Links 2001 Information

This page was last updated: Wednesday, September 13th, 2000 at 6:45 p.m. EST

Info added: August 2nd, 2000
'00 E3 Wrapup
Bruce Carver Interview

(from Bubsnews)

• The suggested retail price of Links 2001 will be $54.95, but should be found for around $45. There will also be a $15 rebate included for LS2000 users!
• The scheduled release date is now supposedly the week of October 26th!!
• Links 2001 runs in a window. This means you can re-size the main view and add other views outside the main view.
• Links 2001 will enable you to put your face up next to the score text(in a .jpg file), but will not be able to import your face onto the player animation.
• The player animations are video quality.
• There is a left handed animation.
• There are 18 possible pin positions for each hole now as opposed to six w/LS2000.
• There are all new sound scripts & they are able to differentiate between male or female animations.
• The Green Analyzer didn't make it into Links 2001...The grid now is in color with the color changing depending on the severity of the slope.
• The player animation disappears whenever you select the aiming marker, and the swing meter can be placed anywhere on the screen(within reason)
• The wind direction & gustiness will be more directly linked with the course.
• Asynchronous internet play is an option that you can toggle on/off.
• The APCD that will be included is virtually the exact tool that the Links 2001 course designers are using to build the included courses.
• The APCD will have about a 100 page tutorial along with planned online Q&A's, tips and tricks and interaction with the Links 2001 course development team. There are also talks of contests for the game/course designer enthusiasts.
• The textures that can be used to build terrain in the APCD are: 256x256x8bit .TGA files.
• You will be able to create your own panoramas. They are 7880x720 32bit .TGA files which use the alpha channel for transparency (don't ask me what that means!)

• Multimedia PC with Pentium II 266 equivalent or higher processor Microsoft Windows® 95, 98 or Windows 2000. (Does not support Windows NT®)
• 48 MB of RAM (64 MB recommended) for Windows 98/95; 64 MB of RAM for Windows 2000
• 250 MB Minimum Hard Drive Space
• 4 MB Video Card capable of 800 x 600 resolution in 32 K Colors. (8 MB Video Card with Hardware Acceleration or better recommended) Quad Speed CD-Rom Drive
• Microsoft® Mouse or compatible pointing device (three-button mouse recommended)
• 8-bit sound card required for sound

• 28.8 KBS Modem or Local Area Network with TCP/IP.
• Internet Access required for Internet play. May require payment of a separate fee to an Internet Service Provider. Local and long distance telephone toll charges may apply.
• To play on ZONE.COM you need to have one of the following Web Browser software: Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later or Netscape Communicator 4.0 or later.
• To play LINKS TOUR on ZONE.COM you need Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later.

• Multimedia PC with Pentium II 266 equivalent or higher processor. Microsoft Windows 95, 98 or Windows 2000. (Does not support Windows NT)
• 64 MB of RAM. (128 MB recommended)
• 400 MB Minimum Hard Drive Space (plus 500 MB of free Hard Drive space for swap file)
• 4 MB Video Card capable of 800 x 600 resolution in 32 K Colors. (8 MB Video Card with Hardware Acceleration or better recommended)
• Quad Speed CD-Rom Drive.
• Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device (three-button mouse recommended)
• 8-bit sound card recommended

Original Info:
Links 2001 will be the most significant upgrade in the history of the Links LS series, delivering to serious PC golfers a virtual golf experience unprecedented in realism and scope of activities. An entirely new rendering engine makes terrain surfaces, ball physics and images more lifelike than ever, while the new Arnold Palmer Course Designer (APCD) allows players to become their own course designer. The real-world golf experience is completed with the WingspanBank.com Virtual Golf Association and Tour that allows players from across the country to use Links courses to compete for a $100,000 grand prize.

Improved Engine & Graphics
Links 2001 has an entirely new rendering engine with a terrain surface that includes cliffs, arches, and bunker overhangs. The ball physics also have been tuned to perfection. Trees, panoramas, and golfers are now anti-aliased for seamless transitions between on-screen elements. Images have a new higher resolution (targeted at 1280x1024). The courses come alive with skyscapes, birds, and falling leaves.

Arnold Palmer Course Designer Architect
PC golfers can now re-create their home courses with the same tools used by the Links 2001 team. Links 2001 features the long-awaited Arnold Palmer Course Designer Architect, the same architect used by the Links development team. More than a toy for entry-level builders, the APCDA provides users with the power and versatility to accurately re-create their home course in a powerful real-time 3D system. Users can tweak every inch of fairway with the APCDA and create tunnels and arches with full control over each point on the course. A robust library of trees, shrubs and other vegetation allows users to sort for the climate and season that fits their home course, or they can import their own custom trees.

New Tour Players and Courses
Arnold Palmer is joined in Links 2001 by three of the world's greatest touring pros (to be announced). The game features courses that show off the new Links technology, including Aviara in San Diego, Chateau Whistler in the Canadian Rockies, The Prince Course at the Princeville Resort in Kauai, Fred Couples' Westfield Course in Clifton, Va., and the newly created Red Rock located in the canyon lands of the southwestern United States. Perennial favorite St. Andrews Old Course has also been updated for this version.

New Green Analyzer & GPS Green Surveys
The Green Analyzer is a 3D real-time tool that allows users more complete views of each green's contours and terrain. Players can now read the green as accurately as they would on a real course. Each green has been re-created using the latest in Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. Microsoft now takes 500 GPS readings per green for centimeter accuracy of the fringe and elevation topography.

New Golfer Animations & Personalities
Fifteen amazing new golfer animations are captured at the highest resolution possible. New tour players and a variety of other golfers are built with lifelike, pre-shot motions including waggle, aiming and pre-shot fidgeting. Each new golfer has a unique personality and will comment on players' games when out golfing with buddies.

Customizable Club Distances
If players normally hit a seven iron 130 yards, they can adjust the club's distance to reflect their real game. This, combined with dozens of variables that impact the physics of their shot, makes Microsoft Links 2001 an even more accurate re-creation of a player's actual game.

Faster, Easier Online Play
Asynchronous play speeds up online golfing as people play simultaneously while watching their competitors' ball flight in an overhead view. Tee times allow quick access to a game with buddies via e-mail.

Immediate Feedback with Training Tutorials
After players swing, a critique of their shot (aiming, swing types, shot setup, etc.) is available with real-time audio and visual feedback. This helps PC golfers move through the learning curve to set up more advanced shots and manage the course more strategically.

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