Best Tank Sim for Vista

pawnslinger · 03-27-09, 06:43 PM

I haven't used a tank sim in a long time... not since Armored Fist 2 and Windows 98. I have recently got a new rig, Vista 64, 12gb of ram, Core i7 920 cpu.... and I'd like to get a new tank sim to play with. Most of the ones I've looked at so far, don't mention Vista compatibility at all. Steel Fury is the only 1 that I've found that claims Vista compatibility. And many of the tank sims are getting a bit long in the tooth, or their publisher is in financial difficulty (like the folks that do Steel Fury).

So I thought I would address this question to the forum. Which tank sim would you recommend for use with Vista 64?? Steel Fury looks good, but the price is over $40 for an item that is orphaned.

Any ideas?

Chucky · 03-28-09, 03:38 AM

If you don't mind the $125 outlay then Steel Beasts Pro is great.I have Vista 64 and run it,plus Steel Fury and T34 vs Tiger.
Maybe you can find Steel Fury at a discounted price.There are plenty of mods for it that will keep it going.
As for the older stuff,you may have to work hard at getting some of them running.
Have a look on SimHQ,some guys on there play the older tank sims,M1TP2 for instance.

Lieste · 03-28-09, 04:50 AM

Be aware that there are sometimes issues with the Vista 64 video drivers. SB ProPE runs slower than expected on high end machines, for some video cards, and in certain situations.

The 'poor' performance is still comparable to the results I get with my machine on a good day, but I can understand why it is frustrating when it should be capable of much more in the same situations.

This appears to be a driver issue, so until and unless this is addressed by the manufacturer it isn't likely to improve.

pawnslinger · 03-28-09, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chucky

If you don't mind the $125 outlay then Steel Beasts Pro is great.I have Vista 64 and run it,plus Steel Fury and T34 vs Tiger.
Maybe you can find Steel Fury at a discounted price.There are plenty of mods for it that will keep it going.
As for the older stuff,you may have to work hard at getting some of them running.
Have a look on SimHQ,some guys on there play the older tank sims,M1TP2 for instance.

I took a look at SB Pro PE, but the site I was looking at (linked from the SB site) didn't have any. It was on backlog, I guess because they needed to get "dongles". Otherwise what would be the hold-up. The $125 seems a bit steep, but I've pad more for other software.

Steel Fury looks good to me and I will probably buy it. What about Steel Beasts Gold edition. It looks really nice to me, might be a first step toward buying the Pro version... kinda a demo for the more expensive software.

I downloaded the demo for Armored Fist 3 from CNET last night. The demo installed okay, then when I ran the program, I got some sort of missing file error. I didn't know what to do, so I just clicked okay. Then the program loaded like normal and I was able to play it. I did set compatibility mode to Windows 98 before I started it up though. The graphics were okay, but obviously dated and blocky.

The video driver issue is a serious one. I have an Nvidia GTX 285 1gb board by EVGA. When I first installed it, the darn card wouldn't work at all... except in the default resolution 640 by whatever and 256 colors. After downloading a never driver from Nvidia, it has worked much better. From my old games, I have managed to get Age of Empires III to work -- after Vista 64 advised me it wouldn't! But I had to download a patch. No sweat.

I also picked up a demo for Panzer Elite Action from CNET last night. I haven't had time to try it yet. The game looks cool from the YouTube videos I have seen and the price is good, because it is an older game.

Thanks for your feedback!

Skybird · 03-28-09, 01:25 PM

SB Gold was released almost ten years ago. Graphics are locked to software mode 640x480, 256 colours. Back then, it was a simulation game release.

SBP was developed as a training tool for the military, and it'S current form and content is determined by orders of more than one dozen western militaries. It's the best choice you can make in the tank genre.

Steel Fury is another era, and probably your best choice if you are focussed on the WWII. But it lacks the depth, complexity and realism of SBP, also it has not a few imo serious issues with AI, immersion and pathfinding. It does not compare to scale and realism of SBP.

So, if you want a harcore simulation, only SBP is available. If you are looking more for a mixture of sim and easy accessible game, it depends on the time frame you prefer: SB Gold (if you get any second hand), or Steel Fury. however, SB Gold also was quite unforgiving. If Armored Fist and Panzer Elite Action are representative for what you want, choose Steel Fury. If you want a serious simulation, choose SBP.

I'm not sure about SB Gold functioning under Vista, keep in mind, SB Gold is OLD.

I would discourage you from considering Tiger vs T-34. Check this forum for according threads that explain why.

Lieste · 03-28-09, 03:33 PM

SB gold runs fine. It is much less in depth simulation of tank warfare than SB Pro is, all 40 rounds are ready to fire for example - where in SB Pro you have only 15-17 rounds ready and the rest are stored in the vehicle in more-or-less difficult to reach places, requiring some down-time to reload before the fight can continue. The graphics are obviously much less impressive now than they were in 199x, but are still functional - much better than M1TP2 (IMO).

