Anybody ever play the original M1 Tank Platoon?

[JamesT73J]

I was looking at an MSDN blog today (about virtual machine) and this caught my eye -

http://blogs.msdn.com/photos/virtual_pc_guy/images/602862/original.aspx

Boy, did that take me back. I spent many, many hours when I was 14 playing this at my neighbour's house. The manual was (in typical Microprose fashion) a real treat, with action illustrations and plenty of design notes.

I never really warmed to the sequel; I got SB not long after and it just seemed to do it all better, but I can say the original was where it all started for me.

[Danish_Squid]

M1 Tank platoon was my first tank game, also felt that the sequal was a "just about there" game.
SB1 and Pro PE is in a league of their own

Cheers
Staffan

[Zipuli]

Oh yeah, M1TP was the first sim I played and it got me hooked for a long time! Loved the fact that your crew could be managed and given promotions and decorations... can't remember if it affected anything tho. The campaign was good and enemy was quite smart, at least I remember so. I have same thing with TP2, never really liked it so much.

Zip

[ShotMagnet]

One of the reasons I bought SB:G was that I had played, and loved, M1TP and had been looking for another hard-core tank sim since.



Shot

[Skybird03]

Loved to play it on Amiga. Shells flew at the speed of hoovering helicopters and could be nicely observed with binoculars, and Sabot needed 20 seconds to reach and kill a target, but I courageoulsy continued to play it.

Compared to that, the future tanks in "Carrier Command" where F1 racers. :lol:

[stuart666]

I too had the Amiga version, and whilst everything slowed down too much sometimes, it was still very playable, despite the obvious simplifcations. It had me hooked as well. I think the crew management system was very well done, it upset you when your boys got killed. :(

The manual is IMHO still a damn good example of what any simulation manual ought to be like. Clear, good information on the background, and interspaced with some truly nice pencil drawings of M1 inflicted mayhem.

[stalintc]

Yup I played the original, and its the main reason I bought SBproPE, because I enjoyed being a tank commander so much, and got so hooked on playing it.

At the time, it had to be one of THE best ground based combat simulations around!

I quite agree with you on the manual Stuart, it was very helpful and concise!

[jakebullet]

LOL i remember i bought a amiga 500+ just to play this game went into a shop bought the computer 349 pound i think it cost me then went straight to woolworths i think it was and picked up M1TP loved the fact when you lased the target the gun would track it automatically then all you do is hit the fire button a true classic

[60bravo]

Does M1 tank platoon 2 count as well?

I had a tank game on my first comp, which put you in action on a couple of islands.... I played it for countless hours, but I forgot the name of the game...anyone?

In those days games came with a great manuals...I recently looked up the Panzer Elite and Panzer Commande manuals.....very good-looking and very informative as well....

[3Star]

One of the Armoured Fist series, maybe?

NTM

[60bravo]

One of the Armoured Fist series, maybe?

NTM

I think it is even older...if I am not mistaken it had 2000 in the title....it was pretty straightforward....you were us troops and you adversart was Russian....it was shown as US eand Russian flags on the map.....yuo had to conquer some islands.....it was a very complete tank game...
I'm looking in my 'archive' but i can't find it...

[LtHenkel]

"pacific islands" or something like that maybe? Successor to "Team Yankee"

just google for "pacific islands Amiga"

[60bravo]

"pacific islands" or something like that maybe? Successor to "Team Yankee"

just google for "pacific islands Amiga"


Yes that is definitely the one.....thanks

God, those graphics look horrendous now, but I enjoyed it very much!

[CharlieB]

T'was the first tank game I owned. M1TP2 was an excellent sequal and far better than the armoured Fist serioes IMHO.

This was the game that inspired me be a real tank commander.

[captklugman]

I really do miss Microprose. They always put their all into every game published.

I remember my first simulation I ever played. F-19 Stealth fighter. Remember that one? I played it for hours on end. Then came "Gunship". Then shortly there after, "M1 Tank Platoon". I spent so much time with that old sim. I still have M1TP2 around here somewhere.

