Players will be able to play UFL once again this week, with the second open beta set to be available for three days.
After a successful open beta in June, Strikerz Inc. will be releasing a second UFL open beta this week and here's when it starts.
Tipped to rival EA Sports FC, UFL has been making waves in the football gaming scene lately, with the free-to-play game turning heads away from EA FC 24 for the first time in a while. Konami's eFootball has failed to provide the same competition for EA Sports as it did in the early days of Pro Evolution Soccer (PES), and with FIFA yet to release a game of its own following the split from EA, UFL has a chance to make a name for itself.
The first UFL open beta was released back in June, and with over 1.3 million downloads and 5.5 million matches being played, the game left players wanting more. Now, another UFL open beta is set to be released, giving players a chance to try out a new and improved version of the game, which we've already played.
Here is what time the UFL open beta will be released and the latest UFL patch notes.
UFL open beta start time
The UFL open beta start time is 1pm BST/ 8am EDT/ 5am PDT on Friday, August 2, as confirmed via a Twitter post, with the open beta available to play until 5am BST / 12am EDT on Monday, August 5, and 9am PDT on Sunday, August 4. No end time has been confirmed just yet. If you played the first open beta, you will continue from where you left off, with all progress from the first open beta carrying over.
As was the case with the previous UFL beta, this early version of the game can only be played on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles, so players on PC, PS4 and Xbox One will miss out.. Those on current-gen consoles can now preload the second UFL open beta from the PS Store and the Microsoft Store, simply search 'UFL' and it should appear to download, with the game being free to play.
Ahead of the second UFL open beta, Strikerz Inc. has listened to feedback from the community to make some changes and improvements for the second UFL open beta. These are the official UFL v 0.55 Patch Notes, courtesy of the UFL website.
UFL beta patch notes (v0.55)
New Mechanics
Overhauled the reputation mechanics:
Reputation now works as a capacity and displays the sum of the reputation of all players in RP.
The value of a player in reputation does not change when leveling him up.
You can freely sell and buy players within the reputation limit, but you cannot exceed the limit with a purchase.
RP points earned before were converted to RP capacity for every club.
Card skin system:
Card skins are now divided into 2 types, set card skins and personal card skins.
Set card skins change their bonus depending on the number of players with the given set involved in a match (3 players is a minimum) and the rarity of the set cards.
Set skins are strictly tied to the original player positions and have no other restrictions.
Personal skins are tied to specific players.
Bonuses from skins do not apply if the player is in the wrong position.
Skins and skin packs obtained before were removed from the club. Compensation has been made.
Added a new perk system for players:
Perks are divided into two types - innate and acquired. Innate perks already belong to players and cannot be reset or changed. Acquired perks can be added to a player as they level up.
Each perk now has up to 4 levels, as well as conditions for obtaining it.
When a perk is added, it will be displayed on the player's card (corresponding screen), the player's extended card widget, and in the perks menu, as well as in the HUD during gameplay.
Upon reaching a rating of 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, the player receives 1 perk point.
After reaching a rating of 91 the player continues to accumulate their own experience, for which they can purchase a perk point to add a perk.
Loaned players can also earn perk points and level them up.
Added a widget to the player that shows the possibility of leveling up a new perk.
Added an animation of player frames when leveling up perks.
Gameplay
Goalkeeper
Revised goalkeeper parameters: now his rating has a greater impact on performance.
Goalkeeper catches the ball more often after a weak shot.
Improved several animations.
Improved goalkeeper rushing out for the ball.
Reduced ball rebound after a successful save.
Shots:
- More apparent differences in skills.
Shots after turnaround are less accurate than when facing the goal.
The ball hits the post less often.
Finesse shots can now be sent on the ground and low/medium/high, depending on the accumulated power.
Passes:
The recipient of the pass will be selected more accurately depending on the direction of the stick.
Through passes (high and low) will become more predictable in terms of power and direction.
Improved the ball receiving animation—it will now be smoother.
Improved positioning when receiving a pass.
In regular ground passes, lob passes, throw-ins from the sideline, and corner kicks, there are now much fewer under-hit passes.
Passes from weaker players with the FieldVision stat will be intercepted more often.
When crossing into the penalty area, the player receiving the pass will no longer move too far from the point where the ball is flying to.
Receiving passes:
Improved situations when a player doesn’t collect the ball after a pass.
Improved situations where a player somehow controls the ball while the ball is behind him.
Improved situations when a player doesn’t kick the ball forward properly after receiving a pass.
Improved situations where a player kicks the ball forward upon receiving a pass even when the gamer hasn’t touched a controller stick.
