It is safe to say that I have always been a gamer. Even from an early age when computers were in their infancy my dad bought an old console from Sears that you could only play pong on. From there we graduated to an Atari 2600 and eventually computers.
We had an old Texas Instruments computer that could only run programs you wrote yourself or loaded from an audio cassette tape. As things evolved, we found ourselves with some PC's including a homemade IBM shell complete with a model M keyboard. I still use an IBM Model M keyboard every day in my office. There is something so relaxing to type on it. It is almost a religious experience with the clicking and the tactile feel of the keys under your fingers.
Anyway, back in the day, one of the largest software companies on the block was Microprose. They excelled at military simulations and one of my most favorite games of theirs was Silent Service II.
My dad purchased it for himself, but it wasn't long before I was monopolizing most of the computer time sinking ships and dodging patrols in the Pacific ocean with my trusty submarine.
You can play the game yourself at Archive.org which is where I got all of these screenshots. It is hard to believe this game came out in 1990 when I was a freshman in high school. Looking back, 1990 doesn't seem like it was that long ago, but the days of 386 processors and DOS based games seems like an eternity.
Call it an early form of copyright protection, you had to identify the ship to be able to proceed directly in to the full version of the game. I can't remember if there were pictures in the manual or you had to use a pinwheel type thing that came with the game to identify them. Basically, without the materials in the box you were just guessing. If you guessed wrong, you could still play the game, but you were relegated to training practice. Let's call it the early version of a walkthrough tutorial.
Once you got past that point, you were able to pick the date you wanted to be placed in. The game takes place in the Pacific theater of World War II so the dates are anywhere between 1941 and 1945. Certain dates were known to be more active in that area, so you can place yourself right in the thick of it if you want. On top of that, later dates also give you access to more advanced submarines. Most notably the Improved GATO class sub and the choice of electric vs. steam torpedoes.
I picked an early year in this playthrough so I only had access to the GATO class. As you can see each sub gives you various options in terms of number of torpedo tubes, size of the deck gun, maximum speed and dive depth.
If you decide to play, you will probably appreciate this handy keyboard overlay that also used to come with the game. It fit right over your keyboard so you could know which button to hit. This was back before the old ASD standard. The game mainly makes use of the number keys and the function keys (yes, they were actually once used for something).
As you can see, I guessed wrong on the ship identification and I got relegated to training. Since these ships don't fire back I quickly accelerated towards them and took the closest one out.
Cutting edge graphics back then with the splashing water and all of that...
If you are looking for a little gaming nostalgia, you should really give this one a look. I can remember countless hours being chased by cruisers after taking out a supply ship or air craft carrier. At the time the AI seemed so realistic and the game of cat-and-mouse was so thrilling.
If I didn't have a bunch of work to get done after I publish this I could probably waste the rest of my day sinking some tankers. If I remember right you can also play scenarios of big naval battles that took place back then.
It would be really cool to see more people leverage the Archive.org database and highlight some of their favorite old school games. It doesn't have all of them, but there is a pretty significant catalog available.
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I remember F15 Strike Eagle II from back in the day! lol I also played B17 Flying Fortress and Wings.
Interesting subject games have certainly come along way thanks for sharing on Listnerds have a great day @bozz 😎
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It's good that old games are being preserved. Emulation has come a long way. It is tempting to revive some games from my 8 bit days, but do I have the time? I have a few consoles here that are gathering dust.
I keep thinking about digging out my NES from the garage. I had so few games for it I am not even sure it would be worth it.
Sometimes things are not as good as we remember them. Don't want to be disappointed.
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Those are the two submarine games I remember. They were definitely 80s stuff but were all keystroke games for sure. I don't remember exactly when I first got a mouse compatible system but it had to be late 80s or early 90s.
My dad used to say that the mouse was for people who didn't know how to use the keyboard. The game that originally got him into these kinds of simulations was called GATO. It was a really simple game he had on his computer at work for the short stint when he wasn't on the plant floor.
I remember GATO or think I do. I'd really hate to have to go back to keystroke but I'm guessing I could if pushed.
It was slower than the second coming but I had an 80386 processor and it ran off a floppy so I had plenty of time :)
Ah yes, I remember those days.
Now, this is wayyyy old school.
I have never played this before.
It is a pretty sweet for being old school. You should check it out.
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