Happyloaf: I played 386 pro a ton growing up but then skipped to 2003 and have no reason to go back. Is there anything I'm missing other than historical importance of why these games should be played over 2003?
You've already asked here for Links 2003. Links 2003 works fine with Windows 10. It's still available for purchase. Why the need for a GOG release?
Links LS 98, LS 99 and 2000 all stopped working on Windows 10. They can't be run so a GOG release of LS 98 is great news!
I personally consider Links LS 2000 the best of all the Links series and I am hoping this is the game that gets a release.
If you went from 386 to 2003, you completely missed these great games. Everyone moved to Links 2003 but I found going back after many years with 2003 that the older LS versions had some features that made them beat Links 2003.
Links LS 2000 has the following that Links 2003 doesn't:
- Swing Meter is more fluent.
- Shadows are proper raking shadows across the course and not 12 o'clock shadows as in Links 2003 so all you get is a black spot directly under an object.
- The tournament mode is much easier and faster to set up and use.
- Ties for first go to a playoff hole against the AI. Links 2003 you finish equal first, no playoff. Yes! You experience playoff hole pressure in LS 2000!!!
- The cup physics are the best of any golf game ever! They screwed up the cup physics with Links 2001 and by Links 2003 the cup physics still aren't great.
- AI golfers are superior in Links LS 2000
- Overall game play feels better in Links LS 2000
- I personally found I even prefer the LS 2000 club sounds
In the end, with Links LS 2000 no longer working on Windows 10 and a perfectly working Links 2003 on Windows 10, it would be insane for GOG to release Links 2003 before Links LS 2000 wouldn't it? Even Links 2001 today can give people some running issues on Windows 10 so I would hope this would also become a greater priority than Links 2003.
No nostalgia for the old games here. I want Links LS 2000 because I think it's the best golf game of all time and is still the best golf game today. No other reasons.