PGA 2000 Course Designer's Checklist
: INTRODUCTION :
The main reason that this checklist was created was to help new and established designers to create and subsequently release a course that is complete in detail, and includes all the basic elements. There are over 300 courses that have been released for this game, and while the quantity, and variety of these courses has been amazing, the quality has sometimes been lacking. It is my sincere hope that this checklist helps to " raise the bar " and aids you in your quest for the perfect design.
: BASIC CHECKLIST :
This is a basic checklist that includes essential items needed for a completed PGA 2000 design. It also includes basic element sizes for various items like splash screens, panorama's, music, and other miscellaneous items. These items are essential for the completion of a course using the PGA 2000 architect, and for the subsequent play with PGA 2000 Championship Golf by Sierra Sports.
SPLASH SCREEN OR SIGNATURE PICTURE SIZE :
The " Splash Screen " gives the first view of the design, and is also intended to portray the course as a whole. This screen becomes active when you first start the game up, and are at the " course selection screen ".
_____ 1. The size is 379 X 267 pixels, has a depth of 24 bit / 16 million colours and is a bitmap ( .bmp ).
LOGO AREA FOR SPLASH SCREEN :
This " logo " is seen on the scorecard at the end of a round, and is located on the " Splash Screen " in the lower right hand corner of the image.
_____ 1. The size is 127 X 122 pixels, has a depth of 24 bit / 16 million colours and is a bitmap ( .bmp ).
PANORAMAS :
Panoramas add feel to a finished course design, and also help to instill the thought that your actually playing a specific course. A good example of this is a course set along the ocean, say in Florida. Though the design would look good, and have palm trees, proper sounds, objects, houses, and even textures that would be on such a course, the panorama adds the final piece of the puzzle, and completes the design. The size of a panorama can vary greatly, but a basic panorama will have the following elements. NOTE : There is no maximum size for the panorama, this is a recommended size.
_____ 1. The total size is 7168 X 400 pixels, has a depth of 24 bit / 16 million colours, and is a bitmap ( .bmp ).
A common theme amongst experienced designers is to reduce the size of this large image. A full sized panorama, as mentioned above, would be about 8.4 meg in size. Without a reduction done to the image, this will add a tremendous amount of size to the course file, and will also cause the game to have some slower redraw rates, which can slow down game play.
So, you can reduce the size of the original 7168 X 400 block by 67 percent, and this will leave you with a panorama that has dimensions of 4800 X 264 and will be about 2.4 meg in size. Then simply split it into 6 equal sized blocks of 800 X 264 to allow the game to more effectively manage the memory that it uses, since it only has to load the visible blocks rather than the entire panorama.
_____ 2. Have you checked the panorama to ensure that it " views " correctly within the game ?. If the panorama is too small heigth wise, it can become skewed or stretched when viewed in the game. Also, if you have created a real course that has a shoreline, the panorama will have to be aligned to the landplot. The " horizontal " slider within the " library creator " is used to adjust the panorama's position from right to left.
_____ 3. Have you checked the panorama to ensure that it sits at the correct heigth ?. Can you see the base of the panorama, as you intended, or is it cut off by the horizon. The " vertical " slider within the " library creator " is used to adjust the panorama's position up and down.
BACKROUND STRIP :
The background strip is what shows up when the user turns off the panorama from within the game.
_____ 1. The size is 64 X 128 pixels, has a depth of 24 bit / 16 million colours and is a bitmap ( .bmp ).
_____ 2. Have you created and included a custom backround strip. This is important if your course is a desert or ocean course, as the " stock " strip will not match your textures.
CUSTOM MUSIC :
Custom music is used to help set the mood for the course, and becomes active when you are at the " course selection " screen. When you choose a specific course, this " custom music " sets the tone for the design. A good size for your " musical interlude " is approximately 2 to 4 meg. It should also have several seconds of silence at the beginning and the end of the piece, because when it is used in the PGA 2000 game, it will automatically loop it, or run it non-stop. NOTE : If you check a specific wav file's properties, you will notice that the recording will be listed as Hz. But, it is actually a kHz format.
_____ 1. All music should be PCM, 22 kHz, 8 bit Mono or Stereo and should be a wav ( .wav).
COURSE VIDEO :
A video clip can be included, but it is NOT an essential item. Most designer's don't include one with the completed course, simply because of the additional file size and subsequent download time that is needed by not including one.NOTE : If you check a specific video's file properties, you will notice that the recording will be listed as Hz. But, it is actually a kHz format.
