Team Apache
Encyclopedia
Team Apache is an attack helicopter
flight simulator
developed by Simis
and published by Mindscape Group
. The game emphasises on commanding a group of six AH-64 Apache
crews of the US Army in battles against the Communist FARC insurgents
in Colombia
and the Russian military in Latvia
.
Team Apache was at first developed by Simis under Eidos Interactive
. When Simis' two lead developers, Jonathan Newth
and Ian Baverstock bought the company back from Eidos, they became an independent development team once more and Mindscape purchased the publishing rights of the game.
, sensor
and flight modelling aspects of the game are a lot simpler than those of the Comanche series
and the Longbow (computer game)
flight simulators. Cockpit renders
are not very advanced, and instruments are difficult to read. This applies to the rendered cockpit and the floating cockpit. The clear cockpit view is the easiest to use, but there are no sensor overlays. The gunner selects the targets most of the time, and players have reported some issues with his/her AI
. ECM
, radars and lasers cannot be toggled on or off. The flight modelling is not the most accurate on the helicopter sim market. For example, unwise maneuvres that warrant a crash can be performed without a hitch. In addition, hovering is a lot simpler than in the Comanche and Longbow games.
Team Apache is unique among simulations in that it gives the player unparalleled control over his/her combat unit. The player is not just flying missions- he is also managing the morale of his/her men, supply and maintenance, and the tactical planning that takes place before the mission. Although the player's control over these factors is rather basic, few, if any, simulations have as much depth as Team Apache. The geopolitical causes of Team Apache's wars, related in both the game's manual and the "daily" newspaper, are both sophisticated and plausible. Detailed military-style SITREPs create a thorough picture of the tactical situation, and ground forces can be seen in the game fighting each other all throughout the theater using fairly realistic deployments and movements. These details provided by the game, combined with the player's control over his/her men and his/her equipment, make Team Apache one of the most immersive combat simulations ever published in some player's opinions.
Perhaps the biggest drawback of the game is the lack of time compression. During the Colombian campaign missions are short, lasting less than 15 minutes in most cases, but the Latvian campaign missions may involve travelling more than 100 kilometers round-trip. The player may turn on autopilot during these long transit periods but must still stay alert for enemy contact. Depending on your point of view, this either increases the immersion experience or wastes time. Players should not be concerned about playing the same long mission over and over again, though, because the campaigns, although linear, can be played by accepting your defeats and team's casualties and moving on to the next mission.
sequences, in mission briefings and newspaper articles.
. In its wake comes a wave of kidnappings and assassinations of high-ranking officials and their families. The corrupt and inefficient military of Colombia
and police cannot hold their own against the insurgents
, and need help from the United States
. The United States needs to safeguard Colombia's oil industry and eliminate FARC's illegal cocaine
industry.
Air to Air
In the Colombian scenario, the player must lead the company to hunt down FARC 500MD Defender light helicopters. In the Latvian version, a large group of Mil
Mi-24, Mi-28 and Ka-50 attack helicopters are approaching to destroy the Apache company's base.
Deep Strike
Route Recon
Search and Rescue
Search and Destroy
Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD)
While there are different mission types, the objective remains the same for each. However, the weather, the time of day, the location of the mission, the number of Apaches accompanying the player, and the difficulty can be adjusted. The player begins the mission on the ground, takes off, and follows a route dotted with Aerial Check Point (ACP) destinations to find and eliminate the target or rendezvous with an ally and achieve the objective. Auto-pilot can be activated to easily navigate and find the APCs.
personnel. The player can choose a name with limited characters, and can also select the division and company the team will belong to:
Army Attack Helicopter Units
Company
The player can roam around a pre-rendered army base, and enter a building by highlighting the title above it and clicking it. The areas that can be accessed include the repair hangar, the pilot's barracks, the briefing room, the commander's quarters, and the landing strip to start the mission.
The pilots under your command are realistic, and each has a rich background well described in their biographies. However, their catchphrases are not so convincing. The player will need to weigh their strong points against their weaknesses, and from their assessment select the best pilots for the team.
