LINKS 2001 ™ PLAYER’S MANUAL
Indeo Video Interactive Copyright © 1998 Intel Corp. Indeo is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. TrueMotion Playback Engine and compression Software Copyright ©The Duck Corp.1993-1998 TrueMotion is a registered trademark of The Duck Corp. CREDITS Special Thanks to: The USGA (United States Golf Association) David Joy as “Old Tom Morris” St. Andrew’s Links Trust Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
Links 2001 Table of Contents Getting Started ................................................................9 Installing Links 2001™ .................................................... 9 Starting Links................................................................. 9 Help ..........................................................................10 Lessons......................................................................10 Other Main Screen Options ...........................................
Hitting the Ball .............................................................29 Draw/Hook and Fade/Slice ...........................................31 Push and Pull .............................................................31 The PowerStroke Swing ...................................................32 The Full Swing............................................................32 Chipping and Putting ..................................................34 Sand Shots ............................................
The first screen to appear is the Links Main Screen. Two useful options can be accessed from this screen: Welcome to Links 2001! Help This manual covers the “basics” of installing, loading and playing Links. For more in-depth information, you are referred to Links Help. When you click a Help button or press F1, the Help screen appears. Use the Help Index with its comprehensive list of topics by either typing in a topic or scrolling through the Index.
Other New Features Chapter 3 14 New Golfers—Play with Arnold Palmer, Sergio Garcia, Annika Sorenstam, or any of eleven other flawlessly rendered golfers and enjoy each one’s unique comments and personality. Playing Links 2001 User-Friendly Additions—A new Quick Start option gets you on the tee with only a few clicks; interactive lessons instruct you on how to play and customize Links 2001; an “AID System” reacts to recurring gameplay mistakes with helpful suggestions.
Course Information—Displays the course, hole number and par for the hole. When you decide on a club, click it to select it. Note: Move the pointer over any club on the Clubs menu to display the club’s average distance. Player Information Displays the player next to hit, the number shot the player is about to hit, and the player’s score as of the last completed hole. Aiming When you are ready to tee off, the Aiming Marker (a red and white striped pole) appears.
To use the Classic swing (two- or three-click) 1. Position the cursor over the swing gauge in the bottom center of the Main Cam. 2. Click and hold down the left mouse button to start the swing. -or3. Click the left mouse button. 4. A yellow indicator band moves around the swing gauge. When it reaches the green line at the 12 o’clock position, release the left mouse button (or, click it again—see Step 2). A red line, called the power mark, marks the release point.
Chapter 4 Using the Links In-game Pop-up Menus There are five pop-up menu tabs (“Rotate”, “Shot Options”, “Display”, “Clubs” and “Menu”) located along the bottom of the Links Main Cam. Of these, only “Menu” (in-game menu) is visible at all times. To reveal the other four, move the pointer to the bottom of the screen. Rotate Before each shot, the golfer is positioned to face the center of the fairway or the green.
Info Views—Displays a chat window (available when playing on-line) or a camera (window) with information about the previous shot. Spot Pin (ALT+P)—The flagstick zooms toward, then away from, the golfer in a direct line with the green. Tracer (ALT+T)—Leaves a visible line showing the flight path of a ball. Grid (ALT+G)—Superimposes a grid over the terrain to make contours easier to read. This feature is especially useful when putting. • The club selection on the Clubs menu can be customized.
Chapter 5 Customizing the Gameplay Quick Start (see page 13), is a fast and easy way to get on the tee, but in order to customize a round of golf to your personal preference—and to see what Links 2001 really has to offer—click Play Golf from the Links Main Screen. The Play Golf Screen There are five options available to you on the Play Golf screen: Resume—Continue a previously-saved round. Refer to the Help Index (Topics: “Resume a Saved Game” and “Resume a Tournament”) for additional details.
To customize course conditions 1. Under Conditions, click the drop-down button(s) next to each of the four course elements to display the possible conditions. 2. Click your preferred settings for the course conditions: Wind conditions—affects the distance and arc of the ball in flight. Choose No Wind, Breezy, or Windy. Green Speed—determines the rolling speed of the ball on the green. Choose Slow, Medium, or Fast. • The MOP Game Designer allows you to create, modify, add, delete, and clone games.
Players Now that you’ve made your selections from the New Round screen and clicked Next, it’s on to the Players in the Game screen, where you designate which player(s) to include in the round. Designating Players The Mode of Play you select dictates how many players can participate in the round, but the process of adding a player to the game is always the same: To add a player to the game 1. Click the Add Player button. 2. From the Add Player dialog, click a player, and then click OK.
To edit a player 1. From the Links Main Screen, click Players. 2. From the Players in the Game screen, click Add Player. 3. Highlight a player and click Edit Player. 4. On the Player screen, click any of the four tabbed pages (Settings, Appearance, Clubs, Club Distances) and edit the player’s settings. 5. When you finish editing the player, click OK to save the changes. Note: This process can also be used to check a player’s characteristics, provided you exit without making edits.
