Welcome to Jim's home on the web
09/17/2003 - Update: I know I haven't been playing much or hangin out in the Zone lately but I guess my presence is still being felt by some RTSers because they keep emailing me and blame me for their problems. It seems that they (I'm referring to the RTSers that read my site and go ballistic on me, NOT ALL RTSers) can not distinguish between an RTSer and an RTEdger which is the whole point to the bit on my site. They (referring to this same group, NOT ALL RTSers) seem to have a problem with playing someone, suspecting they are edging, not confronting them at all about it, and choosing not to play with them any more. They (same group) think that somehow just because they exist, I HAVE TO play them and I'm not allowed to suspect that they may be cheating when they hit every long shot perfectly but have no short game at all. And they think that somehow the bit on my website is telling people to not play ANY RTSers and to start arguing with them. I think they (referring to this same, small group again) need to get a life, learn how to read and stop acting like babies because all that's gonna happen to them is they are gonna be thoroughly exposed and embarrassed be me. Here is a sample of the latest incident in this saga. Some RTSer who I never met or played before, BB <mib_rtsir@sbcglobal.net>, emailed me out of the blue and starts going off on how I was to blame for all his Links problems:
Well I always love a good argument so have a look and judge for yourself.
It's like stealing from a church...
See my 2k3 patch rant here - 3/11/03
See RTEdge update below -1/31/03
This site was created to deal with a few problems we often encounter when playing our favorite online game, Links. This isn't anything fancy folks. The only reason I'm doing this is because these are the questions most often asked in the Zone and sometimes the people asking the questions dont always get the best responses.
Problem #1 Quitters (UPDATE 09/06/2002): I've started a web directory of all the quitters I encounter in the Zone Fairway room. This is so others can see exactly who they are and sometimes even see the reason why they quit. The most blatant of these quitters also get an added bonus. They get a new orifice on their backside courtesy of ME.
Problem #2 Newbies: Not so much a problem but someone needs to show the new guys some of the rules and etiquette. BigFatFrosty has done a very good job in his advice section to show people the ropes when playing this game online in the Zone. Check out his Advice section to get the rules and etiquette of the zone and to also get some good advice in playing the game.
Problem #3 Firewall/Routers (UPDATED 08/29/2002): Most home cable/DSL users nowadays have these new breed of firewall/routers by companies like LinkSys and Belkin etc.. I've added a section to finally give people ALL the information they need to make an informed decision on which setup they use. I also recently added instruction for those of you using ZoneAlarm and the XP firewall.
Problem #4 Patch Issues: To Links play in the Zone you NEED to patch Links to at least version 1.21. The problem is that if you only patch to version 1.21, you wont be able to find anyone to play against because almost everyone in the Zone is patched to version 1.22. The 1.22 patch addressed a cheat that some people were using. If you find some people out there that are still using 1.21 that refused to patch to 1.22, take a guess why... Again BigFatFrosty has come to the rescue and has all the links for all the patches on the bottom of his Advice section.
If you have patched up to version 1.21 and are still having problems with the version 1.22 patch instructions, my modified patch might help. I have rewritten the self-extracting stub to take most of the guesswork out of the process.
My patch tries to determine the Links path if it can. If not it asks you for it. It then asks you if you have Links SE or CE. Next, it extracts the proper patch file to the Links path and executes it. When the patch is done running, it deletes it and tada, your Links is at 1.22! All you have to do is double-click it and answer the questions it asks you.
I have made the source code to the modified self extracting zip stub here is anyone cares to see it and make sure I'm not doing anything else to your PCs. My thanks to GIG_Bam for hosting the EXE on his site. Unfortunately, Geocities wont allow me to post EXE's on my site:-((
Problem #5 Meter Issues (UPDATED 08/29/2002): I've expanded this section and gave it its own page as it's grown thanks to the additional info I have received from a number of Linksters.
Problem #6 Addon Courses (Adds): Most people in the Zone only play what are know as Addon courses, Adds for short. These are courses that are created by people with incredible patience and great attention to detail and are currently distributed for FREE. Most of the time, these courses are FAR better than the courses included with the Links game. The following are some links where you can find all the Addon courses your hard drive can fit:
Note, if you see the info of a room say Adds or Addon courses, don't waste everyone's time and enter it if you don't have any Addon courses. The Addons are currently free although this might change in the future. Almost all existing Addon courses will also work with the new version of Links when Links 2003 comes out soon. There is no reason not to download them if you have disk space. Get them as soon as you can before Microsoft and/or the authors of them start charging for them. They put a lot of time in creating these courses, it's not unreasonable for them to charge for them...
Problem #7 Player Pictures: This section outlines some things to look out for when trying to assign a custom player picture. It also has a tutorial on how to modify and import a player picture using Windows Paint, yes that Windows Paint. Everyone has it so I decided to do the tutorial using Paint as the graphics editor.
Problem #8 RTEdgers: With the release of 2k3, we now have yet another swing type, RTS or as I call it Real Time Swindle. Anyone trying this swing type out will immediately realize that all you need to do is move the mouse against a straight edge to get a perfect swing all the time. Personally I think it was a waste of time for Microsoft to add this swing type because of the controversy associated with it. There is no way to tell if someone is just super coordinated or just an RTEdger. And considering the number of hacks in the zone, it's seems rather curious that all the RTS players can always hit the ball perfectly. Some people have stopped playing all RTS players because of this and I can't say I blame them. I would suggest you give an RTS player one chance and if you see they are an RTEdger, just don't play with them anymore. It's fine to use RTS but RTEdging is just plain cheating. Here's how you can sniff out an RTEdger because of course, if you just ask these crooked Linksters if they are edging, they always deny it.
Once you realize someone is an RTEdger, I don't suggest confronting the lying, cheating sack of shit about it. Just play your round and never play them again. There is no sense in getting into an argument over this because short of actually witnessing someone doing this, they will always deny it. Just make a mental note of who they are or keep a list (I do) and don't waste your time playing them again.
If anyone else has anything to contribute to this site, contact me at dameatster@yahoo.com or ZM me, nickname is _Meatster, and I'll see what I can do.