MicroProse has pulled out all the stops in this flight simulation. No detail has. Fly the B-17 Flying Fortress and become a legend before your own time! FOR inn ruconrA nn11:& Hf RIOUHlY. EHPERIIDEBTRL FI6HTER. Earth is ambushed by a hostile alien race. The Fist Of Earth world. In 1992, MicroProse Software, Inc. Publishes B-17 Flying Fortress on DOS. Also published on Amiga and Atari ST, this simulation game is abandonware and is set in a flight, historical battle (specific/exact), world war ii and vehicular combat simulator.
B-17 Flying Fortress | |
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Developer(s) | Vektor Grafix |
Publisher(s) | MicroProse |
Platform(s) | MS-DOS, Atari ST, Amiga |
Release | 1992 |
Genre(s) | Combat flight simulator |
Mode(s) | Single player |
B-17 Flying Fortress: World War II Bombers in Action is a combat flight simulator video game developed by Vektor Grafix and published by MicroProse for the PC MS-DOS in 1992 and for the Amiga and Atari ST in 1993. The game simulates training, combat missions and sorties in a tour of duty in the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces in the European Theater of Operations aboard a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber during World War II. It was followed by B-17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty 8th in 2000.
Gameplay[edit]
Manning a machine gun turret
Some aspects that the player has control over are inflight crew management (a crewman might become injured during combat and temporary medical aid inflight given to him whilst another aircrewmen tends another crew position), manning an onboard .50 caliberM2 Browning machine gun against enemy fighters, and releasing the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress's ordnance on the target as well as piloting or copiloting the plane. All ten aircrew positions could be controlled either manually or under AI control, however the main character and captain is the primary pilot. His successes, failures, capture, injury or death affects the direction and conclusion of the campaign.
The player can pick out his chosen bomber with its particular nose art and was shown target briefing information and briefing films in the simulation before entering on any mission with the crew. A map of the flight path and waypoints were also shown in the simulation. Although a mission is assigned to the crew before every sortie, the player may break formation and roam freely around Europe if desired, looking for and attacking targets of opportunity. Different targets can easily be discerned from the bombsight, whether a factory or a U-boat pen; terrain graphics are minimal. The success of this decision relies on the skill of the crew, particularly if the navigator is skilled enough to navigate Europe on his own and the crew is able to withstand stronger Luftwaffe fighter and ground defense Flak attacks due to being alone. The most difficult but prestigious targets were the Nazi strongholds in and around Berlin.
If the player's B-17 is severely damaged, the player may drop out of the formation and continue the mission on one's own or attempt to return to England, in which one can land on any Allied runway and be taken back to the home base at Alconbury. The player is unable to damage one's own plane using the onboard guns, however, dropping bombs at a low altitude would destroy the plane. The player is also able to shoot down ally Flying Fortresses, as an act of friendly fire. An ill-timed shooting of a Luftwaffe fighter could cause the enemy to lose control and collide with one's B-17 or others in the formation.
The game's graphics are very simple (MCGA and VGA) and the requirements are meager when running on an antiquated IBM PC compatible computer; an Intel 80286microprocessor based (or comparable AMD) based PC is required at 16 MHz with DOS 5.0 (a soundcard is desirable). However a 80386 or better microprocessor is recommended for this software with at least 640k of RAM. The PC version came out in several floppy disk media types (5- 5.25' high density disks), compact floppy disks, 4-3.5' high density disks) and CD-ROM versions.
Development and release[edit]
One of the technical advisors to the development of the simulation was Major Joseph N. Worsley (USAAF, Retired) one of the top bombardiers in the USAAF trained in the use of the Norden as well as Sperry bombsights on Boeing B-29s. Dominic Robinson, technical director for the sequel B-17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty 8th also was listed in the software credits for the original title.
B-17 Flying Fortress came with a 230-page manual which details how to play the simulation, in addition to an in-depth historical section with numerous illustrations and photographs. The simulation also included a keyboard overlay so that the function of keys on the players computer keyboard would not be so confusing during gameplay. For a while B-17 Flying Fortress (DOS version only) was released with permission as freeware by MicroProse on the Internet website http://bombs-away.net.
Its sequel came out in the year 2000 and B-17 Flying Fortress as freeware was made into a MicrosoftWindows 9x running application from the DOS based version for the PC platform. Shockwave Productions has since bought the rights to the code.