_____ 1. A typical clip included with the PGA 2000 CD has the following format: Microsoft ADPCM, 22.050 kHz, 4 Bit, Stereo 320 x 240, 24 Bits, 873 Frames, 15.000 Frames/Sec, 128 KB/Sec, IR32( .avi )
CUSTOM SOUNDS :
Custom sounds add that extra bit of realism to a finished design, and while the sounds themselves vary greatly in range of character, they all have the same basic elements. NOTE : If you check a specific wav file's properties, you will notice that the recording will be listed as Hz. But, it is actually a kHz format.
_____ 1. All Sounds should be PCM, 22 kHz, 8 bit Mono or Stereo and should be a wav ( .wav).
CUSTOM OBJECTS :
All custom objects are created to add realism to the finished design, and are needed to finish the course. These " fluff " items would include items like trees, houses, flowers, weeds, teemarkers, ball washers, people, and the like.
_____ 1. All objects will vary in size, but will have a depth of 8 bit / 256 colours and is a bitmap ( .bmp ).
All objects need a shadow since the PGA architect does not create them independently. Also, each custom object should have an overhead image, so that the overhead view in the game shows the location of the object. A tiny bitmap can be created as well to help with redrawing rates for the game. Although several designer's have discovered that this tiny bitmap is really not necessary.
All objects should try and follow the following type of name format, to distinquish between sets of like objects. The designer must add these objects to the custom library by using the Library Creator, and we'll use an object named tree.bmp, for this example
_____ 1. A tree object should be named tree1_1.bmp
_____ 2. A tree's shadow should be named tree1_S.bmp
_____ 3. A tree's overhead should be named tree1_Top.bmp
_____ 4. A tree's tiny image should be named tree1_Tiny.bmp
: PGA 2000 COURSE DESIGNER'S CHECKLIST :
GENERAL ITEMS :
_____ 1. All fairways, rough, bunkers, tees, greens, and areas away from the normal field of play should be checked in all directions for smoothing errors.
_____ 2. Are the elevations reasonable, believable, and do they fit the design of the course.
_____ 3. Is OB placement overused, unrealistic, or too punishing.
_____ 4. Is there an excessive amount of horizon dead space, meaning that areas beyond the course perimeter have zero elevation work done to them, showing a lack of design " foresight ". If so, you can use the Course Perimeter tool to cut the landplot down. This will also reduce the file size of the course somewhat.
_____ 5. Is the course optimized. Use the " Optimize " function with a setting of 3 or 4 clicks from the left. Doing this process on the main texture is a great way to reduce file size, and relieve the main texture of excess point build up. Then if you feel the need, you can remove the minimum detail from your light rough and fairway textures. NOTE : Even if your holes are nested, this optimization will effect the greens, although it may not be obvious. Try it with the Mesh ( Ctrl + Alt + T ) turned on and you will see this process in action.
_____ 6. Before a final compile, was the repair tool used to fix any invalid points.
_____ 7. Before compressing the course to upload to a website, have you double checked to insure that ONLY those NEW library's that were created for the course are included. Many times, you'll find that you used an item from a custom library that is already part of the community. There is no need to include a library that has been previously added to the community's database.
TEES :
_____ 1. Are the tees reasonable in size, yet not so tiny as to hinder, and yet fit the design's " philosophy " A good minimum tee size is 15 feet.
_____ 2. Are they all the same shape or type. I.E. do they all share the same base tee texture.
_____ 3. Do they vary in shape, and / or variety. Some courses have tees that are exactly the same from one hole to the next, but variety is good from time to time.
_____ 4. Are the tees flat.
_____ 5. Are the tee markers well within the teeing area.
_____ 6. Are the tee markers of an adequate size, yet not so large as to take away from the total design. A good rule is to look at Sahalee's tee-markers, they are small, yet adequate in all regards.
_____ 7. Is the golfer forced to stand outside or partially outside of the teeing area to hit. I.E. either the tee box is too small, or that the tee points within the architect ( within the hole definition tool ) are too close to the edge.
_____ 8. Have all tee positions been tested for clear views when teeing off.
_____ 9. Are all tees playable.
_____10. Does the tee texture have " droppable " marked for drop shots that were hit into the water. This is covered, or can be added, from within the Library Creator.
_____11. Do you have a drop zone for recovery shots over water. This is covered, or can be added, from within the Library Creator.
GREENS :
_____ 1. Are the greens playable on dry conditions. If the answer is no, then they have too much slope to them and are excessively crowned, or sloped to the extreme.
_____ 2. Are the greens sloped so that a putt has little chance of stopping at or near the pin. A reasonable distance is within 10 feet of the pins position.
