Links LS NEWS - 02

Welcome to the section of the site that will offer you up-to-date important information about upcoming releases, patches, demos, previews, etc..

If you want LinksLS News like this delivered to your e-mailbox, sign up for my new LinksLS News mailing list. I will be sending out frequent emails with the latest news on LinksLS!!

Monday, May 15th, 2000 Here's the 'official' Microsoft statement regarding the Links 2001 course compatibility issue. "There will be a course converter available for download after Links 2001 is released. It will simply convert older courses to the new file format and allow them to be playable with Links 2001." Also, "we don't have a lot of specifics about the converter yet because the team is working hard to ensure the game, itself, gets out the door on time."

Sunday, May 14th, 2000 Forgot to mention this in yesterday's News section but much to the delight of Mac users, there will be a new version of Links for them! Links LS 2000 (Microsoft Golf 2001) will be available for Mac users. Planned release date for the Macintosh Version of the Links LS 2000 game-engine is September 2000...Also, planned cost for it is $19.95.

Saturday, May 13th, 2000 David Cass has come back from his trip to E3!! He has sent a letter to Bub and it is posted over at Bubsnews.com. I've made a copy of it on this page when it meanders its way off the top of Bubnews. He has confirmed that current LinksLS courses will be able to be played using Links 2001!!! He also met some of the Links crew that we only hear about!! Go read the story!!

Wednesday, May 10th, 2000 BIG NEWS DAY!!!...First, the Conditions for the May VGA Tour tourney, the EBWorld.com Classic at Mauna Kea have been posted. Play begins on Friday and goes through the 21st. The conditions are: Round 1: breezy/normal/slow  Round 2: windy/normal/medium  Round 3: breezy/hard/medium  Round 4: windy/hard/fast NEW Links 2001 Screenshots!!! Also word from Guenter Kujat is that Microsoft Golf 2001 will be using the Links 2000 game engine. MG2001 will be their low-cost golf sim. It is being packaged with: Mauna Kea, Bountiful, Entrada, Sea Island, Kapalua Plantation, Bighorn and Three Canyons. Here are some screenshots that Guenter had posted on his website.. Here's a link to an interview with Bruce Carver...Talks about Links2001.. The following is a Microsoft Press Release from May 9th 2000!! MICROSOFT FLIES INTO E3 WITH NEW VERSIONS OF POPULAR PC GAME TITLES REDMOND, Wash. - May 9, 2000 - Coming off of a successful 1999 season as one of the fastest-growing PC game companies, Microsoft Corp. arrives at next week's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles with new versions of its popular PC games and innovative titles that have already received industry praise as sure-fire hits. From fall and holiday 2000 releases such as "Combat Flight Simulator 2", "MechWarrior(tm)" and "Links(tm) LS 2001" to next year's lineup, which includes "Dungeon Siege" and "FreeLancer," the company moves further toward its goal of becoming the worldwide games leader. "The slate of PC games we're bringing to E3 2000 is our strongest ever," stated Ed Fries, vice president of Microsoft's Games Division. "Our commitment to gamers worldwide is reflected in our work with some of the best developers in the industry -- including Chris Roberts, Alex Garden, Chris Taylor and Bruce Shelley -- in addition to our strong pool of in-house talent led by Jordan Weisman." At this year's show, Microsoft will demo some of its most anticipated products for 2000: Links LS 2001: The most extensive upgrade ever in the 10-year history of "Links," this tee-to-pin challenge offers the highest level of realism ever. From the golfers themselves to over 2,000 unique pieces of vegetation, gamers can see the time and care spent re-creating every detail. The Arnold Palmer Course Designer Architect lets PC golfers re-create their own home courses with the same vivid detail. Scheduled availability: fall 2000.

Tuesday, May 9th, 2000 details about Links 2001 are coming out!!.. The following is from Guenter Kujat and his LinksLS News Site: The new game-engine will support realtime shadows and realtime waterreflections. Graphical details will show even moving creases in the players clothing...This sounds great!!-- Waterreflections..will that also mean moving water??

