M1 Tank Platoon
DOS - 1989
Also released on: Amiga - Atari ST
Description of M1 Tank Platoon
M1 Tank Platoon is a video game published in 1989 on DOS by MicroProse Software, Inc., U.S. Gold Ltd.. It's a strategy and simulation game, set in a real-time, tank, vehicular combat simulator and war themes, and was also released on Amiga and Atari ST.
External links
Comments and reviews
agathosdaimon 2021-09-29 0 point
@ Zachax
thanks for your comment - i am surprised that setting the core to dynamic would work, i have never found that to work for the older Microprose games - for M1 Tank Platoon and F-15 Strike Eagle 2 at least the only setting that works is CPU= 386_prefetch
M1 Tank Platoon did have copy protection and the technical supplement in the boxed version (the one with teh photo of the m1 tanks on the cover rather than a painting, ) actually describes this in detail - Microprose used the key disk protection whereby disk A has some kind of code in it which cant be copied, and only can be detected by the physical floppy drive
I have the original floppies with this and sadly it seems that either Dosbox cannot recognise it , or modern USB Floppy drives lack some ability to detect it. I suspect the latter as I also tried to install M1TP in dos through PCEM and that also did not work.
If your actual floppy disks dont have this protection then i would love to know what exactly the box and disk look like, that you have - is yours a later budget release copy like the Kixx versions?
Fortunately i do have a cdrom copy of M1TP 1 , it too was a later budget release version, so i at least have that if floppy version is inaccessible for me
that Tank.com file you mention is precisely the one that must usually one must swap out with the cracked version that is to be found onlne
Zachax 2020-10-03 1 point DOS version
This version runs fine for me, but only when I'll set in DOSBox configuration:
core=dynamic
As far as I know all the INSTALL.EXE file really does is copies the game to hard drive on a preset folder and adds a batch file to the drive root. No installation should be necessary and the game should work fine by TANK.COM file in whichever own custom folder just by copying it manually.
Also at least my original HD floppy version of this game was not copy protected by any means. In fact I'm recalling the Technical Supplement leaflet in my DOS version was encouraging to take a backup of the game and keep the original floppy safe. However, can't check if I remember wrong, since my old original package is storaged far far away. The manual here including Technical Supplement is for Atari ST.
Curiously this version has Roland MT-32 version which was absent on my old original version version (449.01, this version is 449.02). MT-32 goes a bit wasted in this game to be honest since there is but short menu/intro music and some quite archaic sound effects, but cool curiosity as such, and by a quick test it overall sounds better to me (including effects) through MUNT than Adlib sound setting.
Microprose indeed made the best games or at least simulation games in 1980's and early 1990's. This was probably the best game that was actually possible to run on our PC XT clone with 512 kB of RAM and Hercules Graphics Adapter, and truly I played it a lot back then even if it was not rolling very smoothly on it. Unfortunately, I felt already in late 1990's that time had largely passed by the simulations made in early 1990's or before, and overall I think simulation genre games (they used to be my favourites) have suffered with years more than most if not all other genres. Therefore sadly can't really get myself playing this or most other Microprose classic simulations anymore, no matter how much I used to love them (partially this is also due to having played them too much in my childhood though).
daffyff 2020-05-26 0 point
My favorite part of this game was given medals and promotions to the surviving crew. I don't remember ever losing a battle...
agathosdaimon 2019-08-14 -1 point
I have gotten the original disks recently for this game and am trying to install it with them - i set dosbox cpu to 386_prefetch and i mount the disk in a a drive (i have a usb floppy disk drive) and mount my virtual c drive - i can install the game but then when i go to play it, the game requests i insert disk_a and type the drive letter - however this doesnt work, i cant type any letter and nothing else happens
how do i get the game to actually recognise that i have the game in the disk drive?
also i dont understand how others have been able to just sit the disk contents in a folder called a as Microprose specifically made the disks to have security protection on them - hidden files or something that dont get copied -is the some setting i require in dosbox for this to work?
The Duke 79 2019-07-09 1 point
Microprose had the best games. Ever. Like Bluddy Snoman, I too bought the three game pack that included this game, Silent Service II, and F19 stealth fighter. I'm excited to find it again!
Birddog5 2019-02-03 -3 points DOS version
the download does not run the program. it is an install version which requires it be run from either floppy drive A or B. Who has one of those today!
Please remove this or at least warn people its only an install program.
Luk 2017-06-16 0 point
My ingame 3D Hind footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lox9umbFNpA&t=0s
Luk 2017-06-15 0 point
@Lulz
According to this video, Mi-24 Hind is possible!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LZtlFaFjsg
I have tried the version. I saw many BTRs in the firs "assault" mission. There were also BTR-60s and BTR-80s with infantery....
two BTR-60s as elite guard here:
http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab4/Luk77/game%20%20_267_zpss4iu1rj7.png
Bluddy Snoman 2016-12-11 2 points DOS version
I bought this with a submarine game and a stealth fighter game 3 pack circa early to mid 90's.
