Graphsim Entertainment was founded in 1991 as Graphic Simulations Corp. to develop and publish
simulation games
Simulation video games are a diverse super-category of video games, generally designed to closely simulate real world activities. A simulation game attempts to copy various activities from real life in the form of a game for various purposes such ...
. Graphsim's first product was ''
Hellcats Over the Pacific'' for the Macintosh. It was released in 1991 and developed by
Parsoft Interactive.
Description
The game's graphics engine was novel in that it rendered flat-shaded
polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...
s over the entire screen area of a color Mac at native resolution. In 1993 Graphsim released the internally developed ''F/A-18 Hornet'' for
Macintosh
The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...
. Based on the eponymous McDonnell-Douglas fighter / attack aircraft it was set in a fictitious
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
theater of war and featured a detailed cockpit display. ''F/A-18 Hornet'' was one of the first simulation games to allow multiple players (four players) to fly together and compete over a local-area network (AppleTalk). It would become the first of a series of F/A-18 games. In 1995 ''
F/A-18 Hornet 2.0'' was released for Macintosh, which elevated the level of graphics complexity and simulation detail over its predecessor. In early 1997 Graphsim released ''
F/A-18 Hornet 3.0'' for both Macintosh and Windows PC, followed by ''F/A-18 Korea'' in late 1997. F/A-18 Korea was set in a fictitious future Korea war theater and featured support for 3DFx graphics cards. It garnered a score of 8.7 as reviewed by editors at GameSpot.com.
In addition to internal development of the F/A-18 Hornet series, Graphsim published for Macintosh a few notable game titles including BioWare's ''Baldur's Gate'' and ''Tales of the Sword Coast'', Volition's ''Red Faction'' and ''Summoner'', as well as Interplay's ''Descent 3''. Graphsim also published Atari's ''Falcon 4.0: Allied Force'' for both Windows and Macintosh, as well as Laminar Research's ''X-Plane 8'', ''X-Plane 9'', and ''X-Plane 10 Regional''.
In 2015 Graphsim Entertainment released FA-18 Hornet for iOS,
which remains its only title currently in development.
Reception
''
Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...
'' in 1994 stated that "''Hornet'' feels great", praising the game's authenticity but wondering if some inauthenticity with the autopilot and instruments would have made it easier to fly for beginners. The magazine concluded that "''F/A-18 Hornet'' provides an eye-opening and eminently flyable simulation".
References
Graphsim Entertainment
{{Authority control
1991 establishments in Texas
Video game publishers