Software:Project Stealth Fighter

From HandWiki
Short description: 1987 video game
Project Stealth Fighter
Developer(s)MicroProse
Publisher(s)MicroProse
Designer(s)Jim Synoski
Arnold Hendrick
Programmer(s)Jim Synoski
Dan Chang
Gregg Tavares
Artist(s)Michael Haire
Michele Mahan
Composer(s)Ken Lagace
Platform(s)Commodore 64
ZX Spectrum
Release1987 (C64)
1989 (Spectrum)
Genre(s)Combat flight simulator
Mode(s)Single-player

Project Stealth Fighter is a combat flight simulator released for the Commodore 64 in 1987 by MicroProse, featuring a fictional United States military aircraft. During the time of the game's release, there was heavy speculation surrounding a missing aircraft in the United States Air Force's numbering system, the F-19. Project Stealth Fighter was later renamed F-19 Stealth Fighter and was remade in 1988 for the 16-bit systems with much improved graphics.

Gameplay

Takeoff before a night mission (C64)

In the game, the player take on the role of a fictional fighter pilot flying missions of varying difficulty over four geographic locations: Libya, the Persian Gulf, the North Cape, and Central Europe.

Reception

Reception
Awards
PublicationAward
Your SinclairMegagame[1]
Zzap!64Gold Medal[2]

The game was critically acclaimed. Computer Gaming World in 1987 stated that Project Stealth Fighter pushed the limits of 8-bit hardware (noting the resulting great difficulty in landing at airfields) but concluded favorably: "Timely? It couldn't be more so. Realistic? Yes ... Challenging? Definitely!"[3] In a 1994 survey of wargames the magazine gave the title two stars out of five, stating that F-19 and F-117 had superseded it.[4] Compute! in 1988 called the game "a superlative flight simulator". It praised the graphics, stating that they improved on those of the company's F-15 Strike Eagle. The magazine concluded: "If you're to have only one flight simulator in your library, let it be this one ... Project: Stealth Fighter is Microprose's best".[5] The Commodore 64 version's review in Zzap!64 said that the "Project Stealth Fighter is excellent, and sets new standards to which other must now aspire".[6] ACE stated the game as certainly enjoyable and the rating for C64 version is 863 out of 1000.[7]

Project: Stealth Fighter was awarded the Origins Award for "Best Military or Strategy Computer Game of 1987".[8]

The game was nominated for the Golden Joystick Awards '88 in the category "Best Simulation - 8 Bit".[9]

A port to the ZX Spectrum version was first advertised in 1988 prior to the game being renamed for the 16-bit releases.[10] By the time it was published late 1989, it used the F-19 Stealth Fighter title in-game but was still packaged as Project Stealth Fighter.[11] A review in Your Sinclair called it "the best Speccy flight sim to date".[12]

Both the Spectrum and Commodore 64 versions were subsequently reissued as F-19 Stealth Fighter[13][14] in the same packaging as the 16-bit versions.[11][15]

In late 1990, the combined sales of F-19 Stealth Fighter across four platforms took the game into the UK Top 20 All Format games chart.[16]

References

  1. ↑ Game review, Zzap magazine, Dennis Publishing, issue 47, November 1989, page 16
  2. ↑ Game review, Zzap magazine, Newsfield Publications, issue 35, March 1988
  3. ↑ Brooks, M. Evan (December 1987). "Project: Stealth Fighter". Computer Gaming World: 26. 
  4. ↑ Brooks, M. Evan (January 1994). "War In Our Time / A Survey Of Wargames From 1950-2000". Computer Gaming World: 194–212. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=114. 
  5. ↑ Bobo, Ervin (February 1988). "Project: Stealth Fighter". Compute!: pp. 51. https://archive.org/stream/1988-02-compute-magazine/Compute_Issue_093_1988_Feb#page/n51/mode/2up. Retrieved 10 November 2013. 
  6. ↑ Scan
  7. ↑ "Project Stealth Fighter". ACE (4): 60, 61. January 1988. https://archive.org/details/ACE_Issue_04_1988-01_Future_Publishing_GB. 
  8. ↑ "The 1987 Origins Awards". The Game Manufacturers Association. Archived from the original on 2012-12-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20121216052415/http://www.gama.org/OriginsAwards/OriginsAwardsWinnersThe1980s/The1987OriginsAwards/tabid/3230/Default.aspx. 
  9. ↑ "Golden Joystick Awards 1989". Computer and Video Games (Future Publishing) (92): 62. http://www.worldofspectrum.org/showmag.cgi?mag=C+VG/Issue092/Pages/CVG09200062.jpg. Retrieved 13 January 2012. 
  10. ↑ "Project Stealth Fighter – Coming Soon For Your Spectrum". Crash (Newsfield) (57): 55. 22 September 1988. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=1024&page=55. Retrieved 20 February 2023. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Project Stealth Fighter Also known as F-19 Stealth Fighter". https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/index.php?cat=96&id=3900. 
  12. ↑ "Project Stealth Fighter". Your Sinclair (Dennis Publishing) (47): 16. 10 October 1989. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=268&page=16. Retrieved 20 February 2023. 
  13. ↑ "Spectrum review: F-19 Stealth Fighter". Crash (Newsfield) (73): 118. 25 January 1990. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=1040&page=44. Retrieved 20 February 2023. 
  14. ↑ "F-19 Stealth Fighter – Spectrum". The Games Machine (Newsfield) (28): 54. 8 February 1990. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=1816&page=54. Retrieved 20 February 2023. 
  15. ↑ "Project Stealth Fighter - Also known as F-19 Stealth Fighter". Kim Lemon. https://www.lemon64.com/game/project-stealth-fighter. 
  16. ↑ "The Gallup All Formats Top 20". Computer and Video Games (EMAP) (107): 65. 16 September 1990. https://spectrumcomputing.co.uk/page.php?issue_id=1559&page=65. Retrieved 28 January 2023. 
  • 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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