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General discussion (archive)Release: Silent Service 1+2(111 posts)(111 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted January 23, 2014
A hunter lurks beneath the waves!

Silent Service 1+2, a bundle of two legendary MicroProse classic submarine simulation war games, dating back to 1985 & 1990, now available on GOG.com for only $5.99!

From the second you take command, you'll live by the motto FIND 'EM, CHASE 'EM, SINK 'EM, as you follow instruments, charts and your instincts in search of hostile convoys. Is a submerged daylight periscope attack best or do you charge in on the surface at night using only radar bearings to guide you? Do you fire a spread of your precious torpedoes or can you close the range and pick off the enemy with a single torpedo shot? These decisions and many more are yours to make as you take your place among the elite ranks of the Silent Service!

Silent Service 1+2 includes MicroProse's both legendary submarine warfare titles, that will bring you all the challenging combat versus single ships and heavily escorted convoys you could handle. All the critical battle stations are represented: engine room, conning tower and ship’s bridge. The games present you with an infinite variety of situations using complete maps and charts for the entire Southwest Pacific. With a wide selection of historical scenarios from individual attacks to patrol missions, and clear distraction-free graphics that allows you to stay on top of the situation, this classic pack provides you with everything that you need to feel the excitement of actual submarine combat.

Battle stations! Prepare to fully submerge in Silent Service 1+2, for only $5.99, on GOG.com!
Posted January 24, 2014
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Kabus: Now we are talking! More MicroProse releases please..
Yes. F-19 Stealth Fighter please!!!
Posted January 24, 2014
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Crosmando: "Are considered" freeware, or are freeware full stop? If the owner of the game released them as freeware, it's freeware, if not it's still "abandonware", which has no real legal basis. For example, TES Arena and Daggerfall are freeware because Bethesda released them as such, and offers free downloads of them.
I think it's not completely clear in this case. Ian Bell (one of the two developers) put the downloads on his homepage. But in the past there were some arguments with David Braben (the second developer) about who actually hold the rights.
Posted January 24, 2014
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trusteft: snip
Thank you very much for the detailed reply!

I think I probably will still get it though, as I am a sucker for retro games and microprose. Even if I don't play it for a while, $6 is not much to show support for getting more microprose games. Especially since just yesterday I've stopped drinking coffee, which should save me enough money for a couple of retro games per week.
Posted January 24, 2014
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trusteft: snip
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PMIK: Thank you very much for the detailed reply!

I think I probably will still get it though, as I am a sucker for retro games and microprose. Even if I don't play it for a while, $6 is not much to show support for getting more microprose games. Especially since just yesterday I've stopped drinking coffee, which should save me enough money for a couple of retro games per week.
I'm biased, Silent Service 1 was among the first 5 games I bought for my first owned computer (Atari ST) in 1987. But I strongly believe it is a solid game. Unfortunately the DOS version is far more ugly, but the gameplay is the same. SS2 although released only a couple of years later feels like it was released a decade later, mainly due to the graphics.

Happy gaming.
Posted January 24, 2014
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donsanderson: On my wishlist for the instant I get paid!
Great and tense games.

BTW: On the game card header "enroll" has 2 'L' s. :-)
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JudasIscariot: edit: errrrm it's correct :P

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enroll
http://www.gog.com/game/silent_service_12

On the game card "enroll" is still spelled wrong, it's missing an "l". (at least for me it is)
Posted January 25, 2014
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JudasIscariot: edit: errrrm it's correct :P

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/enroll
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tfishell: http://www.gog.com/game/silent_service_12

On the game card "enroll" is still spelled wrong, it's missing an "l". (at least for me it is)
As a speaker of American English, I had that reaction as well :) The spelling is technically correct, however.

http://grammarist.com/spelling/enrol-enroll/
Posted January 25, 2014
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PMIK: As someone completely new to silent service, is there any point getting it if I've played a lot of silent hunter 3 & 4? Does this offer anything compelling that would help me see past the ancient graphics and interface?
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trusteft: Your words say it all really. Don't get it. The game is not for you.

