I’m happy I made your day with Links, Brian. I personally find the older Links versions even more charming, when they used FMV to animate the golfers. Links 2003 was the first and only Links game to use polygonal models (on PC, there is also Links 2004 for Xbox only). But they get increasingly hard to run correctly on modern systems until you get to the DOS era, where DOSBox probably does the trick.
On a related note, for anyone having problems running Links 2003 or any game from the Windows 95 to Windows XP era, try using dgVoodoo 2.
This is an API wrapper for Glide and old DirectX versions, translates it into Direct3D 11 and got me many old games running. For me it is one of the best software tools in existence, still in active development.
Don’t be fooled by the name, it not only emulates 3dfx cards, it also does a great job for many pre-DirectX 9 games that are problematic on modern Windows versions.
Man, the way that the Links series always rebuilt all the old courses for the new versions so, if you owned them before you could keep playing them in the latest iteration–what an amazing service. I had a gigantic library of courses. I had no idea Links was still available. It was owned by Microsoft, right? That’s an unusual move for them to make, even with a niche franchise.
If the game runs fine without it or is made with DX9 or newer in mind, then there is no need/use for it. Basically almost every game from 2003 onwards.
I did not need it for Links 2003 at all. I just installed the 1.07 update + the Nvidia patch available on Links Country Club.
If you want to try it for a game, it is done on a per game basis. The corresponding *.dll files, either for Glide or DX, need to be placed in the game’s folder that also houses the game’s main executable file. That way the game’s API calls can be intercepted.
It is not a “installed it once” kind of deal, it needs to be set up for each game individually. This also means it will never interfere with anything that you haven’t set it up for.
Check out the guides on the dgVoodoo homepage for more instructions and technical information.
As far as I know nGilde is similar to the Glide part of dgVoodoo, but won’t be of any use for games that rely on some deprecated version of DX instead of Glide, which is the majority.
Glide was a 3dfx only thing. Their Voodoo 3d accelerator cards were amazing back in the ‘90s.
Links was a series by Access Software, who Microsoft acquired in 1999.
I have no idea how the former fan site “Links Country Club” ended up with the rights to sell the latest iteration eventually.
Anyone have a problem selecting a “Classic” swing type in Links, instead of the real-time swing? It won’t let me select anything else. (I’m trying the demo… maybe that’s it?)
UPDATE: Nevermind! It says on the website that only the real-time swing is available in the demo!
Hey, everyone! Don’t be alarmed if you can’t select a different swing type in the demo!
Yeah, the full game has no problem with using the classic 2/3 click method. Links always nailed swinging like that.
It’s the only way I want to play a Links game. For me it’s clicking or analog stick on a controller, depending on if I feel like desk or couch golfing.
The second is not an option for Links games of course.
Nice! I wonder if they still have the full featured multiplayer like Links used to. That is one thing the newer games suck at although I am not sure people today would be as patient as we used to be playing a foursome in Links and waiting/watching each persons shot in order, as you would on a real course.
Still, we had some great 2 person team Ladder matches doing that. I remember holing out from a bunker on the last hole to win us a match once, and it made it even better because you knew everyone else saw the shot at the same time you did.
For some unexplained reason, I have an itch for a golf game (despite not being into the “sport” at all nor playing any golf game for more than 10 minutes aside from Sid Meier’s SimGolf). So I’m trying to weed through the conflicting reviews to choose between TGC2 or TGC 2019. My inclination is to go for the newer game and 2019 is only $20 but some reviewers show a preference for TGC2, which is only $5. Any opinions here on the two?
