Tiger Woods 13 PGA TOUR and CE Info

[DivotMaker]

I agree with John. Play to the green is excellent. The putting system sucks, for the meter and its lack of precision.

I'm not a golfer, but I have golfed -- if that makes sense. My father also tried to teach me as a teen, so I have a sense of the tempo of a putting stroke. The putting meter in TW 13 slides back so quickly that your sole focus is to stop the stick before it exceeds the recommended strength. You're never really thinking about a smooth backswing or follow-through like you are with the other clubs in your bag.

One of the Devs stated on the EA Tiger forums that there was a bug in the putting stroke that made it in the demo that was fixed for the final version. I hope this resolves the issues you guys are having with putting.

[J_Cauthen]

Why on earth would he go and try the better system so that he can be MORE pissed at the new one? LOL.

.... that's good stuff... ouwwww, my side is hurting! Seriously, I got a belly laugh outta that one

[J_Cauthen]

I'm really missing the Precision Putting (fully proportional putting stroke) of Tigers 10-12. In an experiment to see if I could bring that experience back to the Tiger 13 demo, I found that I could aim where I wanted to hit my putt with the targeting cursor, and then move the aiming distance out to 120 feet. Much to my surprise, when I strike the putt with the degree of modulation required, it performed pretty much like I expected, based on Tiger 11 and 12. It really felt great and brought back the missing input component of touch that is diminishing my experience with Tiger 13 so far.

I hate to think that I'm going to have to impose house rules on myself to get what I'm looking for out of the wireless controller experience with this game. It would really get tiresome having to go through this process, putt after putt, however; it does show me that the game engine still has the capability of producing precision putting. I'd love to see an option to have this capability unlocked in a unique difficulty level. Maybe it could be called "Classic Tournament" difficulty, or something like that?

[Wilk5280]

I'm a tad disappointed with the demo, but will wait for the full release before casting my final judgement. I still think the OCC could be a lot of fun even if the game isn't quite all there... if that makes sense.

[Danimal]

I'm disappointed with the OCC I was hoping for more options.

- 4 day tournaments with cuts with coin entry fees (i.e. gamble your coins to win coins)
- Ability to play with other club members in tournaments. Hell I don't even see a member lounge to hang out in and just start an online round.
- Ability to set up match play events between club members. Imagine a nice single elimination tournament for our club champion.

There is so much that could be done with this. Golf is a social game and EA's tournament offerings are anything but. Maybe one of you guys with the devs ear could pass along my suggestions.

[J_Cauthen]

- Ability to play with other club members in tournaments. Hell I don't even see a member lounge to hang out in and just start an online round.

I've been campaigning in the official forum and on every official wishlist for the ability to play live tournaments in multiplayer groups since Tiger 2010... nada. It would have been even more of a natural with OCC Live Tournament rounds, but as you see, it's AOL.

I'm going to reconstruct the highlights of a dialogue I had with Mike DeVault, the game's senior designer, in the official forum about this. I'm doing it to illustrate how difficult it can be to communicate effectively with them:

I mentioned my disappointment at the inability to play OCC Live Tournamentis in multiplayer groups the day that the OCC details were released. The game's senior designer, Mike DeVault responded to me with, "when you create a Live Tournament for your club, everyone in your club gets to play in it along with you (assuming you are all clubmates). It works just like regular live tournaments does, except it's exclusive to your club and club members."

I responded in excruciating detail what I meant by "playing Live Tournament rounds in multiplayer groups" with this:

"What we're really asking for here is would be be able to play Live Tournament rounds in multiplayer groups of 2 to 4 players, rather than playing the Live Tournament round solo"
To which Mike responded: "Ok, now i understand what you're looking for. Those are pieces of functionality we can look to include down the road (playing in pairs and foursomes out on the course as well as real time scoring updates)."

I feel like I've been beating my head against the wall for three years over this now! I'm surprised first of all that they seemingly haven't considered supporting Live Tournament multiplayer groups, and real time, hole-by-hole leaderboards during the game's design phase. As you said in your last bullet, golf is a social game, and a lot of folks want to play it in a social setting when possible. His response illustrated to me than an alarm bell had finally gone off in his head about this.... I just don't know what to think about it!?

[pk500]

Didn't Links 2003 for the Xbox allow Live Tournament groups among friends? Something makes me think it did ...

[fsquid]

I think it did. It also had tourneys with cuts.

