This update introduces the replay system starting out initially with available playback of leaderboard entries via the practice menu.
Leaderboard Replays
The replay HUD lets you adjust the play rate, skip time, and reset. As of the previous update you can also activate free camera and fly around to get any view you wish as well in any spectating state.
Please note that existing leaderboard entries simply lack specific data so a few things like stroke counts and rotation may appear odd depending how old the entry is.
Specific issues include stroke counts were not factoring in undo, so in some cases you’ll just see “7” as stoke number because the player probably had a dozen attempts and then reset before the final ghost was recorded etc. In other cases, you’ll see entries with a previous rotation method being stored which can be a bit wonky. Additionally, some levels have been moved around since the first leaderboard entries were made.
All of these will be cleared before launch and new leaderboard entries record better already. With this system I’ll be able to observe and fix things a lot easier too. Also an area where definite improvement is needed is to synchronize the obstacles, and that will be something for a future update.
The end-goal with this replay system is to extend it to be able to playback all holes of full 16-player games which will work via the previously added session history menu. The point of it so you can go back and take screenshots, record video, or just check out how a specific shot was made. I welcome feedback on the quality and overall usability of the interface as it gets expanded over time.
There are a few other changes in the full patch notes below so please check those out. If you are enjoying playing the demo then please add the game to your wishlist :)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1914980/Golfing_In_Aether/
Patch Notes
General
- Fixed an instance where a local controller wasn’t removed correctly.
- Added improvements to local controller handling so they can be used out of order. I.e. start a game with player 1 and player 3 on the profile select screen.
- Added various backend tidy ups to player name fading in and out.
- Added added rule to block entering free camera when the player you are spectating is inside a hole (or pipe).
- Added ability to watch a replay of your own leaderboard ghost, or others via the leaderboard menu in practice menu.
- Added ability to control game speed during replay playback. The environment including sounds will be effected by these changes but your ability to move the camera will not.
- Added improvements to all inputs to account for global time dilation.
- Fixed various ghost related issues relating to stroke count handling.
- Fixed an instance where the top camera could interfere with spectating.
Environment
- Fixed a few wall gaps on ‘Bogeytown’.
Interface
- Fixed an instance where the next available player name was shown during hole out in the spectating screen for a spectator who is in free camera.
- Added various tidyups to back-end logic handling for spectator names.
- Fixed game menu showing “disconnect from the session” instead of simply “end session” as a description for returning to the main menu.
- Added improvements to how keyboard keys are represented, and defaulted to some common symbols instead for keys that cannot be condensed. So ‘Backspace’ got changed to ⟵ etc. I’ve kept others like TAB as simply ‘TAB’ as it wouldn’t be saving space and I’m not sure every user would recognise symbols for those anyway.
- Fixed an instance where opening the game menu would still send input to the spectator menu.