F-19 Stealth Fighter (PC/DOS) Central Europe, Elite Difficulty, 1988, Microprose

F-19 Stealth Fighter is a combat flight simulator developed and released in 1988 (DOS) and 1990 (Amiga and Atari ST) by MicroProse, featuring a fictional United States military aircraft. It is the 16-bit remake of the 8-bit game Project Stealth Fighter, which was released for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum in 1987; in 1992, it was also ported to the NEC PC-9801 in Japan only. Critically acclaimed, the game was followed by Night Hawk: F-117A Stealth Fighter 2.0 in 1991.
In the game, the player takes on the role of a pilot flying missions of varying difficulty over four geographic locations: Gaddafi's Libya, the Persian Gulf, the North Cape, and Central Europe. The player was immersed in a Cold War era battlefield, flying missions against Iranian, Libyan, Soviet or Warsaw Pact opponents. The game can be played under conditions of conventional warfare, limited warfare, or cold war (in the latter, even being detected by the enemy could lead to a major diplomatic incident).
CENTRAL EUROPE - Risk: 10
- Cold War
- Strike Missions
- Elite Opponents
- Realistic Landings
Primary objective is to destroy the Tank Farm at Liberec
Secondary objective is to photograph the AirPlane at Mittenwalde
"Sorry about added background midi soundtrack"
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Want to support? Become a Patron! - / thriftweeds

[@1983englishman]

My older brother played this a lot on a 286 back in the day. It only had a PC speaker so the cockpit sound was basically a loud high pitch squeak. He was banned from playing it too early or late in the day. It was years before we discovered Alt-V switched sound off!

[@1983englishman]

@sherman1ai Space Quest was my sort of game 🙂

[@Antarath]

haha yeah same here. PC speaker and no colors. Everything was basically green, making it a nightmare know what you were looking at.

[@AlexeiVoronin]

"IL-76 taking off" - seeing these words on my screen always made me nervous :D

[@patp5449]

I also remember this... IL-76 was scarier than SU-27

[@judyhopps9380]

@@patp5449 ....how? O.O

[@patp5449]

@@judyhopps9380 I remember IL76 Mainstay will fire missile on about 30.5km while our AIM-120 AMRAAM will only be able to hit effectively below 27KM especially againts the IL76. 27KM still often missed.........LOL...

[@Zeromus10]

Oh how much I hated the Mainstay!!!

[@EbenezerEibenhardt]

LEL when it came to my brother and I, our elite mission strategy in the F-19 usually involved shooting down multiple friendly craft from a complete stop at the airfield, going for a cross country drive, then crashing the plane into the most interesting-looking polygon we could find in our LOS. Dad actually made us a couple of "medals" he awarded us for "conspicuous sedition in the line of duty".

[@midnitemutantmoviemassacre]

That 12 minute midi Battlestar Galactica Theme dance remix was something else

[@Senor0Droolcup]

Nearly failed several college exams freshman year because of this game. Loved it when I figured out how to get the Medal of Honor: flying deep into Poland in "cold war" mode to rack up all those points for flying over enemy territory undetected....

[@glowingfish]

If you really want to game the system, in the Persian Gulf scenario, there are missions where you land supplies at a friendly airstrip deep in enemy territory. Even though this is a friendly airstrip, it still counts as enemy territory. So...go there, land, and you can literally spend an hour or more of real life time there, getting points, then lift back up and fly home...

[@glowingfish]

@After Asteroid Survivor Well, it isn't exactly a hot collector's item, but there is probably a niche collector out there that would appreciate it.

[@royhsieh4307]

u can also rack up many points for undesignated ground targets

[@GHOST-A2CO]

what good memories... I spent countless hours with the F19 in the old days, it was the best that existed at that time, now we have DCS.

[@winternow2242]

I remember getting this in the early 1990s. My 286 was probably too slow to run it, but I didn't notice. At the time, flight sim games didn't model wingman very well, so most games were "you against the world". This was the first flight sim game where that was sort of plausible. Basically the game version of a Tom Clancy or Dale Brown novel.

[@dinofao]

Remember the instruction booklet?? thick book with all aspects of how to fly and attack targets, (AOA) Angle of attack...etc.. They went all out back then, really miss those pioneering days of gaming!

[@shawnbyers6291]

Just took me back to my childhood! I loved this game, between F-19 and Microprose Gunship, I was a highly decorated combat veteran at 14!

[@Cakey831]

This was the first game I had after building a 486. I think window 3.1 was just coming out. Crazy how much things have progressed.

