MiniGolf Maker News

Hi everyone,

I know I missed the last 2 weeks after having a streak of publihsing a Dev build every week, but what I was working on took a bit more time than usual.

I have received a fair number of reports of the online multiplayer not working properly, so I decided to take a major step toward fixing things by refactoring a lot of the gameplay code to improve functionality and cleanliness. I hope that the changes I have made have fixed a lot of issues already, but at the least the gameplay will be much easier to work on, similarly to the whole Course Creator rewrite (but on a much smaller scale).

Additionally, I have implemented the much-requested feature of being able to reset your shot, useful in case you get stuck. Previously your only option was to skip the hole, but now you 'R' on the keyboard or 'Left D-Pad' on a controller to reset your shot at the cost of 1 penalty stroke.

For the future, I currently want to focus solely on completing the in-game tutorials, so that I can call that done and not have it looming over me anymore. This will take up most of my time over the next week.

[h3]Changelog - DEV.5[/h3]
Features

• Added ability to reset shot by pressing 'R' on the keyboard or 'Left D-Pad' for controllers. Resetting a shot will take you back to the previous shot at the cost of 1 penalty stroke.
  
• Refactored gameplay code to improve functionality and cleanliness.
  

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a few issues with the 'Environment' Course Creator window.
  

- Kevin

Hello everyone!

The 4th Development Build is now available for you to check out. The changes are not quite as extensive as the last build, but there are some major fixes and cool new features.

As usual, I am still working on the Arcade course as much as I can. I am currently working on both Whack-a-Mole and Foosball holes (and you can find the new Whack-a-Mole object in this update!)

In the next DEV build I hope to have a feature implemented for going back to the previous shot when in normal play, which will allow players to go back if they get stuck. However, this will cost a penalty stroke each time you do it, so you should only use it in an emergency!

The tutorials have also not been worked on in a bit, so if I have time I will try to move those further along, too.

[h3]Changelog - DEV.4[/h3]
Features

• Added Whack-A-Mole object to Arcade content.
  
• Added Color behavior for changing an object's color with behaviors.
  
• Added ability to split joined greens via the context menu under Green Edges. This currently is only available if one or more greens are selected.
  
• Group handles, pipe link handles, event links are now disabled on holes that are not currently being edited.
  
• Improved and added UI animations for window opening and closing.
  
• Minor changes to Spin and Move To Rotation behavior gizmos.
  
• Added subtle overlay to inactive holes in the Course Creator.
  

Bug Fixes

• Fixed Power-Up trails (i.e. Fire and Ice) not going away when the player finishes.
  
• Fixed player's turn being skipped when a player finishes.
  
• Fixed courses downloaded via the Play button not working properly.
  
• Fixed Event Editor not removing event entries when the target object is deleted.
  
• Fixed Properties window line not going away when the window is closed.
  
• Blue tangent points of the same edge will no longer be joined.
  
• Fixed green barriers not being set to inactive on holes that are not being edited.
  

- Kevin

Hi everyone!

Development Build #3 is now live! This build includes a lot of Course Creator bug fixes and a few new features. Plus a pretty new game startup screen and loading screen.

The Arcade course is still being worked on, too! I am currently on hole 8 out of 18: "The Cyclone". Finishing the Arcade course and completing the Tutorials are the biggest hurdles I have at the moment, and as all these bugs get squashed I will have more time to work on both of those things.

[h3]Changelog - DEV.3[/h3]
Features

• Updated game startup screen and loading screen with random background images.
  
• Improved spinning ball loading indicator.
  
• Ball now spins when coming out of pipes rather than having its rotation frozen.
  
• Added undo and redo capabilities to Spin, Pause, and Move to Rotation behavior.
  
• Added some helper gizmos to Spin behavior.
  
• Group handles and handles for certain objects such as bushes (which have no collisions) are now made invisible when not editing the hole they are a part of.
  
• Pipe links and event links are now made invisible when not editing the hole they are a part of.
  

Bug Fixes

• Fixed power-ups not appearing in screenshot mode.
  
• Fixed ambient sounds playing when loading a course in the Course Creator.
  
• Fixed selection issues with objects inside groups after moving the group.
  
• Fixed various issues with duplicating.
  
• Fixed various issues with automatic green snapping.
  
• Fixed some Arcade objects appearing in the wrong category in the Object List.
  
• Fixed some Arcade objects not having correct tags.
  
• Fixed grass appearing in the Course Creator.
  
• Fixed connector lines on the Properties, Behavior Editor, and Event Editor windows not going away when entering test mode with the window open.
  
• Fixed issues with saving copies of courses that were not created locally.
  
• Fixed issue where courses were being duplicated in the Load Course menu of the Course Creator after saving them.
  
