Steel Thunder

Steel Thunder is a computer game by Accolade from 1988. The tank simulation was developed for the home computer Commodore 64 and a year later for the operating system DOS and the Microcomputer Apple II converted. The game simulates four different armored cars in a fictional armed conflict with the Eastern bloc and combines elements of an action game with those of a simulation.

The English-language sales description Steel Thunder [ sti: l θəʳndəʳ ] means Steeldonner , the Tagline is American Battle Tank Simulation . A competing product was the armor simulation Abrams Battle Tank from Sega for the operating system DOS. The printed manual is in English only. The DOS version supports graphics cards from Hercules and the graphics standards CGA , EGA , MCGA and VGA .

The tanks are controlled from the three operator's perspective of the commander, the driver and the rifles, optionally, the driver's control or aircrafts can be delegated to the computer. In the upper third of the screen, the external world is displayed by three horizontally arranged windows, including status displays, switches and round instruments.

The control possibilities at the three stations are extensive: Besides the control of the drive and the weapon systems, the garnet, smoke and apron lighting can be used, the fire extinguishing system can be activated and the type of ammunition can be changed. At the start of the mission, the boron electronics, the engine, the hydraulics and the weapon system must be activated manually. A keyboard template included with the game explains the keyboard layout and facilitates the operation of the three battle stations. A digital location map informs about the military situation by means of tactical signs .

The player can move the tank across the orthogonal map , turn the armored turret horizontally, align the weapon system vertically with targets, select and fire ammunition.

The game objective is explained in a mission description and includes the destruction of given soft (infantry, unarmored vehicles) or hard targets (headquarters, bunker, nuclear weapons, artillery and armor groups). The victorious fulfillment of the main goal is rewarded with promotions . The campaign includes a total of one training and 20 combat missions, seven each per country.

Tom Loughry developed and programmed the game, the graphics were drawn by Roseann Mitchell. Garell Eskow designed the soundscapes and composed the music. In the intro of the game, the national anthem of the United States is played.