POLL: Microprose best naval game was...

[Sonarman]

With the great news about a new Microprose thinking about re-entering the simulation arena. I thought it would be a good time to see what we consider the best naval sim produced by the original company.

[CaptHawkeye]

Task Force 1942 wins. I imagine the Red Storm Rising fans will be pouring in about now screaming for my blood. :)

[Sonarman]

Yup, I was really torn between those two too, I remember staying up very very late for weeks on end with those games in my misspent youth.

[nikimcbee]

I don't think I ever played TF1942:damn: , but I loved RSR:up: . It is a tough choice though.

[Raptor1]

TF42, Since I never played RSR and i'm a huge surface-ship fan

[mrbeast]

TF1942 for me:up: Played that campaign about a dozen times from both sides and won as the Japs and the Allies.

[mako88sb]

Tough choice for me as well. RSR was great but I really got caught up in the night battles of TF1942.

[Overkill]

A new TF1942 would be awsome. :D
It has been mentioned a few times in these forums that using the engine from SHIV for a surface battle game would be good but apparently Ubi didn't take notice. :-? Anybody think they can mod it for surface combat?

[Raptor1]

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=133982

But a remake of TF1942 would be an awesome game

[CaptHawkeye]

It could easily be done since plenty of the physics and the models are already present. The biggest challenge would be rendering ship interiors and setting up a system that makes management of several hundred man crews easy. (Take hints from some RTS game there.)

The only problem is that Ubi won't give us a god damn SDK.

[Sonarman]

I would say that won't happen (the SDK) especially for modders to tackle a suface modifiication because it's likely to be Ubisoft's next game!

The pointers are all there, as you say they have models, task force ai, systems etc already. Plus SH4 has introduced multiplayer escort control and now with the addon strategic control. I hope the devs take a good look at TF1942 if that happens cause that game did a lot of things right with the interface & gameplay that a lot of later games did not (GNB series, Distant Guns etc).

[NEON DEON]

Tough choice for me as well. RSR was great but I really got caught up in the night battles of TF1942.

Me too TF1942 was kewl. I used to love to use a Brooklyn class Light Cruiser at night with its 15 rapid fire 6 inch guns. I still have the flip over recognition manual and the original disks.

[Sonarman]

I loved the bridge view in TF1942 I dont think it has been equalled yet as far as naval surface sims go. Also the chart interface worked really well, "Distant Guns" is a disaster in comparison.

[CaptHawkeye]

Tough choice for me as well. RSR was great but I really got caught up in the night battles of TF1942.

Me too TF1942 was kewl. I used to love to use a Brooklyn class Light Cruiser at night with its 15 rapid fire 6 inch guns. I still have the flip over recognition manual and the original disks.

Man, I soooo want to be a Northampton class cruiser and dump torpedoes at an advancing line of Japanese destroyers. No merchant raiding for you tonight kids! BOOOM. Oh my god we're doomed! They saw us first and got long lances in the water!

[Raptor1]

I doubt a Northampton would try to torpedo a line of Japanese destroyers, I didn't even know those things had torpedo tubes until yesterday...

But the other way around...ouch...

Now I need to play the Tassafaronga mission again...

[CaptHawkeye]

I doubt a Northampton would try to torpedo a line of Japanese destroyers, I didn't even know those things had torpedo tubes until yesterday...

Yeah, usually American Heavy Cruisers just let the destroyers do the torpedoing while they engaged in the gunfire slug out. I'll have to read into why American CAs didn't seem to like using their torpedoes that much. Maybe they just don't bother getting close enough to use them because most of them had radar fire control anyway and would rather stay at a "safe" distance and just lob shells. Their were plenty of times neither of them used their torpedoes.

But the other way around...ouch...

