Fast Attack

05-26-17, 06:52 PM

Finally got my hands on this and got it to run.
Any abandonware stuff I tried didn't work, so I ordered a CD via Amazon, unfortunately I did not check that it is the German version, and now I have to endure German texts in an American submarine. Blasphemy.

However, I am SO hooked by this gem. I read over and over that this can be considered one of the most authentic titles, due to the fact that the lead dev was a 688 skipper in real life - what more can you ask for?
Although very old, it plays "comfortable" (many old games lack many control-related standards we take for granted today), runs well so far and despite some sound-crackling here and now especially in video sequences, it's all good.

Technically it offers some really interesting features, like having to catch comms windows with the VLF antenna to receive satellite transmitted messages etc, and updating the AO-map with help of recon satellites also just gives you the feeling to be part of something bigger.
The crew gives so great feedback, unlike in DW for example, where it, without spamming you, let's you know if it loses a contact on sonar, if it regains it, if it is breaking up, etc. etc.
And I just played the first 2 training missions, I probably haven't seen half of it.

Fantastic!

To those who haven't played it yet, but are generally interested in modern submarines - play it. You won't regret it.

rwisdaman · 06-27-17, 02:44 PM

I used to play Fast Attack like it was the only game out there. I miss it.

I found a cd on Amazon but it looks to be in dutch so I have to pass on that. I really want to find this game again and like the OP here, I havent been able to locate it anywhere. I too checked abandoneware and found nothing that worked.

Catfish · 06-28-17, 09:06 AM

I agree it is really good, while time has passed and graphics became better i never had such a "tight" feeling, like sitting in front of the screen with Fast Attack running. I printed out all the textbook that came as Pdf.. then bought Clancy's Submarine 688 book and was even more hooked.
And should not forget to mention that Neal sent it to me somewhere in the 90ies

Only problem for me was it crashed a lot.. @NS do you run it under Win 7, and did you experience problems? I'd really like to play it again.

06-28-17, 09:41 AM

Win7 64
No problems at all. Installation with d-fend/dos box took a while to figure it out but that's it.
Never crashed in me in approx 20hrs of gameplay. Mind the patch for it, though, maybe you didn't have that back then.

Onkel Neal · 06-28-17, 10:11 AM

Ahoy! Fast. Attack
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/payments.php

This version has been set up to start DosBox and run the game. It works flawlessly on my Win10 rig

rwisdaman · 06-28-17, 01:41 PM

Oh my, thank you for that link. I have dos box as I use it for a couple other games i played back in the day.

I run Win10 on my new water cooled rig I just built so I am hoping this works on it!!!

Onkel Neal is there any special way I have to install or run this to make it work?

RSGodfrey · 06-30-17, 02:45 AM

If CW had the detail of Fast Attack it would be my perfect sub sim.

Onkel Neal · 06-30-17, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rwisdaman

Oh my, thank you for that link. I have dos box as I use it for a couple other games i played back in the day.

I run Win10 on my new water cooled rig I just built so I am hoping this works on it!!!

Onkel Neal is there any special way I have to install or run this to make it work?

There should be nothing to do, just download, scan the file, and then run it. It should set up DosBox and start the game. Let me know if you have any trouble, sir.

wathomas777 · 07-01-17, 02:23 AM

Fast Attack was my favorite too, but it had a fatal flaw.

2 hour mission timer.

There was a particular TASM mission that was just stupid. The timer was basically arbitrary and on this particular TASM mission it was nigh impossible to get to the launch point and get you birds away AND TO DESTINATION prior to end of mission.

And if your birds were still in the air when timer expired too bad.

Killed all enjoyment for me. Went back to Red Storm Rising. Spent way too much time on SSN 705 playing that one. Even had a way to edit the save game file so that once you saved the game you could edit your ship name and hull number.

Cold waters is pretty good. Basically a graphical update to RSR. But it's very "3d view" dependent which I find annoying. But it appears to be very moddable so we'll see.

But for mix of realism and playability, Fast Attack won hands down. Now if only we could kill the mission timer.....