Swing path—On the PowerStroke gauge, the center line (which passes through the ball) is called the “target line” and is aligned with the Aiming Marker. A straight swing path will move exactly parallel to the target line up to and through impact. Incorrect swing paths are referred to as “inside/out” or “outside/in” and will negatively affect the accuracy of a shot.
A push or pull may also be hit with side spin. This may be disastrous or advantageous, depending on the combination. For example, a pull-hook is usually costly, since the shot would start left of the target line and curve further left. A pull-slice, however, could be an advantageous shot, since it would start left and curve back to the right. The following diagrams give examples of push and pull shots with side-spin.
Note: The length of the backswing does not affect the distance a ball is hit with a full swing, but does with chips and putts. 6. At the moment the clubface strikes the ball, click—or release, if you held down—the left mouse button. This is called the snap point and is marked by a vertical line. The Chipping/Putting Swing Gauge Unlike the full swing gauge, the chipping/putting swing gauge has graduated markings to assist you in judging distances (see the following diagram).
Sand Shots There are two basic ways to hit shots out of a bunker: Explosion Shot— Using a sand wedge or other lofted club, hit 1-2 inches behind the ball with moderately fast swing. This shot is often used out of green-side bunkers, since the ball comes out with less velocity and lands softly with a lot of backspin. Pick Shot—Using the usual club for the distance needed, pick the ball cleanly off the sand.
Chapter 7 Online Play With Links, you can play a game with your friends via a modem or network connection, through the MSN Gaming Zone, or through direct connection. Both players must have the same version of Links installed on their machines and, for modem play, we don’t recommend anything slower than a 28,800-bps connection. To play online • From the Links Main Screen, click Online Play. -or• Go to the MSN Gaming Zone on your Web browser.
THE ARNOLD PALMER COURSE DESIGNER
The Arnold Palmer Course Designer Table of Contents Getting Started .............................................................. 45 Installing the Course Designer .........................................45 Starting the Course Designer ...........................................46 The Course Designer Main Screen .....................................46 Viewports...................................................................46 Viewport Label & Active Axis Indicator ..........................
Deleting a Shape.........................................................58 Inserting a Shape........................................................59 Terrain.......................................................................... 60 Refining the Course Terrain .............................................60 Terrain Selection Icon Buttons......................................60 Surface .........................................................................61 Contouring the Course ......................
Starting the Course Designer Viewport Navigation Toolbar During installation, Links creates its own Program group on your Start menu. To start Links 1. Click Start (or go to Step 4 if you made a desktop shortcut during installation). 2. Point to Programs. 3. Point to Microsoft Games. 4. Click Arnold Palmer Course Designer. Plan—Create a “blueprint” of your course. Start the program to bring up the Course Designer Main Screen.
Chapter 9 Display Options The viewports are the main windows in the Course Designer in which you do all the course work. There are seven viewports to choose from: To pan in a viewport 1. Click the Pan icon button from the Viewport Navigation toolbar. 2. In a viewport, click and hold down the left mouse button. 3. Move the mouse to move the display area. Note: Hold down the SHIFT key while moving the mouse to increase the speed. Top Viewport—A directly overhead view.
To use the line of sight function 1. Click the Line of Sight icon button from the Viewport Navigation toolbar. Note: The Perspective Viewport must be displayed. 2. In the Top Viewport, click, hold, and drag the mouse in the direction you want to face. 3. When you release the left mouse button, the Perspective Viewport will redraw in that direction. To fit a selection in a viewport 1. In a viewport, make a selection. 2. Click the Fit Selection icon button from the Viewport Navigation toolbar.
Chapter 10 Define Hole Path Planning a Hole The hole path is a line that starts in the center of the back tee box, extends to a midpoint in the fairway, and ends in the center of the green. This line can be straight, angled or severely angled (doglegs). Defining the hole path is the first step when creating a hole. This is the first step to creating your own golf course. The “plan” phase of the design is where you create a “blueprint” of the course, hole-by-hole.
Customizing Hole #1 Believe it or not, you’ve created your first golf hole. Its layout is based on the three points of your hole path and the Course Designer has automatically assigned a hole boundary, represented by a red outline. The shapes (i.e. fairway, bunkers, green) have been “auto-created” and are generic, both in appearance and location. Now it’s time to start customizing.
Creating a Shape Adjusting a Shape Shapes are either “auto-created,” or made by hand (refer to Help, Topic: “Create Shapes”). To demonstrate one of the handmade methods, we will create a river. All shapes can be adjusted, but this tool is especially useful when modifying the auto-created generic shapes. To show how to adjust a shape, we will reshape a bunker. To create a river 1. Position the Top Viewport so the entire hole layout is displayed. 2. Click the Plan tab. 3.
Grouping a Shape to a Hole Inserting a Shape If you create or modify a shape and forget to select the Add to Current Hole checkbox, or if you add a shape later in the process, you must add the shape to the hole. Until you “insert” a shape onto the terrain, it is only a pattern, and not yet a permanent part of the course. Shape-editing should be finalized before shapes are inserted. To group a shape to the hole 1. Position the Top Viewport so the shape is displayed. 2. Click the Plan tab. 3.
