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One of the closest experiences to flying this thing came in 1991, in the form of "F-117A Stealth Fighter" PC game, made by MicroProse. It was a masterpiece for

by a_d 8y ago

One of the closest experiences to flying this thing came in 1991, in the form of "F-117A Stealth Fighter" PC game, made by MicroProse. It was a masterpiece for its time in terms of the detailed console one had to learn to fly this. If you never play the game, you should just consider flipping through the incredible manual: http://www.abandonia.com/files/extras/25631_game_extra_1.pdf http://www.abandonia.com/files/extras/25631_game_extra_1.pdf The game and the manual had a ton of jargon that one had to learn to play the game, adding to the feeling of being in a real sim :) The section on evasion and defense systems was especially charming (Basically, this game was a dream for a kid who was into PC games and flying sims). The paper version that came with the box explained tons of small details about the plane e.g. how radar absorption paint works (I learned later from a documentary that F-117 had to be repainted after every mission, making maintenance very expensive). Two highlights of the gameplay were: a) landing on an aircraft carrier and b) learning capabilities of different types of missiles and how to deploy them (i.e. one was forced to read the manual!). When I hear about F-117, I can't help remember this hidden-gem PC game. Relevant links: 1) Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/328920/F117A_Nighthawk_Stealth_Fighter_20/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/328920/F117A_Nighthawk_St... 2) Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-117A_Nighthawk_Stealth_Fighter_2.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-117A_Nighthawk_Stealth_Fight...