Reception[edit]
Computer Gaming World criticized the poor documentation and inability to start other than in November 1943 even after finishing a 25-mission tour. The magazine concluded that while the game 'points the way for future designs in the genre with its character-based approach ... It will not, however, satisfy those who expect a comprehensive, flexible treatment of the subject.'[1] A 1993 survey in the magazine of wargames gave the game three stars out of five, stating that 'Bomber operations are inherently dull ... and this simulation more than covers the topic.'[2]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Shefski, William J. (January 1993). 'MicroProse UK's B-17 Flying Fortress'. Computer Gaming World. p. 148. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
- ^Brooks, M. Evan (September 1993). 'Brooks' Book of Wargames: 1900-1950, A-P'. Computer Gaming World. p. 118. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
External links[edit]
- B-17 Flying Fortress at MobyGames
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=B-17_Flying_Fortress_(video_game)&oldid=904148296'
B-17 Flying Fortress has the distinction of being the only game of its kind. While there are scores of other sims allowing us to fly nimble fighter aircraft, B-17 Flying Fortress gives us the chance to fly one of the most famous bombers of World War II, the B-17 Flying Fortress, famous for its stamina, strength, and fortitude.
Microprose gives us the opportunity not only to fly this legendary beast, but to take part in other tasks, such as bombing, navigating, and gunnery. B-17 Flying Fortress gives you the opportunity to manage and control the whole crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress. This might seem a bit daunting to the usual flight sim enthusiast, who only has to worry about himself and his plane. There's no need to worry, however, because the game can handle itself quite nicely while you're not directly in control of any one station. Let's look at this in detail, shall we?
B-17 Flying Fortress models ten stations for your use, including the bombardier, navigator, engineer, radio operator, both pilots, and four gunners. This allows you to intervene personally when you think that your more experienced hand is needed. The game begins with you selecting your bomber's name and nose art, which are both quite important. Once those are selected, it's off to your first mission, which is described for you in the briefing.
In typical Microprose style, the mission briefings are presented in a virtual briefing room with a picture of your commander giving them to you. You might notice that, each time you begin a game, the missions might be a bit different. This is because the missions are randomly generated with each game, ensuring tons of replayability. Once you've read your briefing, it's off to the plane.
When you first get to your plane, you're greeted with the crew management screen. This gives you a cut-away layout of your bomber with each crew member in his station. It is from here that all of your crew management takes place, hence the name of the screen. You can jump to any of the ten positions from here, and you can move personnel around to cover for others who have been injured.
A word of warning: If you move a crew member away from a position, such as the top turret, you won't be able to access that station until it is manned again. The manual details your first mission and helps you through it in a tutorial. The manual, overall, is excellent, with great writing and lots of informative stuff.
The missions, of course, are where you'll spend the bulk of your time in the game. B-17 Flying Fortress challenges you to fly through a full twenty-five sortie campaign, which is what the actual bomber flyers from World War II had to go through. The missions start off simply but get harder and harder as the campaign goes on.
The final missions (supposing you're lucky/good enough to make it that far) take you right into the center of the German heartland, Berlin. These missions are some of the most tense and tough missions I've ever flown, with tons of flak, as well as several enemy aircraft, tying to prevent you from succeeding. It's the level of detail and fun Microprose put into these missions that make them a blast.
The graphics and sound effects for this game aren't too bad, given the time frame. Polygons and sprites rule the day, as this game was made when 3D acceleration was a pipe dream, at best. The game does have enough graphical and aural charm to lure one in, though, and the great game play will keep players there throughout their campaign, assuming they survive.
Overall, for being what most would consider a dry subject compared to its fighter cousins, this reviewer would have to say that B-17 Flying Fortress does exactly what it sets out to do. It gives us a detailed bomber simulation with enough spice, tension, and fun to keep us playing for a long time to come.
If you have any interest at all in this subject, or maybe you liked the movie Memphis Belle, then you'd be doing yourself a favor by finding a copy of this game.
Graphics: Great graphics for its day really draw the player into the period.
Sound: Decent music and sound effects.
Enjoyment: If air combat is your thing, this game is a refreshing change from the norm.
Replay Value: Each twenty-five sortie campaign is different.
B-17 Flying Fortress is a simulation of the legendary heavy bomber of World War II.
After customizing one's bomber with nose art and a name, one of several randomly assigned bombing missions into Germany must be flown. The game not only features actual flight simulation, but also crew management. Each of the 10 crew members has ratings for categories like piloting, bombing and gunnery. During a mission, crew members can be reassigned to other posts if needed because of injuries. Each position including the pilot seat, the guns and the bombing sight can of course also be controlled by the player.
A historically accurate number of 25 missions must be flown and survived to complete a tour of duty.
How to run this game on modern Windows PC?
This game has been set up to work on modern Windows (10/8/7/Vista/XP 64/32-bit) computers without problems. Please choose Download - Easy Setup (5.48 MB).
People who downloaded B-17 Flying Fortress have also downloaded:
B-17 Gunner: Air War Over Germany, Aces over Europe, Aces of The Pacific, Aces of The Deep, Battle of Britain (from TalonSoft), Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe, Command Aces of The Deep, Air Duel: 80 Years of Dogfighting
B-17 Gunner: Air War Over Germany, Aces over Europe, Aces of The Pacific, Aces of The Deep, Battle of Britain (from TalonSoft), Combat Flight Simulator 3: Battle for Europe, Command Aces of The Deep, Air Duel: 80 Years of Dogfighting