_____ 3. Are the greens an appropriate size for the required shot.
_____ 4. On a par 5, does a second shot ( if reachable ) have a fair chance of actually landing and staying on the green, if hit precisely. If the answer is no, then the green is too small.
_____ 5. On a Par 4, does an approach shot have a fair chance of actually landing and staying on the green, if hit precisely. If the answer is no, then the green is too small.
_____ 6. On a Par 3, is the green sufficient in size to allow a driver or 3 wood approach to have a fair chance of landing and staying on the green, if hit precisely. If the answer is no, then the green is too small.
_____ 7. Make sure that ALL pin positions are playable. Test them at least 15 to 20 times. Use a couple of computer golfers and yourself to see various approach shots in action on the greens.
_____ 8. Make sure that no pins are too close to the edge of the green. All pins should be at least 9 feet from the edge of the green.
_____ 9. Have the greens been smoothed, to reduce the proverbial wall ( a wall is what happens when a putt nears the cup, and then vears 90 degrees to the right or left ), and have they been playtested multiple times to insure that they are playable.
_____10. Does the green texture have " droppable " marked for drop shots that were hit into the water. This is covered, or can be added, from within the Library Creator.
_____11. Are all the pins fair. Meaning that a putt has a fair chance of going in, and that the pin is not on the side of a steep hill, or is placed as to penalize a good putt.
_____12. Are greens too long? Could you land on a portion of a green that would require an impossible putt to the cup. Some greens in real golf are huge, like a couple of holes at Royal New Kent, and the the 5th at St. Andrews. These examples are all over 100 yards in length. Remember that not every green is gigantic in size.
FRINGE :
_____ 1. Make sure that the fringe is of a consistent and reasonable size. A minimum width for the fringe should be 2 feet.
_____ 2. Does the fringe texture compliment the green.
_____ 3. Does the fringe texture have " droppable " marked for drop shots that were hit into the water. This is covered, or can be added, from within the Library Creator.
_____ 4. Is the fringe smooth, does a ball that rolls through it on an approach shot take wierd hops or stop smoothly.
FAIRWAYS :
_____ 1. Are the fairways a reasonable width. A good minimum width is 30 yards.
_____ 2. Do fairways crown away, forcing a good shot to roll or bounce into a hazard.
_____ 3. Are landing areas receptive to a good drive, and are they adequate for these shots.
_____ 4. On holes where a layup is a viable option, is the lay up more inviting or comfortable than the reckless power option. I.E. is the layup area more punitive or difficult than going for the gamble.
_____ 5. Is a 250 yard drive required to reach the edge of the fairway from the tee. If so, please consider lengthening the fairway back towards the teebox. If the hole plays into a stiff breeze, the golfer is penalized even with a great drive. 180 yards is a good tee to fairway distance, and it allows for various types of play. Remember, not everyone uses a driver off the tee in EVERY situation.
_____ 6. Are the fairways free of any smoothing errors.
_____ 7. Does the fairway texture have " droppable " marked for drop shots that were hit into the water. This is covered, or can be added, from within the Library Creator.
_____ 8. Does a section of the fairway lie on a steep hill or gully that in real life no grass mower could cut.
BUNKERS :
_____ 1. Are the bunkers free of obvious smoothing errors.
_____ 2. Are the bunkers an appropriate texture and / or colour for the setting of the course.
_____ 3. Is bunker elevation realistic, not too deep or shallow, and is the surface of the sand smoothed adequately.
_____ 4. Does it appear that no work was actually done to the bunkers, like they were just dropped and that was it.
_____ 5. Is the bunker lip or fringe present, and is it a reasonable size and consistent throughout. A good size for the fringe and bunker lips is about 4 to 6 inches. Remember, that this applies to the elevation, and to the width of the textures themselves.
_____ 6. Does the fairway flow into the bunkers excessively. There should be an easy transition from the fairways to the bunker lip or fringe.
_____ 7. Does the bunker texture have " droppable " marked for drop shots that were hit into the water. This is covered, or can be added, from within the Library Creator.
_____ 8. When using a deep pot bunker, is there at least one direction that a golfer can hit the ball to escape.
_____ 9. Are any bunkers hidden by objects, trees, flowers, plants or bushes.
ROUGH :
_____ 1. Is there a first cut or light rough present between the fairway and the heavier rough.
_____ 2. Is the first cut or light rough free of obvious smoothing errors.
_____ 3. Is the first cut or light rough that surrounds the fairway an equal distance, a minimum size for this texture is 2 feet for the first cut, and 3 to 8 feet for the light rough.
