Tiger Woods 13 PGA TOUR and CE Info

[DivotMaker]

Do we all have to have the same version of the game (PS3/360) for the online CC?

Tony

Pretty sure that is the case.

[J_Cauthen]

I didn't see where this information about difficulty levels, and particularly, swing difficulty levels had been posted in this thread. This was posted by one of the developers on the official forum:

"The differences are the Swing Difficulty, the presence of the on-screen Swing Meter, as well as the use of Putt Preview and Ball Spin. Swing Difficulty affects a couple of things, first and foremost is the sensitivity to mishit (both left/right as well as overswing and tempo). On Normal and above, you will also be required to swing your stick diagonally to execute draws and fades.

Swing Difficulty also affects the Strike Meter behavior:
* Easy: Defaults to the center of the ball, and does not need to be held in place during the swing
* Normal: Defaults to the center of the meter, and does not need to be held in place during the swing
* Hard and Expert: Defaults to the center of the meter, and must be held in place during the swing

The Difficulty Levels are as follows:
* Amateur: Easy Swing, Swing Meter, Putt Preview, Ball Spin
* Pro: Normal Swing, Swing Meter, Putt Preview, Ball Spin
* Tour Pro: Hard Swing, Swing Meter, no Putt Preview, no Ball Spin
* Tournament: Expert Swing, no Swing Meter, no Putt Preview, no Ball Spin
* Custom: Any other combination of Swing Difficulty, Swing Meter, Putt Preview, and Ball Spin

The Caddie Mode is a separate setting which can be set independent of the Difficulty Level."

I underlined the bit about swinging your stick diagonally to execute a draw of fade for emphasis. I don't think a lot of folks are aware of this. I wonder now how far stance will go in Tournament difficulty in creating a draw or a fade and how much will be required from swinging inside/out or outside/in? This requirement should theoretically negate the advantages that lower sensitivity third party controllers have had in the game... we'll see.

[J_Cauthen]

Here's a little more information I've picked up hither & yon to chew on during the club creation phase. The following fields have to be filled in: Club Name, Accept Petitions (yes or no, not exactly sure what the petitions are for though), public or private, and difficulty (Amateur, Pro, Tour Pro, Tournament). As stated earlier, the difficulty setting doesn't mean that all club competitions have to be in that difficulty level, it's more a general barometer for that club's most common mode of play.

It was also revealed today that you have to have a minimum or 20 members to crown a club champion capable of competing in the Club VIP championships. Still not sure how the club vs. club or team vs team competitions work, but it certainly looks like you'd want to have at least 20 members to get the most out of the club experience. I know Diablo25 would represent DSP well in the VIP tournaments!

[Aristo]

J_Cauthen, that all sounds like great stuff, and goes a long way to making it seem like TW 13 will be the kind of challenge I am hoping for.

I wish there was something more definitive about TrueAim, and if TrueView is indeed the new name for the mode I am looking for.

What I liked abut TW 11 was that when you zoomed in on where you were aiming, it didn't actually affect your aim. You could move the camera around, but all you were doing was getting info on distance, elevation, and how you thought the ball would react. When you went back to golfer view, you now had to pick a club and aim based on landmarks in the distance. You could not set your aim from the zoomed in view. If you zoomed in and looked to the left, when you zoomed back out, your golfer was still looking straight ahead.

So when setting up your shot, you had to take into account a lot of info, including variable wind. You never had a target that told you a well hit ball would land here. You were not given how much ball might roll, or fail to roll. There was a lot of guesstimating involved, and it was really compelling.

Obviously EA saw that most people felt like that was not fun, and didn't use the mode.

Now, while this mode led to much more realistic scores, it is still a video game, and there are guys that will master anything. So while the scores were realistic, there were still guys coming in with some -20 scores. But no one I played with. The CC would have fixed that perfectly. I never worry about how I match up with leaderboards.

So I am cautiously optimistic that TW 13 is going to be a week one purchase. I'm still holding off until I see some impressions over at OS.

[J_Cauthen]

I wish there was something more definitive about TrueAim, and if TrueView is indeed the new name for the mode I am looking for.

My best guess is that "True View" is a more expanded "True Aim". It could be anywhere from first person view to six possible variations of the swing camera view (six based on what one of the devs said back in January on the official forum). Furthermore, it sounds like we might have the option to switch to a downrange cut-view, at our discretion. I don't know where the distinction is drawn between what is True View and what is not.

It may be that True View is now the new name for what was called "First Person Camera" in Tiger 12, when using the Move. At any rate, we seemingly will have a lot more camera options in Tiger 13. As for the aiming, I wouldn't bank on Tiger 11's, True-Aim, aiming system being back. I don't know that it's going to be a lot different than what we have now, based on what I've seen and read.

You could not set your aim from the zoomed in view. If you zoomed in and looked to the left, when you zoomed back out, your golfer was still looking straight ahead.

