Rocket League Hoops Comeback

Here's a online game of hoops. I'm on top half, G is on bottom half. We were down 0-2 but came back for the win.

Rocket League Throwback

In 2009 and 2010, I played Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle Cars a lot. Specifically the "Stadium" arena. I uploaded a ton of videos like this:

The graphics were actually really good, but they couldn't upload to youtube in higher quality than this.

9 years after they introduced the stadium level, we now have the Throwback Arena in Rocket League. Good to have you back.

Never Let The Ball Touch The Ground

The Best Goal I've Scored So Far

More Rocket League

RL

This is my Steph Curry shot. From way downtown, and I start backing away as I shoot it. No need to look for a rebound.

Rocket League: Hoops Highlights and more

In case you haven't heard, Rocket League introduced Hoops mode. It is pretty fun. Let's take a look.

Here's something that seems like it would be hard to do, but I have three videos of it.







Forget three pointers, this one is from my own three-point arc.



Here's a nice putback...he gets the roll!



This one is more of a true dunk, where I hit downward into the hoop.



This shot was probably going in anyways, but I made sure it did.



This next play is the one that made me jump out of my chair. It's an online game where we're up one and the clock is winding down. Saves like this are very difficult to make. The last view is from my teammate so you can see that he wasn't going to save it.




I've also got some non-hoops highlights.

This one is a 3v3 game but in this play I take on the other team by myself.



Here's an aerial shot with a very tight angle.



Here's an epic save.



And here's a no look save on the goal line to preserve the win.

Rocket League Online Highlight Collection

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been playing a lot of Rocket League online. Here are my best plays in my first 6 weeks of online play.


Here's an overtime goal where I had to adjust at the last second.



Another OT goal with a backwards bicycle kick.



Here are two more OT goals from tough angles.





Here's what would turn out to be the game winner from distance. I included the last scene just to show the final score.



How about some nice saves?







Here's the reason why you can't just always try to hit it. My teammate who had the best of intentions, knocked the ball away from me right before I was about to drain the OT winner. We'd lose this game.



This is a 1-on-1 comeback that went to OT. At 2:34 you I feint like I'm going for the ball so he attacks. The result is an easy score.



Here's what that last play looked like from his view. You can see that the ball obscures my path so it really looks like I'm about to hit the ball when he makes contact.



In this one my teammate makes a nice air pass, and I knock it home.



I saved the best for last. Here's my first aerial goal. It didn't actually register as an aerial hit, I guess I wasn't high enough. But still, I used my rocket boost to go up and get this one.

Rocket League Online: A Revenge Story

A little over a month ago, I paid for the ability to play Rocket League online. Since then, I've played a lot. They have a competitive circuit where you get a ranking and try and move up the ranks. Out of 15 ranks, I'm in the 5th from the bottom in 1v1 and 2v2 and only 3rd from the bottom in 3v3. So I'm by no means an all-star. Anyways, I was taking a break from the competitive circuit and played a game of unranked doubles. So win or lose, it doesn't affect your ranking.

Game One

I was matched up against, let's just call them Opponent A and Opponent B. My teammate wasn't very strong. When it was still 0-0, I passed it to him for an open shot on goal and he flubbed it. Hey, it happens. I had a bunch of shots that looked pretty but ended up hitting the crossbar or post. They got up 3-0. Then we scored one. And in the on-screen chat, Opponent B says "luck." They're winning 3-1 and a quick look at the stats shows that Opponent A is carrying their team, but he feels the need to cut us down. So I'm pissed and I want a rematch. 

Game Two

My teammate leaves and I get a new one, but I'm still facing the same opponents. Similar story, they get out to a 3-0 lead. We score one and they say luck again. We actually pull off a nice comeback and tie the game at 3-3 with 8 seconds left. And then on the kickoff, my teammate whiffs on one and they win with 1 second left. 

Game Three

We all do a rematch of the same teams. Again they get out an early lead, maybe 3-1, but we come all the way back and win 5-3. Satisfying. In the chat, Opponent A says "rematch that was all luck." I was planning on leaving after the win, but once I saw that I couldn't resist. I felt like they weren't that good and I had been unlucky in the first game. 

Game Four

So we do a rematch except I get a new teammate. He of course, knows nothing of any of these game or previous chats, so he's walking into a tense situation blind. Anyways, I recorded the full game from my perspective:

So there you have it. The biggest blowout win I've ever had in Rocket League at the perfect time. At the end, both opponents immediately left without saying a word. 

Even More Rocket League

I've got three goals that were all scored from distance off the kickoff:







This was my brief stint online. This was the fourth goal I scored.



I love a good assist maybe even more than a good goal.



Here's a championship-winning goal as time winds down.



And here's a mistake I made that cracked me up for a few good minutes. My AI teammate makes a great save and is still in good position to cover the rebound. Except...watch out, I'm coming in hot! I doink him out of the way and we immediately give up a goal. Shit happens.

Rocket League Highlights

Grant likes to play but doesn't know how to use the accelerator. Instead he uses boost to go, so I had to turn on unlimited boost. After over three minutes he not only touched the ball for the first time in the game but scored a goal. It was his own net, but still.



