Switch back to that round and the loader will promptly cry out "Up! By hitting the "G" key, your view will line up with the main gun, so players have at least some reference. Helicopters from opposing sides will engage each other as well as enemy ground units. Hitting "L" in the map screen will delineate the map contours better to help you read the terrain features better. Finally, multiplayer games should now work better. A couple of potentially serious bugs still persist. While the game is running in Glide mode, Windows 95 is of course still running in the background.
The game blanks out a roughly x section of the Windows desktop to prevent you from accidentally starting another program with the mouse. However, for those of you running higher desktop resolutions on a 19 or inch monitor it is possible to move your mouse outside of this blanked region and accidentally click on one of your desktop windows.
When this happens, Win95 will try to seize control back from the game and it will unceremoniously dump you back to the desktop with a fault. The best workaround for this is to not use your mouse for view panning or aiming, and close all your windows before starting the game. Hopefully the team at MPS will develop a solution for this problem soon — although only players with desktop resolutions over x are likely to be affected.
The other bug that comes to mind is in the strategy map screen. As it turns out, the clickable area of the strategy map actually overlaps with the buttons on the bottom menu bar. This means that it is entirely possible — and in the heat of battle, pretty common — to accidentally set a waypoint at the bottom of the map AND switch to the next platoon simultaneously. Apparently the amount of work necessary to fix this is beyond the scope of the patch, and will be addressed in the upgrade.
While I can appreciate that it might be a difficult problem to solve, hopefully the team will consider releasing a patch to cure that problem at some point without forcing the player to buy the upgrade — since it can be a serious source of frustration.
Best workaround here is to totally avoid using the "Platoon" or "Vehicle" menu-bar button, and instead stick to the keyboard "F11" or "Shift-F11" shortcuts. Specifically, the strategy map — while very advanced — still suffers from interface problems that can be a real frustration. The features the map offers are good, but it could use a thorough reworking, which may happen in a future expansion. It especially could use a "Plan while paused" mode to allow the player to make better use of friendly units and to reduce the consequences of a mis-click or other momentary error.
Having said that however, the team has indeed delivered on their promises, added a few extra features, and done it all within a reasonable time frame. No tank simulation has ever provided this degree of immersion or excitement, nor have any raised the bar in as many areas. M1 Tank Platoon 2 gives Microprose a repeat victory in setting the standard for modern-day armor simulations.
Among the things mentioned are the:. From the interview:. I think many people felt that M1TP2 might have needed one more patch to make it more complete. What do you think? How was the decision made to move forward with this new product rather than issue a 1.
Patches are sometimes necessary evils that are used to fix things that are broken, not to add additional major features or make new versions of a game. When we asked players on the net what they wanted to see in such a patch, the answers included a lot of major design changes, or additions to the game that are not "patch material" but add on or next edition changes.
Based on this feedback, we decided to dedicate our time and resources into developing a new, updated product vs a patch. Nov 19, Combatsim runs an interview with Tim. Tim: The player will be able to command a company. In addition, they will be able to directly control combat vehicles other than the tanks using limited cockpits, such as the gun sight and an outside control view.
When SimHQ inquires about the name change with Hasbro, the reason given is that it was done so that consumers won't feel they need to have played previous versions to enjoy these two titles. November 19, Hasbro registers the domain name gunship. November 23, I inquire about the status of the Beta Testing team. I learn that the reason no one has heard anything is that MicroProse doesn't have an answer from Hasbro yet about their policies on outside testing, and the original list was made before the merger.
This is confirmed by SimHQ in a conversation with team members in the days after the announcement. Hasbro makes a public "Statement to MicroProse Fans. January 8, Hasbro puts up an official web page for Gunship. The site states that Gunship "will connect with upcoming "Tank Platoon! February 2, I called Tim Goodlett and spoke at some length about the two projects.
From the SimHQ news report of that conversation:. QA on Gunship! All helicopters and weapons are now in the game. He reports that the fully 3D cockpit is also coming along nicely, and the majority of the flight instrument controls can be handled through keyboard shortcuts. He also updated us on the enemy AI They are still determining the final size of battles, especially in multiplayer.
Speaking of multiplayer, according to Tim it is also testing well, and the tandem cockpit is working, as are both cooperative and adversarial modes. We asked about the varying degrees of difficulty possible in the sim, and he reports that several factors can be adjusted, such as weapon effectiveness and damage to your own bird. However, one interesting note here Look for more from us on both Gunship!
I also learn in that phone call that they are not going to use an external testing team for either Tank Platoon or Gunship at all. February 25, Hasbro registers the domain name tankplatoon. March 17, Gunship goes "gold. March 28, Gunship is available in stores in the US. There is no mention of interconnectedness with Tank Platoon on either the game box or in the documentation. Initial reaction is very mixed, with many people unhappy with the lack of accurate avionics, flight model, and other things expected in most "hardcore" helo sims.
Reviews are largely negative from sim sites. A look at the mission and terrain files of the game show that the basic format of them is very similar almost identical to M1TP2, although it is obvious new things have been added. Similarly, attempts to switch the Poland map a common map between the two games results in a crash after a few seconds of flying in total blackness.
I've been tasked with making a list of the "issues" you folks find along with any bugs. The decision will then be made on just when a patch will be put together and what will be on it. I appreciate your patience. Week of April 16 Gunship debuts in the UK and reportedly has strong sales figures in its debut week. Reportedly, M1TP2 also sold well in Europe through its life.
April 20, I get an email from a M1TP2 player that says he purchased a new MicroProse game and inside was a flyer showing Tank Platoon and Gunship together, and mentioning that the two connect.
