Hi, I was lead designer on this game.

[Starg]

I hope the Kiss guys don't mind me popping in to say hi.
I worked at DID & Rage and was lead designer on EF Typhoon. (http://www.coldbeamgames.com/3/post/2010/07/games-ive-worked-on-part-1-game-history.html)

What a blast from the past to see it released on Steam!
It seemed to install and run just fine on my Win7 machine.
Just to confirm comments on another thread, yes this started development at DID, but was finished and released by Rage when DID went bump.

[neoshi]

I REALLY want EF2000 V3.0 that has today's (or tomorrow's) graphics, the good old dynamic campaign, full coop capabilities, and the immersion of everything the old ones had. I still play EF2000 once in a while.

[john]

EF2000 blew my mind. The sheer scale of the game just sucked me in, combined with those graphics. I never once mamaged to complete mid air refueling though, I just didn't have the skill :-(

[Starg]

Lol, I don't think I even managed mid air refuelling either!

[ShaggyMoose]

I have a boxed copy of TFX around somewhere... My first DID game and I thought it was awesome. I think my first Rage game was Incoming (no so awesome), but they also made Hostile Waters, so I forgive them. :)

[Pielstick]

Ursprungligen skrivet av BrySkye:

Remember what came in the EF-2000 box?
A great big, lovingly detailed printed manual which included 3-views of every vehicle in the game and that great big fold-out map.
F-22 ADF even came with a dedicated book worthy of Air Power Journal detailing the aircraft in the game.

I remember the EF2000 manual! Great stuff but I also remember it wasn't bound very well and it wasn't long before the pages started falling out. Then again that may be because I read it so much.

The World Air Power Journal supplement in F-22 ADF was a great surprise when I opened the box.

Anyone remember the big old spiral bound manuals in the Jane's sims? I miss those! I remember Falcon 4 also had a huge manual, and even then I had to go out and buy the massive Prima strategy guide which was written by Pete "Boomer" Bonnani - the ANG F-16 instructor who helped out with the Falcon 4 development and testing.

The manuals that came with the original Su-27 Flanker (precursor to the current DCS) and Flanker 2 were also very good, fascinating reading about all the Russian avionice and weapons systems, and the chapters on the Russian SAM systems were also really well written and informative.

It was always one of the best things about opening up a new boxed flight sim... leafing through the massive manual and relishing the many hours of enjoyment and learning ahead.

I really miss those days.

[Nats]

I think Falcon 4.0 marked the end of an era and the start of another. Whereas previous sims like EF2000 could be played almost immediately F4 required about a months learning before you could even fly a single mission. That game was far too intensive really. But once you managed to learn it all the campaign was the best ever seen in any flight sim before or since.

I still preferred the likes of EF2000. The gameplay was there and the graphics were amazing - Norway looked really menacing. EF2000 and its like were more immediate, you didnt need to remember loads and loads of key commands and sequences to play the game, which you foreot if you left it for even a month, like with Falcon 4.0. I still remember the mission where I had to dive out of cloud from high altitude to bomb a radar station on a high peninsular.

I originally bought my PC for the flight and space sims and there was a long period when that was pretty much all I played. But since F4 all flight sims, what there have been, have been far too complex or far too simple. There is a middle ground that the likes of DiD and Microprose seemed to find.

Now that we are seeing the beginnings of a resurgence in classic space sims (Star Citizen, Elite Dangerous) maybe, just maybe, we will start to see sequels of other great sims as well - F19 Stealth Fighter (one of the first flight sims that I played where it you flew only one type of plane in long missions within a complex campaign), B17, Gunship 2000 (remember flying along the canals at low level to avoid the SAMs?), Tornado (superb mission planning and execution), Apache, Hind, EF2000, TAW, M1 Tank Platoon - they all deserve to be played again with updated graphics.

I know for a fact that I could play Tornado tomorrow and still be amazed when my flight pulls off a multi-directional low level synchronised night bombing. To still remember what that was like to this day, after 20 years or so, with all the tracer fire etc - these have got to be a games worth remaking! The PC games market has been incredibly dull for so long.

[fickó]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Nats:

I think Falcon 4.0 marked the end of an era and the start of another. Whereas previous sims like EF2000 could be played almost immediately F4 required about a months learning before you could even fly a single mission. That game was far too intensive really. But once you managed to learn it all the campaign was the best ever seen in any flight sim before or since.

I still preferred the likes of EF2000. The gameplay was there and the graphics were amazing - Norway looked really menacing. EF2000 and its like were more immediate, you didnt need to remember loads and loads of key commands and sequences to play the game, which you foreot if you left it for even a month, like with Falcon 4.0. I still remember the mission where I had to dive out of cloud from high altitude to bomb a radar station on a high peninsular.

I originally bought my PC for the flight and space sims and there was a long period when that was pretty much all I played. But since F4 all flight sims, what there have been, have been far too complex or far too simple. There is a middle ground that the likes of DiD and Microprose seemed to find.

Now that we are seeing the beginnings of a resurgence in classic space sims (Star Citizen, Elite Dangerous) maybe, just maybe, we will start to see sequels of other great sims as well - F19 Stealth Fighter (one of the first flight sims that I played where it you flew only one type of plane in long missions within a complex campaign), B17, Gunship 2000 (remember flying along the canals at low level to avoid the SAMs?), Tornado (superb mission planning and execution), Apache, Hind, EF2000, TAW, M1 Tank Platoon - they all deserve to be played again with updated graphics.

