351 replies to this topic

[slewin]

Ok thanks Mike
I’ll stop modeling the Death Star and get back to earth then

It’ll be cool to see what all the talented designers come up with!!

[Mike Jones]

Ok thanks Mike
I’ll stop modeling the Death Star and get back to earth then

 

 

[M Rose]

That's not a green, it's a space station!

[highfade]

That must be set to some sick altitude.😉

[Kablammo11]

Impressive stuff, everybody. Wait too hot for Trackboy!

But let's keep the teasers and tidbits coming. 

 

 

Oops, sorry. Forgot to switch on the Fog. Okay, this is added a bit later:

 

[Jwheels9876]

There's always that one guy in the group who refuses to accept a lost ball.

I swear that's the guy I golf with all the time. Goes into the woods for 5 minutes, comes out with 12 balls, none of which are his. And that happens 3 times per round. He be floating around the galaxy picking up Noodles.

[RobC]

[erwildcat]

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[shanker01]

I really love matt rose and robc natural par3 courses, they look fantastic!!!!!

[Kablammo11]

I really love matt rose and robc natural par3 courses, they look fantastic!!!!!

 

So good of you, mate, to let us others know that we are wasting our time with our unnatural courses.

 

 

Still, the above quote by our very good friend (who is entitled to his opinion, absolutely, he is!) contains uncomfortable truths for all course designers. And in the spirit of keeping a conversation going, let us agree that

- golfers and computer golfers are conservative people (they don't like new or different stuff)

- they prefer real (or what they define as "real") over fantasy and flimsy.

- And they want their virtual courses to look green and blue with lotsa vegetation and water, cuz that's real.

 

Let's not even start to argue with the voice of the people. They have firmly locked themselves up inside their own mental comfort zone - any attempt to reach them would be vigorously brushed off as a "fake golf" and global elitist anathema. It's a bit deplorable - and I'm using that particular word with editorial malice - but it's also pretty much average par for a mediocre course at this current stage in the aborted evolution of mankind. The Neanderthal fashion police is out in full force, the progressives have only themselves to blame.

 

That's why I felt so elated and, for the briefest moment, not-as-lonesome-as-usual when I saw the many, creative approaches chosen by my fellow designers, from spaced-out holo-golf to shark fin party tricks to open-air jungle museum... Vive la résistance! I just went and looked for my old hat deep in the back of my wardrobe (almost all the way to the crumbled doorway to Narnia), just to put it on so that I can  tip it to you, oh unconventional ones.

 

Construction work at the Rattler continues apace, I'm happy to report, despite the sweltering heat wave forcing us all back into the shades every half hour. That's why every second screen cap is taken from the soothing shadows being provided by one of 12 hospitality pavillions around the course. The above image very nicely encapsulated the mood of me waiting to be served my second pint of draft beer.  Ah, here it comes...

[NoPutt]

I'll walk out into the hot, but run back to the shade...

[Buck]

@RobC:  

 

Those screens looks awesome!!  

I'm already excited to play another of your releases

[DoGgs]

some more screenies...

view from bridge to lake fossil

view across lake to 9th green complex

8th tee, green is cut into the mountain.  I do love a tee shot that looks more daunting than it actually is, mind games!

[M Rose]

 

[DPRoberts]

Brief word on design, to each his own my friends!

 

I figured most would do real course creations and thought Trackman would appreciate some variety. I know my older brother and myself will absolutely love the designs of RobC and Matthew Rose. I know my wife and 2 kids would prefer something like the Orbs. I think the concept of "golf" is dramatically undergoing a shift toward fun and being more family inclusive. The local Top Golf is logging more "players" than the local municipal course. So, the truth is, we really need both styles to satisfy the community. 

 

To that end...

A small bit of Orbian history for those interested in the development of this free floating fractured piece of land.

Fast forward to a post apocalyptic time (likely too many nuclear button pushers) where a band of inter galactic refugees happen to stake claim to a frozen mass of long since "worn out" comet from one too many orbits about the sun.

Thankfully, the motley çrew of inhabitants involve some of the greatest minds of all time with the ability to construct "the Grid" which provides gravity and thermal protection from the harsh elements of this otherwise uninhabitable sub zero climate.

 

Hole 4 - Forward Tees, 120 yards

The complex energy requirements to supply artificial gravity (at a less than creative - 9.8m/s²) and air resistance to the circuit board of the Grid was solved with what appears as a futuristic hadron collider. Eight 25m orbs placed evenly around a circle, 800m in diameter, functioning 24/7, 365 harnessing energy from all the subatomic particles real or imagined to support the needs of the now 13000+ inhabitants.

With a bit of luck and stroke of genius, a Lagrangian physicist discovered that he could collect the extraneous energy output through golf swings (the poorer, the better) and the aggressive downward pull on a slot machine into the capacitors placed around the planet. In order to continually meet the demands of this far out fantasy land, as long as roughly 58% of the inhabitants are either golfing or playing slots, the hadron functions.

With these principles guiding the founders, they decided to construct a fear inducing championship par 3 course and massive gambling facility, like never before imagined, and the Orbs was born.

 

The Orbs - home of the Milky Way's FIRST and ONLY subatomic particle suspended island green

 

Yes, there will be shirts available for purchase in the Gift Shop!

[M Rose]

I think you go with what you do best, especially when there's real money at stake (or in my case, hopefully a career).

 

So on that front, I go conventional because it's what I'm most familiar with.... and sure, it's also my own personal preference for golf sims that try to replicate the authentic experience. I guess I'm also kind of using this as a de facto "job interview" so I figured I had to do what I do best and maybe even go a bit beyond it. I can't really compete with any of you science fiction guys on that front, so I don't really bother trying. So I guess I do stay in my comfort zone a lot of the time, but in this case it's what I feel most comfortable doing. I will say that I've tried to up my game a bit in the landscaping department this time a bit more than usual.

 

I certainly wouldn't want to belittle or disparage any style radically different from my own. To me the genre really isn't important so much as "is it well executed"... blammo does his thing as well as anybody. I wouldn't expect him to do anything different.

 

There's room for all kinds!

[slewin]

Kinda with you on this one Matt. Being a life long real player and having an obsession with traditionally course design, the only thing that immerses me in the game is a course that either exist or makes me believe it could exist.
My entry is a big rush job as I only discovered this competition Yesterday, so it’s only a 9 holer and my take on a long lost Melbourne Sandbelt course in the back blocks and garden markets.

I’m looking forward to seeing what we all create with a little award attached.

I wish everyone the best of luck!!

[Buck]

... the only thing that immerses me in the game is a course that either exist or makes me believe it could exist.

 

Fully agree with this

[Jwheels9876]

So many good looking designs here so far. This game is blessed with a fantastic community of guys who release these awesome courses. I only play on the simulator so I really get to play them as if I'm out there on the course and I've never played a course that I didn't enjoy.

Good luck to everyone and keep releasing all the great courses!

[DoGgs]

Well my course is pretty much finished, so i have Been thinking about the preference for 18 holes, and considering i am only going with 9 i have given thought to why we are creating these courses to begin with.  This leads me onto and into my desire to push to 18.  With sim players in mind i have decided to add 9 target holes that will be totally flat and would only serve as target practice at varying lengths.  I am not lucky enough to be a sim player, so would this be welcomed by the sim element here?  9 regular holes followed by 9 target holes.  I would like to push the whole course to 18 but i have so much going on along with reflective water, you would be lucky to get the frames into double figures, but with 9 target holes we may just get away with it...thoughts!