Tank Wars
Encyclopedia
Tank Wars is an artillery game developed in 1990
by Kenneth Morse.
There is another artillery game named Tank Wars, written in 1986
by Cody Snider for DOS
and the Apple II
. Apart from the basic concept, these two games are not related.
The game allows for up to ten players in any combination of human and computer players. The number of games played in a set is chosen before the game (default is 20 games). New terrain is randomly drawn at the start of each individual game, and the tanks fall one by one into their start positions in random order, evenly spaced horizontally on the screen. The tanks then take turns firing at opponent tanks, order going left to right, until only one tank remains.
The amount of "wind" (which affects the ballistics
of each shot fired), as well as a toggle for turning wind on or off, are provided in the setup options for each game. However, the wind often changes in both magnitude and direction during a match. Other options are available including rebounding walls, background effects, and whether the tanks can fall when terrain is blown out from under them. Tanks may sustain damage from both weapon fire and from falling (if falling is switched on).
When tanks are damaged, the number of "men" inside (indicated in the top right of the information bar in the game) decreases proportionally. This number is linked to the maximum available power for each shot fired; having a minimal number of crew left alive often leads to the player being unable to fire their cannon with sufficient power to reach enemies, particularly against a headwind.
Points are awarded during the games for kills and wins. Points can then be used by each player to purchase new weapons and miscellaneous items in between games. These weapons range from the Nukes that give the shot a larger blast radius, to energy shields, to Chain Reaction Inducers which destroy terrain and cause tanks to fall, to defensive items such as Dirt Bombs that can be used to build up terrain and increase defences.
, but the game runs almost unplayably fast and there are graphical glitches that prevent one from seeing the angle/power settings.
You can manually edit settings.cfg and tweak the keyboard settings.
The DOSBox
emulator is used on newer computers to allow the game to slow down enough to be playable.
1990 in video gaming
-Notable releases:*Bonk's Adventure is released for NEC's TurboGrafx-16 and is the first US appearance of Bonk, the mascot of the TurboGrafx-16.*February 12 — Nintendo releases the NES game Super Mario Bros. 3 in North America...
by Kenneth Morse.
There is another artillery game named Tank Wars, written in 1986
1986 in video gaming
-Events:-Notable releases:*Namco releases Sky Kid Deluxe, Hopping Mappy, Toy Pop, The Return of Ishtar, which is the sequel to Tower of Druaga, Genpei Tōma Den, and Rolling Thunder....
by Cody Snider for DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
and the Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
. Apart from the basic concept, these two games are not related.
Description
The amount of "wind" (which affects the ballistics
External ballistics
External ballistics is the part of the science of ballistics that deals with the behaviour of a non-powered projectile in flight. External ballistics is frequently associated with firearms, and deals with the behaviour of the bullet after it exits the barrel and before it hits the target.-Forces...
of each shot fired), as well as a toggle for turning wind on or off, are provided in the setup options for each game. However, the wind often changes in both magnitude and direction during a match. Other options are available including rebounding walls, background effects, and whether the tanks can fall when terrain is blown out from under them. Tanks may sustain damage from both weapon fire and from falling (if falling is switched on).
When tanks are damaged, the number of "men" inside (indicated in the top right of the information bar in the game) decreases proportionally. This number is linked to the maximum available power for each shot fired; having a minimal number of crew left alive often leads to the player being unable to fire their cannon with sufficient power to reach enemies, particularly against a headwind.
Points are awarded during the games for kills and wins. Points can then be used by each player to purchase new weapons and miscellaneous items in between games. These weapons range from the Nukes that give the shot a larger blast radius, to energy shields, to Chain Reaction Inducers which destroy terrain and cause tanks to fall, to defensive items such as Dirt Bombs that can be used to build up terrain and increase defences.
Computer Players
There are several AI personalities that have distinct shot calculating techniques and therefore appear to have their own personality.| Player | Technique |
|---|---|
| Mr. Stupid | Randomly fires |
| Lobber | Uses trial and error to zero in on opponents |
| Rifleman | Uses direct line of sight shots |
| Lob & Shoot | Can act as Lobber or Rifleman depending on circumstances |
| Windless Wit | Uses physics to calculate perfect parabolic shots but cannot compensate for wind |
| Windmaster | Same as Windless Wit, but compensates for Wind flawlessly |
| Twanger | Fires using the ceiling and walls for bank shots. If the walls are non-rebounding he is the same as Rifleman |
Versions
Tank Wars is 320x200 256 colors only. It prefers 286 and 386 computers, but is playable on 486s and slow Pentiums as well. Versions 2.0 and 2.5 seem to be optimized for the 286 PS/2 computers that were handed out to schools in 1988-1991. Versions 3.0 and 3.2 are optimized for slower 386 machines. Tank Wars runs under Windows XPWindows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
, but the game runs almost unplayably fast and there are graphical glitches that prevent one from seeing the angle/power settings.
You can manually edit settings.cfg and tweak the keyboard settings.
The DOSBox
DOSBox
DOSBox is emulator software that emulates an IBM PC compatible computer running MS-DOS. It is intended especially for use with old PC games. DOSBox is free software....
emulator is used on newer computers to allow the game to slow down enough to be playable.