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The Horizons (betaV2) BETA
by Matthew Rose Note: This course contains 1024x1024 textures and can only be played in version 1.07 or later of Links 2003
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1578 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2013-05-30 |
56,178,591 bytes |
72 |
7255 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
DESERT |
Horizons.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 0d75ef68ca44490ba2cdeb04fad93fad |
02eb335f89e7d93671ffd70bb320e90b |
| COURSE NOTES |
This is the second beta release of Horizons. The first was done way back in April of 2005. At the time there were many flaws expressed from the original batch of testers, one or two of which were rather pointed. While in the process of fixing many technical issues, a designer crash and resultant corruption all but destroyed all my work to date; the only backup I had was an elevation with textures, seam blends on four holes, and virtually no planting. Following several abortive attempts to seam blend and some further corruption issues, the course was essentially abandoned for seven years.
Following the release of my first two original APCD designs, I revisited the course. I redesigned two completely new holes (#3 and #18), created a brand new HD texture set, a new panorama, and made significant adjustments to the contours of many greens. I also managed to finally complete the seam-blending after much frustration.
Textures: These are an update from the original beta; the desert and bunker sand are my own creation. Most of the grasses are alterations of other textures with my own mowing patterns. The majority of these are 1024 x 1024 HD.
You will notice these are distinctly darker than most textures. With these textures I have attempted to achieve the look of overseeded perennial ryegrass that you often see on desert courses in the winter months on television like the Phoenix Open and the Match Play event in Tucson.
A couple of people have suggested ringing the bunkers with dormant bermuda grass a la TPC Scottsdale; this is something I considered and experimented with, but in the end I decided I did not like the results enough to justify the extra work.
The panorama is custom made from a stock image found online; there are a few issues with this at the moment, most notably a black outline stroke that I cannot seem to get rid of. I hope to have this issue fixed prior to final release.
I have not made any hole previews; it is customary for me to do so prior to final release.
Likewise there is no 3D clubhouse at this point.
All of the objects used on the course are stock designer objects.
With beta testing, I am mostly interested in playability issues, pin positions, and any possible mesh problems. This course was originally laid out and elevated in 2004-2005, well before the original mod came out, and thus does feature some very severe grades and slopes in places.
I have gone through all 18 greens during the remodel and softened many of the original contours to make them playable in the mod, but I do occasionally miss things.
Comments about the aesthetics of the course are fine, but I am extremely unlikely at this point to make any radical changes to the textures or the planting as I have spent literally years on this course getting the look and feel up to my own personal standards. I have had to start from
scratch on the seam blending twice over the course's lifespan due to file corruption issues.
I hope you enjoy this original desert design.
Matthew Rose
May 2013 |
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, desert course |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 8/10
A desert design that never quite got off the ground, The Horizons is quite a
pleasant surprise. No great shakes technically, it nevertheless displays an
excellent working knowledge of the game and throws in one or two
surprises along the way. Many holes are doglegs, allowing the potential for
Rocky Nuts-style bounces and other such lunacy. The whole thing is
neatly packaged in a Bighorn-style desert environment, making it cohesive
if not necessarily the most realistic. |
Appearance 5/10
The bright green textures are customised but not really fitting with the surrounding desert (why do designers have such a hang-up
about brown grasses, for pity's sake?), and there are some really quite ugly extrusions - the tee boxes being the worst offenders.
Texture blends are either routine or forgotten entirely. The planting has taken some care to avoid cloning, but such is the large amount
of rocks and dry bushes then some replicas have become inevitable. It's by no means terrible-looking, but care would need to be taken
to prevent the course showing its age. |
Playability 7/10
A very amenable layout for intelligent golf, The Horizons contains a tasty blend of gung-ho and restrained holes. Perhaps the open
presentation doesn't quite incite the imagination as often as it should, but such is the way of desert courses. It'd take a mean sombre
individual to be bored here, though. |
Challenge 8/10
There are few hazards at The Horizons, but don't fall into the trap of thinking it's easy. Clever use of elevations and smallish greens
mean that approach shots can easily miss the mark, and a few greens do not favour the putter either. Pick up shots on the Par 5s if
you can (they tend to rely on water to keep you away from Eagle), but for most of your round it will be enough to manage Pars. |
Technical 5/10
With talk of this course being moved onwards from Beta phase, there is hope that we could be looking at one of the best desert
courses available. For now, there's still a fair bit of work to be done on the visuals, particularly the surface. |
| Overall |
Some great and imaginative golf holes just needing the final careful touch to bring
them together into an impressive package. |
33/50 |
Please remember that Clipnote reviews are the opinion of one person and do not constitute an 'Official' Links Corner review of the course. |
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