acranox 8y ago
There was a similar game with the F/A-18. It had a 250 page manual. I read that whole thing. It was probably the most I read when I was 14.
- rurounijones 8y ago
  If you still interested in that kind of thing. Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) recently released the F/A-18C Hornet: https://www.airdailyx.net/article/f-a-18c-hornet-released-for-digital-combat-simulator-world/ https://www.airdailyx.net/article/f-a-18c-hornet-released-fo... Here is a video of a tutorial on CASE 1 carrier landings in the Hornet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuigBLhtAH8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuigBLhtAH8 Some of the DCS planes are study sim level (The A-10C Warhog, The KA-50 BlackShark, Mirage 2000, Viggten etc.) and the Hornet is going to join them (It is currently in beta and not complete). "Study Sim" here means that you could learn the game using the real life documentation for the real aircraft. (Although they do have game specific guides). A cheap'ish HOTAS (EDIT: See llimllib's comment below, the last link has examples. A Thrustmaster T-16000M is about 100 bucks ) is all you need harware wise.
  - vvanders 8y ago
    There was a great let's play a while back for the A-10 sim from gamers who don't normally play sims. Don't have the link handy right now but they basically caught the plane on fire before the could learn how to takeoff correctly.
  - llimllib 8y ago
    In case somebody wants to save themselves a google: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HOTAS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HOTAS > HOTAS, an acronym of Hands On Throttle-And-Stick, is the name given to the concept of placing buttons and switches on the throttle lever and flight control stick in an aircraft's cockpit, allowing pilots to access vital cockpit functions and fly the aircraft without having to remove their hands from the controls. Application of the concept was pioneered with the Ferranti AIRPASS radar and gunsight control system used by the English Electric Lightning[1][2] and is widely used on all modern fighter aircraft such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the A-10A/A-10C and others. Meaning, in this context, that you have a joystick and throttle with like 17 buttons each hooked up to your computer https://nerdtechy.com/best-hotas-joystick-reviews https://nerdtechy.com/best-hotas-joystick-reviews
  - toomanybeersies 8y ago
    I played DCS A-10C a few years ago. It's such an incredibly detailed sim that I barely managed to do anything more than get the plane started and in the air. It would've been much easier if I had a couple of touch screens to simulate the cockpit controls. Trying to click on all the buttons or remember the keyboard shortcuts was impossible.
    - rurounijones 8y ago
      Most of us just use the mouse and click around the cockpit (Along with a HOTAS Joystick / Throttle setup). When it comes to keyboard shortcuts I think the only one I use is the G key to raise / lower the landing gear. There are simple aircraft (Known as FC3) that don't have clickable cockpits and can be started up with like 5 keyboard buttons. I would still say you need a Joystick and Throttle though.
- a_d 8y ago
  >It was probably the most I read when I was 14 True for me too. I remember that game. Reading the manuals for all the Jane's and Microprose's games, and taking them very seriously, was definitely a childhood highlight. Btw, I found that GoG has F-117A and the reviews are awesome. I hope these are genuine reviews because they definitely echo my experience :-) Here is the link: https://www.gog.com/game/f117a_nighthawk_stealth_fighter_20 https://www.gog.com/game/f117a_nighthawk_stealth_fighter_20 "...it will keep you on the edge of the seat.." "This game is in the top three of all PC games I have ever played." Definitely echoes my colored-by-nostalgia-memories :) Edit: I have a question — what is the best way to play this game on a MacBook? (Without installing windows or Linux)
  - 2muchcoffeeman 8y ago
    Can you even buy a joystick these days?
    - gdegani 8y ago
      sure you can! check those https://virpil-controls.by/en/shop https://virpil-controls.by/en/shop
      - 2muchcoffeeman 8y ago
        Those prices are pretty steep though. I think you can still get Thrustmaster and Flightstick Pros, but back in the day, I could just go and buy one. I have not seen a joystick at a retailer in years.
        tonyarkles 8y ago
        I just bought a relatively cheap ($70 CAD) HOTAS setup at a local retailer a couple of weeks ago. I’m not at home and don’t remember whether it was Logitech or Thrustmaster, but it’s a great setup for playing X-Plane. If I wanted to be more realistic, I should have bought a yoke and pedals, but that was more in the $200+ range and I’m not sufficiently committed... yet.
  - 8y ago
- LaMarseillaise 8y ago
  Is this it? http://retrogamer.biz/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/FA-18_Korea_-_Manual_-_PC.pdf http://retrogamer.biz/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/FA-18_Korea...
  - flashman 8y ago
    That's the one!
beeskneecaps 8y ago
Thank you for this nostalgic throwback. I loved this game so much, I wrote a book based on it in second grade, illustrating one of the missions lol.
sehugg 8y ago
I'll always remember it as F-19 Stealth Fighter :) (Microprose issued a patch shortly after release to correct the name, 3D model, and a "realistic" mode to conform to actual payload specs)
- sandworm101 8y ago
  F19 was the first version. I still have the box somewhere. The f117 verson came out a year later. There was more to it, new areas, new art and new game concepts. Both games were noted for the quality of the AI, ground and air units working together.
  - engi_nerd 8y ago
    F-19 Stealth Fighter was actually released the very day that the F-117 was announced to the public.
    - sandworm101 8y ago
      Which was a total coup. Everyone had expected it to be called the F-19 as 14->18 had already been used. And many still question the "F" as it is purely a light bomber, not in any way a deserving of "fighter" status. The F-111 at least started as a fighter. So F-117 really made no sense then or now.
- roryisok 8y ago
  Fighter numbers always confuse the hell out of me. Where did they pull 117 from? There's no F-116.
  - whatgoodisaroad 8y ago
    I recently wondered this myself. The best I could determine from Wikipedia [1] of what's known publicly is that it's seemingly an artifact of when the project began. The theory being that it was allotted a designation before the "Century Series" ended in the 1960s. (Further suggesting that other secret projects for F112-F116 were also allotted designations.) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_F-117_Nighthawk#Designation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_F-117_Nighthawk#Desig...
