Games PC TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 2003-COURSE ARCHITECT User Manual

EAEASPORTS

SPORTS

COURSE ARCHITECT

TTM

TTABLE OF CONTENTS

ABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

CONVENTIONS OF THE TOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

COURSE ARCHITECT DOWNLOADS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

BEGINNING COURSE DESIGNERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

ADVANCED COURSE DESIGNERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

QUICK COMMANDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

QUICK START . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

OVERVIEW OF COURSE ARCHITECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

GOLF COURSE ELEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

DESKTOP ELEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

WORK WINDOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

NAVIGATION WINDOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

CAMERA WINDOW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

THE CAMERA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

HOLE DEFINITION TOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

GETTING STARTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

NEW COURSE WIZARD (NCW) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

SAVING YOUR WORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

LOADING A COURSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

ERASING YOUR WORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

COMPILING COURSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

LAYING OUT A COURSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

BASIC DESIGN DECISIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

COURSE DESIGN ISSUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

BUILDING HOLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

HOLE PLACEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

GENERAL GRADE OF THE COURSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

LARGER TERRAIN FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

THE MEASURE TOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

PANORAMAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

AMBIENT SOUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

TUTORIAL: CREATING HOLE 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

ON BUILDING A HOLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

SHAPING YOUR HOLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

HOW TO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

COMMAND REFERENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

MENUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

TOOLBARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

STATUS BAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92

RIGHT-CLICK MENUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

HOLE DEFINITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

HOLE DEFINITION ELEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99

DELETING A HOLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104

SHAPES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105

HOW TO CREATE A SHAPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106

TEXTURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

SHAPE TOOLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112

PATH SHAPES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118

TERRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120

WHOLE LAND PLOTTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121

VIEWING MODELING CLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125

MAKING TERRAIN FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125

MAKE IT NATURAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127

ADDING MORE TERRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128

OBJECTS AND THE LIBRARIAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129

OBJECT TYPES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129

THE LIBRARIAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131

POPULATING AREAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134

SOUNDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135

MOVE, DELETE, COPY AND PASTE OBJECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137

MISCELLANEOUS OBJECTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138

THE EDGE OF YOUR COURSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139

PANORAMAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140

SKIES AND THE WEATHER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140

COURSE PERIMETER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

OPTIMIZE DETAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143

OPTIMIZING AS YOU DEVELOP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144

WHEN TO OPTIMIZE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146

OPTIMIZING BEFORE COMPILING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146

COMPILING YOUR COURSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147

PREPPING YOUR COURSE FOR COMPILE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .148

COMPILING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149

IN THE GAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150

REPAIRING YOUR COURSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151

GLOSSARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152

TECHNICAL SUPPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159

CREDITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160

This product has been rated by the Entertainment Software Rating Board. For information about the ESRB rating, or to comment about the appropriateness of the rating, please contact the ESRB at 1-800-771-3772.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to EA SPORTS™ Course Architect™, a complete 3D develop- ment environment. The Course Architect lets you develop courses for use in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 2003 in full 3D.

For years, this tool has been used to design, build, and compile golf courses for PC-based golf games. Now, you can use these professional design tools to build the golf course of your dreams. And, you can import your dream course into Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2003 to challenge the Pros to a round or tournament on your custom course. Or, bundle your courses and publish them online to share your creations with other Tiger Woods

PGA TOUR 2003 golf fans.

Course Architect is a 3D development suite that shares features and

methods with many popular 3D graphics programs. New for this year, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR courses feature whole land plotting. Through the New Course Wizard, you can design the entire plot of land containing your golf course, including general topography, large terrain features, substantial water areas and the basic layout and orientation of each hole.

When you have completed your course, you can use the Optimize Detail to prep your project for compiling. The Course Architect compiler then proofs and packages your course to include it in your suite of courses in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2003. In the event of problems during compile, Repair Course can address many of them.

KEY FEATURES

✦ Full 3D: All terrain, course and object elements are displayed in the

Course Architect and the game in three dimensions.

✦ Used for years to build courses for golf games, this professional tool has

been tuned and updated for easy customer use.

✦ Course creation tools fully integrated into one application for WYSIWYG

(What You See Is What You Get) development.

✦ Two view windows automatically update to let you switch in real-time

from strategic planning to detailed implementation.

✦ Three-plane camera positioning and movement puts the camera right

where you need it.

✦ Excellent movement and selection tools give you total command over

the course and its terrain features.

✦ Visual tool palettes with keyboard and menu equivalents let you tailor

the controls to your personal preferences.

✦ Get an idea, make the idea: Create holes in any sequence. ✦ Build a course, send it to your friends, and play over the net. ✦ Game time! One-button course compiler pumps your course from the

Course Architect directly into the game for easy menu access.

✦ Content Librarian of hundreds of objects, textures, and sounds speed the

development process.