Regarding gameplay, you get single missions (right into battlle) or war patrols ("campaigns") where you choose where to go and get random encounters. The graphics are obviously old, but the submarines react very well to keyboard commands/shortcuts. There are game options to make the game more or less realistic and difficult.

They are both set in the Pacific with SS2 able to patrol certain predefined zones and SS1 you can just patrol anywhere you want if you like in the whole region. You do have to be careful of course for your fuel, but you can return for refueling and then go out again.

While the graphics are not as advanced as the games you mentioned, they do have their own charm in person. With SS2 having a more modern look. Few months ago I tried to play Silent Hunter 3 after years since last time I played it and it looked so much ugly to my eyes. 3D graphics do that to you if you keep playing modern games. After a few years the graphics look ancient. While SS1 certainly doesn't look modern (it looked good in 1987), SS2 with a more refined look, looks far easier to my eyes than SH3 does.

The battles can take hours (although there is time compression) or minutes, depending the battle.
They are not easy games.
Thank you for the input.

I on the other hand have not played either franchise yet, or Wolfpack or any of the other sub sim games out there.

Gameplay-wise, what is the advantage of playing SS1+2 over SH2? I have not played SH2 from the GOG catalog despite having acquired it some time ago (damn that backlog!), so I am still starting fresh. I can handle old graphics and what-not, but from a pure gameplay sub-sim perspective, would I get just as much out of SH2 as I would out of SS1+2? Or is SS1+2 a good way to ease into the genre and work up to SH2?
Posted January 25, 2014
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POLE7645: Well, to be fair, he did say that he got the game used without a manual (and finding a fully boxed game in the used market, let alone with a manual is pretty much a big stroke of luck (AVGN also commented on that)). And let's admit it, if you tried playing this game without a manual (or any knowledge on how the controls works (let alone how a submarine works), you're pretty much lost, brain or not.
Let's say that it not really bright to get all infuriated at a game, to yell and laugh at how "bad" it is, and at "what where they thinking", and to judge the game as boring, describing it as some shit where "nothing happens", if you don't care to learn how it works, don't get its very point, and don't take in consideration that the flaw may be not in the game itself but in your own ignorance. It made for a pretty embarrassing video. Most videos of that kind (especially the ones with a most judgemental tone) point at actual game shortcomings but, here, the JdG just made a fool of himself without realising it. I think the guy is not very very bright.

Even with a minimum of general culture, he could have avoided this. Not asking him to have read Buchheim, Antier or Valentiner, but he must have realised that submarine movies, and even their attack sequences, aren't exactly paced like car chases, for a reason...
Posted January 25, 2014
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tfishell: http://www.gog.com/game/silent_service_12

On the game card "enroll" is still spelled wrong, it's missing an "l". (at least for me it is)
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JudasIscariot: As a speaker of American English, I had that reaction as well :) The spelling is technically correct, however.

http://grammarist.com/spelling/enrol-enroll/
Oh okay. Cheers.
Posted January 25, 2014
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trusteft: Your words say it all really. Don't get it. The game is not for you.

Regarding gameplay, you get single missions (right into battlle) or war patrols ("campaigns") where you choose where to go and get random encounters. The graphics are obviously old, but the submarines react very well to keyboard commands/shortcuts. There are game options to make the game more or less realistic and difficult.

They are both set in the Pacific with SS2 able to patrol certain predefined zones and SS1 you can just patrol anywhere you want if you like in the whole region. You do have to be careful of course for your fuel, but you can return for refueling and then go out again.

While the graphics are not as advanced as the games you mentioned, they do have their own charm in person. With SS2 having a more modern look. Few months ago I tried to play Silent Hunter 3 after years since last time I played it and it looked so much ugly to my eyes. 3D graphics do that to you if you keep playing modern games. After a few years the graphics look ancient. While SS1 certainly doesn't look modern (it looked good in 1987), SS2 with a more refined look, looks far easier to my eyes than SH3 does.

