What is Sub Battle Simulator (1987)?

Commanding Your Vessel

Glowing before you are the eyes of your vessel and the control panel. There are two windows on screen. To the right is the visual display showing periscope, deck, and binocular views, as well as sonar and radar screens. On the left is a map display that shows the local geography, your location, and the location of enemy craft. Between the two windows is a toggle-button strip that controls the various views. The control panel allows you to set your depth, speed, heading, and view gauges. Above the controls is the crew-speech display. Several toggle buttons also allow you to control power sources, diving, periscope height, weaponry, and time compression.

It takes a while to master Sub Battle Simulator. Not all commands are on pull- down menus or the screen display - you must use the keyboard to lay mines and perform some other operations. While Epyx provides excellent documentation and a command summary card, the keyboard commands do prove to be a nuisance. And beware: there is no on-line help.

However, when you get the hang of Sub Battle Simulator the game changes dramatically. Suddenly it all makes sense. You know the keyboard. You know your ship. You are in command.

The Reality of Command

Humans and their machines are fallible. In Sub Battle Simulator, the higher the level of the game, the more likely you are to experience the actual failure rate of crew and equipment. In this sense Sub Battle Simulator is more than a game. It is an exercise in living history, painstakingly researched and crafted by the same mad geniuses that created Orbiter and Cato.

Sub Battle Simulator represents a milestone in computer software - it is the most accurate simulation I’ve ever seen. I expect that Sub Battle Simulator will become the new benchmark for simulation programs.

Goebner, Ken. (1987, July). Dark Waters, Deadly Seas. Macworld (pg. 161).

See also: Sub Battle Simulator (1994)

Download Sub Battle Simulator (1987) for Mac

Architecture

Motorola 68K

System Requirements

From Mac OS 1.0 up to Mac OS 6.0

Compatibility notes

• 512 KB RAM

Emulating this? It could probably run under: Mini vMac