Greetings all! Welcome to another progress update - this time for the next release, version 1.11.

Thank you to everyone who has reached out via the various community portals. I've been working hard to incorporate all of your great suggestions (as well as squash any bugs that have been discovered), in order to package them all up for the next release. If you've previously suggested a new feature but don't see it mentioned here - don't worry! There are so many great ideas that they won't all fit into one update, which means a few have been pushed back to update 1.12. As this is a progress update it also only highlights what I've been working on - there's still more to add before 1.11 comes out, but I won't be mentioning anything here if it's not yet implemented.

With that out of the way, let's dive right into the list of new features which are implemented and ready to go!

Putting

One of the most noticeable changes is to the putting, both in mini-golf and on the full scale courses. Flat greens have been remodelled so that they have much more interesting and slightly more challenging topology. The game's rendering has been tweaked slightly to help highlight the lumps and bumps on the green, as well as the grid overlay having its resolution increased, so that it better follows the contours of the ground. You'll also find I've implemented an oft-requested feature - balls now roll!

The increased range of the putter in the last update resolved the issue of not always being able to reach the hole, however it caused new problems when making a short putt. This has now been addressed, and the putter will automatically scale itself depending on the distance to the hole. Long putts will use a 10m/10yd putter, and shorter ones will use either 3 or 1yd putters, once the ball gets close to the hole.

Also when putting the overhead view has been updated with icons to highlight the position of each player's ball. A small arrow will appear to display the ball's relative position to the hole, and the stroke indicator is now also visible, to help with aiming.

Other Improvements

There are many other smaller quality of life adjustments now implemented, such as the updated power bar, which is not only wider for more accurate shots, but delineated so that it's easier to see what kind of percentages you're aiming for. The yellow direction indicator on the mini-map also has these delineations, so it's possible to get a good feel for how far the ball will travel for the given amount of power.

And, yes, aiming has been unlocked 😁 This has been one of the most requested features, and it is now possible to hit the ball in any direction you choose.

The drone camera has been updated too - using the right controller stick it is now possible to take control of the drone camera to get an overview of the current hole. In both manual and automatic modes the trees and vegetation will now fade if they occlude the drone's view.

Beach courses will now let the ball land in the dunes without penalty. Previously they would act as if the ball had gone out of bounds - now the default behaviour is as if the ball landed in a bunker.

The effect of wind on the ball has been refined so that it is far less apparent on lower and weaker shots. Lofting the ball up high when driving will see the most effect of the wind, with very little effect now applied when chipping onto the green.

And, as a purely cosmetic touch, the clouds have been replaced with full 3D models. This means that they react properly to skybox lighting as well as, quite frankly, not looking like a pixelated butt 😅

XP System

The XP System has been enhanced, with new items unlocking at specific levels. New clubs are added to your set every 5 levels, and a new ball is unlocked every 10 levels - for a total of 5 clubs (rounding out the set to 12) and 5 balls. For each unlock there is a new animation, played when entering the lobby.

As well as unlocking new items, XP will increase the range of each club above a wedge, first at level 15, then again at level 30. Eventually you will earn a full set of clubs and be driving the ball down the course like a pro! 😄

Finally...

And, in other news, Valve have reviewed Super Video Golf for Steam Deck compatibility and marked it as Verified! This means that Valve themselves have given the game their seal of approval on their hardware - so now you can golf on the go!

That's all for this post - there's one more feature I'd like to add to 1.11, and some polish left to do... however it shouldn't be too long until 1.11 is released. Make sure to follow here or @TrederiaGames on Twitter for the latest updates. See you soon!