MiniGolf Maker News

Hi everyone!

The time has finally come for the December (combined with the November) update! Let's get right to what's new.


Now available in addition to the Classic game mode is the new game mode Blitz! In Blitz, all players go at the same time rather than taking turns, making for a much more chaotic experience, especially when power-ups are thrown into the mix.

You can change the game mode from the lobby in the Game Options menu. When playing Blitz mode, you can also set a time limit for holes.


Replacing the old "Winter Course" is the new 18-hole course Snow and Ice. Check it out!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


The main menu has been completely redone from the ground up with new 3D graphics. In addition, in-game menus have been added for joining friends' lobbies and inviting friends to your lobby.


In the next update, I am going to be focusing on a big thing that I think is overdue: modding support. I am anticipating that this will take up all of my time over the next month, so I won't be working on anything else for the next update.

You can definitely expect the ability to import custom objects into the Course Creator, and it is possible that I may be able to add support for importing other things like Music, Styles, Ambient Sound Effects, etc.

Features

• Added new Blitz game mode to Game Options.
  
• Added hole time limit game option when in Blitz mode.
  
• Added a lobby browser menu to the main menu that shows friends' lobbies.
  
• Added Invite Friends menu to the lobby.
  
• Added several new objects to the Winter theming: Ice rocks, Icicles, Igloos, and a Snowball
  
• Added several new snowy terrain textures.
  
• Added Ice green style.
  
• Added option for Position Snap Level in Course Creator.
  
• Added ability to move between previous shots in test mode.
  
• Added ability to move ball freely around the course in test mode.
  
• Ball now has special crash-test-dummy like skin in test mode.
  
• Added graphics option for Realtime Ball Reflections.
  
• Added graphics option for Depth of Field.
  
• Renamed "Desert Wind" ambient sound effect to "Light Wind".
  
• Slightly modified the input scheme for Chat. Closing chat no longer has special inputs for sending messages and closing the chat, it now uses the bindings for Submit and Cancel.
  
• Fixed some issues with the see-through part of green handles, it now looks much better.
  
• UI elements now play subtle sounds.
  
• Added animations to some of the "spinner" UI elements.
  

Bug Fixes

• Fixed green pieces not being generated when duplicating a group.
  
• Fixed Behavior icons not showing up on duplicated objects.
  
• Fixed glitched green pieces when a hole is created outside of the editable area.
  
• Fixed power ups getting enabled on inactive holes during play.
  
• Fixed walls sometimes appearing completely black when at 45 degree angles.
  
• Fixed fire and ice trails being projected vertically when next to a vertical wall or underneath an object.
  
• Fixed the Punch power up not showing effects for non-host players.
  
• Fixed the round start event being triggered for inactive holes.
  
• Fixed wall generation sometimes glitching if the wall is below the terrain.
  
• Objects are now bound to the editable area as a group rather than individually.
  

- Kevin

Hi everyone,

I'm just posting a quick announcement to let you guys know that I have decided to skip the November update due to the main features still needing a good amount of work. The main menu overhaul and new game mode "Blitz" (name subject to change) have taken longer than expected, and I want to make sure everything is in tip-top shape!

So, the next update will be the December update, and here's what you can expect:

• The previously teased main menu redesign and new game mode "Blitz" (name subject to change).
  
• Winter Course Overhaul - Continuing overhauling the standard courses into full 18 hole courses.
  
• Course Creator Testing Improvements - Including being able to go back to the previous shot and move the ball freely around the green.
  

- Kevin

Hi everyone,

October is upon us, and that means a new MiniGolf Maker update! Let's check it out:


It's that spoooky time of year, and to celebrate, new Halloween content has been added to MiniGolf Maker! Enjoy new objects, new music, new terrain textures and skies, and new ambient sounds.

Along with the new content is the 18-hole Halloween-themed course: Grimmbrooke Hollow. Check out the trailer for it!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]


Coming at you next are 3 new power-ups for you to enjoy!

Punch
Slap other players silly with the Punch power-up. Use it on your turn, and any ball that gets too close will get walloped!

Ghost
Turn your ball into a spooky spectre with the Ghost power-up. You become impervious to other power-ups, can pass right through other balls, and become slightly floaty.

Free Stroke
Pass through the Free Stroke power-up, and 1 stroke will be subtracted from your score on your next turn!

November Update
Coming in the November update are 2 major additions:

1. Blitz Game Mode - Think the current turn-based play mode is too slow? Well then Blitz will be for you. All players go at the same time, and chaos will most likely follow.
   
2. Main Menu Overhaul - The main menu will be getting a huge update to be a lot more fun and dynamic. I've wanted to do this since I started working on MiniGolf Maker, so I'm really excited to finally be able to work on it, and I think it will be really cool!
   

I'm also going to be taking a quick break this month from creating courses. The next new course overhaul will be in the December update with the Winter course (as you could have probably guessed!)

Features

• New Power-Up - Punch: Punch away all balls that get too close. Only active on your turn.
  
• New Power-Up - Ghost: You can pass through other balls, and makes you invulnerable to the affects of power ups. Also slightly lowers gravity for your ball and makes it roll farther.
  
• New Power-Up - Free Stroke: When you pass through it, subtracts 1 stroke form your score on your next turn.
  
• Terrain - You can now select 8 textures for painting the terrain.
  
• Terrain - Added a new terrain shader that has better-looking blending between terrain textures.
  
• Improved shading of trees in Pirate content. Improvements to other content will come as I do the course overhauls.
  
• Added a small area with a slight downward force directly above the hole to make bouncing out less common.
  

