e6 Connect with iPad iOS - first impressions

[sirish19]

Due to my outdoor setup with the SkyTrak and Net Return, I needed a portable solution so use it with a 6th generation iPad. As such, I had been limited WGT for simulation games. To be honest, I have really enjoyed WGT and feel the graphics and shot simulation is actually very good, especially for being free. One of the things that I don't like about WGT is the inability to play multiplayer locally.

When I saw that E6 Connect was now supporting iOS and had a demo version, I was very excited to give it a go. I have played a couple of rounds of the Aviara Golf Club so far and, although it is alright, I don't think it is great on my iPad. The graphics really aren't that great and it is a bit slow and choppy. For example, when you select the flyover, you see trees and things in the background appear as you are getting closer. I assume it would be a lot better on an iPad Pro but I would be curious to be able to compare the two.

A few other things that I don't really like:

• On the iPad, the map view on the right side of the screen is actually very small and it makes it hard to aim. If I use my finger to set the target, my finger actually covers up the target and makes it very hard to aim shots. From what I can tell, the only way to get a full view of the hole in e6 is to select the flyover. However, you can't stop the flyover at any point so your aim is either from ground view or from the small hole view. This is very different from WGT where you can get several views and can aim very accurately.
• On e6, and on my iPad, the yardages on the screen following the shot are very small and hard to read.
• With WGT, I also like the fact that you get the sound of the hit from the club as you see the shot. With e6, the shot just happens.

These are just a few of my initial observation. Will play around a little more this weekend as I am deciding whether or not it is worth the $300/year or whether I am more satisfied with WGT.

Does anyone else have any other observations?

[sirish19]

Happy that you are satisfied with the E6 Connect graphics on iOS. I just tried out the E6 Connect iOS demo yesterday, and I have to say that it's utterly garbage. There is no way I'm spending even $300 a year for E6 Connect if I'm only planning on using it on the iPad/iPhone. The 640x480 resolution is completely unacceptable. Even Wii looks better that that, I would say it's more like the original Nintendo. I can't believe they are marketing this for the iOS. I've played with WGT for the past few years since I have the one of the first 100 units of Skytrak when it first came out, and I've been hoping to eventually upgrade to E6 or TGC2019. I had high hopes for E6 Connect due to the convenience of iOS compatibility, but after playing with the demo on my iPhone XS Max yesterday, there's no way! Even my kid's Amazon Fire tablet kid's edition games look better than that. I'm going to download the PC version to demo and see if I change my mind. Perhaps the E6 ball physics is much better than WGT, but for a 13 handicap like me, I couldn't really tell. Maybe if you are only planning on keeping it on the iPad with its small screen, you can get by. I connected my iPad to a 27" 1080p monitor, and it was unbearable to watch. Again, didn't have the same poor graphics with WGT.

Yeah, on the iPad compared to WGT, I didn't think it was as good. I decided to go ahead and load Windows on my MBP with Boot Camp and played the demo version of e6 and it was much much better. It was still a bit jerky and not as smooth as I would like, but that's probably due to the graphics card on my MBP.

After looking at a number of videos of e6 and TGC 2019, I decided to go ahead and get the TGC and TGC 2019 combo pack from ST at $995. I figured that would tide me over for a while and I really liked the idea of being able to create my own courses.

Unfortunately, because it took so long to download and install the software, I haven't actually had a chance to play it yet. From the previews though, it seems that the graphics are a bit better than E6.

[StodgyBarley]

Cool! What are the specs on your MacBook Pro? I'm debating doing the same thing... I have a 5 year old Windows machine that is running TGC 2019 well enough but I know I'll need to replace it in the near future. Would be better to do it with a MacBook Pro since I already am using the Apple ecosystem.

[sirish19]

Cool! What are the specs on your MacBook Pro? I'm debating doing the same thing... I have a 5 year old Windows machine that is running TGC 2019 well enough but I know I'll need to replace it in the near future. Would be better to do it with a MacBook Pro since I already am using the Apple ecosystem.

Hi StodgyBarley, my MBP is a 13-inch 2017 four Thunderbolt 3 ports with 3.1 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 with 16 GB RAM with the Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650 1536 MB Graphics Card. I am sure that the specs on a new MBP would be much better and cheaper than what it is today,

I guess that is probably considered low-end for a real gaming PC and may need a better graphics card for this type of endeavor, but since my setup is outside/mobile and I can't play as frequently as I would like, it seems sufficient for my purpose at the moment.

