GT1070

A friend recommended I see the old movie, "The Battle of the Bulge" since he knows I'm into tanks and armored warfare. Santa brought it to me for Christmas on DVD and I watched it a few days ago. Wow...I wasn't expecting pure accuracy but would've thought somebody in Hollywood might've been in the Army before...I guess not. Henry Fonda saying "over and out" for example...wtf? I guess the biggest disappointment was all the American tanks representing Tigers. Well, there are worse flicks out there. That one was a little ridiculous.

Thanks for the info! That looks like the WOT garage...

Thanks for the info, TSe419E! It's just a toy and the project was just practice. I just found an unassembled T-62 kit in the attic. I've got a lot of builds planned for 2018. (T-80, BMP-2, M-1A1, M-2 Bradley, etc.) All 1/72 scale...stay tuned.

Ha ha! Yes, when I reassembled it, I had it "backwards" with the drive sprocket in the back and it didn't go together.

Is this toy supposed to be an M-48 or M-60? Santa allegedly has some nice modern armor 1/72 scale plastic models coming my way soon. Well, I was cleaning up the other day and found this M-48 (or is it an M-60 with extra idler wheels?) It was obviously given to my son about 20 years ago and he never touched it. Just to warm up my mediocre armor weathering painting skills, I got a $6.00 Testors non-toxic acrylic "military" paint set and went to work on this toy. BTW: My son likes what I did to it. Ha ha!! The basic shape of the thing is somewhat detailed! I wonder if some inventive person made molds of an assembled 1/35 scale model In order to mass produce this dollar store friction powered toy? I decided to make up my own desert camo scheme. This was just practice really...I am not really proud of the paint job. FWIW: That non-toxic paint is really good stuff...I believe I may have about the same number of brain cells as when I started!

Wow....I just blew it. Lessons learned: 1. You can easily make it to 99 missions if you play like a punk and only fight "2nd-line" troops. 2. You will most likely make it to 99 if you fight "1st line" troops. 3. If you choose "Veteran" or higher...well, you'd better be prepared to die. (like I just did) I will attempt this again after a little break. 64 battles....not bad, huh? Especially since it's almost 2018 and I'm still playing M1 Tank Platoon!

Steel Beasts is not a "game", is it? It's first and foremost a simulation for training soldiers, no? Armor enthusiasts love it, but comparing that to World of Tanks is laughable. World of Tanks and Armored Warfare are fun and look great on the computer. Playing them is a nice break, they have their place on my hard drive!

Hey Marko!! No, Ataribaby is not me! I 100% can relate to setting up the old machine, though. I am ressurecting old desktops for that purpose now. FWIW: The Dell 8200 will run WinXP for running SB and T-72 Balkans on Fire, Win98SE for running Armored Fist 2 and 3, and fully capable native DOS for Armored Fist 1 and M1 Tank Platoon (using the p5upd speed lock) An ES1371 PCI soundcard/gameport gets everything working together!!! I have a triple boot going with XP and DOS on one HDD and Win98SE on a separate HDD!!! Tank sim players should look at it this way, these ground combat programs are kinda like chess...if the gameplay is good, it doesn't matter what the chess pieces look like or what the chess board looks like or what music is playing, etc. etc. you get the idea. I am one of the few players who is all over Armored Fist 1994. That game has it all if you get your joystick configured to target manually and forget the "target lock" function. The mission editor is cool as well. The pre-canned missions are a challenge. Man, that game is it for me. I enjoy all the others but for me Armored Fist 94 will always be king. I know most do not feel that way. That's ok. I am on Mission 60 of M1 Tank Platoon because I've been distracted with World of Tanks, Armored Warfare, and other games. Good stuff!!! I'll post something when I hit the 99 mark assuming I don't get the platoon killed within the next 39 missions!!! You're right too....I need to record the gameplay on DOSBOX....I haven't even tried how to do that yet but I'd like to show you guys some action. Armored Fist Screenshot1.bmp

Update for anybody interested....currently on mission 58. This is taking waaaay longer than I thought! The Platoon is still alive. I completed one, maybe 2 campaigns, I forget. At first I selected the easiest opposition which I think were second line troops. It was too easy and now I'm facing first line troops even though the risk of platoon loss is a tad higher. I've been a little distracted resurrecting two old desktop PCs for use with native DOS and Windows 98SE. I didn't realize re-applying thermal paste, changing motherboard batteries, configuring and reinstalling the OS could be so much fun. The desktops were doing nothing but collecting dust. Now they're going to be ready to run M1 Tank Platoon 1 & 2, Armored Fist 1-3, and Steel Beasts 1!!!!

Not that enybody really cares about this but I've been traveling at work and have not been able to complete my 99 missions. However, all is not lost! My platoon is still alive and I am on mission 50! Happy Sunday!

