2551 replies to this topic

[Kablammo11]

You are right, axe. Moving lily pads probably would NOT be a major drag on performance - but Kermit the Frog and circling dragonflies would be. And that's what both shimonko and I meant when we brought up the performance argument. Sorry if you misunderstood that to be an excuse for static lily pads and culpable non-urgency regarding their implementation.

 

Let's dim the lights a bit, put on some soothing music, sit down in front of the crackling fireplace, each of us nursing a handsome helping of imaginary booze of our own choice - and quietly discuss another resource that is scarce and therefore a hindrance to something as basic as moving lily pads: My own time and my willingness to educate myself even further in rather confusing Unity lore just to conjure up what I consider to be a very low priority effect. I attribute this low lily pad priority to my own biased and personal predilections - yours may be different, which is perfectly alright - but as the designer I reserve the right to adhere to mine.

In-game, as a player, I will probably spend 20 seconds or less on a tee to fire away a shot, most of this time spent focussing on the hole ahead of me. My attention will be on the golfy stuff, not on the nature around me. That nature is very important to set the mood and impart to me the feeling of being there, but this atmospheric functionality is, in my opinion, induced collectively by all the natural features employed. And it will always be fleeting and subconscious.

So the question for me is: Do I want to spend 3 to 4 hours of my time on learning how to animate things, execute those animations in Unity (by the way not knowing for a fact that I can export these animations into a PF course file), invest even more time in lenghty trial and error to fine-tune my work, observing my efforts in game mode, staring at imperceptibly moving lily pads, then finally make a video file of them to post it here for you to see? For something that might as well not move at all without a vast majority of player ever noticing it? My answer to that question, right now, is: No.

 

I might revisit this decision at a later date. This does not mean it can't be done. It means I'm not prepared to go there, because of my own set of priorities. I hope you understand. Peace back atcha.

[axe360]

Hey K11 I absolutely don't blame you, I WILL NOT jump thru those hoops either.. Don't need lily pads that damn bad, lol...

 

This whole new setup is different for me to grasp, for example, (back to the old TW's PC game) a cls folder was included as a part of All the stock pga tour courses and fantasy courses that came out with the game, so one could just copy the cls folder from one of the stock courses and voila, you had ducks in a pond, broken tee's laying around the tee area, butterflies here and there, don't forget a bird or two, the sounds that go with those animals and lily pads depending on the course you took the folder from.

 

This is a whole new ball game and I for one will not be interested in reinventing the wheel..

So I can continue make courses for the Tw's pc game for many years to come, if I see fit and when and if PP comes out with a golf game, I can play it if I want.. To tell you the truth though, my passioin has always been with course design first, playing the game, second... So we will see my friend. Hopefully "choices" don't end up being a bad thing...

 

Outttttttt....

[axe360]

And they probably won't have much drag on this game either--we just don't know yet. PP would. Some of the PP courses have waterfalls and fountains in them which would use the same mechanism as butterflies.

 

TGC's poor performance does concern me but optimization is everything in games and major improvements in performance happen over years. 

 

Can you recommend a (free) TW08 course that showcases it. I'll have a play to get a relative feel.

 

You have to have the actual disk of 08 to play it, sorry... After that, all custom made courses (1000's) are free at coursedownloads.com...

[shimonko]

I've got the disc, reinstalled it a few months ago to check out their version of Olympic which I got from coursedownloads.com. Absolutely love playing it with the red nipple thingy on a Lenovo laptop.

I just never followed the scene so don't know which courses blew people away.

[axe360]

Ok, cool, here is a link to the most downloaded for the 08 game. Homeboy's are top notch..

http://www.coursedow...s.asp?gameid=11

 

 

All free of course...

[Ted_Ball]

Very nice work around K11. I think the lily pads could be bigger or is everything just bigger in Australia.

[shimonko]

They'd be carnivorous in Australia.

Thanks axe, when my password recovery email arrives I'll have a look! 

[axe360]

Just try and give it a real look. What I mean is, turn the graphics up from Auto to Manual and dial them in. There was 1 bug its called the Confidence folder, if you don't use the fix, then loading times between holes takes longer and longer. Here is the link for the fix..

