CARDED: Groups to Glory — Update 1.2.1 Available Now

Update 1.2.1 Available Now

Update 1.2.1 is now live for CARDED: Groups to Glory.

This update focuses on progression reliability, tournament integrity, reward flow and several major issues that could interrupt or distort a run.

Update 1.2.1 improves qualification logic, repairs knockout progression and Performance Needed scaling, completes the visual knockout bracket, reworks Tactic rewards and strengthens save recovery across several important systems.

Run Progression Improvements

Mathematical Qualification Elimination

Qualification campaigns now end as soon as it becomes mathematically impossible to reach the required points total.

The game now tracks:

• current qualification points
• the active path’s required points
• qualifying fixtures played
• qualifying fixtures remaining
• the maximum number of points still available

A run remains active while the required points total can still be reached exactly.

Once qualification becomes impossible, the eliminating Match Result is still shown before the run proceeds directly to the Failed to Qualify screen.

The game will no longer continue into unnecessary:

• Match Rewards
• Events
• Training
• Training Cards
• Press Conferences
• additional qualifying fixtures

after the campaign has already been mathematically eliminated.

Qualification Tracking Corrections

Qualification points, targets and remaining fixtures now use one authoritative path-specific calculation.

This corrects cases where:

• later qualifying fixtures were assigned to misleading internal stage slots
• earned points were displayed as zero at the end of a run
• the failure screen used a different target from the Run Checkpoint
• structured run information reported a different required-points total
• a failed campaign continued for several fixtures after qualification was already impossible

The Failed to Qualify screen now displays the correct points earned and the correct target for the active regional path.

Uzbekistan’s authored qualification target has also been corrected to the intended 11 points.

Knockout Stage Improvements

Knockout Progression and Replay Protection

Fixed a major progression issue that could repeatedly send the player into the same knockout fixture.

Player-controlled knockout matches now use stable bracket-match identities throughout:

• Match Preview
• Match Calculation
• Match Result
• post-match progression
• saving and loading
• bracket advancement

Already-resolved knockout fixtures can no longer be replayed to generate additional rewards or conflicting results.

Affected saves that became trapped on a previously completed fixture can now safely reconcile their stored result and continue to the correct next round.

Existing authoritative match results are preserved rather than overwritten.

Knockout Performance Needed

Fixed knockout Performance Needed values dropping to an incorrect legacy scale.

Knockout matches previously lost the authored tournament target after entering the bracket and could fall back to values of approximately 30,000, even when the preceding tournament matches required close to one million Performance.

Knockout Performance Needed now continues the same tournament-scale progression used before the knockout stage.

The raw knockout progression now increases through:

• Round of 32
• Round of 16
• Quarter-finals
• Semi-finals
• Final and third-place match

Existing opponent-strength and run-difficulty modifiers continue to apply.

Match Preview, Match Calculation and Match Result now use the same prepared Performance Needed value.

Reloading a prepared knockout fixture no longer produces a different target.

Complete Knockout Brackets

Knockout brackets now resolve every remaining AI fixture in a completed round before preparing the next round.

Previously, the game could resolve only the matches required to determine the player’s next opponent. This left unrelated branches of the visual bracket blank.

The bracket now completes each round as follows:

• 16 total results after the Round of 32
• 24 total results after the Round of 16
• 28 total results after the Quarter-finals
• 30 total results after the Semi-finals
• 32 total results after the Final and third-place match

All upcoming fixtures now receive their participants once the required preceding round has been completed.

Opening the Knockout Bracket in Run Information is now strictly read-only and cannot generate results, consume randomisation or alter the tournament.

Final and Third-Place Completion

The Final and third-place match are now completed as a linked placement pair.

If the player reaches the Final, the AI-controlled third-place match is resolved at tournament completion.

If the player reaches the third-place match, the AI-controlled Final is resolved so the tournament champion is still known.

This ensures the completed tournament contains:

• a Final result
• a third-place result
• a confirmed champion
• complete placement information
• all 32 knockout results

Tactic Reward Rework

Tactic rewards have been rebalanced to require more deliberate squad building.

Exact-Match Tactic Upgrades

A Tactic reward can now upgrade only the exact same Tactic currently equipped.

For example:

• Tiki-Taka can upgrade equipped Tiki-Taka
• Tiki-Taka cannot upgrade equipped Low Block
• a different Tactic can instead be equipped or converted

When the rewarded Tactic matches the equipped Tactic, the available choices are:

• Upgrade
• Convert

When the rewarded Tactic differs from the equipped Tactic, the available choices are:

• Equip
• Convert

When no Tactic is equipped, the reward can be equipped or converted but cannot be used as a generic upgrade.