Chapter 11 Terrain You have now created a hole. It’s completely flat and empty, but it’s playable. In this chapter, we introduce you to the most complex—and essential—element of course design: refining the terrain. Don’t expect to be able to master this section without a lot of practice. But, with patience and perseverance, you will be able to create your own Links-quality courses. The Terrain functions are quite advanced and, since this chapter is a primer, we will provide only a brief walkthrough.
Click and drag the Detail slider to set the number of hills. Click and drag the Smoothness slider to set the smoothness of the resulting terrain. 10. Click Add to Selection to view changes. Experiment with the settings until you create a suitable terrain for your course. 8. 9. Note: To start over, click the Flatten icon button from the tab toolbar. Vertex The terrain of the course is a mesh of thousands of triangles, comprised of vertices (dots), and edges (lines that connect the dots).
Note: This process can be used for greens or any other surface. 13. Press F9 (to reactivate the xy axes in the Perspective Viewport). Simplifying the Terrain As mentioned earlier, more vertices result in slower redraws, so you’ll want to keep vertices to a minimum. Also, when shapes are inserted (especially handmade shapes), a phenomenon known as fanning may occur—a large number of edges converging on a single vertex. “Simplifying” the terrain refers to reducing the number of edges and vertices.
Face 9. Face refers to the surface area of the terrain triangles. Clicking the Face sub-tab reveals a tab toolbar with nine icon buttons: Note: Extruding the bunker creates a section of terrain faces that have no assigned terrain type. This section must be assigned a terrain type (see following). In addition to the five standard icon buttons (Select, Move, Rotate, Scale and Delete), there are these five: Create—Add a new face or faces to fill holes or add to the edge of terrain.
Note: Double-click to view the object. When you’re done, close the dialog. Chapter 12 Planting Planting is the process of adding anything other than terrain to the hole. This includes: 7. Click Add to Current Planting Set to add the object to your planting set. 8. Repeat steps 4–7 to construct your planting set. Note: Click the 3D Objects radio button to make 3D objects available. 2D (two-dimensional) Objects—Trees, bushes, rocks, etc. 9. People—Galleries, Media, Officials 10.
10. In any viewport, click every spot where you want to plant the object. Note: If the object(s) is not correctly sized, change Object Size in the toolbar panel. 11. Repeat steps 7–10 for each different object. 3D Objects Objects are three-dimensional only if they can be seen from different angles. This applies to objects such as clubhouses and bridges.
To scale an object 1. Click the Scale icon button from the Planting tab toolbar. 2. Click and hold down the left mouse button while moving the mouse to scale the object. 3. When the object is properly scaled, release the left mouse button. People Planting Fences To plant spectators 1. Click the Plan tab (not the Planting tab). 2. Click the Create Shape icon button from the tab toolbar. 3. Select Terrain under Assignment Type. 4. Select None under Selection. 5.
To plant media people/officials 1. Click the Planting tab. 2. Click the People sub-tab. 3. From the toolbar panel, select Media or Tournament Official from the Object Type drop-down menu. 4. Click the Plant Person icon button. 5. In a viewport, click wherever you want to plant a media member/tournament official. Note: Links 2001 automatically selects a random group of media and/or tournament officials with each redraw. To display people in Links 2001 1. Start Links 2001. 2.
Environmental Sounds Chapter 13 Sound effects (i.e. birds, insects, water, airplanes, etc.) add another layer of realism to your course. Finalizing the Course To plant environmental sounds 1. Click the Planting tab. 2. Click the Sound sub-tab. 3. Click New from the toolbar panel. 4. The New Sound Object dialog appears. Enter a name for the new sound, and then click Add. 5. Select a sound file (.wav), and then click Open. 6. From the New Sound Object dialog, click the Play icon button to hear the sound.
To import a custom panorama 1. Click the Plan tab (or the Edit menu). 2. From the toolbar panel (or the Edit menu), click Course Properties. 3. Click the Panorama tab. 4. Select Custom from the Panorama drop-down menu. 5. Click Import. Note: Imported panoramas must be 7680x720 pixel, 32-bit .tga files. Saving and Playing Your Course in Links 2001 When your course is finished and ready to play, you must save it in the Links 2001 directory. To save your course 1. Select Validate from the File menu. 2.
Layout: Select Move Rotate Scale Define Hole Path Create Shape Adjust Shape Copy Shape Insert Shape Group Shapes Ungroup Shapes Delete Edge: S M R L D C A O I G U Delete Surface: Select Move Rotate Scale Delete Flatten Terrain Builder Terrain Painter Extrude S M R L Delete F T P E 80 3D: S M R L H P T C Delete Vertex: Select Move Rotate Scale Tilt Selection Add Simplify Delete Nondestructive Delete Shift+Delete Flatten S M R L T A I Delete Select Move Rotate Scale Plant Fence Delete Pins: S M R L P
