Post-Spring 2016 Update Requests

[rdh]

Wasn't sure on the best place to post this. I know there was a thread for feature requests, but it gets difficult to follow as updates are released that address some of the items. Now that the spring update was released, I figured I'd start a thread for updated requests taking into account the current state of the software. Here are the things i'd like to see at some point...

Big Stuff: (Well-known requests that will take substantial development effort)

B1 - Multiple tees in a single course to facilitate playing together from different tees
B2 - Multiple local player profiles to maintain separate stats
B3 - Ability to define clubsets per player as well as club distances so the software can suggest the right club automatically (taking into account lie penalties, elevation change, etc.)
B4 - More play modes - scramble (2-man and 4-man), skins, etc.
B5 - Mini games and fun competitions with logic to manage them (long drive, closest to the pin, etc.)

Smaller stuff:

S1 - I'd like to see the follow cam tweaked in two ways:
a) So it ALWAYS follows and never does a side-panning view
b) So after the delay it does a smooth chase-in to the ball
S2 - Tweak the scout cam so that when you're putting it jumps to a spot halfway between the ball and the hole (so it would be great for reading the break)
S3 - An option to automatically have the scout cam trigger for 3-4 seconds before each shot to assess the target/etc
S4 - Setup options to either skip the scorecard between holes or automatically advance after X seconds
S5 - Option at the start of a round to select the hole(s) to play, so you could just play (for example) holes 7, 8 and 18 at Pebble or whatever you want without having to concede holes
S6 - Ability to configure the speed of the fly-by so it can be sped up and actually usable
S7 - Get rid of the aiming stick when putting on the green - it adds clutter and isn't applicable to the simulator version
S8 - Simplify the screen layout to make it minimalistic - no white flag/distance in the middle...remove or simplify other elements...this includes showing only ONE distance for the shot - there is no need to show a club distance as it's part of the video game and doesn't reflect the distance the player actually hits it - when I have friends over to play, they often don't know what the distance is for their shot...they see the distance in the top left, the distance by the club in the upper right, and the distance indicator with the white flag in the middle of the screen
S9 - Show the distance left to the hole after the shot (would help for closest to the pin competitions)
S10 - (Maybe not small?) A practice mode option allowing the ball to be dropped anywhere to practice shots from that point

[kinitex@gmail.com]

Basically all 10 features you listed I have thought about at one point or another while playing TGC. So I agree with all of them.

[rdh]

I forgot to list changes to the display/HUD elements to simplify and clean it up. It's cluttered and confusing right now when I have friends over (multiple yardages in different places). I'll have to see if I'm able to update my original post later.


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[ks-man]

I'd add fixing up the Offset feature so that offset stays true in both Scout Cam mode and after you hit the ball.

[wbond]

John needs some more sayings, especially on the sarcastic side of things! Would make it feel like I'm playing with friends.

[Boerdoc]

Agreed, I love John's commentary. Really makes the game more real.

[keither5150]

Nice list RDH. If I could add to the skip to any hole . I would like to see a practice mode where not only could you skip to any hole but you could replay the hole...... after dropping that putt, hit replay hole and you are back on the tee of that hole. I would like to be able to drop the ball anywhere in practice mode.... like E6

Saving guests stats and profiles is crucial. Charge them 10 bucks or so to register and believe me, my friends would pay. If one could save guest profile and stats, Indoor golf businesses will have an excellent option with TGC.

The replay ( I know this is from the consoles) software has some major bugs. Although it is probably way down on the list it is still broken. The yardage does not display correctly when watching the whole round. Watching the whole round does not work on hole one. It hangs after hole one. I would like to see the replay section of TGC used for viewing other's rounds. It would be great to see the winner's round of 67 or your buddies first time in the 70's. You could also add (show rewinds) in the viewing. This would be a great way to verify that someone is not abusing rewinds. I myself have a simulator that requires a rewind now and again. They are usually really obvious though. I would rather watch a round than look at numbers to verify a round. Just today, I had a 8 yard chip that flew a grand total of 3 inches. I assure you that the ball made it to the screen.

ProTee has made some great improvements with TGC. Remember that last year at this time we didn't have autorewinds or driving ranges.
Let's all be patient with ProTee and HB studios. Many of these thing that we ask for are not easy..... like multiple tees. Remember that this software is designed for consoles and the last time that I looked...... I had no A button in my bag.

[wbond]

Would be nice to see them add how many rewinds were used. Seems like they could add a column now that would say that.

