HB Studios Next-Gen golf game: The Golf Club

[10spro]

Hoping that when my ball lands on the green it doesn't sail long to the fringe and improvements to the short game...

[Leadfoot5]

As some of you have already seen, this week's XB1 patch didn't happen. It failed Microsoft's certification for two items and HBS had to resubmit. They're hoping for release on Monday or Tuesday.

The worst possible scenario is that if the patch isn't ready for distribution by Wednesday of this coming week, HBS will hold it back and bundle it with the update that is scheduled to be released the week after next, the way it's being presented now.

I know a good bit about what's going on with part of this patch in regard to the game's cameras and presentation options, but I've agreed not to disclose the details until HBS is ready to do so themselves. I can say that these changes will radically change the way I view and experience the game! It's almost going to seem like a new game to me, but I have a psychotic fetish about cameras and presentation These changes, along with what I'm hoping will be performance improvements via the patch should change a lot of attitudes about the game... mine - which is now an apathetic one - included

Thanks for the update! Waiting for the October patch before I get back into it...

[MUTTS]

Maybe I'm late to the party but I just played Stone Reach Golf Links. That's a pretty impressive re-creation of Pebble. Of course I'm going by the Pebble I know from the EA game as I've never been there.
Any other clone courses that we know of?
Tony

[J_Cauthen]

The PC update released yesterday, and among a number of other interesting features, fixes and enhancements, we've got new swing camera options. I love option 3 (they actually took the coordinates for the custom camera view I always dialed up manually suing the Game Camera settings in the PC version for option 3) for all cameras and putt soooooo much better from that perspective.

Option 3's camera is closer to the golfer and up a little bit higher, about shoulder to neck height, and is angled down a bit more such that you can see more of an overhead view of the the clubhead. I find that not only does this give me a more intimate sense of immersion with my golfer, it allows me to gauge the clubhead movement much better during putting. This will help me out tremendously on the XB1 and PS4 both with performance and aesthetic pleasure. I'm anxious to spend some quality time with this update installed to see all the more subtle things I haven't had time to digest just yet.

But the biggest news for me is the ability to transition between the golfer perspective camera and follow camera at your discretion now. It is (at least for me) a revolutionary step for The Golf Club. I got to see it in action for the first time this morning and it is a pure, visceral eyegasm! I missed seeing how to make it happen at first. If you've got your settings using Golfer cam, you have to press the "A" button (if you're using an XBox controller as I am on the PC) to tell the game when to transition from golfer to follow camera. It works beautifully and transforms the game into the player perspective/in-the-moment experience I've been after!

If you were borderline on your PC's performance with Thg Golf Club, I saw a 15 to 20% performance improvement with this patch/update. I can now play the game at 1600 x 900 in high detail graphics and maintain 35 fps, or higher, whereas before I had to go with medium detail graphics to get this.

[Rodster]

If you were borderline on your PC's performance with Thg Golf Club, I saw a 15 to 20% performance improvement with this patch/update. I can now play the game at 1600 x 900 in high detail graphics and maintain 35 fps, or higher, whereas before I had to go with medium detail graphics to get this.

That's good news. I recently rediscovered an Indie golf game I bought for my 360 some time ago. Avatar Golf, good fun.

[Diablo25]

The PC update released yesterday, and among a number of other interesting features, fixes and enhancements, we've got new swing camera options. I love option 3 (they actually took the coordinates for the custom camera view I always dialed up manually suing the Game Camera settings in the PC version for option 3) for all cameras and putt soooooo much better from that perspective.

Option 3's camera is closer to the golfer and up a little bit higher, about shoulder to neck height, and is angled down a bit more such that you can see more of an overhead view of the the clubhead. I find that not only does this give me a more intimate sense of immersion with my golfer, it allows me to gauge the clubhead movement much better during putting. This will help me out tremendously on the XB1 and PS4 both with performance and aesthetic pleasure. I'm anxious to spend some quality time with this update installed to see all the more subtle things I haven't had time to digest just yet.

But the biggest news for me is the ability to transition between the golfer perspective camera and follow camera at your discretion now. It is (at least for me) a revolutionary step for The Golf Club. I got to see it in action for the first time this morning and it is a pure, visceral eyegasm! I missed seeing how to make it happen at first. If you've got your settings using Golfer cam, you have to press the "A" button (if you're using an XBox controller as I am on the PC) to tell the game when to transition from golfer to follow camera. It works beautifully and transforms the game into the player perspective/in-the-moment experience I've been after!