linkmotif 8y ago
Wow a 69 page manual for playing a game. So cool. Thanks for sharing. I couldn’t have played this in 2nd grade. Big ups to you!
- a_d 8y ago
  The original manual was about 200 pages! I can’t find it anywhere online. It goes into tons of other things — like the construction of this plane and dogfighting tactics (even though this plane isn’t designed for it) :)
  - mongol 8y ago
    I had one for the game about the Apache attack helicopter. When you landed after the mission the base asked you a "challenge" which required you to respond correctly or you would be shot down. This was probably a kind of copy protection. The correct response was printed on each page in the manual, one challenge-response per each page!
    - TeMPOraL 8y ago
      Yeah, definitely copy protection, as "type in something from page X of the manual" was a standard method these days; but it seems they've managed to fit it nicely in the theme of the game, too.
- wyldfire 8y ago
  I remember when I got Falcon 3.0. The manual was 250+ pages [1]. Unfortunately for me, my 16MHz 386 just couldn't get the job done. I thought it might be playable with cranked-down details, but it really wasn't. So the manual stoked my imagination for an incredible flight sim on a capable computer. [1] http://lucasabandonware.free.fr/manuels/Falcon%203.0.PDF http://lucasabandonware.free.fr/manuels/Falcon%203.0.PDF
  - j9461701 8y ago
    I personally was a big fan of 688i Hunter-Killer. One of the most realistic sub games ever made, with a 250 page manual that frankly under-explained how a lot of the more technical systems on your boat functioned (I'm still not quite sure when it's a good idea to let out the port/starboard towed arrays!). To get good at the game basically required you to take a crash course in modern submarine warfare. http://www.stormpowered.com/stormcloud/games/6040/manual.pdf http://www.stormpowered.com/stormcloud/games/6040/manual.pdf Man, I really miss these kinds of games. DCS is really all that's left of what used to be an entire genre.
kasey_junk 8y ago
This was far & away one of my most cherished games. Another aspect you didn’t mention was the cardboard keyboard overlay because the game used basically every key for something. I wonder if muscle memory would kick in for me on this all these years later.
- a_d 8y ago
  >This was far & away one of my most cherished games. Hmmm...going by this thread, I am really surprised that there are so many of us who like this game. This is quite cool actually! :)
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  > Another aspect you didn’t mention was the cardboard keyboard overlay because the game used basically every key for something. That was fairly common with sims from the mid-1980s into the 2000s.
jasonkester 8y ago
Those old flying games had some serious manuals. I remember getting my copy of Flight Simulator for the C64 at the same time I was learning to fly actual planes. The game manuals (plural) were actually thicker than the training materials for my Private Pilot's License.
cyberjunkie 8y ago
And that's where I first heard of the city, Tripoli. It sounded so cool. That nasal whistle playing endlessly from the PC speaker though was something!
acjohnson55 8y ago
I used to play Gunship 2000 as a kid, also by MicroProse. It was probably equally as detailed.
partiallypro 8y ago
I used to play Jane's USAF all the time. Jane's was seemingly the industry standard for accuracy. It is actually pretty sad that no good air combat simulators exist anymore. Ace Combat was good in the 90s/early 2000s, then it transformed into some weird anime thing later on with a story line when I really just wanted to be Maverick. Maybe the new Top Gun movie coming out will renew interest.
- senozhatsky 8y ago
  > It is actually pretty sad that no good air combat simulators exist anymore LockOn [0] (formerly known as Flanker, IIRC) and DCS World (never played that one) look quite cool. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_On:_Modern_Air_Combat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_On:_Modern_Air_Combat [1] https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/ https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/ -ss
  - rurounijones 8y ago
    Lock-On became DCS world. DCS extends the Lock-on codebase and added a ton of new features (and bugs, unfortunately, but on balance still good)
    - zokier 8y ago
      The lineage is bit complicated, but mostly Lock-On became Flaming Cliffs 2 and 3, and now they are going back to "Modern Air Combat" branding.
      - senozhatsky 8y ago
        Good ol' days. I miss Flanker 2.0/2.5. Sort of liked Crimea better than Caucasus. -ss
- rurounijones 8y ago
  > It is actually pretty sad that no good air combat simulators exist anymore See my comments elsewhere about DCS World. It is modern air combat simulator and is incredibly detailed. There is also Falcon BMS which is also extremely detailed. For WWII look at IL-2 series. Honestly. Right now we have 3 amazing combat simulators that blow everything in the past out of the water. "This is why we fly" is a good video for DCS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn6kyNx7kG8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn6kyNx7kG8 http://reddit.com/r/hoggit http://reddit.com/r/hoggit is a subreddit dedicated to the above sims (with a focus on DCS)
TeMPOraL 8y ago
Oh, MicroProse. They did make a lot of good games, even if often underappreciated. I have strong feelings of nostalgia to some of the titles of theirs, that I used to play as a kid. In fact, I recently wasted couple of hours trying to get one of the old games (Star Trek: Generations) to run - and in the process I learned that it's quite hard to emulate a Windows 95 machine these days. Also, manuals in XX century were great. They were often decent books by themselves, full of information and lore. Somehow, this concept was abandoned around 2000 +/- couple years (StarCraft, from 1998, originally had a small-book-sized manual with details and stories; that's the last one of this kind that I remember.).
- a_d 8y ago
