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