✦ Compile courses in development to Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2003 games

for test-play. Build it and test it, and then perfect it to challenge the PGA TOUR Pros.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Course Architect has a number of terms that apply to its special brand of 3D modeling. While the terms seem easy to understand, they do have special applications inside the tool. For more information on specific terms, see Overview of Course Architect on p. 12 or Glossary on p. 152.

FOR MORE INFO

about this and other titles, check out EA SPORTS on the

web at www.easports.com.

CONVENTIONS OF THE TOOL

✦ Length and width distances are measured in yards, feet and inches by

default. However, you can switch between English Customary (yards) and metric systems of measurement.

To toggle the units of measurement, select USE METRIC in the View menu.

➲ Toolbars group the most commonly used tools. However, you can access

all of the tools through the menu system, and the most common menu tools can be selected with hot keys.

✦ When an item is selected, you can often open a menu of relevant com-

mands by clicking the right mouse button. One of the more important means of defining a course feature is through its Properties window, which, if available, can be accessed through the right-click menu. For more information, see Right-Click Menus on p. 93.

COURSE ARCHITECT™ DOWNLOADS

✦ On a regular basis, the Course Architect team posts patches

to the tool and new data files on the EA SPORTS web site. You can download free software patches and much more.

NOTE:

For the latest information on Course Architect™, please

visit http://tigerwoods2003.ea.com.

BEGINNING COURSE DESIGNERS

After installing Course Architect and reading this Introduction, beginning course designers should read the Overview chapter and follow the step-bystep tutorial to start a first test course. After you have completed the basic tutorial, you can use the rudimentary hole as a reference for further development and exploration.

ADVANCED COURSE DESIGNERS

Course Architect is a graphical tool that allows you both top-down and 3D views of your work. If you are familiar with 3D graphics tools, you may want to read the rest of the Introduction and then begin digging into the tool. As you learn, you may find the Quick Start, Reference, and Glossary sections helpful.

QUICK COMMANDS

Use the following Quick Commands to access the most commonly used

functions of Course Architect. The keys are shortcuts to menu commands.

FILE QUICK COMMANDS

ACTION KEYBOARD

New

v +N

Open

v +O

Save

v +S

EDIT QUICK COMMANDS

ACTION KEYBOARD

Undo

v +Z

Delete

Duplicate

v +D

Select All: Land Shapes

v +A

Select All: Hazards

v +H

Select All: Paths

v +P

Select All: Sounds

v +U

Select All: Objects

v +2

Select All: Structures

v +3

Drop Selected Shapes

VIEW QUICK COMMANDS

ACTION KEYBOARD

Librarian

q +L

Modeling Clay

q +M

Mesh

v +a +T

Scroll Work Window

j, l,i,k

Zoom Mode

Zoom: In

+ left mouse button

Zoom: Out

+ right mouse button

Zoom: Select

a +Z

Zoom: Cancel

a +q +Z

Center Camera

v +C

Auto Focus Camera Grid

TOOLS QUICK COMMANDS

ACTION KEYBOARD

Create Land Shape

Create Path

Create Hazard Area

Create Course Perimeter

Rotate

v +R

Measure

v +M

Make a Hill

a +q +H

Make a Bunker

a +q +B

Make a Slope

a +q +L

Smooth an Area

a +q +S

Flatten an Area

a +q +F

Foresting Tool

q +F

Click-Click Object Tool

q +O

Hole Definition Tool

Sky Picker Tool

q +S

Point Count Indicator

a +v +D

Grid Settings…

q +G

QUICK ST

ART

This Quick Start guide is intended to get you up and working with the

Course Architect in a short period of time.

NEED INST

ALLA

TION HELP?

Please see the enclosed Install Guide for

installation instructions.

SOME TERMS

The desktop of Course Architect supports two different views on your golf course through three different windows. The entire course is displayed through the Navigation window, through which you can zoom in on selected pieces of the course to display in the Work window, the main window of the Course Architect application.

Through the Work window, you manipulate objects and land shapes. When you create a land shape in the Work window, it is floating on the terrain. By moving, adding and rotating the shape's control points, you can adjust the size and form of the land shape. You can use the shape to apply textures to the terrain, shape the underlying terrain, or both. When you have finalized your manipulations, you can drop the land shape into the terrain to make the shape and texture a permanent feature of your course.

✦ Shapes have many functions, including terrain manipulation and object

population. For more information on the functions and properties of shapes, see Shapes on p. 105.

Menus

Edit Toolbar

Navigation Toolbar

Navigation Window

Work Window

Course Toolbar

Window Toolbar

Camera

A Selected Shape

Control Point

Camera Window

Status Bar

✦ Depending on whether the shape is floating or has been

dropped, the contents of the right-click menus for that shape vary. For more information, see Right-Click Menus on p. 93.

To see your course as it would appear in the game, activate and use the Camera window. You can change the contents of the Camera window by repositioning the camera, which is represented by a black camera icon in the Work window.

➲ To move the camera, click and drag the icon in the Work window. The

contents of the Camera window are automatically updated.

➲ To rotate the camera, click and drag the black triangle that is part of the

camera icon. The contents of the Camera window are automatically updated.