  >Also, manuals in XX century were great. They were often decent books by themselves, full of information and lore. Somehow, this concept was abandoned around 2000 +/- couple years Very interesting point. I wonder why did this happen? I believe the manuals/books with backstory/guides that came with the box, added to the engagement with the game. Why did they go away? Seems like a needless regression :) Sometimes I lament that the entire character of PC games changed as well during the same timeframe, as they become more console-ish/FPS-style, rather than adventure/puzzle/strategy/sim style. But then I remember that probably every generation romanticizes the good old days. Technology advancement explains the shift to FPS (better game engines, graphics cards, leading to more immersive worlds and movie-like narratives + multiplayer is exciting), but doesn’t explain the death of the game “manual/novel/book” :)
  - johnchristopher 8y ago
    > Very interesting point. I wonder why did this happen? I believe the manuals/books with backstory/guides that came with the box, added to the engagement with the game. Why did they go away? Seems like a needless regression :) I remember it happened around the time of the CD-ROM and the digitization of manuals as PDF files simply dropped on the disc. Then, economy.
  - johnchristopher 8y ago
    > (better game engines, graphics cards, leading to more immersive worlds and movie-like narratives + multiplayer is exciting) I strongly disagree that better game engines, graphic cards led to more immersive worlds and movie-like narratives. It's like saying Marvel movies are more immersive and have better narratives than pre-fx movies.
erickhill 8y ago
It was super sweet on the Amiga.
tuomosipola 8y ago
I recommend the Designer Notes podcast episode [1] where Sid Meier (yes, that Sid Meier) explains how this game was designed. And if you are interested, listen all of the four episodes where he is interviewed. [1] https://www.idlethumbs.net/designernotes/episodes/sid-meier-part-2 https://www.idlethumbs.net/designernotes/episodes/sid-meier-...
- a_d 8y ago
  Wow. Had no idea that Sid Meier was connected to this game. His Railroad Tycoon (esp RT2) is one of the greatest "business simulations" of all time!
  - PhasmaFelis 8y ago
    Sid Meier started his career with a string of flight sim titles. That's how he got to be a big enough name to start calling things "Sid Meier's X." (Which Microprose originally did with Pirates because they were worried all their die-hard flight sim fans would be turned off; Sid's name was supposed to reassure them.)
    - a_d 8y ago
      Really interesting bit of history. Thanks for sharing. (I remember Pirates! — what a great game that was. Vividly remember the opening graphics on my friend’s new 486 with a 16-bit VGA card. It looked stunning.)
NeedMoreTea 8y ago
> landing on an aircraft carrier Sometime in the early 00's I got to see an aircraft carrier from a light aircraft, at about a circuit height and distance. I never, ever, want to try landing on a real carrier. They're so tiny!
- toomanybeersies 8y ago
  The video of a Hercules landing and taking off on the USS Forrestal without no arrestor or catapult might interest you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar-poc38C84 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar-poc38C84
  - NeedMoreTea 8y ago
    Pretty impressive, considering it looks like there was no margin for error on the centre line. :)
arianvanp 8y ago
If you're still really into this stuff. And want to relive the feeling of this module or Jane's F-18, another great simulator from the 90s. Definitely check out Digital Combat Simulator and it's awesome high fidelity modules. Expect 600 page flight manuals to dig through. It's a rush!
golergka 8y ago
I have long had it in my Steam library from some sale, and your comment finally pushed me to install it. Thanks! The manual is a wonderful read indeed - the introduction reads like a popular science artilce that is written better than most that get posted to HN front page.
netsharc 8y ago
> a) landing on an aircraft carrier Interestingly, the real life F117 can't land on aircraft carriers, only the game version could. And in the game you can also shoot at air targets and even have machine guns for dog fights, in real life it's just a plane that bombs targets on the ground. https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-navys-secret-fantasy-how-the-f-117-stealth-fighter-25568 https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-navys-secret-...
- hudibras 8y ago
  The F-19 air-to-air missions were some of the most intense gameplay I've ever experienced. You had to fly deep into Soviet territory and kick off the war by shooting down an airborne command plane or an airborne early warning plane, and then make it out alive as World War 3 literally started around you.
  - greedo 8y ago
    This was a scenario from Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising.
- rjsw 8y ago
  The article in your link ignores the A-12 project [1] that had been going on during the timeframe described. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_A-12_Avenger_II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_A-12_Avenger...
  - DuskStar 8y ago
    Not to be confused with the A-12 project that actually flew [0] - coincidentally also a Skunk Works plane. 0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_A-12 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_A-12
zackola 8y ago
This was a truly great game. Thanks for these links. Many hours were spent flipping switches and not really understanding how to fly this thing but it was all so cool anyway.
engi_nerd 8y ago
Another big highlight of the game was their (for the time and platform) pretty good RCS modeling of ownship against various threats. Your movements against the threat would change the threat's ability to see you. Opening weapons bay doors caused your RCS to spike.
tootie 8y ago
In 1991 I was immersed in Falcon 3.0. The incredibly vivid F-16 flight simulator. It was very similar. You really needed to learn aviation jargon, weapons and countermeasures capabilities and mission tactics.
- greedo 8y ago
  I always looked forward to a future where Falcon 4.0's offspring were played on superfast PCs with incredible graphics. I was really annoyed when that genre of flight sims basically died off. The last I played was EF2000.
  - JunkDNA 8y ago
    I’m of two minds on this. I loved the original Falcon on the Amiga (it actually talked! “Pull Up! Pull Up!”). I thought I wanted more and more realism. But at the same time I feel like all the sims lost their way trying to be too realistic. I was a huge avaiation buff as a kid. I loved flight sims. But it all stopped being fun when I had to learn so much just to play. It turns out ramming the afterburners and chasing down bad guys is a lot more fun when you don’t have to worry about scraping the engine on the runway on takeoff.

