Path: utzoo!censor!geac!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ub!ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu!ztsindi From: ztsindi@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (Bill Gant) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.games Subject: Re: Submarine Warfare Simulators Keywords: 688, Red Storm Rising Message-ID: <51893@eerie.acsu.Buffalo.EDU> Date: 17 Dec 90 06:23:44 GMT References: <93515@aerospace.AERO.ORG> <4113@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov> Sender: news@acsu.Buffalo.EDU Reply-To: ztsindi@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu Organization: University at Buffalo Lines: 72 Nntp-Posting-Host: ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS V1.3-4.4 Posted for Clayton J. Miner...Text to Follow ----------------------------------------------------------------- | Todd G Vaarwerk | Bitnet: ZTSINDI@UBVMS | | State University of | Internet: ZTSINDI@UBVMS.CC.BUFFALO.EDU | | New York at Buffalo | VAARWERK@ACSU.BUFFALO.EDU | |---------------------------------------------------------------| | Disclaimer: Believe what you want .. I trashed all my views of| | reality ages ago d8-) | ------------------------------------------------------------------ > >The best aspect of this game is the head to head play that is allowed. >Actually I don't know if this available in the Amiga version but it sure was on >the IBM. Nope, sorry. Head-to-head mode disabled on the Amiga version. Bastards... >Amusing if unrealistic. I can't imagine there being one on a real sub. Not >saying this is bad but if realism is a big point in your selection 688 is out. Yup. Side scan sonar technology is even used in commercial shipping and salavage ops these days. Granted the display is 'fudged' to make it more understadable to the gamer, but the basic idea is there. > >Actually I thought that they didn't want to do any time compression...hence >the messed up weapon systems (everything limited to 10nm). After all if you >don't do time compression you don't want the player to wait a half hour to see >if the torp hit ;-). I wasn't sure at the time if this was just sloppy >programming or what...just that it was a real irritant. Game design. The idea is to spend your time positioning, not waiting for the hit. I guess that the designers feel that in a shooting war, the first to launch the warhead is the victor. Kinda narrow-minded, G.I. Joe inspired viewpoint. > >I liked RSR but after a while the encounters started looking the same. By >knocking the difficulty up the scnearios got real tough but you could expect >pretty much the same mix of ships in the different groups. There are three or >four basic mission types with one or two one-shot missions (like fire TLAMs at >murmansk or sink the boomer). I noticed that too... > >Just how realistic is the counter measures in the game? Do subs really carry >noisemakers and decoys in such copious quantities? Do they really work that >well? Clancy notwithstanding I've never really heard much about these things >in real life. Not surprising really ;-). They do in fact exist. I have spoken with John-Allen Price (author of Extinction Cruise) who did the hands-on research and came up with some interesting stats. Underwater warfare is a lot different these days. > >Nope. As some posts here have said...Harpoon ASW is lacking in many ways. It >is an artifact of the board game ASW rules. There is no fine control over sub >combat. But it is fun in many other ways. Harpoon. ugh... Lousy graphics. Good idea, unpleasant to look at. Having the built in scenario editor is a plus though. Damn graphics are a CGA port though,as are the sfx... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | Wing Commander Skeksis - Reality Engineer | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | Clayton J. Miner | Bitnet: ZTSINDI@UBVMS | | -------------------- | Internet: ZTSINDI@UBVMS.CC.BUFFALO.EDU | |---------------------------------------------------------------------| | The views of this post are not the views of this host organization. | | They ARE, however, the views of the SysOp of the Known World BBS. | | 300-1200-2400 bps, 24 hours mostly. A SkyLine BBS. | | (716)-883-3083 | -----------------------------------------------------------------------