HetzerII · 12-26-17, 03:41 PM

That Link sadly is down.... can anyone help?

G97_BoKeRoN · 01-17-18, 07:09 PM

I'm having a great fun with Fast Attack, the game really manages to build inmersion. (Just realized that the word "Inmersion" in spanish means "Dive", and I'm laughing myself alone, bear with me)

I'm right now having problems with tutorial nº 5, I always miscalculate the east patrol craft distance and hit the freighters instead.

The manual lacks some deep, but I think like starting to understand how plotting works. I think I will try to make a run under the cape and put that patrol craft from a different angle.

Red_88 · 03-13-18, 10:08 AM

Sorry if somebody else already posted it, but look what I found in the subsim download section: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/down...o=file&id=5081
It is already a year there, and yesterday I just noticed it. What is the story on that? Honestly I am surprised finding abondonware here.

aanker · 03-13-18, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red_88

Sorry if somebody else already posted it, but look what I found in the subsim download section: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/down...o=file&id=5081
It is already a year there, and yesterday I just noticed it. What is the story on that? Honestly I am surprised finding abondonware here.

Thank you for bumping this topic or I would never have seen it.

Thank you Onkel Neal for going through the gymnastics to acquire & host this easy to install, compatible version of this game.

Happy Hunting!

Onkel Neal · 03-17-18, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red_88

Sorry if somebody else already posted it, but look what I found in the subsim download section: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/down...o=file&id=5081
It is already a year there, and yesterday I just noticed it. What is the story on that? Honestly I am surprised finding abondonware here.

I don't blame you, 15 years ago abandonware was not allowed here. But as the years roll by, that has changed...some of the games are older than many members.

Quote:

Abandonware: games that are 8~10+ years old and are no longer available for sale commercially by the IP owner will be exempted on a case by case basis. An inquiry may be made about the status of a particular game in the Classic Subsims forum. Subsim will make a good faith effort to clear the use of the game with the last known copyright holders. If we were to receive an objection or legal challenge, we would reverse our position is regards to the game in question.

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/faq....ules2_faq_item

Discussion thread

Red_88 · 03-22-18, 12:28 PM

Thanks Onkel Neal for clarification. It is great to find these old gems here.

05-26-17, 06:52 PM	#1
Nippelspanner Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Fast Attack Finally got my hands on this and got it to run. Any abandonware stuff I tried didn't work, so I ordered a CD via Amazon, unfortunately I did not check that it is the German version, and now I have to endure German texts in an American submarine. Blasphemy. However, I am SO hooked by this gem. I read over and over that this can be considered one of the most authentic titles, due to the fact that the lead dev was a 688 skipper in real life - what more can you ask for? Although very old, it plays "comfortable" (many old games lack many control-related standards we take for granted today), runs well so far and despite some sound-crackling here and now especially in video sequences, it's all good. Technically it offers some really interesting features, like having to catch comms windows with the VLF antenna to receive satellite transmitted messages etc, and updating the AO-map with help of recon satellites also just gives you the feeling to be part of something bigger. The crew gives so great feedback, unlike in DW for example, where it, without spamming you, let's you know if it loses a contact on sonar, if it regains it, if it is breaking up, etc. etc. And I just played the first 2 training missions, I probably haven't seen half of it. Fantastic! To those who haven't played it yet, but are generally interested in modern submarines - play it. You won't regret it.

06-28-17, 09:06 AM	#3
Catfish Dipped Squirrel Operative Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: ..where the ocean meets the sky Posts: 16,897 Downloads: 38 Uploads: 0	I agree it is really good, while time has passed and graphics became better i never had such a "tight" feeling, like sitting in front of the screen with Fast Attack running. I printed out all the textbook that came as Pdf.. then bought Clancy's Submarine 688 book and was even more hooked. And should not forget to mention that Neal sent it to me somewhere in the 90ies Only problem for me was it crashed a lot.. @NS do you run it under Win 7, and did you experience problems? I'd really like to play it again. __________________ >^..^<*)))>{ All generalizations are wrong.

