HB Studios Next-Gen golf game: The Golf Club

[DivotMaker]

PC update 1:03 is out.

Console updates going to MS & Sony next week.

PC patch notes.

http://www.hb-studios.com/forum/index.p ... ;topicseen

[10spro]

I look forward to the staggered leaderboard:

‘ This will hide final results of the round from the user before entering a round and they will see scores unfold during the event, even if the other players have completed their round.’

[Danimal]

So hadn't played in a while and I was bad yesterday but wanted to see the new leader board stuff. I'm thinking it isn't working right or I don't get it.

I started my round as normal and I didn't add any ghost players but I see Merrace's shots on the first hole. I get to the leader board after hole one and it says (Live) after the title. It shows Merrace's score and that he played 19 holes and it shows JC on hole 3 and his score.

As I continue to play Merrace score changes but it always show him as having finished 18 holes. JC scopres changes now and then, by the time I was done he was on hole 7. I have no idea if he plays that slow or what was going on.

So while the score did update and it was nice to have a ghost player even when I didn't add one, it always showed him at 18 holes. I also have no idea what the Live thing meant.

Having never played online with someone in this game do you never see their golfer? Meaning is it always just their ball you see?

Anyway I like that the score changed but the whole number of holes played thing was confusing.

[J_Cauthen]

So hadn't played in a while and I was bad yesterday but wanted to see the new leader board stuff. I'm thinking it isn't working right or I don't get it.

I started my round as normal and I didn't add any ghost players but I see Merrace's shots on the first hole. I get to the leader board after hole one and it says (Live) after the title. It shows Merrace's score and that he played 19 holes and it shows JC on hole 3 and his score.

As I continue to play Merrace score changes but it always show him as having finished 18 holes. JC scopres changes now and then, by the time I was done he was on hole 7. I have no idea if he plays that slow or what was going on.

So while the score did update and it was nice to have a ghost player even when I didn't add one, it always showed him at 18 holes. I also have no idea what the Live thing meant.

Having never played online with someone in this game do you never see their golfer? Meaning is it always just their ball you see?

Anyway I like that the score changed but the whole number of holes played thing was confusing.

I was playing another tournament round in an official Society event when I noticed MERACE had started his round, so I quit it and started my round in the DSP Society tournament, hoping to sync up with Mark. I forgot to add MERACE as a Rival, when I was starting my round and when I tee'd off, I couldn't see any evidence that he was on the course. I then clicked on my Friends icon and saw that he was one of four available friends at that time and selected him to either add or notify.

I could then see Mark on the screen, but it was showing him in "turn base" ghost mode, as opposed to a live rival. Your only option at that point is to exit "turn base" and play against their ghost until you catch up to where they are on the course. It's hard to tell when that actually happens, but when I see a long pause before the ghost shot is played, I figured I'm there.

Once you enable "turn base" again, the game will replay the last shot the ghost player just made, so it introduces another delay, as far as the other player can see. I tried to message Mark, to work out what I was trying to do, but his Steam profile is set to private. We were in sync after about 4 holes, but it took some effort. He paused on the 7th tee, I believe it was and I waited for him for a while to tee off. After about five minutes I played the 7th hole and he was still on the tee. I got called away at that point and had to leave the game. I'll pick it up there today.

You do see the other golfer, whether they're live or ghost, if you've got "Turn Base" enabled in your game settings menu.

[Danimal]

I read all of what your wrote and don't understand a word of it.

If your game is that confusing from a multiplayer aspect, you've failed.

As for the leader board I thought it would show others scores through the holes I played. ie I've finished 3 and I see their scores through 3.

[dbdynsty25]

I read all of what your wrote and don't understand a word of it.

If your game is that confusing from a multiplayer aspect, you've failed.

As for the leader board I thought it would show others scores through the holes I played. ie I've finished 3 and I see their scores through 3.

Yeah the multiplayer stuff is horrifically designed. I really don't care if I can see what someone shot in the round before I start, so I don't really see the big deal w/ these "live boards"...but whatever. Just getting a ghost of a friends round is un-intuitive, so clearly they need some menu designers on the team.

[J_Cauthen]

I read all of what your wrote and don't understand a word of it.

LOL... I'm not sure I understand it myself! It's such a convoluted process that it discourages most people from trying to follow it.

If your game is that confusing from a multiplayer aspect, you've failed.

This game has been an epic FAIL in terms of multiplayer. It's still doesn't have the multiplay features that its predecessor had!?

As for the leader board I thought it would show others scores through the holes I played. ie I've finished 3 and I see their scores through 3.

So far it looks like its working like it did in TGC 1. It will put some players as much as 10 holes ahead of you, and then spread them out all the way back to playing the same hole as you. If you choose a ghost player to play with, they will show their score only up through the holes you've played with them. If there's enough players in the tournament, they will probably even show the scores of some players on holes behind you for the current round. I know they did that in TGC 1 during tournament and tour events.

