''Ace'' (stylized as ''ACE'' as acronym for ''Air Combat Emulator'') is a

combat flight simulator Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games, amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and mili ...

video game published for the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

VIC-20 The VIC-20 (known as the VC-20 in Germany and the VIC-1001 in Japan) is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PE ...

, and Plus/4 in 1985 by Cascade Games. It was ported to the

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...

Amstrad PCW The Amstrad PCW series is a range of personal computers produced by British company Amstrad from 1985 to 1998, and also sold under licence in Europe as the "Joyce" by the German electronics company Schneider in the early years of the series' life. ...

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

, and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

. The player takes the role of a fighter jet pilot defending the English coastland against an enemy invasion, having to fight off aerial, ground and naval forces while

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

bases evacuate. The display shows the plane's instrumentation and cockpit view. The game was well-received and, despite various issues, it was lauded by critics as one of the best air combat simulators of the time and particularly praised for its accessible gameplay. The game was developed with a budget of £40k by the small UK-based Cascade Games, who later produced two sequels to the game.

Plot

The game is set on the Southern coastland of England during an enemy invasion against the remaining

forces. The player takes the role of a fighter plane pilot, who must defeat the invasion. To accomplish this, the player pilots one of the three available Mark 2.1 AWAT (All-Weather All-Terrain) combat aircraft and is charged with defending the last three Allied airbases being evacuated in front of the enemy's advance. Despite being the lone defender and greatly outnumbered, they must fight enemy forces on all fronts: aerial, ground and naval. The player progresses through the game engaging different contingents of the invaders. Initially, they must intercept enemy fighter planes, helicopters and landing ground forces, including tanks, land bases and SAM sites. Once the enemy is sufficiently driven back, the player can engage the naval fleet.

Gameplay

At the start of the game, the player is presented with a range of options that determine the experience. The game offers nine selectable levels of difficulty, including a tutorial difficulty in which the enemy forces do not fire back. Among the options, the player can choose to play either in summer or winter time and either daytime or nighttime, altering the scenery. The player must choose from the range of weapons that will be mounted on their AWAT plane. These include air-to-air, air-to-ground, air-to-sea and multipurpose missiles, depending on what enemies the player chooses to engage. In addition, the plane is equipped with a machine gun and decoy flares against hostile missiles. The in-game screen shows the cockpit view split between top half for plane's front view and bottom half for plane's instrumentation. The control panel shows the plane's crucial data, including speed, altitude, thrust, fuel, roll/pitch indicators and a compass. The panel also features a radar that provided an overview of important nearby objects. An onboard screen displays various flight information and warning messages, and features a speech synthesizer that occasionally announces dangers, such as approaching enemies or missile attacks. Finally, a small rear-view camera allows the player to observe enemies and missiles on their tail. The game also features a two player mode, where one player flies the plane and the other aims and fires the guns. At the start of the game, the player has to take off the runway at an Allied base. Afterwards they can fly around and look for enemies to engage. The player can open their Satellite Intelligence Map, which shows a live map of the immediate coastline with items of interest, such as, friendly bases, enemy positions, and refuelling locations. The player can perform various flight manoeuvres and stunts mid-air, such are loops, rolls, or dummy stalls. Flying, especially at high altitudes, spends the plane's fuel and the player must either return to their base or perform an

aerial refueling Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft a ...

. To refuel mid-air, the player has to rendezvous with a refuelling plane at the specified coordinates and perform a probe and drogue refuelling manoeuvre. The game ends in defeat if the player crashes, runs out of fuel, or is shot down by taking too much damage. The player can also eject, but can only do so safely over Allied territory. The player is victorious if they defeat all enemy forces. During the game, points are awarded and displayed in the control panel for destroyed enemies and on game end tallied up in a high score table.