Damn the long lance and its nearly invisible wake! :)

[Raptor1]

I think they never tried torping them because they we're slower, and had far more powerful guns then the Japanese DDs (6-8 4-5" vs. 9/10 8"), also, the Torpedo tubes we're removed from all USN CA classes starting with the Portland

[Overkill]

I always liked to use the skirmish mode to see how many Fletchers it took to sink the Yamato.

[Raptor1]

This many, Overkill?

http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/5688/tf42kw5.jpg

The numbers are almost identical, but i doubt Yamato could survive the DD Carnage

[Overkill]

Yup. I'd loose a few Fletchers but once I got into torpedo range the poor Yamato was doomed. :arrgh!:

I think what I missed the most about the game was the night battles with the star shells and spotlights.

[Sonarman]

Just looking at that screenshot triggers the urge to fire the game up with Dosbox. Even after all these years that game still rocks, I can't wait for Dan & Co to produce a Ubi equivalent with SH4 level graphics.

[Raptor1]

Okay, Rear Admiral Raptor1 leads a line of 16 valiant Fletcher-class Destroyers down The Slot to intercept the Japanese Battleship Yamato

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/137/battlelinexl9.jpg

The Yamato opens fire as soon as the Destroyers are sighted and demolishes the 2 leading ships, Including Admiral Raptor1's Flagship, the Saufley

http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/1346/saufleysinkingca7.jpg

The American Line falls into disarray, but the DDs charge on and open fire on the Yamato


http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/749/ddoa7.jpg


Eventually the Yamato is hit by Torpedoes and sinks, but I couldn't take a pic because I didn't have Fraps handy and had to use Printscreen (Auu...)

http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/8278/byebyeyamatoqm4.jpg


Here is Page 1 of the American Losses, I accidentally clicked continue instead of Next so I couldn't SS the next pages, But I think I lost 5 Destroyers

http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/6917/byebyefletchersxd6.jpg


I think I should've done this a Night Battle...hmm...

[Overkill]

If they could take that same game engine and just update the graphics to SHII or III standards I would be happy.

Raptor1, Do you have the original game or did you download it?

[Sonarman]

If they could take that same game engine and just update the graphics to SHII or III standards I would be happy.


Add anti-air/ anti sub & minelaying in there as well as multiplayer and a dynamic campaign and it would be truly amazing.

I think where that game excelled was in it's interface which made it so easy to be torpedo officer one minute and admiral of the the next, an effortless transition, superb game design. Ubi should purchase the original code from Atari or the new Microprose and run with it. Hopefully East and crew will do something like this in Enigma II as well.

[Raptor1]

Raptor1, Do you have the original game or did you download it?

Unfortunatly I don't have the original game anymore, so I downloaded it

[Sonarman]

I still have all of the Microprose sims & their boxes & fantastic manuals. I keep purging my stuff (at my wife's insistance), but find it very difficult to part with them.

The originals pop up on eBay from time to time, I was shocked to see a copy of "Silent Service II" go for about £16 ($32) a few weeks ago

[Overkill]

I actually have it on 3-1/2" floppy but no way to put it on my pc. Where can I download it and is DosBox all I need to run it?

[nikimcbee]

Okay, Rear Admiral Raptor1 leads a line of 16 valiant Fletcher-class Destroyers down The Slot to intercept the Japanese Battleship Yamato

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/137/battlelinexl9.jpg

The Yamato opens fire as soon as the Destroyers are sighted and demolishes the 2 leading ships, Including Admiral Raptor1's Flagship, the Saufley

http://img398.imageshack.us/img398/1346/saufleysinkingca7.jpg

The American Line falls into disarray, but the DDs charge on and open fire on the Yamato


http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/749/ddoa7.jpg


Eventually the Yamato is hit by Torpedoes and sinks, but I couldn't take a pic because I didn't have Fraps handy and had to use Printscreen (Auu...)

http://img353.imageshack.us/img353/8278/byebyeyamatoqm4.jpg


Here is Page 1 of the American Losses, I accidentally clicked continue instead of Next so I couldn't SS the next pages, But I think I lost 5 Destroyers

http://img363.imageshack.us/img363/6917/byebyefletchersxd6.jpg


I think I should've done this a Night Battle...hmm...

