RedwoodForest Posted January 11 Report Posted January 11 I recently picked up Harpoon Classic '97 from Steam, having never played Harpoon before. I've played the tutorial scenario and am excited to play through all 250 scenarios in due course. I fire it up each evening with a hot cup of decaf coffee in hand and a copy of The Hunt for Red October next to me. 😉 I have a few questions based on what I've read online and heard about. From what I understand, Matrix had a much bigger, more robust version of "classic Harpoon" that was discontinued and removed from digital store shelves last year. Several months later, Harpoon Classic '97 was released by Microprose and quickly updated to v1.63b. After incorporating Steam cloud saves in September, radio silence. Has anyone here been in contact with Microprose about potentially bringing the game closer to where the community brought the Matrix edition over the last couple decades? Will custom scenarios here work with Harpoon Classic '97, or do they require the Matrix edition that has now disappeared? Why do you continue to play Harpoon when Command Modern Operations exists? (I have never played). How different does Harpoon Classic '97 play from paper Harpoon V? What advice do you have for a newcomer not only to Harpoon but also to wargaming in general? Thank you and have a good one! 1 Quote
donaldseadog Posted January 12 Report Posted January 12 I can't answer many of your questions, but at some stage those that can I'm sure will chine in. The "loss" of the more modern version of harpoon that developed from '97' I guess is the result of a commercial decision somewhere or other. While the last of the harpoon classic versions are to me vastly better, if I wind back my mind the '97 game was incredibly good. I'd guess there's probably few if any scenarios here that will play on '97. There might be an archive of older custom scenarios? I think I heard a rumour that the steam system will get the more upto date harpoon in time, but as that's all entwined in the commercial decisions who knows when and if? I've looked at but never delved into the paper rules versions. They are I guess the crux of the system, the computer version is able to extend the principles by a factor of thousands so is more complex. The paper rules versions to me is pretty restricted to small numbers of platforms simply due to the time factor. I think from a naval academic point of view the paper rules are going to be excellent but from a 'gamer' view pretty tedious. Don Quote
donaldseadog Posted January 12 Report Posted January 12 If this demo is still available it would give you a good comparison between the latest and greatest (but not available) and the old steam powered version '97. Quote
TonyE Posted January 12 Report Posted January 12 Thank you Don, I'm hopeful I can give some additional answers tonight. The good news is that your demo suggestion is valid. The demo does not expire until 2030 and demonstrates the bulk of the changes between HC97 and the latest and greatest. If one gets really invigorated, I expect the ExportDLLs (game functionality add-ons) that worked with the 2024.005 build should work just fine with the demo. 1 Quote
donaldseadog Posted January 12 Report Posted January 12 1 hour ago, TonyE said: Thank you Don, I'm hopeful I can give some additional answers tonight. The good news is that your demo suggestion is valid. The demo does not expire until 2030 and demonstrates the bulk of the changes between HC97 and the latest and greatest. If one gets really invigorated, I expect the ExportDLLs (game functionality add-ons) that worked with the 2024.005 build should work just fine with the demo. The demo with export.dll functionality could be quite nice. I might give it a burl to see what works with it. Don Quote
donaldseadog Posted January 12 Report Posted January 12 On 1/12/2026 at 9:13 AM, RedwoodForest said: What advice do you have for a newcomer not only to Harpoon but also to wargaming in general The tactical info here is very good. Quote
donaldseadog Posted January 12 Report Posted January 12 On 1/12/2026 at 9:13 AM, RedwoodForest said: Why do you continue to play Harpoon when Command Modern Operations exists? In Australia there was an old fly spray add slogan "When you're on a good thing stick to it", there's also the "you can't teach old dogs new tricks". I guess these relate to my 'excuse'. Don Quote