Monday, May 2nd, 2000 LinksLS 2000 German v1.21 patch is now available!! It's taken awhile but is now ready for download. NEW LINKS 2001 Screenshots are available!!!

Wednesday, April 26th, 2000 Here's a picture of Paul Willey(the best LinksLS player) from a newspaper article!! (Hey Paul..if ya ever visit this site, PLEASE SIGN MY GUESTBOOK!!!).. Guenter Kjuat has posted on his website what I had believed/posted here a couple weeks ago (my March 11th News bit) !!!--He says that there are strong indications that Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, and Davis Love III will join Sergio Garcia and Arnold Palmer for LS2001 player models!!

Saturday, April 22nd, 2000 Haven't updated this in a LONG TIME...have put most of the news on the cover page... Here's a screenshot of the Links 2001 Course Designer... Click here to see another preview of LS2001..... Click here to see the interview with Steven ZoBell; the development manager of Links Series. It's at bubnews.com!!...There are plans for this website to hold a Hole In One Contest shortly for a chance to win a 10 Course Pack!!

Sunday, April 9th, 2000 Click here to see the HarbourTown VGA Leaderboard...Currently Odyssey2K is the leader by 8 at -67!! DU_Lancelot9 and M_Light round out the top 3 at -59 and -57 respectively..

Thursday, April 6th, 2000 LinksLS 2000 patch v1.21 is now available!!!(just in time for the 2nd VGA Tourney!!). Click here to download from Microsoft or visit Microsoft's LinksLS site to download. The only file changed is the linksls2k.exe file. If you backup this file before patching, you can always go back to a prior version, if you want to..Among things fixed in this are: Wind meter display, Volume Control, Powerstroke swing enhancement, no more Synching Scorecard, IP, Win2000, and VGA tour play!! For a full list, click here Here are the conditions for the Harbour Town event: Round one: windy/soft/medium Round two: breezy/normal/medium Round three: breezy/normal/fast Round four: breezy/hard/medium

Wednesday, April 5th, 2000 Here's a link to some VGA News...""The VGA is in the news! Check out the latest coverage from the Golf Channel Leaderboard Report"". Have also made a Product List on my new Product Listing page. It's got all the versions of LinksLS and the course libraries and what courses are included. Have also got a list of all available courses on my FAQ page..