✦ Many shape manipulations can also be conducted through the Camera

window. For more information about the camera and the Camera window, see Camera Window on p. 20.

At the bottom of the application window is the status bar, which contains the location of the cursor and the point count of the underlying shape. For more information, see Status Bar on p. 92.

Above the Work window, you can see the menu system and the toolbars of the Course Architect.

✦ For more information about the contents of the menus, see Menus. ✦ For more information on the Edit, Course, Navigation and Window tool-

bars, see Toolbars on p. 89.

Through the menu system, you can access the Librarian, which lets you place textures and objects in your project. For more information, see The Librarian on p. 131.

✦ If you are having performance problems in the Course Architect, you can

toggle display of resource-intensive course elements through the Layers tool. For more information, see Layers on p. 21.

To get started:

✦ Prior to starting Course Architect, you should set your display to 1024 x

768 or higher in the Display control panel. For information on how to set it, see the Windows® Help file.

1. Close all other applications, including the game.

✦ Before you begin designing a course, you should have an idea or plan

that you are trying to execute. To learn more about how to develop your plan and other issues to consider before building your course, see Laying Out a Course on p. 38.

2. Double-click the Course Architect icon. The program opens.

3. In the dialog box, click next to CREATE A NEW COURSE. Click BEGIN.

4. In the spaces provided, enter the name and description of your course.

➲ To define the entire workspace of your course, enter figures in the

length and height of the course. For the time being, accept the default settings.

✦ Default measurements for length and height are in yards.

1 meter = 1.1 yards.

5. Make sure that the box next to Use New Course Wizard is checked.

NOTE:

The New Course Wizard is a very powerful tool for plac-

ing the holes and major land features of your course. This Quick Start guide just touches on the basics of using it. For more information, see New Course Wizard on p. 25.

➲ To continue creating your course with the New Course Wizard, click NEXT.

6. Now, define the basic terrain of your course.

➲ To set the basic terrain of your course, check the box next to the appro-

priate location from the list on the left.

➲ To modify the degree of change in the terrain, use the slider bars on the

right.

✦ Change area indicates the amount of area in which the changes to ter-

rain are applied. A small change area combined with a severe change makes for very up-and-down terrain.

✦ Severity indicates the amount of change in any given change area.

7. Click NEXT. Now, select the location of your course.

✦ The location that you select essentially defines the vegetation set used

when foresting areas in the New Course Wizard. Later, you can use vegetation from any of the installed course libraries.

8. Click NEXT. You can now place , water, forest areas and holes on the

map of your course. Holes can have pars of 3, 4 or 5.

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➲ To save your work in the New Course Wizard, select SAVE

from the File menu.

NOTE:

It's highly recommended that you use the New

Course Wizard to place all of the holes of your course. Although you can place holes in the Course Architect using the Hole Definition tool, using the Wizard is much faster and easier. For more information, see Hole Definition on p. 98.

➲ To place a hole, water or forest onto the course, click the appropriate tab

on the right side of the screen. Then, click and drag the appropriate icon onto your course. The element is placed.

NOTE:

No hole or water shape placed in the New Course Wizard

can cross another one. A forest shape can overlap other shapes.

➲ To move the element to a different place, click and drag it. To rotate the

item, click and drag at one end of it.

➲ To place the element permanently on the course, click on it and then

click APPLY.

✦ Most dropped items can be picked up again and re-manipulated. After a

forest has been applied to plant trees, the trees cannot be picked up again in the New Course Wizard.

Holes:

➲ To change the hole number for a selected hole, select a new number from

the Hole drop-down in the lower-right corner. Then, click APPLY.

NOTE:

Check the hole number to be sure that you are not

replacing an existing hole. The New Course Wizard overwrites the existing one.

Water and Forests:

➲ To reshape a body of water or forest, click and drag one of the red con-

trol points in the shape to a new position.

➲ To place the water or forest permanently on the course, click APPLY.

9. When you have placed at least one hole on your course, click FINISH.

10.Your course is now created. You may begin using the other tools of the

Course Architect. For more information, see Tools on p. 72.

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NOTE:

Save your course before you begin work. Select SAVE from

the File menu. In the dialog box, select a destination directory in which

to save your course. Enter a filename. Then, click SAVE.

✦ For detailed instructions on creating a hole, see Tutorial: Creating Hole 1

on p. 45.

OVERVIEW OF COURSE ARCHITECT™

The following sections survey the tools and features of the Course

Architect.

Each designer discovers his or her own strategy for designing in the Course Architect. Because it is a flexible tool, you can develop the holes of your course in an order that is most comfortable for you. However, it may not be comfortable for your computer. The Course Architect application gen- erates a high number of computations and can use large amounts of memory. When the application is performing a high number of computations, your computer can slow down which, in turn, slows down your designing process. Throughout this help guide, there are notations to inform you when actions or features may slow down your computer. It is recommended that you add these elements toward the end of the development.

