Hello @afterburn, I'm trying to run the MacOS version on MacBook Pro 2023 M2 Pro, Sonoma 14.5 but I'm getting the "The application can't be opened" message. Could you please assist on that issue?
Sorry to hear about the issue; could you check if the game launches properly without issues if you try and launch it from the itch.io app? (https://itch.io/app)
I found this on Google play on an old phone. When I installed this on a new phone running GrapheneOS with a sandboxed install of Google play services Gold Peaks would not start. I was so happy to find this on Itch, and the android version from itch works fine.
I downloaded it to my android device and it worked seamlessly. I loved the game. So simple and fun. Even found the secret puzzle ❤️
Only one piece of feedback. World 5 and beyond have the portal holes. For accessibility, the colors can be a bit tough to differentiate for color blindness.
Would never have thought to make golf into a card game. But by golly they did it. Simple but fun game. Good music, not too ambient. Clean aesthetic. Clear goals. 5/5 Stars.
-As a small UI matter, I wasn't initially clear what the challenge levels were or that I could click on them in the World Complete screen
-It also would have been really cool if the levels rose and fell out of the mist, instead of the fade-out effect rising and falling with them
-Finally, it would have been super-neat if the cards looked like a bag of golf clubs you got to choose from
But these are all minor! It's a very thematic, unique, and never-to-frustrating puzzle game. (Well...never-too-frustrating as of World 5, at least). Perfect thing to cuddle up with while I wait to get over this stomach bug :)
Glad you enjoyed the game, and I hope your stomach gets better soon :)
Regarding the feedback:
Bonus levels are an ongoing struggle for ours in terms of presenting them to the player without also making them stray from the critical path. We have a new way of showing this in our upcoming game and we hope it'll work out better than what we did in Golf Peaks.
This effect of rising from the mist was actually our initial idea, but we ran into some technical issues with doing that due to how our shaders are set up, so we opted for the simpler camera effect you can see in the game today.
We actually had a "golf club" visual for the cards in the earlier version of the game (see attached image) but we opted out against them because the image took up too much space and took away the player's focus from what the card will actually do :)
Makes sense! Shaders'll get you. UI is just hard. I *do* kind of like the golf-club cards in the posted screenshot, but I can see why, as you say, they might have had to go for space. I understand this game has to play on phones, too, and I've been playing it on a laptop.
I wouldn't say that your presentation of the challenge levels was drastically off or anything. Even something like a little floating "Optional Challenge Levels:" text hanging over them might have been enough to eliminate any confusion, at least for me.
Lots of the presentation is really good! Again, I don't know if I said this, but I love how thematic water and sand traps and bank shots are. Those are the most 'interpreting golf as puzzle mechanics' elements, and they really make the whole experience.
Oh. It might be interesting to note that I did encounter a level now that almost stumped me: 5-4. I admit I came close to giving up! It took me forever to realize what I could do with that chip2-roll2. Required a bit of lateral thinking. But I did get there.
That's also an important point - based on whether the game is in portrait mode (phones) or landscape (PC / tablets / consoles) we switch up the card orientation from vertical to horizontal in order to make them more legible, and the design had to account for that :)
Yeah, putting a label saying "bonus" on top of the challenge levels might've helped - at the time I was determined to put in as little text as I could (both for localization reasons, as well as making the game more approachable to young kids) but that probably wouldn't have hurt as much.
Thanks! We tried to make the mechanics easily understandable at a glance even for golf newbies like us :)
I'll agree that 5-4 is a bit of a difficulty spike, and we probably should've made the puzzle a bit easier in hindsight.
I'm having a problem with the Android version, I'm using Android 5.1
On the first time Golf Peaks is run after being installed, it works. The second time its run, the course screen has the buttons at the top and cards at the bottom though the rest is black. I can't see the course or play the game. The only way I can get the game back is to reinstall the game.
Just picked up this game in a bundle, and it's great! Love the mechanic of the cards, and it plays amazing on Android. Thanks for making such a fun game!
This is a great game, I was (finally!) digging through the Racial Justice bundle and played on Windows for a while, but was happy to be able to grab a copy for Switch just now too. Thanks!
Really excited to play this! I got it on the Bundle for Racial Justice and saw that theverge.com recommended it on their Best Short Games of 2019. Unfortunately, I'm unable to open the app on my Mac w/ Catalina. I've tried accessing the https://howtomacos.com/2019/02/24/fix-the-application-cant-be-opened-on-mac/ but the website seems to be down. I've also tried replicating other commenters' "chmod" and "sudo" solutions, but they're all variations on one another and none of them seem to work in my terminal, I've tried my own variations to no avail as well. In addition, simply "control+clicking -> open" doesn't work. I saw that you were in the process on getting notarized, is this something you are still working on? Would you have an updated temporary solution? Thank you!