Saturday, April 1st, 2000 Microsoft has released a document to the LS community regarding the issues being raised with the Bay Hill event of the VGA Tour. Below is the document from Bubsnews.com Following will be the document in its entirety. But, first the issues that are causing such consternation for many LS golfers: 1) The issue of the disconnected partial rounds being counted as complete 18 hole scores. 2) The issue of the many LS golfers who competed in the first VGA Tour event got the shaft because of the above mentioned problem and not one of these golfers have had an adequate resolution to this problem. More then a couple losing money because of it. 3) The issue of inadequate and untimely replies to email requests for assistance. And, when the responses finally did arrive, the complete and utter failure to address the issue being raised. 4) The issue of the VGA Tour's failure to acknowledge the partial round scoring problem and subsequent obvious failure to address this issue in the other upcoming VGA Tour events. Here it is: "There has been some recent confusion and concern about the Virtual Golf Association Tour, and Microsoft and the VGA Team would like to make sure that all concerned have the most pertinent information about the Tour. Posts on the LS Tour Forums, to the Zone newsgroups, and to the VGA email addresses have raised various issues which we would like to address: * I got disconnected and I want to resume. Based on user feedback, the VGA Tour is making a policy change and will now score resumed games. In order to resume the game, first, you need to get everyone who was in the game back into the Zone room. If you don't have everyone, you cannot resume the game. Second, you need to have the same Host launch the game. If the person who was Host can't launch the game, you should have the Host go into another game room, and then have the other players enter the same room. Finally, once the Host has launched Links, when the Host is asked to "Start a New Game or Resume," the Host should press resume and choose LASTGAME. Note that on a disconnect, the Windows dialer will minimize your game of Links. You need to exit the Links game before reconnecting to the Internet. Note that disconnects will still be tracked, and excessive disconnects can result in disqualification, but you can now resume games in order to complete your rounds in the event. * I think my score was uploaded incorrectly. What do I do? The new upgrade, version 1.21, that will be released in time for the next VGA tournament, contains a way for us to further analyze scoring claims. If you feel that your score was reported in error, send an email to VGATour@microsoft.com. You will receive an automated response that asks you to check out a few things first. These include: a) refreshing your browser and checking the score again; and b) making sure that you have waited at least an hour and a half after play to enable the score to be recorded. A large number of problems are solved with that simple check. However, if you feel that your score has still been reported in error, reply to that automated email and explain the situation. A VGA Tour representative will work with you to analyze the score. Note that all scores at the end of an individual tournament are unofficial for five days to allow score analysis. After five days, the rankings are official. * The person I was playing with disconnected; I can't believe it! The VGA appeals to a broad variety of people, not just the top online golfers, but a lot of casual mainstream gamers who want to play golf as well. This is a hazard of online gaming and its continued growth. If you feel that the players you are playing with are constantly disconnecting, then find an online golfing friend whose connection you can trust and play with them. You may want to find a player from the LS Tour and play with them. If you don't know anyone, the LS Tour Forum is a great place to try and find someone to hook up with. We are also going to be posting game rooms labeled for players of different skill levels, so be sure to choose a game room that suits your online golfing skill. We also are now allowing resumed games so you can complete your rounds quickly even if disconnected. * The email I sent to the VGA Tour isn't being answered quickly enough. With over 4000 participants, this is clearly a large pool of players, and we are doing our best to address all of their issues. We have established appropriate customer support personnel to respond to VGA Tour issues. We will also be adding sysops and tournament helpers to smooth the process for all concerned. In general, we work to respond to any email within 24 hours. We will continue to work to increase our responsiveness in this area. Please know that we are answering your emails as quickly as possible and that we do care about each concern or issue brought to our attention from every competitor. You can send mail to VGATour@microsoft.com. Keep in mind that many of the responses sent from the VGA in reply to emails are returned due to undeliverable addresses, so make sure when sending an email to the VGA Tour that you do so with a valid email reply address. * Nobody cares at Microsoft; they're cheating me. We do care :-) In fact that's the main reason for writing this letter. We want to make sure that everyone is as informed as possible and we want the VGA event to be the best it can be. Obviously we're not perfect, the Bay Hill Invitational was a huge event with more than a thousand participants, all of whom had to play four long games on an Internet connection that may or may not have been solid. And we hope you respect and appreciate the amount of work and development that has gone into such an endeavor. The VGA can be a tremendous opportunity for people to have fun and make a little money on the side. We want you to do both! The beauty of the VGA Tour is that, regardless of how you scored at the Bay Hill event, you still have six more chances to win $100,000! At the end of the VGA Tour preliminaries, the Top 64 competitors on the moneyboard will be invited to compete in the semi-final rounds. This means that because there are six more preliminary tournaments, you have six more opportunities to get into the Top 64 on the moneyboard. Play well, or at least consistently, in one or more events and you have a great chance at making the Top 64. Here is a list of changes we're going to make for the next event (April 7): * A new update -- Version 1.21 of Links LS 2000 will be released in time for the next event. This upgrade will fix the wind meter and provide other enhancements for the Tour based on user feedback. The upgrade will also provide a way for us to further analyze scoring claims, ensuring greater scoring reliability. This upgrade will need to be downloaded to continue play in the tournament. * Resumed games will now be allowed and will be scored appropriately. * Tour Support -- During each day of the event, all email will be answered daily between 8am and 6pm PST. And make sure your 'reply-to' email address is correct when sending mail. We have had a lot of undeliverable mail due to that oversight. The next event is just around the corner and there are still six more tournaments for you to get a chance at the individual tournament money, and at the big grand prize of $100,000! The WingspanBank.com Classic at Harbour Town starts April 7th."