_____ 4. Does the first cut or light rough compliment the fairway texture.
_____ 5. Is the rough elevation realistic.
_____ 6. Is the course's main texture a weedrough. Does an errant shot off the fairway automatically go into this weedrough. If so, you might want to consider adding more light, medium or heavy rough to help with recovery shots.
_____ 7. Does the various levels of rough texture have " droppable " marked for drop shots that were hit into the water. This is covered, or can be added, from within the Library Creator.
_____ 8. Does the first cut or light rough lie on a steep hill or gully that in real life no grass mower could cut.
WATER :
_____ 1. Is the water flat. Lakes and ponds should be flat, while a river will have some sloping to create that realistic and believable look to it.
_____ 2. Has the water been lowered so that it is not just sitting on the course.
_____ 3. Has a suitable texture been used to " frame " the water, I.E. has the water been lowered, and a wooden plank texture ( as an example ) been added.
_____ 4. If standing water exsists, has the appropriate markers been placed, and the texture marked as " free drop ".
_____ 5. Does the water color suit the course.
PLANTS AND FLOWERS :
_____ 1. Are the plantings tastefully done and are they realistic.
_____ 2. Do the plants fit the course.
_____ 3. Are they attractive.
_____ 4. Are they overused or underused.
_____ 5. Is there a repeat of the exact same flower or plant on a continuos basis. Some can be expected, but it detracts from the overall picture.
_____ 6. Has the plant and flower been edited properly, so that no " floating pixels " are present when the object is viewed up close.
_____ 7. Can you see any shadows under a plant indicating that it is floating above the ground.
_____ 8. Have you varied the height of the plants and flowers so that not all of the same type of object is identical in size. This can be adjusted from within the Click / Click and Forestry tools, by simply adjusting the slider to randomize the various heights of these objects.
TREES AND BUSHES :
_____ 1. Do the trees and bushes fit the specific course. No palm trees on a rocky mountain course.
_____ 2. Is the mix of trees and bushes varied and not organized in rows, or do they look natural.
_____ 3. Is the mix of trees good.
_____ 4. Do the trees and bushes fit well together. Sometimes a tree or bush will look good by itself, but will not conform with the other species.
_____ 5. Are all the approach shots, and tee shots clear of trees and bushes. Artistic liscense is ok here, but some objectivity must remain.
_____ 6. Has the tree and bush been edited properly, so that no " floating pixels " are present when the object is viewed up close.
_____ 7. Can you see any shadows under a tree or bush indicating that it is floating above the ground.
_____ 8. Have you varied the height of the trees and bushes so that not all of the same type of object is identical in size. This can be adjusted from within the Click / Click and Forestry tools, by simply adjusting the slider to randomize the various heights of these objects.
_____ 9. Have you expanded ( or enlarged ) a small tree or bush object so much that when close (20 feet) it loses it's detail and appears "mushy".
MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS :
_____ 1. Do the misc. objects fit the course.
_____ 2. Is the mix of misc. objects varied and not organized in rows, do they look natural and add realism to the design.
_____ 3. Is the misc. objects used in a manner that helps to " fill out " the course.
_____ 4. Are the misc. objects appropriate for the region.
_____ 5. Do the misc. objects fit well together. Sometimes a car or house will look good by itself, but will not conform with the other objects.
_____ 6. Are all the approach shots, and tee shots clear of misc. objects. Artistic liscense is ok here, but some objectivity must remain.
_____ 7. Has the misc. object been edited properly, so that no " floating pixels " are present when the object is viewed up close.
_____ 8. Can you see any shadows under an object indicating that it is floating above the ground.
_____ 9. Have you varied the height of the misc. objects so that not all of the same type of object is identical in size ( if appropriate ). This can be adjusted from within the Click / Click and Forestry tools, by simply adjusting the slider to randomize the various heights of these objects.
TEXTURES :
_____ 1. Do the textures fit well together.
_____ 2. Does the fairway, green, and tee texture have the same type of mowlines, either single, double or triple. If so, are the mow lines wide enough to create that realistic mow line look.
_____ 3. Has the texture been set as " droppable " in the library creator.
_____ 4. Are the co-efficients " realistic ".
_____ 5. Has the water texture been set to reflect the ball disappearing.
_____ 6. Has the " reflective water mask " been activated to show miror-like effects.
_____ 7. Do the custom textures " tile" well. If your not sure, right click on the desktop, and under backround, in the wallpaper section, browse to your texture and apply it, making sure that the " tile " box is checked.
3D TOURNAMENT OBJECTS, 3D STRUCTURES, AND PEOPLE :
_____ 1. Are the people used on the course. If so, are they randomly scattered, with a realistic look. Remember, from within the Click / Click and Forestry Tools, that the people can be set to 6 feet tall, then the "inches" checkpoint clicked, and then alter the height by a few inches so that there is realistic variation with their heights.