I wish they would do a remake of Spectrum holobytes "Tornado" Talk about a great flight sim. I believe this one had the first "living" battlefield. It was sweet being a commander, and controlling your very own air war. I still play "Tornado" using "dos box" from time to time.

sys specs:
MSI K7N2 Delta mobo
1024 pc3200 ram
xp 2500+ Barton
ATI x1600pro 512
SB Audigy

[TopKick]

I still have "Tornado" and M1, M1TP2, "Stealth Fighter", Armored Fist, and a B-52 Flight sim, among others, tossed away in a closet somewhere. I liked the Tornado and B-52 sims a lot. I liked bombing airfields with the Tornado and watching those Durandal bombs wipe out the runways. I haven't tried to install any of those in years. I figued that they wouldn't run. I do have one dos app that runs well on XP though.

[60bravo]

I really do miss Microprose.

Me too, and especially those nice manuals

I just read the great spiral-bound M1 tplt II's booklet......

It does beat the PDF files/infomation-bare stuff that you get these days....

(no offense meant to Esimgames, I am referring to 'games': a good example is the tiny Silent Hunter III 'handbook')

[BloodOrk]

Is there a way to play M1TP2 with XP ?
I found my copy a year ago but can`t get it to work...

But my second all time favorite Tank Sim ( after SB of course) is SteelThunder on my good old C64. It was the first Sim i ever played.
I can still remember that my Disksdrive got regular overheating Problems at that time.

www.thelegacy.de/Museum/5430/

And also Panzer Elite took a big part of my Live away..

[uk_shady]

Whilst everyone is getting nostalgic does anyone remember A10 Tank Killer?

[Froggy]

works for me with XP, but pb with the mouse cursor in menus (bad refresh)

[stalintc]

I wish I could still buy tornado somewhere, I missed the boat with that one :(

[Ssnake]

Is there a way to play M1TP2 with XP ?

Yes, you need a GLIDE wrapper, and it'll crash inevitably whenever you end a mission. Other than that, it seems to work.

[Stewy]

I still have "Tornado" and M1, M1TP2, "Stealth Fighter", Armored Fist, and a B-52 Flight sim, among others, tossed away in a closet somewhere. I liked the Tornado and B-52 sims a lot. I liked bombing airfields with the Tornado and watching those Durandal bombs wipe out the runways. I haven't tried to install any of those in years. I figued that they wouldn't run. I do have one dos app that runs well on XP though.


I found "Stunt Track Racer" for free on the net the other day - so 'old school' but so challenging - I played it for about 40 minutes last weekend!

I remember eagerly going to the computer store when I was a kid for the latest Microprose release - M1TP, Airbourne Ranger, Sword of the Samurai - Classics! LOved them all!

[chrisotto]

I found "Stunt Track Racer" for free on the net the other day - so 'old school' but so challenging - I played it for about 40 minutes last weekend!

I remember eagerly going to the computer store when I was a kid for the latest Microprose release - M1TP, Airbourne Ranger, Sword of the Samurai - Classics! LOved them all!
I grew up on Stunts, not Stunt Car Racer... now that is a video game that can still grip me today!

[Ssnake]

I've always wondered why there never was a remake of this wonderful outlandish racing game. Stunt Car Racer is one of my all-time favorites. And, of course, the original M1 Tank Platoon, no doubt about it.

[RogueSnake79]

No Armored Fist guys amoung you? That was one of the first tank games/sim that I really loved. Still pretty fun, all three of them.

The first tanks game I think I ever had was "Tank" For the atari. At least I think thats what it was called.. :) There were a few released for the 2600 atari system.

And you can't forget "Super Battle Tank" for the Super Nintendo System. That one was a blast for shure.

[[panzer]]

U guys r bringing back some fond memories. Nice thread Gents.

LHX Heli sim was another great 1

Most memorable must be: Wings, Wings Of Fury, Red Baron, F19, Civilization 1, Poice Quest, Space Quest and last but not least Leasure Suit Larry in the land of the Lounge Lizzards

[Hedgehog]

I personally have M1TP2, AF3 and SB1.

M1TP2 is the first tank sim I played, you could just sit there and take it while spewing out staff, mpat, heat and sabot rounds.
And the graphics are slightly better than SB1, moving wheels, recoiling guns, etc

AF3 gives me cramp holding down the arrow keys to move the damn tank.