Development and release

The game was developed by Cascade Games founded in 1983 by Guy Wilhelmy and Nigel Stevens. Wilhelmy had a pilot's license and had experience with aircraft control and responsiveness, while Stevens' father had been in British

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. Wilhelmy explained that he wanted to create a fast-paced flying game with responsive graphics that other games of the time struggled with. Cascade hired programmer Ian Martin and graphics designer Damon Redmond to work on the project in 1985. The first version known as ''A.C.E.: Air Combat Emulator'' was released in 1985 for the

Commodore 16 The Commodore 16 is a home computer made by Commodore International with a 6502-compatible 7501 or 8501 CPU, released in 1984 and intended to be an entry-level computer to replace the VIC-20. A cost-reduced version, the Commodore 116, was ...

and

home computers. Martin describes that an advertisement erroneously promising a Plus/4 version forced them to develop it under threat of action by Advertising Standards Agency. Martin recalls that afterwards the team had creative freedom to pursue different ideas for the planned

version, and after several months of development and a small delay, the C64 version called simply ''ACE'' was released in September 1985. ZX Spectrum version followed the next year. An

version was announced and Cascade Games promised a quick delivery with "speed and smoothness exceeding previous simulators". Having sold over half a million copies on 8-bit machines, the game's port was announced for

. ComTec was tasked with porting the game to

and

(for

AmigaDOS AmigaDOS is the disk operating system of the AmigaOS, which includes file systems, file and directory manipulation, the command-line interface, and file Redirection (computing), redirection. In AmigaOS 1.x, AmigaDOS is based on a TRIPOS port by ...

). The game was marketed to America, and the C64 and Amiga versions were released and published in US by UXB in 1986. Before the release of ''Ace'', Cascade Games was infamous for their ''Cassette 50'' (1983) game compilation that featured simplistic and subpar games. Stevens points out that without the income from the compilation, the project would not have been possible. The developers estimate the production cost of ''Ace'' at £40k. Following the release of ''Ace'', Cascade moved into mainstream AAA game development. Wilhelmy says that Cascade boasted over a million GBP in turnover over the following years. The company produced two sequels, '' Ace 2'' (1987) and ''ACE 2088'' (1989), and various other games before closing down in 1990.

Reception

The first version for C16 and Plus/4 received positive reviews. ''Commodore Horizons'' awarded 8 stars to gameplay, describing it is "as good as anything" within the C16's limitations. ''

Commodore User ''Commodore User'', known to the readers as the abbreviated ''CU'', was one of the oldest British Commodore magazines. With a publishing history spanning over 15 years, it mixed content with technical and video game features. Incorporating ''Vic ...

'' noted the C16 version for fast, but involved action. Their review of Plus/4 described it similarly, and called it one of the best dedicated Plus/4 games, only giving sound a lower score. ''

Computer Gamer ''Computer Gamer'' was a video game magazine published in the United Kingdom by Argus Specialist Publications, covering home gaming from April 1985 to June 1987. It was a colourful relaunch of the failing magazine '' Games Computing'', a mor ...

'' gave both the C16 and Plus/4 version 5 out of 5 stars and described ''Ace'' as easy to use and understand. They later noted that Plus/4 version was the best yet among the available platforms. ''

Your Commodore ''Your Commodore'' was a magazine for Commodore computers, including the Commodore 64, Amiga, and the Commodore PC range. It was published in the UK from October 1984 until late 1989 when the name was shortened to ''YC''. The final issue was i ...

'' criticized the Plus/4 version for poor innovation, but scored it highly on gameplay and graphics, describing them as "realistic". The expanded C64 and

versions received the highest critic attention and praise on release. ''

Zzap!64 ''Zzap!64'' was a computer games magazine covering games on the Commodore International series of computers, especially the Commodore 64 (C64). It was published in the UK by Newsfield Publications Ltd and later by Europress Impact. The magazine ...

'' rated ''Ace'' 90% and described it as the most exciting flight simulator on C64 to date. They noted good instruction, many available options, and easy controls. ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'' rated C64 version very positively, awarding gameplay 9/10 points calling it the new title for the best of flight simulators. They described it as very well presented with a clear layout. ''

'' lauded ''Ace'' for having found the right balance between simulation and action. ''

Crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...

'' rated it 81%, criticizing quite sound and calling out the graphics and overall quality as average for the genre. ''

Sinclair User ''Sinclair User'' was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum (while also occasionally covering arcade games). Initially published by ECC Publications, and later EMAP, it was publi ...

'' awarded the game 5/5 stars and praised the game's intentionally accessible gameplay as the high point. They felt the environment graphics were not great, while important objects and effects stood out well. ''

Your Sinclair ''Your Sinclair'', or ''YS'' as it was commonly abbreviated, was a commercially published and printed British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum. It was in circulation between 1984 and 1993. History The ...

