Classic Apple II Games

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Capt. Harlock
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Classic Apple II Games

Post by Capt. Harlock »

If your Apple II hardware no longer works, or if you're too young to have owned an Apple II, here's a website for classic games:
http://www.virtualapple.com
The site has its own Apple emulator, plus an amazing library of games. Among them is a real rarity: Version 2 of Gary Grigsby's "Bomb Alley", perhaps the only combined land-sea-air computer game of the Mediteranean Theatre.
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Capt. Harlock
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New Bomb Alley Features

Post by Capt. Harlock »

For anyone who's interested, here are the major changes in version 2:

Perhaps the most important change to be aware of is the TF movement routine. The active TF now flashes constantly on the map display--there is no need to wait for the "flash" to end before you begin the move, and you will never lose track of the TF location. Also, the movement is done by different number keys: since virtually every modern computer has a number pad on the right-hand side of the keyboard, I changed the set-up to use the same directions as the pad. Thus, 8 is north, 2 is South, and 5 (in the center) will dock the TF. If you are used to the 1-North, 2-NE, and so on, don't worry: a minute on the keypad and you'll have it down pat. One last minor addition: the "escape" key will abort the TF move in the same way as the "A" key.

Also of major importance: scoring for the game has been changed. Instead of Tobruk and Malta being worth 500 points to the British but only 200 to the Axis, the two ports are now worth 400 points each to whichever side controls them. The Axis can thus win a modest victory by seizing both, even if they never make it to Alexandria. (The fall of Tobruk was seen as the second worst British disaster in the war after the loss of Singapore. Losing both Malta and Tobruk would probably have forced Churchill to resign.) Note also that, originally, the Axis were rewarded in the Pedestal scenario for retreating the Afrika Korps and therefore not consuming supplies in combat. I have therefore given the British points if they re-capture Tobruk during the scenario.

Air combat has been adjusted slightly. First, in the original game, unescorted bombers faced by CAP fighters would simply commit suicide, continuing on toward their targets until wiped out. The new game rules are that, after destroying an enemy bomber, a defensive CAP fighter can "turn back" a second bomber to its base. The odds of this happening are dependent on the number of attacking fighters escorting the airstrike. If the number of escorts is equal to or greater than the number of intercepting CAP fighters, no bombers will turn back. Second, the odds of bombers destroying aircraft on the ground now depend on the number of aircraft on the airfield. Large numbers of aircraft make for a "target-rich" situation, and more aircraft will be destroyed. The types of aircraft destroyed will also depend on the "mix" of aircraft present. If, for instance, there are many Spitfires on the ground but few Swordfish, then most of the aircraft destroyed will be Spitfires. Also, the last four supply dumps at a base will be progressively harder to destroy.

The supply equations have been changed by converting Afrika Korps and 8th Army supply units to floating-point variables rather than integers. The importance of this is that "rounding" errors have been eliminated. The players need no longer worry about maintaining exact multiples of 15,000 troops for supply consumption. Also, I have adjusted the reinforcement routines. First, a "bug" in Grigsby's code prevented Gibraltar from receiving any supplies; this has been fixed. More important, Italy only received an average of 45 supply units every four days--about eleven units per day. Even if this could be magically transported to the front lines with 100% efficiency, this would not support a full-scale offensive (which needs 12 or 13 units per day). This is wrong--the problem was the supply line, not the absence of supplies themselves. (Not in '42 at least.) The Axis now get an extra five supply units per reinforcement, translating to almost 14 units per day. (Trust me, the Axis player will still need to husband those points carefully.)

Grigsby wrote a neat feature into the "Crete" scenario. Since there were a large number of small transport craft available to the Axis, he put in "Auto-Load" and "Auto-form" routines to spare the player the nuisance of typing in each and every ship. I've expanded the "Auto-Load" routine to all the scenarios. You now have the option of loading troops or supplies into all available cargo spaces. If, for example, you want to load a few troops and lots of supplies, load troops into your chosen ships first. Then invoke the auto-load routine, and all the rest of the available spaces will be filled with supplies. To form the ships into a TF, the "Auto-Form" routine is also now available in all scenarios. Use it with care, though, because putting too many ships in a TF will consume precious supply points.