Tactic rewards can no longer upgrade an unrelated equipped Tactic.

In-Place Tactic Conversion

Tactic conversion has been rebuilt to remain entirely inside Match Rewards.

Converting a Tactic now immediately replaces that reward with its generated Attribute rewards in the same reward list.

The player no longer leaves Match Rewards or enters a separate Training Cards screen.

The conversion preserves:

• the existing four-to-eight Attribute reward return
• the existing generated Attribute values
• all unrelated Match Rewards
• the original position of the converted reward
• stable reward identity through saving and loading

The post-match flow cannot proceed until all converted Attribute rewards and all other remaining Match Rewards have been resolved.

Reward Flow Improvements

Match Reward routing has received a major reliability pass.

Fixed cases where converting a Tactic could:

• discard unresolved rewards
• skip the remaining Match Rewards screen
• proceed directly to Press
• skip Events
• skip Training
• skip ordinary Training Cards

The game now distinguishes between:

• ordinary Match Rewards
• ordinary Training Cards
• Performance Review rewards and cards
• legacy Tactic conversion cards
• terminal match routing

Events, Training and Press Conferences can no longer begin while ordinary Match Rewards remain unresolved.

Reward instance identities are now validated more consistently before consumption, replacement and save restoration.

Coach and Performance Review Fixes

Performance Review Staff Lock

Fixed completed Performance Reviews sometimes leaving staff management permanently locked.

Successful Performance Review actions could previously leave temporary processing state active after the review had already finished.

This could prevent the player from:

• Scrapping an active coach
• replacing an active coach
• recruiting from a Coach Pack
• using a Coaching Course
• reordering staff

Temporary Performance Review action state is now cleared at the correct completion point.

A genuine unresolved Performance Review staff action will still block incompatible staff changes until the required choice has been completed.

Invalid or stale review state can now recover safely without requiring the game to be restarted.

Coach Pack Reliability

Improved Coach Pack transaction handling across recruitment, replacement, conversion and full-staff management.

Fixed successful Coach Pack actions leaving processing state active after completion.

The game now preserves and validates:

• the active Coach Pack instance
• the original coach choices
• the selected staff action
• reward origin
• transaction completion
• save and load restoration

Normal reward generation now limits the standard Coach Pack family to one base Coach Pack per reward screen.

A separate bonus Coach Pack can still replace one ordinary reward when its bonus roll succeeds.

Terminal Match Improvements

The player’s final playable placement match now ends the campaign immediately after Match Result.

After completing the Final or third-place match, the flow is now:

Match Result
→ Continue
→ Tournament Outcome

The game no longer sends the player through an unnecessary final sequence of:

• Match Rewards
• Coach Packs
• Events
• Training
• Training Cards
• ordinary Press Conference questions

after there are no remaining fixtures.

Final wins, Final losses, third-place wins and third-place losses all use the appropriate direct terminal route.

Run Complete Header

True terminal screens now display RUN COMPLETE in the top bar.

The game no longer retains a stale opponent under Next Match after the campaign has already ended.

This applies to completed outcomes including:

• Failed to Qualify
• tournament elimination
• Tournament Won
• runner-up
• third place
• fourth place

Match Result remains unchanged until the player presses Continue.

A Semi-final loss also continues to display the upcoming third-place opponent because another playable fixture still remains.

Match and Tournament Records

Resolved player matches now use a canonical match-record system designed to preserve one authoritative record for each fixture.

Player match records include:

• run identity
• fixture identity
• stage and round information
• teams
• scoreline
• winner, loser or draw
• player result
• stored Match Calculation information

Duplicate equivalent records are safely reused.

Conflicting attempts preserve the first authoritative result rather than rewriting match history.

AI group and knockout fixtures now also receive complete stored results and deterministic scorelines.

These records support more reliable:

• Fixture History
• Knockout Brackets
• save recovery
• future tournament records
• run diagnostics

Save and Resume Improvements

Update 1.2.1 expands save and recovery handling across several major run states.

Improved save and load support for:

• unresolved Match Rewards
• in-place Tactic conversions
• legacy Tactic conversion cards
• Coach Pack transactions
• Performance Review actions
• qualification viability
• mathematical elimination
• knockout Match Preview
• prepared Performance Needed values
• partial knockout brackets
• resolved but unadvanced knockout fixtures
• Final and third-place completion
• terminal screens

Loaded reward and card collections now replace existing in-memory collections rather than being appended to them.

