# UP/SET playtest: UPSET-71353d4 Thanks for playing. UP/SET is volleyball where you play one athlete, the camera is your aim, three touches a side, and the match runs on a clock. This is an early build (built 2026-10-23T15:53:19), so expect rough edges, and tell us about them. ## Run it You need Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, and a gamepad (Xbox or PlayStation) or a keyboard and mouse. The host sends you one of two things. **An itch.io download key** (updates come by themselves): 1. Install the itch app from itch.io/app, and sign in or make a free account. 2. Open the key link the host sent and click **Claim** to add the game to your account. 3. In the itch app, find UP/SET under **Library**, click **Install**, then **Launch**. When the host pushes a new build, the app updates it. If Windows says **"Windows protected your PC"** the first time, click **More info**, then **Run anyway** (see below). **Or a zip** (`UPSET-71353d4.zip`): 1. Right-click the zip, **Extract All**, and open the folder it makes. Don't run the game from inside the zip. 2. Double-click **UPSET.exe**. 3. Windows will probably say **"Windows protected your PC"**. The game isn't signed with a paid certificate, so SmartScreen doesn't know it yet. Click **More info**, then **Run anyway**. You only have to do this once. Then, either way: 1. If Windows Firewall asks about UPSET.exe, click **Allow**. Private networks is enough. 2. **Play the tutorial before the match.** The first time the game starts, it offers **Play First Set**: about three minutes, one touch at a time, and it's the fastest way to learn the buttons. On the same screen, **See the controls** shows every button. Later, the tutorial is under **Training, First Set**, and the controls are in **Settings, Controls** or the pause menu. 3. Your name is your Steam name. We tell everyone's records apart by it. 4. If it runs slowly, go to **Settings, Video, Quality** and pick Low (it holds 60 fps on integrated graphics). **Resolution scale** helps a laptop too. Everything you play is recorded on your own computer (see "Send your records" below). Nothing is sent anywhere. ## Controls Every binding can be changed in Settings, Controls. The on-screen prompts follow your device. | Action | Keyboard and mouse | Gamepad (Xbox / PlayStation) | |---|---|---| | Move | W A S D | Left stick | | Camera and aim | Mouse | Right stick | | Pass (dig, set) | Right mouse | X / Square | | Attack (spike, serve) | Left mouse | RT / R2 | | Tip (soft shot over the block) | Q | RB / R1 | | Jump (block, jump set) | Space | A / Cross | | Dive | Left Ctrl or C | B / Circle | | Boost | Left Shift | LT / L2 | | Call for the ball | E | Y / Triangle | | Quick chat ("Nice!", "One more!", ...) | 1, 2, 3, 4 | D-pad | | Ball camera | R or middle mouse | Right stick click | | Scores | Tab | View / Share | | **Mark a moment** | **M** | **Left stick click** | | Pause | Esc | Menu / Options | How to play: - **Press early.** Press Pass as the ball comes your way and your athlete runs to it and plays it when it arrives. Where the camera looks is where the ball goes. - **Attack:** press Attack once your team's first touch is played. The game runs your approach and jumps you. Hold to charge, then let go as the ring closes onto the ball (it flashes gold) for a PERFECT spike. - **Defend:** press Pass (or Dive) as their hitter strikes the ball. That's a split step, and it gives you a quicker first step. When an attack comes at you at the net, press Jump to block. - **Serve:** hold Attack for a jump serve (Tip for a float) and let go to serve. Harder serves miss more often. - Not sure of a button? Pause (Esc, or Menu / Options) and pick **Controls**. ## Join the match **Start Steam first, then UPSET.exe.** That's all the setup there is: you join through Steam, with nothing to forward or install. Your Steam name becomes your name in the game. While it runs, Steam shows you as playing **Spacewar**: that's Valve's free test app, which we use until UP/SET has its own. 1. The host invites you. The invite arrives in your **Steam chat**. With the game running, click **Accept** (or **Join**), and you land in the host's party. 2. Or, in the game: **Play**, **Custom game**, **Join a friend**, and press the host's game. In the party you stand with everyone in your side's kit. **Switch side** moves you to the other team when it has a free place. The host starts the match. After it, everyone comes back to the party for the next one. Bots fill every place nobody takes. If something goes wrong: - **Accepting opened Spacewar, or asked to install it:** the game wasn't running. Close Spacewar, start UPSET.exe, and accept again (or ask for a new invite). - **Custom game says to start Steam:** Steam wasn't running when the game started. Start Steam and sign in, then press **Try again** on that page. - **Disconnected:** press **Rejoin**. Your place is kept for two minutes. - **"Couldn't join":** press **Try again**, or ask the host to invite you again. - **"The host runs a different version":** everyone needs the same build (UPSET-71353d4). Download the newest one. - **"That match is full":** all six places have people, and up to four more can watch. ## Send your records Each match you play leaves a record on your computer: your touches, timing, the points, the frame rate, your connection, your settings and your device type. It contains nothing personal beyond the name you played under. - **During play, press M** (Left stick click on a pad) when something feels wrong, or great. The record notes the moment with a screenshot. These marks are the most useful thing you can send us. - **After the session:** press **Share my records**. It's on the results screen after a match, and in **Settings, Gameplay**. It saves `UPSET-records--