Golf With Your Friends
Steam Description Excerpt:
Why have friends if not to play Golf... With Your Friends! Nothing is out of bounds as you take on courses filled with fast paced, exciting, simultaneous mini golf for up to 12 players!
Key Features:
12 Player Multiplayer! Make sure your skills are up to scratch as you tee off against 11 other golfers in simultaneous online multiplayer.
Themed Courses! Go head to head on courses with unique mechanics and holes. Become a pro in the pirate course, aim for an albatross in the ancient theme or wage all out Worm warfare in the Worms course!
Powerups! Drive a wedge between your friends as you trap their ball in honey, freeze it or turn it into a cube.
Three Game Modes! Tee off in classic mini golf, shoot for the pars in hoops or swap the hole for a goal in hockey
Level Editor! Putt your own spin on the game by creating, sharing and playing your own courses.
Customisations! Turn the fairway into the runway, with unlockable hats, skins and trails for your ball.
Steam Page
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WORLD
The billiard room
The world of Billgard is a simple bar with a pool table in the centre.
There is no story or anything else. It's a pure focus on gameplay. However, if Billgard had a story, it would look like this:
“In a smoky bar, between dim lights and the clinking of glasses, a billiard ball came to life. It was ball number 8, black and impenetrable. The other balls rolled towards it, trying to push it into the pockets of the table. But number 8 wanted more from its newfound existence. With a quick dash, it pushed the other balls aside and leapt into the air, landing on the cold floor of the bar.
As soon as it survived the impact, it faced a new danger: drunks trying to pick it up or kick it away. It moved skillfully around swaying legs and dodged clumsy shoes. Every attempt to grab it failed miserably. Finally, it reached the bar's door and charged through, out into the night.
But it was not alone on the street. A pack of dogs caught the scent of the small ball and chased it with bared teeth. But number 8 was faster and more maneuverable. It rolled through narrow alleyways, jumped curbs, and left the dogs panting in its wake.
Just as the ball thought it was safe, blue lights bathed the street in an eerie glow, and sirens blared. The police had joined the chase. Number 8 raced through the streets, dodging barriers and rolling relentlessly forward. Even when the military arrived, it could not be stopped. But the moment it almost escaped, it was caught by a bright light and pulled into the sky.
Aboard a spaceship, number 8 found itself surrounded by aliens. It hovered in the air, encircled by creatures that examined it curiously. But the little ball knew no fear. It shot through the spaceship, ramming into the aliens and fighting with all its might. Finally, it activated a self-destruct sequence and escaped at the last moment.
But the adventure did not end there. On the brink of death, number 8 was pulled into a glistening, bright world where a powerful being, God himself, awaited it. The little ball trembled with awe but stood firm. With a final, decisive leap, it rolled towards God. It was a battle beyond imagination, a struggle between creator and creation.
And if it hasn’t lost, then it’s still rolling happily ever after.”
GAMEPLAY LOOPS
Core Game Loop
Meta Game Loop
TABLE DESIGN
The billiard table is modelled after a real billiard table in the default setting. The dimensions all correspond to the original.
However the size of the table can be adjusted for different scenarios. The width and length can be adjusted separately.
So that the length of the game does not drag on, the table size shrinks over time in the sense of a ballte royal. The pocket size remains constant.
MOVEMENT AND COMBAT
The ball can be moved in two ways. The ‘normal’ movement rolls the ball forwards/backwards and left/right. The input only rotates the ball, causing it to move indirectly.
The other option is a dash, which gives the ball a strong push in the current direction of view (horizontal).
Dash
The dash can be used every 2 seconds. Due to the high force of the dash compared to normal movement, you lose control for a brief moment. To avoid putting yourself in a pocket, considered use is of crucial importance.
As well as moving quickly, the dash is also used to push other balls. The aim, as in real billiards, is to hit the opponent's ball so that it is pushed into a pocket.
The final use of the Dash is to dodge. If an enemy ball comes rushing towards you, you can use the dash to quickly get out of the way at the last second.
Since the dash is executed in the direction you're facing, and given that the round billiard ball makes it unclear to other players which direction that actually is, it allows for driving rolling exciting and tactical maneuvers.
Dash: Represented by an orange trail
Pocketing / Scoring
Kills (points in Free For All mode) are achieved by knocking your opponent's balls into the pockets or off the table.
As soon as a ball leaves the playing field in this way, the last ball to make contact is awarded the point. This is reset after 5 seconds so that no undeserved points are generated.
Regardless of whether you have been pushed or have selfstroyed yourself, your own death counter goes up. This is decisive in deathmatch mode.
Stun
As soon as you have been hit by another ball with a certain force, your own ball is stunned. The length of the stun depends on the strength of the hit, up to a maximum of 3 seconds.
In this condition, you cannot move or dash normally.
If you bump into another ball while you are stunned, the original bumper that stunned you is counted as the originator of the bump. In this way, as in real billiards, balls can be pocketed over other balls.
Stun: Represented by a purple aura
Physics
The majority of the game tries to orientate itself as closely as possible to real physics.
The exception to this is hitting other balls. The impact force is significantly increased here, so even on a bustling pool table where all the balls are moving at the same time, you get the feeling that your own shots are having an effect.
CAMERA
A third-person-ball camera follows behind the ball.
The camera is not blocked by other balls. However, as soon as you move closer to the side railing, the camera moves closer to the ball. If you get too close, the ball becomes transparent.
TABLE EVENTS
To loosen up the gameplay, random events occur at random intervals (between 30 and 60 seconds).