A generalized strategy for designing a hole starts with a vision of what you want to do. What is the basic shape and play for the hole? Does it start high and end low? Is the green protected? Are there subtleties to each shot? How challenging is the hole? Can aggressive golfers eagle the hole? How does the hole fit into the overall design of the course? These questions affect the concept for the hole and should be kept in mind during its design.

When you have a conceptual idea for the hole, you lay down the floorplan for the hole with the requisite land shapes (tee boxes and the greens) and any other land shapes that you want to include (fairways, roughs, hazards, sand traps, et cetera). Then, in the Hole Definition tool, you unify the placed elements as a single hole and lay down shot paths for the computer-controlled players to follow.

Most features of the hole are started in the Work window. This top-down view of your course lets you lay the major elements, called shapes, and apply textures to them to build course features such as fairways, greens, bunkers, water, and tees. With the Measure tool, you can judge distances between these areas to establish basic shots on the course. For example, you can measure the distance between the tee and the first turn to calculate the club that is needed to reach it.

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When you have laid one or more course shapes, you may want to see how they appear in three dimensions. Represented as a black icon in the Work window, the camera can be positioned to display contents of the course in three dimensions in the Camera window. Changes made in the Work window are automatically updated to the Camera window, provided that the camera is in position to view such changes.

You can change the hole features in the Camera window, too. You can select areas of the course and apply terrain changes to them—raise, lower, flatten, smooth, and more. Changes in the Camera window are likely to ripple through the other hole features. Then, you return to the Work window to tweak a few things. Then, you view the results again in the Camera window. This iterative process continues until you are satisfied with the results.

✦ When you want to test your work in the game, you can compile the

course to the game. For more information, see Compiling Your Course on p. 147.

GOLF COURSE ELEMENTS

In a computer golf course, there are three basic components to design: textures, terrain and objects. In the Course Architect, textures and terrain are manipulated and placed with a tool called a shape.

A shape is a connected set of points that encompass a surface area on the course. When a shape is created, it is floating on the course. While it appears as a circular shape in the Work window, you can see that it is indeed floating on the terrain of the course in the Camera window. While a shape is floating, you can change the size, perimeter, and smoothness of the shape through its control points. Control points are used to define the perimeter of the shape. You can click and drag control points to change the perimeter of the shape, and you can add, delete and rotate control points to get the shape in perfect form.

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Panorama

Sky

Texture

Shape

A floating shape must follow a set of rules:

✦ A shape cannot overlap any other shape, yet a shape can be completely

enclosed in another shape.

✦ The perimeter of a shape should not cross itself. ✦ For more information on shapes, see Shapes on p. 105.

You adjust the form of the shape to create features on your golf course such as tee boxes, greens, fairways and bunkers. After you have defined the perimeter of these features with the shape, you must apply a texture to them. In general 3D graphic tools, a texture is a graphic image that is applied to the exterior of a 3D mesh. In the Course Architect, you apply specialized textures to shapes to assign a playing surface to it. When you choose a texture to display on your shape, you are selecting by extension a set of play characteristics. For example, when you apply a sand texture to a shape, you produce a sand bunker. In the game, when a golfer hits a ball into the sand, the specialized texture informs the game to play a soft sound and to proceed with the code that calculates the roll and the lie of the ball based on the trajectory of the shot.

✦ You can identify one or more sections of the course as a hazard area.

When a ball lands in a hazard area, the hazard rules of golf apply. For more information, see Create Hazard Area on p. 74.

After the texture has been applied to the shape, to make the textured shape a permanent part of the course, you must drop the shape. The shape now becomes a terrain object, which is a series of interconnected breakline points in the terrain.

You use shapes to manipulate the underlying terrain, too. Terrain refers to the shape of the land. Terrain greatly influences the play characteristics and appearance of a hole. Is the land raised or lowered? Are there depressions and hillocks on the hole? Does the land have features that are consistent throughout the entire course? In a regular golf course, terrain decisions are a major component of the development effort and are expensive to undo.

In a computer course, creating terrain features is a matter of pointing and clicking. The terrain of a computer course is described by a mesh of touching triangles, called faces. These triangles are sized and placed together to describe a 3-dimensional grid, called the mesh. You push and pull a seamless mesh that, in total, describes the outer shell of a 3D shape. When you manipulate a 3D shape, the computer changes the shape of the mesh

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to seal it. Think of a wire mesh. You can change the shape of the mesh, and the loops adjust their size to accommodate.

To manipulate the terrain, you can 1) lift the shape used to define the course feature above or 2) create another shape and use it as a frame to make changes to the terrain underneath it. Through the first method, you can define areas of the course that have a single shape with a single texture on them. For example, you can create an elevated tee box by changing the perimeter of a shape, applying a texture, dropping the shape and then lifting it to use to elevate the terrain. Through the second method, you can create terrain features that cross over multiple course features. For example, you can create a bunker that is part of a slope below the green. Terrain manipulations can be applied over multiple dropped shapes.

✦ Shapes are the fundamental tool for designing your courses and should

be well-understood by every designer. For more information, see Shapes on p. 105.

