Prince of Padel

Development log

What changed between rallies.

Player-facing notes from each public Prince of Padel build—new features, gameplay tuning, and the fixes that make the next match feel better.

Play Beta 0.7.0

Beta 0.7.0

Beta 0.7.0: Online, Levels and Unlocks

Latest build

The biggest update yet, now live on itch.io and here on the site.

  • Online: play a friend with a room code, or Quick Match.
  • Level up: XP, 16 levels per character, stat points, and rewards up to the Master Outfit.
  • Unlocks: start with Prince and Opal and unlock the rest by mastering a skill with each.
  • Every CPU now has its own play style: Opal rushes the net, Celeste lives at the back, Athena lobs deep off your glass.
  • Reworked signature moves, including Prince's new FIREBALL.
  • Stamina, an umpire calling the score, a courtside crowd, and new art for every character.
  • A Daily Challenge, personal records and a juicier results screen.

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Build archive

Previous builds

Open any release to see what changed in that version.

Beta 0.6.2Touch Controls & First-Serve FixView build notes

The latest 0.6.2 build is live through itch.io, bringing a floating touch stick, flick-to-jump movement, swipe shots, and a fix that keeps the server behind the service line on the first serve.

Touch movement

Move and jump with one thumb

Touch the bottom-left of the court to bring up a floating stick. Drag left or right to move, then flick upward to jump—even while running. The stick follows longer drags to make changing direction easier.

Shots & signature moves

Choose your shot with a swipe

Tap HIT for a flat shot, swipe toward the net for topspin, or swipe down for slice. LOB has its own button, and MOVE activates your signature move when the Crown meter is full. Each HIT gesture now produces one swing.

Match polish

A cleaner start to every match

The first serve now respects the server's movement boundary. Touch tutorials explain the new stick gestures, and mobile browser resizing no longer interrupts a held run in landscape.

Fixes & polish

  • Fixed the opening serve allowing the server to move beyond the service area.
  • Refined touch shot selection so a swipe does not trigger an extra swing.
  • Updated jump coaching to explain flick-to-jump and made the pause icon clearer on phones.
  • Kept touch movement active when the mobile browser's address bar resizes the game view in landscape.
  • Updated the website to itch.io upload 19682987, with fullscreen support and a direct itch.io link.
Beta 0.4.8Grand Finals Stadium & Quick PlayView build notes

Beta 0.4.8 brought a new Grand Finals stadium, a Prince home-court opening for Quick Play, and a refreshed title screen that put Prince face to face with a changing challenger.

Grand Finals

A stadium worthy of the crown

The Crown final moved to a dusk stadium with a new court backdrop, front-row rail, and audience presentation.

Quick Play

Prince starts on home court

Play Now opened Prince's ladder on his own court. The title screen paired him with a randomized challenger, while the full setup path remained available through Start Game.

Learn

How to Play is easier to find

The title menu gained a dedicated How to Play page, making the game's controls and basic rules easier to discover before the first rally.

Fixes & polish

  • Let the local two-player receiver move within their service area before the serve.
  • Refined the title screen around a Prince-versus-challenger face-off.
  • Updated ladder court assignments so Prince's first Quick Play match begins at home while later opponents keep their own courts.
Beta 0.4.7Clearer Ball & Rally TrailView build notes

Beta 0.4.7 made the ball easier to follow with refreshed artwork, a shorter fading trail, and an optional high-visibility ball setting.

Ball

A clearer look in every rally

The ball gained a brighter center, clean seam lines, and a distinct edge to help it stand out against the courts without changing how it moves or collides.

Options

High visibility when you want it

A High-visibility ball switch in Options adds a stronger outline. It remains available when other visual effects are turned off.

Rallies

A lighter trail behind the action

The shot-colored trail fades sooner and stays closer to the ball, reducing the long afterimage on fast shots.

Fixes & polish

  • Saved the high-visibility preference across visits and applied it in matches and training.
  • Kept the ball readable when screen shake, flashes, and trails are disabled.
  • Preserved ball physics, hitboxes, and shot behavior while updating its presentation.
Beta 0.4.6Character Courts, First-Match Guide & Clubhouse MixView build notes

Beta 0.4.6 gives every ladder opponent a home court, teaches new players during their first match, and brings more life and a newly balanced soundtrack to every rally.

Courts

A home court for each opponent

The ladder now takes you to each opponent’s own court. Prince has a home court too, and the Crown final has a royal backdrop, rail, and watching audience.

First match

Learn while you play

A guided first match teaches the controls on court. Friendlier ladder tuning gives new players more room to learn, while control and stamina matter more during rallies.

Presentation

More personality in every point

All eight players gained point-won celebrations, with stronger contact effects and match reactions. New Clubhouse music plays with Drew’s approved mix levels.

Fixes & polish

  • Adjusted CPU mistakes and lob depth to make early ladder matches fairer.
  • Improved airborne smash facing and kept its animation through landing.
  • Added point reactions, rally intensity, and impact effects that follow the match state.
  • Fixed a tutorial crash at the end of a celebration and corrected point-winner facing.
  • Replaced the old match music with Clubhouse and applied the approved levels for music stems and sound effects.
Beta 0.4.1Faster Loading & One-Click PlayView build notes

Build 0.4.1 got players from the title screen into a Crown Ladder match with one selection, while keeping the faster loading and steadier performance introduced earlier in the release.