SB 1 I play the most at the mo as I have no money to get pro pe :(

The intro videos on M1TP2 are some of the best i've seen in a game.

Oh I remember seing a demo of M1TP back when we had an IBM PS2, (back in the days of 286 processors before this pentium fad) remember the orange four point muzzle flash?

That is something i miss on SB is the lack of a campaign, you know where the out come of a battle affects the next one.

[Ssnake]

My impression of the Armored Fist series was that it had potential, but ultimately it failed as a pure action game because the normal turret rotation was too fast, and the "fine" turret rotation was too slow. As a simulation it failed just as well for obvious reasons. As a strategy game, it was too linearly scripted.

I can't help but wonder how computer games would have evolved if 3D acceleration had been made available for voxel based engines - texture filtering and smoothing of the pixels at close distance would have helped a lot to create user acceptance, and would have opened vast possibilities as far as volumetric fog, certain special effects, plants and 3D clouds would be concerned. What a pity.

[Zipuli]

Anyone tried iM1A2...? Well it had the STAFF round and T-95 - and Balkan map without any trees. :)

It's a pity so few tank *simulations* were/are made.

Zip

[stuart666]

Anyone tried iM1A2...? Well it had the STAFF round and T-95 - and Balkan map without any trees. :)

It's a pity so few tank *simulations* were/are made.

Zip


It wasnt as bad as made out, it certainly had some nice elements to it. I think the problem was that it in concept was M1 Tank platoon with new graphics. It didnt really take advantage of a new design that the more advanced computers at the time could have taken advantage of. I think it was roughly contemporary with Panzer Elite, which in many ways had a much better design.

Some of us older farts can remember Battlezone. Ah those were the days, blitzing around a lunar landscape without craters (more of a billiard table actually), hiding behind giant triangles and attacked by rounds that take all week to arrive. Fantastic game. :)

[Vati]

I can't help but wonder how computer games would have evolved if 3D acceleration had been made available for voxel based engines - texture filtering and smoothing of the pixels at close distance would have helped a lot to create user acceptance, and would have opened vast possibilities as far as volumetric fog, certain special effects, plants and 3D clouds would be concerned. What a pity.
Most if not all of what you had mentioned was already available by early generations of 3d accelerators. However it took off with much greater speed after pixel shaders came into use.
The way 3d acceleration cards evolved was the only natural way to do it. Granted it would be great if it could happen faster, but that would be unrealistic to expect.

[tankenator]

stuart666, ever play bzflag? It was originally a battlezone update for SGI machines, has since been ported to just about every platform and OS in existance. looks simple and play is simple but is oddly addictive.....and difficult to master.... http://www.bzflag.org/

[60bravo]

Is there a way to play M1TP2 with XP ?
I found my copy a year ago but can`t get it to work...



I played it while I was waiting for SbProPE.....it worked fine!

The only problem is that you can't exit the program itself properly without a reboot....

[bics]

I also remember it as M1TP2 working OK on XP but you have to have to play it on software or 3D mode and I think the res is only 640x480. It looks great with zeckensacks glide wrapper where you can crank the res right up to the max but as Ssnake points out it crashes at the end of each mission so the campaign is a no go. You can still play single missions but you're not likely to get to the stats/debrief screen.

[JamesT73J]

It wasnt as bad as made out, it certainly had some nice elements to it. I think the problem was that it in concept was M1 Tank platoon with new graphics. It didnt really take advantage of a new design that the more advanced computers at the time could have taken advantage of. I think it was roughly contemporary with Panzer Elite, which in many ways had a much better design.



For me, this is spot-on. I played M1TP2 for the first time in November '99. I was new to the GPU revolution, and the glide graphics blew me away, and I really enjoyed the gameplay too - at least, initially. It's hard to put my finger on, but SB (when I finally got hold of it!) seemed to fill all the gaps.

I'm glad to see Tornado get a mention. It remains one of my all-time favourite flight sims. The gaming world was so lovingly detailed (down to the little housing estates, malls, and petrol stations) that playing it was sheer joy. The mission planner was exquisite. I get a similar buzz from F4 nowadays, but I still miss the absolute precision of Tornado's planner.

