Hellcat Ace

Last updated

Hellcat Ace
Hellcat Ace box cover.jpeg
Original Atari box cover
Developer(s) MicroProse
Publisher(s) MicroProse
Designer(s) Sid Meier
Programmer(s) Atari
Sid Meier
C64
Ron Verovsky
Dale Gray
IBM PC
R. Donald Awalt
Platform(s) Atari 8-bit, Commodore 64, IBM PC
Release1982: Atari
1983: C64
1984: IBM PC
Genre(s) Combat flight simulator
Mode(s) Single-player

Hellcat Ace is a 1982 combat flight simulator video game written by Sid Meier for Atari 8-bit computers and published by MicroProse as their first program. The game was an immediate hit and led Meier to write several new releases for the Atari home computers. Ports of Hellcat Ace were released for the Commodore 64 in 1983 and IBM PC compatibles in 1984.

Contents

Gameplay

The player flies the Grumman F6F Hellcat in a series of missions. The initial screen allows the user to select a mission from 1 to 10, each with increasing difficulty. An additional four missions are listed but cannot be selected directly in the original version. When a mission is successfully completed, the game moves onto the next mission. [1]

On entering a mission the player is inside the Hellcat flying over the Pacific Ocean. They normally start at 10,000 feet altitude, flying north at 200 mph. In the first mission, Flying Tiger, the task is to shoot down a Japanese bomber which is placed directly in front of the player at the same altitude and thus easily shot down with a single burst from the guns. In the second mission, Pearl Harbor, the bomber is replaced by a somewhat tougher float plane, and so forth. [1]

Development and release

Sid Meier purchased an Atari 800 computer in 1980 and began writing games in Atari BASIC. He showed his first work, Hostage Rescue, to his parents; his mother became so engrossed that she had to force herself to drop the joystick and walk away. [2]

In 1982, Meier was working for General Instrument in Baltimore. Mutual friends knew of Meier's interest in flight simulators and introduced him to Bill Stealey, a former military pilot who then worked in strategic planning at the company. The two met in Las Vegas in the summer of 1982 while at meetings, and found Red Baron in the arcade at the MGM Grand. Meier repeatedly beat Stealey at the game, as Meier was able to consistently predict the game's next moves. [3]

Meier claimed he could write a better game than Red Baron on his home computer in one week; Stealey replied that he would sell it if Meier could write it. Despite Meier's initial one-week estimate, Hellcat Ace took two months to complete. Stealey sold fifty copies at his first sales meeting, and MicroProse was formed to sell the game. [3] In a 1996 interview, Stealey recalled posing as a customer and calling computer stores to ask if they carried Hellcat Ace; he would then later call the stores as himself, and sell the game to them. [4] He stated, "All these guys ended up being my regular customers. They all knew the scam I pulled on them and they all said, 'Bill, it was a great game.' And they sold a ton." [4]

Hellcat Ace was a success and led to several new games in quick succession; Spitfire Ace was a modified Hellcat Ace released the same year, [5] 1983's NATO Commander was a classic wargame, and 1984's F-15 Strike Eagle [2] returned to the flight simulation side and was a hit, eventually selling more than 1 million copies. [6]

Many years later, the original MGM Grand Red Baron machine was tracked down with the help of Bally Midway executives, and installed in the MicroProse offices. [3]

Reception

Antic reviewed the game in May 1983, summing it up by saying "While the graphics are not stunning, the game plays well and holds your interest with multiple skill levels and a variety of scenarios." The reviewer praised the overall simulation, noting that "Fancy aerobatics are easily done; loops, barrel rolls, split 'S' and Immelman turns are all possible". It concludes by saying the only obvious improvement would be better graphical effects, but that this did not detract from the playability, recommending it to anyone with an interest in flight simulators. [1]

Page 6 also reviewed the game in their May 1983 issue. Mirroring the Antic review, they note "The graphics are simple but the overall effect is quite stunning... This is a great simulation giving a real feel of action." [7] Softline reviewed both Hellcat Ace and Spitfire Ace in their January 1984 issue, saying "The games' graphics are extremely simple" but otherwise gives it a positive review, stating that "While Commodore 64 and Atari owners still don't have access to anything as sophisticated as the Flight Simulator, they now have Hellcat Ace and Spitfire Ace, programs that could produce some vertigo in people with a lot of imagination." [8]