Friday, March 31st, 2000 Microsoft has released a document to the LS community regarding the issues being raised with the Bay Hill event of the VGA Tour. Below is the document from Bubsnews.com Following will be the document in its entirety. But, first the issues that are causing such consternation for many LS golfers: 1) The issue of the disconnected partial rounds being counted as complete 18 hole scores. 2) The issue of the many LS golfers who competed in the first VGA Tour event got the shaft because of the above mentioned problem and not one of these golfers have had an adequate resolution to this problem. More then a couple losing money because of it. 3) The issue of inadequate and untimely replies to email requests for assistance. And, when the responses finally did arrive, the complete and utter failure to address the issue being raised. 4) The issue of the VGA Tour's failure to acknowledge the partial round scoring problem and subsequent obvious failure to address this issue in the other upcoming VGA Tour events. Here it is: "There has been some recent confusion and concern about the Virtual Golf Association Tour, and Microsoft and the VGA Team would like to make sure that all concerned have the most pertinent information about the Tour. Posts on the LS Tour Forums, to the Zone newsgroups, and to the VGA email addresses have raised various issues which we would like to address: * I got disconnected and I want to resume. Based on user feedback, the VGA Tour is making a policy change and will now score resumed games. In order to resume the game, first, you need to get everyone who was in the game back into the Zone room. If you don't have everyone, you cannot resume the game. Second, you need to have the same Host launch the game. If the person who was Host can't launch the game, you should have the Host go into another game room, and then have the other players enter the same room. Finally, once the Host has launched Links, when the Host is asked to "Start a New Game or Resume," the Host should press resume and choose LASTGAME. Note that on a disconnect, the Windows dialer will minimize your game of Links. You need to exit the Links game before reconnecting to the Internet. Note that disconnects will still be tracked, and excessive disconnects can result in disqualification, but you can now resume games in order to complete your rounds in the event. * I think my score was uploaded incorrectly. What do I do? The new upgrade, version 1.21, that will be released in time for the next VGA tournament, contains a way for us to further analyze scoring claims. If you feel that your score was reported in error, send an email to VGATour@microsoft.com. You will receive an automated response that asks you to check out a few things first. These include: a) refreshing your browser and checking the score again; and b) making sure that you have waited at least an hour and a half after play to enable the score to be recorded. A large number of problems are solved with that simple check. However, if you feel that your score has still been reported in error, reply to that automated email and explain the situation. A VGA Tour representative will work with you to analyze the score. Note that all scores at the end of an individual tournament are unofficial for five days to allow score analysis. After five days, the rankings are official. * The person I was playing with disconnected; I can't believe it! The VGA appeals to a broad variety of people, not just the top online golfers, but a lot of casual mainstream gamers who want to play golf as well. This is a hazard of online gaming and its continued growth. If you feel that the players you are playing with are constantly disconnecting, then find an online golfing friend whose connection you can trust and play with them. You may want to find a player from the LS Tour and play with them. If you don't know anyone, the LS Tour Forum is a great place to try and find someone to hook up with. We are also going to be posting game rooms labeled for players of different skill levels, so be sure to choose a game room that suits your online golfing skill. We also are now allowing resumed games so you can complete your rounds quickly even if disconnected. * The email I sent to the VGA Tour isn't being answered quickly enough. With over 4000 participants, this is clearly a large pool of players, and we are doing our best to address all of their issues. We have established appropriate customer support personnel to respond to VGA Tour issues. We will also be adding sysops and tournament helpers to smooth the process for all concerned. In general, we work to respond to any email within 24 hours. We will continue to work to increase our responsiveness in this area. Please know that we are answering your emails as quickly as possible and that we do care about each concern or issue brought to our attention from every competitor. You can send mail to VGATour@microsoft.com. Keep in mind that many of the responses sent from the VGA in reply to emails are returned due to undeliverable addresses, so make sure when sending an email to the VGA Tour that you do so with a valid email reply address. * Nobody cares at Microsoft; they're cheating me. We do care :-) In fact that's the main reason for writing this letter. We want to make sure that everyone is as informed as possible and we want the VGA event to be the best it can be. Obviously we're not perfect, the Bay Hill Invitational was a huge event with more than a thousand participants, all of whom had to play four long games on an Internet connection that may or may not have been solid. And we hope you respect and appreciate the amount of work and development that has gone into such an endeavor. The VGA can be a tremendous opportunity for people to have fun and make a little money on the side. We want you to do both! The beauty of the VGA Tour is that, regardless of how you scored at the Bay Hill event, you still have six more chances to win $100,000! At the end of the VGA Tour preliminaries, the Top 64 competitors on the moneyboard will be invited to compete in the semi-final rounds. This means that because there are six more preliminary tournaments, you have six more opportunities to get into the Top 64 on the moneyboard. Play well, or at least consistently, in one or more events and you have a great chance at making the Top 64. Here is a list of changes we're going to make for the next event (April 7): * A new update -- Version 1.21 of Links LS 2000 will be released in time for the next event. This upgrade will fix the wind meter and provide other enhancements for the Tour based on user feedback. The upgrade will also provide a way for us to further analyze scoring claims, ensuring greater scoring reliability. This upgrade will need to be downloaded to continue play in the tournament. * Resumed games will now be allowed and will be scored appropriately. * Tour Support -- During each day of the event, all email will be answered daily between 8am and 6pm PST. And make sure your 'reply-to' email address is correct when sending mail. We have had a lot of undeliverable mail due to that oversight. The next event is just around the corner and there are still six more tournaments for you to get a chance at the individual tournament money, and at the big grand prize of $100,000! The WingspanBank.com Classic at Harbour Town starts April 7th."