Thanks for the pictures!:up:

[Sonarman]

I actually have it on 3-1/2" floppy but no way to put it on my pc. Where can I download it and is DosBox all I need to run it?

Posting links here is "not the done thing" (Google is your friend). Yes it will run with Dosbox only but you may prefer to add a frontend to DosBox to make things easier for launching profiles etc. D-Fend is a good one.

[Overkill]

I actually have it on 3-1/2" floppy but no way to put it on my pc. Where can I download it and is DosBox all I need to run it?

Posting links here is "not the done thing" (Google is your friend). Yes it will run with Dosbox only but you may prefer to add a frontend to DosBox to make things easier for launching profiles etc. D-Fend is a good one.

Thank you. :up:

[Sonarman]

There is an interesting article (http://www.civfanatics.com/sidlegacy/index.php)originally from Gamespot over at the Civilization fanatics site about Sid Meier's days at Microprose it mentions Pirates, RedStorm Rising & Silent Service amongst other classics.

[M. Sarsfield]

I remember a task force mode built into 1942: Pacific Air War. Was that essentially Task Force 1942?

[Raptor1]

Since 1942: PAW is a flight sim, I don't think so...

[M. Sarsfield]

They had a surface ship / task force campaign mode that you could play. You had the option of flying, if you wanted to, but it mainly focused on directing your fleet(s) and aircraft to intercept the other fleet(s). I remember playing the battle of Midway and sending out my PBY and B-17 search planes to locate the Japanese fleet. AI was pretty smart.

[Raptor1]

TF1942 concentrates only on the Solomon Islands campaign and you directly control your Task Groups and Ship Squadrons/Divisions in a battle (And you can order land-based air around in the campaign too), So it's pretty much the opposite, I guess

[caspofungin]

I used to love to use a Brooklyn class Light Cruiser at night with its 15 rapid fire 6 inch guns.

sweet! once you got the range, you'd demolish pretty much anything.

that was a great game with a surprising amount of depth in the campaign mode. ah, the memories...

[Sonarman]

I remember a task force mode built into 1942: Pacific Air War. Was that essentially Task Force 1942?

Many of the elements, the control map and ship models were carried over from TF1942 to 1942 PAW and indeed it used an updated TF1942 engine.

As Raptor correctly points out 1942:PAW was primarily a flight sim and allowed you only to direct your fleet on the map and man the aircraft, unlike TF1942 where you could man the ship's bridge views , gunnery torps etc. If you never played TF do yourself a favour and seek it out & try it uder DOSBOX, for my money it's still the best surface sim to date. I hope Dan & the team at Ubi take a long hard look at this classic should they ever decide to give us a surface sim.

[Overkill]

I'd be more than will'n to buy an updated PAW to go with my updated copy of TF1942. Both games were awsome back in the day. :up: :up:

[NEON DEON]

I love Microprose games. You could always tell a Microprose game by content.

In fact, you could blind fold me, and put an MP game in one hand and just about anyone elses game in the other and I could tell you which hand held the MP game just by the weight of the package. They always were well thought out and they never skimped on content.

But my favorite MP game was Darklands.




A fantasy RPG that substituded magic with religion and potions.

[Captain Vlad]

But my favorite MP game was Darklands.

A fantasy RPG that substituded magic with religion and potions.

One of my favorite gaming moments was when I was playing this and a group of tree-like forest creatures emerged from the wood and demanded the purest female in the party.

[NEON DEON]

But my favorite MP game was Darklands.

A fantasy RPG that substituded magic with religion and potions.

One of my favorite gaming moments was when I was playing this and a group of tree-like forest creatures emerged from the wood and demanded the purest female in the party.

Mine were the gargoyles. On the open road they had my party for lunch.