[@johnm188]

This was my first PC game. I must have been 11 or 12 years old when my dad got this for me. Played it on a old IBM. My dad would bring his color monitor home from work on some weekends.

[@gcomworm]

Reflecting on this game brings back nostalgic childhood memories, leaving me quite emotional. I've never managed to land successfully even once in the game, so I always opted for the easiest mode to avoid my plane exploding upon landing, haha. And, I vividly recall how much I enjoyed using the Sidewinder missiles.

[@royhsieh4307]

the best game to begin learning how to cut every corners in later games.

[@mtpstv94]

The manual for this game was slammed with interesting information like strafing/bombing diagrams, aircraft loadout/data/info. Essentially 50x better than the worthless video game guides you buy today for over $30 and about 1/2" thick or more.

[@andrejrockshox]

i tried to get it in digital, like i did get one for F-15 Strike Eagle II, but i didnt find it :/

[@MaxAcceleration]

I remember the keyboard overlay, that was really cool for the time. Also the disk (at least the 5.25 disk I had) was protected where you had to have the disk inserted for it to run, even though the game was already installed to your hard drive. Their copy protection was literally a bad spot purposely put on the disk in a specific sector that would cause an error when trying to read. If the error occurred when the program read from that spot, it would allow you to continue. They figured out that copy programs couldn't copy errors so you couldn't make a copy of the disk and give it to a friend. Ingenious! :) There were hacks you could download though that modified the loader program to jump past the check off the disk. It was a simply assembly JMP (jump) command. I wasn't bootlegging it, I just didn't want to have to pull out the disk each time - plus it can easily wear out doing that over time.

[@Jacek-Sz]

Thx, was so many years ago, when I played this game.

[@techtinkerin]

This game and the prodigy experience blasting was so brilliant! 😊

[@Mokimanify]

Nothing like a strike mission while jamming to '88 8 bit music

[@DS6422224]

Taking 2 or 3 extra tanks and flying deep into Europe is a key to get a high score, if you will be able to keep your altitude within 150 ft.. My personal record was 1903...

[@jamesgu1467]

One of my favorite games from childhood. Your skills are unbelievable…I guess the opponents could handle tour ungodly slowness! Lol

[@DanielWesleyKCK]

In hindsight, this game is a technical marvel - smooth framerates while being limited to typical 286/386 processors and EGA hardware.

[@andreford3197]

Spent a lot of time on this one. Can't remember how many times I heard "It's 2am and you have to work. When are you going to bed?" Reply: "Just one more mission!". :-)

[@djgrom9542]

You almost stalled when you went all paparazzi on that parked plane :)

[@user-fq5wp3gk6v]

I remember this game. Awesome

[@TariqHossenbux]

This game was the best!

[@warrax111]

Finally normal person, that don't turn on auto-alliasing in 320x200 game.

[@winternow2242]

This takes me back to the heady days of Red October and Top Gun. Except I didn't get this until the cold War and the 80s were about over. So when I got this, it was already nostalgia.

[@birdland1752]

showing good skills with cannons Mj Threepwood!

[@marsmediainfo]

faster on landing then on route to the target : ) great vid, great sim, thanks!

[@simonnomis5302]

Flying this in my Amiga 500+ was a blast...and it had some atmosphere....

[@mybluebelly]

Well at least now i know what kind of music fighter pilots like to play in their cockpits.

[@madmaximus2836]

Good ol' days

[@dinglemckringleberry9429]

loved this game on the Amiga 4000

[@Dolamite314]

This game remade with modern graphics would be so awesome.

[@robotorch]

DCS Digital Combat Simulator

[@CR7xLH44]

Great game. I remember there were missions in Kyev.

[@Klaevkhar]

if ever a game needed to be remastered....

[@horaciodelre2210]

you can change the waypoint position? How do you do that?????

[@garmrap9905]

This is such a great stealth-sim game.

[@Procket12]

One thing has puzzled me about the flying low and slow bit. Wouldn't the plane still be heard from the ground. It's also ironic considering in reality the F-117A conducted its air strikes from high altitude, not low.

[@spccolts]

I like the Battlestar Galactica music. How you put that in?

[@blabblab5589]

I like the original C64 version, it has better sound (Project: Stealth Fighter). Sure, the DOS version is graphically better but you should try both versions.

[@grarghov1]

I had only pc speaker back then. Is this the original music for the game? Never knew that it had the Battlestar Galactica title music :))))

[@andrejrockshox]

he's playing some MIDI tracks in another process.