[Danimal]

So far it looks like its working like it did in TGC 1. It will put some players as much as 10 holes ahead of you, and then spread them out all the way back to playing the same hole as you. If you choose a ghost player to play with, they will show their score only up through the holes you've played with them. If there's enough players in the tournament, they will probably even show the scores of some players on holes behind you for the current round. I know they did that in TGC 1 during tournament and tour events.

Ok well that makes sense then and we just don't have enough guys in the PC society to make it look normal.

I still can't believe there is no match play.

[DivotMaker]

I read all of what your wrote and don't understand a word of it.

If your game is that confusing from a multiplayer aspect, you've failed.

As for the leader board I thought it would show others scores through the holes I played. ie I've finished 3 and I see their scores through 3.

Yeah the multiplayer stuff is horrifically designed. I really don't care if I can see what someone shot in the round before I start, so I don't really see the big deal w/ these "live boards"...but whatever. Just getting a ghost of a friends round is un-intuitive, so clearly they need some menu designers on the team.

Bingo. Horrific MP design.

[DivotMaker]

So far it looks like its working like it did in TGC 1. It will put some players as much as 10 holes ahead of you, and then spread them out all the way back to playing the same hole as you. If you choose a ghost player to play with, they will show their score only up through the holes you've played with them. If there's enough players in the tournament, they will probably even show the scores of some players on holes behind you for the current round. I know they did that in TGC 1 during tournament and tour events.

Ok well that makes sense then and we just don't have enough guys in the PC society to make it look normal.

I still can't believe there is no match play.

HB’s version of match play is not match play. It is a convoluted mess that only they understand and even then, I don’t think they do.

[Danimal]

Had my first hole in one today in this game. Saved the replay and then realized no way to share it.

[MERACE]

I've come to the conclusion that HBS have delivered us an update to TGC1 in TGC2 in taking away some good features (live match play, tournaments & tours) and adding some half-baked new features (tempo swing, online societies).

I'm still playing TGC2 but with much less enthusiasm and overall enjoyment than I had with TGC1.



-MERACE

[DivotMaker]

I've come to the conclusion that HBS have delivered us an update to TGC1 in TGC2 in taking away some good features (live match play, tournaments & tours) and adding some half-baked new features (tempo swing, online societies).

I'm still playing TGC2 but with much less enthusiasm and overall enjoyment than I had with TGC1.



-MERACE

There is nothing “half baked” about the swing.

I feel the exact opposite. TGC1 was so easy to hit straight you could damn near play it blindfolded.

[J_Cauthen]

I've come to the conclusion that HBS have delivered us an update to TGC1 in TGC2 in taking away some good features (live match play, tournaments & tours) and adding some half-baked new features (tempo swing, online societies).

I'm still playing TGC2 but with much less enthusiasm and overall enjoyment than I had with TGC1.

I agree that it feels more like an update to TGC1, but I'm somewhat reticent to call it that because it only just now has one of two of the most appealing features of TGC1 in its stable; spoiler-free leaderboards. The fact that it still doesn't have live matchplay, launched from a pre-game setup screen capability is inexcusable.

I think the inclusion of the tempo element into the swing was a step forward, but not the step I'd hoped it would be. The swing is tougher to perfect now because of it, but it feels like a token effort to make it model the tempo of a real golf swing, which would vary from player to player. I regret that each player isn't given an option to choose from among a variety of backswing to downswing ratios that would suit their personal preference better. I still think Links 2004 for the XBox did a better job of capturing something like this.

I had lost my desire to play TGC 1 because I found its swing so one-dimensional. I'm still playing TGC 2 with admittedly less zeal than I did three months ago, but that's mostly because of the lack of true live multiplayer functionality.

Mike (Gibbius Maximus) and I tried to play our second round of the DSP PC Society tournament together today. I saw him as "live" on my game setup screen and added him to my game. He on the other hand, could see me as an an active friend in Steam, but I wasn't showing as being "in game" in TGC2 on his game setup menu. Nothing we tried got both players in game as "live" rivals.... inexcusable!

[Rodster]

For me the biggest knock on the game are the greens. They just seem to defy the laws of physics. It's as if ball friction is not factored into the game.

[dbdynsty25]

For me the biggest knock on the game are the greens. They just seem to defy the laws of physics. It's as if ball friction is not factored into the game.

Yup. They are terrible.

That said I’ve played way more of this game than any other in the past five or six years. Having my own society that my bro and I play a tourney every two days along with the DSP stuff and my TGC Tours membership gives me basically a few rounds a day to play. I’ve pretty much just accepted the greens as everyone else has to hit on them too.

[Gangrel]

For me the biggest knock on the game are the greens. They just seem to defy the laws of physics. It's as if ball friction is not factored into the game.

