25 replies to this topic

[Mick-S]

Not sure if this is in the correct section of the forum, but here goes anyway.
Was thinking to start with I would create a fictional course just to get a feel for using unity/course forge.
so watching the videos that Andrew has uploaded and the videos that Lukas posted, this is what I assume I would need to do, so perhaps someone who knows better could correct me where needed.

1, could I create the course layout using photoshop,if so how would unity know the hole distances, or would I need course forge to do this.
2, also using Photoshop to create the heightmap if I made the tee black(lowest point( and the green white( highest point) and in between used slightly darker shades from tee to green would I get a uphill hole.
3, assuming the above works, could I import this into course forge.

hope this makes sense, not to good at explaining what I mean, lol.

 

[Kablammo11]

I think it's a good idea and I've done just that several times. 

 

1. Yes you can use Photoshop, it's the best tool for it actually. You need to know your distances, correct: Start by deciding the square dimensions, say: 1500 meters. You may also want to draw a grid in 10 or 20 meter increments that you can overlay over your design, so that you can actually see the scale. I also construct a 600yd 2D-tape measure (=540 meters), that I use to map out my individual holes.

Anyway, when you make a new terrain in Unity, go to top menu, then "Set Resolution" and type in the same dimensions you used in Photoshop. That way, a yard here will translate into a yard there.

 

1b. After adding greens, fairways, first cut and bunkers, I also like to mark tees and greens with strong colors (this will help in Unity) and to draw a circle around the projected landing area of the drives.

 

2. Correct, the hole would go uphill, black is low and white is high. Don't fret about too much height detail, you can use the Unity tools for the fine tuning, just make sure that your general elevation changes are as planned: High, low, side slope over one hole and over the hole course. When you are done, slap a heavy Gaussian blut over your heightmap, to avoid getting jagged edges in the end (75 pixels plus)

Also, don't be too concerned about making it too steep or too flat, you can adjust and fiddle with the terrain height at import.

 

3. From the same Photoshop master file, make the following two versions:

- A jpg high res to use as your terrain texture to show you your layout in Unity (I usually make it twice as large in pixels as the terrain is in meters - 3000 pixels for 1500 meters)

- A "Photoshop Raw" file with the heightmap. This file is best sized 4096x4096pixels (Unity Maximum offering you most control over everything later). It also must be in the "grayscale" color mode and in 32bit. And, as the tut videos told you, it needs to be flipped vertically.

Then proceed like Mike did in the setup videos with the downloaded files. Enjoy!

 

Here's how it looks in action. To see proportions at all times, I like to plant a few person-cutouts into my scene, to check on sizes. I use Tara King for that (and if you don't know who she is, never mind...)

[attachment=67:tarafication.jpg]

[Mick-S]

thanks that helps no end, Tara King The Avengers, although I prefer Purdie.

[Kablammo11]

...played by Linda Thorson, of course. You can't be young!  Never understood the big deal about Emma Peal and never warmed up to Purdie, so Tara's my girl. Let me know if you need help.

To illustrate further, here's one of the layouts I have worked with: 

Click on this!

[Mick-S]

having had a quick go at creating the PS layout ( quite a lot of work involved ) I can now see more clearly what a great asset the guy`s have made, being able to use bing maps data/images and heightmaps to import, only problem is being from the U.K  I would like to create some british courses but we don`t have that available AFAIK, well not free anyway.

But thanks for your help so far, and will give you a shout if I`m not sure of something, so expect a call.

just to add, tried downloading the USGS map viewer, but no luck, is it only available to U.S residents ?

[mjhamilton113]

I have two courses ready to go. They are designed on paper and photoshop with elevations. I am hoping that I will be able to take their real locations and elevation data and build from there. I have two locations in Rhode Island I am looking to design on. I cannot wait to actually get my ideas from paper to 3d

[Turner]

FWIW if you have access to Illustrator or another vector drawing program that produces files readable by Photoshop, it's a great way to create layouts in which defined regions (greens, fairways, etc.) can be very easily re-shaped and moved.

You could also underlay an elevation map (or a satellite image, etc.) as well as create a vector version of a height map if you're good with Illustrator... you could then remove the dark edges and blur in photoshop.

Image from http://digitalaugust.../making-the-map

 

Just a thought.

[mjhamilton113]

I like the idea and I have considered this but I am not comfortable with illustrator and I am having trouble finding reliable elevation data right now on the two locations. I am however very good with photoshop so I have used that mess around with some layout options

[Mike Jones]

I love fictional courses, CourseForge was conceived to allow you to design and create fictional courses right in the editor without having to use other tools if you wanted.

The key to this was having the ability to draw your course shapes in the 3d window rather than a top down view. Having the option to roam around your course plot in real time 3d to visualise your ideas as you go, really does make it much easier for your imagination to run riot.

[Kablammo11]

…great, Mike! I do enjoy inventing golf holes whenever I spot of few acres of nature, so your method should turn out to be very entertaining. 

But wouldn't we need to have something to draw our course shapes with first? Like some specialized software instrument, mayhap connected to Unity, that would allow us to, how to put it, to "forge" a course? As per today, this very useful, hypothetical helper is not available to us. So for the time being it's back to "other tools", I guess.