The damage report tells the commander what parts need to be repaired, and can judge how many crew chiefs will be needed to make the repairs in time for the next mission. The player can tell them whether to load AGM-114 Hellfire
missiles or Hydra 70
rocket
s.
The user then sets point values for the Major Defeat, Defeat, Draw, Victory, and Decisive Victory win levels. He or she can adjust the default weapons load for the mission and can set a briefing. The user saves the mission and opens it in the game in the "Combat Mission" screen, where he can then adjust the mission's weather, time, difficulty, and the number of aircraft in his flight each time he plays.
The mission creator is not full-feature and does not have all of the functions present in the missions that come with the game.
Friendly units include:
Aircraft
Aircraft
Ground units
The Russian forces have the following equipment:
Aircraft
Air Defense
Armored Fighting Vehicles'
Ships
Attack helicopter
An attack helicopter is a military helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the capability of engaging targets on the ground, such as enemy infantry and armored vehicles...
flight simulator
Flight simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and various aspects of the flight environment. This includes the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of their controls and other aircraft systems, and how they react to the external...
developed by Simis
Simis
Simis was a computer game development company founded by Jonathan Newth,Chris Tubbs, Dave Payne and Ian Baverstock in 1989. In 1995 Simis merged with Eidos Technologies, Domark and Big Red Software to form the Eidos Interactive group....
and published by Mindscape Group
Mindscape Group
Mindscape is an international software publishing company, previously part of The Learning Company. They are now affiliated with EA . As of 2004, the group has offices in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. It has an annual turnover of €38 million and employs 150 people. Mindscape...
. The game emphasises on commanding a group of six AH-64 Apache
AH-64 Apache
The Boeing AH-64 Apache is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement, and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew. The Apache was developed as Model 77 by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army's Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the...
crews of the US Army in battles against the Communist FARC insurgents
Insurgency
An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...
in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
and the Russian military in Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
.
Team Apache was at first developed by Simis under Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
. When Simis' two lead developers, Jonathan Newth
Jonathan Newth
Jonathan Newth is a British actor, best known for his performances in television.Credits include: Emergency Ward 10, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Ace of Wands, The Troubleshooters, Z-Cars, Callan, Van der Valk, The Brothers, Softly, Softly, Poldark, Doctor Who, Notorious Woman, Secret Army , The...
and Ian Baverstock bought the company back from Eidos, they became an independent development team once more and Mindscape purchased the publishing rights of the game.
Flight modelling
The cockpitCockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...
, sensor
Sensor
A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. For example, a mercury-in-glass thermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion and contraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated...
and flight modelling aspects of the game are a lot simpler than those of the Comanche series
Comanche series
Comanche is a series of simulation games published by NovaLogic. The goal of each of these games is to fly military missions in a RAH-66 Comanche attack helicopter, which was in development and prototyping at the time of release....
and the Longbow (computer game)
Longbow (computer game)
AH-64D Longbow is a realistic PC flight simulator of the AH-64D Longbow. Released on May 31, 1996, this simulation was developed at Origin Systems, Inc. by producer Andy Hollis and director Will McBurnett...
flight simulators. Cockpit renders
Rendering (computer graphics)
Rendering is the process of generating an image from a model , by means of computer programs. A scene file contains objects in a strictly defined language or data structure; it would contain geometry, viewpoint, texture, lighting, and shading information as a description of the virtual scene...
are not very advanced, and instruments are difficult to read. This applies to the rendered cockpit and the floating cockpit. The clear cockpit view is the easiest to use, but there are no sensor overlays. The gunner selects the targets most of the time, and players have reported some issues with his/her AI
Ai
AI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla...
. ECM
Electronic countermeasures
An electronic countermeasure is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar or other detection systems, like infrared or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting information to an enemy...
