Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    I can hit the trawler but thats it.  Thier torpedoes are incredible
    though.  If I sit on the bottom  at dead stop no noise those torps
    find me even if they have to do a one eighty or more.  
    
    I am determined to sink the first ship I can find alone so I have
    a chance.  So far the whole navy seams to find me if I go south.
    
    Had some luck running west but, I haven't gotten past the mines
    yet.
    
    And yes the clock is sure running fast.  Wish I could slow it down
    during a battle (or sinking).
    
    Goog luck comarads.  On to the USA!
    
    Steve Nicholas.
    

    I've noticed some inconsistant things myself.  The sonar says that
    the trawler is doing 8 or 9 knots,  I'm doing 15 knots and yet the
    trawler still seems to keep circling me!  I can't figure out exactly
    what the LOCK button does either.  It seems to lock the torpedo
    onto the bearing of the target at that particular moment, rather than
    actually make the torpedo track the target.  The only luck I've
    had is to Lock the torpedo as the trawler passes, wait for him to
    turn around and fire a few seconds before he returns to that bearing.
    Its worse than useless, unless I'm missing something (and, again,
    the manual gives almost no solid information about it).
    
    I've read the book on which the game is based and I know something
    about submarines.  So far this game leaves me very unimpressed.
    Two things I've noticed: 1) this game is available for the C64
    and 2) the Amiga game disk is less than half full.  If you take
    the extra amount of memory required for the spiffy Amiga type graphics
    and sound, my guess is that the strategy/game playing part of the
    program is little different than on the 64K machine.  Unfortunately,
    the results show it.
    

    This is very distressing.
    
    Now I realize that some games don't suit certain people's taste,
    but why is it that game writers continue to pump out junk that would
    be hard to satisy anybody? Worse than that, I would imagine that
    the "Red October" title, and background for the game is now unavailable
    to someone who could write a decent version! You could write a game
    that has the same setup, but would be much harder to market, because
    it can't benefit from the "Red October" hoopla.
    
    Once you tell me that the game is based upon a book that I have
    read, I now have a wealth of data concerning what the game is about.
    If someone tried to market a similar game, they would not benfit
    from this knowledge.
    
    Has anyone seen GATO available for the AMIGA? I have heard lots
    of good stuff concerning this game. What is SILENT SERVICE like?
    
    One thing I have to mention - it's probably of small consolation
    to you, but the rest of us sure appreciate the fact that you let
    us know how cruddy some software is.
    
    			Gregg

    How to hit the trawler with one shot.
    
    First thing is get him in your sights once with the attack scope
    then tag the lock box.  Then switch to sonar screen.  This is how
    you know if hes lined up right.  If you dont know how far the torpedo
    can go fire one.  Then when he is in front of your bow (this does
    not have to be done fast or anything) at about half way fire your
    torpedo (half of the range of a torpedo that is) and the torpedo
    will track him down.  If you fire to close the torpedo will miss
    him and not be able to track to him unless he is very unlucky.
    
    How to swat torpedo's with your name on them.
    
    This is the only way I can stay alive.  When a torpedo looks like
    it might hit me I just hit the save game button on the mouse.
    
    Then I save the game to a disk (df1:) and when I get into the game
    agian, the torpedo's are gone.  Sometimes I just need to tag the
    right mouse button for this but if it was too close it gets me.

    
    Travel at 400 meters is the deepest I can go.  I'm in the deep water
    now and they still hound me.  May be if I don't sink the trawlwer
    but it's too late for that now.
    
    steve.
    

The chance for a good "Hunt for Red October" may be gone [how often do
upgrades to games appear?] but there might be some possibility in a computer
version of the game "Harpoon," as in the acknowledgments to the book 
"Hunt for Red October":

	...indebted to ... Larry Bond, whose naval wargame, "Harpoon,"
	was adopted for the training of NROTC cadets...

Harpoon is a serious simulation game for miniatures; probably too much 
detail for casual gaming, but for those who like that sort of thing...
if the Navy cadets haven't already done a computer version [or even if they
have, on less graphics-oriented machines] there's a hard core ready to lap
it up. The original publisher of the game [Adventure Games, St. Paul MN]
went out of business 3 or 4 years ago, so it might be easier to find Larry 
Bond through the Navy, if they ever admit to anything [it was improper for
his rank to have appeared on the title page of the game]....

    
    The computer version of Harpoon is already in the works. Bond is
    the consultant on the project and I understand it's only months
    away. If I remember correctly it's scheduled for release on the
    Amiga but you're never sure until you buy it.
    
    This comes from Computer Gameing World. I'll be among the first
    to buy it!!
    
    -Ray
    

    You mentioned Silent Service. What machine did you play it on? How
    was the game?
    
    				Gregg