by a_d 8y ago

acranox 8y ago

There was a similar game with the F/A-18. It had a 250 page manual. I read that whole thing. It was probably the most I read when I was 14.

rurounijones 8y ago
If you still interested in that kind of thing. Digital Combat Simulator (DCS) recently released the F/A-18C Hornet: https://www.airdailyx.net/article/f-a-18c-hornet-released-for-digital-combat-simulator-world/ https://www.airdailyx.net/article/f-a-18c-hornet-released-fo... Here is a video of a tutorial on CASE 1 carrier landings in the Hornet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuigBLhtAH8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuigBLhtAH8 Some of the DCS planes are study sim level (The A-10C Warhog, The KA-50 BlackShark, Mirage 2000, Viggten etc.) and the Hornet is going to join them (It is currently in beta and not complete). "Study Sim" here means that you could learn the game using the real life documentation for the real aircraft. (Although they do have game specific guides). A cheap'ish HOTAS (EDIT: See llimllib's comment below, the last link has examples. A Thrustmaster T-16000M is about 100 bucks ) is all you need harware wise.
- vvanders 8y ago
  There was a great let's play a while back for the A-10 sim from gamers who don't normally play sims. Don't have the link handy right now but they basically caught the plane on fire before the could learn how to takeoff correctly.
- llimllib 8y ago
  In case somebody wants to save themselves a google: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HOTAS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HOTAS > HOTAS, an acronym of Hands On Throttle-And-Stick, is the name given to the concept of placing buttons and switches on the throttle lever and flight control stick in an aircraft's cockpit, allowing pilots to access vital cockpit functions and fly the aircraft without having to remove their hands from the controls. Application of the concept was pioneered with the Ferranti AIRPASS radar and gunsight control system used by the English Electric Lightning[1][2] and is widely used on all modern fighter aircraft such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the A-10A/A-10C and others. Meaning, in this context, that you have a joystick and throttle with like 17 buttons each hooked up to your computer https://nerdtechy.com/best-hotas-joystick-reviews https://nerdtechy.com/best-hotas-joystick-reviews
- toomanybeersies 8y ago
  I played DCS A-10C a few years ago. It's such an incredibly detailed sim that I barely managed to do anything more than get the plane started and in the air. It would've been much easier if I had a couple of touch screens to simulate the cockpit controls. Trying to click on all the buttons or remember the keyboard shortcuts was impossible.
  - rurounijones 8y ago
    Most of us just use the mouse and click around the cockpit (Along with a HOTAS Joystick / Throttle setup). When it comes to keyboard shortcuts I think the only one I use is the G key to raise / lower the landing gear. There are simple aircraft (Known as FC3) that don't have clickable cockpits and can be started up with like 5 keyboard buttons. I would still say you need a Joystick and Throttle though.
a_d 8y ago
>It was probably the most I read when I was 14 True for me too. I remember that game. Reading the manuals for all the Jane's and Microprose's games, and taking them very seriously, was definitely a childhood highlight. Btw, I found that GoG has F-117A and the reviews are awesome. I hope these are genuine reviews because they definitely echo my experience :-) Here is the link: https://www.gog.com/game/f117a_nighthawk_stealth_fighter_20 https://www.gog.com/game/f117a_nighthawk_stealth_fighter_20 "...it will keep you on the edge of the seat.." "This game is in the top three of all PC games I have ever played." Definitely echoes my colored-by-nostalgia-memories :) Edit: I have a question — what is the best way to play this game on a MacBook? (Without installing windows or Linux)
- 2muchcoffeeman 8y ago
  Can you even buy a joystick these days?
  - gdegani 8y ago
    sure you can! check those https://virpil-controls.by/en/shop https://virpil-controls.by/en/shop
    - 2muchcoffeeman 8y ago
      Those prices are pretty steep though. I think you can still get Thrustmaster and Flightstick Pros, but back in the day, I could just go and buy one. I have not seen a joystick at a retailer in years.
      - tonyarkles 8y ago
        I just bought a relatively cheap ($70 CAD) HOTAS setup at a local retailer a couple of weeks ago. I’m not at home and don’t remember whether it was Logitech or Thrustmaster, but it’s a great setup for playing X-Plane. If I wanted to be more realistic, I should have bought a yoke and pedals, but that was more in the $200+ range and I’m not sufficiently committed... yet.
- 8y ago
LaMarseillaise 8y ago
Is this it? http://retrogamer.biz/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/FA-18_Korea_-_Manual_-_PC.pdf http://retrogamer.biz/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/FA-18_Korea...
- flashman 8y ago
  That's the one!

