Undercard Physics Boxing

UNDERCARD is a physics boxing game. Every fighter is an active ragdoll - a real body moved by muscles - and a punch only counts if the glove physically lands. How hard it lands comes from the speed and the weight behind it.

Early build (v0.4.0) - feedback is very welcome!

What's in the ring

• Real physical punches: jabs, crosses, hooks and uppercuts that land (or don't) by collision. Hooks spin a man round, uppercuts lift him, and counters and power punches send him reeling.
• Slip and counter: slip a punch and time slows for a split second while his aim is fooled. Make him miss and your next clean shot is a COUNTER for double damage.
• Power punches: hold a punch to load it up. Loaded shots wreck a guard, and only they can smash through a raised one - down the middle, and easier the more tired he is.
• Split the guard: a fighter who isn't holding block only has his stance to protect him. A jab, cross or uppercut down the middle splits his gloves apart and lands, and power punches always get through.
• Clinch, push and take a knee: tie him up to get your breath back while his drains (he mashes to break free), shove him off when he crowds you, switch stance mid-fight, or take a knee for an eight count and some health back - but only twice a fight.
• Body work: liver and solar plexus shots fold fighters in half and wear down the health bar.

• Guard styles: Classic, Peek-a-boo, Philly Shell, Low Guard and the old bare-knuckle Pugilism stance, each with its own look and hidden strengths and weaknesses.
• Boxer styles: Out-Boxer, Slugger, Swarmer or Boxer-Puncher, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.
• A hidden daze meter, knockdowns with a 10-count you mash through, a referee (who can be knocked over...), judges' scorecards and replays.

Modes

• Play Online: fight a friend over the internet. One of you hosts and gets a 10-character fight code (click it to copy), the other pastes it in with PASTE CODE or The host picks the stage, the number of rounds and the round length.
• Career: start as a raw beginner on the undercard in a dodgy warehouse. Train six skills by what you actually do in the ring, earn perks through challenges (with up to three tiers each), and take four to six of them into every fight. Opponents grow with you - climb the rankings through the local hall and the casino ballroom to a world title fight in the arena, then defend it.
• Quick Fight with four AI difficulties
• Versus: two players on one computer (keyboard vs gamepad, or two gamepads)
• Training in the gym - heavy bag, sparring drills, a CPU that fights back, infinite health/stamina/guard - and Watch a Fight

Controls

Keyboard, mouse or gamepad.

• W A S D move, J / K jab / cross, U / I hooks, N / M uppercuts
• Hold a punch key to load a power punch
• SHIFT block (SHIFT + C covers the body), C crouch for body shots
• SPACE + direction to slip; hold a direction and tap SPACE to Slip-Step (not while crouched)
• E clinch, Q push, T switch stance, G take a knee - mash W A S D to break out of a clinch
• Click the left / right mouse button to jab / cross, hold it to load a power punch
• Gamepad: X / Y jab / straight, A / B hooks, RB + punch for a power punch, RT block, LT slip, flick the right stick to punch, D-pad for clinch / push / switch stance / take a knee
• V or TAB camera, P pause
• The full list is under CONTROLS in the main menu

Playing online

• Both players need the same version: browser players fight browser players, and players of the downloaded Windows game fight each other. A browser player and a Windows player can't be in the same fight.
• Online fights don't pause - the menu opens, but the fight carries on.
• If Windows asks whether to let Undercard through the firewall, click Allow.
• Some strict networks (school or work Wi-Fi, some phone hotspots) block direct connections between players.

Playing in your browser

• Click Run game - it opens fullscreen.
• In a fight the game captures your mouse on your first click. Escape gives it back and pauses the fight.
• Use a current desktop browser with hardware acceleration on. If it's off, the game tells you how to turn it on and runs on its lightest settings meanwhile. Gamepads work too.
• Career progress is saved in your browser - clearing site data or private browsing removes it.
• Prefer a download? The Windows version is in the downloads below.

Everything in the game - fighters, venues, crowd, textures and sound - is generated in code.