Comanche (game series)
| Comanche | |
|---|---|
| developer | NovaLogic |
| Publisher | Soft gold |
| Designer | Kyle Freeman, John A. Garcia |
| First title | Comanche: Operation White Lightning (1992) |
| Last title | Comanche 4 (2002) |
| Platform (s) | PC ( MS-DOS , Windows ) |
| Genre (s) | Flight simulation |
| information | Subject: military helicopters |
Comanche is a helicopter flight simulation for the PC by NovaLogic , which focuses on the American combat helicopter RAH-66 Comanche . So far, four regular parts have appeared in the series.
Outstanding is the use of a graphics engine based on voxels , which even in the first versions on 386 processors delivered an astonishingly good 3D simulation.
The focus of the game, however, is not the piloting of the aircraft, which is largely done by an automatic system, but the fight against opponents with the weapons provided.
The parts
Comanche: Operation White Lightning
The first part (English original title: Comanche: Maximum Overkill ) appeared at the end of 1992 for MS-DOS . The simulation was the first of its kind to use the then revolutionary voxel technique, which enabled a realistic representation of landscapes at all times of the day. In contrast to the three-dimensional environment, however, objects were still shown as bitmaps .
The game itself was very action-packed and let the player compete with his helicopter and occasionally a wingman against the Kamow Ka-50 helicopters and battle tanks of an international drug cartel .
Comanche: Operation White Lightning was delivered on 3.5 ″ floppy disks and required an Intel 80386 , 4 MB RAM and a VGA graphics card. It ran under MS-DOS 3.3 and higher and supported not only the keyboard but also joysticks or flight sticks such as Thrustmaster FCS and WCS.
For the first part, two expansion disks with the titles Global Challenge (original title: Mission Disk 1 ) and Over the Edge were released in 1993 . There was also a CD version in 1994, which contained the main program, the two mission disks and ten bonus missions.
Comanche 2 / Werewolf
The second part appeared at the beginning of 1995, but essentially offered hardly any innovations in terms of play. At most the graphics and scenarios have been modernized. However, the multiplayer mode via Local Area Network and the release policy were new : The game appeared in two versions: Comanche 2 and Werewolf , with each edition being fixed on one of the two helicopter opponents Comanche or Kamow Ka-50 and offering corresponding missions. Finally, in network mode, players of both versions could fight against each other.
Comanche 3.0 / Comanche Gold
Comanche 3.0 appeared in 1997 and used the new version 2.0 of the VoxelSpace engine. In this way, the graphics were significantly modernized and also offered VGA quality in resolutions of up to 640 × 480 pixels. In addition, this version of the game also offered for the first time 3D objects with which the landscapes were decorated and opponents were represented.
Version 3.0 was also a big step forward in terms of simulation technology. The game offered a realistic flight model and realistic mission profiles, which now also included some friendly units.
In 1998, Comanche Gold was a new edition of Comanche 3.0 , which expanded the main program with a series of exclusive Gold missions designed by former helicopter pilots . The game had also now been ported to Windows (originally Comanche 3.0 was still a DOS game ).
Comanche 4
The fourth part appeared at the beginning of 2002 and was one of the first games to use the DirectX 8.1 graphics interface , which enabled revolutionary graphics effects such as the realistic representation of water at the time. In terms of play, however, the fourth part again focused more on action; cutscenes were implemented for the first time. In addition, the game was primarily controllable with the mouse .
This step backwards in contrast to Comanche 3 in terms of the realism of the flight behavior and the situation of having to control a helicopter with keyboard and mouse instead of a joystick as a control stick, repelled many flight simulation fans.
It is possible to create your own missions with the supplied Mission Editor .
The revised engine of the game was later used again in Delta Force: Black Hawk Down and in Joint Operations .
Comanche (2020)
At Gamescom 2019, a new part of the Comanche series was announced. It is a multiplayer game developed by Nukklear and published by THQ Nordic .
Web links
- Overview of the Comanche series at MobyGames (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Comanche is coming back - as a multiplayer game. Accessed August 21, 2019.
- ↑ Nukklear website