beeskneecaps 8y ago

Thank you for this nostalgic throwback. I loved this game so much, I wrote a book based on it in second grade, illustrating one of the missions lol.

sehugg 8y ago

I'll always remember it as F-19 Stealth Fighter :) (Microprose issued a patch shortly after release to correct the name, 3D model, and a "realistic" mode to conform to actual payload specs)

sandworm101 8y ago
F19 was the first version. I still have the box somewhere. The f117 verson came out a year later. There was more to it, new areas, new art and new game concepts. Both games were noted for the quality of the AI, ground and air units working together.
- engi_nerd 8y ago
  F-19 Stealth Fighter was actually released the very day that the F-117 was announced to the public.
  - sandworm101 8y ago
    Which was a total coup. Everyone had expected it to be called the F-19 as 14->18 had already been used. And many still question the "F" as it is purely a light bomber, not in any way a deserving of "fighter" status. The F-111 at least started as a fighter. So F-117 really made no sense then or now.
roryisok 8y ago
Fighter numbers always confuse the hell out of me. Where did they pull 117 from? There's no F-116.
- whatgoodisaroad 8y ago
  I recently wondered this myself. The best I could determine from Wikipedia [1] of what's known publicly is that it's seemingly an artifact of when the project began. The theory being that it was allotted a designation before the "Century Series" ended in the 1960s. (Further suggesting that other secret projects for F112-F116 were also allotted designations.) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_F-117_Nighthawk#Designation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_F-117_Nighthawk#Desig...

linkmotif 8y ago

Wow a 69 page manual for playing a game. So cool. Thanks for sharing. I couldn’t have played this in 2nd grade. Big ups to you!

a_d 8y ago
The original manual was about 200 pages! I can’t find it anywhere online. It goes into tons of other things — like the construction of this plane and dogfighting tactics (even though this plane isn’t designed for it) :)
- mongol 8y ago
  I had one for the game about the Apache attack helicopter. When you landed after the mission the base asked you a "challenge" which required you to respond correctly or you would be shot down. This was probably a kind of copy protection. The correct response was printed on each page in the manual, one challenge-response per each page!
  - TeMPOraL 8y ago
    Yeah, definitely copy protection, as "type in something from page X of the manual" was a standard method these days; but it seems they've managed to fit it nicely in the theme of the game, too.
wyldfire 8y ago
I remember when I got Falcon 3.0. The manual was 250+ pages [1]. Unfortunately for me, my 16MHz 386 just couldn't get the job done. I thought it might be playable with cranked-down details, but it really wasn't. So the manual stoked my imagination for an incredible flight sim on a capable computer. [1] http://lucasabandonware.free.fr/manuels/Falcon%203.0.PDF http://lucasabandonware.free.fr/manuels/Falcon%203.0.PDF
- j9461701 8y ago
  I personally was a big fan of 688i Hunter-Killer. One of the most realistic sub games ever made, with a 250 page manual that frankly under-explained how a lot of the more technical systems on your boat functioned (I'm still not quite sure when it's a good idea to let out the port/starboard towed arrays!). To get good at the game basically required you to take a crash course in modern submarine warfare. http://www.stormpowered.com/stormcloud/games/6040/manual.pdf http://www.stormpowered.com/stormcloud/games/6040/manual.pdf Man, I really miss these kinds of games. DCS is really all that's left of what used to be an entire genre.

kasey_junk 8y ago

This was far & away one of my most cherished games. Another aspect you didn’t mention was the cardboard keyboard overlay because the game used basically every key for something. I wonder if muscle memory would kick in for me on this all these years later.