Bug Fixes

• Fixed errors that could occur when a player leaves while their power up is active.
  
• Fixed log files not copying to the correct location.
  
• Fixed deleting a course from the Load Course dialog not immediately removing the course list item.
  
• Fixed Auto-Paint texture name always starting saying "Grass".
  

Hi everyone,

September's update is live! Let's take a look at what's new:


The newest Standard course to recieve an overhaul is the Pirate course, now named Cutlass Cove:

"Tales of a great treasure buried in the sands of Cutlass Cove have lured many pirates to this lonely island. Will you be able to conquer 18 holes to find the lost riches?"


There are a few big new features that I want to take the time to highlight:

Liven up your course with some ambient sound effects!
You can now select ambient sounds to play on your course from the Environment window. Currently there are only a few to choose from, but more will be added with each new content update and course overhaul.

Individually Style your greens!
You can now style individual pieces of the green through the Properties window or context menu. I also added a new Sand green style, which has little bounce and quickly slows down your ball.

Trigger events from Behavior Sequences!
The new Trigger Event behavior was added so that you can now trigger events from your Behavior Sequences. This opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for making complex behaviors.

October Update
Next month's update will be the Halloween update, with all new Halloween content, a new 18-hole course, and several new power-ups (some of which I was hoping to get done for this update, but unfortunately I ran out of time). I think it's going to be a really fun update!

Features

• Ambient sound effects can now bed added to courses in the Environment window.
  
• Added a few new objects to the Pirate content.
  
• Reworked some parts of the Course Creator UI.
  
• Green styles can now be set on individual green pieces.
  
• Added new Sand green style.
  
• Added camera collision so that camera mostly no longer clips into objects.
  
• Added new behavior - Trigger Event, which allows you to trigger an event from a behavior sequence.
  
• Added option to set Trigger Limit on events.
  
• Added option to set Delay on events.
  
• Events can now be triggered on round change in the hole events.
  
• Added Start Looping and Stop Looping actions to events.
  
• Event list items can now be minimized by clicking on the header
  
• Added Absolute and Relative position modes to Path and Move to Position behaviors.
  
• Box select is now based on the center of objects rather than their origin.
  
• Operation being undone or redone is now shown as a toolip on the undo/redo buttons.
  
• Improved loading so that the game does not completely freeze for an extended period of time when loading courses.
  
• Added buttons to edit hole info and hole events to the bottom transform options bar.
  
• Increased the pitch range of the game camera slightly.
  
• Slightly improved look of green textures by adding a specular map.
  
• Slightly modified shot power curve.
  

Bug Fixes

• Fixed dragging a window sometimes moving selected objects
  
• Fixed balls sometimes being set as out of bounds when coming out of a pipe exit that is out of bounds.
  
• Fixed trees not behaving correctly when using random rotation and random scale.
  
• Water no longer blocks object selection.
  
• Fixed Wrapped Move to Rotation not working correctly.
  
• Power-Ups are no longer enabled on holes not being played.
  
• Fixed pipe exit speed sometimes being inconsistent.
  
• Fixed color picker not updating the color graphic correctly when opening.
  

- Kevin

Hi everyone!

The August monthly update is here, and I've got a lot of stuff to share!


Desert-themed content is now available in the Course Creator! This includes new objects: Old desert town building sets, ruins, palm trees, and rocks, as well as new music, terrain grounds, skies, and wall styles.

To showcase the Desert content I have made a full 18-hole course, Desert Adventure, which comes standard with the game. You can check out a preview of the course on our YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/9DVeWe_Adhs

Standard Course Overhaul
It's undeniable that the courses that come standard with MiniGolf Maker have been very underwhelming. With only 2 or 3 holes each, I have seen many complaints about the lack of holes available out-of-the-box to play.

So, I have decided that starting now, every update (unless the update has new content with a new course) I will be overhauling one of the existing standard courses (Pirate, Medieval, Winter, Polyworld, and Dreamscape).

September Update
Finally, before we get to the change log, here's what I have planned for the September update:

• Behaviors and Events Phase 3 - Mainly improvements to the Events portion of the system.
  
• Course Atmosphere - Such as the ability to add ambient sound effects to your course.
  
• Green Materials - Ability to change the material of greens to materials such as Sand.
  
• New Power-Ups - These are a secret...
  

Features

• Added Desert content, including new objects, music, wall styles, and terrain grounds
  
• Added 5 new skies
  
• Improved look of existing terrain grounds
  
• Behaviors can now be nested (i.e. Objects in groups that have behaviors can now also have behaviors)
  
• New Behavior - Visibility
  
• New Behavior - Move to Position
  
• New Behavior - Move to Rotation
  
• New Behavior - Freeze Rotation
  
• Added Smooth option and movement direction indicators to the Path behavior
  
• Added icons that show objects with behaviors
  
• Increased selected hole limit from 9 to 18
  
• Course banner image selection now uses an in-game file browser
  

Bug Fixes

• Fixed stroke counter breaking with 3-digit scores
  
• Fixed walls not extending all the way down on uneven terrain
  
• Fixed flag being groupable
  
• Fixed issues when the flag green piece is added to a group
  
• Fixed various issues with the Keep Straight setting on edges
  
• Fixed various issues with the Snap to Surface setting
  
• Fixed some inside wall textures being incorrect during play
  
• Fixed pipe link properties not loading correctly
  
• Fixed "Built-In" (now "Standard") courses showing as "Workshop" in Whole Course selection
  
• Fixed group object not being selectable when hidden behind other objects
  

- Kevin