SB forum members who've reported COMPLETING 99 Missions so far: 1. Froggy 2. Marko - completed many a campaign...close enough. 3. Ssnake - reported he couldn't play 99 missions again (which implies he's done it before - close enough) 4. GT1070 - I'm working on it!!!??? Marko, RENEGADE-623, thanks for the input. Tank games/sims on a PC or console are interesting to me. I guess it's because they're a bit of a challenge. Chess type strategy combined with hand eye coordination, and the need to memorize keyboard commands. They seem quite a bit more involved than playing say, Call of Duty. (My son plays COD and it almost makes me motion sick!) I don't think I've ever heard of "Steel Thunder" before but it sounds classic. You are correct about "Armored Fist", it's designed to be more of an arcade game. "Armored Fist" can be played as a sim only if you have the right joystick, then you can use the hat switch to move the reticle onto the target...it's obviously made to be a fast action game. I will always love "Armored Fist", regardless and the manual was good as well. (I don't like AF2 or AF3. I don't like M1TP2, either....There's just nothing like the original games.) The "Steel Beasts" gunnery range was very addictive! I own SB1 and am going to reinstall it eventually and will give it another chance. I admit I haven't given the mission construction or battles a chance in SB1 and I recall the manual for SB1 is absolutely outstanding as well! The manual is gonna be re-read, soon! But, back to the subject..."M1 Tank Platoon"! I was wrong about not knowing how many missions I've played...its on the screen with the rest of your stats when you start a new game!! I am on mission 38, by the way. Oh, I am going to be mad if I get my platoon killed when I'm almost halfway to my goal!! ...gotta keep the fingers near the Alt + e keys if I ever get down to one surviving tank so I can escape before dying!!! To celebrate Veteran's Day, I hope to complete my 99 missions this Friday! Let's see if I can do it! Will post screenshots as I get closer!!!

Froggy, that is an accomplishment game-wise and especially in real life! So, it looked like you beat the game once a year for 5 years?!?! Cool! I was in an M-901 TOW Mech Infantry Company in the Guard when my father-in-law showed me M-1 Tank Platoon. I was overwhelmed by it at first. Believe it or not, I dismissed it because it looked too realistic to be fun! Later, I became an M-3 Bradley Scout Platoon Leader in the Guard and started getting into the DOS version of the game on my own PC. I don't think I ever "beat" M-1 Tank Platoon by completing 99 missions. I recall I upgraded my computer to a Pentium in '95 and it wouldn't run anymore....I think that's why I abandoned it a started playing Armored Fist (which I beat many times). I just started playing it again and remembered correctly that this simulation is GOOD!!! I am also getting proficient at wiping the enemy out at around 3,000 meters from the gunners station. I must be on mission 30 or 40 or so by now....there's no way to tell until I complete the campaign because I haven't been counting but I've been knocking em out... I just think it's fun playing a simulation that's this old. It still holds up! I will send screenshots when I finally get time to do it.

Sitrep: Computer re-built, configured, DosBox tweaked, and M1 Tank Platoon, 1989 runs! I must have played the game a lot 20 years ago because its all coming back. Even the startup command, tank /o typed at the DOS prompt to keep your options. 5 missions down, 94 to go! I figure if I play a little each day after work to unwind, I'll do it. It's just a challenge...so far, nothing mind-numbing...the game is a lot of fun.

Rotareneg, you're 1/3 of the way there! That's pretty good. Be proud! It took me all day Sunday to reinstall Windows 7, activate, update, install drivers, unpark cores, etc. I just barely got the game up and running in DosBox. I forgot about needing 386 prefetch CPU type in the config file. I'll post my progress, soon. ....just need some time! Yes, 99 missions is hardcore....you know, like running a marathon or climbing a mountain. I don't think I ever came close 25 some odd years ago when we were still running DOS!!

Gentlemen, Those responses are disappointing....however, I understand your reasoning. I may not be able to do it either but....I'M GONNA TRY!!!!! ? AAARRGGH!! Completing 99 missions in 2017 would be legendary. The ultimate "gameplay over eye candy" exercise! We'll see if I am all talk or not. I am rebuilding an old Frankenstein desktop today and hope to install M1 Tank Platoon tonight. BTW, can you imagine how amazing it would be if that game were redone with all the original controls except with updated graphics to include rolling road wheels, actual M2 infantrymen, real smoke obscuration, etc.?

I recently re-read the entire Microprose M1Tank Platoon game manual on a long flight. I read it because I recall it had some interesting stuff about Soviet vehicles, ground pressure, tactics, ammo, and so forth and I remembered correctly! The manual was a good read! It's gotten me interested in reinstalling the game and playing it in DosBox, which I haven't done just yet. In the manual it describes how your platoon is ranked after mandatory retirement after 99 battles. I don't remember if I ever actually made it to 99 battles. It sounds like a WORTHY goal!!!! If you guys need a break from Steel Beasts, try M1 Tank Platoon. I consider it to be the first real computer tank simulation. The absolute 1st realistic portrayal of tank combat on a PC, IMHO. Who has made it to 99 battles? Who has has the guts to try? Post your screenshots here! I will as well....stay tuned!!!