, radars and lasers cannot be toggled on or off. The flight modelling is not the most accurate on the helicopter sim market. For example, unwise maneuvres that warrant a crash can be performed without a hitch. In addition, hovering is a lot simpler than in the Comanche and Longbow games.
Gameplay
Team Apache is a different breed of helicopter flight simulator. Unlike most flight sims, Team Apache focuses less on the realism of flight and weapons systems modelling, and more on the gameplay aspects - consisting of command, tactics and battlefield realism.Team Apache is unique among simulations in that it gives the player unparalleled control over his/her combat unit. The player is not just flying missions- he is also managing the morale of his/her men, supply and maintenance, and the tactical planning that takes place before the mission. Although the player's control over these factors is rather basic, few, if any, simulations have as much depth as Team Apache. The geopolitical causes of Team Apache's wars, related in both the game's manual and the "daily" newspaper, are both sophisticated and plausible. Detailed military-style SITREPs create a thorough picture of the tactical situation, and ground forces can be seen in the game fighting each other all throughout the theater using fairly realistic deployments and movements. These details provided by the game, combined with the player's control over his/her men and his/her equipment, make Team Apache one of the most immersive combat simulations ever published in some player's opinions.
Perhaps the biggest drawback of the game is the lack of time compression. During the Colombian campaign missions are short, lasting less than 15 minutes in most cases, but the Latvian campaign missions may involve travelling more than 100 kilometers round-trip. The player may turn on autopilot during these long transit periods but must still stay alert for enemy contact. Depending on your point of view, this either increases the immersion experience or wastes time. Players should not be concerned about playing the same long mission over and over again, though, because the campaigns, although linear, can be played by accepting your defeats and team's casualties and moving on to the next mission.
Plot
The storyline in Team Apache is highly developed. It develops through FMVFMV
FMV may refer to:*Full motion video, Video sequences in computer games and video games*Fair market value, an estimate of the market value of a property*For Maximum Value , Kroger supermarket's store brand...
sequences, in mission briefings and newspaper articles.
Colombian Campaign
In 1998, the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia–Ejército del Pueblo or FARC-EP (Spanish for "Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–People's Army") has staged a large-scale guerrilla offensive against the government of ColombiaGovernment of Colombia
The government of Colombiais a republic with separation of powers into executive, judicial and legislative branches.Its legislature has a congress,its judiciary has a supreme court, andits executive branch has a president....
. In its wake comes a wave of kidnappings and assassinations of high-ranking officials and their families. The corrupt and inefficient military of Colombia
Military of Colombia
The Military Forces of Colombia are the armed forces of the Republic of Colombia.-Services:The Military of Colombia consists of:* National Army of Colombia * Colombian National Armada - Marines, Navy and Coast Guard attached* Colombian Air Force...
and police cannot hold their own against the insurgents
Insurgency
An insurgency is an armed rebellion against a constituted authority when those taking part in the rebellion are not recognized as belligerents...
, and need help from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The United States needs to safeguard Colombia's oil industry and eliminate FARC's illegal cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
industry.
Modes of play
Team Apache contains a host of play modes, including a multiplayer mode and a mission building application.Training
The Training missions give players the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the mechanics of flying the Apache helicopter. They are instructed by an artificial, gruff flight officer, one pilot McNab. While the learning curve in the actual game takes no more than two hours, the training missions are extremely rigid, and each instruction must be performed to precision.Instant Action
This mode instantly plunges the player into arcade-style combat. The player has no team to command or get support from, and there is no mission structure. The objective is to simply engage and destroy as many enemy vehicles and troops as the player can around a circular course that leads back to the base each time.Combat Missions
The Combat Missions are a series of realistic, structured missions during which the player takes command of a team of Apaches. They are much like the Campaign missions themselves, but they are independent of one another and can be repeated upon completion. These are the following mission types:Air to Air
In the Colombian scenario, the player must lead the company to hunt down FARC 500MD Defender light helicopters. In the Latvian version, a large group of Mil
Mil
-Organizations:* Mapuche International Link, an organization which campaigns on behalf of the Mapuche people* Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, a UK-based body serving professional linguists worldwide...
