One way to depict the B-17 without weaponry if it were to come to the Marketplace is for it to be depicted as a B-17 from the Institut Geographique National, who used the aircraft for surveying and mapping work.
Europe’s only flying B-17 (G-BEDF) built as a ‘G’ model, operated with this outfit. It looked rather fabulous in it’s all silver scheme, especially with the latter white lining on top. It didn’t of course operate with its ball turret during this time though.
It’s a very interesting period for the types history as it found itself doing a completely cilivian job, very well indeed.
MicroProse never ceased to exist but the brand didn’t release anything for years. It was acquired by someone that loves the brand, loved their games and wants to bring back a lot of the classics, make new games that remind that time and the spirit behind those titles, and support small developers that have the same passion.
I am biased, I know. But I really love what the company is trying to achieve. You can find several games by MicroProse on Steam already. And there are some classic titles being reborn again. Falcon 5 is under production, for example.
There are a few B-17 titles being made and we figured that some folks may not want to go through the actual campaign stuff, bombing places etc. but still are passionate about the warbirds and would like to fly them just for the joy of flying them. Since we were working on the aircraft anyway, we decided to start a line of products aimed at avgeeks that love those amazing veterans.
I really love that route of thought and in a way, it’s just a logical step as I guess the modelling effort to be roughly the same, except for some steps, and different exporting tools.
I enjoyed the original B-17 game (Who remembers looking up and counting words in the manual in order to unlock the menu? Copy protection in the early ages…) back when I was a little kid, then had the Mighty 8th game (also now the Redux, though I haven’t played it often) and - oddly enough for a German (near Schweinfurt/Würzburg, if you know Hogan’s Heroes, you know my hometown) - I do have a soft spot for the B-17 and I love the movie Memphis Belle (yeah, I know, it’s not historically accurate).
To me, it’s an amazingly beautiful plane, even if the reason for it being developed wasn’t too amazing. I’m looking forward to taking her for a spin.