06-28-17, 10:11 AM	#5
Onkel Neal Born to Run Silent Join Date: Jan 1997 Location: Cougar Trap, Texas Posts: 21,284 Downloads: 534 Uploads: 224	Ahoy! Fast. Attack http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/payments.php This version has been set up to start DosBox and run the game. It works flawlessly on my Win10 rig __________________ SUBSIM - 26 Years on the Web Last edited by Onkel Neal; 03-17-18 at 09:36 PM.

06-30-17, 02:45 AM	#7
RSGodfrey Nub Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 3 Downloads: 206 Uploads: 0	Fast Attack and Cold Waters If CW had the detail of Fast Attack it would be my perfect sub sim.

07-01-17, 02:23 AM	#9
wathomas777 Swabbie Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 9 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	Fast Attack was my favorite too, but it had a fatal flaw. 2 hour mission timer. There was a particular TASM mission that was just stupid. The timer was basically arbitrary and on this particular TASM mission it was nigh impossible to get to the launch point and get you birds away AND TO DESTINATION prior to end of mission. And if your birds were still in the air when timer expired too bad. Killed all enjoyment for me. Went back to Red Storm Rising. Spent way too much time on SSN 705 playing that one. Even had a way to edit the save game file so that once you saved the game you could edit your ship name and hull number. Cold waters is pretty good. Basically a graphical update to RSR. But it's very "3d view" dependent which I find annoying. But it appears to be very moddable so we'll see. But for mix of realism and playability, Fast Attack won hands down. Now if only we could kill the mission timer..... __________________ William H. Thomas MM2/SS (1986-1997) USS City of Corpus Christi, SSN-705 USS New York City, SSN-696

06-27-17, 02:44 PM	#2
rwisdaman Nub Join Date: Jun 2017 Posts: 3 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 0	I used to play Fast Attack like it was the only game out there. I miss it. I found a cd on Amazon but it looks to be in dutch so I have to pass on that. I really want to find this game again and like the OP here, I havent been able to locate it anywhere. I too checked abandoneware and found nothing that worked.

06-28-17, 09:41 AM	#4
Nippelspanner Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Win7 64 No problems at all. Installation with d-fend/dos box took a while to figure it out but that's it. Never crashed in me in approx 20hrs of gameplay. Mind the patch for it, though, maybe you didn't have that back then.

06-28-17, 01:41 PM	#6
rwisdaman Nub Join Date: Jun 2017 Posts: 3 Downloads: 8 Uploads: 0	Oh my, thank you for that link. I have dos box as I use it for a couple other games i played back in the day. I run Win10 on my new water cooled rig I just built so I am hoping this works on it!!! Onkel Neal is there any special way I have to install or run this to make it work?

12-26-17, 03:41 PM	#10
HetzerII Swabbie Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 7 Downloads: 21 Uploads: 0	That Link sadly is down.... can anyone help?

01-17-18, 07:09 PM	#11
G97_BoKeRoN Watch Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 26 Downloads: 76 Uploads: 0	I'm having a great fun with Fast Attack, the game really manages to build inmersion. (Just realized that the word "Inmersion" in spanish means "Dive", and I'm laughing myself alone, bear with me) I'm right now having problems with tutorial nº 5, I always miscalculate the east patrol craft distance and hit the freighters instead. The manual lacks some deep, but I think like starting to understand how plotting works. I think I will try to make a run under the cape and put that patrol craft from a different angle.

03-13-18, 10:08 AM	#12
Red_88 Sailor man Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 49 Downloads: 250 Uploads: 6	Sorry if somebody else already posted it, but look what I found in the subsim download section: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/down...o=file&id=5081 It is already a year there, and yesterday I just noticed it. What is the story on that? Honestly I am surprised finding abondonware here.

03-22-18, 12:28 PM	#15
Red_88 Sailor man Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 49 Downloads: 250 Uploads: 6	Thanks Onkel Neal for clarification. It is great to find these old gems here.