Some ideas

[Tonnage_Ace]

I posted this in the general section, but I think it has some relevance here:

I hope that in SHIV they insert a lot of things to pass the time:

1. Full freedom to walk around the boat, witnessing people go about, maintaining the boat, loading torpedos, reading maps, plans and books, muffled conversations, guys eating, sleeping. You could have people move around the u-boat going sideways to slink past you as you move about, inspecting everything.

2. Insertion of that awesome enigma sim posted here a while ago to decode, encode messages to/from Bdu. At a lower realism setting you could have your radio man decode them but at 100% you would have to do it, rearanging the spools and setting plugs and keys(I know at 100% your radio man would always do it but then why, at 100%, do you set firing solutions and not your WO?).

3. Water skiing, come on, how cool would that be. It could be a little mini game or something. Maybe your crew could fire stern shots and you would have to dodge them or something.

4. Setting up mines en route to your patrol zone in historical mine-laying areas( I know the XXI could carry mines and torps as well as the type IX's).

5. Transporting spys and/or commando squads to certain hot spots during the war, maybe VIPs like generals or something that you have escort while being hunted by task forces.

6. Number 5 brings up other things like escorting convoys as a u-flak or setting up rendevouz's with other u-boats in certain spots in the Atlantic and meeting there then moving out together, hunting juicy convoy's.

7. Starting a career as an officer but not a captain, maybe you start as the head engineer and you must maintain the engines(possible mini-game applications here) as well as a radio operator, cook, sonar operator, torpedoman. So many possibilties where your not nessecarily the captain at first but someone else where you complete your task in some intuitive, fun mini-game.

As a submarine simulator, the devs have so much freedom, I really hope they take advantage of this genre next time.

[STEED]

A nice list the problem is the more realism in the game the greater the cost of the game lets hope they find a good balance. :up:

[Salvadoreno]

AT LEAST an interactive interior... It would be nice to see guys walking around, activity. Thats whats so lame abou SH3 there is NOTHING going on in the sub. Just bracing for depth charges (which dont lookvery realistic) and standing.

[Sailor Steve]

If they can do all those things, great. Me, I'll be happy with SHIII set in the Pacific.

But then, two years ago I said I'd be happy if SHIII was like AOD but with modern sounds and graphics.

[JU_88]

Heres my 10 cents

Essentials
=======

Improve Aircraft AI, add torpeedo and rocket attacks to their capabilties, smaller aircraft must be able to straff with MG and cannons. Surface vessels should also be able to conduct torpeedo attacks.

Ai for submarines, lack of this in SH3 was a huge dissapointment, with out it there were no refulling subs, no enermy subs for engagment and no wolfpacks. with out it the game will never be a truly dynamic naval sim.

COMMUNICATION! Radio intercepts, plenty more responses from HQ
and friendly shipping!


Athmostpere, effects and objects
=======================

A few Land targets would be nice, destroyable Radar installations, shore batteries and fuel bunkers etc would make nice deck gun targets, and add some variety.
Add some more land models for coastal areas, isolated houses, cliffs and rocks.

More weather effects, snow and ice? how about modeling light myst/ vapour steam on the waters surface for a nice effect.

Marine life, dolphins, Large whales and sharks would be great.

Night time effects, make moonlight or the lack of it work more effectivly, some ships should travel lit up with lights on! make use of flares being fired from AI shipping.

CREW
====
NO MORE FEET WELDED TO THE DECK!
Improved animation, they are very wooden in SH3,
Watch crew should cling to rails in rough seas and duck from large waves or enermy fire!

below deck the crew should be seen running though the comparments during an alarm, being tossed around like ragdolls during a depth charge attack. The camera should SHAKE VIOLENTLY!!!


EMOTION!
Crew should rejoice when victorious during an attack! and should show signs of complete terror when being attacked!

Intelligence, Crew management should not be compulsory for the player! Crew should know when to swap shifts.

'VISIBILTY NIL SIR!!!'
My watch crew should alert me of Fog and weather conditions that compromise the safty of my vessel, I shouldnt have to ask!!.

Harbour stations would be nice!!!


DAMAGE TO PLAYERS SUBMARINE
=======================

What happened to fires below deck?

Why can we see the sub implode at crush depth?

Why does the sub not break up at all...