[Acrilix]

I love fictional courses, CourseForge was conceived to allow you to design and create fictional courses right in the editor without having to use other tools if you wanted.

The key to this was having the ability to draw your course shapes in the 3d window rather than a top down view. Having the option to roam around your course plot in real time 3d to visualise your ideas as you go, really does make it much easier for your imagination to run riot.

In regard to this, will CourseForge incorporate some sort of random land generator ala APCD, or if not, is there such a Unity add-on available?

[Mike Jones]

 

But wouldn't we need to have something to draw our course shapes with first? Like some specialized software instrument, mayhap connected to Unity, that would allow us to, how to put it, to "forge" a course? As per today, this very useful, hypothetical helper is not available to us. So for the time being it's back to "other tools", I guess.

 

CourseForge already allows you to draw course shapes directly onto the terrain and you can move them or delete them as you wish as your plans develop. You also have a measurement tool to better help visualise size in the editor too. What other tools do you think might help?

 

It might be a good idea to have some pre formed terrains complete with elevations, lakes, ponds, streams, oceans rock formations etc as a starting point for people to work with. Maybe even vegetation too (licensing permitting)

 

As for randomised terrain Acrilix, we don't have a tool for that yet but I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be much of a stretch to add something like that to either the course importer or CourseForge itself - good idea.

[Kablammo11]

Oh dear...

 

CourseForge already allows you to draw course shapes directly onto the terrain and you can move them or delete them as you wish as your plans develop. You also have a measurement tool to better help visualise size in the editor too. What other tools do you think might help?

 

Those that I have now, Mike, as opposed to those that might perhaps materialize once in a blue moon when pigs are flying…  I do not have the CourseForge, so how should I be able to employ a CourseForge method today? I can't just slap shapes onto a terrain or move and delete them BECAUSE I don't have the CourseForge. I'd love to, but I can't. How can I ever drive a car without first sitting behind the wheel of the car that I'm driving?  

So, in my post about handy helpers I was alluding to the CourseForge, which you proudly describe as being super-crazy helpful to do something with it... that you need the CourseForge for, which I DO NOT HAVE. 

You might want to re-calibrate your sarcasm detectors, Mike. I shall do the same with the Sarcasmo-Array on my end.

[Mike Jones]

hehe sorry I had an irony bypass

[rwmorey]

HI --

How do I download the attachment referenced in the second post above?

I too would like to start working on a layout of an actual course near where I live. I was planning to use Google Earth images as a starting point since I can measure things with Google Earth. Is there a standard scale to use in a Photoshop document (how many pixels per foot..) I like the idea of using Illustrator as referenced above although I'm not great with Illustrator at the moment.

Thanks

Rich

[Kablammo11]

Hello rvmorey. I deleted this attachement quite a long time ago, because we're only allow to upload 500K's worth of imagery and because I needed to illutstrate other, more recent threads with newer images.

And because I can't be bothered to upload my stuff to photobucket or other somesuch services. What you missed was an image of a Unity terrain that could double as a fairway. On it, I sprinkled many of these:

 

[attachment=120:Tara copy.jpg]

 

I actually used a png format so that the figure of Tara King would be displayed over a transparent layer. I imported that png into the Unity grass painting section, made it 1.75m high by 1m wide exactly, switched off the wind, and planted it on the terrain as if it were a bushel of grass.

The reason I did this is because in Unity you, as the designer, always hover way above the ground, as if you were in a helicopter. You quickly loose your sense of scale and need to return to ground level quite a lot just to check how things would look from a golfers viewpoint. That's why I invented this Tara cutout that could  quickly give me a good idea about the golfers view of my designs. I recreated the deleted attachement and it would look a little bit like this:

 

[attachment=121:tarafication.jpg]

 

Of course, should you want to adopt this idea, I can send you a copy of my Tara (with a K11 monogram on the bag). Or you just make one yourself by cutting out whichever personality you like.

 

As for photoshop scaling, I usually make my course layouts twice as large in pixels as they are going to be in meters. So for a plot of 1200 by 1200 meters, I will make them 2400x2400 pixels large. There is no actual rule of how large they have to be, mind you. All of it will be covered up by textures in the end, so that all you need to do is to make sure that your layout will be large enough for your contours to show up clearly in Unity.

[shimonko]

In regard to this, will CourseForge incorporate some sort of random land generator ala APCD, or if not, is there such a Unity add-on available?

I had a quick look last week and didn't see a free Unity add-on, but I downloaded the basic version of WorldMachine, generated a random terrain, grabbed the height map, brought it into Unity and slapped on a water component.

I didn't bother doing any tweaking but you can see it gives a decent starting point if you didn't want start from a plane. You could always just grab any real non-golf location with 3m data and use that as well.

[shimonko]

Here's a video that shows a bit more:
 

[Kablammo11]

Very nice!

Thanks for sharing, we do need more "Show & Tell" elements around here.

Your water is transparent and reflective. Do you have the free version of Unity? It shouldn't be able to do that.

[shimonko]

It's the 30 day free trial of the pro version.