If you were borderline on your PC's performance with Thg Golf Club, I saw a 15 to 20% performance improvement with this patch/update. I can now play the game at 1600 x 900 in high detail graphics and maintain 35 fps, or higher, whereas before I had to go with medium detail graphics to get this.

Any idea when us console people can expect this update???

[J_Cauthen]

Any idea when us console people can expect this update???

I'm trying to get a better idea on that right now. They said they weren't going to to submit the PS4 AND XB1 version updates until after the XB1 version *patch* was either approved or pulled. It got approved yesterday, but I don't know if Microsoft won't let them submit the update until after the patch has actually been posted or not.

If they get both version submitted tomorrow, I'd say we could see the PS4 version update go live on Tuesday of next week. They did the same thing with the PS version patch following a Thursday submission. That's IF there are not problems found by Sony with the Update. As we've seen though, Microsoft is considerably more behind right now in handling patches and updates. I'd be shocked if we see it next week, or even the week after that based on what happened with the XB1 patch.

[J_Cauthen]

Just got confirmation Diablo25, the console version updates will be submitted to Sony and Microsoft on Friday. We could see the PS4 version as early as Wednesday in that case!

[Diablo25]

Just got confirmation Diablo25, the console version updates will be submitted to Sony and Microsoft on Friday. We could see the PS4 version as early as Wednesday in that case!

Thanks dude.

[J_Cauthen]

The XB1 version patch will be available for download at 8:00PM EDT tonight. I won't get to try it until I get home from work in the morning though. This one needs to work some serious miracles!

[J_Cauthen]

I've played 54 holes with the patch installed on the XB1 now. It's not the miracle cure that it needs, but overall it's a step in the right direction. The frame rates have improved maybe 10-15%, which brought a few courses back into play that were off my plate before. I still can't play Ross Hollow GC, or Colonial Grand as they're still languishing in the upper teens and lower twenties. I played a wonderful new course that was developed on the PC, post object limit, and it makes a difference in performance on the the XB1 - TGC PLayers Club at Shawnee Creek.

The near range graphics got a little boost. It appears there's some AA involved because the club shaft and lines of the golfer look less jaggy. OTOH, it seems like they've shortened the depth of field and the trees that shouldn't be blurry... are blurry. It leaves me with an uncertain feeling as to whether it was worth it or not. I wish we could have an option to turn off DOF.

I'd say the overall gameplay is better, but only marginally. The XB1 really needs to have at least 900p graphics to have a chance. We'll see how it stacks up in a couple of weeks with the more comprehensive update.

[J_Cauthen]

HB Studios has announced that the Mid-October update for both the PS4 and XB1 versions of The Golf Club were submitted to Sony and Microsoft this past Friday. These updates will be equivalent to the PC version update which was released on October 8th. If you haven't seen it; you've missed what almost amounts to a new game, IMO. It now has four swing camera options instead of one, multiple press of the button camera angles from around the hole to aid in reading putts.

The most the most significant aesthetic difference is the new Golfer Point of View presentation option. It is along the lines of what is called the "True-Aim" camera option in Tiger Woods 11, 12, and 13, but unlike that one, you can hold any of the four swing camera options for as long as you'd like. The camera slowly moves from your swing view to your golfer's eyes as they track and follow the flight of the ball... it's truly breathtaking! You then have the option to transition to the follow camera view at any point of your choosing during the flight of the ball. IMO, it makes the game far more immersive from a player perspective!

Here's a video I put together on the PC version to illustrate how it works. It will work just like this on the PS4 and XB1 versions, we're told. I use what's called View #3, which is a bit closer to the golfer and a tad higher than the default view in the shipping version. BTW, the default swing camera is still in the mix as View #2. I cycle through all the angles in this video, but all the shots are struck from View #3.

BTW, if Sony is as quick turning this update around as they were the patch, this could be on PSN on Wednesday!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR-dPpPCVyo

[TheTruth]

JC- thanks for the update. Since it's just content maybe MS will turn it around rather quickly.

Question, in your video how did you switch putting cameras like that? Which button? Thanks again.

[J_Cauthen]

JC- thanks for the update. Since it's just content maybe MS will turn it around rather quickly.

Question, in your video how did you switch putting cameras like that? Which button? Thanks again.

First I click the "B" button (putting camera), then I "click" the non-swing thumbstick, which in my case is the right thumbstick. Each click of the non-swing thumbstick takes it to the next camera in the cycle until it repeats. It's sooooo much faster and easier to use than what we've had before.

