1822 replies to this topic

[Buck]

More from Shaun just now, including a tinfoil hat image - I appreciate his sense of humor

"You guys work yourselves up creating these ideas of what is happening. This is not an uncommon practice for any developer to take when they're working on something... I've said it countless times that we're always here keeping an eye on what's being said about 2019. Just because we're not engaging through posts doesn't mean there is some grand conspiracy going on with the future of TGC or HB. The simple fact is there's nothing for us to share at this time or make official. Once there is a steady stream of content/information to share about anything we're working on, you will know and be involved. Working with 2K is far from restricting as well, they have a team dedicated to marketing and publishing their products and do a very good job at that. Sure it's different than TGC1 but different is better in my opinion and lets the dev team focus on what's critical, making the best games we can."
 

 

After all that, he's still being very cagey and careful.
He’s working so hard to keep saying “games“ and avoid anything even remotely hinting towards a “golf game”

I'm fairly convinced that another TGC installment is still not even decided upon or at least that it's a long long ways off if it’s coming. Choosing 2019 branding feels more odd the longer we go.

[Buck]

Chuck Clams isn't happy.

Lots of this sentiment showing up of late.

 

 

 

What I'd really like to hear answered is why HB stopped supporting TGC2019 when there are so many bugs still unresolved? HB has been slowly building a track record of abandoning games before they get adequately fixed/repaired, but now they are growing a reputation for producing imminent abandonware, and to be quite honest that just doesn't sit well with the majority of us TGC enthusiasts. 

It is extremely disrespectful to the patrons of this product/franchise to promise all sorts of new options/features to drum up interest and sales, with intent to make selling the product at a higher price point palatable, then only to turn around and discontinue support for the product so early in its life cycle. The state TGC2019 was left in is utterly embarrassing, it has all the quality and polish of an alpha test version. TGC2019 had/has the potential to be setting a MUCH higher standard than this, and it has left many members of this community feeling bitter and resentful. If there isn't a new product on the immediate horizon, why discontinue support for the current product so early on in its planned life cycle? The game is still malfunctioning in many critical areas in glaringly obvious fashion, not to mention the completely illogical swing tuning (Power fade? LOL) which I thought was supposed to be a server-side update and so can be easily reverted back to the CORRECT tuning without even needing an official patch... so why no more work on TGC2019? 

Whoever at HB Studios is responsible for the decision(s) to move on from TGC2019/TGC2/Infinite Air while the software remains in its current state of (mal)functionality is quite honestly, a cancer on the future of this franchise in particular, and the company as a whole, and I would encourage anyone at HB Studios who is reading this to take whatever action you can to remedy this "culture issue" within the company executive before it irreparably damages the reputation and future prosperity of the company, the products, and the individuals in the employ of this regime. The current trajectory is not a recipe for prolonged prosperity, it's simply bad for business. Product support is an essential component of public relations and reputation management, and to ignore it is wilful sabotage of your own company and products. The history of your industry is littered with cautionary tales and the carcasses of companies that failed to grasp this simple concept.

I purchased TGC2 because of the reputation built by the PR and support given to TGC1 and the community. When TGC2 was abandoned, I chalked that up to Maximum Games and was willing to forgive and purchase TGC2019. Now that TGC2019 has been left to rot on the vine, I will be exercising much more caution and diligence before pulling the trigger on any future HB products. This sentiment and attitude are a result of recent actions and decisions by HB executive, and it is a far more prevalent sentiment than anyone at HB should be comfortable with. The winds of change will have to blow hard and fast to pry open my wallet again anytime soon.

HB Studios, you may consider this post a review of your executive direction and vision. Hopefully it is archived and presented to the highest authority in the company, and those implicated are held accountable before it gets swept under the rug and deleted in a desperate act of self-preservation.

 

 

 

His initial question is really spot on..

 

If there's no new version now or anytime soon, why exactly did the updates to 2019 stop?

[JCat04]

If there's no new version now or anytime soon, why exactly did the updates to 2019 stop?

 

Good question... my guess is they think they've got a playable game in its state of disrepair.  Yes, it is 'playable', but it has a number of nagging issues that could make it more appealing to fence sitters.  They've got a number of issues they've acknowledged are in need of attention in their bug reporting section, including two that I've reported.  We haven't had an update since last year, so I'd say they've moved on to "upcoming products" - whatever that means 

[DoGgs]

I've played quite a bit recently and i really enjoy it off the tee,  but i have now stopped altogether, i literally exhausted all shot options with the short game, i ended up de lofting every chip shot to the lowest possible setting just to get the shot working in a way that i recognise in real life, unfortunately it was still a mile off and so unsatisfying.

  The pitch is just a nailed on mistake free shot, if you are not dropping pitch shots inside 15 feet then you must really suck, you do nothing with any feel, its just terrible.

The flop is pretty much the same as the pitch but you should be dropping inside 10 feet, hardly any risk unless its plugged slightly.  I could possibly forgive them the flop because its just as easy in PG.

The pitch and chip shots ruin this game and it amazes me that they fail to see it,  i'm afraid its a case of a sports game perfect for gaming and computer replication in the hands of the wrong developers, HB are just not good at making games, bottom line, you only have to read up on their Rugby game reviews to know how bad they are, that game was atrocious to the extreme.

[Buck]

Kind of makes you wish 2K would just take over at this point

I think HB has run out of ideas and options and perhaps technical expertise on what to do next.

