DOS Days

A-10 Tank Killer

Released: 1989
Published by: Dynamix, Inc.
Developed by: Dynamix, Inc.
Author(s): Lincoln Hutton, David McClurg, Mark Brenneman, Cyrus Kanga, Kobi Miller, Damon Slye, Alan McKean, Bryce Morcello, Piotr Lukaszuk, Jerry Luttrell, Randy Dersham, Christopher Reese, Nels Bruckner


Version 1.5 in EGA

Introduction

A-10 Tank Killer was first released in 1989. It was followed up in 1991 with version 1.5, which added seven more scenarios that covered the Iraqi war and Operation Desert Storm.

While there were more technically complex flight simulators out there, this A-10 Thunderbolt II simulation was designed to be "as realistic as possible without bogging the game down with complicated controls.", according to the manual.

 

System Requirements

System Requirements Intel 8088/8086 CPU, 512 KB of RAM (640 KB for Tandy)
Graphics support for Tandy/PCjr, CGA, EGA, MCGA and VGA (320 x 200 in 256-colours is the maximum).
Audio support for PC Speaker, Tandy/PCjr, PS/1 Audio Card, Ad Lib, Sound Blaster, and Roland MT-32/LAPC-I.
Keyboard, Joystick and Mouse supported.
Original Media v1.1: Two 3.5" 720 KB (DS/DD) floppy diskettes.
v1.5: Four 3.5" 720 KB (DS/DD) floppy diskettes.
v1.51: Two 5.25" 1.2 MB (DS/HD), or four 3.5" 720 KB (DS/DD) floppy diskettes..
Installed Size (MB) MB


From where can it be run?

A-10 Tank Killer must be installed to your hard disk. Simple run INSTALL and choose the option to "Copy A10 to Hard Drive". The installer intelligently works out the specifications of your computer, including graphics, audio, input devices and speed capability. Dynamix calls this "Smart Start" (TM).

Copy Protection

A-10 does not use any copy protection.


How to Setup

Run the file INSTALL.COM, both to copy the game to your hard disk and to configure your hardware:

1) Graphics options (note that this was with an EGA card fitted, so no VGA option was even displayed):

2) Sound options:

3) Installing to the hard disk:

4) Making a backup copy of the original disks:

 

Problems

Symptom: ?
Cause: ?
Resolution: ?

To Quit the Game

Press ESC to return to the main menu, and choose "Exit to DOS".

 

Supporting Documents

 

Additional Files & Utilities

 

Save Games

.

Versions of the game known to exist

Version Date Comments
1.0 December 1989 Initial public release, with 6 missions.
1.1 May 1990 3.5" disk release
1.5 July 1991 Box came with both 5.25" and 3.5" floppy diskettes. Now with 21 missions including 7 new Iraq scenarios.
1.51 August 1991 Minor patch release
1.52 March 1992 Updated joystick driver to work on faster computers. Updated mouse driver detection.

 


Original Floppy Disk Contents

The floppy disks have no specific volume label. Here are each disk's contents:

    Disk 1 of 4 (3.5" 720 KB DS/DD):

     
                
    Directory of A:\

     

    Disk 2 of 4 (3.5" 720 KB DS/DD):

     
                
    Directory of A:\
.
..
volume.002

     

    Disk 3 of 4 (3.5" 720 KB DS/DD):

     
                
    Directory of A:\
.
..
cmp1.001
volume.003

     

    Disk 4 of 4 (3.5" 720 KB DS/DD):

     
                
    Directory of A:\
.
..
cmp1.002
cmp2.001
cmp3.001

     
       

 

Installed Directory Contents

Once installed, the following directory structure exists in the game directory:

    Full Install chosen

     
                
    Directory of C:\GAMES\A10
    .            <DIR>         05/09/21   13:49
..           <DIR>         05/09/21   13:49