Fleet Defender
Fleet Defender is a combat flight simulator published by MicroProse in 1994. The game uses the F-14B version of the F-14 Tomcat even where anachronistic because the developers found the original, underpowered F-14A unforgiving and "not much fun" in an entertainment flight simulator. An expansion pack, Fleet Defender: Scenario, and a port for the PC-98 were released in 1995.
Fleet Defender
- Date
- 1994
- Publisher
- MicroProse
- Genre
- flight simulation video game
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Fleet Defender is a combat flight simulator published by MicroProse in 1994. The game uses the F-14B version of the F-14 Tomcat even where anachronistic because the developers found the original, underpowered F-14A unforgiving and "not much fun" in an entertainment flight simulator. An expansion pack, Fleet Defender: Scenario, and a port for the PC-98 were released in 1995.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Fleet Defender. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q5458391 · wikipedia · Fleet Defender
In this article
The object
The object
Tommo purchased the rights to this game and digitally published it through its Retroism brand in 2015.
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Fleet Defender • Developer — MicroProse • Publisher — MicroProse • Producer — Scott Spanburg • Designer — Christopher Clark Scott Elson Michael J. McDonald Detmar Peterke Scott Spanburg George Wargo Ned Way • Artist — Terrence Hodge • Writer — Lawrence T. Russell • Composer — Michael Bross • Released — 1994: MS-DOS 1995: PC-88 • Genre — Combat flight simulator • Modes — Single-player • Platforms — MS-DOS, PC-98
Gameplay
Gameplay
Fleet Defender models detailed carrier operations including air traffic and take-off/landing under various conditions. The player has control of both the pilot and radar intercept officer (RIO) who manages the AWG-9 radar. Emphasis is placed on using the AIM-54 Phoenix missile as a standoff weapon where possible, rather than engaging the more nimble Soviet fighters in close-quarters dogfighting. Wingmen formations and support aircraft can also be controlled; unlike previous MicroProse simulations, as Computer Gaming World reported in 1994, "No longer do you alone, armed with a single aircraft and eight missiles, engage the entire third world". Three campaign theaters are included in the original game: The Oceana training theater, the North Cape theater, and the Mediterranean theater (Italy, the Balkans, and part of North Africa).
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
- United States
Named but not plotted · 1
Fleet Defender is associated with United States.
Country
Reception
Computer Gaming World in June 1994 said that "Fleet Defender pushes the envelope of desktop computers" but "strikes a very good balance between game play and pure graphic orgasm". Describing the game as a "tactical flight simulator" unlike a "close-in dog fighter like Falcon 3", it liked the accurate flight envelope, "extensive wingman controls", and "very good" enemy AI. The magazine concluded that "Fleet Defender is an outstanding simulator that will serve to reestablish MicroProse as a major player in the flight sim wars".
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Fleet Defender game manual
- 2.BMC Group. Purchase Agreement between Atari, Inc. and Rebellion Developments, Stardock & Tommo. 2013-07-22.
- 3.Basham, Tom. Fire, But Never Forget. Computer Gaming World. 32–35. June 1994.
- 4.Tom "KC" Basham. Computer Gaming World - Issue 126. 126. 203. January 1995.
- 5.Estephanian, Mark. Top Cat!. Computer Gaming World. 28–32. June 1994.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 19 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Collectables
20,755 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- flat ride cymbalTerminology
- FlatOut 2Work
- flatpickingTerminology
- Fleet CommandWork
- flexatoneTerminology
- Flick Golf!Work
- Flick Home Run!Work
- Flick NBA BasketballWork
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a copy of Fleet Defender?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.