Tuesday, March 21st, 2000 Got my Golfweek yesterday. In it there was an article about the VGA Tour towards the back... Here's a link to the Bubsnews' interview with Paul Willey, the winner of the Inaugural VGA Tour tournament at Bay Hill.

Sunday, March 19th, 2000 The Inaugural Tournament of the VGA Tour has ended. Congrats to Paul and all who played well!!..The next VGA Tour tourney will be held at Harbour Town Golf Links starting 4/7/00 and ending 4/16/00...The Top 10 from the Bay Hill Tourney are listed below. Cash is awarded to the Top 32 in a tournament ranging from $500 to $20 Final Rank Name Rnd1 Rnd2 Rnd3 Rnd4 Total Prize Money 1. Paul_Willey -14 -18 -15 -18 -65 $500.00 2. Hax_NewJack -18 -16 -11 -13 -58 $211.67 2. MikeMetter -15 -13 -13 -17 -58 $211.67 2. Mike_Scheutz -16 -16 -10 -16 -58 $211.67 5. Lucbrochu -17 -13 -12 -15 -57 $110.00 6. EF_Loop_Dog -16 -14 -11 -15 -56 $90.75 6. Matthew_2k -17 -17 -8 -14 -56 $90.75 6. NAFL_Mangler -16 -15 -10 -15 -56 $90.75 6. HC_Ziggy1 -14 -15 -12 -15 -56 $90.75 10. EF_FLAME -14 -16 -12 -13 -55 $70.00 10. KP_BirdyHunter -14 -15 -10 -16 -55 $70.00 10. ilciveng -15 -15 -9 -16 -55 $70.00

