Golf It! News

After six years and dozens of updates, we've decided to finally work on our bucket list and call it 1.0. Thank you for your incredible support, feedback, patience, and endless creativity. In six years, you've created more than 15000 unique maps, for which we are deeply grateful. It's been an incredible journey and it's not over yet. We're already working on our next update, so stay tuned.




[h2]New Map: Deep blue[/h2]
Update 1.0 sends you to the depths of a mystical ocean valley. Swim with fish, explore ancient ruins and master the physics of underwater golf.

This theme consists of over 500 unique objects, special physics, and other mystical features. All of this will be available in our editor. We can't wait for your underwater creations.

[h2]New UI[/h2]
Redesigning the user interface was one of the oldest items on our to-do list. As the game has grown over the years, this task has become even more important.


[h2]Terrain Editor[/h2]
Another item on our bucket list, but also a long-awaited request, is a detailed terrain editor. A brand-new set of tools based on voxel data that will allow you to turn that boring flat terrain into any landscape you can imagine.

The toolset will be super easy to use - even on existing maps - and comes with different sculpting and painting modes.

[h2]Foliage Painter[/h2]
Another new and very useful editor tool is the Foliage Painter. As the name suggests, it allows you to easily paint foliage into your landscape based on a variety of settings. This will save you a lot of time and even help to create a more natural look. Of course, you can also paint anything else.



[h2]Codebase Overhaul[/h2]
Over the last year we have reworked almost the entire codebase, which has been by far the biggest challenge. It was essential to keep the game maintainable, ready for future features and to improve the overall quality of the game. Some visible results are lightning-fast load times, improved stability, and features like the new UI.

[h2]Gamepad Support[/h2]
Initially, our putter movement was designed to require skillful use of your mouse. Later on, we realised that gamepad support and an alternative shot option were essential for accessibility. With our new user interface, we now fully support gamepads from start to finish. In future updates we would also like to implement modes for colour-blind players.

We've also added an option to either hold or toggle the putter with the left mouse button or the right gamepad trigger. Feel free to try both methods as they may further enhance your experience.



[h2]Languages[/h2]
We are very proud that our game is played all over the world. We've supported many languages in the past, but often only partially. With this update, we've chosen 14 languages (Chinese, Czech, English, Finnish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian). We may add more languages in the future if requested.

[h2]Price & Currency conversion[/h2]
Early on, we promised to keep the price at $8.99 per copy, even after we left Early Access. We are going to keep that promise, but for a few currencies we need to make an adjustment based on the conversion. This change will affect Argentinian Pesos, Russian Rubles, and Turkish Lira, and will take effect in a week's time.



[h2]Changelog[/h2]
Because we've done a complete code and UI overhaul, we won't list every change. This should be seen as a list of highlights.

General
- Added new map Deep blue
- Added new music
- Added reconnect feature
- Added secrets to all official maps
- Added special items for solving the secrets
- Added new achievements
- Added ability to change map from lobby
- Added ability to start match even if not every player is ready
- Added option to limit visuals of other trails
- Added ability to select practice hole if map has more than 18 holes
- Added new time-based race leaderboards
- Added 100 new hats, trails, and flags
- Added hole signs on every official maps
- Added small aim arrow when spectating other players
- Added camera transitions
- Added loading screens
- Updated to Unreal Engine 4.27
- Updated scrapping mechanics
- Updated force field physics to be FPS independent
- Updated gravity camera transition
- Updated rendering method for better visuals
- Improved racing mode
- Improved game load times
- Improved map loading times
- Improved memory usage
- Improved overall performance
- Improved gameplay when playing with low FPS
- Improved loading times of subscribed maps
- Improved auto-update if custom map is out of date
- Reset leaderboard and handed out crowns

UI
- Added icons when using gamepad
- Updated UI visuals
- Updated localization
- Improved gamepad usability

