Leveraging Unity technology to provide a complete solution for a Golf-based entertainment activities company based in the USA
Overview
The company contacted MetaDesign Solutions to create a real-life visualization of the data gathered by people playing Golf to be represented virtually in a variety of unique game modes via an app, with several scoring schemes which serve to enhance a player’s experience
About the Client
Based in Florida, USA, this is an entertainment company that combines traditional Golf along with online games and other unique experiences
The solution created offers a graphically intense 3D Golf simulation. Leveraging the full might of the Unity engine, it features extremely realistic environments as well as true to life physics simulations with real-time data gathered using sophisticated custom hardware.
Industry Domain
Entertainment
Service Category (Service-line)
Emerging Technologies
Technologies Used
Unity 3D
API Development
Challenges
Ensuring security and overall stability, reliability and performance
Building a highly reliable and consistent service for podcasting and interactive video
Videos were recorded using a custom HLS streaming service and were of a lower quality than that was required in the case of a 4-user combined stream scenario. The MDS team resolved the issue successfully by building sockets to hold connections and sustain them
Low bandwidth connections in discussions with 4 users generated an issue where users would unexpectedly drop out of rooms. MDS created a bespoke module which successfully resolved the issue
Solution Scope and Services
The product experience is an extremely complex series of processes running in tandem with each other. Specialized hardware was used to gain insights and provide accurate insights for calculating essential data such as the golf ball’s trajectory.
The MDS team created several custom APIs to interface with various assets to ensure the player receives the best possible experience with Drive Shack.
Tracking
The company uses sophisticated hardware which precisely tracks swing speed, ball speed, apex height, spin rates and distances. This data is relayed to a server to be processed and utilized effectively for simulations and gamification.
Modelling
The MDS team utilized the Unity engine to recreate several driving ranges virtually and added many types of arcade elements such as Aliens, Monsters, Blackjack cards into the environment. This allows players to have many different experiences within the same driving range. These arcade elements feature different scoring mechanisms and have differing impacts on gameplay.
Gamification
MDS gathered the simulation data and coalesced the same with their 3D models to provide a true to life golfing experience. In addition to the standard golf scoring and playing modes, several arcade elements were added. 3D monsters and other elements were added to the simulation. This resulted in the player swinging the club and striking the Golf ball physically, with a virtual representation of the same + added arcade elements being shown the player via a display.
Results
With the MetaDesign solution users was able to deliver a complete golfing experience with many unique gameplay modes, giving players a choice between arcade modes or playing a realistic Golf simulation from a range of professional modes. As a result, the company has established itself with an augmented offering strengthening itself as a premier Golfing experience provider in the USA.