| In the last six months, the demise of sims | | | | assumed he would need to learn all the |
| has been pronounced in abundance. Print mags | | | | material to play competitive. The blessing |
| and sim webzines have been telling you sims | | | | and the curse of a good sim is its |
| are being cancelled left and right Jane's | | | | complexity. You want to command a battle |
| A-10: Cancelled. Wolfpack II: Cancelled. | | | | fleet or do TMA on a Los Angeles class |
| Silent Steel II: MIA. M1Tank Platoon 3: | | | | submarine? You need to learn skills and |
| Cancelled. Fighting Steel Deluxe: Cancelled. | | | | study. And this restricts the popularity of |
| Jane's Attack Squadron: MIA. Thunder Over | | | | the sim. Mass market games generally do not |
| Europe: MIA. The list goes on.We all know | | | | carry the steep learning curve a sim does. So |
| that this is a down cycle for sims and we | | | | while we hard core sim players are delighting |
| believe there is hope that in a couple of | | | | in the minutia of seven different stations |
| years, things will turn around and sims will | | | | and all their controls, casual gamers are |
| be hot stuff again. Hey, I remember in 1973 | | | | passing up the sim at a 20 to 1 ratio. Sims |
| when the EPA and OPEC throttled the life out | | | | truly are a niche market.Niche market games |
| of the muscle car scene. I had a 1970 Cobra | | | | have limited budgets. This mean a small |
| Torino that had 450 hp and ran the quarter in | | | | number of programmers and artists must |
| the high 13s. In less than three years every | | | | concentrate on the basics. Don't expect to |
| car out of Detroit was a smog controlled, gas | | | | see everything you want and imagine in a sim. |
| economizing slug. They even started making | | | | Oh yeah, I'm with you--I wish a subsim could |
| them as ugly as they were slow! It was | | | | have full motion crews and other fun stuff. |
| heartbreaking.But over time, things change. | | | | But as one producer told me, "We don't have |
| Now you can get a high performance machine | | | | the money to design and integrate these |
| that handles and has luxuries like front/rear | | | | features into the product. I wish we could, |
| AC. My '99 Riviera has a supercharged V-6 | | | | too."We should be finding out the status of |
| that would make my old Torino proud.So, keep | | | | Silent Hunter II soon. Either Mattel |
| the faith. Things will improve, even if no | | | | Interactive is going to sign someone to |
| one knows when. Silent Hunter II and | | | | complete it or it will be canned. I went |
| Destroyer Command are showing signs of life. | | | | through the "we are planning to do this" |
| Harpoon 4 is still under development. There | | | | stage with the fabled Jane's Ice Pack add-on |
| are stirrings from the Sonalysts camp.When a | | | | for 688(I), Crusader Studios' Akula: Red |
| new subsim does hit the shore, try to | | | | Hunter, Silent Steel 2, and the |
| remember, the developers and game producers | | | | interoperability between Jane's Fleet Command |
| are our friends. They make the kind of games | | | | and 688(I). I'm not passing judgment here, |
| we like because they like them too. Why would | | | | just stating that when the momentum dies, so |
| they labor over armor thickness tables, ship | | | | does the objective. For whatever reasons, the |
| model physics, and torpedo trajectories for a | | | | product champions behind those sims were |
| niche market? I know a few developers and | | | | unable to secure the financing to start work. |
| they all love the genre.Try to keep your | | | | To get a better feel for the whole process, |
| criticism balanced. Should you blast a sim | | | | read my friend John Sponauer's analysis of |
| you had trouble with or didn't enjoy with all | | | | the life and death of a sim, M1 Tank Platoon |
| the invective and animosity you would | | | | 2, from its early development as an upgrade |
| normally reserve for someone who stole your | | | | all the way through its last couple of |
| car or used your toothbrush? I was told by | | | | weeks.Despite my previous experiences with |
| one producer that high-level executives | | | | other sim companies, I am optimistic that |
| frequently ask him about hard-core negative | | | | Carl Norman and Rick Martinez mean what they |
| postings on newsgroups and forums. The | | | | say and SSI will continue to raise the banner |
| industry sees us as demanding, | | | | of the Digital Combat Series while the |
| unappreciative, and impossible to satisfy. | | | | Jane's, NovaLogics, and Microproses around |
| It's much easier and more lucrative to crank | | | | them fall like unfortunate tin soldiers. This |
| out Deer Hunter and Barbie games and their | | | | is not to say SH2 is a done deal--that moment |
| users rarely flame the game company to a | | | | will come when you hold the box in your hand. |
| crisp.I work with a CPA accountant who likes | | | | We look to the next rumored subsim as our |
| computer games and is pretty good at them. He | | | | best hope for advanced underwater warfare. |
| can play a mean Age of Empires warrior. I | | | | All we can do is stay positive, supportive, |
| tried to interest him in learning Jane's | | | | and if it's decent, buy four copies when it |
| 688(I) for some multiplay. He took one look | | | | comes out. |
| at the hefty manual and waved it off. He | | | | |