[keither5150]

My tournament round today ..... I had 5 or 6 no reads and 1 rewind. The rewind was taken because I had a chip that didn't read properly. I chipped the ball about 2 feet up the screen that is 11 feet away. The ball launched and rolled 3 or 4 inches behind the original position. I have been experimenting with different lighting configurations. Trying to get a brighter image from my 1600 lumens projector. When I had nothing but halogen lights, I could go 4 or 5 rounds without a need for a rewind. Now that I have switched to IR...... it has become more challenging. Here is a good example of a legit rewind.

https://youtu.be/ItQ6_5SZDVk

[rdh]

I totally agree keither. I'm very happy with the state of things after this last update, so no complaints here. Just wanted to throw out a fresh list as my goal is to make this the greatest software ever for simulator play. I wish I had a share in the profits...but I push this stuff just because I love it and want the greatest simulator experience possible!

As a side note, HB Studios has teased on their forums that they are at the E3 video game conference next week with a big announcement related to the golf club...should be interesting to see what that might be. Speculation is TGC2...

[bionicboogerboy]

Im with rdh. The most important things are tee boxes and multiple player profiles.

I have 1 small thing to add. During the ball flight and on the shot analysis screen it only shows the distance the ball traveled. It would be nice if it also showed the distance is left to the pin. Most other sims show the distance left to the pin at some point before the next shot. This would be particularly helpful in practice mode. The reason this is bothersome to me is that once a round is over, me and the guys generally throw in a couple of dollars and play closest to the pin. We can only do that on E6. We cant do it with TGC because the only time you see your distance to the pin is when you begin your next shot. My suggestion would be to show both distances at the same time possible separated by a slash.

Any sort of mini games that could get kids interested would be awesome. E6 has several coming out with E6 cloud. Yea I know this would involve a lot of programming. But it doesn't hurt to just make the suggestion.

[rdh]

Showing the distance to the pin is a fantastic request bionicboogerboy (hard to call you that with a straight face). I haven't done a closest to the pin competition in a while but I forgot about that aspect of the old red chain software. Ideally there would be some formal way to track the closest to the pin mark...which ties into mini games and competitions. I didn't have those on my list but i'll add them...they would be part of the bigger items.

Edit: I renumbered the list with separate sequences for big and small items and added two of them to address bionicboogerboy's requests.

[rdh]

Just wanted to reactivate this post since TGC2 was announced. The big stuff will wait for TGC2...which means fall of 2017 given that there will be a 3-6 month period after the release to wait for the simulator edition (assuming it's happening). Two questions:

1. Has a simulator edition of TGC2 been confirmed and will it contain all of the tweaks that have been added for TGC1 (ball out of view, etc.)?

2. Will there be more updates to the simulator edition of TGC between now and then so we can hope for some of the smaller tweaks?

[ProTee United]

It does not make sense to release new software without the simulator tweaks and features. We are working on the TGC Simulator Roadmap. When its finished we will let you know.

[mmlincon]

Nice list - can we add a couple items? I was wondering the other day if we had an active wish list - love it!

S1 - c) Increase timer period beyond 5. I'd say 10 which is probably over kill but would cover any scenario

S11 - In ball out of view mode - We need a quick and easy way to view the ball location and lie. Using the Q and V keys is just a hassle and doesn't work very well. Using the space bar to go back and forth between "ball in view" and "ball out of view" mode would be great.

[rdh]

Good suggestion on S11 mmlincon. My preference there would be for the shot to come up each time with the ball in view for 3 seconds (configurable?), then the camera smoothly shifts forward to the out of ball view. I like to avoid keyboard stuff completely as much as possible.

My ideal pre-shot flow would be:

- View comes up with the ball in view to assess the lie for 2-3 seconds
- Scout cam automatically triggers to jump to the landing area or the green to assess that...view sits there for a few seconds
- View snaps back ready for the shot with the ball out of view

[mmlincon]

yeah I agree, I go to the keyboard way too much. I think we still need a key that will snap the view back in case you miss the preview.

[aja]

I still say we need a way to distinguish practice rounds from "real" rounds.

When I use the sim for practice I don't just hit on one of the ranges, I use a course that comes up randomly. I've hit the concede button, inadvertently, I toggle the "auto-rewind" to practice shots, and so on. But when I finish the round the software reports the effect on my Handicap! That's just wrong!

If you hit "auto rewind" the round should automatically be disqualified from eligibilty for handicap rating. Otherwise, give us a "practice round" toggle key.

[andygg1986]

It seems like the TGC handicap is pretty pointless to me. Maybe I am missing something but the course ratings are often around 60. So shooting an 80 will give you a handicap of about 20. My guess is those are courses where video game players have been shooting ridiculously low scores.

[mthunt]

So true. My TGC handicap is 9. My handicap went up when I shot 72 yesterday.