The battles can take hours (although there is time compression) or minutes, depending the battle.
They are not easy games.
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jackster79: Thank you for the input.

I on the other hand have not played either franchise yet, or Wolfpack or any of the other sub sim games out there.

Gameplay-wise, what is the advantage of playing SS1+2 over SH2? I have not played SH2 from the GOG catalog despite having acquired it some time ago (damn that backlog!), so I am still starting fresh. I can handle old graphics and what-not, but from a pure gameplay sub-sim perspective, would I get just as much out of SH2 as I would out of SS1+2? Or is SS1+2 a good way to ease into the genre and work up to SH2?
While I own also a GOG copy of SH2, last time I played SH2 was with the retail version in the mid/late 90's when I got the game. I don't remember much about it to help you with that.
Does SH2 have a completely free war patrol option? Can you sail the seas to get random encounters?
I simply don't remember SH2 enough to give any help.
Posted January 25, 2014
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jackster79: Thank you for the input.

I on the other hand have not played either franchise yet, or Wolfpack or any of the other sub sim games out there.

Gameplay-wise, what is the advantage of playing SS1+2 over SH2? I have not played SH2 from the GOG catalog despite having acquired it some time ago (damn that backlog!), so I am still starting fresh. I can handle old graphics and what-not, but from a pure gameplay sub-sim perspective, would I get just as much out of SH2 as I would out of SS1+2? Or is SS1+2 a good way to ease into the genre and work up to SH2?
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trusteft: While I own also a GOG copy of SH2, last time I played SH2 was with the retail version in the mid/late 90's when I got the game. I don't remember much about it to help you with that.
Does SH2 have a completely free war patrol option? Can you sail the seas to get random encounters?
I simply don't remember SH2 enough to give any help.
Thanks - it was worth a shot asking. I do not know enough about SH2 to make that assessment.

And so I turn to the rest of the GOG community: Can anyone provide any insight on this? Given that I have not played any sub sim game before but already have SH2, is it worth still picking up SS1+2 in any way besides collecting it and/or supporting GOG and/or the publisher?
Posted January 25, 2014
SS2 does have a career mode with random war patrols. You can select what port you start in depending on your start date, and will come across random encounters with convoys, task forces, and individual ships in your designated patrol zone. There are also updates about the war at large, and free/occupied ports will change accordingly. I believe medals are also awarded in the course of your career depending on your tonnage. Overall, I'd highly recommend it to any sub-sim fan that can make compromises for an older game.
Post edited January 25, 2014 by Codz
Posted January 25, 2014
I played this on my Atari ST in the late 1980's in my parent's basement. I still have the game in the original box along with all of the extras that came with it.

I bought a red light bulb for my desk lamp, and I would turn it on whenever the sub was submerged. That's old school virtual reality!

I am looking forward to playing it again.
Posted January 26, 2014
Well, I caved and bought this (along with Covert Action). It was just nagging me to not have it (them).

Backlog: +2
Gamer: 0

One of these days Backlog... one of these days! I will finish you yet!
Posted January 27, 2014
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jackster79: Well, I caved and bought this (along with Covert Action). It was just nagging me to not have it (them).

Backlog: +2
Gamer: 0

One of these days Backlog... one of these days! I will finish you yet!
We are all doomed and you know it.

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Neanderpaul: I played this on my Atari ST in the late 1980's in my parent's basement. I still have the game in the original box along with all of the extras that came with it.

I bought a red light bulb for my desk lamp, and I would turn it on whenever the sub was submerged. That's old school virtual reality!

I am looking forward to playing it again.
That's a fantastic idea. I might have to copy it.
Post edited January 27, 2014 by trusteft
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)Release: Silent Service 1+2(111 posts)(111 posts)
(111 posts)