There is a graphic of the TP box as well They include some screenshots. From the release:. Tank Platoon! Massive and forceful weapons of destruction capable of high ground speeds and accurate gunfire, the front-line battle tanks of the major countries command respect and admiration. For the first time ever, this full fighting experience of power and speed is offered with great ease of use, incredible battlefield depth, and fantastic 3-D graphics that will immerse all gamers into the excitement and action of WW III.
Additionally, the full battle experience is enhanced with an on-line connection to Gunship! Now get full, hands-on excitement fighting combat helicopters and tanks together in the first ever coordinated, on-line experience joining two different fighting platforms from two separate games. Key Features:. April, Gunship does not appear in the top 20 games sold during the month, according to PC Data. Three other Hasbro titles do, however Gunship comes in ranked 69th out of all PC games, and is ranked 12th in the category of "Simulation.
More than 11, copies of Gunship are sold in the month. First week of May, No firm news for this date, but it is here that I believe Tank Platoon is cancelled by Hasbro, based on poor sales of Gunship. I can find no reason to believe that the team wasn't going to keep working on the game May 5, Tank Platoon does not appear in a Hasbro press release list of games to be shown by the company at E3.
May 13, At E3, Dogfighter. Within an hour I contact Tim Goodlett and he defers from comment about the situation. May 18, Hasbro makes an official statement about Tank Platoon's cancellation. But, what we learned from our recent release of Gunship!
As both Gunship! This is allowing us to focus our development resources on new projects. May , Pretzelworks , a site that has enhanced several other sims with end user mods, uses the info at my site to go on to discover that many of the M1TP2 vehicles are included in Gunship and can be brought into games.
In the M1TP2 mission files, the numbers were used for different types of units. In Gunship, those numbers still seem to work, but they have added , which are new vehicles.
May 22, Over the phone, MicroProse's Hunt Valley Studio Head Robin Matthews tells me, "We are obviously very disappointed about the cancellation, but we understand the realities of the current market.
Maybe we just have to wait long enough for a turnaround!!! May 23, To date, there is no update on the patch status for Gunship, despite several email requests for a simple "Is there work being done on a patch I found quotes from Tom going back to , so I asked him a few questions related to the topic of Tank Platoon and the sim genre in general. How do you respond to those who feel that M1TP2 could have and should have been patched to full completion? I don't recall the specifics around what patch was released when, but we were proactive about listening to the community when M1TP2 launched and we tried as best as we could to address all of the issues that were being raised.
Some of them couldn't be fixed. Our position is that we addressed as much as we could. When was Tank Platoon cancelled? I don't know the exact date, but early May, There are many reasons for decisions like this In your opinion, what is the future of hardcore tank sims?
Well, I think it is going to be pretty light in terms of products. A lot of sim groups really have stopped working on their projects and all of us who are close to that market are affected. What's happened in general is that you see cycles. There was a time when RPG and wargames were dead, and they have come back to life since. We're in one of those cycles for sims. The gameplay in the sim genre has stagnated recently. There hasn't been as much innovation in the last couple years as there has been in other genres.
We're drawing the the same crowd to sims, but aren't able to get new gamers into the fold. The market for sims has gotten smaller. We're just not selling enough of them. I'm hoping there will be breakthrough in gameplay that will kick start things and turn the genre on its ear. I know it will happen Special thanks to John and SimHQ for this detailed piece and for his continued efforts in the tank simulation arena. Reprinted with permission.
Some of the changes planned are mentioned in the article: "Changes will include extending the viewing range to support the longer-ranged views achieved in the air and enhancing performance. They also plan to add weather effects, cloud layers, and new missile types; also, between mission management of maintenance, supplies, and replacements will play a part in the game. August 27, In a "Welcome to the testing group" email, I get the following message: Phase three is the final approval stage for a development team to begin creating the game in question.
Among the things mentioned are the: Flight model "We are making Gunship scalable wherever possible. M1TP3 will be using the same graphics engine and the same vehicle models" , New features "There are a lot of cool new features in this game the realistic thermal view, the volumetric clouds that you can use for cover, the realistic trees you can use for cover, and others. However, my personal favorite is the monocle view. This allows you to see the unaided eye view cockpit view as well as the camera view.
In that way, you can zoom in on a target, while still looking at your MFD. Being a Hasbro company, we are going to get a larger distribution, so we need to be accessible to a larger customer base.
So, we are making this game scalable, from Action to Simulation. In this way, we should be able to satisfy a much larger group of players. From the interview: I think many people felt that M1TP2 might have needed one more patch to make it more complete. From the release: Tank Platoon! In addition to the four main battle tanks, players may choose to fight from 26 vehicles as a gunner. Overall vehicles and varying amounts of individual ground troops make Tank Platoon!
Develop your platoon's experience by guiding them to victory. Create custom missions with the Battle Builder. Realistic rolling terrain that lets you 'hide' behind trees, hills and ridges just like real tanks. Detailed communications simulation lets you call for artillery or air support and talk to other units.
Flight model "We are making Gunship scalable wherever possible. The flight model on "Action Mode" will be easy for the casual user, while in the "Simulation Mode", it will be much more realistic" ,. The connection to M1TP3 "Yes. M1TP3 will be using the same graphics engine and the same vehicle models" ,.
New features "There are a lot of cool new features in this game the realistic thermal view, the volumetric clouds that you can use for cover, the realistic trees you can use for cover, and others. Multiplayer "Also, multiplayer games should be able to interact in a virtual battlefield with M1TP3 players.
And other areas. Staff info: About TankSim. Post by Jason1 » Fri May 27, am. Post by Zeus » Fri May 27, am. Privacy Terms. Forum Zeus Software www. Quick links. M1 Tank Platoon 2 Report bugs, errors, problems, etc. Here's a problem report that may be of interest: M1 Tank Platoon 2 seems like it nearly works with nGlide. Initially, it looks quite correct when you first select a 3D view.
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