Saturday, March 18th, 2000 Just took a look at the VGA Tour Leaderboard... Here's the Top 10 with 2 days to go.. Rank Name Rnd1 Rnd2 Rnd3 Rnd4 Total 1. Paul_Willey -14 -18 -15 -18 -65 2. Hax_NewJack -18 -16 -11 -13 -58 2. MikeMetter -15 -13 -13 -17 -58 4. Lucbrochu -17 -13 -12 -15 -57 5. EF_Loop_Dog -16 -14 -11 -15 -56 5. Matthew_2k -17 -17 -8 -14 -56 5. NAFL_Mangler -16 -15 -10 -15 -56 8. EF_FLAME -14 -16 -12 -13 -55 8. KP_BirdyHunter -14 -15 -10 -16 -55 10. CarolinaBlue_2k -16 -13 -14 -11 -54 10. cgibson2 -15 -16 -10 -13 -54 10. GYS_Double_D -14 -11 -15 -14 -54 10. Odyssey2K -17 -16 -4 -17 -54

Thursday, March 16th, 2000 The leaderboard is now working(not sure how quickly the scores are added though..) To see it, click here. Right now, some Hax_NewJack is atop the leaderboard at -58...For a review of LinksLS 2001 and the VGA Tour, click here.. ...Bubsnews has said: "that Microsoft has acknowledged a problem with the wind meter and the latest LS2000 patch, v1.20. In case you hadn't noticed, the problem is that the wind meter stops updating/displaying the changing wind information after you set the aiming marker. To see the current wind information, you either have to start the swing (not good) or reposition the aiming marker"....David Cass has created a page for special VGA Tour highlights!! Take a trip over there, submit some great shots/rounds and tell him Derek sent ya'!!