 

http://www.coursedow...t=7831&forum=14

[Kablammo11]

Meanwhile... lily pads (reloaded). Here's a before-after double image showing how they looked when I started up my Unity session today (upper) and what they looked like when I closed it down (lower):

 

 

The difference is that I changed the shader from Transparent > Cutout > Diffuse to Transparent > Bumped Diffuse and added a normal map to bring out a bit of relief. Never mind the pixelation in the foreground (I went down t0 1024 resolution to keep them smaller), this is meant to look better from the distance. With this new shader, even the gunk between the pads, which I intended to bring out as well, shows up a lot better. They even become more spectacular when the sun is shining from a low angle...

 

[FixAmer1st]

I dont think I ever play your courses Kablamm011. I'll just fire them up and go through them salavatng at the views I can get.

Jerry

[shimonko]

That brick wall is beautiful too - the lighting is spot on.

[Kablammo11]

My worst nightmare, fellers: That despite busting my balls in the pursuit of beauty... ...the quality of golf play will turn out to be crap.

 

Weekly update: Still on my to-do list:

1. experiment with (and try to introduce) a new type of CF mesh: Waste Bunkers. No pressure, I will see how that goes. Nice to have, but not a must have... I reckon I need a new set of textures/shaders for that, 1 for the lip, an inside texture with a wasteland theme and a smaller inside texture for special dirty and grungy spots inside of it. Perhaps an additional type of grass or rather weeds to plant inside them, too. 
2. Create and import customized audio loops. I reckon I will need at least 4 of them: 1) A soft, generic background loop, runnning all the time - 2) pond loop with frogs, wind in reeds and soft waves - 3) Forest loop for denser tree areas with added birdsong - 4) Heath loop for open spaces with added crickets chirps - loops 2,3,4 to be triggered by proximity and fading out when leaving the area.
3. New skybox, with the hill panorama on a separate, transparent layer in front, in order to allow for PG dynamic weather to be implemented (Dreading that one, prevaricating some more)
4. Create and plant my Tara King easter egg somewhere on the premises (NOT inside the Palace, btw). Upon finding and apporaching it, players should get to hear the theme of the Avengers TV series. (Memo to myself: 5th audio file to prepare)
5. After that, provided a new built of PG is going to be made available, test playing... ETA: unknown

 

Also to be expected and needing to be incorporated: New CF builds with the following upgrades: Improved water reflections and new path tool (for customized gravel tracks). Not expected, but nevertheless required: pot bunker capability. ETA: unknown.

[AlanR54NC]

Ahhhhh, fond memories of Ms Peele, and her body suits.  Tara picked a fine role model.

[Kablammo11]

Your Avengerology is a bit perfunctory, Alan. The only thing Tara ever learned from Emma Peel is that Steed likes his tea stirred anti-clockwise. Other than that, t'was Tara who saved Emma's posh alabaster skin in the seminal changing-of-the-guard episode "The Forget-Me-Knot".

 

 

Of course, after the dreaded "Steed Incident", she today refuses to discuss her past.

[Volker]

Very impressive, K11. The more you show, the harder it is to wait for the game.

[AlanR54NC]

K11:My apoliges

[AlanR54NC]

K11; My apologies ole Chap. Ms Peele made such an impression on my young mind (or something) that I had forgotten the young Tara. I guess I shall have to be watchful if I ever to get to play Willow Heath lest I end up swimming in those lovely lilies.

[Kablammo11]

I know how it is, Alan, I had a similar youngster tv crush on the Hill's Angels: Louise English, Corinne Russell, Sue Upton, Claire Smalley... Imagine being 14 and experiencing these girls do what they did to my "something". Good times...

I was a bit older but not much wiser when I was confronted with the necessity to choose between Emma and Tara. I sided with Tara because she clearly was a working class girl, as opposed to the upper middle class Emma. Oh, and Purdey doesn't even count!

[shimonko]

That Tara not bad - but I'd still go with Audrey.

[mcthommo]

K11- this course is looking better and better and I hope that the PG will allow it to be played in its full glory

have to disagree with one thing though- Ms Peel was always my first choice