Task Force 1942
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| Task Force 1942 | |
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| Developer(s) | MicroProse |
| Publisher(s) | MicroProse |
| Designer(s) | Lawrence Schick, Ed Fletcher |
| Platform(s) | IBM PC |
| Release date(s) | 1992 |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Media/distribution | Floppy disk |
Task Force 1942: Surface Naval Action in the South Pacific is a DOS PC game, released by MPS Labs (MicroProse) in 1992.
The game is a surface naval simulation which allows the player to operate single ships or a task force made up of ships, from the United States Navy (USN), Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal New-Zealand Navy (RNZN), or the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the South Pacific during WWII. It was designed to run under PC-DOS or MS-DOS, version 5.0 or higher. The specific historical setting was the series of ferocious naval engagements fought around the largest island in the Solomon Islands chain, Guadalcanal, in 1942, including the following:
- Battle of Tassafaronga
- Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
- Naval Battle of Vella Lavella
- Battle of Savo Island
- Battle of Cape Esperance
- First and Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
- Battle of Kula Gulf
The game was originally released on five 31⁄2" high density floppy disks. Copy-protection was provided by the 100 page Task Force 1942 identification book which had an illustration of each ship encountered in the simulation, including the ship specifications (class, maximum speed, dimensions, displacement, fuel capacity and armament). As stated in the manual appendices, the IJN did not issue ID manuals, they used copies of Jane's Fighting Ships to identify enemy vessels.
The 76-page user manual details the history of the naval treaties during the pre-war period, and the development of the naval conflict in the Pacific that lead to the naval engagements fought around the island of Guadalcanal. The foreword was written by Vice Admiral William P.Mack (USN,Ret.), who also served as technical advisor during development of the simulation. The designer's notes by Lawrence Schick indicate that this was the Microprose simulation that covered surface vessel combat, with an as-yet-unnamed sequel to cover the carrier air war, i.e. 1942: The Pacific Air War. The 3-D graphics were developed from the Night Hawk: F-117A Stealth Fighter 2.0 graphics engine.
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[edit] Gameplay
The player could fight either for the US Navy and its ANZAC allies, or the Imperial Japanese Navy. The player could start a single engagement (historical battle or battle made from the editor) or play in the campaign mode. The whole campaign game was centered on the Guadalcanal campaign, although a number of single engagements (Kula Gulf, Vella Lavella, Empress Augusta Bay) happened elsewhere in the Solomons. In campaign mode, the player was given full control over the naval forces of either side based in Espiritu Santo (Allies) or Rabaul (IJN). The player's goal was to capture Guadalcanal providing its ground forces with sufficient reinforcements and supply, while trying to disrupt the other side's own efforts. Apart from ships, the player had the control over land-based air assets which could be used as real-time reconnaissance. The whole campaign was in real-time (which could be accelerated or slowed down at will) and any encounter between two enemy naval forces would result into the computer asking the player if he wanted to play it in the simulator mode. Although the AI wasn't always much of a challenge, the design and functionalities of the campaign were innovative enough to allow Microprose to use the same engine for its 1942: The Pacific Air War own strategic ("carrier battle") mode. A powerful editor also allowed the player to set up his own engagements, using at his discretion all the ships available in the game library (including ships which didn't appear in the campaign mode, like the BB Yamato).
[edit] Credits
- Project Leader/Game Design/Manual Text - Lawrence Schick
- Lead Programmer/Game Design - Ed Fletcher
- 3-D Objects/Art Director - Max Remington III
- Graphics Programming - John Paquin
- Screen Graphics - M.Reiss,Todd Brizz,Rawn Martin,Brian Martel
- Musical Score - Jeffery L.Briggs, Roland Rizzo
- Sound Effects and Programming - Ken Lagace,Jim McConkey,Scott Patterson, Roland Rizzo
- 3-D Rendering/Title Sequence - Frank Vivirito, M.Reis
- Graphics Assistance - Susan Ullrich, Steve Horka, Artino
- Programming Assistance - Michael Springer, William Loughery
- Quality Assurance Leader - Mike Rea
- Quality Assurance- Dave Ellis,Chris Hewis,Bill Burton,Andy Mazurek,Mick Uhl,Brian Hellesen, Dave Ginsburg,Mark Reis,Frank Brown,Paul Murphy,Rawn Martin
- Product Manager - Carl Knoch
The introduction video to the game begins with a 1940's era newsreel logo entitled "Microtone News" in a style similar to other WWII military simulations from Microprose, such as the intro screens in 1944: Across The Rhine and European Air War. The main musical theme features a musical motif of trumpets playing an echoing triplet figure, similar to the main musical theme from the motion picture "Patton".
[edit] Reception
The game was reviewed in 1993 in Dragon #193 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers normally gave a game from 1 to 5 stars, but gave this game an "X" for "Not recommended".[3]
Although poorly reviewed by some, Task Force 1942 was well received among gamers for setting a new standards in term of naval 3-D simulation, and served as a testbed for many technologies which were to be used in 1942: The Pacific Air War. It is now sometimes considered as a classical case of underrated game.