On top of the terrain, you place objects and structures. Objects like trees and rocks can be added to give authentic flavor and interesting variation to your golf course. Additionally, you can add structures such as houses, shacks and clubhouses to make it feel like a real golf course. These 3D objects have the appearance and play characteristics of their real-world counterparts.

✦ For more information on objects and structures, see Objects on p. 130.

In summary, the following steps loosely describe the order of development for defining and shaping an area of your course:

1. Create a shape. Move its control points to reshape it.

2. Apply a texture. Drop it into the terrain.

3. Use the same shape or create a new one. Move its control points to

reshape it.

4. Use the Course tools to change the underlying terrain.

5. Add objects and textures to the area.

Applied many times across your project, this iterative process produces the terrain and course features of your ideal course. Then, you can add the touches described in the following section.

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ADDITIONAL COURSE ELEMENTS

HOLES

A full golf course is composed of eighteen holes. In Course Architect, the hole is the basic unit of development; to build a course, you build eighteen separate holes.

SKIES AND PANORAMAS

Other features that can be included are panoramas and skies. Panoramas give the appearance of the horizon in photographic detail, and you can select which panorama you want to appear along the perimeter of your course. The skies fill in behind the panorama, and you can view your course under various sky conditions through the Sky Picker tool. The panoramas and skies of the Course Architect have been designed to seamlessly blend together.

✦ For more information on the Sky Picker tool, see Sky Picker Tool on p. 84.

SHADOWS

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2003 automatically computes the sun's shadows over objects like trees, rocks, and other terrain features. In the game, users can choose to display these lighting effects. When your course is compiled to the game, players can toggle display of shadows, as shadows can be very demanding of system resources. Water reflections are also selectable for display in the game only.

DESKTOP ELEMENTS

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Menus

Toolbars

Hole Definition Tool

Layers Tool

Navigation

Window

Camera Camera Window

Click on any of the following links to learn more about a type of element found on the desktop of the Course Architect. You can browse the information here to get a better understanding of the structure of the tool. Or you can use it as a reference.

✦ Prior to starting the Course Architect, you should set your display to

1024 x 768 or higher in the Display control panel. For information on how to set it, see your Windows Help file.

✦ Work window - Tools and functions of the main application window. ✦ Camera window - Tools and functions of the Camera window, which

displays the course from a 3D camera’s point of view.

✦ Camera - Placement and settings for the camera icon, which deter-

mines the contents of the Camera window.

✦ Navigation window - Tools and functions to display different areas of

your project in the Work window.

✦ Hole Definition tool – Define gameplay elements of a hole on the

course.

✦ Menus - All menu items and functions, sorted by menu. ✦ Right-Click Menus - Descriptions of the right-click menus that appear

based on what has been selected in the Work window.

✦ Toolbars - Descriptions and contents of each of the five toolbars.

QUITTING THE PROGRAM

➲ To safely exit the program, select EXIT from the File menu.

✦ If prompted, save your work , or unsaved changes will be lost.

WORK WINDOW

The Work window gives you the best perspective on the course. From this top-down view, you can see the shapes and objects that populate the area of the course beneath. Most course creation and editing work is done in the Work window, including object positioning, shape selection and elevation changes.

When a project is opened in the Course Architect, the Work window is visible at all times. Its contents can be changed with the Navigation tools in the toolbar, and those contents can be zoomed in or out.

✦ The Work window can float inside the Course Architect application win-

dow or can be maximized to fill the window.

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In the Work window, you can place the camera. The camera looks out on the course and projects what it sees in the 3-dimensional view in the Camera window.

✦ At the bottom of the Work window is the status bar, which contains

important positional information about the cursor. For more information, see Status Bar on p. 92.

CONTENTS OF THE WORK WINDOW

The Work window lets you change its contents to display the entire map of the course or a part of a land shape that is no more than a few inches across. With the Zoom tools in the Navigation bar, you can change the focus of the Work window's camera.

➲ To zoom in and out on your hole, click the Zoom tool. To zoom in, left-

click. To zoom out, right-click. You can zoom in and out multiple times.

➲ To scroll the Work window, use the Arrow keys. Or, click the Grab tool.

Click and drag the hand icon over an area in the Work window on which you want to view. The Work window is updated to focus on this selected area.

➲ To return the view for the Work window to its default height and focus,

click the Cancel Zoom button.

➲ To zoom in on a specific area of the Work window, click the Zoom Select

tool. Click and drag a rectangle around the area in the Work window on which you want to zoom. The entire contents of the rectangle are then displayed in the Work window.

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Selected Shape

Camera Aiming Triangle

Camera

Zoom

Zoom select

Grab

Cancel zoom

Other Floating

Shape

Hazard Area

➲ To resize the Work window, click and drag from the lower-

right corner of it.

✦ You cannot resize the Work window if it is maximized. To

make the Work window float in the Course Architect application, select FLOAT from the Work sub-menu of the Window menu.

➲ To focus the camera on a shape, select the shape in the Work window.

