Tuesday, 23 June 2026devblog

Passing, switching, and a broadcast camera

The controls finally clicked into place: passing where control follows the ball, tap-to-switch defending, a broadcast camera, and a one-frame freeze that haunted every switch.

Day 6CONTROLFOLLOWS THE BALL

Day 6, and the game finally plays like a football game rather than a physics demo.

  • Passing. Press A and the ball goes to a team-mate, and control follows the ball. A give-and-go now feels like a give-and-go: dribble, pass, and you are the receiver running onto it.
  • Player switching. Out of possession, tap to jump to your closest defender and close the attacker down yourself.
  • Broadcast camera. A FIFA-style TV angle that pans with play instead of sitting behind the player.
  • AI that holds a formation instead of chasing the ball. Early, but it keeps its shape.
Bug of the week

Every time you switched players there was a one-frame freeze. It took far too long to find. The pawn's velocity collapsed to zero the instant it took possession, which blipped the run animation to idle for a single frame before the new input arrived. Carrying the velocity across the swap in C++ fixed it. One line, hours of hunting.

Shipped: passing · player switching · broadcast camera