Advanced Destroyer Simulator

Maker:
Futura
Year:
1990
System:
Amiga (OCS)
Genres:
Strategy / Simulation
Tags:
Historical / Nautical / War
Languages:
English / French
Median Rating:
3/5

Thoughts by Mr Creosote (04 Apr 2015) – Amiga (OCS)

Simulating a complete fleet is hard. Unless you make the player a fleet commander, but then, your game turns into a tactical one. If you’re trying to stay within the simulation genre, you better…

Advanced Destroyer Simulator avoids this issue altogether and it creates an almost paradoxical historical situation in the process. The player takes control over a British destroyer in the 2nd World War. A lone destroyer, regularly facing off against enemy forces in superior numbers. What may be somehow imaginable in the Mediterranean (where the British faced the powerful Italian fleet) becomes almost absurd in the English Channel or the North Sea (where the British had the clear superiority at least above the surface).

An observation which may seem nitpicky, but it sets the tone for things to come. What we have here is a lightweight simulation which, at times, plays more like Wing Commander than Silent Service: an effective trigger finger on the four cannons is usually even more valuable than the simple tactical plans one might take to win the missions.

Most missions consist of patrolling or ambushing. So the winning tactic would be avoiding major dangers, separating enemy fleet members from each other and taking them out one by one: combined forces of enemy destroyers and submarines are virtually unbeatable. Only few missions move away from this standard formula, most notably convoy defense tasks, but at least they exist at all.

Some difficulty parameters being adjustable, such as unlimited ammo and torpedos or enemies being displayed on the map even before they enter the ship’s radar range (which, given that their movements are pre-scripted per mission, simply saves the player the first few attempts which would otherwise be used to find out exactly those movements), keep things mostly manageable, i.e. the difficulty at a moderate level. Nevertheless, a single unfortunate encounter can always mean the end – so it’s good that the missions are generally not deeply multi-staged.

ADS isn’t a bad game. Graphics, controls and missions are all quite solid and it provides fun for some time. Its main issue is a conceptual limitation: a destroyer’s possible uses are comparatively bland. Submarines offer a multitude of additional tactical approaches to the same situation, where destroyers usually only have one choice. If this were a submarine simulation, the initial situation of being alone against everybody would also make much more sense. There are many more submarine simulations on the market than destroyer simulators. And here we have the reason illustrated.

Archived Thoughts

Thoughts by Mr Creosote (25 Nov 2000) – Amiga (OCS)

Everyone who tries this game will notice the similarity to Silent Service. Graphics, sound and even controls are almost the same. And also the topic differs only slightly: Instead of a sub, you’re in charge of a british destroyer in WW2.

There isn’t a career mode though. You just choose one of the preset missions which take place either in the North Sea, the English Channel or the Mediterranean Sea. The goal is to destroy some of the opponent’s ships most times. Again you’re on your own, so you have to try to seperate the enemies from each other. Then you sink them with your cannons or torpedos. If you feel suicidal, you can also ram them, but that should only be a thing for tragic heroes… The Italians/Germans own some different types of ships and subs. Especially combined fleets are quite hard to take out. But it’s always possible to complete the missions - never too unfair! Although ADS tries really hard to imitate its idol, it doesn’t quite measure up to it. Controlling a destroyer is just less fascinating than a sub. Sure, it’s fun, but the certain athmosphere which makes Silent Service a classic is lacking. Attacking frontally with a big ship is just not the same as sneaking up from below and launch a surprise attack…

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Amiga (OCS)

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Amiga (OCS)

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Gameplay (Francais)