Oh how well I remember and loved this technique... very realistic! It's absence has been mourned by Tournament mode players since

So I am cautiously optimistic that TW 13 is going to be a week one purchase. I'm still holding off until I see some impressions over at OS.

I think you're going to be able to gauge a lot for yourself via the demo. Why? The demos for Tiger since Tiger 10 have offered the option to play the game in all four difficulty levels. I don't think this one will be any different. I don't know how much we'll get to see of the club function in the demo, but it will answer the most basic question as to whether the club option will be worth pursuing. If the swing mechanism and difficulty don't suit you, no feature is going to bail it out.

[Aristo]

True. Also, I have the EA Season Pass, so I should get a good look at the full game.

I am mildly optimistic.

[J_Cauthen]

True. Also, I have the EA Season Pass, so I should get a good look at the full game.

Doh! I forgot to buy this when it was mentioned earlier. Thanks for putting that bug back in my ear! I have a 360 and a PS3, would I have to buy a PS3 and XBox 360 season pass to get each, or does the Season Pass span platforms?

[Diablo25]

I know Diablo25 would represent DSP well in the VIP tournaments!

I'm flattered but my "VIP" status ran out a long time ago!

[DivotMaker]

True. Also, I have the EA Season Pass, so I should get a good look at the full game.

Doh! I forgot to buy this when it was mentioned earlier. Thanks for putting that bug back in my ear! I have a 360 and a PS3, would I have to buy a PS3 and XBox 360 season pass to get each, or does the Season Pass span platforms?

Pretty sure you would have to buy one for each console...but you could check here...

http://www.easports.com/seasonticket

[J_Cauthen]

[quote="DivotMaker]
Pretty sure you would have to buy one for each console...but you could check here...
http://www.easports.com/seasonticket[/quote]

Thanks Divot... it's console specific. Once I saw that you sign up through your console rather than the web-browser, it made sense. Still worth the money though; I'm a fan to at least some degree of all the titles in the program, with the exception of FIFA Street.

[J_Cauthen]

We've learned that playing Live Tournaments in twosomes or threesomes isn't possible for Tiger 13, but there is an option in the Club's Head to Head menu that I think would lend itself to a Poker Night/pseudo tournament motif. On the XBox 360, up to 8 Club members could arrange a simultaneous start and play four, twosomes in stroke play. We wouldn't have a leaderboard in between holes for the whole group, but if everyone was connected to Live Party Chat, you could keep track of what was happening in the other three pairings while you're engaged in a round with a playing partner.

The minus is the Club's status point tracking would see this as no more than an individual head-to-head stroke play match for each player. It wouldn't score or record it as a tournament win, but at least the semblance of a tournament atmosphere would be there. Then again, it could get a bit chatty, depending on the quantity of adult beverages being consumed I think it would be worth a shot just for kicks...

[Diablo25]

Saw on the Xbox Live dashboard they are pumping EA Season pass and TW13 is there along with all the other EASports games. I didn't go into the Season Pass itself to see of TW13 is in the "Coming Soon" section.

[Diablo25]

Saw on the Xbox Live dashboard they are pumping EA Season pass and TW13 is there along with all the other EASports games. I didn't go into the Season Pass itself to see of TW13 is in the "Coming Soon" section.

Update....I just checked the Season Pass and TW13 IS listed in the Early Release Schedule. Available 3/23-3/27

[Naples39]

I'm actually considering the season pass this year. I passed on every EA game except NHL last year and think this will be a good way to try them all out again. NCAA, madden, tiger...

[JRod]

I'm actually considering the season pass this year. I passed on every EA game except NHL last year and think this will be a good way to try them all out again. NCAA, madden, tiger...

I spent the 30 or whatever it was and I saved 120. Pretty good deal.

I missed Grand Slam Tennis. (Or maybe it wasn't a part of the deal?)

[J_Cauthen]

I purchased EA Sports' Season Ticket for the 360 today. It was $25 (2000 MS points). JRod, to answer your question it covers Tiger, FIFA Street, NCAA Football, Madden, NHL, and FIFA Soccer. I think it will prove to be a worthy purchase because for one thing, I can't wait to get my hands on Tiger 13, and secondly, all the other games are iffy for me right now. I know I'll be buying NCAA or Madden this year, I just don't know which one yet. I didn't buy either last year for some reason.

Soccer and hockey games are not always on my radar. I've sat them out for the last two years. I have a hunch I'll take up one of them this year. I understand both were pretty popular this year; I just never felt the urge to even rent them, although I was impressed by the technical quality of the demos.

[DivotMaker]

I am currently in Orlando on business and EA was kind enough to let me come out and see the game today. I had a very short time with the game, but here are some of my impressions:

The game is drop-dead gorgeous. The lighting and textures were amazing along with the dynamic weather. The trees animated beautifulloy and VERY realistically. I played 18 holes on PGA National on Tournament difficulty (sorry about that AM users).

