Microprose

[The_Admiral]

It's a long story, not sure if I am allowed to say much more. But to summarize it: the guy who bought back the Microprose brand is a fine, talented lad and he's been hard at work. :)

Regarding the connection to Titan IM - well, they're the same team. As such, that's sort of the nice thing about it, for they don't rely on the commercial games sales to survive. The chap does it because he feels like doing it. He's a MPS old-timer like you, like me, who feels he couldn't leave this name of glory-past further in the darkness and in the mud. The fact he got it back from the clutches of Atari and started rebuilding around says much about his motivation. And regarding Warbirds, the fact that he offered Wild Bill to help him in his project, whatever you might think of the project proper, is a sign of his kindness & dedication to the legacy of the brand.
At the very least it is good for karma and touching, if anything, and it makes it worth it.  O0

[W8taminute]

I also used to love everything MicroProse put out back in the day.  The golden age of computer gaming.

Now I hate to be that one guy, the kibitzer if you will, that says be careful what you wish for.  If MicroProse does indeed rise from the ashes like some golden phoenix I hope that the mindset of the developers, or whoever will be in charge, is one from the early '90s who remembers the core components of the classics that attracted so many of us like moths to the flame.     

Modern day business people are all about milking nostalgia for every dime it's worth while delivering a product that absolutely disappoints in every way imaginable.

I'll join you as the other guy.

Surely this new venture is as close to being Microprose as having Ringo team up with an X Factor winner and calling themselves The Beatles.

I mean its great to see someone building sims but it's not Microprose, that era's gone forever. There are still great games around, but the 80s/90s are over, and no amount of nostalgia, 'spiritual successors' or rebrands can bring them back.... or make me 20 again :)

Yes!  Those times can't be brought back again.  That sums up my feelings and why I said what I said.

To be 20 again is another thing that will never happen either but oh if it only could be true.

[Gusington]

All that said, don't be the Pete Best of this thread!

[FlickJax]

I also used to love everything MicroProse put out back in the day.  The golden age of computer gaming.

Now I hate to be that one guy, the kibitzer if you will, that says be careful what you wish for.  If MicroProse does indeed rise from the ashes like some golden phoenix I hope that the mindset of the developers, or whoever will be in charge, is one from the early '90s who remembers the core components of the classics that attracted so many of us like moths to the flame.     

Modern day business people are all about milking nostalgia for every dime it's worth while delivering a product that absolutely disappoints in every way imaginable.

I'll join you as the other guy.

Surely this new venture is as close to being Microprose as having Ringo team up with an X Factor winner and calling themselves The Beatles.

I mean its great to see someone building sims but it's not Microprose, that era's gone forever. There are still great games around, but the 80s/90s are over, and no amount of nostalgia, 'spiritual successors' or rebrands can bring them back.... or make me 20 again :)

Yes!  Those times can't be brought back again.  That sums up my feelings and why I said what I said.

To be 20 again is another thing that will never happen either but oh if it only could be true.

Surely you can recreate the style and playability of the old games?  New games are often soulless in my opinion.

and bring back manuals :)

[jamus34]

I also used to love everything MicroProse put out back in the day.  The golden age of computer gaming.

Now I hate to be that one guy, the kibitzer if you will, that says be careful what you wish for.  If MicroProse does indeed rise from the ashes like some golden phoenix I hope that the mindset of the developers, or whoever will be in charge, is one from the early '90s who remembers the core components of the classics that attracted so many of us like moths to the flame.     

Modern day business people are all about milking nostalgia for every dime it's worth while delivering a product that absolutely disappoints in every way imaginable.

I'll join you as the other guy.

Surely this new venture is as close to being Microprose as having Ringo team up with an X Factor winner and calling themselves The Beatles.

I mean its great to see someone building sims but it's not Microprose, that era's gone forever. There are still great games around, but the 80s/90s are over, and no amount of nostalgia, 'spiritual successors' or rebrands can bring them back.... or make me 20 again :)

Yes!  Those times can't be brought back again.  That sums up my feelings and why I said what I said.

To be 20 again is another thing that will never happen either but oh if it only could be true.

Surely you can recreate the style and playability of the old games?  New games are often soulless in my opinion.

and bring back manuals :)

I have to agree Flick, I think the biggest issue most developers have nowadays is they don't ask the question "is my game fun?"

Sure modern games look great but at the end of the day if they are not fun then why bother?

[solops]

As long as, unlike the game "tank crew", infantry are faithfully portrayed in any tank game they bring out.

So easily done - tread lube.

[JasonPratt]

and bring back manuals :)

....manual what? Like, manual targeting? Flipping switches manually?

I just hope they provide a good set of instructions so that we don't have to troll all over the internet to find out how to play the dang game.




^-^

[hellfish6]

^ In the old thread JH mentioned, this is why there was skepticism. 

What's wanted is exactly what was mentioned above, mid-range sims with robust single player and dynamic campaigns with management options.  There's a serious gap in the market for games like that, Microprose used to fill it along with some of the other classics like Dynamix and Spectrum Holobyte.

If Microprose returns I want it to be that, not just a new iteration of Warbirds.

Amen, dude.