a_d 8y ago
>This was far & away one of my most cherished games. Hmmm...going by this thread, I am really surprised that there are so many of us who like this game. This is quite cool actually! :)
dragonwriter 8y ago
> Another aspect you didn’t mention was the cardboard keyboard overlay because the game used basically every key for something. That was fairly common with sims from the mid-1980s into the 2000s.

jasonkester 8y ago

Those old flying games had some serious manuals. I remember getting my copy of Flight Simulator for the C64 at the same time I was learning to fly actual planes. The game manuals (plural) were actually thicker than the training materials for my Private Pilot's License.

cyberjunkie 8y ago

And that's where I first heard of the city, Tripoli. It sounded so cool. That nasal whistle playing endlessly from the PC speaker though was something!

acjohnson55 8y ago

I used to play Gunship 2000 as a kid, also by MicroProse. It was probably equally as detailed.

partiallypro 8y ago

I used to play Jane's USAF all the time. Jane's was seemingly the industry standard for accuracy. It is actually pretty sad that no good air combat simulators exist anymore. Ace Combat was good in the 90s/early 2000s, then it transformed into some weird anime thing later on with a story line when I really just wanted to be Maverick. Maybe the new Top Gun movie coming out will renew interest.

senozhatsky 8y ago
> It is actually pretty sad that no good air combat simulators exist anymore LockOn [0] (formerly known as Flanker, IIRC) and DCS World (never played that one) look quite cool. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_On:_Modern_Air_Combat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_On:_Modern_Air_Combat [1] https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/ https://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/en/ -ss
- rurounijones 8y ago
  Lock-On became DCS world. DCS extends the Lock-on codebase and added a ton of new features (and bugs, unfortunately, but on balance still good)
  - zokier 8y ago
    The lineage is bit complicated, but mostly Lock-On became Flaming Cliffs 2 and 3, and now they are going back to "Modern Air Combat" branding.
    - senozhatsky 8y ago
      Good ol' days. I miss Flanker 2.0/2.5. Sort of liked Crimea better than Caucasus. -ss
rurounijones 8y ago
> It is actually pretty sad that no good air combat simulators exist anymore See my comments elsewhere about DCS World. It is modern air combat simulator and is incredibly detailed. There is also Falcon BMS which is also extremely detailed. For WWII look at IL-2 series. Honestly. Right now we have 3 amazing combat simulators that blow everything in the past out of the water. "This is why we fly" is a good video for DCS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn6kyNx7kG8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn6kyNx7kG8 http://reddit.com/r/hoggit http://reddit.com/r/hoggit is a subreddit dedicated to the above sims (with a focus on DCS)

TeMPOraL 8y ago

Oh, MicroProse. They did make a lot of good games, even if often underappreciated. I have strong feelings of nostalgia to some of the titles of theirs, that I used to play as a kid. In fact, I recently wasted couple of hours trying to get one of the old games (Star Trek: Generations) to run - and in the process I learned that it's quite hard to emulate a Windows 95 machine these days. Also, manuals in XX century were great. They were often decent books by themselves, full of information and lore. Somehow, this concept was abandoned around 2000 +/- couple years (StarCraft, from 1998, originally had a small-book-sized manual with details and stories; that's the last one of this kind that I remember.).

a_d 8y ago
>Also, manuals in XX century were great. They were often decent books by themselves, full of information and lore. Somehow, this concept was abandoned around 2000 +/- couple years Very interesting point. I wonder why did this happen? I believe the manuals/books with backstory/guides that came with the box, added to the engagement with the game. Why did they go away? Seems like a needless regression :) Sometimes I lament that the entire character of PC games changed as well during the same timeframe, as they become more console-ish/FPS-style, rather than adventure/puzzle/strategy/sim style. But then I remember that probably every generation romanticizes the good old days. Technology advancement explains the shift to FPS (better game engines, graphics cards, leading to more immersive worlds and movie-like narratives + multiplayer is exciting), but doesn’t explain the death of the game “manual/novel/book” :)
- johnchristopher 8y ago
  > Very interesting point. I wonder why did this happen? I believe the manuals/books with backstory/guides that came with the box, added to the engagement with the game. Why did they go away? Seems like a needless regression :) I remember it happened around the time of the CD-ROM and the digitization of manuals as PDF files simply dropped on the disc. Then, economy.
- johnchristopher 8y ago
  > (better game engines, graphics cards, leading to more immersive worlds and movie-like narratives + multiplayer is exciting) I strongly disagree that better game engines, graphic cards led to more immersive worlds and movie-like narratives. It's like saying Marvel movies are more immersive and have better narratives than pre-fx movies.