Each event has an announcement phase and a execution phase.
Jump
Announcement phase
A circle effect around the ball, which slowly gets smaller.
Execution phase
All the balls are ‘pushed’ upwards at the same time. For a brief moment, air battles ensue. One perfect hit almost certainly knocks the opponent's ball off the field.
However, if you miss, you will almost certainly be sent off the field. So it's a high risk/reward situation.
In rare cases, the event can save you by giving you a final boost upwards as you fall off the table, allowing you to dash back on.
Tilt
Announcement phase
The table starts to tremble slightly.
Execution phase
The table slowly tilts to about 45° in one direction and then in the other.
The table is tilted so much that you move very slowly in one direction, but much faster in the other. As a result, most of the balls gather on one side, creating a wonderfully chaotic and dangerous situation.
Black hole
Announcement phase
The light dims and a radius marker appears on the table.
Execution phase
A black hole appears in the centre of the marking, which attracts all billiard balls in the radius. The strength of the attraction decreases towards the outside. After a few seconds, the black hole ‘explodes’ and throws all the balls away.
More and more balls gather in the centre of the black hole, but they can save themselves with a clever dash or push other balls away. The danger of it exploding and the possibility of knocking other balls away provide the decisive kick!
LOBBY LEVEL
As soon as a game has been hosted and/or you have joined a game, you are in the lobby.
In the lobby, you can already roll around with a ball and give your ball a different look.
The lobby itself is a playground for billiard balls, with loops, jumps, parkour, etc.. All the players can use them to pass the time while they wait for the last players.
The many possibilities invite you to come up with your own little tasks. For example, a duel in the loop, long jump competitions, races, etc.
The first player on the host/server can also customise the game mode and settings here.
AI-Enemies
For rounds with few players or for that extra bit of chaos, simple AI balls can be added.
These dash towards an opponent every 3-5 seconds. After every third dash, the currently targeted opponent is randomly reselected (this can also be the same opponent again).
AI balls have no “life” and always return to the playing field after a short cool-down. They cannot win the game. However, they score points for the human players if they are pushed into a pocket by them.
Ai behavior tree
OVERVIEW
Action | Controller | Keyboard+Mouse |
|---|---|---|
Roll / Move | Left Stick | W, A, S, D |
Control Camera | Right Stick | Move Mouse |
Dash | Right Trigger | Shift |
Select Skin (Lobby only) | West Button, East Button | Arrow Key Left, Arrow Key Right |
Show more Information | Select/Back Button | Tab |
Game Settings (Server only) | Select/Back Button | Tab |
Add Local Player | Y | E |
Remove Local Player | B | R |
Start Game (Server only) | Start Button (hold 1 sec) | Enter (hold 1 sec) |
Open Menu | Start Button | Esc |
Confirm (Menu) | A | Enter / Left Mouse Button |
Back (Menu) | B | Esc / Right Mouse Button |
Navigate (Menu) | Left Stick, D-Pad | Move Mouse / Arrow Keys |
Scroll (Menu) | Left Trigger, Right Trigger | Mouse Wheel |
Previous / Next Tab (Menu) | Left Shoulder Button, Right Shoulder Button | Use Mouse |
More Information (Menu) | Select/Back Button | Tab |
Close Window (Menu) | Start Button | Esc |
CONTROLLER
Controller layout for gameplay
Controller layout for UI
KEYBOARD
Keyboard layout for gameplay
Keyboard layout for UI
Menu Structures
From the menu you decide whether you want to host a server or you select one from the list.
You can access and adjust the settings at any time both from the main menu and in the game (by pressing Esc/Start). As this is an online game, the game is not paused.
Serverliste
Gamemode menu
HUD
The HUD is kept minimalistic and should not distract from the gameplay.
Simple messages, together with small effects and sounds, provide information about events such as the pocketing of other balls or victory.
Pocketed message
Win message
VFX
The VFX were made with the help of Unreal Engines Niagara Particle System.
Niagara Particle Editor
SKINS
The player can choose between different skins. There are the standard skins from real billiards, as well as a few extra skins.
Various techniques have been used here.
Texture Based
Textures were edited in external programmes (Krita, Inkscape), imported into Unreal Engine and mapped onto a Sphere.
Exemplary billard skin
LGBTQ skin
Planet skin
Procedural Based
Patterns were generated procedurally using customised shaders. This was done with the Unreal Engine Material Editor.
Many of these resulting patterns are then also animated with the help of their procedural nature.
Animated pattern skin
MANAGMENT
We worked in two-week (to begin with weekly) sprints.
We have also set ourselves several milestones. Each milestone was given its own MoSCoW diagram, in which the points were usually ranked higher than before.
At the beginning, Jira was used as the management tool. In the course of development, we switched to Codecks.
This has served our requirements (a much more streamlined interface and fewer functions) much better. A lot of management overhead has been reduced.
TEAM
Fred Alfs
Student ID | 2622660 |
|---|---|
Responsibility | Network Programming User Interface Game Design |
Strengths | Lots of technical experience |
Weaknesses | Not a person |
Lionel Kaplanski
Student ID | 2622532 |
|---|---|
Responsibility | Environment Art Textures Visual Effects Sound Design Game Design |
Strengths | Initiative |
Weaknesses | works to hard, no vacation |
Finn Reimann
Student ID | 2619707 |
|---|---|
Responsibility | Gameplay Programming Physics Programming Music Game Design |
Strengths | Idea finding |
Weaknesses | Presentations |