[@Dmitrijs.Skorohodovs]

Always laughed than I got catched on enemies territory and they showing that picture in handcufs))

[@ibtaba]

Is that Battlestar Galactica music?

[@OpenGL4ever]

Seems to be.

[@professor_nerdstein]

@@OpenGL4ever Lol, yes, it is :D

[@dixievfd55]

Pretty good for a midi file, too!

[@dixievfd55]

He's actually flying a Colonial Viper.

[@sanzl164]

I never knew this game had music...

[@Xboomer1]

Complete with Battlestar Galactica music theme...

[@andrejrockshox]

how did u get adlib sound? the game doesnt let you pick your soundcard like F-15 SE2 does, so i'm stuck with PC Speaker sound! and you are playing those MIDI tracks from some external player, it's not like its game music, right?

[@thriftweeds]

you need version which has adlib sound drivers (ASOUND for Adlib) - Sound drivers: ISOUND.EXE --> IBM PC TSOUND.EXE --> Tandy BSOUND.EXE --> Innovation sound card. - and then just start the game using commandline F19 /AASOUND

[@andrejrockshox]

@@thriftweeds yeah, i figured that out from experince with F15SE2. My version of F19 has ISOUND, BSOUND and TSOUND, doesnt have ASOUND. I copied it from F15SE2 and now i have adlib sound, only little problem is intro music is from F15SE2 :D Did they make some patch or release updated version so there are versions with adlib? Why my game doesnt have it? And why the hell the game doesnt let you choose sound card like SE2 does?

[@geribaldi2]

Wait, so they used the Battlestar Galactica theme?

[@javi200r9]

9:35 is the song Knocking on heaven´s door?

[@Procket12]

Who was flying those Soviet planes, Stevie Wonder? At that close a range, the pilots should have been able to visually see the F-19.

[@RichardHoogstad]

I played this one when I had no soundcard, was the music part of this game? It feels a bit out of place and upbeat.

[@garmrap9905]

There was no music.

[@andrejrockshox]

yeah, there was just intro music.

[@orbital808080]

I burned too many hrs playing this great game.My favorite is the Iran missions

[@hubertk9051]

gj major :]

[@user-jz4kv3zx1m]

Ох сердце сейчас заплачет)))

[@ojmarco]

I didnt know how to fly being undetected, until now

[@thriftweeds]

Doh its ze stealth figher...

[@XX-jl8uh]

@@thriftweeds why did you go on low thrust? I really want the whole mission explained, it's been 25 years since I played it.

[@thriftweeds]

@@XX-jl8uh Lowers the EMV Visibility/tracking check the meter. Under 300 feet and 100 knots also using flaps helps to maintain near stall speed. So lower and slower better EMV in-game.

[@XX-jl8uh]

@@thriftweeds holy shit. I always flew max speed, tried to get on top of radars to gun them down, praying their missiles don't blow me apart as I toss my limited chaff or flares, or always tried to circle them around or outrun fighters, i think afterburners existed. I was always near zero fuel in easy landing. But then I was 11, no English speaking Turk with a redhouse dictionary, so... At least the game taught me modern jet fighting.

[@XX-jl8uh]

@@thriftweeds WAIT DID YOU JUST FLY PAST A RADAR AT GROSSENHAIM?

[@xboomer3004]

Sierra Hotel...

[@BH-br4ee]

Mine didn't come with any music.

[@johnh8615]

F19 looks like a predecessor for the x men, but with a few mor mods.

[@royhsieh4307]

i remember getting around 14000 points on one mission in this game, forgot if i got the cmoh tho, probably did

[@therexbellator]

Accoriding to one let's play also on KZbin any score total over 1200pts would net you the MoH so if you did get 14K in one mission (impressive if true!) then yes you would have gotten it.

[@marcinkolodziej3844]

Oj w tych czasach

[@dorpth]

YOU CAN BE MY WINGMAN ANYTIME!

[@amimills7390]

bs you can be mine

[@horaciodelre2210]

1278 points? How did you do that????

[@pasha21363]

ok here's a breakdown on points: 1) you get points by flying in the enemy territory (that's on strike missions) 2) you lose points if you get positvely ID'd by the enemy radars on the ground (on elite opponents you will likely to be detected) 3) you also lose points if you got visually detected by the enemy aircraft (again on elite opponents you will likely to be detected) 4) you get lots of points for completing both primary and secondary objectives (you MUST complete both objectives for congressinal medal of honor) 5) you will also get points if you destroy enemy installations or shoot down enemy aircraft (i.e. radar site) i think i got the basics on points also you only get congressinal medal of honor once, after that requirement is doubled

[@123reivaj]

:) !!!

