The Golf Club - PS4 Framerate/Graphical Performance

[RefTix]

For those of you with The Golf Club on PS4, how does it perform?

Is there screen-tearing?
Have the updates helped?
How is the framerate?

I am really, really close to buying it regardless (my God, does the www.tgctours.com look INCREDIBLE!), but I really want to know what platform is best for me.

I am buying a Steam Machine at the end of November and thought about waiting for better performance (avoiding double-purchase).

[OnlookerDelay]

Re: The Golf Club - PS4 Framerate/Graphical Performance

As the world's most anally retentive gamer when it comes to framerates and graphics resolutions, I'll be glad to field this question

First of all on the resolution, the PS4 version runs at 1080p and has a quality object/tree distance that's about twice that of the XB1 version. I'd guess it's about 300 yards, which winds up looking pretty darn good, especially if you turn off the “Depth of Field” special effect, which I highly recommend doing. I recommend turning off DOF for three reasons:

1.) It causes about a 5% framerate hit when it’s on
2.) It blurs the objects at too shallow a distance from the viewpoint and looks artificially overbaked
3.) The trees look properly focused with the effect off, at 300 yards. The scaled back detail level beyond 300 yards sorts of takes the roll of the intent of the DOF effect anyway.

I’m very impressed with how crisp and vibrant the graphics and colors are on the PS4 version.

As for the framerates, they vary considerably. I see what I’d estimated to be 22 FPS to 45 FPS, depending on the course contours and mostly, the object count and density. I’d guess the average is between 28 and 35 FPS. I can tell the swing performance suffers at bit when the frame rates drop below 28 FPS, but 98% of the time, it’s reasonably manageable.

I don’t see a lot of tearing, but I’m usually not geared to be looking for it. I leave vsync off because I worry about skipping frames when the game can’t maintain 30 FPS. I’m content with the way it looks and performs with vsync off, although it could be better.

Some of the updates have resulted in graphics performance improvements, but I get the sense that they’ve hit the ceiling with what can be done with this engine using Unity 4. It would be great if they could get this game running at its originally targeted goal of 60 FPS, at 1080P, but if I had to guess, I’d say its overall average framerate is 32 FPS. I can tell a difference in the way the game feels and in the quality of play when I tweak my PC for 60 FPS, and it does take the gameplay to another level of sensual satisfaction; however, your senses can adjust to the 28 to 35 FPS in which it generally runs on the PS4. Still, there are some desirable courses that are on my “Do Not Play” list on the PS4 because they drag the performance down into the 22 to 25 FPS range too often for my tastes.

I don’t know which Steam machine you may be considering buying, but I can tell you it will take a reasonably healthy Steam machine to run this game at the same resolution and framerates as the PS4. I haven’t looked at the specs on the Steam boxes, but I honestly couldn’t recommend this game to a PC owner that had less than an nVidia Geforce GTX 960 graphics card, if they’re wanting to run the game at 1080p/high detail/object detail 2, and maintain greater than 40 FPS.

[RefTix]

Re: The Golf Club - PS4 Framerate/Graphical Performance

Well.. I bought TGC this weekend on PS4 ...


Wow. Am I happy that I did!

I really enjoy being able to download any course, and hop straight into a nice, sim golf game. Its refreshing.

Pros

• Limitless Courses
• Some Beautiful Moments (the game can look incredible at times)
• Difficulty is High
• SIM Golf Exists!

Cons

• Screen Tearing
• Framerate (probably sub-30 fps when ball is in the air)
• Licensed Golfers (obviously)

[DivotMaker]

Re: The Golf Club - PS4 Framerate/Graphical Performance

Well.. I bought TGC this weekend on PS4 ...


Wow. Am I happy that I did!

I really enjoy being able to download any course, and hop straight into a nice, sim golf game. Its refreshing.

Pros

• Limitless Courses
• Some Beautiful Moments (the game can look incredible at times)
• Difficulty is High
• SIM Golf Exists!

Cons

• Screen Tearing
• Framerate (probably sub-30 fps when ball is in the air)
• Licensed Golfers (obviously)

Enjoy the game. Unfortunately the game is not what I would call "simulation" at all. It is very easy for me as there is little to no challenge tee to green and it is a bit lifeless. This just demonstrates that there are numerous opinions on what constitutes a "simulation". Have fun with the game. What it tries to do, it does pretty well.