Then, select AUTO FOCUS CAMERA from the View menu. The camera now focuses on your selection.

➲ To center the camera in the Work window, select CENTER CAMERA from

the View menu or press

v+ C

➲ To edit the fundamental properties of the current hole or to define a set

of unrelated shapes as a hole, select HOLE DEFINITION TOOL from the Tools menu. For more information, see Hole Definition on p. 98.

SHAPES IN THE WORK WINDOW

➲ To create shapes in the Work window, select CREATE LAND SHAPE from

the Tools menu. Click a location in the Work window. Then, click to define the control points of your shape. Right-click to finish the shape. For more information, see Shapes on p. 105.

➲ To define the type of texture in your shape, click the shape and then

right-click in it. Select PROPERTIES. Select the texture type from the drop-down list and click OK. The texture becomes visible when you drop the shape. For more information, see Textures on p. 107.

GRID SIZE

You can layer a grid of dots on top of the Work window. For placing and

aligning objects and shapes, it is a useful feature.

➲ To toggle display of the grid, press

➲ To change the size of the grid, select GRID SETTINGS… from the Tools

menu or press

q+ G

. For more information, see Grid Settings on p.

86.

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NAVIGATION WINDOW

Unlike tools that require courses to be developed hole by hole, the Course Architect lets you move around your entire course to focus on various pieces of it as needed. The primary tool for navigating your course is the Navigation window. The Navigation window lets you change the contents of the Work window so that you can work on different parts of the course, as you see fit.

➲ To toggle display of the Navigation window, select NAVIGATION from

the Window menu.

➲ To change the contents of the Work window, zoom in and reposition the

focusing rectangle in the Navigation window. The Work window is automatically updated.

NOTE:

Displaying the Navigation window can impact perform-

ance. To increase performance in the Course Architect, deselect

display of the Navigation window in the Window menu.

CAMERA WINDOW

When developing 3D art on a computer, you are confronted with an irresolvable fact: you cannot display three-dimensional objects on a 2D screen without some form of interpretation. In the Course Architect, this interpretation is the Camera window.

➲ To toggle display of the Camera window, select CAMERA from the

Window menu.

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Focusing Rectangle

Contents of the

Work Window

The Camera window displays what is viewed from the camera that is placed in the Work window. The Camera window is your eye on the course. If you were playing the course as a golfer in the game, you may see the course as it is displayed in the Camera window.

✦ You can select and manipulate shapes in the Camera window as you do

in the Work window.

➲ To resize the Camera window, click and drag any side or corner.

The Camera window is a powerful tool that gives you infinite perspectives on the course through repositioning the camera. For more information, see The Camera on p. 22.

TERRAIN

The Camera window is the best place to fine-tune your terrain features. While you can start large-scale terrain features such as hills and ridges in the Work window, you can give them subtlety and definition in the Camera window.

The multiple terrain selection tools allow you to highlight terrain pieces of any size and shape. With the terrain tools, you raise, lower, tilt, flatten, smooth, and add noise to them. For more information, see Terrain on p. 120.

LAYERS

The Layers tool allows you to select and deselect course elements to display in the Work window. Depending on the capabilities of your computer and the size and contents of the Camera window, you may notice an impact on the performance of the Course Architect. In such cases, it may be a good idea to deselect the display of some course elements, so that you can concentrate on the work that needs to be done, and the computer can concentrate on updating the screen with your changes.

➲ To open the Layers tool, select LAYERS from the Tools menu. In the

Layers tool, toggle display of layers that you do not need to see currently. Close the pop-up window. The Work window is updated.

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Panorama

Texture

Shape control points

Selected shape and

underlying terrain

PICKING SKY AND PANORAMA FROM THE CAMERA WINDOW

To get the right look for the sky and the panorama of your course, you

can define these elements from inside the Camera window.

➲ To choose a different sky, right-click on the sky in the Camera window.

Select CHOOSE SKY DOME. The Sky Picker Tool opens. For more information, see Sky Picker Tool on p. 84.

➲ To choose a different panorama, right-click on the sky in the Camera

window. Select CHOOSE PANORAMA. The Choose Panorama window opens. For more information, see Panorama Properties on p. 85.

THE CAMERA

When the Work window is active, you can move the camera and update the Camera window. In the Work window, the camera is represented by a black square with a triangle attached to one end of it. The open side of the triangle indicates the direction in which the camera is pointed.

➲ To toggle display of the Camera window, select CAMERA from the

Window menu.

➲ To focus the camera on a different area of the course, click and drag the

camera icon to a new location in the Work window. The Camera window is automatically updated.

➲ To move the camera without redisplaying the Camera window, hold

down while you click and drag. Make your position changes.

Then, release

to update the Camera window.

TIP:

If you are experiencing slow times in refreshing the camera,

you may want to use the above method for moving the camera. It

is also useful for making very fine movements of the camera.

NOTE:

If you mistakenly drag the camera out of the Work win-

dow and into the Camera window, press

v+ C

to center

the camera back in the Work window.

