In my last post I announced that Super Video Golf would be coming to Steam with the next update, so in lieu of a release this month I thought I'd share some details about what's coming in the next version. It's probably no surprise that updating the game with Steam integration is a lot of work, on top of the new and updated features included in the release, but I have been working hard to get them done as soon as possible without making too much of a mess of things 😅. Here's a few highlights of what's been done so far:

Updated CPU Controlled Players

For some time commenters have noted that, while a welcome addition, CPU controlled players weren't the brightest and were often very easily beaten. When I first added the feature my idea was to create a player which played 'fairly', in that it was fed only the same information that a human player received such as distance to the pin and the current wind speed and direction. While this worked to some extent it became very clear that, without the 'human instinct' as such, the computer controlled players would make (sometimes wildly) inaccurate guesses about the state of play. With the new version I've taken a different approach which, at first, may seem a little 'cheaty' - for any given power/club/angle combination the computer can quickly run the simulation internally and predict the outcome of a stroke. This way the CPU player can take several guesses and pick the 'best' result to play. However it is also fine tunable by preventing the computer from being too accurate at guessing and introducing deliberate 'mistakes' into play such as an occasional hook shot. This means that computer controlled players can now dynamically adjust how well they play depending on the rank of the human player, providing a greater challenge as players level up, whilst still being competitive for new players. Did I say rank..?

XP System

Yes, there is now an XP system in place, so over time players will level up. XP is awarded whenever a single human player on a client plays an online game, or against computer controlled opponents. Good shots, good scores and good final rankings all contribute XP, as well as time spent on the Driving Range. Nice drives and good scores on the Drivng Range also award XP. The result of leveling up not only affects how well the computer opponents play, but also increases the accuracy required to not make a hook or slice shot. This affects both human AND computer controlled players. In the Steam version the Steam user's rank will also influence matchmaking, returning results in the lobby system which best match the player's current level. It won't exclude other players with vastly different levels, just skew search results so that discovered lobbies are as similar as possible. There is also a series of new achievements, awarded at regular intervals for leveling up.

Steam Network Integration

The Steam version has now been fully integrated with Steam Networking, meaning that matchmaking is handled automatically via a lobby search, or by selecting friends from your friends list to join. No more messing with firewalls, NAT or port forwarding! The Steam version also has all the same stats and achievements implemented, plus it also provides leaderboards for the Driving Range. Now not only does the Driving Range provide a place for players to practice but also the challenge of getting the most accurate scores. Boards are split between rounds of 5, 9 and 18 holes, and can be viewed either as global rankings, or just amongst friends. The existing itch.io version of the game, however, retains the direct connection method.

Updated Putting

Commenters and playtesters have pointed out that probably the weakest point of Super Video Golf is the putting. It was previously very difficult to guess how much power to use beyond estimating a percentage based on the maximum putter distance and the distance to the pin. It was also difficult to see the contours of the ground when the graphics style is based around a solid, flat colour. The first issue has been addressed by placing a small flag icon above the power bar when putting. This flag shows the (approximate) amount of power required to hit the ball into the hole. However players will still need to account for any slope in the terrain and the current wind direction, so to address the second problem the putting grid has been overhauled. It has a greater resolution, as well as better colour tints to highlight elevation and depression in the green. Also added in this version is an arrow icon which points to the hole once the flag has been raised. It uses the same rules as the existing flag beacon, so changing the colour of the beacon or disabling it in the options menu also affects the arrow icon. Finally a 'putt assist' mode has been added which can be enabled from the options menu. When this is active the power bar moves much more slowly and the hook/slice bar is disabled making it easier to take more accurate shots. However when putt assist is enabled the XP rewards are reduced slightly, to reflect the fact that the shot was less difficult.

Overhauled UI

A side effect of Steam integration is the requirement to support much longer user names. To this end much of the UI has been updated, either by allowing it to dynamically expand to best fit the current resolution, or simply to just use larger graphics where applicable. The most notable of these are the lobby menu and the in-game scoreboard, where player names appear. When playing golf there is also now an emote wheel available, to let other players know how you're feeling 😁. It works similarly to other games and defaults to the Left Ctrl key or the Y button on an XBox style controller.

Finally...

Based on feedback, wind behaviour has been updated so that it only changes strength and direction once per hole. This seems a lot fairer on players allowing them all to attempt the same shot. On the cosmetic side of things the wind system has been updated so that wind movement in trees and prop models are calculated consistently, making them all behave the same way. Wind effects are also now applied to billboards so that the flowers and grass sway in the breeze. There's also a new pitch 'n' putt course themed around Purcitop Garden, and several new ball models have been added. Many smaller changes have also been done to improve quality here and there - a full detailed list of changes will be included when the update is released.

There's still more to be done, however, mostly content related. There's a second new course being created called Fairland Rock:

as well as a series of small tweaks to be made to Terdiman Cliffs. Some of the older courses are also receiving some polish in the form of new prop models. Here's a before and after look at the clubhouse on Sunny Cove:

While this is not an exhaustive list of changes I hope it provides a good idea of what to expect from the next release. Thanks as always goes to all the supporters and everyone who has given feedback via Twitter or the comments section. To keep up to date with progress make sure to follow me here, and wishlist Super Video Golf on Steam. See you in the next update!