'' gave the game 8/10 noting it as unrealistic for a simulator, however easy to get into and addictive. '' Your Computer'' gave ''Ace'' 4/5 points calling it a simulation that would appeal to arcade players. However, they gave the sound 1/5 points. ''ZX Computing'' review labeled it a "monster hit" and called it a quality flying experience praising good sound, excellent graphics with use of horizon line, and well-defined objects. Several reviewers regarded ''Ace'' as one of the best available flight simulators of the time. Overall, the critics agreed that the game's arcade-like gameplay was easy to get into and play, but ultimately difficult to master and challenging to finish. Reviewers also negatively remarked upon the inclusion of

Lenslok Lenslok is a copy protection mechanism found in some computer games and other software on the 8-bit Atari computers, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Sinclair QL, MSX and Amstrad CPC. The first game to use it was '' Elite'' for the ZX Spectrum. Ove ...

copy protection system where the game would display a garbled image and the player would need to use the provided colored lens to view the two-letter code. ''ZX Computing'' and ''

'' reviewers had trouble getting it to work and pass. ''

Retro Gamer ''Retro Gamer'' is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Launched in January 2004 as a quarterly publication, ''Retro Gamer'' soon became ...

'' called it "notorious Lenslok" in retrospect. ''

'' gave the Amstrad version 85%, praising the gameplay and graphics. They noted that it was an approachable flight simulator that can be played without reading the manual. ''

Amstrad Action ''Amstrad Action'' was a monthly magazine, published in the United Kingdom, which catered to owners of home computers from the Amstrad CPC range and later the GX4000 console. It was the first magazine published by Chris Anderson's Future Publishin ...

'' rated this version at 54% calling it challenging, but lacking in action. They described environmental detail and fighting as the high points, but criticized sound as poor and graphics as slow. The game was later sold at bargain prices, bundled with ''Ace 2'' and received several retrospect reviews. ''

'' rated the C64 bargain game 8/10 comparing it more to aerial combat simulator than just a flight simulator. They noted plenty of gameplay and some simulation to keep the player occupied. ''

'' awarded the game 90% for C64 and 87% for the Spectrum version praising the game and describing it as "essential purchase". ''

'' gave ''Ace'' 67% and felt that, while the original reviewer's opinions held true, the game did not stand up to time, with graphics being tacky and sparse and having programming issues. ''

Commodore Force ''Commodore Force'' was a computer games magazine covering games for the Commodore 64. It was published in the UK by Europress Impact. Its predecessor was ''Zzap!64''. Background ''Commodore Force'' was created when ''Zzap! 64'' was re-launche ...

'' later gave the game 57% and noted that, although receiving praise during release, its lacking gameplay did not age well. On the other hand, ''

Commodore Format ''Commodore Format'' was a British magazine for users of the Commodore 64 home computer. It was published on the third Thursday of every month. All 61 issues were produced by Future plc. These came towards the end of the machine's commercial life ...

'' gave the game 3/4 points and lauded the game even by 1991's standards. While they noted simple start, they also noted good graphics, fast-paced gameplay with superb dogfights and basic simulation. ''

'' rated the ''Ace'' and ''Ace 2'' bundle at 89% calling it an "indisputable bargain". They praised the fast and uncluttered gameplay with simple objectives, while remarked that the graphics were not the best. ''

'' rated the bundle 87/100 describing the bundle as closer to arcade games rather than flight simulators, concluding that they were good games "with a few bugs".

References

{{reflist, 40em, refs= {{cite magazine , title=From the Archives – Cascade Games , issue=109 , pages=42–47 , date=November 2012 , magazine=

, publisher=

Imagine Publishing Imagine Publishing was a UK-based magazine publisher, which published a number of video games, computing, creative and lifestyle magazines. It was founded on 14 May 2005 with private funds by Damian Butt, Steven Boyd and Mark Kendrick, all we ...

{{Cite web , url=http://www.lemon64.com/?mainurl=http%3A//www.lemon64.com/reviews/view.php%3Fid%3D799 , title=ACE: Air Combat Emulator , first=Ian , last=Martin , date=2 January 2008 , website=Lemon 64 , access-date=2016-01-25 {{cite magazine , title=Software Preview – It's an Ace , first=Clare , last=Edgeley , issue=53 , page=98 , date=August 1986 , magazine=

, publisher=

Emap Ascential plc, formerly EMAP, is a British business-to-business media business specialising in exhibitions & festivals and information services. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History Ric ...