[stuart666]

I'm glad to see Tornado get a mention. It remains one of my all-time favourite flight sims. The gaming world was so lovingly detailed (down to the little housing estates, malls, and petrol stations) that playing it was sheer joy. The mission planner was exquisite. I get a similar buzz from F4 nowadays, but I still miss the absolute precision of Tornado's planner.

Tornado was THE flight sim of the early 90s. (yes, even better than EF2000) Ok so it was next to impossible to destroy the Red Air Force before it destroyed your supply lines, but the mulitiude of targets that had a real impact when you destroyed them was amazing. The only one that comes close today is Falcon 4 Allied force, and even that has elements in the campaign that could do with improvement. After all, name another flight sim where you could blow up the opposing sides television stations to win the propaganda war? :) Tank repair yards, chokepoints power stations, all were viable targets.
Hind used the same graphics engine, and whilst they foolishly removed the campaign engine, it utilised a very similar mission planner. In fact, looking at it, it is also very similar to the one in SB1 and SB Pro PE.

Tankenator, thanks for pointing that one out, it looks quite good.

Whilst on the subject, does anyone remember the old C64 sim Gunship? Probably the first Hardcore simulator I ever played, and looking back on it, perhaps still one of the best. Not only did it penalise you for having to force land behind enemy lines, but you could even inspect your machine after you landed to see what the battle damage was like! For the time, flight modelling was also rather well done. The manual, which appeared to utilize elements from the real Apache user manual, was also an amazing read.

[ShotMagnet]

I loved Gunship.


Shot

[stuart666]

Cracking wasnt it? I must have destroyed 1st Guards Tank army twice over playing that. :)

[chrisotto]

Now was that Gunship or Gunship! ?

[JamesT73J]

Now was that Gunship or Gunship! ?

Hehe

I remember the disappointment at the latter, however it was released during the time when the mass-market simulation sector was basically dying on it's feet and few developers wanted to really invest the time and money to make the titles really deliver.

To confuse matters further, does anyone remember Gunship 2000 (1993)? I had this on the Amiga and latterly PC - it was great, great fun.

[Volcano]

Yep, I remember Gunship 2000. That was the one with the crew management that was similar to M1TP2, right?

My favorite thing about M1 Tank Platoon was the red enemy tanks (well my were cyan because I had CGA graphics. I remember when I was drooling over my friend's EGA graphics.

M1 Tank Platoon was about the time that I was playing, F-15 Strike Eagle or Gato. F-117 was another good game, I used to love sneaking in and bombing targets. Of course it was released before that with a different name I think. Of course if we are on the subject of Microprose games, my all time favorite was "Sword of the Samurai". I still have it around here somewhere on a 5.25" disk...

[ShotMagnet]

Cracking wasnt it?Da. Killed lots of armor, had a great time. Had a game called Apache (I think) which was also very nice.


Shot

[GH_Lieste]

An early favourite was Lightning Simulator on the 48K speccy.

[deees]

To round off the list of old PC based armor games, don’t forget, (in the order of my acquisition which is also pretty much chronologic)

Arctic Fox:
http://www.mobygames.com/game/atari-st/arcticfox/screenshots

Not reality based, but by my first 16 color, (on a Tandy), flat shaded polygon, armor-themed game. No ballistics as I recall, but you could turn the TV-guided missiles back on yourself and see your avatar, (and blown yourself up). It also had 3-D. terrain.

Steel Thunder:
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/steel-thunder/screenshots
Sprite-based, but a sort of a “simulation” style title. I remember having to turn on turret power before being able to traverse and using the coax MG to range when my range finder was damaged. Obviously, it had some sort of incremental damage model and some a rudimentary “ballistic” feature.

Abrams Battle Tank:
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/abrams-battle-tank/screenshots

It had multiple crew positions, uninspired graphics, and a phony ballistic/damage system. I remember that after you shot, there was a hit-probably calculator that would count down to determine if you hit or missed your target. The last missions were against the mystical T-95.


