The Golf Club News Post

The Golf Club Closed Beta Impressions (Q&A Inside)

12:33 PM - February 26, 2014 by bluengold34_OS

OK - I have just been informed that there will be an email sent over in the next few hours that will provide access to the Golf Club closed beta today. Myself and any others who were lucky enough to gain access will provide what information we can in this thread. Asking questions is not a problem, but understand we may not be able to answer them all. I will post in here as soon as I have the game installed and have spent spent some time with it.

We just ask that you be patient - Thanks!

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# 41 bluengold34_OS @ 02/28/14 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedtrucker


	honestly, I thought I was excited when TW finally got the Official Masters at Augusta... this has me really excited, it is raw in areas probably lacking in some areas like sponsorships etc but to have a robust course creator and removal of the crazy aspects of RPG skill trees(ie a blue mohawked guy in a spacesuit that can drive the ball 350 yards into a 15 mph wind...) is so refreshing. that was my problem with TW, the courses while difficult at default levels on tournament mode were a breeze because hazards rarely came into play if ever. now you can design a course where a hazard that is intended to force a player into a big decision(go for it or lay up) now is always in play. quick question though: in the editor how drastic of elevation changes can you make? ie can you make an elevation change of 100+ feet on say a par 3? (one of my old favorite courses had a par 3 that was about 80+ feet downhill, it was 220 from the mens tees but played like 200)

This will give you an Idea of how high you can go. I quickly created this tee box for you, and yes those are trees way down below.

NOTE - I could have gone much higher

# 42 speedtrucker @ 02/28/14 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluengold34_OS


	This will give you an Idea of how high you can go. I quickly created this tee box for you, and yes those are trees way down below. NOTE - I could have gone much higher

yep... IN...

thanks BG34, that pretty much seals the deal in my want for creativity with the course creator. that much freedom in height is funny but great to see.

# 43 bluengold34_OS @ 02/28/14 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedtrucker


	yep... IN... thanks BG34, that pretty much seals the deal in my want for creativity with the course creator. that much freedom in height is funny but great to see.

Not a problem Speed -

# 44 Lieutenant Dan @ 02/28/14 03:45 PM

Thanks for the vids, Bob! Very helpful to see it at this stage.

I LOVE the sound effects/ball striking. Much better than TW...or at least different because I've heard that game for so many years now LOL.

Watching you play....wow. Really takes me back in a good way to Links386, but the new version of it; a next-gen Links game.

I liked some of the variations of the camera following the ball and coming in from the side to the rear for your shot.

The commentary works for me....again, very much in the same style as a classic Links game.

# 45 bluengold34_OS @ 02/28/14 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lieutenant Dan


	Thanks for the vids, Bob! Very helpful to see it at this stage. I LOVE the sound effects/ball striking. Much better than TW...or at least different because I've heard that game for so many years now LOL. Watching you play....wow. Really takes me back in a good way to Links386, but the new version of it; a next-gen Links game. I liked some of the variations of the camera following the ball and coming in from the side to the rear for your shot. The commentary works for me....again, very much in the same style as a classic Links game.

Happy to do it Dan - and plan on updating this thread throughout the whole closed beta as updates happen in game. Seeing as how I am am playing Links right now, I would agree that it does have that feel to it a bit.

# 46 bluengold34_OS @ 03/01/14 08:32 AM

So here is another video. New user created course, and new outfit. There is actually quite a decent selection of clothing. This course will give you an idea of how difficult the putting can be - in a good way.

# 47 Perfect Zero @ 03/01/14 11:03 AM

I thought that they weren't going to have clothing options. Interesting...

# 48 bluengold34_OS @ 03/01/14 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perfect Zero


	I thought that they weren't going to have clothing options. Interesting...

They were always going to have clothing options, just unsure if they are going to have licensed clothing options -

# 49 mike24forever @ 03/01/14 11:22 AM

Loving the videos. I like seeing bunker play and you working around the greens. This should be one of the mist difficult parts in the game, but also the one part that if you practice at it, a player should be able to shave a few strokes off his game.

# 50 Bruinboy @ 03/01/14 02:40 PM

Love the videos ... Very thoughtful of you to post. This may have been answered elsewhere, but any idea how long the beta will be? Not that I'm impatient, but I am. The way HB communicates regularly with its future customers is refreshing. The fact that they let beta testers share their experiences in the beta keeps us in the loop. Cheers to you and them.

# 51 bluengold34_OS @ 03/01/14 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bruinboy


	Love the videos ... Very thoughtful of you to post. This may have been answered elsewhere, but any idea how long the beta will be? Not that I'm impatient, but I am. The way HB communicates regularly with its future customers is refreshing. The fact that they let beta testers share their experiences in the beta keeps us in the loop. Cheers to you and them.

Happy to do it Bruin for the community here, and to help support these developers. Please don't quote me on this, but I believe the closed beta will run until the end of March, than the open beta will start for the PC.

I will have a new video up in the morning showing not just the game, but different types of shots how they work and how they can fail.