Legacy or incomplete saves are reconciled conservatively without rerolling known results or fabricating missing rewards.

Existing v1.2 profiles and current runs remain supported.

Terminal Profile Protection

Terminal Career XP, profile statistics, unlock tokens and progression rewards now use a persistent commit-once registry tied to the run.

Reloading or reopening a completed run can no longer apply the same terminal profile rewards multiple times.

The terminal transaction now distinguishes between:

• a new commit request
• a successful new application
• an already-completed run
• a failed transaction

Compatibility fields from older runs are still reconciled, while the persistent run registry remains the authoritative duplicate-protection system.

Interface and Feedback Improvements

• Added RUN COMPLETE presentation to true terminal screens
• Improved qualification status and point presentation
• Improved failed-run messaging
• Improved Tactic reward option clarity
• Removed the unnecessary screen transition during Tactic conversion
• Improved Knockout Bracket population
• Improved missing-participant diagnostics
• Improved Match Preview and Match Result target consistency
• Improved staff-action rejection feedback
• Improved recovery feedback for contradictory run state
• Improved terminal state cleanup

Diagnostics and Stability Improvements

The internal run-event logger has been substantially expanded to make progression and save issues easier to identify.

Structured run exports now include:

• major screen chronology
• route-selection reasons
• fixture and stage context
• reward and Training Card state
• Tactic reward decisions
• Performance Review staff-action state
• qualification viability
• knockout Performance Needed components
• bracket result totals
• canonical match-record counts
• terminal profile transactions
• save and load recovery actions

Exports now include an integrity manifest and end-of-export summary.

The export process can identify:

• missing event sequences
• duplicate sequences
• out-of-order events
• malformed source lines
• disk and memory overlap
• logger write failures
• summary inconsistencies

This diagnostic expansion does not alter gameplay and is designed to make future reports faster to verify and resolve.

Additional Fixes

• Fixed knockout completion being identified as the final original-path fixture
• Fixed Round-of-16 matches being blocked by a duplicate original-path progression guard
• Fixed completed knockout opponents being offered again
• Fixed repeated knockout matches creating conflicting canonical records
• Fixed knockout Performance Needed using an unscaled legacy fallback
• Fixed unrelated knockout branches remaining blank
• Fixed the AI-controlled third-place match being omitted after the Final
• Fixed Match Preview and Match Result potentially using different target sources
• Fixed qualification runs continuing after the maximum available points fell below the target
• Fixed qualification failure messages displaying zero earned points incorrectly
• Fixed qualification logic and terminal presentation using different required-points totals
• Fixed later Asia qualifying fixtures being excluded by legacy stage grouping
• Fixed Tactic rewards upgrading a different equipped Tactic
• Fixed Tactic conversion opening the Training Cards screen
• Fixed Tactic conversion losing unresolved Match Rewards
• Fixed post-match progression beginning while Match Rewards remained unresolved
• Fixed completed Performance Reviews leaving staff-management actions locked
• Fixed Coaching Courses reading stale Performance Review flags
• Fixed Coach Pack transaction state remaining active after successful completion
• Fixed terminal matches entering a redundant post-match development loop
• Fixed terminal screens retaining a stale next opponent
• Fixed terminal Career XP and profile effects being vulnerable to duplicate application
• Fixed partial knockout brackets failing to reconcile after loading
• Fixed completed-round AI results being generated only when needed for the player’s next opponent
• Fixed debug export summaries failing to count completed Coach Pack actions
• Fixed terminal profile request and application totals being reported inconsistently
• Improved duplicate input protection across reward, progression and terminal callbacks
• Improved invalid-state handling across Match Rewards, Performance Reviews and knockout progression
• Improved current-run save validation and legacy-field defaults
• Improved canonical match-record conflict diagnostics
• Improved screen-transition and route diagnostics
• Improved parser consistency and static script-call validation

Thank you to everyone who has played, tested and shared feedback.

Update 1.2.1 is focused on making every campaign more reliable from the opening Friendlies through qualification, the knockout stage and the final tournament result.

The game should now respond more accurately to the state of a run, preserve progression more safely and provide clearer choices throughout Tactic, reward and staff management.

There is still plenty more planned, and community feedback will continue to shape future updates.

— William
Spartanwilly Studios