Notes

    Related Research Articles

    <i>Civilization</i> (video game) 1991 video game

    Sid Meier's Civilization is a 1991 turn-based strategy 4X video game developed and published by MicroProse. The game was originally developed for MS-DOS running on a PC, and it has undergone numerous revisions for various platforms. The player is tasked with leading an entire human civilization over the course of several millennia by controlling various areas such as urban development, exploration, government, trade, research, and military. The player can control individual units and advance the exploration, conquest and settlement of the game's world. The player can also make such decisions as setting forms of government, tax rates and research priorities. The player's civilization is in competition with other computer-controlled civilizations, with which the player can enter diplomatic relationships that can either end in alliances or lead to war.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Sid Meier</span> Canadian-American game programmer and designer (born 1954)

    Sidney K. Meier is an American businessman and computer programmer. A programmer, designer, and producer of several strategy video games and simulation video games, including the Civilization series, Meier co-founded MicroProse in 1982 with Bill Stealey and is the Director of Creative Development of Firaxis Games, which he co-founded with Jeff Briggs and Brian Reynolds in 1996. For his contributions to the video game industry, Meier was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.

    John Wilbur Stealey Sr. is an American game developer and publisher who founded MicroProse with Sid Meier. He also founded and is the current CEO of iEntertainment Network.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">MicroProse</span> American video game company

    MicroProse is an American video game publisher and developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the Civilization and X-COM series. Most of their internally developed titles were vehicle simulation and strategy games.

    <i>Silent Service</i> (video game) 1985 video game

    Silent Service is a submarine simulator video game designed by Sid Meier and published by MicroProse for various 8-bit home computers in 1985 and for 16-bit systems like the Amiga in 1987. A Nintendo Entertainment System version developed by Rare was published in 1989 by Konami in Europe and by Konami's Ultra Games subsidiary in North America. Silent Service II was released in 1990. Tommo purchased the rights to this game and published it online through its Retroism brand in 2015.

    <i>Sid Meiers Pirates!</i> 1987 video game

    Sid Meier's Pirates! is a video game created by Sid Meier for the Commodore 64 and published by MicroProse in May 1987. It was the first game to include the name "Sid Meier" in its title as an effort by MicroProse to attract fans of Meier's earlier games, most of which were combat vehicle simulation video games. The game is a simulation of the life of a pirate, a privateer, or a pirate hunter in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. It was widely ported to other systems.

    <i>Red Baron</i> (1990 video game) 1990 video game

    Red Baron is a combat flight simulation video game for MS-DOS created by Damon Slye at Dynamix. It was published by Sierra On-Line in 1990. The game was ported for Amiga and Macintosh computers in 1992.

    Geoff Crammond is a computer game designer and programmer who specialises in motor racing games. A former defence industry systems engineer, he claims to have had little interest in motor racing before programming his first racing game (Revs) back in 1984, but he holds a physics degree, which may explain the realism of some of his programming. As a consequence of that project he became a big fan of Formula One motor racing. At the end of the 80s, this interest, plus the ever improving capabilities of home computers, inspired him to specialise in programming Formula One racing simulations.

    <i>F-19 Stealth Fighter</i> 1988 video game

    F-19 Stealth Fighter is a combat flight simulator developed and released in 1988 and 1990 by MicroProse, featuring a fictional United States military aircraft. It is the 16-bit remake of the 8-bit game Project Stealth Fighter, which was released for the Commodore 64 in 1987. It was also ported to the NEC PC-9801 in Japan only, and the DOS version was re-released on Steam distribution platform in 2015.

    Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games, amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and military flight training which consist of realistic physical recreations of the actual aircraft cockpit, often with a full-motion platform.

    <i>Ace of Aces</i> (video game) 1986 video game

    Ace of Aces is a combat flight simulation game developed by Artech Digital Entertainment and published in 1986 by Accolade in North America and U.S. Gold in Europe. It was released for the Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit computers, Atari 7800, Commodore 64, MSX, MS-DOS, Master System, and ZX Spectrum. Set in World War II, the player flies a RAF Mosquito long range fighter-bomber equipped with rockets, bombs and a cannon. Missions include destroying German fighter planes, bombers, V-1 flying bombs, U-boats, and trains. In 1988, Atari Corporation released a version on cartridge for Atari 8-bit computers styled for the then-new Atari XEGS.