_____ 2. Are the tournament objects placed with care, and have a natural look to them.
_____ 3. Are the structures planted in the ground. I.E. does a bridge set naturally on a hill, having been lowered to give it a natural look, or does it just lay on top.
_____ 4. Are water crossing bridges sitting naturally on each side of the water. Are the ends ( bridge supports ) laying on level ground or is one end planted below the ground because one end is higher than the other.
HOLE DEFINITION TOOL :
_____ 1. Have all the tee points been added, and are they correctly placed on a tee texture. Remember that you do not need to use all 5 tee settings. Simply " uncheck " those that you do not want to use.
_____ 2. Have all the pin positions been properly placed on the appropriate greens. I.E. No pin from the number 5 green is on the 6th green.
_____ 3. Have all the shot points been centered in the middle of the fairway from the teebox to the center of the green.
_____ 4. Have you included enough shot points to guide a computer golfer and a human golfer towards the green succesfully.
_____ 5. Have the chipping and putting green locations been defined.
_____ 6. Have you placed the chipping location in a practice bunker, or at least in the rough near the putting green
_____ 7. Have you defined the pin locations for the putting green. Remember to alternate where you place the pin positions, from one end of the green to the other, as this will help to mix up the next pin position when actually putting from within the game.
_____ 8. Has the driving range location been defined.
_____ 9. Have you included a couple of small greens and flags on the driving range, as some players will use this area to practice iron shots.
COMPILING COURSE :
_____ 1. Have all the sounds been added to the library.
_____ 2. Have all the textures been added to the library.
_____ 3. Have all the textures been named correctly in the library creator. Have you named the lies for each specific texture..like Fairway for the fairway texture, Bunker Lip for the bunker lip texture, etc.
_____ 4. Have you named the custom sounds so that they appear within your library. A simple addition like " river ", or " Lake bird " is sufficient, and helps others to identify the sounds properly, when using your library.
_____ 5. Have you named the custom objects so that they appear within your library. A simple addition like " boat ", or " lighthouse " is sufficient, and helps others to identify the objects properly, when using your library.
_____ 6. Have you marked each texture with the appropriate lie from the bitmap folder.
_____ 7. Has the panorama been added to the library.
_____ 8. Have all the custom objects been added to the library, with all the shadows and overheads.
_____ 9. Have you compiled the library, and is it ready to be included with the course file.
_____10. Is the splash screen present.
_____11. Is the custom music file present.
_____12. Have you double checked to be sure that no common library's are included when compiling the course.
_____13. Did you playtest the course.
_____14. Did you playtest the course a number of times, using various course settings like high wind, very dry greens, and long rough.
PACKAGING FOR DISTRIBUTION :
The Course Manager's "Compress Files" option allows the packaging of all files associated with the course into one compressed file. The resulting file is essentially in a zipped format. It can compress the Course file, picture, music, video and text as well as custom libraries. NOTE : For splash screens, music, video, and text that will be associated with a course, use file names that are associated or named the same as the course itself. This will help when people have to reinstall the game and the associations are lost to the course manager due to the reinstall. Otherwise people will have to retain the .xcr file as backup taking up additional hard drive space.
_____ 1. The distribution file is compressed ( .xcr ).
COURSE TEXT FILE :
It is highly recommended that the designer include a text file with the course. It would describe the designer's philosophy, goals to achieve with this design or, as a minimum, basic information about the design. Also, a yardage guide ( possibly a hole by hole discussion ) and credits for custom objects, sounds and flora & fauna used should be included.
______ 1. The text file can be one of several formats ( .txt, .rtf, htm ).
COURSE LIBRARIES :
If the course library is large ( greater than 2 meg ) and is likely to be used on other course designs, then upload it separately. Do not include it in the xcr file as this will reduce the risk of people having to download the library more than once.
_____ 1. Is the custom library included within the zipped archive.
This is the Final draft of the PGA 2000 Designer's checklist. If you have any additions and / or corrections, please e-mail me or post a thread at the TCD forum and I'll add them to this work.
If you would, please try to use the same type of format for additions to this page, as it will aid me in updating this continuing work.
Thanks for additions and / or corrections goes to Rob Roy, Dano Bunch, Vince Rhee, Bruce Strober, Moe_Natural, Clive Ellison, and Mike New.
Information provided here was compiled by R.S. Barker. You can reach me at the links below :
TCD Forum
E-mail me
Edited on ... March 22, 2001