Improved the ball receiving animation—it will now be smoother.
Improved positioning when receiving a pass.
Off-the-ball movement
Retuned maximum speed, acceleration, change of players’ direction of movement and Jockey.
Reduced the sliding effect of players.
Added more dynamics at low speeds.
Improved players' responsiveness.
Implemented higher speeds in sprint.
AI assists
Players have been given more freedom in positioning themselves for a pass and will more often move towards the ball for short passes.
- When making attacking runs, players will take into account the position of the ball better and will not run away from it to the opposite flank.
- Central midfielders, in formations where there are three of them (all variations of 4-3-3, 4-1-2-1-2 (narrow), 4-3-1-2 and 4-3-2-1), will play wider and be able to move closer to the flank depending on the position of the ball.
- Players will make less frequent but more effective runs.
- Attacking players will be more active in entering the opponent's penalty area if the ball is inside or near it on the flank.
- A player who is offside will now not try to get the ball when his team is attacking.
- Players making runs will now move to the flank of the player with the ball less often.
- Improved player response to the ball bouncing off the post/crossbar, as well as after the goalkeeper's save.
Defensive behavior:
Depending on the "Defensive Positioning" parameter, central midfielders will be more or less active in returning to their half and taking up a defensive formation near their goal.
Players man-marking opponents will now act more cautiously and move towards opponents less often if the ball is close to their line.
When marking an opponent with the ball inside the penalty area, players will be positioned to cover the center of the goal from a possible shot, rather than blocking the opponent’s movement towards the goal.
Increased the influence of the defensive team tactic "Depth" on how high the team meets the opponent in the opposition half of the pitch and how low it drops to its goal.
Added a new defensive cover system when marking a player with the ball. When passing the opponent with the ball from one defender to another, the first defender will wait for the second defender to approach him and only then pass the opponent's mark.
Added new conditions for switching between attack and defense phases. Now, in the event of a challenge for the ball or other potentially dangerous situation, the attacking team will be more active in switching to the defensive phase and taking up a defensive formation.
Players have been given more freedom of action when marking opponents. They will move towards opponents more often and stay closer to them. They have also been given the ability to drop below their position when accompanying an opponent or helping a teammate on the line below.
Set pieces:
Improved the behavior of the wall when taking a free kick.
AI-controlled players no longer get stuck in the goal walls and the crossbar, but situationally run around it.
Defending
Added an animation of sliding tackles from a sprint (the sliding distance will depend on the speed).
Revised the mechanics of passive tackling: Reduced the probability of passive interceptions from behind, reduced the rebound from a stationary player, and the speed of the intercepting player directly affects the rebound distance.
Minimized the number of passive tackles from behind.
Increased the influence of various individual tactic settings "pass interceptions".
Increased the influence of tackling parameters on the distance from which passive tackling begins and an effective sliding tackle is performed.
Increased the ball rebound when intercepting a more powerful pass.
Dribbling
Added a new feint CutBack.
Updated the animations of the Sombrero Flick and Knee Rocket feints.
Added the influence of the speed parameter in the dribble sprint.
Increased the distance at which a player with the ball remains the “ball owner”.
Improved maneuverability and ball control in dribble sprint.
Reduced the distance the ball covers after the player uses a dribble dash when running in a straight line.
Other gameplay improvements
Players can no longer run far beyond the pitch.
Reduced the number of cases of non-touching the ball in gameplay and replays.
Fixed player teleportation during a tackle.
Changed the positioning of the referee during Penalty, Penalty Shoot-out, and Free Kick set pieces.
Fixed an issue where, in an aerial duel, the losing player would get stuck in the animation.
Reduced excessive stamina drain.
Audio and Visual
Added and updated 200+ players, including Antoine Griezmann, Luka Modrić, Declan Rice, Franck Kessié, Paulo Dybala.
Updated the sound effects of skin packs.
Added the ability to purchase and open more than one skin pack.
Updated the stadium icons.
Added splash screens that allow use of the club crest in cutscenes. In the event of a goal, own goal, dangerous shot, and offside, the badge of the attacking team will be displayed. For a foul, the logo of the team whose player committed the foul will be displayed.
Added 4 new celebration cutscenes.
Special goal celebrations can now be triggered by pressing specific key combinations.
Improved camera in replays.
Added music to the pause.
Improved the commentator's logic.
Removed some club badges with compensation for their full value.
Fixed a number of UI bugs.
Other changes
Fixed a number of bugs and crashes (including Xbox Series S).
Fixed an error where it was not possible to change the controls during a match.
UFL will be released worldwide later this year, with Strikerz Inc. yet to confirm the official release date.
