Bruce Carver, original founder and current Creative Director of the Links franchise.
What do you think are the most differentiating features of this game? What, in your opinion, really sets it apart from other titles in the same genre/category?
Links 2001 has a completely new graphics engine, a powerful course architect, and a hyper-accurate putting experience. Our new poly/spline based engine will allow the photo realism of Links to move in 3D once the hardware is fast enough to make it happen. Immediate benefits of the new engine are: bunker lips and arches, bi-linear filtering and alpha blending for seamless transitions between trees mountains, golfers--even up close. Our new Course Architect is so powerful; it includes all the tools used by the Links 2001 course team. The Architect is a real-time, 3D, what-you-see-is-what-you-get engine that allows users complete control over every point in the course--from sloping fairways to 3D pebbles. Putting is over 50% of a real golfers game, and we put a lot of work into the short game with Links 2001. Our courses are reconstructed with 500 GPS readings per green for centimeter accuracy, and our new green analyzer will let golfers study the greens with the same level of accuracy they use on the real course. I don't put a feature in Links until I feel it simulates the golf experience. This is a breakthrough year for the series.
In terms of development and design, what has been the most challenging aspect you've encountered with this title? What has been the most enjoyable?
The most challenging part of this new version of Links is that we decided to go through the entire code base, replace all the old code and then completely re-write the rendering engine. I has turned out to be a major undertaking, but well worth the work.
The most enjoyable experience for me has been to watch this new creation take shape and to realize that this product will be another level above our previous Links titles.
Without giving away too much, what is the current development status of the game? What is taking up most of your time right now (aka, what are you working the most on)?
All the modules are now coming together so we can see what the final product will look like, and it's very exciting. Up until now, most features have been on paper and it's gratifying to see things actually work the way they were designed. The sophistication and capabilities of the course architect are way beyond my expectations. he architect team has done an incredible job.
I'm spending most of my time on the details. My main contribution near the end of the project is to make sure every little detail; from the user interface to the ball physics is working as smoothly and as intuitively as possible.
Could you provide a little more detail on both the Arnold Palmer Course Designer Architect as well as the Green Analyzer?
The course designer is an incredible tool. It will be one of the most exciting and interesting features of Links for years to come. This version is only the beginning and is designed for the more advanced user. It has the power to create courses at the highest level and yet it's very intuitive and easy to use.
The green analyzer is a great new feature that will help users read greens as they would in real golf. They can spin the green in real time and view the break from any angle. They also have several 'virtual tools' that the real golfer doesn't have.
What are some of the different variables a PC golf fan will be able to customize with Links 2001?
Players can customize the distance that each club will hit that ball, using this ability to mimic the abilities they have in real life so that the strategies they use in Links will more closely match the strategies they would use when playing a real course.
Another cool feature will be the ability to include their own picture in their player file. This picture will be used to show whose shot it is. It will also be transmitted to other players who connect over the Internet, allowing players to finally put faces with names with the folks they are playing against.