    <i>Red Baron</i> (1980 video game) 1981 video game

    Red Baron is an arcade video game developed by Atari, Inc. and released in 1981. A first-person flight simulator game, the player takes the role of a World War I ace in a biplane fighting on the side of the Allies. The game is named after the nickname of Manfred von Richthofen, German flying ace. The game uses the same monochrome vector graphics and similar hardware as Atari's own Battlezone; both were developed at the same time. Like Battlezone, the player is presented with a first-person view of the action. Both Battlezone and Red Baron use additional hardware, an "Auxiliary" board, to perform the mathematical computations required for simulating a 3D environment.

    <i>F-15 Strike Eagle</i> (video game) 1984 video game

    F-15 Strike Eagle is an F-15 Strike Eagle combat flight simulation game released for Atari 8-bit computers in 1984 by MicroProse then ported to other systems. It is the first in the F-15 Strike Eagle series followed by F-15 Strike Eagle II and F-15 Strike Eagle III. An arcade version of the game was released simply as F-15 Strike Eagle in 1991, which uses higher-end hardware than was available in home systems, including the TMS34010 graphics-oriented CPU.

    Civilization is a series of turn-based strategy video games, first released in 1991. Sid Meier developed the first game in the series and has had creative input for most of the rest, and his name is usually included in the formal title of these games, such as Sid Meier's Civilization VI. There are six main games in the series, a number of expansion packs and spin-off games, as well as board games inspired by the video game series. The series is considered a formative example of the 4X genre, in which players achieve victory through four routes: "eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate".

    <i>Solo Flight</i> (video game) 1983 video game

    Solo Flight is a third-person flight simulator written by Sid Meier for Atari 8-bit computers and published by MicroProse in 1983. It includes a game mode called Mail Pilot. This was the fourth flight simulator Meier wrote for MicroProse—following Hellcat Ace, Spitfire Ace, and Wingman—and the first which did not involve aerial combat.

    <i>Spitfire Ace</i> 1982 video game

    Spitfire Ace is a combat flight simulator video game created and published by MicroProse in 1982 shortly after it was founded. It was one of the first video games designed and programmed by Sid Meier, originally developed for Atari 8-bit computers and ported to the Commodore 64 and IBM PC compatibles in 1984. The game followed on the heel's of Meier's Hellcat Ace, also from 1982 and for the Atari 8-bit computers.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">First-person (video games)</span> Graphical perspective in video games

    In video games, first-person is any graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character, or from the inside of a device or vehicle controlled by the player character. It is one of two perspectives used in the vast majority of video games, with the other being third-person, the graphical perspective from outside of any character ; some games such as interactive fiction do not belong to either format.

    <i>Knights of the Sky</i> 1990 video game

    Knights of the Sky is a World War I combat flight simulator designed by Jeff Briggs and published by MicroProse in 1990 for MS-DOS. Ports to the Amiga and Atari ST followed in 1991.

    <i>Floyd of the Jungle</i> 1982 video game

    Floyd of the Jungle is a 1982 platform game for Atari 8-bit computers and part of the initial batch of games from MicroProse. Designed and programmed by company co-founder Sid Meier, it is one of the few 2D action games he created and the only platform game. It allows up to four players at once.

    <i>Night Mission Pinball</i> 1982 video game

    Night Mission Pinball is a pinball simulation video game published by Sublogic in 1982. It was developed by Bruce Artwick for the Apple II, then ported to the Atari 8-bit computers, Commodore 64, and IBM PC.

    References

    Citations

    1. 1 2 3 Plotkin 1983, p. 82.
    2. 1 2 Jahromi 2021.
    3. 1 2 3 CGW 1988, p. 9.
    4. 1 2 Ranii, David (September 15, 1996). "Wild Bill is flying again". The News & Observer . Raleigh, North Carolina. p. 4F. Retrieved January 14, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
    5. ↑ Meier, Sid (2020). Sid Meier's Memoir!: A Life in Computer Games. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN   978-1324005872. I had just churned out my fourth title, Spitfire Ace, which was the kind of game we'd probably call an expansion pack today. It used the same code base as Hellcat Ace, but moved the battle scenarios from the Pacific to the European theater.
    6. ↑ "2006 Walk of Game Inductees, 2006 Lifetime Achievement, Sid Meier". Walk of Game. n.d. Archived from the original on May 29, 2007. Retrieved August 27, 2007.
    7. ↑ "Hellcat Ace". Page 6. May 1983. pp. 23–24.
    8. ↑ "Spitfire Ace and Hellcat Ace". Softline. January–February 1984. pp. 51–52.

    Bibliography

    This page is based on this Wikipedia article
    Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
    Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.