[bulls23]

- Ability to play with other club members in tournaments. Hell I don't even see a member lounge to hang out in and just start an online round.

I've been campaigning in the official forum and on every official wishlist for the ability to play live tournaments in multiplayer groups since Tiger 2010... nada. It would have been even more of a natural with OCC Live Tournament rounds, but as you see, it's AOL.

I'm going to reconstruct the highlights of a dialogue I had with Mike DeVault, the game's senior designer, in the official forum about this. I'm doing it to illustrate how difficult it can be to communicate effectively with them:

I mentioned my disappointment at the inability to play OCC Live Tournamentis in multiplayer groups the day that the OCC details were released. The game's senior designer, Mike DeVault responded to me with, "when you create a Live Tournament for your club, everyone in your club gets to play in it along with you (assuming you are all clubmates). It works just like regular live tournaments does, except it's exclusive to your club and club members."

I responded in excruciating detail what I meant by "playing Live Tournament rounds in multiplayer groups" with this:

"What we're really asking for here is would be be able to play Live Tournament rounds in multiplayer groups of 2 to 4 players, rather than playing the Live Tournament round solo"
To which Mike responded: "Ok, now i understand what you're looking for. Those are pieces of functionality we can look to include down the road (playing in pairs and foursomes out on the course as well as real time scoring updates)."

I feel like I've been beating my head against the wall for three years over this now! I'm surprised first of all that they seemingly haven't considered supporting Live Tournament multiplayer groups, and real time, hole-by-hole leaderboards during the game's design phase. As you said in your last bullet, golf is a social game, and a lot of folks want to play it in a social setting when possible. His response illustrated to me than an alarm bell had finally gone off in his head about this.... I just don't know what to think about it!?

Thank you for getting this across to the developers. Not only is online multiplayer lacking but I've been asking for YEARS to have an offline multiplayer career option. EA doesn't seem to get it.

[Gurantsu]

Didn't Links 2003 for the Xbox allow Live Tournament groups among friends? Something makes me think it did ...

Yes, yes it did. I still remember playing in a bunch of tournaments back in the day, it was really fun.

That said, I did preorder the CE, since I skipped last year and also passed on console baseball this year. The demo was ok, kinnect use is neat but the option to use it or the controller is nice.

[pk500]

I removed the training wheels, and this game is HARD on Tour Pro and Tournament skill levels. I like that -- plenty of depth, challenge and longevity.

This game is moving toward my "purchase" column at the end of the month. FIFA Street first, though.

[J_Cauthen]

I removed the training wheels, and this game is HARD on Tour Pro and Tournament skill levels. I like that -- plenty of depth, challenge and longevity.

This game is moving toward my "purchase" column at the end of the month. FIFA Street first, though.

I think I'll eventually warm up to the game. I don't like the control actions needed to produce a perfect tempo, so I'm going to make my club selections and targeting decisions based on the slow tempo that I consistently produce. My normal swing in Tiger 13 produces a result that usually requires me to go up one club, but it feels so much more natural than the frantic (by my standards) waggling that's required for perfect or fast tempo.

The ball physics are significantly better in this year's game. I'm enjoying the learning curve for chipping and pitching; it's a much more realistic experience in this area than the rest of the Tigers this gen. I just wish we had an option for Precision Putting; I thought it was one area in which this game stood out.

[Lancer]

the demo is just terrible. I guess thats why it's a demo. some of the camera angles are really messed up. the demo has just a robotic feel to it. I really enjoyed last years game and thought it was the best console version of TW ever. I hope they don't take a step back this year.

[DivotMaker]

the demo is just terrible. I guess thats why it's a demo. some of the camera angles are really messed up. the demo has just a robotic feel to it. I really enjoyed last years game and thought it was the best console version of TW ever. I hope they don't take a step back this year.

Not seeing any of what you describe, but I do see an issue with the cameras fluttering when crouching down to view the lie using Kinect. Can you be more specific? Also keep in mind that the code for the demo had to be completed about 4-6 weeks prior to the final release version and the TW Devs have found a number of issues in the demo that were fixed for final release....

[J_Cauthen]

the demo is just terrible. I guess thats why it's a demo. some of the camera angles are really messed up. the demo has just a robotic feel to it. I really enjoyed last years game and thought it was the best console version of TW ever. I hope they don't take a step back this year.