The new swing mechanic is all it is cracked up to be and I can tell you that scoring will be challenging on Tournament mode, especially with the strike meter needing to be manipulated during the swing. I had several shots from the rough that I must have taken a yard of turf with me when I hit the shot as they only went about 25% of the distance they should have. Shot a +10 for 18 holes.

The swing was great and after playing a couple of holes with the meter on, I turned it off and the swing felt even more intuitive, especially while putting. There are 5-6 new cameras at address which should help when playing in the trees.

JCauthen....yes, TrueAim is back for TW13 and as far as I could tell, it was just like TW11. Did not have alot of time to compare with 11, but it felt so right. Another goodie.....1st Person perspective is in for Kinect. More on that later.

Played a few holes using Kinect and it felt pretty good, but the Kinect I was using was not calibrated properly, so there were some issues with it that I have been assured are not in the final build. The 5-6 shots I did hit (using Tournament mode) felt great and I was all over the course, but my swing caused this from what I could tell. I hit one helluva recovery shot from the pine straw in the woods at Augusta #2 the par 5 and actually made par.

Saw a few minutes of Tiger Legacy mode and it really is there to try to draw new users into the game and they have some cook features with it that can extend to the rest of the game (more on that later once the NDA is lifted).

Spent some time with Christian Brandt (TW Dev) seeing the Online Country Club interface and it is going to blow many online users away with the depth of this feature. OMG, the stats....wow! Also got to see the AN Practice Facility and after playing the game I can tell you this is where I am going to be spending a great deal of my time learning how to hit the ball in Tournament mode with Kinect and with the wireless controller.

Unfortunately I did not have time to explore Career Mode so I am not sure exactly what to expect with that, but EA has done some tuning and updating to make the CM play more like a PGA TOUR career with the course assets and other things. Still not sure if you can move courses around in the schedule though.

My overall impression (taking the short time I had playing the game into prespective) is very positive and they have spent a great deal of time bringing new features that the community has asked for. They are listening and will be listening intently to the feedback for TW13. Can't wait to see the demo and spend some time with Kinect and the 1st person view. Not sure how many questions I can answer, but I will do my best. They also have a surprise up their sleeve that I think many here will enjoy and appreciate, but I am under strict orders not to discuss it here.

Best Regards,

Tim

[10spro]

Thanks for the impressions Divot. I am glad that true aim is back, how realistic was your swing when facing the kinect? Did you try guiding the ball at times, such as drawing it, etc?

[DivotMaker]

Thanks for the impressions Divot. I am glad that true aim is back, how realistic was your swing when facing the kinect? Did you try guiding the ball at times, such as drawing it, etc?

Only had time for 5-6 shots. However, I did duck hook one shot into the trees on Augusta #2 off the tee. I heard that the best Dev score on Tournament mode with Kinect is +8 so far.....

[Teal]

As of now, it's still front-facing, right? Did they mention the thing you mentioned about a tool that would let them do a 'side' on facing? Have they gotten any closer to 1:1 on the kinect swing?

[DivotMaker]

As of now, it's still front-facing, right? Did they mention the thing you mentioned about a tool that would let them do a 'side' on facing? Have they gotten any closer to 1:1 on the kinect swing?

No "side-on" facing yet....not sure if it can be patched or not. However, if you are looking down at the ball at address as you should in a real Golf swing, I did not notice it being an issue. I thought it was damn close to 1:1 on the swing, but not perfect. However, the swing felt natural like it should....keep in mind I only had time for 5-6 good swings, but I can see myself playing mostly Kinect from the short time I had with the swing....

[Diablo25]

Thanks for the impressions Divot!

[Aristo]

JCauthen....yes, TrueAim is back for TW13 and as far as I could tell, it was just like TW11. Did not have alot of time to compare with 11, but it felt so right.

This was the best news.

[Teal]

Actually, with the first person perspective, if they did it right, and I'm looking at the ball on the ground when I address the screen, that would be the absolute best position. I've only played Kinect Sports Golf, and it's fun, but it's more like a long putt putt course, where your swing doesn't matter, other than power. I can't wait to see how bad I really am at golf. It's been a long time since I took the clubs to the course...for good reason...

[J_Cauthen]

Thanks for the report on your hands-on with Tiger 13, Tim. I posted a response to it in the official forum with follow up questions. I like what I'm hearing from your impressions though. Can't wait to see what this actually feels like, both wireless controller and Kinect wise! From all that I've read, guys who've had their hands on it can't really describe exactly what it's like.

One question I didn't ask you at the EA Forum, did you try to shape a shot by altering your swingplane? If so, did the result "feel" right?

So we have more in store for us in OCC's huh? I'm hoping for club team Vs. club team Ryder Cup style competition. They keep using the word team when discussing clubs, hence my speculation.