''Silent Service'' is a

submarine simulator A submarine simulator is usually a computer game in which the player commands a submarine. The usual form of the game is to go on a series of missions, each of which features a number of encounters where the goal is to sink surface ships and to ...

video game designed by

Sid Meier Sidney K. Meier ( ; born February 24, 1954) is a Canadian-American programmer, designer, and producer of several strategy video games and simulation video games, including the ''Civilization'' series. Meier co-founded MicroProse in 1982 with B ...

and published by

MicroProse MicroProse is an American video game publisher and video game developer, developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the ''Civilization (series), Civilizatio ...

for various

8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit Integer (computer science), integers or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet (computing), octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) arc ...

home computers in 1985 and for

16-bit 16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors. A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two mos ...

systems like the

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 ...

in 1987. A

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...

version developed by Rare was published in 1989 by

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

in Europe and by Konami's

Ultra Games Ultra Software Corporation was a shell corporation and publishing label created in 1988 as a subsidiary of Konami of America, in an effort to get around Nintendo of America's strict licensing rules in place at the time for the North American ma ...

subsidiary in North America. ''

Silent Service II ''Silent Service II'' is a submarine simulation game developed and published by MicroProse for MS-DOS in 1990 and for the Amiga in 1991. It is a sequel to 1985's '' Silent Service'', also set in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. Tommo pur ...

'' was released in 1990.

Tommo Tommo Inc. is an American video game publisher based in City of Industry, California. Founded in 1990, Tommo started out as a small independent distributor of imported video games. Since 2006, Tommo also operates a publishing subsidiary, UFO In ...

purchased the rights to this game and published it online through its

Retroism Tommo Inc. is an American video game publisher based in City of Industry, California. Founded in 1990, Tommo started out as a small independent distributor of imported video games. Since 2006, Tommo also operates a publishing subsidiary, UFO I ...

brand in 2015.

Gameplay

''Silent Service'' is set in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, with the player assuming control of a U.S. ''Gato''-class

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

for various war patrols against Japanese shipping. "Silent Service" was a nickname for the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

's submarine force in the Pacific during World War II. The player can choose when to attack from a range of realistic tactics, including the End Around and near invisibility at night (if the sub's profile is kept to a minimum). It allows four projectiles concurrently, a challenge when battling multiple destroyers. Real-time is accelerated when not in combat. Sid Meier described several key factors that influenced the design of the game: The size of the

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

, the variety of tactical situations, and evolving technology, such as the use of surface radar and torpedoes that did or did not leave trails of bubbles on the surface—only simulations set after their real-life introduction had access to these. Tasks such as navigation, damage repair, and firing were compartmentalized into different screens to allow players access to a great deal of information, but also to focus on the immediate task.

Development

The game was designed by Sid Meier, the art which was made by Michael O. Haire. ''Silent Service'' was in development for 8 months and its creation was inspired by a fractal technological trick.

Reception

''Silent Service'' was MicroProse's second best-selling Commodore game as of late 1987. The company sold 250,000 copies by March 1987, and roughly 400,000 overall. ''

Info Info is shorthand for "information". It may also refer to: Computing * .info, a generic top-level domain * info:, a URI scheme for information assets with identifiers in public namespaces * info (Unix), a command used to view documentation produc ...

'' in 1985 rated ''Silent Service'' for the Commodore 64 four stars out of five, stating that its quality and graphics "are all unmistakably MicroProse" and "ensure a satisfying level of play for any wargamer". ''

Antic Alphanumeric Television Interface Controller (ANTIC) is an LSI ASIC dedicated to generating 2D computer graphics to be shown on a television screen or computer display. Under the direction of Jay Miner, the chip was designed in 1977-1978 by ...

'' wrote in 1986 that "Sid Meier and his team of simulation experts at MicroProse have outdone themselves". The magazine approved of how the game offered both beginner modes and "complex, historically accurate, and challenging war patrol scenarios" for experts, and noted the Atari 8-bit version's "superb" graphics and "well done" manual". ''Antic'' in 1987 also liked the Atari ST version's graphics, sound, adjustable difficulty levels, and documentation, concluding "It's a traditional MicroProse product and it's nice to see that they've remained dedicated to detail". ''

Compute! ''Compute!'' (), often stylized as ''COMPUTE!'', was an American home computer magazine that was published from 1979 to 1994. Its origins can be traced to 1978 in Len Lindsay's ''PET Gazette'', one of the first magazines for the Commodore PET c ...

'' wrote in 1986 that "like ''F-15 Strike Eagle'', ''Silent Service'' is both intriguing and addictive... a superior product". ''

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 1986 called ''Silent Service'' "easily the best ubmarine simulatorfor its simplicity of use and execution". It praised the game's realism and only criticized the lack of a save game feature. Gregg Williams reviewed the Atari 8-bit home computer version for ''

'', and stated that "The graphics and sound are better than average and support the illusion of realism. Our thanks go to Mr. Meier and to Randall Masteller, who did a good job of the Atari translation. Overall, this is an excellent game and a good buy." A 1987 overview of World War II simulations in the magazine rated the game five out of five stars, praising its "superb graphics coupled with detailed rules, historical accuracy and layers of complexity". In 1993 a survey of wargames in the magazine gave the game two stars out of five, stating that "it has been rendered obsolete by time and superseded by ''

''". In 1996 ''Computer Gaming World'' ranked it as the 86th best game of all time, for having "introduced the control-room interface for submarine games on variety of platforms". ''Silent Service'' was awarded the

Charles S. Roberts Award The Charles S. Roberts Awards (or CSR Awards) is an annual award for excellence in the historical wargaming hobby. It was named in honor of Charles S. Roberts the "Father of Wargaming" who founded Avalon Hill. The award is informally called a "C ...

for "Best Adventure Game for Home Computer of 1985".

Sequel

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1985 video games Amiga games Amstrad CPC games Apple II games Apple IIGS games Atari 8-bit family games Atari ST games Commodore 64 games DOS games Games commercially released with DOSBox MicroProse games Nintendo Entertainment System games Origins Award winners Sid Meier games Single-player video games Submarine simulation video games TRS-80 Color Computer games U.S. Gold games Video games developed in the United States Video games set in Asia Video games set in Oceania World War II video games ZX Spectrum games Video games scored by David Wise Pacific War video games Tommo games