APCD basics 1
OK this is where we get down to the "nitty gritty" of how I use the apcd. This is not to say this is the best way, it's simply the way that I set it up to use it. I usually have my desktop screen resolution set to 1280x1024 and I have a 19" monitor. If you have a smaller monitor you may have to use a lower desktop resolution but try and go as high as you can while maintaining good visibilty of the text.
Below is a picture of how I set my apcd up. I split it into two viewscreens the top one being the "top view" and the bottom one being the "perspective view" I use the toggles on the right of the screen to go to fullscreen view of either one of these windows. All you have to do it click on the viewscreen you want to maximise and then use the toggle on the right to make it fullscreen for a better view. Also in the picture you can see the options that I usually have selected in both viewscreens while I work. In the top view I usually have the hull selected and sometimes also have verts selected too depending on what I am doing. In the perspcetive view I usually have the hull and verts off but then if need be I toggle them back on. (Shift-S toggles the verts and shift-D toggles the Hull on and off.) The only other two icons I use on the right of the screen are the tapemeasure tool, which comes in very handy when laying the course out in the top view, and the fit selection icon which enables you to do a quick zoom in on any area you have selected ie a face or vert.
You'll need to create a plot so click on the file menu and select new course. You can choose the size of your plot here and I suggest making it a little bigger than the default 1000x1000 yards, DO NOT CLICK the "Allow non regulation fairways" button as there have been problems reported with this feature. Leave the default texture as rough and click the create button. You can add basic elevations to the terrain as detailed in the previous tutorials.
At this point I'll once again talk about what I consider to be the single most important feature when working in the apcd. This how to navigate around in the view windows. I detailed this in an earlier tutorial but I'll repeat it here just in case you missed it.
"What I do is start to look around the terrain using the perspective view. You really need a 3 button mouse to get the best out of this feature. By keeping the middle button pressed and then moving the mouse, you can move up and down and side to side. Press the shift key on the keyboard to move 4 times faster. By holding down the middle mouse button and pressing the ctrl key on your keyboard you can rotate around in 3d by moving the mouse. You can use the mouse scroll wheel to move forward and backwards and once again holding down shift will speed this up. Through a combination of these movements you will soon be able to roam around your plot at will in full 3d. Practice moving around to become familiar with this control method. I couldn't conceive of making a course without using this feature almost all the time. Its the number one tip I can give anyone."
This feature also works in the top view but obviously you are limited in your movements compared to the 3d perspective window
Once you have practiced this a little you can use this freedom of movement to help you route the course as outlined in the "routing" tutorial. Through a combination of using the top view along with the tape measure tool and the perspective view, you can find attractive green sites and hole locations until you have your full course routed in rough. The method I use is to paint the faces of any probable tee, green and landing area. "Ok" you ask "Whats he talking about? How do I paint faces and what are faces anyway?"
The 3d landscape in the apcd is made up of elevation point "verts" and they are joined together by "edges" these create triangular "faces" see pic below.
What I have done above is that having looked around the plot, I have seen a position in the terrain that will make for a challenging drive. I have chosen a slightly elevated point for the back tee and have clicked on the face to select it. I have also spotted a potential path for the fairway and a good landing area for a good player about 270 yards away. I have selected the tape measure tool in the top view to check the yardage. In order to select the new landing area and keep the tee area also selected I hold down "shift" while clicking on the new face and then I see both faces are now selected. I can choose a texture from the texture selection area on the left of the screen and apply it to the two faces. The texture could be anything so long as its different than the default rough texture, at this point it doesn't matter what its properties are, its simply to highlight the area so I can return to it later when I'm laying out the hole for real and in much more detail.
Once you have plotted your layout in the terrain and have 18 potentially challenging, varied and fun holes you are ready to move on to planning and then drawing the holes in detail. It will take many hours, perhaps days, to find a good layout in the plot, so be patient and don't rush it. Bad selection of holes at this point will pretty much ruin the course. If you are a beginner to golf course architecture, I suggest you read some great books by real life golf course architects such as Pete Dye, Tom Fazio, and Tom Doak to get a good insight into how to route a course. Like anything, you will get better the more you practice.
Beginers will perhaps want to keep the terrain fairly flat to start with as the more severe the terrain, the harder it is to route a course through it. For more details regarding routing please refer to the routing tutorial section in the tutorial menu area.
The next tutorial will show you how to draw the holes in detail in the top view ready for meshing and elevating.