Mi-24, Mi-28 and Ka-50 attack helicopters are approaching to destroy the Apache company's base.
Deep Strike
Route Recon
Recon
Recon may refer to:*Re-Con, alias of Mike Di Scala, a UK dance music producer*RECON , the River, Estuary and Coastal Observing Network*Reconnaissance, a military term for gathering information...
Search and Rescue
Search and rescue
Search and rescue is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger.The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, mostly based upon terrain considerations...
Search and Destroy
Suppression of Enemy Air Defences (SEAD)
While there are different mission types, the objective remains the same for each. However, the weather, the time of day, the location of the mission, the number of Apaches accompanying the player, and the difficulty can be adjusted. The player begins the mission on the ground, takes off, and follows a route dotted with Aerial Check Point (ACP) destinations to find and eliminate the target or rendezvous with an ally and achieve the objective. Auto-pilot can be activated to easily navigate and find the APCs.
Campaign
This mode allows the player to take control of a company of six Apache helicopters - plus a spare. Under the player's command are eight pilots, eight co-pilot/gunners, and sixteen crew chiefCrew chief
Crew chief may refer to:*Crew chief , the head person on a race team who directs both the driver and pit crew*Crew chief , Part of the Ford Work Solutions Package see Ford Sync...
personnel. The player can choose a name with limited characters, and can also select the division and company the team will belong to:
Army Attack Helicopter Units
- 82nd Airborne Division
- 101st Airborne Division101st Airborne DivisionThe 101st Airborne Division—the "Screaming Eagles"—is a U.S. Army modular light infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for its role in Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944, in Normandy, France, Operation Market Garden, the...
- 1st Armored Division1st Armored Division (United States)The 1st Armored Division—nicknamed "Old Ironsides"—is a standing armored division of the United States Army with base of operations in Fort Bliss, Texas. It was the first armored division of the U.S...
- 227th Aviation Regiment
Company
The player can roam around a pre-rendered army base, and enter a building by highlighting the title above it and clicking it. The areas that can be accessed include the repair hangar, the pilot's barracks, the briefing room, the commander's quarters, and the landing strip to start the mission.
The pilots under your command are realistic, and each has a rich background well described in their biographies. However, their catchphrases are not so convincing. The player will need to weigh their strong points against their weaknesses, and from their assessment select the best pilots for the team.
The damage report tells the commander what parts need to be repaired, and can judge how many crew chiefs will be needed to make the repairs in time for the next mission. The player can tell them whether to load AGM-114 Hellfire
AGM-114 Hellfire
The AGM-114 Hellfire is an air-to-surface missile developed primarily for anti-armor use. It has multi-mission, multi-target precision-strike capability, and can be launched from multiple air, sea, and ground platforms. The Hellfire missile is the primary 100 lb-class air-to-ground precision...
missiles or Hydra 70
Hydra 70
The Hydra 70 rocket is a weapon derived from the 70 mm Mk 4/Mk 40 Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket developed by the United States Navy for use as a free-flight aerial rocket in the late 1940s.-Overview:...
rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
s.
Mission builder
Team Apache comes with a fairly simple mission creator utility. The user is allowed to set the takeoff and landing points of his/her helicopter unit and place enemy and friendly ground units. It's possible to give initial orders to ground units, but no sea units can be placed, and the only air units other than the player's helicopters that can be placed are enemy helicopter flights, which hover over their location and can't be given orders in the mission creator.The user then sets point values for the Major Defeat, Defeat, Draw, Victory, and Decisive Victory win levels. He or she can adjust the default weapons load for the mission and can set a briefing. The user saves the mission and opens it in the game in the "Combat Mission" screen, where he can then adjust the mission's weather, time, difficulty, and the number of aircraft in his flight each time he plays.
The mission creator is not full-feature and does not have all of the functions present in the missions that come with the game.
