HB Studios Talks the Future of the Golf Club

[RaychelSnr]

The Golf Club has been a successful title in many ways for HB Studios and for sports gamers, showing a sports game which gives much of the control of the user experience over to the users can be a successful formula if done right. It has also been a prime example of generally excellent post-release support, with several content updates and gameplay patches.

But we haven't heard much about what HB Studios plans for The Golf Club after this Spring's update. In a recent blog post, the company tries to answer that question.

"This week we’ve really been looking at the future of The Golf Club, things that we can do past the May update in the short term and the long term. Things like Greg Norman Course Designer improvements, more themes, an API to help fan sites, etc. The team have as many ideas as you guys, so imagine how much we have to get through. Every round we play, even every shot we play, we come back with more ideas. It’s a great place to be in though, with so much still to do on our wish list we look like we’ll be busy way into the future."

There's a lot of additions hinted at for the future, including new drop ball functionality as well as new updates to profile screens. This is certainly good news, as those who put in the initial investment into The Golf Club can continue to enjoy the game with new content for month's to come.

What do you think about the future of The Golf Club? What should HB Studios do to spice up the experience?

[DBMcGee3]

I am absolutely loving the game so far, and am anxiously awaiting the update.

One thing I'd love to see is a simulated stroke option when creating a course. When I'm designing a hole, I enjoy setting it up so that an absolutely perfect drive or approach would be very rewarding to the player. Whether that means hitting a really narrow stretch of fairway, or just barely getting over a hazard, I always want people to weigh the risk and reward before choosing which club to hit, etc., while still providing ample incentive to break out the big dog and let 'er rip.

That being said, I've often times been frustrated when trying to hit a perfect drive for testing purposes on the course creator. It would be nice to just press a button and have the CPU hit a straight shot for you, rather than having to rewind 10 times if I have the shanks that day.

It would also be really cool if you could leave a marker somewhere on the course so that you know exactly where you left off the next time you turn the creator on. I've gone a few days in between editing sessions before and found myself a bit lost when I came back to it.

In any event, these are by no means game breakers, just things I wished for during my time with the course creator. To all those involved with this game, keep up the good work and thank you for everything you've done so far. Most fun I've ever had playing a golf game, due to the realism and the incredible online functionality.

[dpc134]

Re: HB Studios Talks the Future of the Golf Club

TGC is a fantastic game and HB Studios is a perfect example of how developers should be interacting with their community. I would gladly pay double the price for this game knowing the developers are listening to the community. I can't say enough about the community involvement that HB has shown during this game's launch and progress! Well done, HB!!
I am looking forward to all of the new additions that HB continues to work on.

[Hutton]

Re: HB Studios Talks the Future of the Golf Club

A++ job by the HB Studios guys, they really keep knocking it out of the park with new content and community involvement. I wish other game devs would take this approach, the bar has been set extremely high by TGC.

The new tropical theme looks absolutely stunning, the courses that will be created for this theme will be amazing I'm sure.

One thing I'd like to see in the course designer is some sort of waypoint/distance system, so I could plot out markers every 50 yards or 100 yards in order to more easily compute bunker & hazard placement.

[MDgolf]

Can you play a season mode in this game like Tiger Woods etc? The only reason why I haven't got the game yet is because I love season/career mode like in the EA game. Thanks

[Hutton]

Re: HB Studios Talks the Future of the Golf Club

Can you play a season mode in this game like Tiger Woods etc? The only reason why I haven't got the game yet is because I love season/career mode like in the EA game. Thanks

A "seasons" mode is coming in the next update for digital and is included on the pending disc release.

[MDgolf]

Cool thank you for the info!

[woodjer]

Re: HB Studios Talks the Future of the Golf Club

Can you play a season mode in this game like Tiger Woods etc? The only reason why I haven't got the game yet is because I love season/career mode like in the EA game. Thanks

If you're looking to level up your golfer by "buying" new shoes, gloves, etc., this game isn't for you. EVERYTHING...the good, the bad, and the ugly...is the result of your club selection and swing. Everyone's driver is set to carry 265 yds. Wind, elevation, and fairway condition can make it go further (I had a drive of 320 after the roll last night) but you aren't going to buy a boost to get it any higher or more accurate.

All of that said...I LOVE this game despite the fact that I pretty much despise golf in real life. The sheer number of created courses is amazing and gives this game a ton of life. If you're looking for a season/career mode, check out some of the online sites that do something similar. I'm a member over at TGCTours and it's more than met my need for any type of season mode.

Bottom line, for $35, I've easily played this one at least twice as much as any of my $60 titles. Again, if you're looking for boosts, branded equipment, or official courses, you won't find it here. I got nothing against people that want those things but it's just not in TGC.