Wednesday, March 15th, 2000 The following is from the LSTour: Microsoft Teams Up With Sergio Garcia, Golf's Newest Superstar, to Bring Sports Into the 21st Century Via 'Links' and the Internet ORLANDO, Fla., March 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Adding one of the hottest young athletes to its PC sports games roster that already includes Arnold Palmer, Mark Brunell and Nomar Garciaparra, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) today announced a relationship with professional golfer Sergio Garcia to promote the Microsoft® `` Links(TM)'' PC golf simulation and its WingspanBank.com Virtual Golf Association(TM) (VGA(TM)), the largest, most authentic golfing event in the history of the Internet (http://www.zone.com/vga/). The announcement comes a day before Sergio competes in the Bay Hill Invitational 2000, hosted by Palmer and featuring a $2.8 million purse. Microsoft's initial five-year deal with Sergio will begin with the young Spanish player serving as a spokesman for the VGA as well as participating in the VGA Tour as an exhibition player, giving PC golfers the chance to compete against the best. Sergio will also be featured along with Palmer in ``Links 2001,'' the next version of the best-selling PC golf simulation, scheduled to be available this fall. Both Sergio and Palmer will be featured on the box and in the game as player models, the latter through motion-capture technology. A PC-gaming enthusiast, Sergio will play an active role in the development of future versions of the game and consult with Microsoft on online components that will enhance the PC golf experience, including the VGA. Finally, Sergio's management group, TeamSergio, and Microsoft will co-develop Sergio's official Web site, at http://www.SergioGarcia.com/. Scheduled to launch in mid-2000, the site will include the latest photographs, news, interviews, tips and merchandise featuring Sergio. Currently ranked No. 15 in the world, Sergio's meteoric rise through the ranks has featured some of the most exciting play on the tour in the past year. At the PGA Championship at Medinah, Ill., in 1999, Sergio staged a thrilling duel to the finish with Tiger Woods and finished second to the world's top-ranked player while also earning European Shot of the Year honors. ``Playing video games is my favorite pastime, and to be part of a game -- not only as a character but also in helping to develop it -- is really a dream come true,'' Sergio said. ``Having Microsoft as the developer and Arnold Palmer as the 'father' of 'Links' makes it something very special. The relationship between TeamSergio, Microsoft and me to develop Internet projects creates a horizon of limitless potential.'' ``Microsoft has a tradition of working with not only the best athletes in each sport but the best sportsmen as well,'' said Ed Fries, general manager at Microsoft Games. ``Nobody illustrates that point better than Arnold Palmer, who has represented himself and the 'Links' franchise with such dignity over the years. With his combination of tremendous talent and grace under pressure, Sergio has demonstrated these qualities as well. Microsoft is honored to have our 'Links' franchise and the VGA represented by the best in two generations of golf.'' Providing some of the most memorable moments in golf during the past year is only the latest highlight in an already distinguished career for the 20-year-old Sergio. A club champion in his native Spain by age 12, he reached the ``scratch'' handicap milestone a year later. He made the cut at his first professional event at age 14 and became the youngest European Amateur Champion in history when he was 15. The highlight of his amateur career came in 1998, when he won the British Amateur Championship at Muirfield, Scotland. From 1995 to 1999, Sergio compiled 19 amateur championships. He was rated the No. 1 amateur golfer worldwide from June 1998 through April 1999. Sergio turned professional in April 1999, after competing in 28 professional events as an amateur and making the cut in 21 of them. His first professional victory came in his sixth start at the Murphy's Irish Open, where he won by three strokes. He earned his second European Tour victory at the Linde German Masters, winning in a sudden-death playoff. During his debut year on the tour, Sergio was named European Rookie of the Year, earned more than $1.8 million, captained the 1999 Dunhill Cup winning team, and served as the youngest member ever of a Ryder Cub team and the youngest player ever in the Skins game. The VGA brings together the MSN(TM) Gaming Zone (http://www.zone.com/), the No. 1 multiplayer gaming site, and ``Links,'' the leading PC golf simulation, for the largest, most authentic golfing event in the history of the Internet. Modeled after the real-world golf tournaments of the PGA of America, the PGA Tour and the U.S. Golf Association (USGA), the VGA Tour offers a series of sponsored online golf tournaments that are comparable in size, scope and visual appeal to the actual pro golfers' tours. The winner* of this online golfing tour will bring home an unprecedented cash prize of $100,000, the largest grand prize ever awarded in an online sporting event. Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device. Open solely to U.S. and Canadian residents 18 years of age or older at time of entry. Void in Arizona, North Dakota, Maryland, Florida, Vermont and the Province of Quebec. Game ends Sept. 15, 2000. See http://www.zone.com/vga/ for full rules and details. NOTE: Microsoft, ``Links,'' Virtual Golf Association, VGA and MSN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Tuesday, March 14th, 2000 A 12 minute realplayer-interview with Chris DiCesare (MS Product Manager of the VGA Tour) about the VGA-Tour and Links 2001(mostly about the VGA Tour) can be accessed through the Allgames Server. To view/hear the clip, put this url in the open location, http://www.pseudo.com/links/playclip.asp?id_arc=4625 in your RealPlayer. It's kinda cool, check it out. To see the scorecard for Princeville Resort (the course that will be used for the finals of the VGA Tour-not yet released) can be seen now by heading over to Guenter's site, or by clicking here. Also, as reported by Guenter, Bruce Darby has said that the powerstroke swing will be supported by Links 2001.(to many people's relief)

Sunday, March 12th, 2000 Dan Perry, the creator of " Dan Perry's LinksLS Site" who has been away and hasn't updated this great site is now back. When he returned, he had over 400 emails regarding his site!!! It really is a great one, and can't wait for it to be updated once again!!!! I believe that the scores will start being posted for the Bay Hill tourney for the VGA Tour on Tuesday.

Saturday, March 11th, 2000 Above are the 3 images that are up on the MSN Gaming Zone. I think it's funny that there are 3 Tour Pros to be included in LS2001, and there are 3 Tour Pros here...Davis Love III, Ernie Els, and Phil Mickelson.. For those of you playing in the VGA Tour(from an email): ""Make sure to record your game when you're playing in the tournament. We'll ask some of the top players to send us their recorded games. Those games will be used in potential televised news coverage and Webcast coverage of the VGA Tour. Your Links LS 2000 game may be seen by hundreds of thousands of golf watchers!"" Release date for the UK version of the 10 Course Pack will be 04/14/00.

