of their animal in them: quills, manes, markings and other details. Their colours are unchanged, so everyone is still easy to recognise.
  • Star ranks on the setup screen's bench and field now use the same outlined stars as the pitch, sitting on top of each unit instead of a text star in the middle.
  • On the results screen, the Field and Bench labels now head their own groups of units. The Bench label used to trail the bench and read like one more unit.

Bug Fixes

  • Opening a long game in Replays no longer squashes the card and spills its rounds out past the border.
  • A full 16-unit roster on the results screen no longer gets cut off at the bottom when the bench wraps to a second line.
v0.183.1

Achievements

Auto Ball now has 34 Steam achievements to chase, plus clearer star ranks on the pitch.

  • 4 new
  • 1 fixed
  • 1 polish

New Features

  • 34 Steam achievements, from finishing the tutorial and winning your first round to reaching the Champion division, scoring a hat-trick, winning with a ball your team set on fire, and fielding every character at least once.
  • Achievements count games you have already played, so progress from your existing history unlocks as soon as you launch.
  • Unranked online games now count toward your achievements too, not just ranked ones.
  • Achievement names and descriptions are translated into every language the game supports.

Bug Fixes

  • The unit pool no longer marks characters as "in your shop" during a match, when the shop is about to be rerolled anyway.

UI & Quality of Life

  • Star ranks above units on the pitch are now outlined five-point stars instead of diamonds, easier to read on both shades of grass. A 3-star unit's middle star is larger and raised so the top rank stands out.
v0.182.0

Version 0.182.0

This release adds a shared unit pool display, a new stamina and ability charge meter, patrol route previews during setup, and a simpler way to set up local and private games.

  • 3 new
  • 2 balance
  • 6 fixed
  • 6 polish

New Features

  • You can now see how many copies of each character are left in the shared unit pool, including during the match.
  • During setup, dragging a character shows a preview of the route it will patrol.
  • The game guide can now sort its characters by unit type.

Balance Changes

  • The Capybara no longer stands still when nobody on its team is tired. It now follows the teammate with the least stamina, including one who has collapsed, so it is already there when they get back up.
  • The Monkey has been toned down: its 2-star and 3-star abilities have swapped. It now gets the short speed burst after touching the ball at 2 stars, and only passes to its most advanced teammate on touch once it reaches 3 stars.

Bug Fixes

  • Chasing players caught level with the ball no longer jitter on the spot. They now get round behind it.
  • The Spider's web shot can no longer hit a fireball.
  • The standings now stay accurate during a match.
  • Scores no longer overflow their space in the standings.
  • Fixed a graphical glitch on the home screen.
  • The first time you launch the game, it now starts in your Steam language.

UI & Quality of Life

  • A new stamina and ability charge meter appears on each player during the match.
  • Setting up a local or private game is much simpler and now comes down to two questions.
  • Online games now start with a 3-second countdown.
  • Ranked players queuing together are no longer split up by rating gaps when the queue is thin, so you play with other people instead of a lobby full of bots.
  • The leaderboard and Career pages show a loading animation while they load.
  • In the sandbox, dropping a character onto an occupied tile now swaps, moves or pushes the units already there, the same way the setup screen does.
v0.177.0

Version 0.177.0

Chasers now play smarter around the ball, and local games pause while you're in settings.

  • 3 fixed
  • 1 polish

Bug Fixes

  • Chasing players no longer knock the ball into their own goal by running straight at it from upfield. They curve round the ball instead.
  • A ball pinned against your own end line is now pushed along the goal line toward the nearer sideline, rather than into your goal.
  • The Lynx's Exhausting Burst no longer fires the wrong way when the Lynx is upfield of the ball.

UI & Quality of Life

  • Opening the settings menu in a local game now pauses it, in setup and in the match. Closing settings picks up exactly where you left off. This covers games against bots, the tutorial, the sandbox and replays. Online games are unaffected.
v0.176.2

Version 0.176.2

This release brings redrawn ability effects, a new Enhanced effects option, a redesigned settings screen, and a practice sandbox that now looks and works like a real game.

  • 2 new
  • 2 fixed
  • 5 polish

New Features

  • Every ability's visual effect has been redrawn with much more detail. Porcupine quills look like real quills, beams have a bright core, ice tiles show crystal facets, the Beaver's wall has wood grain, and glows and shockwaves are soft rings instead of flat discs. The abilities themselves work exactly as before.
  • New "Enhanced effects" option in Video settings, on by default. Turn it off for better performance on weaker machines or phones.

Bug Fixes

  • Pressing Tab in the practice sandbox no longer starts a random demo match. Use Run to play your board, and Tab to get back to it afterwards.
  • The language picker in settings no longer overlaps the section below it.

UI & Quality of Life

  • The settings screen has been redesigned. Each tab is organized into titled sections of full-width rows, on/off options are sliding switches, and volume is picked straight from a row of level buttons instead of tapping through the levels.
  • Hints in settings wrap neatly instead of running off the edge.
  • Japanese, Korean and Chinese text in the interface uses improved fonts.
  • The practice sandbox synergy panel now looks and works like the one in a real game, with the emblem, tier dots, progress count, and a hover card with the details.
  • In the practice sandbox, hover over a unit and press S to remove it.
v0.175.2

Version 0.175.2

  • 1 fixed

Bug Fixes

  • On Windows, launching the game no longer opens an empty command prompt window alongside it.
v0.175.1

The tutorial update

New to Auto Ball? Your first game now comes with a coach.

  • 6 new
  • 1 polish

New Features

  • A guided tutorial for your first game. Over your first three rounds a coach walks you through buying units, placing them, synergies, rerolling, leveling up, items and the tournament table.
  • Your first matches pause at key moments - kickoff, abilities, goals, misses, running out of stamina - to explain what is happening.
  • Stuck on a step? "Do it for me" makes the move for you.
  • New players are offered the tutorial on first launch, and you can replay it any time from Settings.
  • When the tutorial is done it hands over, and the same game carries on as a normal 14-round tournament.
  • The tutorial is available in every supported language.

UI & Quality of Life

  • The standings now tag the team you play next.