2551 replies to this topic

[DoGgs]

we have a diesel engine...

[pingzing]

all aboard the crazy train

 

well done diesel engine and carriages, now looks better and bit more charcter

 

Cheers Dogz

[wim1234]

its only a matter of time before we will see trains used as caddycarts lol

but it looks very nice doggz

[olazaboll]

 Looks Great !!!

[Kablammo11]

[NoPutt]

Very Cool / Hot, What, no Willows?

[Justin9926]

K11, Was wondering if you are still planning on having a negative altitude? By the looks of some of your videos the clubs are carrying their normal distances if not more.

 

Justin

[Kablammo11]

Wasn't planning that, Justin. Just made a joke. No Altitude gimmicks at Xaxnax in place or planned.

 

 

 

Course is set to default (100%) brightnesses. Hard ground, Stimp 13, difficult pins.

 

The stutters of the videos are explained by:

• me using higer graphics settings than usual with vignetting and flare to see how the halos appear in game
• me running a HD video capture while playing

But if it stutters thusly on my machine, odds are that the course will run smooth on everybody else's. Sad but true. 

[Kablammo11]

I just sent the download link for Xaxnax Beta to the powers that be. It will be made available very soon for beta testing in the private forums over here and for accredited testers over at OGT.

 

And that is that

 

 

Announcing my next project:

 

Aroha

 

"Aroha" is a Maori word and life concept. It's related to the Hawaii term "Aloha", but a bit more complex than its few letters would indicate...

 

 

Aroha

An extension of manaakitanga is the concept of aroha (love, in its widest sense). Aroha can mean respect, concern, hospitality, and the process of giving. Aroha is reflected in the way that tangata whenua volunteer to provide hospitality, in the way that manuhiri become part of the tangata whenua and share in the duties of the day and, more importantly, in the way that people relate to one another.

 

(Manaakitanga

Literally, manaakitanga means to “care for a person’s mana” (well-being, in a holistic sense). On a marae, it is often claimed that it is not what is said that matters but how people are looked after. This is the essence of manaakitanga.

Manaakitanga also includes the respect we give to elders. Our elders are responsible for the manaakitanga (care) of the entire group connected to a marae. The manaakitanga they give is based on their knowledge, life experience, and wisdom.)

 

Long story short, in my search for yet another outlandish ecosystem I can disfigure with a golf course, I am now opting for a tropical island in the South Pacific. Actually, it's an atoll, not just an island. It will be flattish, friendly, welcoming and pleasant, bright colours and the gentle sway of the deep blue sea around 360 degrees. And no Blammocorp! resort on it (though cruise ships passing by and offloading golfers for a one-day shore trip might of course belong to our Luxury Travel and International Resort division). But it will be very low-key and cozy, I promise.

Setting sails for Ahora as of now.

 

[wim1234]

hurray, great choice k11.

[Jperkules]

Sounds exciting.  After I get back from Xaxnax, I'll book a 1 day excursion on Aroha.  This sounds very appealing.

[NoPutt]

Ahhh, I can smell that tropical breeze already.

Maybe by then we can purchase some short pants.

[wim1234]

ooh yes and ehhhh sandals....lol or just on bare feet?    sacrilege to some , i know.

[Kablammo11]

Meanwhile, I may have mentioned this before, I adore the "New Car Smell" of a virgin Unity project...

 

[Dazmaniac]

Just glad you didn't say you adore the smell of a new virgin.

Phew!

[mcthommo]

Another interesting layout K11 or are you Steve Davis in disguise

[Kablammo11]

I am myself in disguise. Which part of "Obscure Person" written on top of my personal brand mark do you not understand?

But for this one post allow me to take off my mask: I'm a concept nut!

 

I relish in seeking out, identifying and implementing overarching design principles that are at the foundation of my creations. I don't just design away without a plan, would be my point, no Sir, I think a bit. I analyse, then strategise, then formulate concepts.

 

To wit:

 

 

Please forgive the placeholder default textures, they will be blammotized later. Almost every golf hole at Aroha will be in touching distance of the ocean, separated from it by a strip of beach of varying width. Pacific atolls are the top of coral reefs sticking out over the waves, said reefs often sitting on the top lids of underwater volcanos, and their building material is mainly dead, calcified corals. All atolls are basically circular beaches with a bit of an ecosystem growing inside the outer ring of beach. So what's the concept here?

 

 

The design concept is dictated by the special morphology of the place: The course will be flat and softly slope down into the ocean. The central ridges of the atoll are a bit elevated, with soft mounds. For the golf hole layout this translates into the ocean-side of every hole being the more risky and perilous half, the inland side meanwhile offering generous bailout space while sloping gently towards down to the shoreline. 

Concept: On the watery side, I want Ahora to be as tough and unforgiving as Karen or the Black Swan. On the inland side, though, I intend it to be as generous and accommodating as Mulligan Municipal. You, the players, will have to decide which of the two sides to prefer.

 

 

The beach itself will be in play, as one huge sand hazard. The water hazard will be quite near the waves, so that stray shots onto the beach can be played as outright sand shots.

To achieve that, I had to extend the CF sand meshes deep into the ocean and hide their outer rim underneath the waves, relying very heavily on the CF feature that lowers terrains underneath all bunker meshes to pull off the effect.

[Birdie]

I personally very like tropical courses. Really exited how this one will look when it's finished. Thanks in advance!

[NoPutt]

I like your transition from rough to dirt to sand to ocean..very nice library manipulation.

Now, about those Palm trees that kept us from your unfinished Oasis course, any luck?

[Kablammo11]

T'was the acacias (and the lack of any Speedtree support when in dire need) what drove me away from the Lodge. Palm trees are frightfully easy to make (branches & leaves = frondes) and I'm very optimistic that this will not be a major problem. 

But that's for later. This next week I will draw the meshes first, then adorn and enrich them with my own textures, shaders and normals. Then I will need to decide if I am masochistic enough to add a "wet beach" mesh where the sand touches the gently lapping ocean waves - right now I don't believe I will be, but I may have to, and be it just to reduce the poly count of what will be quite huge sand meshes. Then I will have to come up with a cunning way of hiding the seams where all my beach meshes are stretching across the shoreline - I'm thinking tiki huts, but will need to explore other options.

 

 

And while all this is going on, I will also have to research the arts and crafts of polynesia and perhaps start working on a few typical totems to add some local flavour to the place. 

 

 

Not sure if I also should include "Easter Island" type Moais. I'd like to, but they are probably a bit too localised and not, methinks, related to Maori culture.

Aroha to you all.