Software:Knights of the Sky

From HandWiki
Developer(s)MicroProse
Publisher(s)MicroProse
Designer(s)Jeff Briggs[1]
Platform(s)MS-DOS, Amiga, Atari ST
Release1990: MS-DOS
1991: Amiga, Atari ST
Genre(s)Combat flight simulator
Mode(s)Single-player, 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 MS-DOS. Ports to the Amiga and Atari ST followed in 1991.

A MicroProse action-strategy game titled Knights of the Sky (actually a Sega Genesis port of 1992's The Ancient Art of War in the Skies) was also completed in 1994 but never released.[2]

Tommo purchased the rights to this game and digitally publishes it through its Retroism brand in 2015.[3]

Gameplay

Knights of the Sky has multiple gameplay options including full World War 1 campaign, single dogfight, head to head and flight training.

The World War 1 campaign mode involves the players through a series of missions. Each mission contains 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 the players shot down in total and would rank the character as compared to other famous World War I aces. Iconic World War 1 flying aces like the Red Baron as well as other well-known historic figures are included in the game and would occasionally be encountered in dogfights. When progressing through the game the mechanic would provide intel on where the players might encounter these aces.

The single Dogfight mode allows the player to select from a number of historical World War 1 aces with which to engage in a dogfight.

Head to head mode allows the player to challenge another player to a dogfight.

Development

The game's working title was Red Baron, until this name was used 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 MicroProse.

Reception

Knights of the Sky was a critical success. Computer Gaming World liked the game replay and other external views, and the challenging computer opponents. The magazine concluded that "this game is a must for WWI fans and flight simulation fans".[5] In a 1991 survey of World War I flight simulations, Computer Gaming World called Knights in the Sky "the most realistic", superior to Dynamix's Red Baron for "the advanced air combat simulation jocks";[6] a survey of strategy and war games that year and in 1993 gave it three and a half stars out of five, preferring Red Baron.[7][8] 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.[9] 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.[10] In 1996, the latter ranked it as the 10th best Amiga game of all time.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "Knights of the Sky". Lemon Amiga. http://www.lemonamiga.com/?mainurl=http%3A//www.lemonamiga.com/games/details.php%3Fid%3D649. Retrieved 2009-02-23. 
  2. ↑ Squideo, Captain (November 1994). "ProReview - Genesis: Knights of the Sky". GamePro (IDG) (64): 104. https://archive.org/stream/GamePro_Issue_064_November_1994#page/n113/mode/1up. 
  3. ↑ "Purchase Agreement between Atari, Inc. and Rebellion Developments, Stardock & Tommo". BMC Group. 2013-07-22. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303173012/http://docs.bmcgroup.com/Atari/nysb_1-13-bk-10176_313.pdf. 
  4. ↑ Computer Gaming World 79 (February 1991)
  5. ↑ Sipe, Russell (February 1991). "Jousting over Germany / MicroProse's Knights of the Sky". Computer Gaming World (79): 68. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1991&pub=2&id=79. Retrieved 17 November 2013. 
  6. ↑ Weksler, Mike (June 1991). "Dogfight at the PC Corral / WWI Air Combat Simulations in Review". Computer Gaming World: 31. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1991&pub=2&id=83. Retrieved 17 November 2013. 
  7. ↑ Brooks, M. Evan (November 1991). "Computer Strategy and Wargames: The 1900-1950 Epoch / Part I (A-L) of an Annotated Paiktography". Computer Gaming World: 138. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1991&pub=2&id=88. Retrieved 18 November 2013. 
  8. ↑ Brooks, M. Evan (September 1993). "Brooks' Book of Wargames: 1900-1950, A-P". Computer Gaming World: 118. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1993&pub=2&id=110. Retrieved 30 July 2014. 
  9. ↑ Jonathan Davies (December 1991). "Knights of the Sky review". Amiga Power (8): 56–57. http://amr.abime.net/review_336. 
  10. ↑ Cam Winstanley (November 1993). "Budget Game Reviews - Knights of the Sky". Amiga Power (31): 86. http://amr.abime.net/review_1404. 
  11. ↑ Amiga Power issue #64, Future Publishing, August 1996
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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