➲ To rotate the camera, click and drag the triangle on the camera icon to a

new position. The Camera window is automatically updated.

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Aiming triangle

✦ You can also change the height and angle of the camera. For

more information, see Camera Properties below.

➲ To center the camera in the Work window, select CENTER

CAMERA from the View menu.

➲ To focus the camera on what is currently selected in the Work window,

select AUTO FOCUS CAMERA from the View menu.

A NOTE ABOUT 3D DIRECTIONS

Movements in three-dimensional space can be described in three directions. Stand up from your computer. Let's call the position where you are located, "Point A."

The X-direction refers to steps to the left or right of Point A.

The Y-direction refers to changes in elevation from Point A. From where you're standing, movements in the Y-direction require you to jump into the air or dig into the ground. Before you get a shovel, let's get back to the computer.

The Z-direction refers to steps to forward or backward of Point A.

Often, movements can be described in planes. A plane is a perfectly flat surface that extends to infinity. Imagine an infinitely floor—a plane. In 3D space, the X-Y plane refers to all of the positions that can be described as movements in the X-direction or the Y-direction—not the Z-direction. While you can describe movements in the other two planes (X-Z plane and Y-Z plane), most planar movements in the Course Architect are described in the X-Z plane and the Y-direction.

CAMERA PROPERTIES

The Camera in the Course Architect can be positioned at any angle to display the viewed terrain in the Camera window. Through the Camera Properties dialog, you can position the Camera's elevation, pitch and direction as needed.

✦ Elevation indicates the height at which to place the camera above the

terrain.

NOTE:

When the camera is placed high above the terrain, small

changes in elevation are difficult to see in the Camera window. To see small changes in elevation, position the camera close to the ground. Position the camera about nine feet off the ground to view the course as you would see it when the course is played in the game.

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✦ Pitch points the lens of the camera at an angle relative to the horizon.

For example, a pitch of –10 degrees aims the camera at a slightly downward angle.

✦ Direction measures that angle at which the camera is pointed. An

angle of 0 degrees points the camera at the top of the screen.

➲ To open the Camera Properties, right-click on the camera icon in the

Work window. Then, select PROPERTIES. Make changes as needed. To accept the changes, click OK. To close the Camera Properties dialog box without making changes, click CANCEL.

NOTE:

Rendering the view of the camera can take time if you

have a lower-end machine. If you are experiencing an impact on the Camera window’s update speed, you might consider opening the Camera window only when you need to proof your work. Or, you can deselect the display of some layers in the Work window. For more information, see Layers on p. 21.

HOLE DEFINITION TOOL

You can define a set of shapes in the Course Architect as a course hole through the Hole Definition tool. By identifying the tees, greens and shot paths of a hole in the Hole Definition tool, the hole is defined.

➲ To open the Hole Definition tool, select HOLE DEFINITION TOOL from the

Tools menu, or you can click the Define Holes button on the Course toolbar. For more information about defining holes inside the Course Architect, see Hole Definition on p. 98.

✦ You can also define holes through the New Course Wizard. For more

information on the New Course Wizard, see New Course Wizard on p. 25.

GETTING ST

ARTED

Getting started in the Course Architect is easy. Finishing a course takes some work, but the tools of the Course Architect hopefully make that work fun to complete. This chapter discusses how you can begin to develop entire golf courses in the Course Architect. At the conclusion of this chapter, you should have enough information to begin development of your own project and references to other parts of the documentation to explore topics in depth.

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✦ Prior to starting Course Architect, you should set your display

to 1024 x 768 or higher in the Display control panel. For information on how to set it, see your Windows Help file.

➲ To start Course Architect, double-click the Course Architect icon or use

the Windows Start menu. The program opens. To begin creating a new course with the New Course Wizard, check the box next to Create a New Course. Then click BEGIN. For more information on creating new courses, see New Course Wizard below.

NOTE:

When you are using Course Architect, it is highly recom-

mended that you close all other programs. The tool needs as

much RAM as your system can maximally provide.

NEW COURSE WIZARD (NCW)

When you begin to build a new course, you have two choices for your approach. You can build the course from scratch, or you can use the New Course Wizard to set the basic course parameters, terrain characteristics and location. The New Course Wizard gives you a good start towards building an entire course and is recommended for beginning and expert designers.

You can use the New Course Wizard to lay out some basic terrain elements, water, forests and one or more of your holes. The layout tools are a sub-set of the entire set of Course Architect tools and are primarily intend- ed to get the basic shape and position of course elements. However, if you do know exactly what you want, with each hole positioned in a precise location, the New Course Wizard lets you complete your layout to that level of detail.

NOTE:

To start a new project, you should check first to see that you have enough space. To start, you should have at least 200MB of free hard drive space—as much as possible, really.

Course Architect from EA SPORTS lets you build the golf course of your dreams. Or you can recreate any of the twenty-seven courses on the PGA TOUR. A specialized suite of graphical tools puts the bulldozers, landmovers, and lawn mowers at your fingertips.

