Links Corner Forum

Does Links 2003 online Direct Connection still work?

Mootz wrote: ↑June 1st, 2020, 11:13 pm Does Links 2003 online Direct Connection still work?

It certainly does. I played a few holes online with a friend just last Friday.

It's interesting to know that this still works. I had a feeling MS turned off the servers a few years back, and I know my friend and I can't use it. Though I think that was something to do with our routers firewalls. So these days, we use Gameranger which seems to do a decent job, although when things are busy there you can get a bad connection sometimes.

Cheers, AJ

Andy wrote: ↑June 2nd, 2020, 7:58 am

Mootz wrote: ↑June 1st, 2020, 11:13 pm Does Links 2003 online Direct Connection still work?

It certainly does. I played a few holes online with a friend just last Friday.

Thanks for responding so quickly. I play Links 2003 with another person. We both have the latest identical version. However, neither one of us can make a Direct Connection to host or join. We both have modems that connect to a router. It would be very helpful if you could provide me with your settings for Connection Settings and Direct Connections. I do not need your IP address, just the settings you have checked that work for you. Thanks

Using direct connection is far from straightforward I'm afraid.

You need to get into your router's advanced settings to :-

1. Ensure your PC always has the same internal network IP.

2. Set up port forwarding for ports 2300 -2400 / 6073 / 47624 to point to the IP of your PC.

How this is achieved depends on your particular router.

A simpler option may be to try Game Ranger www.gameranger.com

You could always try to turn on the DMZ on your router. That opens all ports. Just be sure to close it when you're done playing. You need your computer's internal IP for that, too.

Andy wrote: ↑June 2nd, 2020, 10:55 pm Using direct connection is far from straightforward I'm afraid.

You need to get into your router's advanced settings to :-

1. Ensure your PC always has the same internal network IP.

2. Set up port forwarding for ports 2300 -2400 / 6073 / 47624 to point to the IP of your PC.

How this is achieved depends on your particular router.

A simpler option may be to try Game Ranger www.gameranger.com

Thanks again. Could you provide me with the first part of your IP address that you use for direct connection. These are the first part of my addresses. I assume that you have something similar.
Local IP Addresses:
192.***.*.***
External Address:
68.***.**.***

My PC is assigned an IP of 192.168.0.2

Thanks for replying about connecting online with IP address. After having connection issues with Gameranger, I was able to connect online with my IP address and not use Gameranger. It took a few tests, but got it figured out. No longer have to use Gameranger. It took 17 years to get it to work but all is good.

I have been playing Links Direct Connection for many years. With Windows 10, there's more for me to do to get it working correctly. First, Microsoft's Direct Play software must be installed. Those files are located in the Control Panel under Programs and Features/Turn Windows features on or off/Legacy Components.

I use Windows Defender Firewall, so Links 2003 and Direct Play must be allowed through the firewall. Whenever I would attempt DC with the default Inbound Firewall rules that DP sets up, it still doesn't work for me. I have to create two new inbound firewall rules under Advanced Settings - one for TCP and one for UDP. In those rules I have to establish specific ports assignments required by Links 2003.

Once that is in place, along with setting up port forwarding in the router and creating a static IP address for my PC, as well as leasing a public facing static IP address from my ISP so I can host and join games, it works great.