[@marcosdiaz3773]

My record was +2000 points

[@divinuminfernum]

why are the hostile jet fighters so terrible - i mean they seem to be falling over themselves to just fly in front of you and get shot down without you having to even deviate on your path - on even flies literally up your tail pipe and still doesnt see you - maybe if it was a night mission, but it is day - was teh AI for thisgame just really bad? is it better in F117a?

[@SouthPoleAntarctica]

the AI really did not fly well. the greatest threat in the game were the Il-76 Mainstay with their powerful radar and steady supply of missiles. However, on the ColdWar difficulty, you got a score down for every radar or visual ID and you actually could emulate ECM tactics, such as bypassing the Doppler sites flying along the circle.

[@therexbellator]

Keep in mind this game is from 1988 when the average processor was a 286 or lower (your smart phone is faster by comparison). This game fit on a 3.5 inch ~1.4MB floppy. It is a marvel of software engineering. You cannot -- should not -- expect sophisticated AI from anything that era. F-19's AI had two modes: patrol and search & destroy. That's it. Moreover, and more importantly, Major Threepwood here makes it look very easy. He's obviously very knowledgeable of the game and its systems. He's also using an exploit that messes with the AI which gives him an edge, something he admits in the comment section. However unless you're that good this level of difficulty will absolutely trounce you. I know I've been trying on and off for a few days and it's not as easy as Threepwood makes it look.

[@divinuminfernum]

@@therexbellator that's very interesting I didn't see the AI exploit mentioned. Playing with an exploit kind of ruins the fun. I haven't played this title yet, but have played more of F-15 Strike Eagle 2 since and its a very similar title from the period and the AI is giving me a good challenge, largely due to high number of them and all the missiles they are firing off. I think you could still have a challenging AI in games back then - one of my favourite Sims is the first Falcon from spectrum holobyte in 1987. It's AI opponents are very good and can vary in their behaviours dependent on the pilot - there were different pilot personalities assigned to the AI and they were random which you could encounter, most though we're adept at getting on your six and using missiles and then cannon, and would disengage when they ran out of ammunition

[@jliller]

@@therexbellator "He's also using an exploit that messes with the AI which gives him an edge" What exploit is that?

[@therexbellator]

@@jliller if memory serves on this difficulty the AI can track you regardless of your radar signature (the red bar in the middle) but flying ultra low below 50 feet causes the AI to just ignore you or resets their search pattern. Of course the AI is being exploitative itself just because at this level of difficulty they can find you easily and flying at that altitude isn't easy because of turbulence. My use of the word 'exploit' isn't meant as a condemnation of the tactic, it may very well be necessary to do this on Elite difficulty, but simply explains to the person I'm responding to why the AI is "bad" because it causes the AI to stop searching.

[@XX-jl8uh]

You massacred USSR planes in Cold War setting. IIRC this kills points

[@thriftweeds]

They detected "Visual ID" and attacked me first then you can shoot them back and get points during cold war setting, firing missiles at 20:42

[@desertsoldier41]

Is this Battlestar Galactica lol

[@exploresouthwest]

2:16 Deathstalker 3? kzbin.info/www/bejne/b52Vmn5-htysqKM

[@flyingcatfish]

I tried to watch this video before and couldn't finish because of the stupid soundtrack. I just tried again, and I still cannot stand it. Great game, it brings back a lot of memories. Too bad you ruined the video with that noise.

[@thriftweeds]

I'm sorry if i ruined it for you! I cannot remember what got into me when i added this awesome midi soundtrack playback (Battlestar Galactica and some rock 'n' roll). You should check this other gameplay video. It is without any stupid soundtracks - kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4qzcn6rZ9iDbdk

[@imperia777]

@@thriftweeds I like it. Can you tell me what is the music at 6:00

[@kourohov2471]

Y-440 Rizzo Shots Down North Korean Il-76

[@kourohov2471]

G-56 Shots Down Several North Korean MiGs

[@kourohov2471]

Indonesian Fighter Jets Had Armored

[@GamePlayShare]

Its not fun to play flying like this.

[@blabblab5589]

silly soundtrack. you should switch it off. Without it, it could match the 8-bit C64 version :-D