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ADVANTAGES OF THE NEW COURSE WIZARD:

When you use the New Course Wizard, you can accomplish quite a bit with a minimum of effort. In the Course Architect, the following features are available only through the New Course Wizard:

✦ Randomize terrain. After you enter a few parameters, the New Course

Wizard can create realistic terrain that blends together yet retains a sense of randomness. You can create overall effects from flat swampland to rugged mountains.

✦ Place entire holes. In the New Course Wizard, you can place the basic

elements for entire holes. You do not have to place the fairways, tees, greens and shot paths individually.

✦ Apply entire foresting libraries. The New Course Wizard lets you pop-

ulate entire forested areas with a selection of trees from the library of your choice. It's a quick way to create natural populations of flora.

✦ Speed and ease of laying out all 18 holes. In a very short period of

time, you can lay out all of the major features of your course, including all water areas, forests and all 18 holes. It’s a great way to start.

BEFORE USING THE NEW COURSE WIZARD

If you are ready to begin development of a course, you may want to do some pre-production work prior to beginning the New Course Wizard.

NOTE:

When you develop a course, you can use the New Course

Wizard one and only one time. Therefore, it's wise to know what you're trying to accomplish with the tools in the New Course Wizard prior to using them.

The following elements should be considered prior to beginning development with the New Course Wizard:

✦ Size. What are the length and the width of the golf course? What is the

total area that you are going to design? Keep in mind that you should have at least 10% extra area on the sides of your course for appearance and design reasons. At a later time, you can trim off this fat as needed.

✦ Terrain features. What are the major terrain features of your course? A

giant mountain on one side? A lake around which the course is created? Do sections of forested area dapple your course? You can build rough-cut versions of these features inside the New Course Wizard.

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✦ Location. Where is your course located? If you know the

geographic location of your course prior to using the New Course Wizard, you can place textures and some objects.

✦ Hole placement. How much do you know about the placement of the

holes on your course? Do you know the angular orientation of each hole? Do you know the distances between each hole? If possible, acquire or draw a map of the basic hole locations and relationships before beginning.

✦ Hole par. What is the par for each hole? Based upon the par for a hole,

you can select from one of several basic shapes. Standard total par for an 18-hole course is 72.

1. COURSE NAME & SIZE

1. To begin creating your new course, select NEW from the File menu. The

New Course window opens.

2. In the spaces provided, enter the name and the Course description infor-

mation.

✦ The Course Name appears in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2003 in the Select

Course screen. It is not a filename.

3. In the Height and Width boxes, enter the total dimensions for the land

plot that you want to use for creating your course.

NOTE:

Be sure to give yourself at least a 10% cushion on each dimension. You may need the extra room. Also, the blending of the terrain with panoramas and skies works better if you give yourself a bit of room to create the appropriate perspective.

✦ If you know the course dimensions in meters but the display is in yards, quit

the New Course Wizard. Then, select USE METRIC under the View menu. Select NEW from the File menu to begin again the New Course Wizard.

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4. To use the New Course Wizard, you must check the box next to Use

New Course Wizard.

5. Click NEXT. The New Course Wizard begins.

2. BASIC COURSE TERRAIN

After defining the name, description and size of your course, you must

configure the basic terrain for it.

1. On the left-hand side of the Randomize Terrain, you select the basic

topography of the terrain. Click the button next to the general type of terrain to use. When you make a selection, the slider bars on the right side of the screen change automatically.

2. After you select the basic terrain type, you can make adjustments to the

terrain with the slider bars on the right side of the dialog box.

✦ Change area indicates the amount of area in which the changes to ter-

rain are applied. A small change area combined with a severe change makes for very up-and-down terrain.

✦ Severity indicates the amount of change in any given change area.

3. When you have finished making your adjustments to the basic terrain,

click NEXT. The Course Location window opens.

3. COURSE LOCATION

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Basic terrain type Area of changes

Severity of changes

within that area

NOTE:

If you do not see a dialog box at this juncture, then you did not choose to use the New Course Wizard. You can either begin using the Course Architect to build your course from scratch or start again with the New Course Wizard. To begin creating your course again, select NEW from the File menu. Make sure the box next to Use New Course Wizard is checked.

1. In the Course Location window, you are essentially selecting the default

library to add to your course. Here are brief descriptions of the available libraries:

✦ Northern California Coast: Library from Pebble Beach, Poppy Hills, and

Spyglass courses.

✦ Southeastern US: Library from TPC at Sawgrass course. ✦ UK Coast: Library from Royal Birkdale course. ✦ Tropical: Library from Princeville course. ✦ Rocky Mountains: Combo library of large pines and deciduous trees

from TPC at Sawgrass and Pebble Beach.

✦ Palm Springs: Combo library of palms from TPC at Sawgrass and

Princeville and desert-looking vegetation from other libraries.

Later, from inside the Course Architect, you can access libraries that con- tain objects and textures from other environments. For more information, see The Librarian on p. 131.

2. When you have selected your location, click NEXT.

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