Solo Flight (video game)
{{Short description|1983 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Solo Flight
| image = Solo_Flight_(video_game)_Cover_Art.jpg
| caption =
| developer = MicroProse
| publisher = MicroProse
U.S. Gold (UK)
FIL (Thomson)
| designer = Sid Meier
| released = {{vgrelease|NA|1983}}{{vgrelease|UK|1984}}
| genre = Simulation
| modes = Single-player
| platforms = Atari 8-bit, Apple II, Commodore 64, IBM PC, Thomson
}}
Solo Flight is a third-person flight simulator written by Sid Meier for Atari 8-bit computers and published by MicroProse in 1983. It includes a game mode called Mail Pilot. This was the fourth flight simulator Meier wrote for MicroProse—following Hellcat Ace, Spitfire Ace, and Wingman—and the first which did not involve aerial combat.
In the UK, Solo Flight was published by U.S. Gold.{{cite web|title=Solo Flight (U.S. Gold)|url=http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-solo-flight_13354.html|website=Atari Mania}} It was ported to the Apple II, Commodore 64, and later IBM PC compatibles. A version for Thomson computers was published in 1985 by FIL in France with the title Vol Solo.{{cite web|title=Vol Solo (Thomson Computer)|url=http://dcmoto.free.fr/programmes/vol-solo/index.html|website=DCMOTO|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105054349/http://dcmoto.free.fr/programmes/vol-solo/index.html|archive-date=2019-11-05}} A Second Edition of the game was released in 1985{{cite web|title=Solo Flight - Second Edition|url=http://www.atarimania.com/game-atari-400-800-xl-xe-solo-flight-second-edition_11826.html|website=Atari Mania}} with improved graphics and an instructor. A Mega Drive version was planned but never released.{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/Mean_Machines_Issue_17_1992-02_EMAP_Images_GB/page/n11/mode/1up|title=News Special - CES Show: Games List - Megadrive|magazine=Mean Machines|issue=17|publisher=EMAP|date=February 1992|page=12}}
Gameplay
File:Solo_Flight_(video_game)_Second_Edition_Atari_8-bit_PAL_screenshot.png
Solo Flight consists of two parts: a pure flying simulation and a game mode called Mail Pilot. The top half of the screen shows the plane being flown in third person, while the bottom portion contains instruments. The game allows flying by both visual flight rules and instrument flight rules.
In Mail Pilot, the player delivers five bags of mail to destination airports chosen from the twenty-one airports in the game. A score is given based on navigation and time. While en route, the plane may suffer mechanical and instrument failures.
Reception
ANALOG Computing editor Lee Pappas wrote, "the graphics are somewhat rough, and the control panel is not up to what it should be (there is no stall indicator, and non-standard VORS)," but still concluded, "As a whole, Solo Flight is the best Atari flight simulator published to date." COMPUTE! reviewer Arthur Leyenberger praised both the simulation and game aspects of Solo Flight. InfoWorld's Essential Guide to Atari Computers recommended the game as an excellent flight simulation for the Atari 8-bit.{{Cite book |last=Mace |first=Scott |url=https://archive.org/details/InfoWorlds_Essential_Guide_to_Atari/page/n89/mode/2up?view=theater |title=InfoWorld's Essential Guide to Atari Computers |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1984 |isbn=978-0-06-669006-3 |pages=80-84}}
Roy Wagner reviewed and compared Solo Flight and Flight Simulator II for Computer Gaming World, and stated that "a very good program. The 15 pages of documentation are well written and will teach you all you need to know to taxi, takeoff, fly about, and land. It does not, however, help much in learning how to get from one specific airport to another."{{cite magazine |last=Wagner |first=Roy |title=Two Flight Simulators |magazine=Computer Gaming World |date=August 1984 |volume=1 |issue=17 |pages=28–29, 39}}
Kim Nelson praised the game while reviewing it for MicroTimes. She called the flight instruments realistic and the graphics clear and easily understandable. She also described it as an excellent game for Visual flight rules and Instrument flight rules pilots, while praising the mail run game for adding a new dimension to the usual flight simulator games.{{cite magazine |title=Reviews: Solo Flight |magazine=MicroTimes |publisher=BAM Publications Inc. |volume=1 |issue=1 |date=May 1984 |page=7}}
References
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External links
- {{atarimania|id=13353}}
- {{lemon64 game|id=2372|name=Solo Flight}}
Category:Atari 8-bit computer games
Category:Cancelled Sega Genesis games
Category:Flight simulation video games
Category:Single-player video games
Category:Video games designed by Sid Meier