Author Topic: Return of Wild Bill and MicroProse  (Read 36067 times)

Offline Vraciu

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 13975
Re: Return of Wild Bill and MicroProse
« Reply #330 on: September 11, 2019, 02:21:46 PM »
And I mentioned in a previous post, killed MicroProse in the '90s with bad investment deals and ideas like moving into the arcade market.

Would it have survived/thrived sticking with the PC world?  Seems that consoles are where everything went, but then again, I don't know much of PC gaming these days.    I sure was an addict as a kid that's for sure, starting with JET by SubLogic.
« Last Edit: September 11, 2019, 02:33:22 PM by Vraciu »
”KILLER V”
Charter Member of the P-51 Mustang Skin Mafia
King of the Hill Champ, Tour 219
The Damned
King of the Hill Win Percentage - 100 (1 Win, 0 Losses)

Offline Ack-Ack

  • Radioactive Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 25260
      • FlameWarriors
Re: Return of Wild Bill and MicroProse
« Reply #331 on: September 11, 2019, 02:33:07 PM »
He is probably a perfectly amiable guy.  I suppose if you just met him at a party and he didn't have any power over you, or wasn't trying to sell you something, then I bet he would be a hoot to share a beer with.

He's not.  He's actually a very boring person to have a beer with, which I had the unfortunate experience of back in '98 at the WB Con.  It was all talk about him, from how he made MicroProse what it was, boring talk about his flying days in the USAF.  He carried around a swagger like he was a fighter pilot in the USAAF but was actually a MAC pilot in the USAF.

"If Jesus came back as an airplane, he would be a P-38." - WW2 P-38 pilot
Elite Top Aces +1 Mexican Official Squadron Song

Offline Vraciu

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 13975
Re: Return of Wild Bill and MicroProse
« Reply #332 on: September 11, 2019, 02:33:53 PM »
He's not.  He's actually a very boring person to have a beer with, which I had the unfortunate experience of back in '98 at the WB Con.  It was all talk about him, from how he made MicroProse what it was, boring talk about his flying days in the USAF.  He carried around a swagger like he was a fighter pilot in the USAAF but was actually a MAC pilot in the USAF.

He says he flew A-37s.   Is that not the case?
”KILLER V”
Charter Member of the P-51 Mustang Skin Mafia
King of the Hill Champ, Tour 219
The Damned
King of the Hill Win Percentage - 100 (1 Win, 0 Losses)

Offline Vraciu

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 13975
”KILLER V”
Charter Member of the P-51 Mustang Skin Mafia
King of the Hill Champ, Tour 219
The Damned
King of the Hill Win Percentage - 100 (1 Win, 0 Losses)

Offline Ack-Ack

  • Radioactive Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 25260
      • FlameWarriors
Re: Return of Wild Bill and MicroProse
« Reply #334 on: September 11, 2019, 02:43:20 PM »
Would it have survived/thrived sticking with the PC world?  Seems that consoles are where everything went, but then again, I don't know much of PC gaming these days.    I sure was an addict as a kid that's for sure, starting with JET by SubLogic.

I don't mean arcade as in the console market, he thought it was a good idea to make games for arcade games and invested heavily into it.  It was like he was betting the farm that the arcade market would be more lucrative than the PC market.  It was a bad time to invest in the arcade market as it was already in its downward spiral in the States due to the console market.  MicroProse at the time was also on the decline because guys like Sid Meier had bailed, along with some of the little studios that actually made the games MicroProse distributed.
"If Jesus came back as an airplane, he would be a P-38." - WW2 P-38 pilot
Elite Top Aces +1 Mexican Official Squadron Song

Offline Vraciu

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 13975
Re: Return of Wild Bill and MicroProse
« Reply #335 on: September 11, 2019, 02:46:10 PM »
I don't mean arcade as in the console market, he thought it was a good idea to make games for arcade games and invested heavily into it.  It was like he was betting the farm that the arcade market would be more lucrative than the PC market.  It was a bad time to invest in the arcade market as it was already in its downward spiral in the States due to the console market.  MicroProse at the time was also on the decline because guys like Sid Meier had bailed, along with some of the little studios that actually made the games MicroProse distributed.

Ahhhhhhh, that makes sense.

I just meant that had he stuck with PCs he would have not done any better since consoles became the rage.   Going to arcade just hastened the demise wouldn't you say?
”KILLER V”
Charter Member of the P-51 Mustang Skin Mafia
King of the Hill Champ, Tour 219
The Damned
King of the Hill Win Percentage - 100 (1 Win, 0 Losses)

Offline Ack-Ack

  • Radioactive Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 25260
      • FlameWarriors
Re: Return of Wild Bill and MicroProse
« Reply #336 on: September 11, 2019, 02:46:53 PM »
He says he flew A-37s.   Is that not the case?