You should be able to find SB Gold for very little money though.. I'd offer mine, but I've promised it to Nils - he doesn't have my packaging and manual for his collection yet.

pawnslinger · 03-28-09, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skybird

SB Gold was released almost ten years ago. Graphics are locked to software mode 640x480, 256 colours. Back then, it was a simulation game release.

SBP was developed as a training tool for the military, and it'S current form and content is determined by orders of more than one dozen western militaries. It's the best choice you can make in the tank genre.

Steel Fury is another era, and probably your best choice if you are focussed on the WWII. But it lacks the depth, complexity and realism of SBP, also it has not a few imo serious issues with AI, immersion and pathfinding. It does not compare to scale and realism of SBP.

So, if you want a harcore simulation, only SBP is available. If you are looking more for a mixture of sim and easy accessible game, it depends on the time frame you prefer: SB Gold (if you get any second hand), or Steel Fury. however, SB Gold also was quite unforgiving. If Armored Fist and Panzer Elite Action are representative for what you want, choose Steel Fury. If you want a serious simulation, choose SBP.

I'm not sure about SB Gold functioning under Vista, keep in mind, SB Gold is OLD.

I would discourage you from considering Tiger vs T-34. Check this forum for according threads that explain why.

I finally tried the other demos that I downloaded last night: SB and PEA. Neither of these demos would work at all. So I guess those two are off my radar.

I placed my Amazon order for Steel Fury and Armored Fist 3. They should both work okay for me. It is too bad about the SB and PEA demos not functioning -- I was interested in both games.

03-27-09, 06:43 PM	#1
pawnslinger Swabbie Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 5 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Best Tank Sim for Vista I haven't used a tank sim in a long time... not since Armored Fist 2 and Windows 98. I have recently got a new rig, Vista 64, 12gb of ram, Core i7 920 cpu.... and I'd like to get a new tank sim to play with. Most of the ones I've looked at so far, don't mention Vista compatibility at all. Steel Fury is the only 1 that I've found that claims Vista compatibility. And many of the tank sims are getting a bit long in the tooth, or their publisher is in financial difficulty (like the folks that do Steel Fury). So I thought I would address this question to the forum. Which tank sim would you recommend for use with Vista 64?? Steel Fury looks good, but the price is over $40 for an item that is orphaned. Any ideas?

03-28-09, 01:25 PM	#5
Skybird Soaring Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: the mental asylum named Germany Posts: 40,486 Downloads: 9 Uploads: 0	SB Gold was released almost ten years ago. Graphics are locked to software mode 640x480, 256 colours. Back then, it was a simulation game release. SBP was developed as a training tool for the military, and it'S current form and content is determined by orders of more than one dozen western militaries. It's the best choice you can make in the tank genre. Steel Fury is another era, and probably your best choice if you are focussed on the WWII. But it lacks the depth, complexity and realism of SBP, also it has not a few imo serious issues with AI, immersion and pathfinding. It does not compare to scale and realism of SBP. So, if you want a harcore simulation, only SBP is available. If you are looking more for a mixture of sim and easy accessible game, it depends on the time frame you prefer: SB Gold (if you get any second hand), or Steel Fury. however, SB Gold also was quite unforgiving. If Armored Fist and Panzer Elite Action are representative for what you want, choose Steel Fury. If you want a serious simulation, choose SBP. I'm not sure about SB Gold functioning under Vista, keep in mind, SB Gold is OLD. I would discourage you from considering Tiger vs T-34. Check this forum for according threads that explain why. __________________ If you feel nuts, consult an expert.

03-28-09, 03:38 AM	#2
Chucky Planesman Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 185 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	If you don't mind the $125 outlay then Steel Beasts Pro is great.I have Vista 64 and run it,plus Steel Fury and T34 vs Tiger. Maybe you can find Steel Fury at a discounted price.There are plenty of mods for it that will keep it going. As for the older stuff,you may have to work hard at getting some of them running. Have a look on SimHQ,some guys on there play the older tank sims,M1TP2 for instance.

03-28-09, 04:50 AM	#3
Lieste Soundman Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 142 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Be aware that there are sometimes issues with the Vista 64 video drivers. SB ProPE runs slower than expected on high end machines, for some video cards, and in certain situations. The 'poor' performance is still comparable to the results I get with my machine on a good day, but I can understand why it is frustrating when it should be capable of much more in the same situations. This appears to be a driver issue, so until and unless this is addressed by the manufacturer it isn't likely to improve.

03-28-09, 03:33 PM	#6
Lieste Soundman Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 142 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	SB gold runs fine. It is much less in depth simulation of tank warfare than SB Pro is, all 40 rounds are ready to fire for example - where in SB Pro you have only 15-17 rounds ready and the rest are stored in the vehicle in more-or-less difficult to reach places, requiring some down-time to reload before the fight can continue. The graphics are obviously much less impressive now than they were in 199x, but are still functional - much better than M1TP2 (IMO). You should be able to find SB Gold for very little money though.. I'd offer mine, but I've promised it to Nils - he doesn't have my packaging and manual for his collection yet.