History Line: 1914–1918

Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
History Line: 1914–1918
History Line cover.jpg
European cover art
Developer(s) Blue Byte
Publisher(s)
Platform(s) Amiga, DOS
Release1992
Genre(s) Turn-based tactics
Mode(s) Single-player, single-system multiplayer

History Line: 1914–1918 (released in North America by Strategic Simulations as Great War: 1914–1918) is a turn-based tactics computer game released in 1992 by the German team Blue Byte. The storyline takes the player through various battles of the First World War. It uses the software engine based on the better known Battle Isle '93 .

Contents

Plot

Unit information screen; this screen show the Voisin III plane. History-line-unitinfo-screen.gif
Unit information screen; this screen show the Voisin III plane.

The storyline takes the player through various battles of World War I. The player can choose to play either the French or German side. [1] The game starts in August 1914, with Germany invading France. As during the real war, the open greenfields of the first battles, dominated by cavalry, are gradually replaced by terrain filled with trenches and bunkers; as the number of tanks, artillery and aeroplanes increases the cavalry and infantry troops become less effective. [1] New units become available as the game progresses, such as A7V or Mark IV tanks. [1] [2]

The game includes a lot of information about the period: after each mission, historical facts about two months of wartime are displayed. The game was designed to be educational, starting with an animation depicting the Western Front in 1916, and a sequence showing the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, whose assassination in Sarajevo precipitated the Austrian declaration of war against Serbia which triggered World War I. [1] After completing each map the player receives information about the course of the war (the game is linear - it is impossible to change history). [1] The information includes text and illustrations taken from contemporary newspapers, both on key historical events and on trivial domestic news such as sporting events. [1] There are also some animations, such as a zeppelin on a bombing raid London Bridge. [1]

Gameplay

Screen split in two sides, each showing part of the map - the most common view in the game History-line-gameplay-screen.gif
Screen split in two sides, each showing part of the map - the most common view in the game

The game uses a software engine very similar to the better known Battle Isle '93 game. [1] It is played on a hexagonal grid for a map. [1] Both players act simultaneously on a split screen, each showing a part of a larger map. [1] The turns are also divided into move and attack (order) phases. [1] [2] While one player moves his units, the other commands his own troops to carry out his actions. [1]

The objective is to capture the enemy's headquarters building (while guarding your own); the victory can also be achieved by annihilating every unit the enemy controls. [1] [2] The maps have various features - different terrain types, as well as depots (to repair units) and factories (to produce) as buildings. [1] Captured building may contain 'free' units. The units gain experience, although this experience isn't carried over from mission to mission in campaign mode.

In addition to the 24 single-player campaign maps, there are 12 two-player maps.

The AI is relatively weak, relying on mass frontal assaults. [2] After the player survives the first few turns and the AI's overwhelming numbers using protected artillery and terrain advantage, the computer is usually unable to mount a proper defense. [2]

Cultural influences

The designers specifically tried to avoid raising any controversy. Despite the setting being one of the most devastating wars known to mankind, Blue Byte, as a German company, developed History Line to meet the restrictions of the depiction of violence in computer games which exist in that country; thus even the battlescene animations avoid excessive violence. [1] Further, the game manual declared the designers' opposition to violence and warfare, and the manual as well as the game itself tried to avoid interpretation, relying on bare facts. [1] The setting being the First rather than the Second World War reflects this, as World War II video games were still controversial at that time.

The game was mildly successful, but although the name implied that there may be other 'history lines' and the designers speculated that they may go on to develop games set in pre-20th century conflicts, no such games were created, as Blue Byte decided to develop the more successful Battle Isle series.

Reception

Computer Gaming World in 1993 stated that History Line was "both simple to play and serves as a challenging technical simulation of warfare". The magazine liked the "high quality" computer AI, and concluded that the game was "a genuinely unique product that may be dismissed by very serious wargamers, but will be welcomed by a much larger audience ... the best release yet from Blue Byte". [3] A 1993 survey in the magazine of wargames stated that "history takes a back seat to playability". [4] Another review in the magazine that year stated that it was "an abstract historical game", with many of the fictional maps and scenarios akin to puzzles. It concluded that as such, History Line was "a much more playable game than any historical recreation of events could hope to be". [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wargame</span> Strategy game that realistically simulates war

A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to study the nature of potential conflicts. Many wargames re-create specific historic battles, and can cover either whole wars, or any campaigns, battles, or lower-level engagements within them. Many simulate land combat, but there are wargames for naval, air combat, and cyber as well as many that combine various domains.

<i>The Perfect General</i> 1991 video game

The Perfect General is a computer wargame published in 1991 by Quantum Quality Productions.

<i>The Ancient Art of War</i> 1984 video game

The Ancient Art of War is a computer wargame designed by Dave and Barry Murry of Evryware and published by Broderbund in 1984. It is one of the first real-time strategy or real-time tactics games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles S. Roberts Award</span>

The Charles S. Roberts Awards is an annual award for excellence in manual, tabletop games, with a focus on "conflict simulations", which includes simulations of non-military as well as military conflicts, as well as simulations of related historical topics. From its founding in 1975 through 2021, the award was almost exclusively focused on historical wargaming, changing to a broader "conflict simulations" in award year 2022.

<i>Dune II</i> 1992 video game

Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty is a 1992 real-time strategy game developed by Westwood Studios and published by Virgin Games. It serves as the sequel to Dune, following a more traditional adventure strategy game format, that came out earlier the same year.

