Driving the Green

Huntingdale Project.

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Thorpe) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 10:57:00 +0000

Well gents the Huntingdale project is in full production now thanks to the Master of 3D Pat Auge. You may see his masterpeice in the background of the pics. Here is a few Pictures of the course in its current state of planting! Please disregard the rough textures as its only a place holder at this stage!

An update and a rant

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:32:00 +0000

Jason has the Huntingdale file back from his builder. I’m sure he’ll be along to give a more detailed rundown on what has been going on.

Pat Auge my co-designer on the Kauri Cliffs project currently has the master file and has been constructing the miles of farm fences on the course. When finished they’re going to add a lot to the visual appeal of the course. I’m not sure when the course will be finished as I’m starting a high level IT course in 6 weeks which covers network infrastructure and the innards of Windows Server 2008.

My rant is about people in the Links community who aren’t IT experts and do not have any IT qualifications of any kind giving half assed advice and opinions on very technical matters. To these people I say just because you have issues with your own PC’s with Links 2003 don’t just assume it’s always Microsoft’s or [insert driver manufacturers name here] fault. In some cases it just may be that you don’t have the technical expertise to correctly setup your PC and then do complex problem solving diagnosis in IT of issues that may have been self inflicted.

All good diagnosis is based on an objective assessment of what does or doesn’t work on a given system. It isn’t based on what operating system or which video card manufacturer you hate the most. Inflicting ones prejudices on others as a way of posing as an IT expert isn’t going to solve any computer problems.

Indeed the same symptoms on multiple computers can have different causes on each. This is common with both desktop PC’s and huge networks in the corporate world.

Anyone who wants to debate my rant well you better come armed with facts, otherwise make my day……

A Kauri Cliffs image

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 09:10:00 +0000

Here’s an image from the Kauri Cliffs project, It’s of the 11th hole with the recently planted marshlands and the forest on the top of the hill on the right.

Lost family member

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Thorpe) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:11:00 +0000

Hi all, well its been a rough 12 months for my wife and family. On the 24th February 2010 my wife’s Sister Judy passed away of cervix cancer at age 38. Just over over a year ago on the 24th December 2008 she lost her mum to an unknown disease.

I just thought to share with you the reasons why there have not been a lot of updates.

Hopefully I will get things back on track over the next few days and try to continue posting more.

What’s been happening around the green!

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Thorpe) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 10:14:00 +0000

Hi All,

There will be new member to our team shortly. We will announce his name once we have him in the blog. Keep an eye out for his posts.

Lindsay is very busy with his IT course and can only post on the rare occasion.

I have been very busy as well with a family Medical drama so I have not had time to post anything. I will do a complete update over the weekend with new pics and some preview info.

Until then happy golfing!

Waterstone!

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Thorpe) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 09:26:00 +0000

OK Gents Here it is Waterstone has Been released at APCD-Courses and of cause links corner! So if you have been following the blog what are you waiting for go get it!

A New upgrade on old Favorite Course!

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Thorpe) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:50:00 +0000

Well as I have mention before I have handed over Huntingdale to My Master 3D builder to build the club house. So while he is busy doing his thing with that and other projects he has on the go I thought I would do an HD upgrade of my old Favorite course TAD River West (The Lakes Course) designed by Scott Gavenlock.

So with his permission I have started to get this course playable in the Mod 1.07 Version of links and of cause that means HD textures can be used. At this stage the course is about 95% complete with only minor planting adjustments to do and Beta testing.

The course routing has not changed other than some new greens and minor hole length changes being done to make the course play harder and for possible use on online tours.

Here is a sample of what's being done so far :-

This is the old 3rd Green.

This is the new 3rd Green pushed back over the water

This is the old 4th par 3

New 4th green with a bulk head in front

Stay tuned for more updates soon!

Exam passed

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:33:00 +0000

I managed to pass the Comptia A+ Technicians exam today despite some idiotic Comptia server technician turning off the server that handles the actual exam about half an hour before I was due to start to do some maintenance.

After waiting two and a half hours I sat the exam and scored 867 out of 900 which makes a fully qualified computer technician.

YAY!!

Exam time again

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:28:00 +0000

Have another IT exam on Monday the 9th of November at 9.00am so I haven’t done much else but study for the last few days.

The actual exam involves answering 90 multiple choice questions in 90 minutes. If I pass this exam I will have passed both the Comptia A+ exams and will have my first IT qualification.

Huntingdale on the move!