Tank: The M1A1 Abrams Battle Tank Simulation
http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/tank-the-m1a1-abrams-battle-tank-simulation/screenshots/gameShotId,16402

So bad, I mailed my copy back to Spectrum Holobyte. Hard to believe this was from the same people that had released Falcon, and Falcon AT the previous year.

Of course M1 Tank Platoon set the standard for armor sims until M1TP2 and finally Steelbeasts came along.

The thing I hated most about iM1A2 was that the ballistics were phony, once you “lased” the target, the shell would home in on it, regardless of where you were actually aiming when you pulled the trigger.

[oscar19681]

i played all those exept arctic fox and steel thunder . And yes im1a2 did suck in many ways it was just to boring . M1 tank platoon II was the best tank sim i ever played up till sbp offcourse.

[stuart666]

Da. Killed lots of armor, had a great time. Had a game called Apache (I think) which was also very nice.


Shot


Are you sure that wasnt Tomahawk? It was an mid 80s flight sim from the same people who did Tornado and Hind (Digital Integration). It was hard to get to work, not least because it had a godawful copy protection system called Lenslok. It worked, but it was at least as much a challenge to work as the sim!
The sim itself in some ways was better than Gunship, certainly the graphics were better, and so was the flight modelling. However the ablity to gain gongs, the mission modelling and the weapons modelling are what swung it for Gunship IMHO. That and the classy title Sequence :)

Had a lot of Spectrum games but I dont recall lighting simulator Im afraid. I DO recall the ancient Psion Flight simulator (1982?) and the first DI flight simulator, Fighter pilot. Both were very good for the day, and in some ways were superior to the much vaunted F15 Strike Eagle. I also had a lot of fun with 3D Harrier attack (politically incorrect as it simulated the Falklands) and Combat Lynx, both from Durell software. The latter was next to impossible to play, but had a lot of very good ideas, including variable weapon options, ablity to lay minefields and the ablity to ferry troops to threatened bases. In those days British companies were world leaders in Simulators, and its a bloody tragedy IMHO that with the demise of DI were have pretty much seen the demise of the last of them. Still, at least the Eastern Europeans are making up for it and producing replications of some interesting kit.

Looking back, it is utterly frightening how much time ive spent playing sims. Sometimes I think it would be cheaper to get a Helicopter or Tank Driving licence and just be done with it. :)

[GH_Lieste]

Lightning Sim was despite its simple graphics very far ahead of its time IMO.

You had fully progressive controls for rudder aileron and elevons, despite only having keyboard or on-off joystick; about a dozen NATO types to practice dogfights or interceptions on - all very recognizable despite wireframe graphics; in-flight refuelling; gun-cam; full-world navigation - though not 100% sure why with just flat plain green land...; Over-speed and over-g when in CatIII (over wing tanks); a reasonable approximation to VOR/DME and ILS etc.

The 'real' mission was next to impossible though... take off and with a single fuel load (good for less than 5 mins (IIRC) in full a/b) take down 2 seperate (and supersonic) Backfires, which were escorted by a single Mig23 each, before they bombed your airbase(s).

Best I managed was all four down, but one of the Backfires on its way home, and a ditch well out over the North Sea.

[JamesT73J]

Had a lot of Spectrum games but I dont recall lighting simulator Im afraid. I DO recall the ancient Psion Flight simulator (1982?) and the first DI flight simulator, Fighter pilot. Both were very good for the day, and in some ways were superior to the much vaunted F15 Strike Eagle. I also had a lot of fun with 3D Harrier attack (politically incorrect as it simulated the Falklands) and Combat Lynx, both from Durell software. The latter was next to impossible to play, but had a lot of very good ideas, including variable weapon options, ablity to lay minefields and the ablity to ferry troops to threatened bases. In those days British companies were world leaders in Simulators, and its a bloody tragedy IMHO that with the demise of DI were have pretty much seen the demise of the last of them. Still, at least the Eastern Europeans are making up for it and producing replications of some interesting kit.



I forgot about DI's F-16 Combat Pilot - this was an interesting forerunner to Tornado, and many features were carried over - the Dynamic campaign etc and detailed simulation environment.