Maybe before he was in MAC, which I believe he spent the majority of his career in while in the USAF.
"If Jesus came back as an airplane, he would be a P-38." - WW2 P-38 pilot
Elite Top Aces +1 Mexican Official Squadron Song

Offline Vraciu

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 13975
Re: Return of Wild Bill and MicroProse
« Reply #337 on: September 11, 2019, 02:48:30 PM »
Maybe before he was in MAC, which I believe he spent the majority of his career in while in the USAF.

Maybe.  I seem to remember some pencil drawing on the inside cover of all his games where he talked about "pushing up the throttles on my A-37 Dragonfly" blah blah blah.

I found this.  Says something about being a FAC in the A-37B.

”KILLER V”
Charter Member of the P-51 Mustang Skin Mafia
King of the Hill Champ, Tour 219
The Damned
King of the Hill Win Percentage - 100 (1 Win, 0 Losses)

Offline hitech

  • Administrator
  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 12314
      • http://www.hitechcreations.com
Re: Return of Wild Bill and MicroProse
« Reply #338 on: September 11, 2019, 02:54:22 PM »

 And then watched both destroy the companies through staggeringly stupid decisions.
 

Hence why I bailed before the ship sunk.

HiTech

Offline Mister Fork

  • AvA Staff Member
  • Platinum Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 7255
Re: Return of Wild Bill and MicroProse
« Reply #339 on: September 11, 2019, 03:01:27 PM »
Hence why I bailed before the ship sunk.

HiTech

It was like watching Commodore computer thunder in.  Being a Dragonfly pilot doesn't necessarily make you a fighter pilot. It's the difference between a dirt track racer and a Formula 1 driver.

I remembered when Pyro and and you Hitech bailed. It was a big deal back then in the community and has us at Combatsim guessing when WB's would too thunder in. Here we are, 2019, and Aces High is STILL going.

Now...how to get AH some angel investor funding...    :headscratch:
"Games are meant to be fun and fair but fighting a war is neither." - HiTech

Offline Vraciu

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 13975
Re: Return of Wild Bill and MicroProse
« Reply #340 on: September 11, 2019, 03:02:49 PM »
Being a Dragonfly pilot doesn't necessarily make you a fighter pilot. It's the difference between a dirt track racer and a Formula 1 driver.

I don't know about that.   One of the most dangerous jobs in the Vietnam War-era U.S. Air Force was being a FAC.

The A-37 had a massive T:W ratio for its day, too, when light.

I'm no apologist for the guy, but I'll give credit where credit is due.  If it is due it's due.    I let the facts call the shots.
« Last Edit: September 11, 2019, 03:06:50 PM by Vraciu »
”KILLER V”
Charter Member of the P-51 Mustang Skin Mafia
King of the Hill Champ, Tour 219
The Damned
King of the Hill Win Percentage - 100 (1 Win, 0 Losses)

Offline AAIK

  • Nickel Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 644
Re: Return of Wild Bill and MicroProse
« Reply #341 on: September 11, 2019, 03:23:30 PM »
HT, you were the magic behind the games and which is why we all followed you here to AH. The only thing we want is for you to revive the game, nothing more nothing less. Warbirds 2020 is just a side show until that happens or incase you are unable to. We would all rather just play in our familiar territory then to jump ship.

Offline CptTrips

  • Platinum Member
  • ******
  • Posts: 7813
Re: Return of Wild Bill and MicroProse
« Reply #342 on: September 11, 2019, 03:32:27 PM »
HT, you were the magic behind the games and which is why we all followed you here to AH. The only thing we want is for you to revive the game, nothing more nothing less. Warbirds 2020 is just a side show until that happens or incase you are unable to. We would all rather just play in our familiar territory then to jump ship.

LoL.  You think you would profit from jumping Hitech's ship onto Wild Bill's?

Toxic, psychotic, self-aggrandizing drama queens simply aren't worth me spending my time on.

Offline Vraciu

  • Plutonium Member
  • *******
  • Posts: 13975
Re: Return of Wild Bill and MicroProse
« Reply #343 on: September 11, 2019, 03:36:39 PM »
LoL.  You think you would profit from jumping Hitech's ship onto Wild Bill's?

https://youtu.be/yrpmv_zOa0k[/youtube]

Yer gonna' need a bigger boat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk62YRHxb5s#action=share

« Last Edit: September 11, 2019, 03:39:08 PM by Vraciu »
”KILLER V”
Charter Member of the P-51 Mustang Skin Mafia
King of the Hill Champ, Tour 219
The Damned
King of the Hill Win Percentage - 100 (1 Win, 0 Losses)

Offline hitech

  • Administrator
  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 12314
      • http://www.hitechcreations.com
Re: Return of Wild Bill and MicroProse
« Reply #344 on: September 11, 2019, 03:39:09 PM »
Now...how to get AH some angel investor funding...    :headscratch:

That's easy, I have done it multiple times.

Now having an idea (that you believe and know how to implement) that you are fairly sure will turn a large profit. Not quite so easy.

HiTech