Included in this update is a new course, Villa Angeles, and a bug fix for a crash-on-start bug. If you were one of the ones affected by the bug and this does not fix it please let me know!

High above the clouds, Villa Angeles is a fantastical course built to satisfy a wealthy clientele. A short course, its challenge lies in the narrow approaches and carries over mountain gorges. If you can hit it straight there are plenty of opportunities for scoring here!

The new course marks a change in the artwork process for Golf Pro VR. Previously we were using the Unreal Engine landscape as the basis for our maps. This had several advantages: quick prototyping of large levels, easy level and material design. The advantages came with some disadvantages though: restricted materials, even polygon distribution, LOD + performance limits. With the new map we have transitioned to using static meshes for the world geometry. The new process lets us distribute geometry where we need it (sand traps, holes, edges in general), use more complicated materials and have things such as clean lines between the fairway and rough. It also frees up some performance that is now used on more sophisticated lighting. The downside is that it takes longer to create maps and this format is less amenable to a course creator. There is still work to be done on it but I think it’s an improvement. The existing two courses will be transitioned over to this new process.

Let me know what you think!