Hot on the heels of Falcon, it (for me) was superbly immersive. Perhaps not as detailed in the F16 modelling as Falcon in some areas (and oddly lacking an external view) it's strength was the 'part of a big war' feeling that Tornado continued and F4AF has today. I remember surviving missions and returning to base, wondering whether the runway had been bombed.

[oscar19681]

Anyone remember a tank sim called spearhead? I played 2 missions and got bored by it allready . It sayd it was the first tank sim that would make the tank jump when driveving over dunes in high speed.

[stuart666]

I forgot about DI's F-16 Combat Pilot - this was an interesting forerunner to Tornado, and many features were carried over - the Dynamic campaign etc and detailed simulation environment.

Hot on the heels of Falcon, it (for me) was superbly immersive. Perhaps not as detailed in the F16 modelling as Falcon in some areas (and oddly lacking an external view) it's strength was the 'part of a big war' feeling that Tornado continued and F4AF has today. I remember surviving missions and returning to base, wondering whether the runway had been bombed.

Yep, f16 was good. I particularly liked the way it modelled radar locked LGBs, lots of fun to drop at low level!

I forgot, Shot mentioned Apache and it occured to me that it WAS the same game engine used in Tornado, Hind and F16. First attempt I think anyone made at a truly integrated computer battlefield, and apparently it worked quite well. Pity DI never bothered with a Tank sim.

I remember spearhead. Nice graphics, but not much of a game. I found Tank commander more fun, even though it was really an arcade game. Still it modelled a Chally, which amazingly (after a passage of 10 years) I think is the only game so far that has made one playable!

[GH_Lieste]

There was that recent amateur Challenger gunnery simulator... I didn't get on too well with it, but IIRC it was written by a real Chally gunner...

[CharlieB]

Which Chally sim was that then?

[GH_Lieste]

D'ya know I can't remember what it was called, or where I got it...

It was I think posted on these boards... several years ago at least, but a forum search didn't locate it.

Hazily I *think* the guys name was Andy?

[RIPper]

i tried Tornado a few days ago (runs great in Dosbox), and it's awesome! thanks for the tip! i'm going through the simulator missions, and it's quite interesting to let the autopilot fly the plane, and you just fiddle a bit with weapons and landing (one could read a book during the flight ;)....i guess that planning is the most important part of the campaign.

[JamesT73J]

i tried Tornado a few days ago (runs great in Dosbox), and it's awesome! thanks for the tip! i'm going through the simulator missions, and it's quite interesting to let the autopilot fly the plane, and you just fiddle a bit with weapons and landing (one could read a book during the flight ;)....i guess that planning is the most important part of the campaign.

It is. Another interesting nugget is that I think that below 100ft AGL SAM units cannot detect you. That is below your terrain following radar lower limit, so after the IP waypoint it's worth flying to the target by hand <100ft and gently increasing altitude as you near the target.

Second tip is never try and dogfight in the IDS. Just hit the burners and run away at low level.


Cheers


James

[stuart666]

Which Chally sim was that then?

It was a Challenger 1 simulator that somebody hosted up on their webpage about 3 years ago. Long since been taken down sadly. It was a bit limited since it only simulated static engagements on Lulworth gunnery range.

It seemed to be quite accurate though, the real Challengers fire control was a bugger to master, just like the simulator. :) The only thing missing was that you didnt have to index the range before lasing when using TOGs. It was a pity it didnt simulate engagments of moving targets.

[CharlieB]

Oh the joys of Challenger 1 gunnery thankfully I never had the pleasure!

[m14scout]

Me too, and especially those nice manuals

I just read the great spiral-bound M1 tplt II's booklet......

It does beat the PDF files/infomation-bare stuff that you get these days....

(no offense meant to Esimgames, I am referring to 'games': a good example is the tiny Silent Hunter III 'handbook')

Ah microprose, the best ever. I miss the original microprose B-17 flying fortress, I would play it today if I could.

[Monkie]

M1TP2.... I miss calling in the A-10's and watching them roll and weave over the red formations laying down cluster munitions. Maybe someday they'll be back? hmmmm

(also miss the LVTP7's but not sure why)

JC