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