I ran DOSbox. from the z:\ mount a: c:\a then I press enter and it mounts a folder I named a in the c:
Then I type at Z:\ mount c: c:\c
then at Z:\ I type a:and the drive changes to a:\
at a:\ it type install
I follow the install instructions in game. and it says installation complete,
At a:\ I type C: and switch to the c:
at C:\ I type tank and the DOSbox does nothing and I can no longer regain control of the DOSbox.
************ALERT************
I then ran DOSbox again and mounted as before a: and c:
then I followed a previous comment advice and type at c:\cputype=386_prefetch
Then I typed at C:\tank and tank platoon loaded. asked me some basic settings questions. Now I will play the game and see how it runs.
Luk 2016-09-13 0 point DOS version
2 Lulz
I missed Mi24 in PC version as well. But BTRs were used in PC version.
You can see two of them here (hit by sabot after 6:30 in my video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dguV157diqU
You can also see their wrecks under flying A10 at 8:21.
confused 2015-04-14 2 points DOS version
thanx chuck,that works.also red sonia dont install it,or it starts asking " insert floppy in a: " and wont run.you should get number two up here.and a manual wouldnt hurt,but its quite large if i remember,200+ pages
ChuckDeNomolos 2015-02-07 3 points DOS version
Looking on the DosBox site, if you enter the command:
cputype=386_prefetch
in DosBox, the game will run fine. Worked for me.
confused 2014-10-09 0 point DOS version
tried that dosnt work.it creates a tank directoy and a tank.bat file which wont run. im using d-fend reloaded btw
RED SONIA 2014-07-29 -1 point DOS version
OK Peeps this is how you get it to run. the game has to be installed from the a drive. so in dos box you have to mount one. what i did is make a directory called a then unziped the file into a directory calle m1tank. then open dosbox and typed at the prompt. mount a c:\a (hit enter) then at the prompt mount c c:\c (hit enter) for my virtual c drive. at the prompt type a: (enter) then cd m1tank (enter). then type install (enter) then follow on screen instructions have fun.......
Lulz 2014-06-04 1 point DOS version
Earlier comments make this sound like yet another faulty MyAbandonware setup means it won't run. Shame really, I played the Amiga 500 version for HOURS between 1990 until the late 90's when I finally got M1 Tank Platoon 2 on the PC!
This was despite the tons of bugs and typical AWFUL programming Microprose used to deliver, eg the Russians never ever used their Mi24 Hinds, they never fielded BTR vehicles, only BMPs, the BMP1 would never use it's ATGMs....
whirlwindm 2014-05-28 0 point DOS version
Bought the original and spent hours playing it. Game taught me stuff like don't be a driver (dies often), don't be inside an APC (easy to kill) or a Russian tank (easy to kill) or fly an A-10 (easy to kill). The only worthwhile position is hull-down. Apaches and Artillery are your best friends.
Exintrovert 2014-05-13 0 point DOS version
We had this game when I was about 10 and knew nothing about computers. I do remember, however, that it had to be run from the floppy. It actually had to boot from the floppy to run.
Our disks ended up getting used so much that something got corrupted and it would no longer run. It wrote save game files to the floppy. (Bad form, IMO)
I look forward to trying this on my legacy system. I still have the original (albeit corrupted) disks that I will put this download onto :)
david1806 2013-12-17 2 points DOS version
i would spend hours and hours speeding my bollocks off playing this game!!! ah, the memories....! :o)
Agathosdaimon 2013-02-20 0 point DOS version
I think this download is faulty, i checked it against a working version i have and this one seems to be like a 1kb smaller in size and it might be missing something?
Josh 2012-06-19 0 point DOS version
Same issue here. Running straight from the directory just leaves me at a hung prompt.
Mounting to a: and installing to c: from there just copies the same set of files in the original download. Running tank.com from there doesn't do any better either.
6/18/12
Birddog51 2012-03-24 0 point DOS version
I'm confused on this one, when I try to load "tank" in DOSBOX, the screen stayes at the prompt and then nothing. Does this game need to run "install" first? That didn't work either, says it needs to be run from drive A or B.
Has any one got this to work with DOSBOX?
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Buy M1 Tank Platoon
M1 Tank Platoon is available for a small price on the following websites, and is no longer abandonware. GOG.com provides the best release and does not include DRM, please buy from them! You can read our online store guide.
Game Extras and Resources
Some of these file may not be included in the game stores. For M1 Tank Platoon, we have the following files:
Other Releases
M1 Tank Platoon was also released on the following systems:
Amiga
- Year: 1990
- Publisher: MicroProse Software, Inc., U.S. Gold Ltd.
- Developer: MPS Labs
Atari ST
- Year: 1990
- Publisher: MicroProse Software, Inc.
- Developer: MPS Labs
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