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sterlingapple#6 · Jan 25, 2002, 09:19 PM

Is links chamionship ever coming out? i heard that at MWSF that it would be a couple of weeks but i'm not hearing much from Bold. i know a golf game won't be huge , but i know i can't wait for it, espicially with the course designer. has any one heard anything?

Jim

sfhipster · Jun 16, 2002, 10:42 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by sterlingapple#6:
Is links chamionship ever coming out? i heard that at MWSF that it would be a couple of weeks but i'm not hearing much from Bold. i know a golf game won't be huge , but i know i can't wait for it, espicially with the course designer. has any one heard anything?

Jim<hr /></blockquote>I think it's finally out, btw. Not that you'd know from their website, but Amazon now lists it as shipping, rather than ".. relased on ..." type deal, which did get updated every now and again.

--alan

parkov · Jul 12, 2002, 04:54 AM

From <a href="http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0207/11.links.php" target="_blank">http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0207/11.links.php</a> :

Bold: Links Championship Edition to ship July 26

sfhipster · Jul 16, 2002, 12:53 AM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by parkov:
From <a href="http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0207/11.links.php" target="_blank">http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/0207/11.links.php</a> :

Bold: Links Championship Edition to ship July 26<hr /></blockquote>yesh, i got an email from them confirming just that.. they also apologized for it taking so long for them to get this one out the door.

--alan

WizOSX · Jul 25, 2002, 09:02 PM

So if anyone gets a copy tomorrow (July 26), or sees one on a shelf somewhere, PLEASE post!!

WizOSX · Jul 26, 2002, 08:14 PM

Since the business day is over in the U.S. (except Hawaii), it seems that no one got a copy of Links CE?????

sfhipster · Jul 27, 2002, 01:21 PM

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by WizOSX:
So if anyone gets a copy tomorrow (July 26), or sees one on a shelf somewhere, PLEASE post!!<hr /></blockquote>i pre-ordered mine at MWSF, so i'll have to wait till it comes in the mail/ups/whatever. i'm hoping that it shipped already, though. perhaps i'll get it monday or tuesday. img has a write up of it, btw - a new one.

gheff · Jul 28, 2002, 08:47 AM

I was in CompUSA yesterday (Saturday) and there were no copies to be found.

Still waiting....

#gheff

gheff · Aug 5, 2002, 09:24 PM

For whatever it's worth, my CompUSA *finally* got a few copies of Links CE.

Should be interesting to see if I have as many problems with it as others are reporting.

#gheff

gheff · Aug 6, 2002, 06:45 AM

Originally posted by gheff:
For whatever it's worth, my CompUSA *finally* got a few copies of Links CE.

Should be interesting to see if I have as many problems with it as others are reporting.

#gheff

I guess I'm talking to myself here but...

This game has been quite the disaster for me. I installed it under OS X, though I didn't really expect it to run properly there. (I run a Beige G3 with the original issue Rage Pro video which doesn't support OpenGL.)

But the darned thing behaves badly under OS 9.2 as well. It claims to be using hardware accleration. The screen ends up full of artifacts and large white spots. So I loaded newer ATI video drivers and bumped up the memory allocated to Links CE, and saw absolutely no change.

Rumor has it that the game behaves better under OS X, but until I break down and buy an OpenGL capable video card for my old buddy, that's not an option for me.

Bottom line: the damned thing won't run. Stay away--at least until they come out with a bug fix release.

We waited how long for this?

#gheff

gheff · Aug 6, 2002, 10:25 PM

Originally posted by gheff:
But the darned thing behaves badly under OS 9.2 as well. It claims to be using hardware accleration. The screen ends up full of artifacts and large white spots. So I loaded newer ATI video drivers and bumped up the memory allocated to Links CE, and saw absolutely no change.

OK. I reread the release notes. It mentions upping the size of the virtual memory to fix the white spot thing. I had apparently not set it high enough. Bumped it up higher and the spots went away.

So, it's working now, albeit pretty slowly. (But that's the fault of my lame 266MHz G3.)

#gheff

KeyLimePi · Aug 8, 2002, 08:33 AM

Sorry to hear that the Links performance is less than stellar. I have a dual-g with the stock GeForce4MX card, and will probably try to pick up a copy of LCE this weekend. I'll let you know how it plays under X.