• Fixed issues with nested groups that have Behaviors applied to them.
  
• Fixed missing collisions on the Arcade Foosball Table object.
  
• Fixed barriers sometimes being backwards after snapping green pieces with holes together, then deleting one of the green pieces.
  
• Fixed selecting a green edge sometimes not also selecting the edge's points.
  
• De-selecting a green edge point will now de-select the edge(s) it is a part of, which will then de-select the green piece(s) those edges are a part of.
  
• Fixed water not working correctly in Course Creator.
  
• Fixed issues with undo and redo for spawning and duplication.
  
• Fixed group handles not being deletable or duplicatable.
  
• Fixed issues with deleting groups and deleting objects within groups.
  
• Fixed greens inside of groups not getting activated and deactivated when playing a hole.
  
• Outside barriers can no longer be created on edges that are between green pieces.
  

- Kevin

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to post a quick announcement for some fixes I have made to the MiniGolf Maker Development branch. This includes a fix for a major bug that was causing the Course Creator to not load.

[h3]Changelog - DEV.2[/h3]

• Fixed Course Creator getting stuck loading because it was expecting a last saved course file.
  
• Fixed Course Creator main menu navigation breaking after going into test mode.
  
• Fixed errors when loading a new course after editing an object's behaviors.
  
• Fixed groups not being activated & deactivated properly when switching between editing holes.
  

- Kevin

Hi everyone,

Those of you who have joined the Discord may have seen that, since this next update is taking so long, I was thinking about releasing development builds that showed the current, raw state of the game as I am developing it.

Well, here it is! You can now opt into the "development" branch if you would like to look at and try out all of the new stuff I've been working on. Here's how to opt in:

1. Right-click MiniGolf Maker and select Properties.
   
2. Go to the Betas tab.
   
3. Select development - Development Builds from the dropdown.
   
4. Allow the game to update. You'll know you're using the development build if the version in the bottom-left of the startup screen says "Early Access DEV.1"

[h3]IMPORTANT: DEVELOPMENT BUILDS MAY BE BUGGY AND UNSTABLE.[/h3]
Even though this update should be fixing a lot of bugs, since this build is mid-development there may be certain areas where there are bugs, unexpected behaviors, or just missing features that have yet to be implemented or re-implemented.

If you want to try editing your existing courses, I would highly recommend backing them up before saving them, since this new update uses a new save file format that will not be compatible with older versions. To back up your courses, go to Documents/My Games/MiniGolf Maker and copy the Courses folder to some other location. Also, just a quick note that publishing courses in the development builds is disabled because of the new course file format.

Now, let's get to the part where I list all of the stuff you can check out in the development build.
Course Creator:

• Added Arcade objects. The Arcade Course however will not be in the development builds, you will have to be patient for that :)
  
• Greens will automatically join together when placed adjacent to each other. If Position Snapping is not turned on, green points will snap to existing points.
  
• Added tutorials. These are not finished.
  
• Added undo and redo support to a lot of operations. But there are still many more things that need to be made undo-able.
  
• Fixed pipes and ball traps being triggered when moving the ball around. Also fixed ball going into hole when moving the ball around.
  
• General visual and audio improvements to UI and editor gizmos.
  
• General fixes for things that did not work correctly in certain circumstances.
  
• Converted context menu into radial menu.
  
• Course creator now loads last saved course automatically.
  
• Added ability to choose a template when creating a new course. Currently only 'Blank Canvas' is available.
  
• Improved color picker.
  
• Behaviors will now run in Screenshot mode.
  

Gameplay:

• Updated netcode package to much newer version. IMPORTANT: If you wish to play online with others, all players need to be using the Development build.
• Added multiple power control modes. The default can be set in the Controls section of the options menu. You can set the mode individually for each player by selecting their ball in the lobby.
  
• Added options for mouse and controller sensitivity in the Controls section of the options menu.
  
• Added game option to disable power ups. Note that disabling power ups may cause some courses to not work as intended.
  
• Added ability to go into Free Cam mode when aiming. Toggle by pressing 'C'. You can disable free cam in the lobby game options.
  
• Improved ball physics so that it does not roll back and forth for a long time in certain circumstances.
  
• Improved ball physics to roll down shallow slopes less slowly.
  
• Workshop browser now goes ahead and shows results before preview images are fully loaded.
  
• Began redesigning the main menu background (work in progress)
  

There is a new forum section for Development Builds where you can post things like feedback about new features or reports for major bugs you encounter. You are also free to talk about development builds in the Discord.

The development build will be regularly updated at least every other week with any new features and bug fixes I was able to work on, and will continue being updated until the official release. There is still much work to do, but after so much time working on this update I believe I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

- Kevin