http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/ Wed, 29 Apr 2026 09:56:07 +0000 86400 Blog articles regarding the golf game experience http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/golfdevblog/fly-by-creation-tool-r59 We have just released a video in our videos section that shows how simple it is to create helicopter fly bys in Course Forge for use in the game. You can create up to 4 fly bys of your choice on each hole. In general it is a simple as drawing a line along the path you want the camera to take. It will automatically create nodes along the way at which point you can edit the height, location, aiming point and speed of the camera. For this video I left everything at default to show how easy it is. Fri, 28 Jun 2013 19:26:51 +0000 140f6969d5213fd0ece03148e62e461e http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/perfectgolf-ground-physics-testing-r58
Using a number of easily adjustable variables, we are able to create almost any type of surface material for our virtual balls to interact with. Bounce, Friction, Viscosity, Malleability, and Roll Friction can all be adjusted to create a lifelike experience no matter what type of surface we hit the ball onto.

As opposed to the launch and 'in flight' ball data we have available, the ground physics is much harder to quantify as there is little available data to support the reaction of various types of grass and other surfaces on a golf ball - it's much more of a 'touchy feely' thing!
With so many variables to take into account it's taken a while to get values we are happy with all lengths of shots with different clubs on different surfaces but things are progressing well. From low flying but high spinning wedge shots which skip forward before spinning themselves to a halt or 2 iron 'stingers' which bore through the wind and chase down the fairway, we can now produce all these shots and more in PerfectGolf

Video to follow shortly..]]> Fri, 28 Jun 2013 13:23:46 +0000 06409663226af2f3114485aa4e0a23b4 http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/golfdevblog/live-leaderboard-visual-brainstorming-r42

Part of the beauty and the battle when designing an interface is there are an infinite number of directions one can take it. As one of our goals as a company is to be truly multi platform, we look at all interface and design decisions from that perspective. Would it look good on a tablet ? How can we make the experience as good for a mouse user as a touch user, or even a gesture user. What sizes of text read best on what devices, how much can we or do we want to fit on screen?

Whilst this live leaderboard image does not represent the final or even pre-alpha version of the interface it does however illustrate how a visual mockup can serve to generate talking points and discussions, and eventually end in better decisions, far more than just text can.

The point is further illustrated by one of our forum users and posters on another forum who mocked up what one of our screenshots would look like with a moving sky. We all looked at it and after seeing what a difference it made saw it's value and made it a priority for the future to at least have a moving sky, even before the full weather system is developed. The great thing about mockups is they don't even need to be that well made, they can be scribbles or doodles. Anything visual just seems to get the creative juices flowing and the critque and comments come oozing out. So when commenting or suggesting ideas or features, a quick mockup goes a long way to get that idea into the game.

Even better than a static image is a video clip, of how a leaderboard like this would function and be updated.

[ylwm_vimeo height="530" width="940"]55091649[/ylwm_vimeo]

I encourage you to join the forums, comment on this live leaderboard, other blogs we make and on everything we post. Your input is hugely valuable to us and all our ideas together will go toward making perfectGolf..perfect.]]> Fri, 14 Dec 2012 14:03:45 +0000 a8baa56554f96369ab93e4f3bb068c22 http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/golfdevblog/some-virtual-camera-fun-r36
Here' a small video showing a sneak peak showing some custom tracking cams. First up we have the ball tracking cam where you can see the shot from the viewpoint of perhaps a playing partner as he waits to hit his own tee shot. Next up we have what you might call 'spectator view' where you (and our resident Heron!) watch the ball take off and land from away off to the side taking in some nice scenery along the way. Finally we have a 'ball cam' view as we soar high in the air with the ball before swooping down to it's final resting point.

These are only a few early options based on some of the requests and feedback we've received already. All the cams here show the ball 'comet' trail' for better visibility in the video but as with most things you can turn it on and off as you like.

Remember if you want to see something in our game - all you have to do it ask!]]> Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:46:09 +0000 42a0e188f5033bc65bf8d78622277c4e http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/golfdevblog/home-improvements-r35

Sorry no Tim Allen today, although I'm told he's a keen golfer and plays charity pro-ams quite regularly so maybe there's a tie in there ? ;)However I do have some homes for you. We've been creating homes that can be used in multiple locations across the world, essentially building a library of different roofs, homes, pools, gardens, outbuildings, hotels that we can put together and create neighbourhood surrounding our courses.