There should be Pre modelled stages of visible damage to the boat, much like the way a car get systematically damaged in a driving game! I would certainly expect this of the players vessel! I dont want a bent deck gun barrel, I want the deck gun to get blown right off the deck!!!

Look at the chaos below deck in a submarine, during a depth charge attack in das Boot - then compare it to the calm in SH3

More verbal confirmations and exclaimations from crew!

'XXX COMPARTMENT TAKING WATER!!'

!DESTROYER AHEAD/ TO PORT/ OFF PORT BOW' Etc

RADAR SIGNALS DETECTED.

'PREPARE TO DIVE'

'FIRST WATCH STANDBY'

...and many many more.

[Tonnage_Ace]

We should combine our lists and send them to UBI JU_88. What a game it would be. I think I speak for everyone when I say we would all like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas's interactivity and open-endness in SH4.

[MadMike]

Well, after the old HP ME quit, it was time to buy a new system.
SH3 has run great, the graphics are impressive, but other factors are disappointing-

1. range scale in km instead of nautical miles.
2. inability to provide longitude and latitude readings (which was great in SH2 with the black out map).
3. inability to run on surface using batteries, nor manual dive planes.
4. no random damage.
5. silly English language wavs.

On the other hand, at least duds and prematures are modeled in. Don't really care for the fatigue aspect, as the bow and stern torpedo rooms had bunks. I've mastered manual TDC after a few attempts...

I've located about two dozen WWII U.S. submarine war patrol reports off the web; reviewing them would go a long way in developing SH4 (not to mention interviews with sub vets and reviewing the online manual).

http://www.maritime.org/fleetsub/index.htm

Yours, Mike

SH4 needs S-boats, V-boats, and other classes, the British and Dutch also had subs which fought in the Pacific!

[GlowwormGuy]

Hoping for more varied missions and more interactivity with other vessels at least as much as is reasonable - which will bring radio discipline into play as well.

Also, if they've not done it already, have at least a simple air to air AI so that fighters and bombers can engage in aerial combat. Then you could rescue the downed pilots. Think of a battle of Midway with this going on - you could be stalking the Japanese carriers and all of a sudden the TBD's of Waldron come in and the Zeros attack... this actually did happen but not at Midway - an American sub was stalking this Japanese convoy when Halsey's planes blew it out of the water.

Since we're in the Pacific proper carrier launch and retrieval (instead of having the dumb air AI fly around aimlessly till they crash or run into something) is a must as well as AI that doesn't just run a ship into shoals if they come across an unexpected island.

Finally it would be good to have abandon ship and plane sequences - if a plane is shot down the crew should get into a rubber dinghy or if a ship is torpedoed the lifeboats should be lowered and try to get away from it. Debris and oil and stuff like in CFS2 would look great too (ship sinkings are too clean) and they could just sink slowly into the ocean.

It would be great to bring back some nice old things like an O club at Noumea or Brisbane or Manila where you could buy some beer and brag about ships sunk or pick up news, just like in AoD. Basically something that gives you the feeling that you're part of a community and not just playing a game.

Aside from radio messages, couldn't it be possible to script sound cues or messages from your crew. Like if you're being depth charged someone randomly cries out 'we're all gonna die captain' and your XO replies 'shut up! keep your cool' or something. Again bringing out the human element of these games, like in the old Wing Commander series, would be nice.

Finally, please include either the option to play the Japanese side or the option to customize the ships and make your own without needing multi-million dollar hardware and software packages.

Just my two cents,
Mountbatten

[Rosencrantz]

Hoping for more varied missions and more interactivity with other vessels at least as much as is reasonable - which will bring radio discipline into play as well.


Exactly!

[Rosencrantz]

Just wondering, when we'll see "the survivors"? I mean, life rafts and men swiming off the sinking ship? :hmm: Or would it be too cruel? And if you'll sink a raft, you'll be retired immedeadetly after docked in? :hmm: :hmm:

[Rosencrantz]

And, is it really too much asked if my radio operator could hear sinking ship sending a SSS message? Just little things but worth to have, I think.

[Rosencrantz]

Ups. Am I talking to myself? :oops:
Sorry. :rock:

[Rosencrantz]

Well, at least I finally got rid not so pretty Medic face. Navy Dude is much better. :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: