Task Force 1942
| Task Force 1942 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | MPS Labs |
| Publisher(s) | MicroProse |
| Designer(s) | Lawrence Schick, Ed Fletcher |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS |
| Release date(s) | 1992 |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Task Force 1942: Surface Naval Action in the South Pacific is a DOS PC game, released by MPS Labs (MicroProse) in 1992.
The game is a surface naval simulation which allows the player to operate single ships or a task force made up of ships, from the United States Navy (USN), Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), or the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the South Pacific during WWII. It was designed to run under PC DOS or MS-DOS, version 5.0 or higher. The specific historical setting was the series of ferocious naval engagements fought around the largest island in the Solomon Islands chain, Guadalcanal, in 1942, including the following:[1] Battle of Tassafaronga, Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, Naval Battle of Vella Lavella, Battle of Savo Island, Battle of Cape Esperance, First and Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, and Battle of Kula Gulf.
Gameplay
The player could fight either for the US Navy and its ANZAC allies, or the Imperial Japanese Navy. The player could start a single engagement (historical battle or battle made from the editor) or play in the campaign mode. The whole campaign game was centered on the Guadalcanal campaign, although a number of single engagements (Kula Gulf, Vella Lavella, Empress Augusta Bay) happened elsewhere in the Solomons. In campaign mode, the player was given full control over the naval forces of either side based in Espiritu Santo (Allies) or Rabaul (IJN). The player's goal was to capture Guadalcanal providing its ground forces with sufficient reinforcements and supply, while trying to disrupt the other side's own efforts.
Apart from ships, the player had the control over land-based air assets which could be used as real-time reconnaissance. The whole campaign was in real-time (which could be accelerated or slowed down at will) and any encounter between two enemy naval forces would result into the computer asking the player if he wanted to play it in the simulator mode. The design and functionality of the campaign were innovative enough to allow Microprose to use the same engine for its 1942: The Pacific Air War own strategic ("carrier battle") mode.
A powerful editor also allowed the player to set up his own engagements, using at his discretion all the ships available in the game library (including ships which didn't appear in the campaign mode, such as the BB Yamato).
Development
The game was originally released on five 31⁄2" high density floppy disks. Copy-protection was provided by the 100 page Task Force 1942 identification book which had an illustration of each ship encountered in the simulation, including the ship specifications (class, maximum speed, dimensions, displacement, fuel capacity and armament). As stated in the manual appendices, the IJN did not issue ID manuals, they used copies of Jane's Fighting Ships to identify enemy vessels.
The 76-page user manual details the history of the naval treaties during the pre-war period, and the development of the naval conflict in the Pacific that lead to the naval engagements fought around the island of Guadalcanal. The foreword was written by Vice Admiral William P.Mack (USN,Ret.), who also served as technical advisor during development of the simulation. The designer's notes by Lawrence Schick indicate that this was the Microprose simulation that covered surface vessel combat, with an as-yet-unnamed sequel to cover the carrier air war, i.e. 1942: The Pacific Air War. The notes also state that the 3-D graphics were developed from the Night Hawk: F-117A Stealth Fighter 2.0 graphics engine.
Reception
The game was mentioned in 1993 in Dragon #193 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers normally gave a game from 1 to 5 stars, but instead gave this game an "X" for "Not recommended". This was due to the installation of the game not functioning properly on the reviewer's own PC, and thus not enabling them to actually boot-up and play the game.[2]