Hello folks! Can you believe Super Video Golf has been on Steam for a year already? A lot has happened in that time, so I thought I'd mark this milestone with a look back over the game's progress in the last year.
First and foremost I have met some wonderful people thanks to the game - the community is small, but warm, welcoming and competitive! Thank you to everyone who has given feedback, offered suggestions or just made kind comments about the game 😁 A particular shout out should go to yourjaguarlover for his persistent enthusiasm, ideas and support within the community. Along with yourjaguarlover a special thanks should also go to Dechrissen who, between them, have been running the 'Super Video Clubhouse' which, each Sunday, plays host to community games online under the guise of Super Video Sunday. The clubhouse is open to everyone, so if you want to meet new people and play a few rounds each week, then do drop on by! You can find the Steam group here.
It's thanks to all of you I am enthused and delighted to continue working on the game, and to try and shape it in to something everyone can enjoy - and will attempt to do so for the foreseeable future.
When Super Video Golf was first released on Steam it had existed for a little over a year on itch.io, first as a fun little side project, and then as something more serious as interest in it grew.
Eventually I was buoyed by support enough that I could bring Super Video Golf to Steam. At that point, then, the first release on Steam was version 1.10.
Version 1.10 (February 2023)
When version 1.10 released its most prominent feature was the new course at Fairland Rock, along with Purcitop Pitch'n'Putt, which had previously not been included in the game. It also featured all new networking thanks to Steam, with the built in community-driven features providing quick and easy matchmaking. However it was not exactly perfect... can you believe that the balls didn't actually roll across the green?? 😅
Version 1.11
Next came update 1.11 in March 2023. This update brought new features with it such as the Stroke Play and Driving Range leaderboards, the first to really start taking advantage of what Steam has to offer. Significantly, in 1.11, Steam Workshop support was added. Putting was refined (balls were made to roll!), trees were prettified and new club sets were added, which can be unlocked as the player progresses. This included both new clubs in the bag, as well as an increase in range as the player ranks up.
Clouds were also overhauled with full 3D rendering, as well as the controversial aim clamp being removed.
And it was at this point Super Video Golf was Steam Deck verified!
Version 1.12
In April 2023 version 1.12 landed, which was a smaller update centred on player customisation. It also brought the option to fast-foward the current shot, both for human and CPU players, as well as added a clutch of new achievements, particularly for taking advantage of the new ball spin mechanics.
1.12 saw 5 patches, which were mostly fixes, though they significantly improved the unicode support allowing the game to embrace more international players 😁
Version 1.13
A few months later, in August 2023, version 1.13 arrived. This update focused particularly on the experience on Steam Deck (everyone's favourite handheld PC!). Users with a Steam Deck would now see better defined power bars and stroke indicators to compliment the small screen, as well as the options menu now displaying Steam Deck specific glyphs for the controls.
1.13 also made specific club sets selectable, so players could choose which bag to take with them to the course. In the clubhouse much work was done to display stats and information about the player profile, including charts for scores on each course over time, leaderboard browsers, and a new view of awards and achievements gained for playing.
Yourjaguarlover spent many, many hours playing and training the CPU (more than I could probably bear!) to ensure that matches against CPU players are a great experience. It was also around this time Dechrissen and yourjaguarlover started the Super Video Clubhouse.
Oh, and the option to add custom music was added 😁
Version 1.14
All about the game modes, version 1.14 was released in September 2023. These new game modes, for both single and multiplayer were:
- Stableford
- Stableford Pro
- Multi-target
- Shortround
The club league, a fantasy football style progress tracker, was also added to the clubhouse. And what would turn out to be a player favourite was also added - the in-flight ball cam:
With 1.14 also came the monthly challenges - every player has one calendar month to complete a challenge as outlined in the Clubhouse. Successfully fulfilling the challenge rewards a huge 500xp!
Version 1.15
Most recently version 1.15 was released in January 2024. Focused on content this update brought two new full size courses, Nguyen Valley and Hertog Regis:
It also brought with it night mode, with a new lighting system as well as selectable weather. Die-hard golfers can now play in the fog and rain if they want to!
And on top of that the update also added in-game chat in multiplayer, and SteamOS support 😀
It's been quite a year! 😁
What's Next?
Moving forward I'm looking to add a career mode to enable players a sense of progression, as well as providing an opportunity to unlock more cosmetic items, such as new balls, new hair styles and new avatars. I have plans in motion already - though I will say this isn't going to be your full immersive golf career sim... so I hope you won't be too disappointed. However nothing is entirely set in stone (which is partly why I won't go into too much detail just yet) so if you have any suggestions or feedback on the new mode do come talk to us! You can find the Steam chat room here, and I'm always happy to find out what you think.
That's all for this update, thank you for playing, thank you for reading and thank you for being a wonderful community! Until next time, happy golfing! ⛳🏌️♀️