Although I mentioned above that the E6 graphics were much better on the MBP than on iOS, they were still a bit jerky. Based on that and a few other factors (specifically, the number of courses, the ability to make a lifetime purchase as opposed to an annual fee, and long-term costs, as well as the ability to design your own courses, etc.), I decided to go with the TGC + TGC 2019 combo pack offered by SkyTrak. This decision was really sight-unseen with how it would perform on my MBP with BootCamp. I haven't actually had a chance to try it out on my system at home yet (due to weekday as well as weather here in Japan) but based upon startup and hole flyover, it seems a lot smoother than E6.

I will give it a try shortly and will post back here.

My personal opinion is that it should be better with a proper gaming PC and if this will be your primary purpose for the MBP (and you can get away with a Windows version), then I would recommend going with a PC.

On the other hand, if you are going to be using the MBP for everything (work, personal, iTunes, Photos, iMovie, etc.) and tnhe specs give you acceptable performance with the TGC 2019, then I would stick with Mac.

Let me see if I can test it out and record the screen soon and will post back here for comparison.

[Skyking]

Sorry...late to the party. Did a google search, e6 iPad vs computer and landed here. Got ST for Christmas but just got my 12 X 20 shed assembled Thursday. You know how we sit around thinking about golf swing sometimes, hum...I’ll try this or that next time? Now I can hop up walk to the edge of the patio, go in and try it out in less than a minute.

Anyway, ventured away from ST software to play a quick 3 holes on WGT. I thought it was pretty good. I downloaded e6 on a laptop last night but couldn’t login EVEN after setting up an account. I re-read the e6 email and there was something about ST users needing to get the e6 software directly from ST??? I’ll try that. There may be an issue in that I downloaded the e6 app to my iPad Pro a month or so ago just to see what it was about while waiting for my golf shed. I tried everything...reset password and can login to the e6 website but not the sim Within the app there is something about matching a license number which I don’t have for the demo. Grrr.... Does the ST software have to be on the laptop for e6 tp work? So far all my sessions have been with with

Lots of good comments. I’m not sure my laptop has enough horsepower so the e6 demo is much appreciated.

[BuZZ]

I cant believe they charge the same price for the ios and pc versions. The ios version seems like an afterthought to them.

[tcb121]

Good comparison video on youtube with IOS vs PC with E6 Connect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxSdBG_z2Tw

I just purchased a Mevo+ and have a 5th Gen ipad mini that I will be running through a projector on. Graphics seem acceptable if you ask me and if you have a newer ipad should be pretty smooth to play on. I see Scott Hogan posting videos playing on his ipad in his garage and the quality looks playable / acceptable. Eventually I'll build a gaming PC and purchase TGC 2019 or get the E6 Connect subscription, but I'm hopeful that I'll enjoy the IOS version until that time comes.

[DS12]

Definitely acceptable for most, I'd think. Other than a little clearer picture on the PC version, the rough and trees seem to be the biggest cut back on details

[R08L1N]

I was running connect off an iPad mini 4 and it was terrible. Just bought the new IPad Pro and it’s great!

going to play around a bit more with it. Really hope it stays solid as:

- I do not want to go the route of investing in a gaming laptop
- I am an IOS household
- local multiplayer is important to me.

I realize the iPad Pro is the same cost as a “Decent enough for the Sim” laptop. But as I mentioned. I’m iOS all the way.

[sirish19]

I was running connect off an iPad mini 4 and it was terrible. Just bought the new IPad Pro and it’s great!

going to play around a bit more with it. Really hope it stays solid as:

- I do not want to go the route of investing in a gaming laptop
- I am an IOS household
- local multiplayer is important to me.

I realize the iPad Pro is the same cost as a “Decent enough for the Sim” laptop. But as I mentioned. I’m iOS all the way.

I was the same way (Mac and iOS all the way) and really resisted going the route of a gaming laptop. I started running e6 and then later TGC 2019 on my MBP with bootcamp and the graphics were much better. I later added a 32-inch 4k monitor to use with the designer in TGC 2019 and, wow, that's the way to go. With the help of Chad's Tool and LiDAR data, I have already designed several of my own home courses and can play those for practice, course management, etc. anytime I want. Love it.

[R08L1N]

I was the same way (Mac and iOS all the way) and really resisted going the route of a gaming laptop. I started running e6 and then later TGC 2019 on my MBP with bootcamp and the graphics were much better. I later added a 32-inch 4k monitor to use with the designer in TGC 2019 and, wow, that's the way to go. With the help of Chad's Tool and LiDAR data, I have already designed several of my own home courses and can play those for practice, course management, etc. anytime I want. Love it.