I think the big issue is green design and the fact everyone uaes hard fairways and the fastest greens possible, along with slopes no sane designer would use in real life.....

[MERACE]

I've come to the conclusion that HBS have delivered us an update to TGC1 in TGC2 in taking away some good features (live match play, tournaments & tours) and adding some half-baked new features (tempo swing, online societies).

I'm still playing TGC2 but with much less enthusiasm and overall enjoyment than I had with TGC1.



-MERACE

There is nothing “half baked” about the swing.

I feel the exact opposite. TGC1 was so easy to hit straight you could damn near play it blindfolded.

You're right, the swing is not "half baked" it's more like missing some ingredients (pause at top of swing and acceleration in the downswing).

As for the swing in TGC1 "so easy you could damn near play it blindfolded" this is true for the more skilled players like yourself. I agree with John in that it is one dimensional and less engaging than the swing in TGC2.

The "half baked" items are the features that are not fully fleshed out.


-MERACE

[DivotMaker]

I've come to the conclusion that HBS have delivered us an update to TGC1 in TGC2 in taking away some good features (live match play, tournaments & tours) and adding some half-baked new features (tempo swing, online societies).

I'm still playing TGC2 but with much less enthusiasm and overall enjoyment than I had with TGC1.



-MERACE

There is nothing “half baked” about the swing.

I feel the exact opposite. TGC1 was so easy to hit straight you could damn near play it blindfolded.

You're right, the swing is not "half baked" it's more like missing some ingredients (pause at top of swing and acceleration in the downswing).

As for the swing in TGC1 "so easy you could damn near play it blindfolded" this is true for the more skilled players like yourself. I agree with John in that it is one dimensional and less engaging than the swing in TGC2.

The "half baked" items are the features that are not fully fleshed out.


-MERACE

I don’t agree that a pause is needed at the top of the swing. The only Tour players I see with pauses at the top is Hideki Matsuyama and to a much lesser degree, Jim Furyk. The overwhelming majority of golfers do not pause at the top of their swing.

I agree that there are a number of other features (Career, Online MP Tours, matchplay, fourball, foursomes, etc.) that are “half baked”.

[MERACE]

I don’t agree that a pause is needed at the top of the swing. The only Tour players I see with pauses at the top is Hideki Matsuyama and to a much lesser degree, Jim Furyk. The overwhelming majority of golfers do not pause at the top of their swing.

I agree that there are a number of other features (Career, Online MP Tours, matchplay, fourball, foursomes, etc.) that are “half baked”.

You're right in that a pause at the top of the swing is not done by the majority of PGA players swings today. However, I do it to a certain extent in my IRL swing (learned it from Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson's swings).

I did like that component of the swing in TGC1, albeit the pause was too long.


-MERACE

[MERACE]

I am really liking the ghost scores updating hole by hole while playing a tournament with a ghost player.

I try to not look at the leaderboard scores showing after each hole is finished so that I don't see my ghost player's final score or his score ahead of the hole I'm playing. The good thing is before I press the button to continue to the next hole there is a couple second delay in the leaderboard scores appearing on the screen.

-MERACE

[vader29]

Congrats to Divot once again for the Xbox One weekend tourney victory. Had to start a new season as we ran out of events for Society level 9 and set up events through this weekend, dailies at McNaughton Golf Club, Glacial Lakes and Red Thorn Golf Club and the weekend tourney at TPC Scottsdale.

[DivotMaker]

Thanks Vader.

I went back to the PC today and played a round and it made me appreciate how damn good the PC version looks compared to the consoles.

I am also cancelling my X1X preorder as I have heard that HBS will not be patching TGC2 for the X1 nor the PS4 Pro to take advantage of the hardware. I can't imagine that the X1 could look anywhere near as good as the PC without such a patch, so I will be playing the PC version for the foreseeable future.

Thanks for letting me play with you guys.....

[J_Cauthen]

My weekend didn't give me the free time I was supposed to have, so unfortunately, I had to skip the XBox Society tournament for the second week in a row. I managed to finish my four rounds in the PC Society tournament at TPC Edgemere... really loved the course!

I forgot to set a Daily for Monday, but I've just scheduled one for tomorrow at Oaken Hills GC, with Tim's recommendation. We only have 3 or 4 people a week playing the PC Events, with usually only 2 actually finishing, but I'll keep it going as long as I'm not the only one playing.

[J_Cauthen]

I try to not look at the leaderboard scores showing after each hole is finished so that I don't see my ghost player's final score or his score ahead of the hole I'm playing. The good thing is before I press the button to continue to the next hole there is a couple second delay in the leaderboard scores appearing on the screen.

-MERACE

I wish I had the discipline to do that, but I can't help but be curious about how the others within a few strokes of me are moving. I honestly can't see why they can't simply sync the selected ghost player(s) round(s) with your round in real time. If I'm not mistaken, they did that in Tournament play in TGC 1?