Love the concept. The art is simple but lovely, the controls are smooth, and so far the levels have felt like just the right amount of challenge. Though I've had a couple levels (5-7 and 6-7) that I completed with extra actions left over, and I'm not sure that was supposed to happen.
Hi, glad you enjoyed the game! In some levels (like the ones you mentioned) we added some extra cards to make the difficulty flow a bit smoother since we noticed that original solutions in these were a bit too tricky - but if you found the quicker way to exit that level consider it to be a secret of sorts :)
Had a very chill time in these stressful period we’re living. I’m quite bad so I didn’t get very far. I also added it in a little bundle review about relaxing puzzle games.
Just finished all 121 levels. A truly excellent puzzle game. While the visual presentation isn't all that striking at a first glance, it allows for an amazing level of overview of each puzzle. The mechanics that are employed are also masterfully executed, each new one including a new element that combines with all others. And while some of them can be frustrating in certain puzzles I don't think I found any one mechanic that I outright disliked per se as opposed to just in certain puzzles. A truly remarkable game.
Hi, files from the itch.io version of the game on Windows should be located in: C:\Users\<YOUR_USER_NAME>\AppData\LocalLow\Afterburn\Golf Peaks in the SaveData.es3 file.
Maybe it's my setup, but my Xbox One Controller on Windows 10 can't seem to exit the game with the start button. Is this a known issue? I can exit a level with the start button, but it won't quit the game from the main menu. I have to use my mouse to actually exit the game.
Hi, if I remember correctly the Start button should open up a "are you sure you want to quit?" prompt in the main menu, but you should also be able to navigate to the "Quit Game" button on the left side of the screen using the controller.
Thanks-- the escape key does this, but pressing the start button doesn't do anything from the main menu. I can see that it knows the button is pressed as it will change the input icons if a keyboard key is pressed beforehand. Can't seem to navigate to the button, either, if you navigate left using the analog stick or the dpad, it only moves the level selection to the left, but the menu items can't be selected via the gamepad. The start button will exit a level properly, though.
Okay, so I thought the problem still existed, even after reinstalling the game (through that option in the itch client), but I just uninstalled the game and installed it fresh, and it seems to be fixed! I was able to exit using the gamepad. Thank you, and keep up the excellent work. Really enjoying your game.
Fantastic game. Just finished all levels, loved getting a new mechanic in most new worlds. Great ramp up from a simple level 1 on each world, to something more complex by the end. The final 3-4 puzzles of each world are the real challenge, and I personally found 9-12 to be the hardest
An instant classic! One of the best puzzle games in a long time. Steady increasing difficulty and new inventive mechanics have you keep your eye on the ball.
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Comments
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Loved this game, it's a textbook example of excellent puzzle design, also the UX is really intuitive and well made.
Thank you! :)
Would be handy if the android download was just the apk file and not a zip, would make it easier to install from your phone.
Fair point, changed it :)
Hello @afterburn, I'm trying to run the MacOS version on MacBook Pro 2023 M2 Pro, Sonoma 14.5 but I'm getting the "The application can't be opened" message. Could you please assist on that issue?
Sorry to hear about the issue; could you check if the game launches properly without issues if you try and launch it from the itch.io app? (https://itch.io/app)
Thank you! Using the itch app solved it and the game was properly installed and it's running perfectly fine :)
Very challenging game. I enjoyed a lot
video review and walkthrough (in spanish)
Thanks, glad you liked it!
great game!
Thanks!
Great level design as well as inbento
Thanks! :)
DOES work on Steam Deck
very relaxing game. i was so relaxed from playing that i forgot to breathe and died ☠️☠️☠️
This game was surprisingly challenging! Never did I think a game of Golf would have me scratching my head xD
I found this on Google play on an old phone. When I installed this on a new phone running GrapheneOS with a sandboxed install of Google play services Gold Peaks would not start. I was so happy to find this on Itch, and the android version from itch works fine.
Hi, glad to hear that the itch version worked fine for you :)
I downloaded it to my android device and it worked seamlessly. I loved the game. So simple and fun. Even found the secret puzzle ❤️
Only one piece of feedback. World 5 and beyond have the portal holes. For accessibility, the colors can be a bit tough to differentiate for color blindness.
Otherwise super fun!
