Game:

EF2000 (1995)

Duration: 33:48

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After TFX, Digital Image Design focused on single aircraft, single theater, less action oriented and more fleshed out "study simulator". Chosen platform was Eurofighter. In 1995 they released EF2000 for DOS. It featured dynamic campaign in which Russia was trying to invade Norway and Sweden. Game was advertised as having really realistic terrain that you could navigate with real world maps.

Many aspects of flight were simulated, from taxiing from the ramp to active runway, mid air refuels, missions with multiple packages (Escort, SEAD, Strike), AWACS vectoring intercepts etc. Campaign generated multiple missions from which you could choose from. If no missions were generated you could edit your own flights.

The game supported VFX-1 virtual reality helmet - it featured fully textured and functional 3d cockpit. At the time it was cutting-edge flight sim. Even RAF was curious and supposedly used it to train its pilots.

I'm running EF2000 with TACTCOM upgrade released in 1996. There is also EF2000 v2.0 which is basically EF2000 TACTCOM + 3dfx patch released in US (EF2000 in this version had USAF roundels instead of RAF's). There was also Super EF2000 which was released in Europe and was Windows version of EF2000 + TACTCOM (but no 3dfx).

You can try EF2000 Reloaded by HomeFries and mikew - special build of DOSBox and other tools that lets you run EF2000 in 3dfx mode and emulate VFX-1 headset with Track IR:
https://youtu.be/sX6s-1S89Kg

I'm using DOSBox ECE to fix timing problems, with official DOSBox releases the game is running faster with increased cycles. Interestingly SEF2000 (Windows port) suffers from the same issue - it's impossible to run it on faster than era-specifc CPUs. Even F-22 Air Dominance Fighter has this problem, you can fix it with limiting frames through glide wrapper (as I'm doing in my F-22ADF vids). F-22 Total Air War doesn't have this issue.

DOSBox ECE:
https://dosboxece.yesterplay.net/

GLSL shaders for DOSBox SVN:
https://github.com/tyrells/dosbox-svn-shaders

More DOS games running on DOSBox ECE will show up here:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIku_oD9y-RA4Ts0IEi6ejmPnVx4sB85I

As serious as it was there were some Easter Eggs hidden inside the cockpit, because of the resolution it's really hard to see but with EF2000 Reloaded which enables you to use higher internal resolutions we can see it pretty clearly:
https://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3830636/re-ef2000-reloaded#Post3830636

0:00 Main menu
0:34 Briefing
0:40 Arming
1:35 Mission start
2:09 Taxi
6:18 Lining up
6:51 Take off
8:32 JTIDS
10:32 Playing with radar display / settings
11:12 Time skip
11:29 Checking fuel
11:40 Time skip - incursion by hostiles
14:20 Radar contact
14:50 S-225 away!
15:33 Missile camera view
16:52 New contact on JTIDS
17:41 Radar contact
18:08 Two breaking away
18:40 F-15s in pursuit
19:06 Bandit dissapeared from the scope (doppler notching)
20:30 Bandit spoofing wingman's shots
21:05 Splash 2
21:13 Wreck visible on IRST
23:25 Back at the patrol track - time skip
23:50 Last time skip - we're running on fumes, RTB
25:46 Passing Hydro-electric Plant
27:00 HUD to landing mode
27:20 Fuel low warning
27:40 Landing request
29:30 Should have called out "initials" and "finals" - got formation landing
29:42 Brakechute deployed
30:20 Taxi to parking
30:50 Tornado on the ramp
32:00 Debriefing
32:42 Credits

#retro #dos #gaming

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