Regulation is over when the clock strikes zero and then the ball touches the ground. I got lucky in this game as it barely touched the ground right in front of the goal.





The assist is at 1:35. I also got a buzzer beater later.

Rocket League

More Rocket League

So my last post was five separate highlights, this is the end of one game. The games are 5 minutes long: we pick up the action up 4-3 with just over a minute to go. Be sure to stick around for the goal at the 2:30 mark, which I think is might highest difficulty shot in the game so far.

Rocket League Highlights

Long-time viewers will know that I've been uploading Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket Powered Battle Cars highlights since 2008. Well, there's a sequel on the PS4 which may or not have been the main reason I got the system in the first place. It's called Rocket League and it's basically exactly the same foundation with a new look and some new modes, including a season with playoffs. Here are some plays from my first week.








So they notify you when you get a save, which is what it sounds like. There's a separate notification for "epic saves" which occur on the goal line. Here's an example:



So this was a championship game in the playoffs after a 9-week regular season. Tied with ten seconds to go.

and the ESPY goes to...

When I decided the 2009 SARPBC ESPY, I had to balance the best play with degree of difficulty. For example, last year's "A" was visually impressive and an amazing goal, but wasn't really that hard to execute--I've made similar plays a bunch of times. While last year's Save, was really one of a kind.

- - -

This year's voting committee was sure that with all the choices, I couldn't give it to another Save, no matter how great it was. But my independent vote thought it deserved 3rd place this year.

I thought the premonition was really cool, and was my second favorite. Although you don't get to see how many times I tried to do that and missed the ball completely.

My personal favorite play of 2010 was actually...From The Corner. Based on degree of difficutly, this is by far the hardest to replicate, and was one that was actually dependent on my choice of car model. And yes, Mark, I was trying to make a play on the ball. From that angle, you're not sure the ball will go in the net, you're just trying to center it up, but yes that was the ideal result.

But I suppose the ESPY's are the awards where the fans vote, and I guess the tribes have spoken. The 2010 ESPY goes to the Ricochet.

vote for the supersonic ESPY play of the year

The 2009 Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Car ESPY went to "The Save."

Who will win this year? There are 7 nominees for 2010:

"The Ricochet" Self-explanatory.


"The Maradona" This was a coast-to-coast goal that included hurdling an opponent in the beginning.


"From the Corner" The ball is sinking away from the goal, I'm driving directly into the corner and get a tip at an angle that doesn't seem possible.


"The Assist" This is the first goal highlight where I didn't score. I push it up the flank, evade the opposition and center it for a teammate. It's even cooler if you imagine this as a real soccer field--I kept it in bounds the whole time.


"The Racquetball Goal" This was one that I was trying to get for a while. I played it hard off my own back wall and it went in without anyone touching it--though I did have to clear a path.


"The Save II" Off a kickoff, I did the only thing I could do.


"The Premonition" I'm the red car that scores this goal off the kickoff. I jumped into the perfect spot before anyone touches the ball.

vote for the supersonic ESPY play of the year

I'm not going to embed these, since I just embedded four new videos. Here are the best youtube highlights in my first year of the game. Vote for your favorite in the comments.

Nominee A: Last-second tip

Nominee B: Flying away redirect

Nominee C: No-look reverse goal (2nd in clip)

Nominee D: The Save

Nominee E: Destroy and Clear (from :30 to :48 in clip)

- - -

Update: 2009 ESPY Goes to D, "The Save"

yet more supersonic highlights

Video #1: three angles of a shot that got a lucky bounce after hitting the pipe, and then two looks at a sideway flip goal


Video #2: three looks at a last second touch to tip it past the goalie, plus a goal where I slam into a teammate to get him a goal


Video #3: four looks at a double jump angle goal from off to the side. this was the highest i've gone up and gotten a goal like this. in the 4th slo-motion angle you can see that it was a double jump.


Video #4: four views of the hardest, and I think most impressive highlight. I redirected it into the goal while flying away from the direction of the goal. It's easy to angle your shot when you're pointing at the goal, this was much harder.

supersonic acrobatic rocket-powered highlights

First one features two goals, including multiple camera angles on a blind goal.



Next one features four goals from an online match. The last goal occurred on the kickoff of Sudden Death.



Last clip is three looks at the same play, an incredible save where I am racing towards the goal.

Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle Cars Highlights

So this is my new game, and these are the highlights from my first online match. The game allows you to record whatever you want and upload it directly to YouTube.

All I need to explain is that this is like soccer, but with cars, that have rockets. It's amazing. This is a 2x2 match, I am the red car that is centered in each shot.

Here's what you're seeing at what times.

:10 I play the ball deep into the corner and knock it in for the first goal. 1-0 Red team.
:28 The ball comes to the middle and a score a goal from some distance. 2-0 Red team.
:34 I make the play of the year on defense. A blue car is headed for an easy goal and I boost out of nowhere to destroy him and then safely clear the ball over the goal. Slow motion replay of that at :43.
:56 I score my third goal of the game with a sweet somersault and we ending up winning 5-3.