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MicroProse Returns with the Mighty Eighth, a 10-Player WWII B-17 Simulator

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Re: MicroProse Returns with the Mighty Eighth, a 10-Player WWII B-17 Simulator

#61

Post by ghaff »

close04 wrote: post #18
thev4lley wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting tidbit, thanks. Where does an IP auction tend to happen?

When companies get dissolved, go bankrupt, or just to make a quick buck they sell or license IP, trademarks, etc. to extract value out of whatever was left. This is how you get the Polaroid and Kodak brands on all kinds of cheap electronics, or company revivals like this. Sometimes only the brand name and logo survive, with no actual IP, tech, knowledge, or personnel being passed on.

One particularly persistent piece of PR scattershot emails I get is for random low-end electronic gadgets with an RCA brand.

Though it's not just tech. The Pan American Airways brand seems to periodically get slapped onto some regional airline.

Re: MicroProse Returns with the Mighty Eighth, a 10-Player WWII B-17 Simulator

#62

Post by garaetjjte »

princevegeta89 wrote: post #56

Man, what a coincidence?!! I was just thinking of random things yesterday, and my beloved childhood game Transport Tycoon came into my mind for a bit. Then I immediately recalled Chris Sawyer and his genius, along with his less-known company MicroProse. Totally stunned to see this post on here today!

There's great open source replacement for Transport Tycoon: https://www.openttd.org/

Re: MicroProse Returns with the Mighty Eighth, a 10-Player WWII B-17 Simulator

#63

Post by ghaff »

brudgers wrote: post #10
duxup wrote: post #3

I wonder how much of a sim it will be. Not sure I'd want to be the bombardier and have to sit for a long time only to get to stare at my screen and push a button ... once. Granted I still like the idea, it will be interesting to see how much they gamify it and how much they do not.

In the late 80's and early 90's real time was a feature of simulations. It's what made them simulations. And as dull as flying a WWII airplane out and back sounds...Microprose's Silent Service let you operate a submarine across the Pacific in real time. Of course, you could also speed time up if you wanted. But a "base frequency" of real time means the game play is not centered around "story mode." In simulation it m…

I was a big fan of a lot of complex "realistic" simulations at one point... in theory. In reality--yes, there was the hours of boredom followed a minute of terror problem but there was also the problem that you're not going to hop into a reasonable facsimile of the cockpit of an F-16 or the command center of a WWII sub and control it without spending a lot more time training than all but the most very very serious simulation gamers are going to put in.

Re: MicroProse Returns with the Mighty Eighth, a 10-Player WWII B-17 Simulator

#64

Post by Qworg »

close04 wrote: post #18
thev4lley wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting tidbit, thanks. Where does an IP auction tend to happen?

When companies get dissolved, go bankrupt, or just to make a quick buck they sell or license IP, trademarks, etc. to extract value out of whatever was left. This is how you get the Polaroid and Kodak brands on all kinds of cheap electronics, or company revivals like this. Sometimes only the brand name and logo survive, with no actual IP, tech, knowledge, or personnel being passed on.

Even weirder, sometimes those brand names/logos are _shared between companies_ - for example, Ryobi is made by various different entities who all partially own it and agree on packaging/branding.

Re: MicroProse Returns with the Mighty Eighth, a 10-Player WWII B-17 Simulator

#65

Post by sandworm101 »

acheron wrote: post #7

For anyone interested, this company is unrelated to the original Microprose from a corporate history perspective, it’s just some people who bought the name “Microprose” at an IP auction. However they have enlisted Wild Bill Stealey as some kind of advisor, so they are at least attempting to connect with the history. (Wild Bill was one of the two founders of Microprose. The other, Sid Meier, has his own things going o…

F-19 Stealth Fighter, later F-117 II, was epic. The air defence AI in that game still outshines today's best simulations.

Re: MicroProse Returns with the Mighty Eighth, a 10-Player WWII B-17 Simulator

#66

Post by jedberg »

In my gap semester between High School and College, I worked at a retail software store in the mall (yeah, we used to sell software in boxes at the mall!).

Since I was the only one on staff who didn't have school in the morning, I always got stuck with the crappy morning shift. Which means I had to clean the store and restock and reprice all the shelves, and I barely got time with customers, which was actually the fun part.

But there was one shining star in that morning shift -- that's when all the reps came in to talk to the manager about which software would be on the prime shelves, and handed out free copies for the staff so we could play the games and then talk them up to the customers.

The Microprose rep was always awesome. They would bring a bunch of copies of the games for us to play and keep, and they had the rights to the coolest properties (Star Trek, Magic the Gathering, etc).

That job sucked but I think I still have some of those free games in a box somewhere.

Re: MicroProse Returns with the Mighty Eighth, a 10-Player WWII B-17 Simulator

#68

Post by khrbrt »

For those interested, check out this training film for B-17 gunners voiced by Mel Blanc, better known for his role as Bugs Bunny.

https://youtu.be/vtgAyGa79F8

I wonder how accurate they'll keep the shooting mechanics. As a casual player, I never would have thought to aim three crosshairs to the side of a Messerschmitt coming side-on.

Re: MicroProse Returns with the Mighty Eighth, a 10-Player WWII B-17 Simulator

#69

Post by TeMPOraL »

khrbrt wrote: post #68

For those interested, check out this training film for B-17 gunners voiced by Mel Blanc, better known for his role as Bugs Bunny. https://youtu.be/vtgAyGa79F8 I wonder how accurate they'll keep the shooting mechanics. As a casual player, I never would have thought to aim three crosshairs to the side of a Messerschmitt coming side-on.

A "lead indicator" is a standard feature of most games even remotely similar to a fighter sim. You get a box on the HUD that tells you where to shoot to guarantee a hit if the target won't change its velocity vector in between you firing and the projectile reaching it.

I assume the same thing exists on real combat planes now.

(Of course these are next to useless in space combat sims, as in most games ships maneuver like fighter planes with zero inertia. They're also useless in real air combat these days, as everything is done with missiles from beyond visual range. But sure looked nice on Top Gun.)

Re: MicroProse Returns with the Mighty Eighth, a 10-Player WWII B-17 Simulator

#70

Post by basementcat »

Somewhat off topic but the last time I visited the Palm Springs Air Museum, they had a B-17 Flying Fortress that you could crawl inside! I've never been so thrilled to bang my head inside a cramped space.

https://palmspringsairmuseum.org

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