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Thorpe) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:56:00 +0000

Well Huntingdale has moved onto the next phase and is now in the hands of the 3D master Pat. He will be working on it in his spare time as he is also working on some other fantastic projects. So why its away I am still working on some other courses with Mackay in Beta testing as we speak and Cala being worked on in time when I take breaks from my own Designs.

End of the road for the Blackwolf Run project

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:20:00 +0000

As was posted here yesterday the master file with the clubhouse on it is hopelessly corrupt. There is a backup master minus the clubhouse but I've decided that I'm abandoning the project.

As many know already I'm doing a complex IT training course and will be doing two others when the current one finishes in April 2009. I then will be doing a short 3 month Cisco CCNA course then a 9 month high level course which will lead to me doing the very demanding Microsoft exams. I won't be finished the last course till May 2011.

IT is a huge part of my life now and no APCD course will be given priority over this.

In short I don't have any hope of ever finishing the Blackwolf Run project.

I have my hands full just finishing Kauri Cliffs which isn't an easy course to work on.

A major setback for the Blackwolf Run project

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 22:18:00 +0000

Unfortunately because the master file has become corrupted the project has is going to have a big delay. Pat had the clubhouse well under way but the file will now longer load in APCD in either his nor my computers.

This means that the last working master file is almost back to what it was in May this year when it had no clubhouse on the plot.

There will be an update when we decide what to do next.

I’m still alive and kicking

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:01:00 +0000

Past the first exam on the fulltime IT course I’m doing currently last Friday and thankfully don’t have to do any serious study for 3 weeks when I have to start preparing for the second exam which is on 9th November. This one is a very technical exam so will be a good challenge.

An update on the two golf course projects. First Pat Auge is making very good progress on the very beautiful Blackwolf Run clubhouse. I know Pat loves the building!

I’ve been working on the Kauri Cliffs project again and am preparing the terrain for the laying of the final high resolution textures.

Huntingdale Progress Report

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Thorpe) — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 12:35:00 +0000

Ok guys its been awhile from my last post as I have been real busy with RL stuff like work and family commitments. Anyway at this stage Huntingdale is on hold at the present time until the building construction company gets started on the beautiful club house that Huntingdale has.

The Construction of the clubhouse as no time frame attached and I think that having all the time in the world to build it will create more anticipation on the final product so as promised to the person behind it there is no time constraints on this project.

So what have I been up to while waiting you ask? I am currently working on two projects at the same time 1 being a finish job for a fellow designer called Dietmar Kirschner and his course that I am finishing is called Cala Mesquida.

I am also working on my new home course here in Mackay called Mackay Golf Club and its well and truly on the move with 17 holes completed and plantings are at 60%.

I will post some pics of it at the end of this week!

Virtualization and Links 2003

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:04:00 +0000

I’ve had a play around running virtualization (running one operating system within another) trying out various virtualization software packages with Links 2003 and APCD.

Virtual XP inside Windows 7: This is a virtual machine (VM) mode from Microsoft and is free. It is designed for use with older applications that require XP to run properly. This doesn’t work with Links 2003 or APCD as the VM doesn’t support 3D video drivers.

VMWare (with an XP VM): I used the Workstation edition which is a reasonably complex application. Links 2003 and APCD do not work here either.

VirtualBox: This is Sun Microsystems offering. It is free and is an excellent and fairly straightforward application that is easy to configure. It does have some 3D support included.
I actually got APCD to work properly with VirtualBox (an XP VM) and it is very usable. With Links 2003 I actually got the game to load and was able to load a course but the game was unplayable with much of the screen being blank.

VHD Technology: VHD stands for Virtual Hard Drive and is brand new technology from MS that is included in it’s two new versions of Windows (7 and Server 2008 R2). From an IT geeks perspective like myself this is fascinating technology where the only virtualized drivers is for the hard drive. Here the virtualized OS is installed as a dual-boot without the problems a normal dual-boot causes which is do all sorts of funny things to the boot sector of the hard drive.

Links 2003 would almost certainly work in this environment but currently it isn’t fully functional with older versions of Windows like XP.

Re Windows 7 and my new Sapphire 4870 with Links. It works perfectly with no issues whatsoever as long as the Aero GUI is disabled when the game is running. If anyone wants to play Links on a Windows 7 machine, stay away from Nvidia cards and drivers. The game currently has serious issues in Windows 7 with anything based on Nvidia graphics hardware.

