Caldera Furiosa - Rookie Design Contest WIP by Lifeonaboard

[Lifeonaboard]

Thanks for all of the comments. I've redone a couple of the holes I didn't like so now there is only 1 maybe 2 holes that still need to be overhauled. I've also been polishing up the sculpting of a lot of fairways, bunkers and surrounding terrain. Slow going but the end result is very satisfying.

Just be careful where you put the pins, that’s an undulating green..

Oh yeah, this green is a pretty good example of what I was trying to describe earlier. Their are 2 pins on the top shelf and 2 on the bottom. If your initial shot is close the pins are very easy but if you end up on the wrong part of the green 2 putts are much harder. I'm putting a lot of time into testing long putts at each pin to make sure they are all possible if reading the slopes right.

Looks really good I'm just not sold on the brown light rough. Green fairway/greens, darker green heavy rough but the strip of brown between them is a bit off putting. Yes it frames everything and provides a contrast it just doesn't seem right to me.

This is one of the frustrating things with steppe theme. There are only 2 colour options for greens, fairways and rough, a dark green or a light brown. This was the most interesting combination I came up with. I think it works better without the heavy rough around it so initially I tested out using the heavy rough in patches or stripes and leaving a gap of desert in between but this didn't really work because you can't get the brush size small enough to make it look good. At this point I've spent so much time staring at it that I'm used to it now and actually quite like it. Hopefully none of the judges hate it but after looking at recent contest results that seems unrealistic to predict so I'm just going with what I think works and just let the judges do their thing. 

As for the planting with the rocks, I've made a couple tweaks based on your guys suggestions and I think it does look better so thanks for that.

Here is a pic from today's lazy rainy day off design session. More actual course pics soon...

[Riotous]

Looks like a tough day! The hole your designing looks good.
Million % agree with the design ethos of designing to what you like rather than what you think a judge would like.

[Lifeonaboard]

Another almost finished hole. 

[b101]

This looks a lot of fun!

[Lifeonaboard]

Been busy the last few weeks with some massive life changes (for the better I think) so I haven't gotten too much done on my course. Will probably release on Oct 15th. I need every minute possible to finish this properly.

[Riotous]

If there’s high wind I might skip the 18th and see you in the clubhouse! Course looks gd and hope your decisions work out. 👍🏻

[b101]

Assume the brown light rough is just for help seeing the texture issues with the heavy rough?

[Lifeonaboard]

Sept 20, 2019 13:37:04 GMT -5 b101 said:

Assume the brown light rough is just for help seeing the texture issues with the heavy rough?

It definitely helps with that but I mainly like how it outlines everything. I've spent so long staring at it that I think it looks weird to not have things outlined. I'm also quite pleased with how all of the visual elements are coming together to make a pretty distinct look. I don't think you could take a screenshot from anywhere on this course that could be mistaken for anything else. It is very different from what I envisioned when I started but that's ok. I have never tried steppe or dessert theme and it has been been very interesting. Initial full course playtests are working pretty much how I wanted as well. The only thing I'm not super sold on yet is hole 1. I managed to make a pretty awesome optical illusion for the view from the tee but the hole plays as a pretty different style to the rest of the course. Hopefully I can reconcile these two things in a way that works for both. Running out of time though.

[b101]

Well, consider me intrigued with hole one!

[ErixonStone]

Aug 23, 2019 21:08:29 GMT -5 Lifeonaboard said:

This is one of the frustrating things with steppe theme. There are only 2 colour options for greens, fairways and rough, a dark green or a light brown.

You always have access to all 17 textures. I think that the default textures happen to be on page 2 of that selection menu, but if you scroll to the left from #16, you should find the other 15 textures.

I know this is an old comment, but I wanted to respond just in case you hadn't figured this out. I wanted to make sure that you had access to all of your options prior to publishing so that you are sure that you have something you like.

[golfwolfuk]

How are you getting on with this dude..??

[Lifeonaboard]

Oct 7, 2019 2:58:34 GMT -5 golfwolfuk said:

How are you getting on with this dude..??

Getting close, I've finished all the essentials and am working entirely on finishing the planting and detailing. Whatever time I have left after that will go towards the clubhouse area and practice facilities. So worst case scenario those will be pretty basic, but the course itself is turning out great.

[golfwolfuk]

Good to hear bud, just chasing up, time is drawing near. Look forward to seeing it.

[Lifeonaboard]

With the deadline fast approaching I thought I would break my screenshot silence and start a daily countdown until my course is released. To start it off I thought I would retake the first screenshot I released for this course. This is hole 3, a downhill par 3 with panoramic views of the central crater lake and surrounding holes. This gives a pretty good idea of the feel of the property and teases many of the holes to come. Most notably the par 5 hole 6 which has it's approach shot cross over hole 3 finishing on the green just in view on the left of the screen. Stay tuned for a new screenshot each day!

I also wanted to thank ErixonStone for the heads up on the textures a while back. I'm not sure how I missed that initially, but have now made a couple of tweaks to better suit my liking. The controversial brown rough stays! What can I say, I like it. It gives the course it's character.

[Lifeonaboard]

Today's screenshot takes us to another par 3. This time it's an uphill shot on hole 13 heading into the sunlight where a horseshoe green wraps around a deep bunker. Settled into the rocky far ridge this hole climbs up towards the 14th tee (pictured upper left) which brings us back down towards the water on a long par 4.