I know for a fact that I could play Tornado tomorrow and still be amazed when my flight pulls off a multi-directional low level synchronised night bombing. To still remember what that was like to this day, after 20 years or so, with all the tracer fire etc - these have got to be a games worth remaking! The PC games market has been incredibly dull for so long.

Yeah, Digital Image Design, Microprose, Digital Integration and Novalogic were amazing at creating those kinds of flight sims you could easily pick up and play but still had a sense of depth to them.
I really miss those games that put you in the seat of fictional or experimental aircraft too, like F19, LHX and F29, but which were still somewhat grounded in actual aircraft. I guess they're part of the same era as movies/tv shows like Blue Thunder, Firefox and AirWolf though.

[BrySkye]

That's why I think the likes of the Typhoon, F-22 and F-35 are better suited to the old DID style.

There have been examples of regular folks (I think possibly even James May?) being shoved in one of the RAF's proper Typhoon simulators and being able to engage air targets successfully.

Lest we forget that despite the "simplicity" of EF-2000, DID were approached by the MoD about simulators for laser guided bombing designation.
It is kind of strange that as the F-22 and Typhoon have both entered service (even combat in the case of the Typhoon), there are few efforts to simulate them.
Add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator or Lockheed's Prepar3D hardly count!

Really though, it's just a totally different philosophy and workload from the likes of any 70's Western fighter like the F-16 or any Russian jet.
I mean, an -accurate- Typhoon simulation would feature the likes of care-free handling. Stall protection and the inability to overstress the airframe.
Things that many flightsimmers turn their noses up at as only beloning in the arcades or consoles.

That's where we are though.
On the one hand, we have the likes of Ace Combat or, if you're crazy/like bad games, HAWX.
The alternative is pretty much DCS. But you'll want to raid Staples for ink and paper to print out the many hundreds of pages for any one aircraft.
It would also help to learn Russian. :P

WWII fans are better catered for though. War Thunder does a decent job of catering to different levels.

[Pielstick]

VEAO are supposed to be making a Typhoon for DCS. From what I've read they are making two versions - an "all up" version for use as a training aid by the respective air forces, and a consumer version for flight sim fans that will obviously have all the classified bits taken out. It's possibly going to be available this year, but more likely in 2015.

You also have to remember when they made stuff like EF2000 and F-22 the real life aircraft were still under development and years away from service, so much of what was featured in the sim was highly speculative and educated guesses.

With regards to the comments about the Microprose/Jane's/DID/DI type sims making a comeback..... unfortunately I don't think so. Most of the flight sims knocking about today (including lots of the higher end stuff for FSX and Prepar3D) are spin offs from real life training aids. There simply isn't the market for flight sims nowadays and we have to make do with consumer versions of stuff that was made to train the real pilots. Whilst they may be technically excellent simulators, they lack the immersion and depth of the sims of the 90's which were made to entertain.

[billy]

It's a shame the flight simulator market died . I put some of the blame on the players always moaning about 'realism' till they drove away a lot of players and just a small hardcore audience was left.

During the 90's i playing a silly amount of flight sime games but since then i havent touched one. Strange as it was my favourite type of game. Nothing beat's a flight sim that's not too hardcore with a great campaign.

All the game's already mentioned here and falcon 3 were my favourites.

[Amerikaner]

hey steve why the game so pricey for the low qquality?

[GoblinZeus]

Thank for your reply !!!! I LOVE DID games. For eurofighter and icebreaker, i have some problems with windows XP, but on windows 8 64 bits, i3 two core 3.4 Ghz, Nvidia GTX660, no problem at all, the game plays perfectly. These game are unusual as flight simulators, obviously for beginners, but i enjoy them because you seem part of history in the making in real time ! but i praise EF2000 and TAW, there are precise simulations without too much complications (as Falcon 4, DCS, lock on etc ...). NOW, EF2000 reloaded program allowed to install the 3DFX version EF2000 Tacom GFX+ on modern computer !!!! IT WORKS, i am thrill with this work, i found again the same EF2000 i had in 1995. It is the same for TAW with the TAW 2.0 program on internet, it works on win XP, but the menu does not appears on screen on win 8 64 bits, a problem to be resolved. Finally thanks again for your work on this fine game eurofighter.

[♀⛤WitchyWoman⛤♀]

EF2000 and TAW were masterpieces.This game was the last and was a total 180 in a negative direction compared to those other titles.It was a flop. Bypass this title and get the other 2 if you really like sims. TAW and Ef2000 now have windows 7 friendly versions and can be found through google.

[GoblinZeus]

This is what i had said in my post : TWA and EF2000 are masterpiece as you said, i have them and i enjoy them, but on windows 8 64 bits EF2000 reloaded is ok but TAW 2.0 has a problem with the interface which is not visible, so i cannot choose the mission, but if you succeed to choose one , TAW 2.0 woks perfectly.

[Dura_Ace]

Ursprungligen skrivet av Starg:

I hope the Kiss guys don't mind me popping in to say hi.
I worked at DID & Rage and was lead designer on EF Typhoon. (http://www.coldbeamgames.com/3/post/2010/07/games-ive-worked-on-part-1-game-history.html)

What a blast from the past to see it released on Steam!
It seemed to install and run just fine on my Win7 machine.
Just to confirm comments on another thread, yes this started development at DID, but was finished and released by Rage when DID went bump.

Hey, checked out your profile since it was open. You bought games but you hardly played them. 20 minutes mostly on games that you bought.

LIMBO is not even touched. Try it. You can pick it up and put it down whenever you want. Save it in sections. Its short, frustrating as hell, beautiful, fun and relatively short.