, url=https://archive.org/stream/sinclair-user-magazine-053/SinclairUser_053_Aug_1986#page/n97/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-21 {{cite magazine , title=Amscene – Flying High , issue=17 , page=16 , date=February 1987 , magazine=

, publisher=

Future plc Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, newsletters, websites, and events in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photogr ...

, url=https://archive.org/stream/amstrad-action-017/Amstrad_Action_017#page/n15/mode/1up , access-date=2016-02-05 {{cite magazine , title=Snippets , issue=1 , page=8 , date=October 1989 , magazine=

Amiga Action ''Amiga Action'' was a monthly magazine about Amiga video games. It was published in the United Kingdom by Europress (later IDG Media) and ran for 89 full issues, from October 1989 to December 1996. After its closure, it was merged into sister pu ...

, publisher=Gollner Publishing , url=http://amr.abime.net/issue_74_pages , access-date=2016-02-05 {{cite magazine , title=News – ACE , issue=58 , page=38 , date=August 1986 , magazine=

, publisher=

, url=https://archive.org/stream/computer-and-videogames-058/ComputerAndVideoGames_058_Aug_1986#page/n37/mode/1up , access-date=2016-02-05 {{cite magazine , title=Lloyd Mangram's Lookback at 1986 , issue=36 , page=57 , date=January 1987 , magazine=

, publisher=

Newsfield Newsfield Publications Ltd (also known as Newsfield) was a British magazine publisher during the 1980s and early 1990s. Newsfield Publications Ltd was founded by Roger Kean, Franco Frey and Oliver Frey in 1983. Based in Ludlow, Shropshire, News ...

, url=https://archive.org/stream/crash-magazine-36/Crash_36_Jan_1987#page/n57/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-20 {{cite magazine , title=High Flyer , issue=17 , page=13 , date=May 1985 , magazine=Commodore Horizons , publisher=Scot Press , url=https://archive.org/stream/commodore-horizons-17/Commodore_Horizons_Issue_17_1985_May#page/n12/mode/1up , access-date=2016-02-05 {{cite magazine , title=Screen Scene – Ace , issue=20 , page=46 , date=May 1985 , magazine=

, publisher=

, url=https://archive.org/stream/commodore-user-magazine-20/Commodore_User_Issue_20_1985_May#page/n45/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-19 {{cite magazine , title=Screen Space – Screen Star ACE , issue=31 , page=44 , first=Ferdy , last=Hamilton , date=April 1986 , magazine=

, publisher=

, url=https://archive.org/stream/commodore-user-magazine-31/Commodore_User_Issue_31_1986_Apr#page/n43/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-22 {{cite magazine , title=Software Reviews – ACE , issue=1 , page=46 , date=April 1985 , magazine=Computer Gamer , publisher=Argus Specialist Publications , url=https://archive.org/stream/Computer_Gamer_Issue_01_1985-04_Argus_Press_GB#page/n45/mode/1up , access-date=2016-02-05 {{cite magazine , title=Reviews – ACE , issue=13 , page=66 , date=April 1986 , magazine=

, publisher= Argus Specialist Publications , url=https://archive.org/stream/Computer_Gamer_Issue_13_1986-04_Argus_Press_GB#page/n65/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-25 {{cite magazine , title=Action Replay – Ace , issue=20 , page=47 , date=May 1986 , first=Stuart , last=Cooke , magazine=

, publisher=

, url=https://archive.org/stream/20-your-commodore-magazine/Your_Commodore_Issue_20_1986_May#page/n46/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-19 {{cite magazine , title=ACE , issue=8 , pages=26–27 , date=December 1985 , first=Gary , last=Liddon , magazine=

, publisher=

, url=https://archive.org/stream/zzap64-magazine-008/ZZap_64_Issue_008_1985_Dec#page/n25/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-22 {{cite magazine , title=Software Reviews – ACE , issue=52 , page=31 , date=February 1986 , magazine=

, publisher=

, url=https://archive.org/stream/computer-video-games-magazine-052/CVG052_Feb_1986#page/n30/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-25 {{cite magazine , title=Screen Scene – A.C.E. , issue=27 , page=44 , date=December 1985 , magazine=

, publisher=

, url=https://archive.org/stream/commodore-user-magazine-27/Commodore_User_Issue_27_1985_Dec#page/n43/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-19 {{cite magazine , title=Reviews – ACE , issue=32 , page=13 , first=Paul , last=Laidlaw , date=May 1985 , magazine=