erickhill 8y ago

It was super sweet on the Amiga.

tuomosipola 8y ago

I recommend the Designer Notes podcast episode [1] where Sid Meier (yes, that Sid Meier) explains how this game was designed. And if you are interested, listen all of the four episodes where he is interviewed. [1] https://www.idlethumbs.net/designernotes/episodes/sid-meier-part-2 https://www.idlethumbs.net/designernotes/episodes/sid-meier-...

a_d 8y ago
Wow. Had no idea that Sid Meier was connected to this game. His Railroad Tycoon (esp RT2) is one of the greatest "business simulations" of all time!
- PhasmaFelis 8y ago
  Sid Meier started his career with a string of flight sim titles. That's how he got to be a big enough name to start calling things "Sid Meier's X." (Which Microprose originally did with Pirates because they were worried all their die-hard flight sim fans would be turned off; Sid's name was supposed to reassure them.)
  - a_d 8y ago
    Really interesting bit of history. Thanks for sharing. (I remember Pirates! — what a great game that was. Vividly remember the opening graphics on my friend’s new 486 with a 16-bit VGA card. It looked stunning.)

NeedMoreTea 8y ago

> landing on an aircraft carrier Sometime in the early 00's I got to see an aircraft carrier from a light aircraft, at about a circuit height and distance. I never, ever, want to try landing on a real carrier. They're so tiny!

toomanybeersies 8y ago
The video of a Hercules landing and taking off on the USS Forrestal without no arrestor or catapult might interest you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar-poc38C84 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar-poc38C84
- NeedMoreTea 8y ago
  Pretty impressive, considering it looks like there was no margin for error on the centre line. :)

arianvanp 8y ago

If you're still really into this stuff. And want to relive the feeling of this module or Jane's F-18, another great simulator from the 90s. Definitely check out Digital Combat Simulator and it's awesome high fidelity modules. Expect 600 page flight manuals to dig through. It's a rush!

golergka 8y ago

I have long had it in my Steam library from some sale, and your comment finally pushed me to install it. Thanks! The manual is a wonderful read indeed - the introduction reads like a popular science artilce that is written better than most that get posted to HN front page.

netsharc 8y ago

> a) landing on an aircraft carrier Interestingly, the real life F117 can't land on aircraft carriers, only the game version could. And in the game you can also shoot at air targets and even have machine guns for dog fights, in real life it's just a plane that bombs targets on the ground. https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-navys-secret-fantasy-how-the-f-117-stealth-fighter-25568 https://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/the-navys-secret-...

hudibras 8y ago
The F-19 air-to-air missions were some of the most intense gameplay I've ever experienced. You had to fly deep into Soviet territory and kick off the war by shooting down an airborne command plane or an airborne early warning plane, and then make it out alive as World War 3 literally started around you.
- greedo 8y ago
  This was a scenario from Tom Clancy's Red Storm Rising.
rjsw 8y ago
The article in your link ignores the A-12 project [1] that had been going on during the timeframe described. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_A-12_Avenger_II https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_A-12_Avenger...
- DuskStar 8y ago
  Not to be confused with the A-12 project that actually flew [0] - coincidentally also a Skunk Works plane. 0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_A-12 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_A-12

zackola 8y ago

This was a truly great game. Thanks for these links. Many hours were spent flipping switches and not really understanding how to fly this thing but it was all so cool anyway.

engi_nerd 8y ago

Another big highlight of the game was their (for the time and platform) pretty good RCS modeling of ownship against various threats. Your movements against the threat would change the threat's ability to see you. Opening weapons bay doors caused your RCS to spike.

tootie 8y ago

In 1991 I was immersed in Falcon 3.0. The incredibly vivid F-16 flight simulator. It was very similar. You really needed to learn aviation jargon, weapons and countermeasures capabilities and mission tactics.

greedo 8y ago
I always looked forward to a future where Falcon 4.0's offspring were played on superfast PCs with incredible graphics. I was really annoyed when that genre of flight sims basically died off. The last I played was EF2000.
- JunkDNA 8y ago
  I’m of two minds on this. I loved the original Falcon on the Amiga (it actually talked! “Pull Up! Pull Up!”). I thought I wanted more and more realism. But at the same time I feel like all the sims lost their way trying to be too realistic. I was a huge avaiation buff as a kid. I loved flight sims. But it all stopped being fun when I had to learn so much just to play. It turns out ramming the afterburners and chasing down bad guys is a lot more fun when you don’t have to worry about scraping the engine on the runway on takeoff.