| Silent Service | |
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| Developer(s) | MicroProse |
| Publisher(s) | MicroProse |
| Designer(s) | Sid Meier |
| Platform(s) | Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Atari 8-bit, Atari ST, Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, Apple IIGS, IBM PC, NES, TRS-80, ZX Spectrum |
| Release date(s) | 1985 |
| Genre(s) | Submarine simulator |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Media/distribution | Tape, Floppy disk, Cartridge |
Silent Service is a 1985 submarine simulator computer game. It was designed by Sid Meier and published by MicroProse for various 8-bit home computers, and in 1987 for 16-bit systems like the Commodore Amiga. The follow-up game Silent Service II was released in 1990.
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The game is set in the Pacific during World War II, with the player assuming control of a United States submarine for various war patrols against Japanese shipping. Although hugely successful during the war, this side of the war in the Pacific is seldom told.
The game allows the player to choose when to attack and a whole range of realistic tactics are available, including the End Around as well as near invisibility at night (if the sub's profile is kept to a minimum). The game's realism was hampered by the simulation's inability to handle more than four projectiles at a time. This was particularly troublesome when battling multiple destroyers, since the submarine would not be able to fire if four torpedoes were already in the water.
Silent Service was a nickname for the U.S. Navy's submarine force in the Pacific Ocean during World War II.
The game accelerates real time when not in combat. Sid Meier described a number of key factors that influenced the design of the game: The size of the theatre, the variety of tactical situations, and evolving technology, such as torpedoes that did or did not leave trails of bubbles on the surface, and the use of surface radar. 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 focus on the task at hand.[1]
In 1986, Silent Service won the Charles Roberts/Origins Award for Best Adventure Game for Home Computer of 1985. It was followed by the much more realistic Silent Service II.
An NES port of Silent Service developed by Rare was released in 1989 by Konami in Europe and by Ultra Games in North America.