[AnthonyKyne]

Re: The Golf Club - PS4 Framerate/Graphical Performance

Thanks for the compliments RefTix.
I'd disagree with my old buddy Divotmaker on simulation a little. His definition of simulation mean hard, which is not necessarily the case.
Simulations means to Simulate the act of playing golf in real life on a computer. As game designers I want to recreate

• The thought process I have when I'm the course
• The feeling or joy, disappointment and achievement when you make or miss a putt

what it shouldn't be is a game of skill with a twitch mechanic that makes it hard or not, because that doesn't simulate real life.
You play games to get the natural ability you don't have in real life but still challenge your mind.
I'm no pro soccer player, but Fifa allows me to actually make the 70yrd pass I've always wanted to make
The golf club gives me the ability to drive the ball 270yrds, which I can't do in real life, and opens up "or Simulates" my thought process to match things that would be part of a pro's if I only had the natural ability.

[ROTTEN]

Re: The Golf Club - PS4 Framerate/Graphical Performance

Simulations means to Simulate the act of playing golf in real life on a computer.

....... and also locking players to using the clumsy analog controls. Your way or the highway. Gotta love it.

[AnthonyKyne]

Re: The Golf Club - PS4 Framerate/Graphical Performance

Plus it doesn't really get any more simulation than this

https://youtu.be/lOSYog8gRqk?t=70

[DivotMaker]

Re: The Golf Club - PS4 Framerate/Graphical Performance

Thanks for the compliments RefTix.
I'd disagree with my old buddy Divotmaker on simulation a little. His definition of simulation mean hard, which is not necessarily the case.
Simulations means to Simulate the act of playing golf in real life on a computer. As game designers I want to recreate

• The thought process I have when I'm the course
• The feeling or joy, disappointment and achievement when you make or miss a putt

what it shouldn't be is a game of skill with a twitch mechanic that makes it hard or not, because that doesn't simulate real life.
You play games to get the natural ability you don't have in real life but still challenge your mind.
I'm no pro soccer player, but Fifa allows me to actually make the 70yrd pass I've always wanted to make
The golf club gives me the ability to drive the ball 270yrds, which I can't do in real life, and opens up "or Simulates" my thought process to match things that would be part of a pro's if I only had the natural ability.

Respectfully, I am getting more of a simulation out of another title right now that isn't a twitch mechanic by any means if anyone has spent any appreciable time with that "other" game. I still enjoy TGC for what it is, but after a year of the same swing and challenge, it does not challenge me personally any longer. I do hope one day that we can find a swing mechanic and/or GUI that has a steadily rising challenge curve that keeps users challenged and feels more and more like how you would play IRL. I am a 10 handicap and I can and have hit 270-300 yard drives. You and I may see things differently and disagree on a couple of things here and there, but I think we both want the most immersive and challenging Golf game that keeps users coming back for more 24/7/365.....

[RefTix]

Re: The Golf Club - PS4 Framerate/Graphical Performance

Thanks for the compliments RefTix.
I'd disagree with my old buddy Divotmaker on simulation a little. His definition of simulation mean hard, which is not necessarily the case.
Simulations means to Simulate the act of playing golf in real life on a computer. As game designers I want to recreate

• The thought process I have when I'm the course
• The feeling or joy, disappointment and achievement when you make or miss a putt

what it shouldn't be is a game of skill with a twitch mechanic that makes it hard or not, because that doesn't simulate real life.
You play games to get the natural ability you don't have in real life but still challenge your mind.
I'm no pro soccer player, but Fifa allows me to actually make the 70yrd pass I've always wanted to make
The golf club gives me the ability to drive the ball 270yrds, which I can't do in real life, and opens up "or Simulates" my thought process to match things that would be part of a pro's if I only had the natural ability.

I appreciate the response.

Devs like you guys (who are involved with the community) really keep gaming enjoyable for me. I am very happy I made the purchase (actually got my brother to buy it as well).

Anyone who has the game, you need to head to http://www.tgctours.com/ ASAP! That website is seriously insane.

[bubba4]

Re: The Golf Club - PS4 Framerate/Graphical Performance

Simulations means to Simulate the act of playing golf in real life on a computer. As game designers I want to recreate

• The thought process I have when I'm the course
• The feeling or joy, disappointment and achievement when you make or miss a putt

what it shouldn't be is a game of skill with a twitch mechanic that makes it hard or not, because that doesn't simulate real life.
You play games to get the natural ability you don't have in real life but still challenge your mind.
I'm no pro soccer player, but Fifa allows me to actually make the 70yrd pass I've always wanted to make
The golf club gives me the ability to drive the ball 270yrds, which I can't do in real life, and opens up "or Simulates" my thought process to match things that would be part of a pro's if I only had the natural ability.