# 52 OnlookerDelay @ 03/02/14 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowld


	The gameplay itself looks great but the actual golfer animations themselves look pretty ugly

HBS said last week that they have more animation work scheduled over the next few weeks. I'm pretty sure we'll see some improvement with the golfer animations, and hopefully, their postures on uneven ground.

# 53 OnlookerDelay @ 03/02/14 01:33 AM

I didn't really get to put in much time with the beta until Friday evening. Bob's assessment of it has been pretty much my take on it as well, although I can tell he's got a much more powerful gaming PC than me. I'm having to run the game at 1280 x 720 @ Low detail graphics. Even at that, I'm seeing between 21 and 26 FPS on most courses and in the high teens on the tree dense alpine course.

I'm probably having a harder time gauging the gameplay difficulty than Bob, because of my slower frame rates, and lower resolution and detail settings. The grid lines on the green are sparse in the settings I'm having to use. I cranked the graphics up to 1600 x 900 @ Medium detail (where I got 7 to 9 FPS), but saw a huge difference in the overall look of the game and the grid details. Secondly, I've always been a left thumbstick swing controller in thumbstick golf games and the beta forces you to use right stick only. I have no sense of feel or rhythm with the right thumbstick in a golf game and it feels totally foreign to me. I've only broken 80 one time on the easiest course. Most of my current difficulty comes from having to swing the right thumbstick.

Even with the handicaps I'm current strapped with, I see a lot of potential for this game. I can create an error condition which aborts the game during the loading screen and brings up a new mini-window that's about 1/32nd of the full screen size. The game runs a 65 to 75 fps in that window and it feels like a totally different game! I think that you really need at least 30 - 35FPS to make the game feel playable. 45 plus FPS would take it to another level though!

I like the commentary during the game, but I would prefer to throttle it back a little in frequency. The holing out effects are a bit loud, but that's something they can tweak. I like the fact that I can put what feels and looks like a good rhythm on the swing and get a good result. Even the impact sounds vary with the quality of the swing you've made. A rhythmic swing actually sounds, and to a degree "feels" better than a jerky/punchy swing that yields the same power... there's a unique dimension here with this game and I'm really intrigued by it.

All I can say is come on optimization (or maybe even the Radeon HD 7750 1GB video card I've got coming Tuesday... I'm ashamed to reveal the rest of my system to you guys if this 'moderate level' video card is the highlight of it) and left thumb stick swing and I'll be one step closer to the promised land!

I'm really curious to see what res and frame rate this game ultimately plays at on the PS4 and XB1. I have a gut feeling that it's so graphics processing intensive that it'll be one of those where the PS4 version runs at a higher res or a higher frame rate... hope I'm wrong though - it really needs to shine at 1080p/60FPS on both consoles to give this game the glory it deserves.

# 54 SinisterAlex @ 03/02/14 03:21 AM

This is a small detail but is there any fringe around the greens? It seems it goes from heavy rough to green with no fringe in between. Again a small detail that may not seem like a big deal but it does change the way small pitch shots and putts are made when you're off the green by a couple of feet.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

# 55 bluengold34_OS @ 03/02/14 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SinisterAlex


	This is a small detail but is there any fringe around the greens? It seems it goes from heavy rough to green with no fringe in between. Again a small detail that may not seem like a big deal but it does change the way small pitch shots and putts are made when you're off the green by a couple of feet. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

This detail has been brought up by the masses - so not as small as you might think. HB is completely aware of it -

# 56 Helldogg18 @ 03/02/14 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluengold34_OS


	This detail has been brought up by the masses - so not as small as you might think. HB is completely aware of it -

And for that matter, there doesn't appear to be an intermediate cut between the fairway and the rough that I've seen. Would be a nice addition for gameplay and for a more realistic look to the otherwise beautiful golf courses seen so far.

# 57 Boltman @ 03/02/14 03:08 PM

Just had to post in the thread that got Dan and Mike all hot & bothered.

Nice impressions and info Bob, thanks.

You've created two golf talking freaks in my PS4 party chat lol.

# 58 bluengold34_OS @ 03/02/14 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boltman


	Just had to post in the thread that got Dan and Mike all hot & bothered. Nice impressions and info Bob, thanks. You've created two golf talking freaks in my PS4 party chat lol.

I felt bad taking over the convo about the game - but whats a brother going to do? Thanks for understanding Al -

# 59 Aggies7 @ 03/02/14 10:22 PM

Looking good Bob, can't wait to finally get to try this out.

# 60 CRIP4LIFE @ 03/03/14 09:46 AM

i'm tardy to the party.. been eying this game for a while, but new to the thread.. very cool to see beta gameplay. and yes, i'm excited.

my question is of control.. are you guys who posted video playing with m&kb or controller? i see xbox type controller button overlays on the screen and i realize you can easily plug an xbox controller into your pc.

but the way the GUI displays "A,B,LT,RT"... i think i even saw an "X" and "Y" in a few vids.

you can plug all kinds of controllers into a PC, so i'm just curious why they are using xbox button gui overlays as it seems every gameplay video i've seen (from devs or beta testers) have this.

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