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Royal Thoroughfare 2004
by Kristoffer Selberg
| Links Corner Course Database ID Number - 1431 |
Release Date |
CRZ Filesize |
Par |
Course Length |
| 2004-04-10 |
101,842,944 bytes |
72 |
7329 yards |
| Type |
Style |
CRZ Filename |
|
FICTIONAL |
LINKS |
royal thoroughfare2004.crz |
| Course ID |
Course Key |
| 65f667bcf83b46218e8b846c49551b25 |
5d27f60ae6d89d9f2b3779b8c2adb13d |
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LINKS CORNER REVIEW |
Designer: With four Links Corner Recommended honours, and many intriguing course designs in his portfolio, Kristoffer Selberg is certainly no newcomer to the Links community. His courses have Index Ratings varying from 1.00 to 1.09, and range in size from 10mb to 91mb, while considering each of his courses have been extremely unique, it will be interesting to see what he comes up with next.
Course: Royal Thoroughfare 2004 is a course for people who love European style designs, as with a rich array of colours and planting being found on each hole, it is style of course you either love or hate. As pointed out in the read-me file, some of the hole layouts are actually from real courses in Sweden, while Hole 1 is actually taken directly from a course in Wales. The course is quite long, but with a good variety in distances between each tee, players are able to vary their playing experience easily by moving from one tee to another in each round they play. With tournament options turned on, the crowds really make the course come alive, and when approaching Hole 18 with the clubhouse looking over the green, the player will really get the feeling of a tournament style atmosphere.
Favourite Hole: The Par 3 Hole 1 was certainly my favourite hole on the course, as the green was tough to land on, the ocean to the left made it an amazing hole to look at, and the music certainly set the mood for the rest of the round. I would personally love to see the designer create a full 18 hole course next to the ocean, as considering the technical work to the left of the hole with the ocean and beach, I think he could do very well in designing a full course using a style like Hole 1.
Playability: With Royal Thoroughfare 2004 containing 12 Par 4's, accuracy off the tee is a must, as with the fairways being tight and hazards such as bunkers and water being found on every hole, mistimed shots will result in bogies or worse. Iron play will need to be exceptional, as with unique greens found on each hole, putting from either a short or long distance is going to be difficult. Each Par 5 is quite long, so eagle opportunities will be hard to come by, while with a variety in the size and placement of the bunkers, players who take risky shots will soon learn to play safe. It would have been good to see a drivable Par 4, a shorter Par 5, and some different Par 4 designs, as with the majority of holes as mentioned being Par 4's, there was certainly a repetitive feel in many instances with the playability of some holes.
Technically: Considering the exceptional amount of courses released with advanced APCD techniques in recent times, compared to when this course was originally released as a 2001 course, the standard for which a P2P course is now measured against is very high. Percentage wise, most of the technical features in this course are outstanding, with a superb texture set being used, along with amazing work with the ocean and beach on Hole 1, but unfortunately, there are many areas that could have been easily improved if the course had been worked on for longer. Textures were not named properly in many areas, the cart path had rough edges in joining with the rough, the player was able to chip through a wall on Hole 9, and the clubhouse had shadows on the back of it like it was covered in trees, when that was clearly not the case. Seam blending was very well done in most cases, but then areas like rough to fringe, and dry grass to rough, certainly needed more attention paid to them. The sounds included were great, while the technique used for the bunkers certainly stood out as terrific feature, but for a course to be remembered as one of the best, technical work must be near perfect, and in this case, there were many areas that could have been improved. Kristoffer Selberg is no doubt an exceptional designer, but it is arguable that this is actually his best work to date, so for future releases, I would recommend beta testing be more thorough, and that every area of the course be paid careful attention to.
Other: For a P2P course, additional extras are almost expected within the zip file, but in this case, only a read-me and the course file were included. The course itself contains a cameo, custom flags, handicaps and tournament options, while even though there were two splash screens, they were not the highest of quality and could have been much better. The hole previews were of excellent, except that in one instance on Hole 1, the mouse pointer was showing, while it also seemed that the hole previews didn't match up with many of the textures actually found around the course. These examples may seem small in the scheme of things, but it is the additional and aesthetic extras that set one course apart from another, especially being a P2P course.
Download Value: Royal Thoroughfare is certainly not a small course, but considering the unique feeling that the course emanates, it is certainly one of a kind. If you are a fan of the original version, the designers other courses or of European style designs, then I would recommend this course to download. The course won't be staying on my hard drive, as it personally is not a style of course I like, but if you have enjoyed the designer's previous courses, then you will treasure playing Royal Thoroughfare 2004.
Information:
Course Statistics:
2003 - Fictional Parkland - Par 72 - 5 Tees
7394yds (Back) - 6886yds (Forward)
Par 3's: 3 - Par 4's: 12 - Par 5's: 3
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CLIPNOTES by Ben Bateson (ousgg) |
Description
Fictional, parkland course |
Location
TBA |
Conditions
TBA |
Concept 5/10
This alleges to be a links course, but is in fact no such thing. A lack of
continuity between holes, some very contrived course shapes and
absolutely zero sense of location are very frustrating. What isn't frustrating
is the brilliance of the first and last holes and a fair amount of diverting and
interesting design. But as a course, it's still a bit of a mess. |
Appearance 8/10
Some poor extrusions marked the round for me, and venturing to some of the far-flung corners of the course, I got the impression it
could have been better beta tested, too. But there are scenes of genuine beauty, as best evidenced by the screenshot, which hold the
course up. |
Playability 4/10
For reasons I cannot identify, this was a bit of a drag to play. It seems repetitive and lacking in genuine shot options. Drives have little
threatening them, and perhaps the fact that the course has 12 Par 4s is responsible, especially given that several of these Par 4s are
uninspired when it comes to golfing challenge. |
Challenge 5/10
The course is well-pitched without at any time giving the impression that it would threaten your par score. Greens are accommodating
and will take long putts, but the elevations on the fairway are used effectively to prevent the course being a formality. Probably the
biggest disappointment here is that the hazards are rarely in play, making reasonable scores a formality. |
Technical 7/10
Apart from the extrusion work, this course has been extremely well put together. The planting is superb, and the attention to detail on
the likes of the above cannot be underestimated. Sound is judiciously planted, and the elevation work is solid. This is good without
impressing in any particular area. |
| Overall |
An over-rated course which is a jumble of types with not sufficient challenge for the
player. Certainly not essential. |
29/50 |
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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