Hello again all! Its time once more to take a look at whats being worked on for the upcoming update to Super Video Golf, so lets jump in! Last month I revealed the new Equipment Counter, which has been undergoing thorough testing in the public beta so, in between taking on board player feedback and making tweaks and adjustments, Ive been giving the game a light visual overhaul to pretty things up here and there. First off Ive upgraded the shadow rendering of the game engine, which provides much nicer soft shadows compared to the old system:
To accompany this theres also a new Very Low and Very High setting for shadows available in the Options. Next up is a little touch Ive actually wanted to add for many many months, but have only now just managed to get everything together to implement it. The cup on each green, formerly just a black circle, is now 3D in look (although not in nature!) as it now employs an effect called Parallax Offset Mapping. If youre interested in the technical side, you can read about how the effect works here.
Its a small thing but it really does add to the feel of the game in my opinion Another graphical tweak Ive had on my list for far too long (literally years at this point ) is an update to player animations. Originally there was only a single animation available when hitting the ball, which looked a bit odd as the avatar would swing a huge drive, only to chip the ball onto the green. Now a more subtle chip animation will play when using a wedge, which helps to make everything look a little bit more natural.

And, finally, Ive added some more ball models which are unlocked when acquiring new balls from the Equipment Counter. Each of these models represents the in-game manufacturers (such as Tunnelrock or Woodgear) as well as exhibit a more traditional dimpled look one might expect from a golf ball. I find these can be a sober, yet pleasing, alternative to the slightly wacky novelty balls already available in the game.
[hr][/hr] Not everything in the update is cosmetic, however, Ive also been working on improving the tutorials and documentation for the game, which go further to explain some of the finer points of Super Video Golf gameplay, that may have previously been under-described or otherwise difficult to infer. Extra tips will appear throughout the game (although hopefully not nag - they wont appear more than once unless you request them from the Options menu) and a complete, text-based, guide is available from the Options menu at any point during the game. Ive also done my best to make it as flexible as possible to update and potentially even translate into other languages in the future.
As always this is all available in the public beta, which you can get to from the games properties in Steam and choosing the Beta tab, where you can opt in or out at any time. If any of the new graphical effects are appearing a little funky for you, or you think theres something which could be added to the documentation, please let me know! You can drop a note over at the Discussions, in the Steam Group Chat, or on Discord. Thanks to everyone who has offered feedback so far, I look forward to hearing what else it is you have to say! Thats it for this update though, so until next time: Happy Golfing!