''Hind'' is a

combat flight simulation game Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games, amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and mil ...

released by Digital Integration in 1996 for

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...

compatible operating systems and

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

. It is the successor to ''

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

''. The game features the Soviet military

Mi-24 The Mil Mi-24 (; NATO reporting name: Hind) is a large helicopter gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity transport helicopter, troop transport with room for eight passengers. It is produced by Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant and was introduced ...

V Hind-E helicopter. It came with a detailed 99 page printed manual explaining the basics of helicopter flight and control, along with the specific traits of the Mi-24 helicopter and its weaponry.

Gameplay

The game's graphics use

Gouraud shading Gouraud shading ( ), named after Henri Gouraud (computer scientist), Henri Gouraud, is an interpolation method used in computer graphics to produce continuous shading of surfaces represented by Polygon mesh, polygon meshes. In practice, Gouraud ...

. Despite the primitive graphics, it has a realistic flight model. Many complex physics effects are modelled, including ground effect/

vortex ring A vortex ring, also called a toroidal vortex, is a torus-shaped vortex in a fluid; that is, a region where the fluid mostly spins around an imaginary axis line that forms a closed loop. The dominant flow in a vortex ring is said to be toroidal, ...

and

retreating blade stall Retreating blade stall is a hazardous flight condition in helicopters and other rotary wing aircraft, where the retreating rotor blade has a lower relative blade speed, combined with an increased angle of attack, causing a stall and loss of lift ...

which culminate in the ability of a skilled pilot to succeed at

autorotation Autorotation is a state of flight in which the main rotor system of a helicopter or other rotary-wing aircraft turns by the action of air moving up through the rotor, as with an autogyro, rather than engine power driving the rotor. Bensen, Igor ...

in the case of all engine failure. Options are included to simplify the flight model for beginners. The campaigns included in the game are based on real wars, but the missions involved are fictional. Ground battles between individual soldiers can be seen taking place, since AI controlled infantry have been added. Soldiers can also be carried aboard the Hind helicopter and are a vital part of some missions. If the player does nothing, an (almost) endless, semi-random war will be played out in each mission via a combination of scripted scenarios and very basic AI. The war can be passively watched using the features for zooming in on and moving between each active unit. It is possible to pass some missions this way, as the AI units on the players side are sometimes capable of achieving the objectives without help.

Game modes

From the main menu the player can choose single missions (playing either alone or in networked multiplayer), a campaign consisting of missions strung together or to undergo training at the Soviet airbase at

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

. The training is very extensive and teaches the use of weapons and avionics systems, navigation, battle tactics, etc. Combat can take place in three locales:

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. The Campaign mode features video clips as well as a detailed briefing before each mission, complete with a mission description, a detailed map and the ability to choose the desired ordnance. The flight itself can be in novice mode, stable mode and realistic mode. As with its predecessor, ''

'', ''Hind'' has a cooperative multiplayer mode where two players can occupy the same helicopter, with one piloting the helicopter while the other manages weapons (as Weapons System Officer, or WSO). It can be linked over IPX and analog modem networks with Apache Longbow, making it one of the first multiplayer, multisimulator games—something Digital Integration has trademarked as 'virtual battlefield'.Hind printed game manual, pp. 3

Reception

The game received generally positive reviews. Both ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' and '' Next Generation'' said the selection of realism modes open up the game to players of all skill levels and inclinations. ''GameSpot'' reviewer Chet Thomas further praised the mission design for being appropriate to the intended uses of the real-world Hind, and complimented the AI, graphics, and head-to-head options. The ''Next Generation'' reviewer summarized that "as with ''Apache'', if you're the least bit interested in flight sims ''Hind'' is a keeper." He noted that though the graphics are somewhat primitive, they are an improvement over ''Apache'', and the primitiveness makes it one of the few good sims that can be played on an

Intel 80486 The Intel 486, officially named i486 and also known as 80486, is a microprocessor introduced in 1989. It is a higher-performance follow-up to the i386, Intel 386. It represents the fourth generation of binary compatible CPUs following the Inte ...

. He also deemed the ability to link up with ''Apache'' in head-to-head mode "a bold and welcome move". A ''

GameRevolution Mandatory (formerly CraveOnline Media) is a lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York City, Chicago and San Francisco. The site is owned by media company Evolve Media, LLC. Mandatory focuses its contents into the male ...

'' critic said that both its best and worst features are its realism. He found the controls in all but the lowest realism mode to be excessively difficult for all but flight sim experts. He criticized that the use of polygons for the graphics makes objects hard to make out, but praised the selection of alternate camera views. ''Hind'' was nominated as ''

Computer Games Strategy Plus ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...

''s and ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...

''s 1996 simulation of the year, but lost both awards to ''

Jane's AH-64D Longbow ''AH-64D Longbow'' is a realistic Combat flight simulation game, combat flight simulator of the Boeing AH-64 Apache#AH-64D, AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter. Released on June 3, 1996, for the PC, this simulation was developed at Origin Sys ...

''. In 1997, it was named the 30th best computer game ever by ''PC Gamer UK'', whose editors called ''Hind'' a "seminal helicopter simulation".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hind (Video Game) 1996 video games Classic Mac OS games Cold War video games Combat flight simulators Digital Integration games DOS games Games commercially released with DOSBox Helicopter video games IEntertainment Network games Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games set in Afghanistan Video games set in Kazakhstan Video games set in Korea Windows games