S/VTOL

AV-8B Harrier II (DC Designs)
Harrier Jump Jet
  • Harrier Jump Jet

  • date_range Published: 1992
  • precision_manufacturing Microprose  
  • content_paste"You'll never get closer to the real thing. Your only other option would be to join the Air Force". So sayeth the box blurb from Microprose's 1992 Harrier Jump Jet sim. In the early 90's PC's had finally come into their own as games machines, with Sound Cards and powerful CPU's of the 386 variety! Harrier Jump Jet pushed the machines of the day with it's smooth rolling terrain. Those were the days! A 270 page manual printed on glossy stock and well bound in a size ideal for throne room reading. As well as heaps of tables detailing air-to-ground weapon effectiveness there was diagram after diagram on air combat manoeuvres. Not to mention the 3 full - colour maps!
Harrier Jump Jet (pub 2002)
  • Harrier Jump Jet (pub 2002)

  • date_range Published: 2002
  • home Microsoft Combat Flight Simulator 2  
  • precision_manufacturing Just Flight  
  • MiGMan 
    Airworthy albeit unexciting.
  • content_pasteHarrier Jump Jet 2002 adds 20 aircraft including Harriers, Skyhawks, Mirage and Pucara to Microsoft Combat and Civil flight sims. It also contains a 20 mission campaign for Microsoft Combat Flight Sim 1 and 2. The lack of 3 essential elements in the Harrier dogfight - VIFFING, IR and Radar guided missiles and appropriate countermeasures makes you wonder why bother trying to recreate this scenario? Having said that, I nonetheless had a lot of fun with this package. This sxhibit serves as a good snapshot of the state of graphics in 2001 within the world of Microsoft Combat Flight Sim 2 and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002.
Jump Jet
SVGA Harrier
  • SVGA Harrier

  • date_range Published: 1992
  • precision_manufacturing Domark  
  • content_pasteThis was the first SVGA sim, which meant that instead of VGA graphics of 320 x 200 pixels, we now had 640 x 400. The visuals were similar to what we had previously only seen in military simulators and were rendered in a beautiful set of pastel colours. SVGA Harrier had immense replay value as the campaign never played the same twice, and it was entirely up to you as to how you won the ground war. Or didn't. SVGA Harrier had immense replay value as the campaign never played the same twice, and it was entirely up to you as to how you won the ground war. Or didn't. This was the first sim I connected to MiGMan's home-built cockpit, and I spend night after night flying it, in the dark and with a flight suit, helmet and nomex gloves!
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