Thanks for your feedback, we'll try to do better in the future with regards to accessibility :)
downloaded onto my phone!!! it plays so smoothly!!!!! great lil brain game for relaxing
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!
Can you not play this windowed on MacOS? :--(
Would never have thought to make golf into a card game. But by golly they did it. Simple but fun game. Good music, not too ambient. Clean aesthetic. Clear goals. 5/5 Stars.
Thanks for the kind words :)
Simply Delightful!
-As a small UI matter, I wasn't initially clear what the challenge levels were or that I could click on them in the World Complete screen
-It also would have been really cool if the levels rose and fell out of the mist, instead of the fade-out effect rising and falling with them
-Finally, it would have been super-neat if the cards looked like a bag of golf clubs you got to choose from
But these are all minor! It's a very thematic, unique, and never-to-frustrating puzzle game. (Well...never-too-frustrating as of World 5, at least). Perfect thing to cuddle up with while I wait to get over this stomach bug :)
Regarding the feedback:
Makes sense! Shaders'll get you. UI is just hard. I *do* kind of like the golf-club cards in the posted screenshot, but I can see why, as you say, they might have had to go for space. I understand this game has to play on phones, too, and I've been playing it on a laptop.
I wouldn't say that your presentation of the challenge levels was drastically off or anything. Even something like a little floating "Optional Challenge Levels:" text hanging over them might have been enough to eliminate any confusion, at least for me.
Lots of the presentation is really good! Again, I don't know if I said this, but I love how thematic water and sand traps and bank shots are. Those are the most 'interpreting golf as puzzle mechanics' elements, and they really make the whole experience.
Oh. It might be interesting to note that I did encounter a level now that almost stumped me: 5-4. I admit I came close to giving up! It took me forever to realize what I could do with that chip2-roll2. Required a bit of lateral thinking. But I did get there.
That's also an important point - based on whether the game is in portrait mode (phones) or landscape (PC / tablets / consoles) we switch up the card orientation from vertical to horizontal in order to make them more legible, and the design had to account for that :)
Yeah, putting a label saying "bonus" on top of the challenge levels might've helped - at the time I was determined to put in as little text as I could (both for localization reasons, as well as making the game more approachable to young kids) but that probably wouldn't have hurt as much.
Thanks! We tried to make the mechanics easily understandable at a glance even for golf newbies like us :)
I'll agree that 5-4 is a bit of a difficulty spike, and we probably should've made the puzzle a bit easier in hindsight.
Love this game, full of clever design and ideas !
Thanks! :)
great game! thank you for making this i liked it very much :)
Thanks, glad you liked it! :)
I love this game, its great.
I'm having a problem with the Android version, I'm using Android 5.1
On the first time Golf Peaks is run after being installed, it works. The second time its run, the course screen has the buttons at the top and cards at the bottom though the rest is black. I can't see the course or play the game. The only way I can get the game back is to reinstall the game.
Is there something I can do?
Hi, this sounds like a really strange bug we haven't seen before. Can you send us a screenshot of how that looks at golf@afterburn.games?
Thanks for your reply. I have sent a screenshot as requested.
Just picked up this game in a bundle, and it's great! Love the mechanic of the cards, and it plays amazing on Android. Thanks for making such a fun game!
Glad you're enjoying it! :)
Wow, brilliant idea and amazing platform! I really love it!
Thanks, glad you like the game!
This is really cool! I'm playing on Android, and it's a great fit, for both the mechanics and the session length.
Thanks, glad to hear that :)
I just realized I played Golf Peaks last 3 years ago! I still think about it sometimes. Especially when I’m working on puzzly things myself.
It looks like there’s a ton of new content I need to check out now! Exciting! :-)
Glad to see y’all are still doing well!
Thanks, and likewise :)
I am unable to open it on my Mac.
Hi, this guide might help: https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/open-a-mac-app-from-an-unidentified-dev...
No, that's not it. It's not the unidentified developer issue. I literally just see this when I try to open:
Hi, can you send more info about the Mac you're trying to open the game on? (device name / model / year and OS version)
Sure. MacBook Pro 13 inch M1 2020, macOS Monterey 12.2.1
Hi, I just uploaded a new experimental build for MacOS. Check it out and let me know whether the issue is resolved :)
I'm having the same issue. Macbook pro 15in 2017, Catalina 10.15.7
Hi, I just uploaded a new experimental build for MacOS. Check it out and let me know whether the issue is resolved :)
also having the same issue. Macbook pro m1, venture 13 here
This is a great game, I was (finally!) digging through the Racial Justice bundle and played on Windows for a while, but was happy to be able to grab a copy for Switch just now too. Thanks!
