It's been a busy month here on the range - I've been working on update 1.14, which is centred on bringing new modes and updated game play - so let's dive right in!
First up I've implemented the following new game modes:
- Stableford
- Stableford Pro
- Multi-target
- Short Round
Stableford & Stableford Pro
The Stableford modes are played the same way as traditional Stroke play, however the score is tallied slightly differently. In Stableford obtaining par for the hole is worth 2 points. Extra points are awarded for every stroke under par, for example a Birdie is worth 3 points and an Eagle 4 points. Regular Stableford games clamp the value at zero - that is a Bogey or worse are worth no points, and the hole is ended for any player who has used up all their strokes and can't score. This can be beneficial for more casual games as it both speeds up the game play, and means that lower tier players are less likely to fall a long way behind on the scoreboard as the game progresses.
Stableford Pro is the similar, though negative scores are awarded for Bogey and worse. A Bogey is worth -1 point, Double Bogey -2 and so on. This has the potential for a longer running game - and keeps the contestants on their toes!
Multi-target mode
Multi-target is an all-new game play mode where each player must first hit a mid-point target on each hole, before holing out. Holing out (or even hitting the green) without first hitting the target forfeits that hole for the player with maximum strokes (12 on a regular course, 6 on the putting course).
Multi-target mode can be very challenging - missing a target first time effectively puts all other players one stroke ahead - and the games are often long and pretty intense! However the targets themselves offer a great opportunity for earning up to 70XP per target. The closer to the centre of the target you hit the more XP you earn.
Short Round
A Short Round mode has also been added for more casual game play. The selected course is reduced in length by 33% - so front or back 9 selections become 6 holes, and 18 hole selections become 12 holes. Which holes are available depend on whether the course is being played in forward or reverse, with the final 3 or 6 holes being omitted from the roster. The scoring is that of regular Stroke play - however final scores are not entered into the leaderboards.
As well as these new modes I've also updated skins rounds. If the final hole is drawn the game will enter Sudden Death! which isn't as gory as it sounds - simply put the first player to hole out on the last hole of the course wins the remaining skins pot. Of course, whether or not those skins are enough to win the entire round is another matter! 😁
Monthly Challenges
Also new to this update are the Monthly Challenges. Starting from the first of each month, as the name suggests, you'll have the remainder of the month to complete a given challenge. The currently active challenge and your personal progress can be found by visiting the Clubhouse. Completing a Monthly Challenge awards a whopping 500XP as well as an award for the personal stats page.
While we're here at the Clubhouse we can find another new feature: the Club League. This is a passive challenge which tracks your progress out on the course, and charts it against a series of virtual CPU players. Imagine it being something a little like fantasy football. The Club League is split into seasons of 24 games - at the end of each season the scores are reset, each of the CPU players are re-evaluated and awards for top 3 placement are given out. CPU players who did well will have their internal stats incremented for a greater challenge, while poorer performers drop down the ranks. As the Club League also ties in with your personal progression stats, resetting your profile from the Profile page will also completely reset the Club League, and generate a new set of CPU players. Stroke play, Stableford games and Short Round matches all contribute to the league.
And, of course, as with all new features there are a series of new achievements to be gained too!
Public Beta
As these features have now all been implemented in-game you can try them out on the public beta branch, by right clicking the game in your library and selecting the Beta tab. This goes with the usual caveat of there may (will!) be bugs here and there - so you do try it out at your own risk. If you do find a bug or have a suggestion for the update, leave a note on the discussions page or drop into the Official Chat - I'm always happy to hear feedback!
While this mostly completes the update there are still a few tweaks, mini-features and quality of life improvements to make before it's ready to be released - so stay tuned for future news!
Thanks as always go to the fervent and enthusiastic testers who have been helping out, including (but not limited to!) yourjaguarlover and Dechrissen.
Finally...
I mentioned in a previous post that the community are running Super Video Sundays - a place for people to get together each Sunday to match up online. Great fun has been had so far, and it's open for anyone to join - just head over to the Super Video Clubhouse group and say hello! Here's a video replay of one of last Sunday's rounds, featuring the new Multi-target mode:
Don't forget that, as it's a new month, the Monthly Leaderboards for August have now been archived - congratulations to everyone who placed a top 3! September's leaderboards are now underway and are logging scores for Stroke play games.
Thanks as always to everyone who has been joining in - I appreciate you all! 😁
See you in the next update!