Freethought & Rationalism Archive

dunadan · 11-06-2003, 08:12 AM

For those on the boards who are long time computer game nuts, farewell to what was once one of the best and most prolific game developers out there.

It is a shame that a design shot that produced some of the most innovative and fun games in the 'Wild West' days of computer games could not continue, although admittedly they had been slipping quite badly in recent years. They never seemed to be able to make the transition from a very few people being able to produce a visionary game in a relatively short period of time to the modern need to have a huge crew available to take care of all the 'bits' that have been added on to games in the last few years.

They really seemed to fall off the map after they released their last couple of big hits, Master of Orion II and Falcon 4. Actually I think Falcon 4 put a few nails in the coffin, I don't they ever got the sales they needed to justify the project.

Among many hits that saw me while away many hours:

# 1942: The Pacific Air War
# Airborne Ranger
# European Air War
# F-15 Strike Eagle
# F-15 Strike Eagle III
# F-19 Stealth Fighter
# Falcon 3.0
# Falcon 4.0
# Grand Prix 2
# Gunship
# HellCat Ace
# Knights of the Sky
# M1 Tank Platoon
# Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares
# Pirates!
# Railroad Tycoon
# Red Storm Rising
# Sid Meier's Civilization
# Sid Meier's Pirates!
# Silent Service
# Silent Service II
# Twilight: 2000
# X-COM: UFO Defense

Postcard73 · 11-06-2003, 08:37 AM

That's a shame, but I know most of the recent games from Microprose didn't measure up to the cutting edge stuff they were putting out back in the day. Pirates! is still possibly my favorite game ever, and it had an open-ended gameplay that is rare in video games even today. I do believe that Sid Meier is working on an updated version of Pirates to be released next year (I know he was- I guess he still is). I read an interview with him a few months ago where he claimed Pirates! was *by far* the game that people most frequently asked him to develop a sequel for...

elwoodblues · 11-06-2003, 08:43 AM

Damn. They did some fine games. I remember playing X-Com for hours on end in high school.

Didn't they also do SimCity 2000? I thought I remembered their logo on the startup in that game.

edit: nope, nevermind. That was Maxis.

Mullibok · 11-06-2003, 10:19 AM

Ah, Pirates and Civ...*happy nostalgic sigh*

Rusting Car Bumper · 11-06-2003, 10:24 AM

Link to a newsstory or something?

DC

Mullibok · 11-06-2003, 10:34 AM

http://www.1up.com/article2/0,4364,1374602,00.asp

Wyz_sub10 · 11-06-2003, 11:04 AM

MP was hands-down the best out there in the late 80s, early 90s.

In addition to Railroad Tycoon and Civilization, I wasted much of my life on Master of Magic, Master of Orion and the oft-overlooked and underrated Colonization.

I agree that the "Wild West" days couldn't last much longer because of production demands (I blame FPSers for absolutely wrecking things for strategists).

It's a shame to see them go.

LastChance_000 · 11-06-2003, 12:05 PM

I spent many, many hours playing Gunship on my old Atari ST...

RufusAtticus · 11-06-2003, 12:07 PM

RIP

Vorkosigan · 11-06-2003, 02:37 PM

How could you produce Civ and MOO and still go under? Moo I was a fantastic game.....

11-06-2003, 08:12 AM	#1
dunadan Regular Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: St Louis, MO Posts: 499	R.I.P. Microprose 1984 - 2003 For those on the boards who are long time computer game nuts, farewell to what was once one of the best and most prolific game developers out there. It is a shame that a design shot that produced some of the most innovative and fun games in the 'Wild West' days of computer games could not continue, although admittedly they had been slipping quite badly in recent years. They never seemed to be able to make the transition from a very few people being able to produce a visionary game in a relatively short period of time to the modern need to have a huge crew available to take care of all the 'bits' that have been added on to games in the last few years. They really seemed to fall off the map after they released their last couple of big hits, Master of Orion II and Falcon 4. Actually I think Falcon 4 put a few nails in the coffin, I don't they ever got the sales they needed to justify the project. Among many hits that saw me while away many hours: # 1942: The Pacific Air War # Airborne Ranger # European Air War # F-15 Strike Eagle # F-15 Strike Eagle III # F-19 Stealth Fighter # Falcon 3.0 # Falcon 4.0 # Grand Prix 2 # Gunship # HellCat Ace # Knights of the Sky # M1 Tank Platoon # Master of Orion 2: Battle at Antares # Pirates! # Railroad Tycoon # Red Storm Rising # Sid Meier's Civilization # Sid Meier's Pirates! # Silent Service # Silent Service II # Twilight: 2000 # X-COM: UFO Defense

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

11-06-2003, 08:37 AM	#2
Postcard73 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Roanoke, VA. Posts: 2,198	That's a shame, but I know most of the recent games from Microprose didn't measure up to the cutting edge stuff they were putting out back in the day. Pirates! is still possibly my favorite game ever, and it had an open-ended gameplay that is rare in video games even today. I do believe that Sid Meier is working on an updated version of Pirates to be released next year (I know he was- I guess he still is). I read an interview with him a few months ago where he claimed Pirates! was by far the game that people most frequently asked him to develop a sequel for...

11-06-2003, 08:43 AM	#3
elwoodblues Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Dunmanifestin, Discworld Posts: 4,836	Damn. They did some fine games. I remember playing X-Com for hours on end in high school. Didn't they also do SimCity 2000? I thought I remembered their logo on the startup in that game. edit: nope, nevermind. That was Maxis.

11-06-2003, 10:19 AM	#4
Mullibok Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: St. Paul, MN Posts: 814	Ah, Pirates and Civ...happy nostalgic sigh

11-06-2003, 10:24 AM	#5
Rusting Car Bumper Banned Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: U.S. Posts: 4,171	Link to a newsstory or something? DC

11-06-2003, 10:34 AM	#6
Mullibok Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: St. Paul, MN Posts: 814	http://www.1up.com/article2/0,4364,1374602,00.asp

11-06-2003, 11:04 AM	#7
Wyz_sub10 Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the land of two boys and no sleep. Posts: 9,890	MP was hands-down the best out there in the late 80s, early 90s. In addition to Railroad Tycoon and Civilization, I wasted much of my life on Master of Magic, Master of Orion and the oft-overlooked and underrated Colonization. I agree that the "Wild West" days couldn't last much longer because of production demands (I blame FPSers for absolutely wrecking things for strategists). It's a shame to see them go.

11-06-2003, 12:05 PM	#8
LastChance_000 Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: California, USA Posts: 83	I spent many, many hours playing Gunship on my old Atari ST...

11-06-2003, 12:07 PM	#9
RufusAtticus Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: NCSU Posts: 5,853	RIP

11-06-2003, 02:37 PM	#10
Vorkosigan Contributor Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Barrayar Posts: 11,866	How could you produce Civ and MOO and still go under? Moo I was a fantastic game.....

Freethought & Rationalism Archive

The archives are read only.