[neilbyrne]

Like most war babies of the forties, I watched a lot of WWII movies and TV growing up, Victory at Sea, Silent Service, etc. Read a lot also and have a considerable naval library.

What I really wanted tho was a great WWII surface battles game, but none has materialized.

I have my own surface game for miniatures which is quite extensive. After I retired from the USN, I had a consulting business for the following ten years. Three times I convinced one of my clients to send me to the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) the gaming industry's primo convention in LA. It's a gas, but the E-ticket runs $600+, mostly I found out to keep the curious kids out. In any case, I made several aquaintances in the industry there and pitched my game at them for computerization. Folks at E3 are unfailingly polite and forthcoming unlike most of the Defense Dept. conferences I've attended. Finally, one friend, a producer for Microsoft X-Box put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Neil, forget it. Naval games don't make enough money and the industry thinks they are more boring than C-Span."

So SH is the closest I can get and my model ships still come out of the display case and duke it out on the living room floor.