Editor
- Added new terrain editor toolset
- Added new foliage painting toolset
- Added new theme to the editor
- Added 750+ new objects to the editor
- Added Underwater and ‘No water’ gameplay objects
- Added object to test ball movement within the editor (Debug Ball Tester)
- Added external camera object which the player view can get attached to
- Added ability to have multi-line text
- Added ability to customize FX effects
- Updated editor menu to be significantly faster
- Updated save menu for better readability
- Updated auto backups to create up to five backups
- Updated booster material to visually indicate speed
- Improved map loading and saving times
- Improved text to support special characters like Japanese

Events
- Added numbers to event list
- Added events for external camera objects
- Added event to allow timeout while rolling

VR
- Added option to toggle VR putter
- Added option to add controller offset
- Updated VR controls
- Updated VR to support using both controllers automatically

Bug Fixes
- Fixed custom maps based on Jade Temple not being able to set time to night
- Fixed Fog not rendering correctly on custom maps based on Jade Temple
- Fixed river having visual cracks
- Fixed trails appearing/disappearing suddenly
- Fixed some auto-start events not working during race mode
- Fixed crash related to event objects moving through players
- Fixed teleporting event objects yeeting players away
- Fixed putting sound only being played on one ear
- Fixed minecart loop sound not looping correctly
- Fixed numerous rubber banding issues
- Fixed putter not getting removed when player surrendered
- Fixed log files getting cluttered
- Fixed some trail flags not being aligned correctly
- Fixed trails not respawning correctly
- Fixed audio volume not updating correctly
- Fixed audio priority not working
- Fixed waterfall causing major FPS issues
- Fixed some lanes not changing theme materials

Two months later, we are still paving the way for Update 1.0 – it’s just about time for another Dev Log. Today we would like to present to you our newest official map. It’s built upon a brand new, gorgeous looking underwater theme, which will be release with Update 1.0.

The underwater theme is going to be our largest theme with more than 500 unique objects, special physics and other mystical features. They will be available in our editor as always. We are super excited to see your creations.

Currently we are primarily fixing bugs and doing some quality-of-life improvements. With every week of progress, we are getting closer to leave early access. We know that you’ve waited a long time for this to happen, so we are working hard to finish the update.

[h2]FAQ[/h2]
When will Update 1.0 be released?
As soon as we can name a date, we will share it with you. As we already mentioned in our last dev log, we did an extensive code overhaul. These measures were not planned at all, but as it turns out they were urgently necessary. The results justify the decision, and we know you’ll love it, but we had to spent way more time than we expected.

Will Update 1.0 be the last update?
Not at all - we have already planned major features for future updates. Which is also a reason why the codebase of Golf It! changes so drastically. One feature you may already heard of will be: Editor 2.0. To speed things up, we’ve also hired a new programmer to start working our new editor.

Take care,
Team Perfuse Entertainment

As we are still working on Update 1.0, we decided to release a series of dev logs to show you our progress and upcoming features. Our goal for this update is not only to release major features, but also to improve the overall quality of the game. That process takes more time than we expected, but we are constantly working to deliver the best experience.

[h2]Terrain Editing[/h2]
In our first dev log we would like to present to you a new editor tool. With Update 1.0 we will satisfy the long-desired request for a detailed landscape editor. This will happen on a voxel base which enables you to turn the boring flat terrain into whatever landscape you dream of.

The tool comes with different sculpture and painting modes and will be super easy to use – even on existing maps.


[h2]FAQ[/h2]
Will Update 1.0 arrive by the end of 2022?
To be honest, we currently can’t tell. We are working hard to deliver the update as fast as possible, while achieving our self-imposed quality goals. We have reworked almost the entire codebase of Golf It! to make it as stable and future proof as possible. These measures were not planned at all, but as it turns out they were urgently necessary. From now on we will post dev logs on a regular base to keep you updated.

