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.

I did notice the links 2003 swing meter feels jerky and the game only runs at ~30 FPS with not way to increase it. Imagine that meter at 144 hz!


Also, have you tried DXWind to install Links 2000? Some people have reported success with it and older games especially those that need a 16 bit installer.

Links 2003 is locked at 30fps. The meter is fine for me but if you have been running everything else at 60fps maybe you can see the difference.

Yeah, tried everything with Links 2000. It has multiple issues, there is no one simple fix. I've only tried a few holes with the GOG Links 98 release but see the same problems still there that I dealt with trying to get Links 2000 to run on Win 10. The two games will be very similar under the hood with likely similar or virtually identical running problems.

I got to the point I could get several holes playable with Links 2000 but at some point it would freeze or crash.

It really doesn't matter for me as Links 2000 is a game I refuse to lose so have Win XP to run it on perfectly without any issues.

Hi there I also good hooked with the Links series (1998 up), because I like the graphic style of this era more than the modern ones, who basically all look like unity games ;-)) But I also like FMV games.

@PPFleury29: Thx for pointing out why you actually think the older games are superior.

I tried to run my copy of Links LS 2000, but with the GOG wrapper but the screen freezes and the mouse wont work. Thats somehow strange because I thought its basically the same engine...

Dgvoodoo lets me start the game properly, but give me heavy artifacts, so it is also unplayable. DXWnd also didnt work.

I guess there is no fix. :-(

BTW: Is there a possibility to go on full hd? In Links 2003 is a registry hack available, but altough I found the registry for Links LS 1998, it didnt seem to have this options...

No, you cannot run Links LS 2000 above the standard game resolutions.
There is no way to run Links LS 2000 on Windows 10. I really struggle to play Links 2003 over Links LS 2000. LS 2000 is far more enjoyable for me despite Links 2003 having user courses.
Hopefully one day GOG bring out LS 2000. It is the pinnacle of the Links LS series and for me, the best golf game ever created on any gaming platform.