In the previous DevLog we did a quick introduction to the basic gameplay loop in Hardcourt Balls. I'll follow this up with a more detailed breakdown of the mechanics soon, but first I want to provide an important missing piece from that last overview. Namely, the Serve, which we simply skipped over last time. And considering it's probably the most important stroke in tennis, that feels wrong.
So today I want to touch on the basic Serve game mechanics. Again, we'll skip over some nuances in the interest of giving a concise overview, and we'll get to more details in later installments.
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Unlike regular strokes, when serving you cannot target the entire court but are restricted to the 6 tiles behind the applicable service court. Here's a graphic:
The required roll to execute a successful serve is 2, meaning that a 0 and 1 would lead to a second serve, while a 2 or better would put the ball into play. If it ends up in play, the usual modifiers apply to the opponent's return, meaning if you roll high, it may be very hard for your opponent to do a strong return (or any return at all). Since the bar to clear (a 2) is low, more often than not this puts immediate pressure on the returning player. Just like in real life tennis, the serving player often has the upper hand.
But there is more.
First off on a roll of a natural 9, the serve is an ace! The opposing player automatically fails his return, and the point goes to the serving player. (There are some additional modifiers here that I will skip over for today; we'll cover them when I explain player stats in a future DevLog).
Secondly, each player has a Serve skill and a Return skill. These skills provide modifiers to the dice roll of the serving player, by either increasing the roll the player has to make (Return skill) or decreasing it (Serve skill).
This is best explained with an example: if the serving player has a Serve skill of 1, he now only needs to roll a 1 or higher for a successful serve (2 - 1). If the returning player has a Return skill of 2, the roll to put the ball in play is now a 3 (2 -1 + 2)! That means, on a 0, 1 or 2, it's second serve!
By the way, I should also mention that the usual movement modifiers apply to the return, as well. In other words, if the returning player has to move to reach the ball (e.g. if you serve into the corner), an additional +1 or +2 may apply. And if you are wondering why then you should ever target any other tile than the one with +2... that's a great question that I will answer in-depth when we get past game mechanics and start talking some tactics in later DevLogs!
Oh, and one more thing. Notice that I mentioned a "natural 9" being necessary for an ace. A core mechanic of Hardcourt Balls is that modifiers may never yield results less than 0 and higher than 9 AND that a natural 0 and a natural 9 are not the same as reaching a 0 or 9 through modifiers. More on that, and why it's a very important component of Hardcourt Balls, in a later DevLog!
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