Will Update 1.0 be the last update?
No. We have already planned major features for future updates. Which is also a reason why the codebase of Golf It! changes so drastically. One feature you may already heard of will be the Editor 2.0.

Today we released a minor update, which contains new editor features and several bug fixes. It’s also the last update till we are leaving early access. So, stay tuned for update 1.0 coming later this year. Remember that leaving early access doesn’t mean that we will stop pushing updates. We have plans reaching far behind Update 1.0.



[h2]Custom Materials[/h2]
If you are building your own custom map and no theme suits your level design, this feature is made for you. By navigating through the following menus “Editor > Importer > Materials”, you’ll find our new material editor.



Inside the material editor you can create new materials by combining default and imported textures. These newly created materials can later be used inside the map editor to create your own theme.



[h2]Next up Update 1.0[/h2]
Today’s update is just a minor because we are actively working on our next major update 1.0. To give you an idea about what is coming, here is a list of features:

• New Theme
  
• UI Overhaul
  
• Terrain Editor
  
• Tournament Mode
  
• Better VR and Controller experience
  
• Proper support for multiple languages
  
• Switch to Unreal Engine 5.0 or UE4 4.27
  
• And more…
  

If you would like to have a complete list of bugs, features requests and our public roadmap, please have a look on our Trello board: https://trello.com/b/TMbUwmxZ/golf-it

Take care,

Team Perfuse Entertainment

[h3]Changelog[/h3]

[General]
- Added Steam Deck support
- Updated timer and stroke UI
- Fixed scoreboard from staying open when entering a cannon
- Fixed under par achievement
- Fixed lane objects having lighting issues
- Fixed issues when upgrading or scrapping items
- Fixed cannons size affecting golf ball speed
- Fixed various issues regarding VR controller and gloves getting stuck

[Editor]
- Added importer to create your own custom textures for lanes, walls, and pipes
- Added custom theme to editor to combine different lane, walls, and pipe materials
- Added additional spawn options
- Added additional default audio effects
- Added event to allow displaying messages in chat
- Added additional event to the rotator (Update only when rendered)
- Added event to revert golf ball settings back to the lobby settings
- Added ability to change sun angle
- Updated undo/redo slightly to better support multiple selected objects
- Updated spawn and multi-selection performance for blueprints
- Updated some UI elements
- Fixed auto start timer event not getting applied correctly
- Fixed transforming golf ball not working correctly during play
- Fixed planets not being perfectly spherical, resulting in infinite movement
- Fixed duplicating post process volumes linked to events causing invalid volumes being created
- Fixed hole number being displayed wrong
- Fixed lobby/end view objects causing frame drops
- Fixed pipe connectors blocking cannons
- Fixed forced settings not getting forced enough

[Hotfix] - 08.03.2022
- Fixed game closing on some computers
- Fixed default Flag trails disappearing when resetting
- Fixed editor gizmo getting blocked by other objects

[Hotfix] - 27.04.2022
- Updated putter logic to use average speed on multiple frames instead of a single frame during impact
- Fixed selection of final/lobby view camera
- Fixed some broken lane collisions
- Fixed ball transform events
- Fixed saving of duplicated post-process objects
- Fixed object snapping to wrong snap points
- Fixed some material issues with events
- Fixed "Replace-All" materials not including goals
- Fixed hosts stuck on view during free-cam while spectating players finishing a hole
- Fixed item unlock not showing up during play
- Fixed MacOS SteamSDK issues
- Possible fix for cannons causing physics issues when resetting directly after shooting

Update 0.8.2.1:

- Added option to open/close server from inside the lobby to allow/stop new players from joining
- Added option to enable/disable sound events to be played from the start after loading the map
- Fixed custom assets saving incorrectly in the editor. Resaving maps using custom assets will result in lower file size and faster load times
- Fixed text chat not auto-scrolling correctly on longer messages
- Fixed credits causing soft-lock
- Fixed map name not being visible in the lobby for clients