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HI,
I recently bought TGC and PG (on the PC) to find out what they are all about and eventually
pick one for simulation. My main criteria is realism, the closer to "being there" the
better. Overall I'm liking them both but there are a few things in TGC I think should be
changed to improve the sense of realism. Of course it is just one persons opinion but (in
no particular order) they are:
- Flag Distance Marker icon with large lettering in the center of the screen prior to the
hit. I've never looked down a fairway and seen *that* in real life! It makes it look
like a video game. I'd like to see it changed to something more space efficient and also
moved to an unobtrusive location.
- Large menus in both corners blocking even more of the golf course. Again, no overlay
menus in real life so make them much less intrusive.
- Player perspective camera. One of the joys of golf is to hit a shot and watch it soar
off into the distance. So far I can't find any camera views replicating that feel. This
is a *big* disappointment so hopefuly I've just missed it. The players perspective camera
is the closest I've found but falls well short since the ball disappears from the view on
most clubs and then later drops out of the sky back into view. Definitely not what I see
when playing real golf.
- Related to that, when the "follow cam" takes over the ball position seems completely
disconnected from it's position earlier in the flight. One shouldn't suddenly have to move
their eyes to find the ball again when the new camera view takes over. Balls don't really
jump around like that in real life. I still haven't got used to the short disconnect that
occurs as I'm hunting for the ball in the new view just prior to landing.
- YELLOW comet trail. Why is the "comet tail" on a white ball yellow? Accepting that a
comet tail can actually help with realism (ie its easier to see the ball IRL than on a sim
screen), is there really any need to make it yellow? Flaming yellow ball trails just make
it look like a video game. Keep it subtle...make them white (and adjustable in length).
- Putting grid. The Putting grid can't be easily toggled on/off and seems heavy handed
anyway. Again, one doesn't see a grid in real life so every effort should go into making
it as unobtrusive as possible. A more sparse grid, or no grid at all, a break line indicator,
explicit shading to indicate contours, mowing lines...there are probably lots of smart ideas
that address the issue with more realism than what exists now.
- Field of view. The FOV seems excessively narrow/tight. Stand on a tee or fairway in
real life and compare what you see with what TGC shows. It isn't even remotely close.
"Suspend disbelief" only goes so far before the illusion collapses.
I don't know how many of these are unique to the PC game versus the Protee Sim but assume
unless told otherwise they are the same. In my opinion cleaning these up will improve the
realism factor and help mature TGC into a real simulator not just a video game.
I recently bought TGC and PG (on the PC) to find out what they are all about and eventually
pick one for simulation. My main criteria is realism, the closer to "being there" the
better. Overall I'm liking them both but there are a few things in TGC I think should be
changed to improve the sense of realism. Of course it is just one persons opinion but (in
no particular order) they are:
- Flag Distance Marker icon with large lettering in the center of the screen prior to the
hit. I've never looked down a fairway and seen *that* in real life! It makes it look
like a video game. I'd like to see it changed to something more space efficient and also
moved to an unobtrusive location.
- Large menus in both corners blocking even more of the golf course. Again, no overlay
menus in real life so make them much less intrusive.
- Player perspective camera. One of the joys of golf is to hit a shot and watch it soar
off into the distance. So far I can't find any camera views replicating that feel. This
is a *big* disappointment so hopefuly I've just missed it. The players perspective camera
is the closest I've found but falls well short since the ball disappears from the view on
most clubs and then later drops out of the sky back into view. Definitely not what I see
when playing real golf.
- Related to that, when the "follow cam" takes over the ball position seems completely
disconnected from it's position earlier in the flight. One shouldn't suddenly have to move
their eyes to find the ball again when the new camera view takes over. Balls don't really
jump around like that in real life. I still haven't got used to the short disconnect that
occurs as I'm hunting for the ball in the new view just prior to landing.
- YELLOW comet trail. Why is the "comet tail" on a white ball yellow? Accepting that a
comet tail can actually help with realism (ie its easier to see the ball IRL than on a sim
screen), is there really any need to make it yellow? Flaming yellow ball trails just make
it look like a video game. Keep it subtle...make them white (and adjustable in length).
- Putting grid. The Putting grid can't be easily toggled on/off and seems heavy handed
anyway. Again, one doesn't see a grid in real life so every effort should go into making
it as unobtrusive as possible. A more sparse grid, or no grid at all, a break line indicator,
explicit shading to indicate contours, mowing lines...there are probably lots of smart ideas
that address the issue with more realism than what exists now.
- Field of view. The FOV seems excessively narrow/tight. Stand on a tee or fairway in
real life and compare what you see with what TGC shows. It isn't even remotely close.
"Suspend disbelief" only goes so far before the illusion collapses.
I don't know how many of these are unique to the PC game versus the Protee Sim but assume
unless told otherwise they are the same. In my opinion cleaning these up will improve the
realism factor and help mature TGC into a real simulator not just a video game.
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