TonyE Posted January 13 Report Posted January 13 On 1/11/2026 at 4:13 PM, RedwoodForest said: I recently picked up Harpoon Classic '97 from Steam, having never played Harpoon before. I've played the tutorial scenario and am excited to play through all 250 scenarios in due course. I fire it up each evening with a hot cup of decaf coffee in hand and a copy of The Hunt for Red October next to me. 😉 I have a few questions based on what I've read online and heard about. From what I understand, Matrix had a much bigger, more robust version of "classic Harpoon" that was discontinued and removed from digital store shelves last year. Several months later, Harpoon Classic '97 was released by Microprose and quickly updated to v1.63b. After incorporating Steam cloud saves in September, radio silence. Has anyone here been in contact with Microprose about potentially bringing the game closer to where the community brought the Matrix edition over the last couple decades? Will custom scenarios here work with Harpoon Classic '97, or do they require the Matrix edition that has now disappeared? Why do you continue to play Harpoon when Command Modern Operations exists? (I have never played). How different does Harpoon Classic '97 play from paper Harpoon V? What advice do you have for a newcomer not only to Harpoon but also to wargaming in general? Thank you and have a good one! Welcome! Picking up HC97 without prior Harpoon experience probably puts you in the minority but it was a great game that just happened to get improved in more recent iterations. 1. Yes, and with the recent uptick in inquiries, I reached out to the powers that be today, received a response that it is being looked into (so good job bringing it up again everyone) and hope for a response in the next couple of days. There was certainly an expectation a few months ago that the more recent Harpoon Classic would be re-released like HC97 was re-released. 2. Some of them will work with HC97 but many do require the Matrix edition. It will help to try older scenarios first. On GIUK - HarpGamer page for instance, the ones that mention EC2000 should work with HC97, the ones that say EC2003 will not. 3. For the old-timers like me the answer is very long and complex involving intellectual property rights, personalities, fundamental disagreements on what drives a realistic outcome, ... However, an easier answer is that for many players HC is just more enjoyable. Command is amazing in so many ways but the reward is gives me doesn't compare to HC which aside from Civilization may be the only game that can keep me so engaged that I find myself putting off bedtime just one more hour right up until my alarm goes off for work. 4. Very very different. HC97 follows the Harpoon 3 paper rules for the most part however it uses an adaptation of the Harpoon 4 paper sonar model. For the post-HC97 builds we weren't allowed to use the Harpoon paper rules (politics!) so when algorithms were replaced they tend to be my creations. Where we tweaked things (such as sonar), we attempted to make the results come close to the Harpoon 4.1 paper results without copying the data and rules themselves. You can often find a copy of H3 paper on eBay (GDW Harpoon 3). 5. The tutorial is a good start, hopping on Discord (link at top of forum) and chatting with the gang with questions can be helpful. The command card made by a player will become one of your best friends Keyboard Commands, by location - Tools/Mods/Docs - HarpGamer 1 Quote
RedwoodForest Posted January 13 Author Report Posted January 13 Thank you all for these informative responses. I will review the tactical suggestions and that demo once I've gotten deeper into the Harpoon Classic '97 pool. Interesting to hear that a re-release of the later edition of the game is being "looked into" by Microprose. Fingers crossed! I have also joined the Discord. Are there any recommended readings? Does Harpoon Classic ‘97 have multiplayer capabilities? I have seen conflicting information online. Quote
donaldseadog Posted January 21 Report Posted January 21 On 1/14/2026 at 12:01 AM, RedwoodForest said: Does Harpoon Classic ‘97 have multiplayer capabilities? None of the Harpoon Classic simulations have multiplayer. Quote
RedwoodForest Posted January 22 Author Report Posted January 22 6 hours ago, donaldseadog said: None of the Harpoon Classic simulations have multiplayer. Ah, I was clearly misinformed, then. Thank you for the correction. Quote
TonyE Posted January 22 Report Posted January 22 On 1/12/2026 at 9:24 PM, TonyE said: 1. Yes, and with the recent uptick in inquiries, I reached out to the powers that be today, received a response that it is being looked into (so good job bringing it up again everyone) and hope for a response in the next couple of days. There was certainly an expectation a few months ago that the more recent Harpoon Classic would be re-released like HC97 was re-released. No update yet, will reach out yet again. Quote
TonyE Posted January 23 Report Posted January 23 In a few weeks you should start seeing signs of the current Harpoon Classic build being published on Steam. Apparently, the publishing process has been prioritized again. 1 1 Quote
donaldseadog Posted January 23 Report Posted January 23 Do you know will that mean some one will be again licensed to do bug fixes and upgrades? Quote
TonyE Posted January 23 Report Posted January 23 1 hour ago, donaldseadog said: Do you know will that mean some one will be again licensed to do bug fixes and upgrades? Yes, the publishing agreement allows for updates and upgrades. 2 Quote
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