Starting off with the least detailed buildings and working toward the courseside hotels, homes and clubhouses it's important to keep the polycount down, as there is little point having detailed window frames on a house in the distance. Now that's attention to detail in the bad sense!

I also wanted to show you a little of the construction. Just how simple these homes need to be. Â The detail really comes out in the painted texture maps. These are small images that we wrap onto the building models. We use multiple channels inside the image to let the shaders switch colors for roofs, windows, door and more. Just another way we optimize all the content to run optimally whenever you play.







Building these homes makes it very easy for us to recreate any course in the world. surrounding it with neighbourhoods, iconic structures and skylines.



Courses in the UK are often surrounded by neighbourhoods of homes and buildings, so when viewing flybs or course guides if the homes are not there it creates a disconnect. Courses like St.Annes old links have some holes where the whole right side of the fairway is almost lined with homes. A flyby or playable course hole without those would feel wrong.

Furthermore I've been told sometimes, ' Aim for the right window of that house and you will be in position A' , taken not completely literally these tips really help. I can imagine playing our game and utilising these real life tips in your virtual competition rounds.

]]> Mon, 05 Nov 2012 14:48:40 +0000 7f1de29e6da19d22b51c68001e7e0e54 http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/golfdevblog/a-bit-of-physics-r34



Hey guys - as you could see in our last blog post, we have our golfer taking some basic shots, which means we've started tip-toeing into the shot physics.

This is something we really want to get right, so we're taking our time with it. Not only are we governing the ball flight with classical mechanics, but we're also referencing with real-world data in order to make sure that the physics isn't just right in theory, but also in practice.

Just wanted to let you guys know that work is currently being done on that front and that we are very excited to get to a point where we can let you guys take some swings yourself and give us some feedback. No promises on when that will be just yet, but we're getting closer every day.]]> Fri, 02 Nov 2012 19:45:18 +0000 02522a2b2726fb0a03bb19f2d8d9524d http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/golfdevblog/a-portrait-of-a-designer-as-a-young-gamer-r30
As long as I can remember my life has always been about the game of ice hockey, yet - I work in the golf industry.  Does this make any sense at all?  Why would I be interested in the game of golf?  It's just plain difficult, cost too much, and you have to get all dressed up to play!  What is it about the game of golf that it can grab you by your very being and hurl you into another place. A place where only you can go.  That place within all of us that we dare to dream few enough.  Sure I got the bug!  I got it big time.

- Erik

[youtube height = "450" width="800"][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiUIwfbnO8s&feature=plcp&hd=1"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiUIwfbnO8s&feature=plcp&hd=1[/url][/youtube]]]> Fri, 21 Sep 2012 14:35:46 +0000 9b8619251a19057cff70779273e95aa6 http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/golfdevblog/somewhere-over-the-rainbow-r29
really do come true.



]]> Thu, 13 Sep 2012 08:44:30 +0000 d1f491a404d6854880943e5c3cd9ca25 http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/golfdevblog/first-crawl-character-update-r28
There are still issues to resolve, further work painting the textures ( behind the ear for example ) , and contact shadows to add ( in between shirt and skin ) But I like to share the process with you throughout.

Once the whole character is finished, I normally colour balance everything. Making sure it looks good on PC monitors, TV's. Basically the target platforms. It's important this step isn't overlooked as while I might have colour correct monitors, most players will not. It's better it looks fantastic for 99% of players.













An early skinning test shows us a few areas that need work, and others that are looking really good. It's important to do skinning tests throughout the animation process to test the rig and character are deforming in an accurate and anatomically correct way. One of the limitations we have developing for games is bone count, and the inability to add muscles that deform the skin like developing for films. There are tricks we can employ such as corrective morphs and twist bones though, and that is the next stage in the process.]]> Mon, 03 Sep 2012 11:15:55 +0000 76dc611d6ebaafc66cc0879c71b5db5c http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/golfdevblog/anatomy-of-a-practice-area-r27
However practice doesn't necessarily mean mashing balls into the distance mindlessly.....NO! Creating beautiful environments which mirror real world shots that you might find on the course is important. We don't have the budget constraints of real world designers in our game, we can be as grand and as lavish as we like when we're creating our courses and practice areas so here's one I designed.



Once I'd planned it out I imported the plan into our designer and used it as a base to add the textures and then using our elevation tools I set about the landscape with my virtual bulldozer! I can't wait to start sharing some more info on how we go about things but for now all I can say is that if you're just a casual designer with an idea, it should be enough to make your own golf world which looks just as good as ours!