Friendly forces
The player cannot communicate with ground or air units outside his wing, but he can request reinforcements and artillery strikes. Many friendly ground and air forces are present in each mission.Friendly units include:
Aircraft
- A-10 Thunderbolt IIA-10 Thunderbolt IIThe Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...
Close Air SupportClose air supportIn military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is... - F-15 EagleF-15 EagleThe McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is considered among the most successful modern fighters with over 100 aerial combat victories with no losses in dogfights...
tactical fighters - F-16 Fighting FalconF-16 Fighting FalconThe General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...
multi-role fighters - UH-60 Black Hawk transport helicopters
Enemy forces
There are two main adversaries Team Apache will face. The first is that of the FARC. These are the equipment they use in the Colombian Campaign:Aircraft
- McDonnell DouglasMcDonnell DouglasMcDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport...
500MD Defender II light gunship and multi-role helicopter - CessnaCessnaThe Cessna Aircraft Company is an airplane manufacturing corporation headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, USA. Their main products are general aviation aircraft. Although they are the most well known for their small, piston-powered aircraft, they also produce business jets. The company is a subsidiary...
drug-transport aircraft
Ground units
- Hand-held SAMSurface-to-air missileA surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
- Infantry
- EE-9 and EE-11 scout vehicles captured from the Columbian army
The Russian forces have the following equipment:
Aircraft
- MiG-27 'Flogger-J' ground attack fighter
- Mil Mi-8 'Hip' transport helicopter
- Mil Mi-24 'Hind' heavy gunship helicopter
- Mil Mi-28 'Havoc' attack helicopter
Air Defense
- ZSU-23-4ZSU-23-4The ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" is a lightly armored, self-propelled, radar guided anti-aircraft weapon system . ZSU stands for Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka , meaning "anti-aircraft self-propelled mount". The "23" signifies the bore diameter in millimeters. The "4" signifies the number of gun barrels. It...
Shilka mobile gun - 2S6 Tunguska SAM/AAA vehicle
- SA-3, SA-6, SA-8, SA-9, SA-11, SA-12 and SA-13 SAMsSurface-to-air missileA surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
Armored Fighting Vehicles'
- T-62T-62The T-62 is a Soviet main battle tank, a further development of the T-55. Its 115 mm gun was the first smoothbore tank gun in use.The T-62 was produced between 1961 and 1975. It became a standard tank in the Soviet arsenal, partly replacing the T-55, although that tank continued to be...
, T-72T-72The T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered production in 1970. It is developed directly from Obyekt-172, and shares parallel features with the T-64A...
and T-80T-80The T-80 is a main battle tank designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union. A development of the T-64, it entered service in 1976 and was the first production tank to be equipped with a gas turbine engine for main propulsion.the Swedish Stridsvagn 103 of 1971 used a gas turbine alongside...
tanks - BMP-1BMP-1The BMP-1 is a Soviet amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle. BMP stands for Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty 1 , meaning "infantry fighting vehicle". The BMP-1 was the world's first mass-produced infantry fighting vehicle...
, BMP-2BMP-2The BMP-2 is a second-generation, amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following the BMP-1 of the 1960s....
, and BTR-80BTR-80BTR-80 is an 8x8 wheeled armoured personnel carrier designed in the Soviet Union. Production started in 1986 and replaced the previous versions, BTR-60 and BTR-70 in the Soviet army. -Description:The Soviets based the BTR-80 on the BTR-70 APC...
armored personnel carriers
Ships
- Cruiser
- Patrol boat
Comparable games
- Ka-52 Team Alligator - the 'sequel' to Team Apache, developed by Simis.
- Comanche seriesComanche seriesComanche is a series of simulation games published by NovaLogic. The goal of each of these games is to fly military missions in a RAH-66 Comanche attack helicopter, which was in development and prototyping at the time of release....
External links
- Combatsim.com Team Apache interview A site dedicated to combat simulations, with an interview with Bryan Walker, the original concept developer for Team Apache.
- Gamespot review
- Migman's Team Apache info