Friday, March 10th, 2000 Paul Willey(the most recognized name in LinksLS and the overwhelming favorite going into the VGA Tour) has been interviewed by Sports Illustrated!!! The column will only be in subscriber's issues in the special golf section....The VGA Tour officialy begins today with the first round of the first Tournament. Also tonight, the 3 Hole Challenge will once again be held over at the Zone in Tournament Room 1. Took a trip over to Guenter's site ..says that "Chips & Bits" is offering a Links 2001 preorder possibility. According to their site, the game will be released 09/00 for $ 49.95!!!

Thursday, March 9th, 2000 The conditions for the first tournament of the VGA Tour have been posted at the Zone. BAY HILL INVITATIONAL COURSE CONDITIONS Round 1: Breezy - Normal, Medium Greens Round 2: Breezy - Hard, Medium Greens Round 3: Windy - Hard, Fast Greens Round 4: Breezy - Normal, Fast Greens Event Runs from Friday, 3/10/00 to 11/22/00 12:00:00 PM

Tuesday, March 7th, 2000 The first time you try to play LinksLS 2000 at the Zone, you will be required to download a couple small files. I'm not sure what they are..but it automatically downloads somethings when you connect to http://www.zone.com/linksls2000/ and when you try to connect to a Room.

Wednesday, March 8th, 2000 Just updated to v1.2....Links LS 2000 patch version 1.2 is now available for download!!! You can download it below from Microsoft's server or when you logon to your LSTour Provider. The 3 Files it changes are: linksls2k.exe, mainmop.mpd, res2000.dll.(so back them up if you think you might want to go back to v1.0) The Links LS 2000 Update v1.2 lets you play in the VGA Tour golf tournaments on the MSN Gaming Zone in addition to several other improvements. For a complete list of these updates, please see the readme file. Here's the link to Microsoft's page with the Update info. DOWNLOAD NOW (915 KB)

Thursday, March 2nd, 2000 Added my LS2001 page. It's got all the new features and screenshots. Guenter released some pics of the APCD (Arnold Palmer Course Designer) along with a pic of the LS2001 Main Menu. Both can be found on my LS2001 page and on his News Site. Not knowing who the 3 Pros to be added to LS2001 is driving me crazy!! I want to know!!

Wendsday, March 1st, 2000 BIG NEWS!!!! Wow, a lot has gone on today!! First off, Click Here to find details about Links 2001!!!! 3 of the top Pro golfers added, Improved Engine & Graphics, Arnold Palmer Course Designer Architect, New Tour Players and Courses, New Green Analyzer & GPS Green Surveys, 15 New Golfer Animations & Personalities, Customizable Club Distances, Faster, Easier Online Play, Immediate Feedback with Training Tutorials!!!!! Guenter has announced that the next course release WILL be Princeville C.C. in Hawaii. It is setup to stage the finals of the VGA Tournament in November. You can sign up now!! They want you to sign up for a Wingspanbank.com VISA cred it card, but just skip to Step 2 to sign up...Guenter is also saying that: "St. Andrews, Covered Bridge, Mauna Kea and Innisbrook" will also probably have a VGA version soon. You are now all able to sign up for the VGA Tour!!! The schedule for the VGA can be found here. The VGA Tour consists of 9 total online golf tournaments, 7 in the regular season with a semi-finals and finals added at the end of the season. They also have links to download the 4 VGA version courses(Bay Hill(26mb), Cog Hill(26mb), Firestone(10mb), and Harbour Town(16mb)). In addition to this, there is Fantasy Golf, and a 3 Hole Challenge of it's own...More info on that soon...Mark Hulka from Microsoft-"Version 1.20 is still in the works and will be ready within the next 1 to 2 weeks. We'll have both an english and german version then." I'll be adding more...lot to put up today!!!

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