What's kinda dissappointing is the lack of enthusiasm on this board for this game. Looks like you and I were one of the few that were looking forward to it. No wonder they weren't in any hurry to get it on the shelves.

newportnews · Aug 8, 2002, 01:57 PM

I just have to say that using Links CE on OS X is a disaster. I have had the game one day and it has crashed on every launch. Called tech support and they were no help.

I attempted to return the game but was told that since it was already open all I could do was exchange it.

After over 6 months of waiting I was expecting more than a crap rush job. Well...there goes $50 down the toilet.

OldManMac · Aug 8, 2002, 11:19 PM

I've played it once, and it was also a disaster! I got through about 14 holes, and the distant scenery is flawless, but if you land in a bunch of trees, and are trying to get out, the trees in front of you, up close, don't even look like trees! They're just large blocks of various colors! On top of that, after about 14 holes, my screen went black, my CD drive started making a sound like someone was sanding a piece of wood, and I had to hit the reset button! What a POS! I'm leery about running it again! I'm not a big game player, but this was one I was eagerly awaiting!

Iowa Boy · Aug 11, 2002, 02:59 PM

I've played it on and off over the course (pun intended) of four days now. I have never gotten through 18 holes without it crashing at least once and sometimes multiple times. It's that black screen of death that someone mentioned above. I was hoping that someone here might have the solution. I updated my video drivers also and it hasn't helped. I've tried software acceleration rather than video card acceleration -- that didn't help. I'm at a loss other than thinking that this game was not ready for market. Once the black screen of death hits, you have to reboot. You can't get back to the finder. Argh!

jfinete · 01:18 AM

This game was delayed for so long, and I was really looking forward to it. But if it's as problematic as everyone says it is, then I'm not gonna bother with it.

Does anyone have good experiences with Links CE (particularly with OS X)?

Iowa Boy · Aug 11, 2002, 08:36 PM

I should have mentioned that I am playing it on Mac OS X on a DP G4 450. Anyway, I love the graphics. The physics seem dead on (at least I'm not enough of a pro to complain). And, the game overall is very enjoyable. If I just didn't have to reboot from one to four times during each 18.

They gotta bring out an update soon. I really want to be an advocate for this game, but I can't just yet.

KeyLimePi · Aug 12, 2002, 12:51 PM

It would be helpful if we posted our system configs along with our problems, since Links CE apparently has different reactions to different video cards.

I'm running a dual 1G with 1G of RAM and the GeForce4MX. I installed the game over the weekend and was very disappointed. I had read about the many problems users were having over at MacLinks Community, but since I have the best machine Apple makes (for now) I was optimistic that my results might be better than most. No luck.

I didn't bother playing in anything except OSX, although I've heard that performance is somewhat better in OS 9. Also, those of you with dualies shouldn't expect anything extra. Links doesn't recognize a second processor. I spent a couple of hours tweaking the graphics settings, but couldn't do much to improve the speed of play. And of course, having the top-of-the-line Mac makes me wonder why I have to turn off certain features to improve performance. I mean, if my Mac can't handle it, what can? What kind of machines were they testing this game on where they found it acceptable?

I played about eight holes on and off, quitting to adjust the settings. I thought the graphics were good, but not great, and even with medium-low settings you have to wait several seconds before each new screen for redraws. Finally I got board and put it away for later, but later never came.

I almost feel gulity complaining about this game. I'm grateful for any and every company that makes/ports Mac software, and I read about all the problems that Green Dragon had porting the game over to the Mac. Ultimately I think they figured that a crappy version is better than no version at all, but I'm not sure I agree. I paid $50 for a game that is in my estimation really unplayable. I wish at some point they had just announced that Links will not come to the Mac. I could understand that...and I'd have $50 in my pocket.

Iowa Boy · Aug 12, 2002, 09:41 PM

Ok, I would like to hear from those that aren't having any problems.

Second, I had my first 18 holes without crashing. Things are looking up!

KeyLimePi · Aug 13, 2002, 10:07 AM

Glad to hear that. Maybe there is hope for the OSX version. Or, maybe Jaguar will come along and kill it altogether.

I did boot into OS 9 last evening and tried it out. Much better. Certainly playable. Played about 7 holes without any problems.

Still, it might sound petty but I know that if I have to reboot everytime I want to play this game (and reboot again when I'm finished) I'm less inclined to play. Too bad because it really seems to have a lot of options that make it a welcome alturnative to the normal FPS.