Month: October 2018

Weekly Update #7: Too Big To Fail

Weekly Update #7: Too Big To Fail

by Gus Martin ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Hello folks!

Sorry for the couple of weeks without update! Been in heavy development mode, and some other things got in the way. But back on track!

Since the last update, I’ve focused on revamping systems, fixing issues, and integrating the new finances display! (Hence too big too fail, a reference which may be 10 years too late but hey you take what you can!)

Finance

Here’s the reworked version of the financial panel:

Financial panel for Boss Golf
Managing has never been this easy!

Now with a sleeker design, and better overview and division of the different aspects of your resort’s finances. All updated on real time, with graphs wherever they are needed, and easier access to the costs of your employees to give you more information when you need to fire them.

Golfer Panels

Golfer panels have also been updated and received the new UI makeover!

Character Panel
He’s not a very good golfer for a CEO.

The needs feature is also getting a revamp for the next update, adding more data regarding the golfers’ likes and dislikes and feedback for your course.

Everything Else

For the rest of the stuff, it’s difficult to show photos since it’s a lot of internal working. So I’ll list the new stuff in here!

  • Building types have been added. Now you can customize the functionality of the buildings based on their types. (Things like the star-rating of your hotels, room fees, quality and type of the menu at your restaurants etc)
  • Roofs are in for your buildings! Three types for now, with a more simplified display. But adds tons of flavor to the buildings!
  • Added more pieces to use on your buildings. They affect the maintenance costs.
  • Fixed issue with Builders trying to build a building while you are still planning them.
  • Fixed decorations not being placeable.
  • Adjusted the physics for the golf gameplay. The ball should act more “realistically” to different terrain types (hurrai physics materials!) and the forces acted upon it for shooting it have been tweaked. Now the loft of each club is used properly.
  • Fixed AI calculations for putting shots. Now they’re taking into account the height difference between the ball and the pin.
  • Buildings will now properly block the navmesh after being built.
  • Character panels now properly reflect the current state of the AI (Idling, moving to lay tiles, waiting etc).
  • Updated text on the game to use TextMeshPro, for much, much, much better readability and resolution. It’s night and day compared to before!
  • Decoration pieces now modify the navmesh properly! AI sometimes got stuck when navigating them, but now they resolve it correctly.
  • Fixed pathfinding to only try and reach the target position if it’s reachable; otherwise just go as far as the path allows. In instances when the target position is necessary (to strike the ball, for example), it will still reach it.
  • Fixed the Landscapers not wanting to do any work when loading a saved game.
  • And more minor things!

Phew! That’s an extensive list! And here’s another image showing off the roofs and more decoration for buildings:

Buildings in Boss Golf
Gabled, Flat, Angled… You can take your pick!

We’re getting closer to a feature complete version of the Early Access build. Working on updating the panels for the decorations and the water, probably unifying them into one unique panel. Same will follow the paths later!

Stay tuned for next week!

-Gus

Weekly Update #6: Expanding the System

Weekly Update #6: Expanding the System

by Gus Martin ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Hello folks!

This week’s update for Boss Golf is about expanding the existing game systems, and making them play nice with each other! This is something hard to show in screenshots, though, as the majority of the work was under the hood. But let’s try!

Hole Building

As the main action you’ll be undertaking in the game, I’ve finished integrating the systems for hole building!

Now as you build the hole you can see the three ratings change. Add a tile here, remove a tile there, expand the play space, move the hole…

Wide and Hard
A wide hole that has high difficulty thanks to the many bad terrain tiles.
easyNarrow
A narrow hole that has low difficulty because it has mostly good tiles.

Not only that, but these ratings are also being taken into account by the AI golfers. I’ve expanded their golfing system to react to these different ratings, preparing them for their potential performance ahead. So if they do well on a hard hole, they’ll feel better than if they do so so on an easy hole.

Character Management

I’ve also updated the panels for the character information, and customized them based on the type of character.

There’s also some extra functionality in there for you to check. Workers will now keep track of how many tasks they’ve completed, helping you see how busy they tend to be etc.

Managing Employees
Working hard or hardly working?

Building Features

Buildings now serve a purpose! That restaurant you build will provide you with income when AI golfers visit it. Break rooms (or buildings) will now be used for your workers to go to and lounge when they have nothing to do. Still mulling over what other sorts of buildings to add, but the main systems are in place already.

Buildings also come with limitations: your break room (building) can’t be taller than 1 story; the restaurant can go up to 3; hotels can be as tall as you want (and maybe become an eyesore).

Golfy Towers
This monstrosity may soon be heading to your golf course!

Maintenance costs have also been added, depending on the size and complexity of the building!

Also began improving the paths in the game, to make them more relevant to the navmesh.

AI Expansion

Biggest implementation has to do with the AI!

In a list, because lists make things easier to understand:

  • Improved the logic for choosing the order to take care of for the landscapers
  • Implemented the building for the builders
  • Builder building time will depend on their skill
  • Builders will also go to buildings to maintain them
  • Pathbuilding is no longer instant: you’ll lay down the plan for the path, and the builders will go on there to build them
  • Fixed the golfer decision making to take into account the new ratings on the holes
  • Added a new routine for the golfers to allow them to visit certain buildings on your course, if they exist (such as restaurants)

Besides that, loads of other smaller fixes and little improvements, such as modifying the action of the buttons when you hover over them etc. Little things that make the game feel a lot more polished.

That’s it for this week! See you guys next time!

-Gus

Weekly Update #5: Very Important People

Weekly Update #5: Very Important People

by Gus Martin ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Hello folks!

Time for this week’s update!

We start off with refinements to the employee system. There’s a brand new panel for management of the staff on your resort, combined with the option to hire new people, as you can see below!

hiringPeople

Prior to hiring, you’ll have an overview of the candidate, a little backstory on them, and their hiring fee. This is a percentage of their yearly salary that is paid upfront to have the privilege of hiring them.

For managing, as well, now you can set the tasks that a specific employee can perform. Want one landscaper focused on decoration and one focused on landscaping? You can!

manageTasks

Clicking on the employee will also open up a more detailed panel with relevant information on them, as well as the possibility to fire them/relocate them etc.

Next up, Very Important People!

And a messaging system.

As your resort reaches a higher star level, there’ll be more opportunities for VIP characters to want to drop by and play some golf, and maybe put in a good word for your resort.

To that effect, a messaging system has also been implemented providing you with more interaction with the game world!

messageInABottle

From here, you’ll get smaller missions, goals, and special offers to help improve (or hinder!) your resort’s profitability.

There are a lot of improvements under the hood too, specially when it comes to employee AI. Now they’re smarter in how they go about their job! Later on, I’ll add an energy meter for them, requiring them to take breaks every now and then to recharge. You’ll also have access to special facilities to build to improve their energy faster! (at a cost…. 😉

That’s it for this week! There’s a three-day holiday coming up, so expect a bigger update for next week!

-Gus