The 20th Century Aerial

The 20th Century Aerial Joust (TACS) is a 3D arcade and real-time strategy game of biplane dogfighting from Forever Games, supporting up to three players. Released in 1999 by Ben Mitchell, it pairs twitch action with squad-level tactics by giving the player a team of identically piloted biplanes to command in the air.

Tactical dogfighting

Because every aircraft uses the same autopilot and pilot skill, victory hinges on decision-making rather than raw flight performance. Players reassign targets and behaviour patterns on the fly to seize positional advantage over opposing teams.

Three-team battles

The campaign supports up to three competing teams in the same airspace, turning matches into shifting alliances of pursuit, evasion, and ambush across the open sky.

System requirements

Distributed by Info-Mac as the-20th-century-aerial-112.hqx, version 1.1.2 requires a PowerPC Mac with Apple's OpenGL and DrawSprocket system extensions installed.

Forever Games release

Forever Games positioned TACS as a compact action title that traded photoreal scenery for snappy multiplayer dogfights, fitting Mac OS hardware of the late 1990s.