We're using Unity3d to create our golf courses and so there a lot of third party developers out there for it already developing for this platform. When we add our own tools and assets on top of this it means we already have a very large library of tools, textures, objects, vegetation etc with which to build our environments. I'll be making a few tutorials soon taking you through the initial stages of learning the Unity editor to create your courses. You can download the Unity3d editor for free at: http://unity3d.com]]> Wed, 29 Aug 2012 11:36:01 +0000 ec5decca5ed3d6b8079e2e7e7bacc9f2 http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/golfdevblog/perfectgolf-animation-testing-r26
It's one of my other goals to have hyper realistic and natural animation in perfectGolf. This means to me we should not just try to create the most perfect golf swing, but recreate a variety of different swings that work for different body types and golfers. I want the animation to be used as a learning tool during training in the game, granted I'm looking quite into the future but I can see the possibilities of visualizing in the animation and on the golfer, just what the body did to hit that pullhook. Off balance? Alignment? I'd like to see those shots accurately represented and shown from a biomechanics perspective.

Part of that process you are probably familiar with by now is MOCAP data. From different sources Mocap can help tremendously in capturing the small details and subtleties that make up a movement or action. Making that data usable in a game environment then requires a substantial amount of cleanup, keyframe reduction and making sure that the start and end points match up with other animations, so they can all be blended in seamlessly.]]> Tue, 28 Aug 2012 15:09:36 +0000 069059b7ef840f0c74a814ec9237b6ec http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/golfdevblog/a-little-night-golf-practice-r25


]]> Thu, 16 Aug 2012 14:33:26 +0000 3def184ad8f4755ff269862ea77393dd http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/golfdevblog/our-characters-first-steps-r24
Just a small update, but I wanted to share it with you





First golfer character

Check out the first images from the character I'm building. The clothing is modeled on real life references, and using normal map blending will show the correct wrinkles when he's in backswing, address and follow-through.

Characters will be a really important part of our game, their gritty realism, the way the clothes react to the wind, how life-like they move and react to shots and interact with the environment.

Eventually I think customization will be a big feature too, where users can modify the look, colors, designs or add club logos. I have a lot of ideas planned for the customization system which I hope to implement in time, but in the initial stages one male and one female character is my focus for now.





Interface Mockup

Here is a quick mockup I put together showing how perfectGolf could look like when you unlock a new piece of clothing / gear. You would be able to rotate and view a 3d model of the clothing, so you can see it from angles, and see it's special qualities.

]]> Tue, 14 Aug 2012 16:08:41 +0000 c8ffe9a587b126f152ed3d89a146b445 http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/golfdevblog/tropical-environment-test-r23
What can I say...I got carried away

All the atmospheric effects such as the mist and sunlight scattering are from inside the game engine and not added afterwards in a video program, what you see is what you get. Hope you like it!]]> Sun, 12 Aug 2012 10:42:11 +0000 202cb962ac59075b964b07152d234b70 http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/golfdevblog/bunker-development-r22
HELL NO!

After creating yet more course building tools, new shaders and new techniques, we decided to put them to work in making much more realistic sand bunkers. Here's a pic showing the 'before' and 'after' of our recent update and I think you'll agree things look a whole lot better now.

So how would you like to be able to draw out your bunker shape and then with one mouse click, drop in a perfect dirt lip every time? You asked for it... so we built it!

]]> Wed, 08 Aug 2012 10:25:08 +0000 a0a080f42e6f13b3a2df133f073095dd http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/golfdevblog/golf-course-tee-markers-r21
So over the last few days I have been creating a bunch of different golf course objects, namely tee markers, From simple wooden stakes with painted ends, to aluminium hemispheres with club logos. We have 10 different tee markers so far with the appropriate colors, but also with spaces for club and course logos, or hole numbers. While these objects are not as challenging as something larger and more complicated, it's important to me to put detail and care into crafting each tee marker. They are seen 18 times a round, hopefully not more than once each ! and thus variation is important.



]]> Thu, 02 Aug 2012 11:11:36 +0000 4c56ff4ce4aaf9573aa5dff913df997a http://www.perfectparallel.com/articles/_/products/perfect-golf/golfdevblog/first-full-course-finished-r20


Meticulously created trees authentic to the locale have been referenced and built, branch by branch and leaf by leaf.

 



 ]]> Sun, 29 Jul 2012 10:13:58 +0000 da4fb5c6e93e74d3df8527599fa62642