So TGC works well with Bootcamp? I just read one thread (and admittedly did no further research) and saw it was glitchy and crashing. If that’s the case I’d think TGC 2019 would be more fun that e6. The ease of that iOS / IPad is nice though.

[sirish19]

So TGC works well with Bootcamp? I just read one thread (and admittedly did no further research) and saw it was glitchy and crashing. If that’s the case I’d think TGC 2019 would be more fun that e6. The ease of that iOS / IPad is nice though.

I had no problem with TGC 2019 on BootCamp with my MBP unless I got into the designer and was using my 4k display, then it started getting a bit choppy when playing/playtesting. It was also a bit slow when creating and adding objects. Interestingly, now that I have a gaming laptop, the graphics seem to be a bit choppy and slow in the designer when I don't connect to the 4k monitor. That is even when the graphics scale down to 1080p. Not sure why it is like that. For using as a display for the simulator, MBP and Bootcamp work perfectly fine. In fact, the monitor on my retina display MBP is actually much better than on my gaming laptop.

I would definitely recommend TGC 2019 over E6 simply for the abundance of courses and the course designer.

[R08L1N]

I had no problem with TGC 2019 on BootCamp with my MBP unless I got into the designer and was using my 4k display, then it started getting a bit choppy when playing/playtesting. It was also a bit slow when creating and adding objects. Interestingly, now that I have a gaming laptop, the graphics seem to be a bit choppy and slow in the designer when I don't connect to the 4k monitor. That is even when the graphics scale down to 1080p. Not sure why it is like that. For using as a display for the simulator, MBP and Bootcamp work perfectly fine. In fact, the monitor on my retina display MBP is actually much better than on my gaming laptop.

I would definitely recommend TGC 2019 over E6 simply for the abundance of courses and the course designer.

Thank you. Really good to know. I just really love the simplicity of using the iPad pro mounted under my tv.

but I should give TGC a shot before I invest money

[R08L1N]

Hi StodgyBarley, my MBP is a 13-inch 2017 four Thunderbolt 3 ports with 3.1 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 with 16 GB RAM with the Intel Iris Plus Graphics 650 1536 MB Graphics Card. I am sure that the specs on a new MBP would be much better and cheaper than what it is today,

I guess that is probably considered low-end for a real gaming PC and may need a better graphics card for this type of endeavor, but since my setup is outside/mobile and I can't play as frequently as I would like, it seems sufficient for my purpose at the moment.

Although I mentioned above that the E6 graphics were much better on the MBP than on iOS, they were still a bit jerky. Based on that and a few other factors (specifically, the number of courses, the ability to make a lifetime purchase as opposed to an annual fee, and long-term costs, as well as the ability to design your own courses, etc.), I decided to go with the TGC + TGC 2019 combo pack offered by SkyTrak. This decision was really sight-unseen with how it would perform on my MBP with BootCamp. I haven't actually had a chance to try it out on my system at home yet (due to weekday as well as weather here in Japan) but based upon startup and hole flyover, it seems a lot smoother than E6.

I will give it a try shortly and will post back here.

My personal opinion is that it should be better with a proper gaming PC and if this will be your primary purpose for the MBP (and you can get away with a Windows version), then I would recommend going with a PC.

On the other hand, if you are going to be using the MBP for everything (work, personal, iTunes, Photos, iMovie, etc.) and tnhe specs give you acceptable performance with the TGC 2019, then I would stick with Mac.

Let me see if I can test it out and record the screen soon and will post back here for comparison.

Do you do need to direct connect with USB to the sky track or can you still wifi connect ?

[WallysW0rld]

Hi Everyone,

what is everyone’s take so far? I am waiting on my Mevo Plus to arrive and will be using it outside In my patio. I have an IPhone 8 Plus and a IPad Air 2. Has anyone used their E6 with an older device like mine? I really don’t want to purchase a newer IPad Pro just to play games on an E6. I have a MBP that has parallels installed and was thinking of running a similar windows program such TGC or even better a program
called “Creative Golf”. From the videos I have seen, the program has more real life ball characteristics when playing. The graphics are better than E6 and in par with TGC. Only drawback is that the courses are mostly European courses , not US courses.

[Grizsteve]

This is a sample with IPad Pro 2020

https://youtu.be/5Qu6A-uFLaA