[DoGgs]

You only have to isolate the chip shot mechanic as an example...how in the world they could sign off on that one aspect of the core mechanics as satisfactory.  If it was my baby the chip shot alone would be a massive red flag and a reason to halt any planned release until its improved. The problem i suspect is that because the whole swing mechanic from the first golf club game to 2019 is devoid of any feel, and functions off 100% hits every shot they would have to rework the whole swing just to fix one aspect, an undertaking they would never consider. The whole golf club series is basically the first game with slight additions and modifications here and there, just a profit making con job.

[Buck]

Yeah I really hope they are taking a long time between releases to completely start over with the swing.

It just feels like so much of the development is held up by generation one design decisions and trade-offs and the integration of that loft box which appears breathtakingly deep to the point that they can’t reduce its impact on every portion of the game.

Some people like the tempo thing, but to me it was really a tacked on effort to try to get some variability into the shot outcomes, which as we have seen here with the RTS-C swing can be 100% achievable through just the swing itself and partial power.

The narrative that there isn’t enough fidelity or range of motion with the analog stick on the controller is complete bunk.

[DoGgs]

I cant praise the RTS swing enough in this game, you only have to go into the range and see the degrees off plane that is possible, and to see how much attention to detail it has, it also has enough feel in it to be able to take something off any club.. I can be 55yds from pin pick a 64 wedge of 77 yds and under hit hit to about 50 yds and get the desired result, try doing that in TGC its just not possible.  They should have ditched that no feel core swing when they decided to charge AAA price for 2019, they never and thus reaped the profits from pushing a minor rehash of the previous version..pure greed, nothing else.  Maybe AK will trot along any minute to defend them but thats the facts right there.

[Buck]

I can be 55yds from pin pick a 64 wedge of 77 yds and under hit hit to about 50 yds and get the desired result, try doing that in TGC its just not possible.

That is a brilliant example and one I also had in mind.

You can be in that exact scenario in this game and hit shot after shot after shot and basically never get the exact same results.

The amount of nuance and touch and skill that is there to master is awesome.

It’s also wonderful to spend no time trying to “dial in” on a “graph grid” an outcome you are looking for.
You can outsource it all to your finger and skill with the swing, as it should be.

[DoGgs]

That is a brilliant example and one I also had in mind.

You can be in that exact scenario in this game and hit shot after shot after shot and basically never get the exact same results.

The amount of nuance and touch and skill that is there to master is awesome.

It’s also wonderful to spend no time trying to “dial in” on a “graph grid” an outcome you are looking for.
You can outsource it all to your finger and skill with the swing, as it should be.

" I can be 55yds from pin pick a 64 wedge of 77 yds and under hit hit to about 50 yds and get the desired result"

 

 

To add more variety i could switch to a 49yd pitch knowing im gonna get roughly 10-20 feet roll out and play that shot instead, if i'm pitching on a downslope i may want to add full loft to the pitch to help slow it down slightly, or if i'm pitching on an up slope i may want to crank the back swing to squeeze another yard or two out of the swing to counter the uphill drag

The beauty of options eh!

[ArcadeHack]

Still beating the same dead horse eh guys? Carry on then.

[Buck]

Still beating the same dead horse eh guys? Carry on then.

 

Why do you care?

Just skip right past it 

 

All conversations need not appeal to all.

[ArcadeHack]

Don’t tell me what to do.

[Buck]

Don’t tell me what to do.

Sorry you took it that way - Didn't mean it that way.

Was merely a suggestion to skip over stuff you find that we are beating into the ground.

[DoGgs]

Nah i'm flogging the same old drum 

[M Rose]

Any advice for hitting 90 percent shots? I just cannot seem to take anything off a full shot and it kills me.

[DoGgs]

Any advice for hitting 90 percent shots? I just cannot seem to take anything off a full shot and it kills me.

You cant, at least not with knowing how you did it and how to repeat it. i think i managed to take it down to 92% or was it 95,  also you will be recording a slow on the tempo to go with it, so its not really worth bothering with. Just work off 100% as the game wants you to, many times you will get caught between two stools regarding distances,  the game laughs in the face of creativity.  All the guys over at TGC forum never bring up these vitally important details, they just seem happy with their lot and never question the game mechanics, amazes me.

[JCat04]

Any advice for hitting 90 percent shots? I just cannot seem to take anything off a full shot and it kills me.

 

None that I've discovered.  The times I'm able to pull off a 90% shot, it feels like about maybe a 55 to 60% stick movement went into it.  Then again, you'll get times where you've got a stick motion that should have produced a 90% shot, but because you've slowed the swing tempo down in the process a lot of the time, the "Slow" downswing tempo is going to add carry to the shot, adding maybe 3 to 5% to it.  The "normal" shot type in this game is so non proportional.  The actual stick motion in JNPG is more proportional to the full swing power than TGC 2019, by a considerable margin.  I just wish the golfer animation followed the stick motion a little more responsively and proportionally in JNPG.

[JCat04]

All the guys over at TGC forum never bring up these vitally important details, they just seem happy with their lot and never question the game mechanics, amazes me.

 

Not ALL, I and at least a dozen others have bemoaned this fact going back to day one, although it was easier to manage a partial, full shot in TGC 1.  Many do seem content to let the loft box take care of this for them, but it not only feels cheesy, there are still gaps that the loft box can't overcome.

[M Rose]

So, it's basically impossible.

That's the one thing preventing this game from being what it should be, IMO. I have better distance control in real life, lol.