If you're talking about the cut-views in True-Aim, I'm with you... they're pretty bad! The intermediate cut-view from True-Aim looks like something out of the Blair Witch Project. Then the final screen of your ball at rest is so zoomed in and at such a low angle, it doesn't tell you much about where you're ball really came to rest. They could take a page from TWO's "True View" production here, but that's about all I want them to get from TWO

[DChaps]

I am completely lost with this demo. Are there any tutorials or videos either in game or on the web that explain what you are supposed to be trying to do with the stick for drives, short game, putting, etc.? I can't for the life of me figure it out, although I have to admit I had similar struggles with TW12 which is why I sold it. Then seeing J_Cauthen's controller issues/inconsistencies it has me wondering if it is my controllers.

I may just be too simple minded for console golf. I was a PC golfer for years and huge fan of the Headgate/PGA games and even a couple versions of the TW series with the Headgate folks. True-Swing with the mouse was very intuitive and I understood why I did, or did not make a shot. Unfortunately, The Tiger Woods Online with True-Swing has been so lacking compared to the last decent PC version of TW I gave up on it.

Anyway, I tried playing this demo at Tour Pro and Tournament difficulty. I also tried the Kinect at Tour Pro and without trying or even knowing what I was doing I went par, birdie, par. Right down the fairway, right on the green, easy putt. Almost seemed like it would not matter what I did with my hands or swing I was going to be in good shape. I felt very disconnected to it. I may not be a good gamer, but I want some kind of a challenge. I have never understood why demos are put out with known bugs or gameplay issues. Of course it could be that I just have no clue as to what I am doing.

I just wish there was a decent PC golf sim out there that was being updated with new courses, PGA players/schedules, etc. Edit: I completely forgot about this ---> Did anyone try the PC version of TW 12 that was released last summer?
http://www.gamestop.com/pc/games/tiger- ... ters/92730

[pk500]

Putting with the meter absolutely SUCKS in this game. The meter moves back and forth so quickly that there's no natural stroke to putting whatsoever. Short putts are miserable experiences.

I know "real men" play without the meter, and I hope to work up to that skill. But I sure as hell also hope the putting meter is smoother in the retail version of the game is improved.

It surprises me that the new swing system can be so smooth and intuitive on the tees, fairways, roughs and traps yet so choppy and lousy on the greens.

[dbdynsty25]

It surprises me that the new swing system can be so smooth and intuitive on the tees, fairways, roughs and traps yet so choppy and lousy on the greens.

What's even more surprising is that the putting meter was great last year...and they complete borked it. I'm not having as much trouble as most people but I can clearly see that last years was better.

[Aristo]

Still no TrueAim mode. Maybe there is an option in the full game, but it sure appears to be lost forever. It sucks that last year's game was a such a step backwards, yet sold like mad because The Masters made it seem so ultra realistic.

Worse, the putting mechanic sucks and game feels very unpolished. TW demos in the past have no been so awful. Hell, I was excited for last year's game until it was made clear that TrueAim was actually not going to be a part of the full release.

I will probably rent the game, but I suspect I am going to stick with TW 11. At least it saves me some money.

[pk500]

Is the consensus that TW 11 is a better game, at least based on the TW 13 demo? Yes, I know comparisons based on a demo are dangerous.

My last console golf game was Links 2003 for the Xbox, so I don't need the latest title. I just want the best available golf game for the 360, and I don't give a toss if Augusta is in the game.

[dbdynsty25]

I thought the Masters game last year was significantly better. The swing tempos were a lot better and the putting was fantastic. Sit tight till the new one comes out...but definitely do go with 11 over the Masters.

[DChaps]

I thought the Masters game last year was significantly better. The swing tempos were a lot better and the putting was fantastic. Sit tight till the new one comes out...but definitely do go with 11 over the Masters.

This statement confuses me, but I am easily confused. TW 11 is better than TW12?

It surprises me that the new swing system can be so smooth and intuitive on the tees, fairways, roughs and traps yet so choppy and lousy on the greens.

This is exactly the opposite of what I am experiencing. Maybe I need to try a new controller.

[pk500]

I thought the Masters game last year was significantly better. The swing tempos were a lot better and the putting was fantastic. Sit tight till the new one comes out...but definitely do go with 11 over the Masters.

I'm with Don: What's better, Masters 12 or TW 11?

[dbdynsty25]

Woops. Masters over 11.

[Wilk5280]

Yeah, Masters over '11 IMO as well. I just wish you could permanently turn off the caddie in that game. If that were the case I'd consider passing on this year's game (based on my little time with the demo)