I carried over the same principle into CAP, search, and air-strike routines. Since there is often little benefit to holding back aircraft, all available aircraft can now be assigned to a mission by simply entering "A" at the appropriate prompt.

One nasty thing that a human British player could do is put all (or nearly all) of the 8th Army into Tobruk. In the original game, the Axis cannot advance beyond Tobruk until it falls, and the British troops put up impressive defensive fire when occupying the fortifications. I now give the Afrika Korps the choice of directing its attack against Tobruk, or isolating Tobruk and pushing on. (Rommel actually did so in 1941.) Both sides now have an interesting choice to make: how much is Tobruk (and the supplies that can be captured) worth?

Submarine combat has also been changed. First, a little history: the original docs are all wet about the effect of sighting a submarine TF. All that happened in the original game was to reduce the chance of an individual torpedo hitting to 10% -- if it wasn't that low already. There was NO change to depth charge attack. In my new version, escort ships (such as DD's and DE's) now have a chance to detect submarines before they get into firing position. This chance is improved if the submarine TF has been sighted by air search. A message will be displayed, showing both players that there is at least contact. Also, there is a further chance that the escorts will depth-charge the sub, possibly sinking it without the sub being able to attack.

An "intelligence report" has been added. When the player's troops and supplies on Malta (or Crete) are displayed, there will also be an estimate of the enemy's troops and supplies. This means that in two-player games, the other player will have an idea of your status. Note that the accuracy of the "intel" will change with difficulty level, e.g., at level 4 the Axis estimate of British troops will be within 20%, while the British estimate of the Axis will be almost worthless. There is also a weather forecast. Each player is told at the beginning of the turn what the weather will be for that 12-hour turn, and what the weather is likely to be for the 12 hours after that.
Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

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Marc von Martial
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RE: New Bomb Alley Features

Post by Marc von Martial »

Btw, works only in IE.
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Nikademus
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RE: New Bomb Alley Features

Post by Nikademus »

Interesting!

I always wanted Bomb Alley as a kid but by the time i could "afford it" it was discontinued.
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carnifex
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RE: New Bomb Alley Features

Post by carnifex »

God damn it! Ney couldn't read the orders back in 1991 and now 14 years later he's still as blind as a bat!

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Charles2222
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RE: New Bomb Alley Features

Post by Charles2222 »

ORIGINAL: Nikademus

Interesting!

I always wanted Bomb Alley as a kid but by the time i could "afford it" it was discontinued.

Same here. I could afford an Atari 800XL, but not the Apple that Bomb Alley ran on.
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Zakhal
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RE: New Bomb Alley Features

Post by Zakhal »

Are there any pictures of this bomb alley game? Just to give an idea what kind of game it is. Is it similar to the western front game?

EDIT: Nevermind, got the emulator working with IE.

Objective Kursk looks interesting. Too bad the controls are all mixed up from mac.
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Nikademus
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RE: New Bomb Alley Features

Post by Nikademus »

AAARRR!!!!

You have triggered a repressed memory.

I remember now struggling with Objective: Kursk, and pulling hair out of my head everytime one of my precious panzer units would enter a minefield or get attacked from the air and you get to watch the suppression value start running up faster than a high priced gas pump.......[:@] [X(]
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RE: Classic Apple II Games

Post by Kuokkanen »

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

Version 2 of Gary Grigsby's "Bomb Alley"
I know he has announced Pacific War and War in Russia being freeware but I don't remember anything else. Are you sure Gary don't have anything against for that game being on that site? (On other words: game is freeware)
You know what they say, don't you? About how us MechWarriors are the modern knights, how warfare has become civilized now that we have to abide by conventions and rules of war. Don't believe it.

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Capt. Harlock
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RE: Classic Apple II Games

Post by Capt. Harlock »

I know he has announced Pacific War and War in Russia being freeware but I don't remember anything else. Are you sure Gary don't have anything against for that game being on that site? (On other words: game is freeware)

A valid point. SSI discontinued Bomb Alley, so it might well qualify as "abandonware". Since the program was written in Applesoft, it will only run on an Apple II machine or suitable emulator. The commercial potential is therefore infinitesimal.
Civil war? What does that mean? Is there any foreign war? Isn't every war fought between men, between brothers?

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RE: Classic Apple II Games

Post by rhondabrwn »

Memories! I owned a bunch of these games!

Thanks so much for the link!
Love & Peace,

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