<i>Eastern Front (1941)</i> 1981 video game

Eastern Front (1941) is a computer wargame for Atari 8-bit computers created by Chris Crawford and published through the Atari Program Exchange (APX) in 1981. A scenario editor and assembly language source code for the game were also sold by APX as separate products.

Turn-based tactics (TBT) is a video game genre of strategy video games. They are turn-based simulations of operational warfare and military tactics in generally small-scale confrontations as opposed to more strategic considerations of turn-based strategy (TBS) games. Turn-based tactical gameplay is characterized by the expectation of players to complete their tasks using only the combat forces provided to them in a generally realistic manner.

<i>Command HQ</i> 1990 video game

Command HQ is a real-time strategy world domination game. It was released in 1990 by Microplay Software and was created by designer Danielle Bunten.

<i>Civil War</i> (board game) 1961 board wargame

Civil War is an early strategic board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1961 that simulates the American Civil War. Unlike other games produced by Avalon Hill during this period such as Gettysburg, Civil War did not sell well and was dropped from production two years later.

<i>Battle Isle</i> Video game series

Battle Isle is a series of turn-based strategy/tactics video games developed in the 1990s by Blue Byte and released for Amiga and MS-DOS and later for Microsoft Windows. The settings are wars on a fictional planet, Chromos.

<i>Empire</i> (1977 video game) Wargame

Empire is a 1977 turn-based wargame with simple rules. The game was conceived by Walter Bright starting in 1971, based on various war films and board games, notably Battle of Britain and Risk. The game was ported to many platforms in the 1970s and 1980s. Several commercial versions were also released, often adding basic graphics to the originally text-based user interface. The basic gameplay is strongly reminiscent of several later games, notably Civilization, which was partly inspired by Empire.

<i>Legionnaire</i> (video game) 1982 video game

Legionnaire is a computer wargame for Atari 8-bit computers created by Chris Crawford released through Avalon Hill in 1982. Recreating Julius Caesar's campaigns in a semi-historical setting, the player takes command of the Roman legions in real-time battles against the barbarians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer wargame</span> Wargame played on a computer or other digital device

A computer wargame is a wargame played on a digital device. Descended from board wargaming, it simulates military conflict at the tactical, operational or strategic level. Computer wargames are both sold commercially for recreational use and, in some cases, used for military purposes.

<i>Modem Wars</i> 1988 video game

Dan Bunten's Modem Wars is a real-time tactics game developed by Ozark Softscape and published by Electronic Arts in 1988 for the Commodore 64. A version for IBM PC compatibles was released in 1989.

<i>The Universal Military Simulator</i> 1987 video game

The Universal Military Simulator is a computer game developed by Rainbird Software in 1987 for the Macintosh, Tandy 4000, and IBM PC compatibles. In 1988, both Atari ST, Amiga versions were released. The game was created by Ezra Sidran. The PC and Amiga versions were ported by Ed Isenberg. The game spawned two sequels: UMS II: Nations at War and The War College: Universal Military Simulator 3.

<i>V for Victory: D-Day Utah Beach</i> 1991 video game

V for Victory: D-Day Utah Beach is a 1991 computer wargame developed by Atomic Games and published by Three-Sixty Pacific. It was widely lauded and repeatedly reviewed as the best wargame of its era. Its success led to three further games in the V for Victory series, and then the similar World at War series published by Avalon Hill.

<i>Siege</i> (video game) 1992 video game

Siege is a video game released by Mindcraft in 1992 for MS-DOS. An expansion pack, Dogs of War, was released. It added multiplayer, six new castles, and 16 new units to the game. A sequel, Ambush at Sorinor, was released in 1993.

<i>Sword of Aragon</i> 1989 video game

Sword of Aragon is a turn-based strategy and role-playing game developed and published by Strategic Simulations in 1989. It is also considered to be of the 4X genre. Set in the fictional land of Aragon, the games casts its protagonist as the duke of a city named Aladda. After assuming rule over the city and avenging his father's death, the protagonist embarks on a quest to unify the land through conquest. Accomplishing this goal entails developing cities, recruiting armies, and directing the troops on the fields of battle to victory. First published for MS-DOS, the game was ported to Amiga machines. Reception towards Sword of Aragon tended to be more positive than negative; reviewers called it an exciting game, but criticized its method of copy protection and cited problems with its documentation. There were also opinions that the game was more of a niche product, catering to hardcore strategists.

<i>Battle Isle 2200</i> 1994 strategy game for Windows PC

Battle Isle 2200 is a strategy video game developed by Blue Byte for IBM PC compatibles and published by Accolade in 1994. It is the second entry in the science fiction themed Battle Isle series. The game is a turn-based, hex-based, strategy wargame. An expansion was released the same year.

<i>Battle Isle</i> (video game) 1991 video game

Battle Isle is a 1991 turn-based strategy video game developed by Blue Byte and published by Ubi Soft for the Amiga and MS-DOS. It is the first game in the Battle Isle series. Two official expansion packs were released: Data Disk I in 1992 and The Moon of Chromos in 1993. An unofficial expansion, Battle Field Creator, was released in 1994. An Atari ST version was advertised but never released.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Review from CU Amiga, February 1993, p.p.60-61 (scroll down for English translation)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Review at The Good Old Days
  3. ↑ Matthews, Robin (August 1993). "Blue Byte's History Line 1914–18". Computer Gaming World. p. 110. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  4. ↑ Brooks, M. Evan (September 1993). "Brooks' Book of Wargames: 1900-1950, A-P". Computer Gaming World. p. 118. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  5. ↑ Dille, H. E. (December 1993). "The War To End All Wars". Computer Gaming World. pp. 252–253. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
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.