[Chairman7w]

Re: HB Studios Talks the Future of the Golf Club

I agree with everything you just wrote.

This game is a true gem, and I am literally salivating at the thought of the incredibly beautiful courses that will be created with the Tropical Theme.

I don't even know if I can wait 2 weeks for the DLC version, I may just buy the disk.

If you're looking to level up your golfer by "buying" new shoes, gloves, etc., this game isn't for you. EVERYTHING...the good, the bad, and the ugly...is the result of your club selection and swing. Everyone's driver is set to carry 265 yds. Wind, elevation, and fairway condition can make it go further (I had a drive of 320 after the roll last night) but you aren't going to buy a boost to get it any higher or more accurate.

All of that said...I LOVE this game despite the fact that I pretty much despise golf in real life. The sheer number of created courses is amazing and gives this game a ton of life. If you're looking for a season/career mode, check out some of the online sites that do something similar. I'm a member over at TGCTours and it's more than met my need for any type of season mode.

Bottom line, for $35, I've easily played this one at least twice as much as any of my $60 titles. Again, if you're looking for boosts, branded equipment, or official courses, you won't find it here. I got nothing against people that want those things but it's just not in TGC.

[MDgolf]

Re: HB Studios Talks the Future of the Golf Club

Sounds awesome! When does the new update come out?


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[SDwinder]

Dynamic cameras really give life to a round of golf, and easily accessible in real time even. I love the cam that stays with golfer and then when you choose to hit the X button the camera scales to ball. Just brilliant!

[OnlookerDelay]

Re: HB Studios Talks the Future of the Golf Club

Dynamic cameras really give life to a round of golf, and easily accessible in real time even. I love the cam that stays with golfer and then when you choose to hit the X button the camera scales to ball. Just brilliant!

I'm a huge fan of this as well! It'll get even better in the future, I've been told by one of the producers that they will be adding an option to switch to a reverse angle landing camera on demand, which will make it even better, IMO! I was hoping it was going to be coming with the May update, but I'm not as confident about that now as I was two months ago.... it'd coming though.

[Hutton]

Re: HB Studios Talks the Future of the Golf Club

Dynamic cameras really give life to a round of golf, and easily accessible in real time even. I love the cam that stays with golfer and then when you choose to hit the X button the camera scales to ball. Just brilliant!

This is my favorite new way to play the game, I love being able to replicate the feel of hitting a real life shot & watching from a distance, but then also being able to zoom to the landing spot and watch the end action.

I just wish there was a preset camera option that replicated this, i.e. stayed on the tee for the first 75-80% of the ball flight, then switched to the follow cam for the remaining ball flight.

[gustavus]

Re: HB Studios Talks the Future of the Golf Club

If you're looking to level up your golfer by "buying" new shoes, gloves, etc., this game isn't for you. EVERYTHING...the good, the bad, and the ugly...is the result of your club selection and swing. Everyone's driver is set to carry 265 yds. Wind, elevation, and fairway condition can make it go further (I had a drive of 320 after the roll last night) but you aren't going to buy a boost to get it any higher or more accurate.

You do realize that hasn't been the mode for career progression for several releases, right? You earn XP by playing the game and accomplishing things on the course. As your golfer gains experience you can apply that to different areas of your game.

I like that the not everyone hits the exact same distance, and that learning to play in a way that minimizes your weakness and exploits your strengths is actually fun, forcing you to approach holes in a different ways. By the same token, this applies to the pro golfers included, who also play differently.

Lining up with a generic golfer and whacking away with the same generic clubs and skills was great in the days of Links. But I want a lot more out of my game than user made courses that pale in comparison to the real courses offered in the TW series.

No one is saying TGC is a bad game. But it has become common in this forum to call out TW players as cheesing arcade loving kids that don't appreciate the strategic nature of the game. And that just isn't the way everyone plays the game. There were plenty of great guys to play with in online tournaments that used more sim settings.

And if someone does want to add the assists and boosts because they think it is more fun to just play than to spend time practicing, it's not bad that the game caters to them, too. What I liked most about the TW series is that there was a lot do. The mini games, career mode, using the pros in exhibition, online play and tournaments, including playing against real life scores on the same course that the pros were playing that weekend, and even customizing my golfer all make it a fun package. I do wish they would add the use of Pros in season play instead of just building up your own character.

I don't think there is wrong with someone asking if TGC offers something that they enjoyed in another game.

[jb12780]

Re: HB Studios Talks the Future of the Golf Club

If there were a rookie of a the year for sports games, this one would win.

Awesome game, awesome support post release.

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