|
Loch Dialgary
by Allen Cotton
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1111 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2002-10-11 |
51,042,742 bytes |
72 |
7440 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
DESERT |
Loch Dialgary2k3.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| cd1f1c41be1e4303be1d9b7ebfd0dae9 |
242d1826abd8eae32ca2bc7f61494230 |
|
LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Reviewed by Randy McMinn
November 2002
Taken from Designers' Read me Doc:
Many thanks to Gary and Shawn for beta testing this course for me, I don't think they realize how important their feedback has been.
This course started out as a 2k1 design, but with the advent of 2k3 I decided to hold off releasing until I got hold of APCD 1.5. All the terrains have been texture blended, a timely and painful experience so I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks also to Links Corner, whose designer forum has been invaluable.
I strongly advise checking the preview maps the 1st time you play here, they will give you a good idea of where you should be hitting to.
Have fun and enjoy.
Course Type: Loch Dialgary is a fictional desert course.
I'm a player/designer.
Course Overview
To the best of my knowledge this is Mr. Allen Cotton's first APCD design. The panorama chosen for this design was the perfect choice, the rolling hills fit the course layout on almost every hole. The Course plays exceptionally long, very close to 7,400 yards in length, mostly in the very long 3 shot Par 5's... I especially like Mr. Cotton's choice of Splash Screen......don't we all wish the hole was that big while putting!
Appearance
I enjoyed the playing this design very much, a lot of very interesting holes with a variety of shots needed to play an exceptional round at Lock Dialgary. The planting was very well done for a first time designer, I could tell that Mr. Cotton put a lot of thought into the planting of his design and the layout, but I did grow very tired of the divots on every hole .... usually meant for Par 3 or short Par 4!
However, there are many drawbacks to Mr Cotton's design: I played well over 100 holes in elite skill level and found some places that most player with an easier skill level would never go near! ... LOL I found some concrete weeds/bushes but this should not effect the playability for most skill levels!
Playability
I found Lock Dialgary to be very playable for all skill levels, except for the occasional concrete weed, etc .... My favorite hole was No. 4, a 475 yards Par 4, slightly downhill with a split fairway for a landing area ...... a very well designed hole ... I feel as though a lot of the holes in this design where in fact real holes that Mr Cotton had played in his real life golf
APCD
While I don't consider my an expert, I do have some knowledge of APCD..
The elevation works looked very natural throughout most of the course layout ..... not a typical first release .... Mr. Cotton did an excellent job on the elevation! .... The design however is not error free, a lot of sharp edges mostly in the transition from fairway to green .... for example No. 7, an uphill Par 3 .... it's a blind tee shot with a cart path that runs along the right side of the hole .... the elevation doesn't look natural.
A few tips for the designer: Most of your Tee marker are red from the back tees, this can be fixed by adjusting hole ratings under hole preferences ... To improve your transition between textures, try adding a ring of verts inside and outside of each shapes (tee, fairway, bunker, green, and other shapes). The ring of verts allows you to adjust the elevation throughout your design and just honestly gives ANY design a better look inside the game plus it allows you to have effective seam blending.
The divots on the tee box are overused WAY too much! Also, I didn't notice all the seam blending that the designer referred to in his Readme, maybe because he chose to use the grass alpha instead of the bunker alpha. The seam blending that was noticeable appeared to be very well done! Seam blending is a great tool and only time will tell just how great it will become!
Extra's
I'm a reviewer that likes the extras that don't come with most designs.
Included: Hole signs, Hole previews, Splash, Cameo, Ballwashers, Cart path.
Not included: Crowds, Tournament objects, Hole handicaps, Recorded round, Custom tee/flags.
Loch Dialgary is very enjoyable to play and it's an exceptional design for a first time designer ... Mr Cotton may well be one of the up and coming designers .... If he continues to improve his APCD skills ...... who knows, the sky is the limit! Please do not get discouraged by my review Mr. Cotton .... I'm perhaps the toughest to impress and do highly recommend this Course for download .... while it's not without errors it's very enjoyable for all skill levels ....... keep up the great work!
Note to the Designer: If you need beta help on your next design just send me an email ...... and please don't forget to check out all the great tutorials available at Links Corner.
|
|
|
