Knights of the Sky
 Amiga cover art | |
| Developer(s) | MicroProse |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | MicroProse |
| Designer(s) | Jeff Briggs[1] |
| Platform(s) | DOS, Amiga, Atari ST |
| Release | 1990 (DOS) 1991 (Amiga, Atari ST) |
| Genre(s) | Combat flight simulator |
| Mode(s) | Single-player or multiplayer (head-to-head) |
Knights of the Sky is a World War I combat flight simulator designed by Jeff Briggs and published by MicroProse in 1990 for DOS and in 1991 for the Amiga and Atari ST.
A MicroProse action-strategy game titled Knights of the Sky (actually a Mega Drive port of 1992's The Ancient Art of War in the Skies) was also completed in 1994 but never released.[2] In 2007, it was also a working title for the never-finished WWI flight simulator that was supposed to be a debut title by the now-closed developer Gennadich Team.[3]
Gameplay
The gameplay for Knights of the Sky involved moving through a series of missions. Each mission contained an objective (ex: bomb a specific german airport behind enemy lines) as well as a number of dogfights that would naturally arise in the course of attempting to complete the primary objective. The game would track the number of enemy planes you shot down in total and would rank your character as compared to other famous World War 1 aces. Iconic World War 1 flying aces like the Red Baron as well as other well-known historic figures were included in the game and would occasionally be encountered in dogfights. As you progressed through the game your mechanic would provide you intel on where you might encounter these aces.
The DOS version of the game also included a head-to-head mode that would allow you to set up a dogfight scenario via modem connection.
Development
The game's working title was Red Baron, until this name was "stolen" by Dynamix for Red Baron when the latter had been publicly announced first.[4] Following its original PC release, the game underwent two subsequent patch-style revisions that would add a more realistic plane damage system (source of much of the early controversy, as just one well placed bullet could cause a critical damage and taking non-critical hits were not communicated to the player whatsoever), and active NPC allied planes undergoing their own patrols (in a way similar to enemy patrols), available for free after sending a blank floppy disk to the MicroProse.
Reception
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Knights of the Sky was a critical success. Amiga Power awarded 87% on its initial port for the Amiga, praising the feel of the gameplay, vivid graphics and quality presentation. Criticisms included a low framerate compared to the DOS version, poor handling of analogue joystick or mouse control, and having to use the keyboard to glance around during a dogfight.[5] On the game's budget re-release in 1993, Amiga Power revised their score to 92%, emphasising the exciting dogfights and scenery appreciation that comes with simulating the low-speed World War I aircraft.[6] In 1996, the latter ranked it as the 10th best Amiga game of all time.[7]
References
- ^ "Knights of the Sky". Lemon Amiga. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
- ^ GamePro 64 (November 1994)
- ^ SimHQ Interview - Knights Of The Sky
- ^ Computer Gaming World 79 (February 1991)
- ^ Jonathan Davies (1991). "Knights of the Sky review". Amiga Power (8): 56–57.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Cam Winstanley (1993). "Budget Game Reviews - Knights of the Sky". Amiga Power (31): 86.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Amiga Power issue 64, Future Publishing, August 1996