Huntingdale: Next stage Now Begins!

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Thorpe) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 09:29:00 +0000

Well Most of the pre planning work has now been complete except for the 18th green. All the preliminary work on the terrain is done now I just have to fine tune it.

The next stage is to fine tune the terrain and start building the clubhouse before any seam blends are done. The only seam blending that has been done at this stage is the road way and paths which still need to be replaced and the right textures added.

Anyway here is a dozen or so new pics to keep the tease going!! ENJOY.

View Full Album

Logging on at BWR

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 09:58:00 +0000

Pat is working his butt off constructing the clubhouse for Blackwolf Run. This large building with all the exterior walls made of logs is very a distinctive feature of the two course at Blackwolf Run.

As soon as Pat gives permission there will be some exclusive screenshots of it here at this blog.

The Blackwolf Run clubhouse

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 07:01:00 +0000

Pat Auge will be have the BWR master file in the next day or so to begin building the 3D structures on the course. The 3D on this course isn’t as much as Kauri Cliffs but does include a very large clubhouse made of Canadian Pine so it will be a complex build.

New bits and pieces and Windows 7

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:04:00 +0000

Currently in the process of upgrading my home PC with some new parts on the way. First part is a new video card, my current dinosaur is a 8000 series Nvidia which totally sucks.

Here is a photo of my new graphics card which I ordered yesterday:

It is a HIS HD 4870 IceQ 4+ with 1GB GDDR5 ram. The GPU on this card is one of AMD’s high end graphics processors for desktop systems with a mind boggling 956 million transistors in the chip.

The other hardware is 2 x Western Digital 640GB 7200rpm hard drives which will be used in RAID 0 setup.

I will have the new parts installed this coming week prior to installing the final release version of Windows 7 which I get free through the IT course I’m doing.

I’ll post how the new system is going and some information on how it all works with Windows 7, Links 2003, and APCD.

New Pics from Huntingdale

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Thorpe) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 05:37:00 +0000

Well here is a new series of pictures from Huntingdale.

I am currently working on the first 11 holes as they lay on 1 half of the plot and holes 12 to 18 are on the other side. At the present time i am doing the basic elevations and bunker work no seam blending as yet as that will be done after the clubhouse as been constructed. The elevations may not be as they are in real life due to the lack of information available however I am doing it based on Google earth and the 250+ photos available at this website HUNTINGDALE.

So here is the pictures and each one has the relevant information on them..

Good Luck to Lindsay!

noreply@blogger.com (Jason Thorpe) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 10:24:00 +0000

Hey Lindsay from myself and your friends here, APCD Courses and LC wish you the best in your new endeavors of real life training and education and hope you are successful in your chosen career path.

A quick note on what’s up IRL

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:39:00 +0000

I will probably only be working on the BWR plot at weekends in the meantime so updates may a bit spasmodic for a spell. The reason is that till the middle of April 2010 I’m doing a full time IT course. At the end of the course I will be a fully qualified network systems engineer.

I”m sure young Jason will have plenty of swanky looking new images to keep everyone happy if I cannot post as often as I have been.

I will try to post updates on BWR once a week though.

Three aerials of BWR

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 23:52:00 +0000

Here’s three wide angle images of the course with the wireframe view turned on.

The 15th is in the foreground, the 16th on the left and and 14th next to the lake on the right.

The holes from left to right are the 16, 15, 14, and 1-3 in the far right top of the image. The framework of the clubhouse is schematic only and will not be used in the final version of the clubhouse. The green directly in front of the clubhouse is the practice green.

Holes 9 –11 going anti-clockwise with the 9th middle left and the 10th partially obscured by the tree’s in the foreground.

BWR - Dune hills and tee boxes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 22:50:00 +0000

The image below is of 16th hole boxes and newly contoured dunes like hillocks and mounds on the left. The 16th hole is now at a very advanced stage with only the fairway and green needing fine tuning of the elevations.

The dry grass areas will have longer grass planted on them eventually.

This image is the view from the waste/dunes area adjacent to the 9 – 11th holes. The hole on the left is the 9th. The waste area has new test texture on it.

Finally a view of the 14th hole tee boxes.

More BWR

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:10:00 +0000

Here’s some images of holes that haven’t been seen close up before.

First the par 4 2nd hole:

The par 3 4th:

The par 3 17th:

The view from the 14th fairway with the 4th green on the other side of the lake:

None of these greens have had the final contouring and shaping yet.