[Diablo25]

HB Studios has announced that the Mid-October update for both the PS4 and XB1 versions of The Golf Club were submitted to Sony and Microsoft this past Friday. These updates will be equivalent to the PC version update which was released on October 8th. If you haven't seen it; you've missed what almost amounts to a new game, IMO. It now has four swing camera options instead of one, multiple press of the button camera angles from around the hole to aid in reading putts.

The most the most significant aesthetic difference is the new Golfer Point of View presentation option. It is along the lines of what is called the "True-Aim" camera option in Tiger Woods 11, 12, and 13, but unlike that one, you can hold any of the four swing camera options for as long as you'd like. The camera slowly moves from your swing view to your golfer's eyes as they track and follow the flight of the ball... it's truly breathtaking! You then have the option to transition to the follow camera view at any point of your choosing during the flight of the ball. IMO, it makes the game far more immersive from a player perspective!

Here's a video I put together on the PC version to illustrate how it works. It will work just like this on the PS4 and XB1 versions, we're told. I use what's called View #3, which is a bit closer to the golfer and a tad higher than the default view in the shipping version. BTW, the default swing camera is still in the mix as View #2. I cycle through all the angles in this video, but all the shots are struck from View #3.

BTW, if Sony is as quick turning this update around as they were the patch, this could be on PSN on Wednesday!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR-dPpPCVyo

Now that's what I'm talking about! Love that new perspective. Thanks for the video JC.

[Gangrel]

Looks good. Can't wait for the update. Though your video makes me see how much better the PC version is than the Xbox!

[10spro]

Looks good. Can't wait for the update. Though your video makes me see how much better the PC version is than the Xbox!

Yeah, it did look very crisp and clean didn't it compared to the consoles. Nice to see those different angles options for putting, good birdie on the last one. Only thing missing was your patent stache.

[J_Cauthen]

Looks good. Can't wait for the update. Though your video makes me see how much better the PC version is than the Xbox!

Yep, there's still a sizable gap there. OTOH, the PS4 version looks very close to the PC version at the same res. The difference is I can Jack the AF up to 8X on the PC and clean it up quite a bit without much of a performance hit. That's what makes it look slightly better than the PS4 version overall.

The XBox One version needs to at least get to 900p, and give the users the option to turn off the DOF. They got carried away with DOF in the latest patch, IMO, and made the XB1 version look unnecessarily blurred. I'm hoping they fix that in the update.

[J_Cauthen]

Yeah, it did look very crisp and clean didn't it compared to the consoles. Nice to see those different angles options for putting, good birdie on the last one. Only thing missing was your patent stache.

Putting is so much better for me from view #3. I also like being able to gauge the slope so much quicker with these views from around the hole that can be called up at the press of a button. As for the stache... yeah, I miss it too. Eventually we'll get some personalization options for our golfers... they cant' come soon enough to suit me

[Diablo25]

Looks like the feature update is going live tonight.
http://thegolfclubgame.com/2014/10/20/f ... overnight/

[Diablo25]

Ps4 update is out. I'm currently downloading.

[Diablo25]

Ps4 update is out. I'm currently downloading.

Love the new cameras. Simply love the option of no follow cam and then hitting X to zoom when I want! Putting views make putting so much better.

[J_Cauthen]

I've got and played both the XB1 and PS4 update versions. They both are like playing new games! HBS is listening to us. Guess what else is in this update? An option to turn off Depth of Field! It works fabulously in not only the looks - IMO - but also in frame rate! The new golfer camera is just killing it.... I swear - this is a new game. I'm going to be bleary eyed before I can quit playing this game tonight, across three different platforms

The frame rate improvement is noticeable on both platforms, but it actually revives the XB1 version to playable status again. And the DOF off option gets rid of the false blurriness the XB1 patch introduced... it looks better than the original version now, by a significant margin. Yes, it's still 7200, but it's much easier on the eyes now... more importantly, it's not like playing underwater now.

This might be the best update I've seen since PGA Championship Golf 99's patch that introduced a real time, full screen "snap to lie" camera angle. I feel like I'm playing a new game to be totally honest!

[Inuyasha]

does the game feel choppy now after the patch? it does for me. before when the camera followed the ball it was smooth. Now it's like a some slight chopiness.e -

update - played some older holes no choppyness. But the new official holes they put out there the game has framerate issues. Looking for others to confirm. PS4 here.

[Wilk5280]

Ps4 update is out. I'm currently downloading.

Love the new cameras. Simply love the option of no follow cam and then hitting X to zoom when I want! Putting views make putting so much better.

Which putting view are you using?