Glad you liked it :)
Amazing little puzzle golf game. Great work, looking forward to more.
Thanks!
Why is the Android version unavailable on itch?
Hi, the APK is available now :)
The ios and android version of Golf Peaks have controller support
Hi, would you consider releasing the Android APK on itch.io?
Hi, the APK is available now :)
This game is pretty chill and I like it
Really excited to play this! I got it on the Bundle for Racial Justice and saw that theverge.com recommended it on their Best Short Games of 2019. Unfortunately, I'm unable to open the app on my Mac w/ Catalina. I've tried accessing the https://howtomacos.com/2019/02/24/fix-the-application-cant-be-opened-on-mac/ but the website seems to be down. I've also tried replicating other commenters' "chmod" and "sudo" solutions, but they're all variations on one another and none of them seem to work in my terminal, I've tried my own variations to no avail as well. In addition, simply "control+clicking -> open" doesn't work. I saw that you were in the process on getting notarized, is this something you are still working on? Would you have an updated temporary solution? Thank you!
Fun little game that reminds me of Kirby's Dream Course for the SNES, but with a bit of a twist.
Love the concept. The art is simple but lovely, the controls are smooth, and so far the levels have felt like just the right amount of challenge. Though I've had a couple levels (5-7 and 6-7) that I completed with extra actions left over, and I'm not sure that was supposed to happen.
Hi, glad you enjoyed the game! In some levels (like the ones you mentioned) we added some extra cards to make the difficulty flow a bit smoother since we noticed that original solutions in these were a bit too tricky - but if you found the quicker way to exit that level consider it to be a secret of sorts :)
Love the minimal art and relaxing music. Very smooth difficulty curve as well.
Thanks, glad you had fun with it :)
Had a very chill time in these stressful period we’re living. I’m quite bad so I didn’t get very far. I also added it in a little bundle review about relaxing puzzle games.
Hi, thanks a bunch for including us in the bundle, appreciate it :)
Just finished all 121 levels. A truly excellent puzzle game. While the visual presentation isn't all that striking at a first glance, it allows for an amazing level of overview of each puzzle. The mechanics that are employed are also masterfully executed, each new one including a new element that combines with all others. And while some of them can be frustrating in certain puzzles I don't think I found any one mechanic that I outright disliked per se as opposed to just in certain puzzles. A truly remarkable game.
Thank you so much for the kind review :)
This is SO much fun.
Thank you, glad you enjoy it :)
Great game but I can't find where the save files are located?
Hi, files from the itch.io version of the game on Windows should be located in:
C:\Users\<YOUR_USER_NAME>\AppData\LocalLow\Afterburn\Golf Peaks in the SaveData.es3 file.
Maybe it's my setup, but my Xbox One Controller on Windows 10 can't seem to exit the game with the start button. Is this a known issue? I can exit a level with the start button, but it won't quit the game from the main menu. I have to use my mouse to actually exit the game.
Hi, if I remember correctly the Start button should open up a "are you sure you want to quit?" prompt in the main menu, but you should also be able to navigate to the "Quit Game" button on the left side of the screen using the controller.
Thanks-- the escape key does this, but pressing the start button doesn't do anything from the main menu. I can see that it knows the button is pressed as it will change the input icons if a keyboard key is pressed beforehand. Can't seem to navigate to the button, either, if you navigate left using the analog stick or the dpad, it only moves the level selection to the left, but the menu items can't be selected via the gamepad. The start button will exit a level properly, though.
Hi, thanks for reporting that bug. I uploaded a new version (3.11) - can you check if that one works properly?
Okay, so I thought the problem still existed, even after reinstalling the game (through that option in the itch client), but I just uninstalled the game and installed it fresh, and it seems to be fixed! I was able to exit using the gamepad. Thank you, and keep up the excellent work. Really enjoying your game.
Thanks, glad to hear it works now :)
Fantastic game. Just finished all levels, loved getting a new mechanic in most new worlds. Great ramp up from a simple level 1 on each world, to something more complex by the end. The final 3-4 puzzles of each world are the real challenge, and I personally found 9-12 to be the hardest
Thanks, happy to hear you enjoyed Golf Peaks so much :)
An instant classic! One of the best puzzle games in a long time. Steady increasing difficulty and new inventive mechanics have you keep your eye on the ball.
Thank you, glad you had fun with Golf Peaks :)
Finished it just atm, 121/121 ;)
Congrats! :)