[hellfish6]

It's a long story, not sure if I am allowed to say much more. But to summarize it: the guy who bought back the Microprose brand is a fine, talented lad and he's been hard at work. :)

Regarding the connection to Titan IM - well, they're the same team. As such, that's sort of the nice thing about it, for they don't rely on the commercial games sales to survive. The chap does it because he feels like doing it. He's a MPS old-timer like you, like me, who feels he couldn't leave this name of glory-past further in the darkness and in the mud. The fact he got it back from the clutches of Atari and started rebuilding around says much about his motivation. And regarding Warbirds, the fact that he offered Wild Bill to help him in his project, whatever you might think of the project proper, is a sign of his kindness & dedication to the legacy of the brand.
At the very least it is good for karma and touching, if anything, and it makes it worth it.  O0

I'm keeping the faith, just keeping my expectations managed. My gaming future belongs to guys like you and Julhelm and your teams who want to make games that you also want to play.

[Millipede]

I'm with Toonces. I want a B-17 simulator! Daylight bombing with the B-17 is my preference but the Ploesti raid with B-24's or night bombing with Lancasters would also be acceptable. I want a study sim like A2A's B-17 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCLMgLB9Qlo&list=PL6Nwvba2ytZhHGA0r8WhjeM6dwzpVUYHG&index=1) but I want it in a combat environment like DCS or IL-2 Bodenplatte not Microsoft's Flight Simulator and I want a campaign like in Microprose's B-17 Flying Fortress: The Mighty 8th (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV6qAKzfD-icnl7cMeIR_ldvH6twjQdtI).

I don't want much, do I?  ::)

[The_Admiral]

It's a long story, not sure if I am allowed to say much more. But to summarize it: the guy who bought back the Microprose brand is a fine, talented lad and he's been hard at work. :)

Regarding the connection to Titan IM - well, they're the same team. As such, that's sort of the nice thing about it, for they don't rely on the commercial games sales to survive. The chap does it because he feels like doing it. He's a MPS old-timer like you, like me, who feels he couldn't leave this name of glory-past further in the darkness and in the mud. The fact he got it back from the clutches of Atari and started rebuilding around says much about his motivation. And regarding Warbirds, the fact that he offered Wild Bill to help him in his project, whatever you might think of the project proper, is a sign of his kindness & dedication to the legacy of the brand.
At the very least it is good for karma and touching, if anything, and it makes it worth it.  O0

I'm keeping the faith, just keeping my expectations managed. My gaming future belongs to guys like you and Julhelm and your teams who want to make games that you also want to play.

And you'd be right to be careful to wait for more tokens of dedication from them, it's the natural, sane thing to do :)
Thank you for your kind words - still, for now, what I have seen from Microprose (disclaimer: I have seen more than what you people have, but I can't really talk about it beyond these mere few words ;) ) proves that they're showing the same sort of passion for the MPS legacy as Julhelm and myself have been showing so far. And by that we mean the original 90s Microprose, not the "button-pushing Falcon 4-Microprose" (that is more like just Spectrum Holobyte, F4 being really a special item in the line). In all honesty, if you want Falcon 5.0, it is on its way of being made quite nicely enough by DCS. You don't get the dynamic campaign, I get it, but you get the plane and a reasonable amount of stuff for the theater and good old fashioned action. Same if you're dreaming of having Fleet Defender redone, or Jane's F-15 and F-18: Heatblur & the others took care of that, really. Today MPS F-15 II if redone would be seens a little more than a shoot 'em up, really, and F-15 III was an early foray into hardcore sim gaming that lived on with the famed Origins Skunk Works team.

The success of Cold Waters, which is pretty much Redstorm Rising remastered, shows that there's no reason to change the gameplay of successful recipes. Although in both cases - TFA & Sea Power - his team and ours are going a bit off in order to offer new, innovative gameplay, we will stay faithful to the spirit that made you play Microprose and SSI games back in the day: strong historical, technical flavor, intuitive interface and mechanics, the kind of mix that gives you the feeling you're actually down there in the air, on the bridge or in the sea. So far what I have seen with Microprose is that they're on that sort of page too, and this is fine. Il-2 and DCS already firmly holds the high ground on hi-fidelity, hi-tech stuff and this is not what we - or what they - are after. Immersion comes first, realism will be a by product of the mix we achieve with gameplay.

[Old TImer]

Ah Red Storm Rising.  The game that finally make me go out and get a computer.
Brilliant game. 

[Skoop]

Problem is, once you go high fidelity in sims it's hard to go back...why can't we have both ....... better gameplay focus with high fidelity. 

I will say that sim lite can be cool if there's something deep built onto it like Battle of Britain Wings of Victory.  A strategy game built onto a sim lite was really fun and did the best at depicting the period.

[Jarhead0331]

With respect to sims, although I definitely prefer high-fidelity, I can still enjoy something less than near authentic modeling and fully clickable cockpits provided the air of authenticity and realism is there, as at it was with the old Tank Platoon, Gunship, etc. titles. My biggest concern is will I be able to enjoy them if the are non-VR? I've found that when it comes to sims, I will almost always go to VR over traditional 2d. The experience is just that much more satisfying.

[Tuna]

Man alive did I love Microprose back in the day.

Is that a B-17 I see?  I have been thinking more and more recently that a solid B-17 sim is a gold mine just waiting to be prospected.  Maybe I'll do it in retirement if nobody else does.

Have you flown the A2A one? Too bad that is not in IL2!