Background Info

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“Links 2001” is the most significant upgrade in the history of the “Links LS” series, delivering a virtual golf experience unprecedented in realism and scope of activities to serious PC golfers. An entirely new rendering engine makes terrain surfaces, ball physics and images more lifelike than ever, while the new Arnold Palmer Course Designer Architect (APCDA) 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.

Key Features

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• New engine and 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 1,280x1,024). 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 (APCDA), 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 3-D system. Players 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 players to sort for the climate and season that fit 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). “Links 2001” featured courses include 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 enhanced for this version.

• New Green Analyzer and hyper-accurate GPS green surveys. The Green Analyzer is a 3-D real-time tool that gives players 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 and personalities. 15 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.

• New 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 feature, 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.

• New training tutorials. After players swing, a critique of the shot (aiming, swing types, shot setup, etc.) is available with real-time audio and visual feedback. This helps PC golfers progress through the learning curve, set up more advanced shots and manage the course more strategically.