stephendaines:I`m sure the devs would appreciate as many comments as possible, not just positive ones, to try and make the new version as good as possible for everyone
I totally agree Stephen, everyone's opinion is valid and any critique of the EA should be useful to WGT. I apologise if my response seemed to dismiss your opinion as that was not my intention.
It's just that I feel that the more someone plays the game the more in-depth that critique can be, even if it is a completely negative one. First impressions in all walks of life are not necessarily always the most accurate ones in my experience, and clearly for many players experiencing the EA version for the first time it's been a shock and a disappointment after playing the flash version. You can definitely count me in that camp as far as first impressions go.
So I'm glad to read that you will persist with the EA version, at least for a while. I'd be interested to read your comparative viewpoint on it after a couple of months of regular play on it, and if it has only deepened your feelings of disappointment then I shall commend you nonetheless.
So this, subjectively, is my current experience with the new version compared to my first impressions (deep breath...):
- Main Menu: my first impression was that it was confusing, busy and designed to direct you towards playing coin games rather than whatever type of play you really wanted. After six months current impression is unchanged - the menu is still horrible. However I now know my way around it thoroughly enough to be able to get to where I want to go in a couple of clicks without aggravating detours to head-to-head games and coin spins.
- Avatar: initially I thought it looked conspicuously cartoonish, too large, too low-resolution. Again, my feelings remain largely the same today although after having spent more time with it I find I prefer the swing animation as it seems smoother and more realistic than the flash one. The apparel is a bit of a mixed bag - initially confusing and disorienting but now I will go as far as saying that I like that there is a wider variety of clothing to choose from. However I have never had any interest in the enhancements and ability boosts that come with some items so I have all that turned off and it always will be.
- Screen resolution: initially it was jarring because of the switch from 4:3 on flash to widescreen. The meter is stretched and the top of the screen cuts off some important details (like those damned overhanging branches at Olympic), but after a bit of fiddling around and some of Scott's invaluable advice I got it to somewhere I can live with.
- Meter: first impression was that it was smoother and less jerky than on flash, although I must also say that I have only rarely experienced the meter issues that seem to have bedevilled so many players. Nonetheless the meter on EA seems more consistent and without the occasional hiccup I had in flash. But it's stretched, and as it takes longer to reach the ding line at first I was clicking early, early, early. Frustrating, but over time I learned to adjust my timing and after a few weeks my timing was mostly the same as in flash, good or bad. The ding is harder to hit and initially I was only doing so 20% as often, but I have found that dinging is less important in the EA version as missing the ding (by a little bit) seems more forgiving.
- The courses: my first impression was that they looked worse than in flash, but I quickly understood that they are the same and that adjusting my screen resolution made them identical, except for the cut-off effect as mentioned above. The large and jagged avatar was a distraction at first and made me think the rest of the graphics were similarly downgraded, but it wasn't long before I learned to appreciate the backdrop and start ignoring the avatar as much as possible.
- The balls, flags and other overlays: no change in my opinion - I started off not liking them much and I still don't. The ball is too large in scale when in flight and looks rough. The shadows and clubs are jagged, but as with much of this game, over time I got used to it and learned to mostly ignore it.
- The gameplay: it all seemed so different at first, mainly because of the items listed above. But over a short period of time I found that the shots behaved largely in the same way as in the flash version. Some of the camera views were missing which was annoying, but a recent update has restored them all so that's no longer an issue.
- Putting: first impression....ugh! The putts seemed to break harder than in flash and the green speed did not seem identical, so judging the putts was a nightmare. This was easily the hardest thing for me and the one that most made me want to turn my back on the EA version forever. I was three-putting like crazy and missing shamefully short putts on a regular basis. But, in this game as in the real one it's the same thing...practice, practice, practice. In my case I decided I wanted to persevere and not be beaten, dammit! So I learned how to putt all over again and now I putt as well if not better than I did on flash. I'm not saying I'm a good putter, just that I'm now no worse than I was.
Some time in January I decided to make the switch from flash to EA permanent, because I found that playing one then playing the other was screwing up my ability to play either. So EA is where I've been for the last five months now and although there is much that I miss about the flash version (e.g. access to friends lists) I am comfortable where I am. I am not saying it is better than flash, and I have never said that. Rather, it is different. But in my experience, after several months of playing it and getting to know it, it is not as different as my first impressions led me to believe.
There. Done. If any of you got this far then I apologise for the long read!
Nigel.