, publisher=

, url=https://archive.org/stream/crash-magazine-32/Crash_32_Sep_1986#page/n12/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-21 {{cite magazine , title=Strategy Simulation Review – ACE , issue=54 , page=59 , first=Graham , last=Taylor , date=September 1986 , magazine=

, publisher=

, url=https://archive.org/stream/sinclair-user-magazine-054/SinclairUser_054_Sep_1986#page/n58/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-21 {{cite magazine , title=ACE , issue=10 , page=78 , date=October 1986 , magazine=

, publisher= Sportscene Specialist Press , url=https://archive.org/stream/your-sinclair-10/YourSinclair_10_Oct_1986#page/n79/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-21 {{cite magazine , title=Software Shortlist – ACE , volume=6 , issue=9 , page=46 , first=Francis , last=Jago , date=September 1986 , magazine= Your Computer , publisher=Riverside Press , url=https://archive.org/stream/your-computer-magazine-1986-09/YourComputer_1986_09#page/n44/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-25 {{cite magazine , title=Spectrum Game Review – ACE , first=George , last=Duvall , issue=32 , pages=38–39 , date=September 1986 , magazine=ZX Computing , publisher= Argus Specialist Publications , url=https://archive.org/stream/ZX-computing-1986-09/ZXComputing_Sep_1986#page/n37/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-25 {{cite magazine , title=Cheap Thrills – ACE , issue=25 , page=60 , author=TH , date=April 1987 , magazine=

, publisher=Argus Specialist Publications , url=https://archive.org/stream/Computer_Gamer_Issue_25_1987-04_Argus_Press_GB#page/n59/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-19 {{cite magazine , title=Action test – ACE , issue=18 , page=46 , date=March 1987 , magazine=

, publisher=

, url=https://archive.org/stream/amstrad-action-018/Amstrad_Action_018#page/n45/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-22 {{cite magazine , title=Cheapo Round-Up – ACE , issue=57 , page=83 , date=June 1988 , magazine=

, publisher=

, url=https://archive.org/stream/commodore-user-magazine-57/Commodore_User_Issue_57_1988_Jun#page/n82/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-19 {{cite magazine , title=Budget – ACE & ACE 2 , issue=108 , page=70 , date=November 1990 , magazine=

, publisher=

, url=https://archive.org/stream/cvg-magazine-108/CVG_108_Nov_1990#page/n69/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-19 {{cite magazine , title=Budget! – ACE/ACE 2 , issue=70 , page=64 , date=February 1991 , magazine=

, publisher=

, url=https://archive.org/stream/zzap64-magazine-070/ZZap_64_Issue_070_1991_Feb#page/n63/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-19 {{cite magazine , title=Round-Up! – ACE , issue=4 , page=18 , date=April 1993 , magazine=

, publisher= Argus Specialist Publications , url=http://www.zzap64.co.uk/cgi-bin/displaypage.pl?issue=094&page=018&thumbstart=0&magazine=zzap , access-date=2016-02-05 {{cite magazine , title=ACE , issue=10 , page=15 , date=July 1991 , magazine=

, publisher=

, url=https://archive.org/stream/commodore-format-magazine-10/Commodore_Format_Issue_10_1991_07#page/n14/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-25 {{cite magazine , title=Roger Frames Buys Budjit Games – ACE & ACE II , issue=2 , page=32 , date=November 1990 , magazine=

, publisher=

, url=https://archive.org/stream/commodore-format-magazine-02/Commodore_Format_Issue_02_1990_11#page/n31/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-19 {{cite magazine , title=Bargain Bucket – ACE/ACE2 , issue=72 , page=37 , date=October 1990 , first=Rik , last=Henderson , magazine= YC , publisher=Alphavite Publications , url=https://archive.org/stream/72-your-commodore-magazine/Your_Commodore_Issue_72_1990_Oct#page/n36/mode/1up , access-date=2016-01-19 {{cite magazine , title=Games of '86 , issue=41 , page=39 , date=February 1987 , magazine=

, publisher=

, url=https://archive.org/stream/commodore-user-magazine-41/Commodore_User_Issue_41_1987_Feb#page/n38/mode/1up , access-date=2016-02-04 1985 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Amstrad PCW games Commodore 16 and Plus/4 games Commodore 64 games VIC-20 games DOS games Combat flight simulators Single-player video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom ZX Spectrum games