Quick play

One choice, straight to the court

A new Play Now option started a Crown Ladder match immediately with Prince, a ready opponent, and the Pier court—no setup screens required.

Loading

Into the game in seconds

The first download stayed under 5 MB, with character, court, and match assets loading only when needed instead of holding up the title screen.

Timing

The same speed on every screen

Game timing stayed consistent below 60 FPS, preventing slower computers from slipping into slow motion after hits and during demanding rallies.

Fixes & polish

  • Refined the title panel spacing so Play Now and the full mode list remained balanced and easy to scan.
  • Made keyboard and pointer selection follow the same reliable quick-start route into the serve tip and match.
  • Added repeatable checks for the complete Play Now journey from the title screen to the court.
  • Added a Canvas-renderer fallback for computers without graphics acceleration and older browser setups.
  • Kept match timing consistent on displays below 60 FPS so demanding rallies did not fall into slow motion.
Beta 0.4.0Full Roster & Audio OverhaulView build notes

Build 0.4.0 completed the eight-player roster, introduced a layered match-audio system, and delivered a redesigned title screen for the Crown Ladder era.

Roster

Eight players, one crown

Trinity, Celeste, Ray, and Athena joined Prince, Karma, Asher, and Opal, completing the eight-player cast with full animation, portrait, victory, and defeat artwork.

Audio

The court comes alive

A new layered audio engine added match music, character movement, menu sounds, shot impact, court ambience, and better-positioned effects throughout play.

Title screen

A new opening statement

The redesigned title screen brought new Crown artwork, clearer play-mode tabs, saved-ladder progress, and opponent-colored ladder markers into one focused presentation.

Fixes & polish

  • Assigned a unique interface color to every playable character for clearer selection and matchup screens.
  • Improved sound panning, music restarts, footwork, menu feedback, and smash-impact timing.
  • Refreshed Prince's portrait and result poses to match the expanded cast.
  • Made the local two-player release smoke test more reliable.
Beta 0.3.1Crown Ladder & Expanded RosterView build notes

Build 0.3.1 added two playable characters, full character and court selection, and a new Crown Ladder campaign with saved progress.

Roster

Meet Asher and Opal

Asher and Opal joined Prince and Karma as playable characters, each with their own complete animation, portrait, victory, and defeat artwork.

Ladder

Climb for the crown

Players could take on the single-player Crown Ladder, continue a saved run, and reach the Champion screen at the end of the climb.

Selection

Choose your matchup

Character Select and Court Select screens made it easy to set both players, then take the match to the Crown boss court.

Fixes & polish

  • Refined the title screen so the Start Game card expands cleanly when a saved ladder run is available.
  • Unified menu grids, headers, fonts, and controller hints across character select, court select, ladder, versus, results, rules, and serve-tip screens.
  • Updated Karma's portrait, result poses, idle art, and Crown court presentation.
Beta 0.2.2Prince & Karma Animation UpdateView build notes

Build 0.2.2 refreshed Prince and Karma's movement and shot animations, with a more natural ball hold and drop before each serve.

Prince

More expressive movement

New run, jump, drive, slice, lob, smash, and serve animation sequences made Prince's actions easier to read during a rally.

Karma

A redesigned rival

Karma's new look carried through his ready stance, movement, and shot animations.

Serve

Ball in hand

The ball began appearing in each player's hand before the serve and dropping into the strike sequence.

Fixes & polish

  • Adjusted Prince's smash timing so the contact pose appears when the racket meets the ball.
  • Aligned the new Prince and Karma animation frames with their in-game actions.
Beta 0.2.1Match Flow & Controller UpdateView build notes

Build 0.2.1 made it faster to set up a match, clearer to learn the rules, and easier to play from a keyboard or gamepad.

Match setup

Choose how you play

A pre-match flow clarifies whether you are facing Karma or playing local two-player, with difficulty and input choices in one place.

Controls

Better gamepad guidance

Menus show the active input device, explain each player's controls, and give feedback when a controller connects, disconnects, or needs to reconnect.

Interface

Rules, options, and match clarity

Refreshed menus add a six-rule primer, clearer audio and visual-effect settings, and more readable serve, score, rally, and result feedback.

Fixes & polish

  • Bundled condensed display fonts for consistent game text across browsers.
  • Added gamepad button artwork and clearer keyboard and controller prompts.
  • Refreshed the Pier, Sea, and Snow court backgrounds.
Beta 0.2.0Controller & Feel UpdateView build notes

Build 0.2.0 made Prince of Padel easier to pick up, more precise at contact, and cleaner to play on the web.

Input

Gamepad support

Play through menus, serves, rallies, and pause screens with a controller. Local two-player can use a gamepad on either side of the court.

Gameplay

Sharper shot contact

Tighter contact zones reward cleaner timing, while contact quality has a more direct effect on shot power.

Presentation

Cleaner match setup

The title and match-selection flow became easier to read, with clearer one-player and two-player choices and a renamed Training Facility court.

Fixes & polish

  • Corrected Prince’s jump-frame scale and ground alignment.
  • Kept the title-screen vignette while clearing the effect from matches and training.
  • Improved full-frame scaling when the game is played on the website or inside another game host.