I really appreciate this answer. I can see why TGC is doing so well!!
The debate over sim vs arcade has been raging for years. I for one believe that once the human element is introduced into a sports game by way of a controller, all simulation aspects go out the window. I use coach mode or cpu games to get the true sim aspects coming through. Playing TGC certainly makes me think about the sport in a more cerebral way, and for that I appreciate the "sim" aspect of this virtual golf game.

[JP7555]

Re: The Golf Club - PS4 Framerate/Graphical Performance

To HB........ I love the game. I bought it day 1 and haven't looked back since. It gets the most play on my PS4 over any other game I've ever owned.

HOWEVER, the latest update w/ the swing percentage modifications are wreaking havoc on me! I find it hard to consistently get anything over 95% swing power w/ an iron, which kills my approach attempts.

I know the goal was to "toughen" up the game a bit, but dang. I can't consistently get much going.

Is there a future "fix" at all regarding this or will this remain unchanged? Or what's the thought process regarding this going forward? Are you seeing worse scores w/ PS4 players since the change? I have to believe you have, because I've gotten worse.

It's a relatively minor "annoyance" but maybe it's just something I need to keep working at and get consistent w/ myself. I don't know.

Keep up the good work and thanks for any response.

[roadman]

Re: The Golf Club - PS4 Framerate/Graphical Performance

To HB........ I love the game. I bought it day 1 and haven't looked back since. It gets the most play on my PS4 over any other game I've ever owned.

HOWEVER, the latest update w/ the swing percentage modifications are wreaking havoc on me! I find it hard to consistently get anything over 95% swing power w/ an iron, which kills my approach attempts.

I know the goal was to "toughen" up the game a bit, but dang. I can't consistently get much going.

Is there a future "fix" at all regarding this or will this remain unchanged? Or what's the thought process regarding this going forward? Are you seeing worse scores w/ PS4 players since the change? I have to believe you have, because I've gotten worse.

It's a relatively minor "annoyance" but maybe it's just something I need to keep working at and get consistent w/ myself. I don't know.

Keep up the good work and thanks for any response.

Taken from the impressions thread:

The thing is that before the update you were handcuffed to the system. Most of the time the game was defaulting you to 100%. There was no granularity to the power applied.
To us at HB we're quite amazed by the feedback we're getting because I honestly didn't think people would notice. No one here was having problems with the swing power.
What it was before was like having a hit 100% power button. Surely no one wants that?

The thing it's really highlighted for me though is the "swing is too easy" argument we've had from the beginning. We've never found it too easy to hit straight. The reason was that people were finding it so easy was that people were moving at such a leisurely pace through the forward swing it's been easy to hit straight.

The original concept was that the user should be on the tee on a tight fairway and feel that if he goes full power he has less control meaning it's a gamble, where if he goes 90% he's a lot more likely to hit straight and safe. That's the train of thought I'm on when I'm on the tee in real life and what I want to be going though my head in The Golf Club.

The fact you now have the ability to finesse a shot is an amazing addition in my opinion.

[terrycurran62]

Re: The Golf Club - PS4 Framerate/Graphical Performance

Graphically, TGC is very poor on ps4. Yes it should be put side by side with RM and it just looks awful. Low res textures and heavy colour saturation dominate the view. But it's not a bad game became great graphics don't make a great game. RM looks sublime sometimes but it's a shallow game with little to do and silly scores in online tournaments . TGC is a great experiment that almost works and it almost fails. It's got a quaint amateurish feel that makes for an occasional round. I could never play the game every day.

[AnthonyKyne]

Re: The Golf Club - PS4 Framerate/Graphical Performance

Graphically, TGC is very poor on ps4. Yes it should be put side by side with RM and it just looks awful. Low res textures and heavy colour saturation dominate the view. But it's not a bad game became great graphics don't make a great game. RM looks sublime sometimes but it's a shallow game with little to do and silly scores in online tournaments . TGC is a great experiment that almost works and it almost fails. It's got a quaint amateurish feel that makes for an occasional round. I could never play the game every day.

A little harsh mate
I'd admit that we're a little behind in some areas graphically than the AAA competitor but when look at something like this http://www.tgctours.com/Course/Details/9789

I don't think you can say the game is graphically poor.

The skies are dynamic - this is not seen in anything else in the genre
The clouds actually move - we don't use sky boxes
Our water looks pretty damn good up close
Plus we don't have to advantage of baking any lighting, etc to improve frame rate as we just don't know what people are going to build and where they're going to place the sun

[RefTix]

Re: The Golf Club - PS4 Framerate/Graphical Performance

Definitely agree with Anthony on the above post.

I wish we had a few more create a player models for some variation (I want to make Tiger!). Overall, this game truly is refreshing and awesome for me.

I am playing the Q Tour and attempting to qualify for the tgctours.com tournaments (so hard wow).