HMS Marulken to become Subsim Project

[Onkel Neal]

From the devs
Hello everyone!

We have some very important news. The game has been successfully funded, but not through Kickstarter. We have established a partnership with Subsim, one of the biggest submarine simulator communities.

After discussing with the Subsim community we have decided on some changes to the game that deviate somewhat from what we have promised in the kickstarter campaign. Because of this, we have decided to cancel the Kickstarter campaign. We don’t want to make any promises we don’t keep, so we feel that cancelling the campaign is the right thing to do.

The changes will not affect the game mechanics, but does affect the story and setting. We have decided to not make a alternative history game about Sweden, and instead make on a more realistic, German U-boat game. This decision will be a disappointment for some, and please others. This is why we have decided to cancel the Kickstarter and start off on a clean slate.

The new version of the game will have a new name, which will be revealed soon. It will feature co-op gameplay with dynamically generated missions. The players will man aType VII German U-boat.

For those of you that want early access, the game will be released as an early access game on Steam, when the new Type VII U-boat interface is implemented.

Thank you so much for supporting us, and we hope that you will follow the development of the new project! Updates and details will be available on the Facebook page and also here.

Best regards
Einar and Oscar

From the time I started Subsim, back in 1997, I have always dreamed of being part of the production of a multiplayer sub game. When Skvader Studios notified me back in Aug 2015 that they were working on a co-op sub game, I had a look and asked them to keep me posted on its progress. When they sent me the demo, and I had a chance to try it, I was really impressed. No, it's not Silent Hunter 5 (but it isn't finished either), but it had a real charm to it. There were concepts in the game design that appealed to me very much.

I immediately pledged the maximum amount. A few days later I raised the pledge another $100. The Kickstarter campaign rose slowly, too slowly to suit me. I reached out to the devs and offered a proposal; I would fund the development of the game for up to a year, including living expenses, hardware, software, and licenses, if they would agree to switching the base unit to a Type VII U-boat. And I am pleased to report that we came to an agreement.

The new game (name to be announced at a later date) will retain much of its original scope and flavor. We will try to retain the Swedish sub adventure, I am sure we can fit that in as a Special Mission. There will also be other Special Missions with designated objectives. There are some features to be added, others to be polished, but we will be careful not to overreach and jeopardize the project. . We want the game to do what it is made to do and do it very well, even on early release. And that is, to provide co-op and multi-sub dynamic convoy battles in the North Atlantic, Baltic, and North Sea.

We have a lot of work ahead of us. I will be moving to Sweden soon, I hope I can find some Dr Pepper there. I hope we can make this a community effort, your support and interest will be crucial. You've never let me down in the past, I have no doubt we will succeed and this could be the first step to a true U-boat/Escort/Convoy simulation. Wish us luck!

Good hunting!
Onkel Neal
SUBSIM

[Gwenydd]

And I was worried the kickstarter wouldn't make it. This is wonderful news both in that the sim will be funded and in the new historical German type VII aspect.

Keep up the great work guys! :)

Gwen

[THEBERBSTER]

A Warm Welcome Back To The Subsim Community > Gwenydd

Why is Gwen being shown as a 'Bilge Rat' when she is a 'First Officer'?

[Gwenydd]

I was wondering that myself =P

[blackswan40]

Christmas as come Early this year as we say in my neck of the woods Mytholmroyd Hebdenbridge West Yorkshire The Lads (Onkel Neal) Played A Blinder has anyone told bernard we have a Submarine Simulation Situation
Once Again Nice One Neal Good Job Buddie

:Kaleun_Salute:

[Onkel Neal]

Why is Gwen being shown as a 'Bilge Rat' when she is a 'First Officer'?



The ol' Custom Title bugaboo. (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=198837)Fixed :Kaleun_Salute:

[rainiere]

Wow, this is very interesting news! Best of luck! :yeah:

[nsomnia]

Is the move a joke or serious?

Now I have some competition, competition is always healthy in the free market.

Big news from our end this weekend. Good timing!

Keep on trucking team + N.S.!

[Leo_93]

This is fantastic news, I'm glad that this game will soon be realized as I was worried that the kickstarter might fail as I too had made a pledge on it. Also the first thing I saw in my email was "kickstarter canceled" and I almost fell out of my chair, but then I saw funding successful because of subsim and I was delighted.:woot:

[Rydogdav]

Ok. Onkle Neal, please take no personal offense, but d**n you. I was really looking forwards to this game. It was going to be innovative and unique. It wasn't going to be another Silent Hunter, or a second Dangerous Waters. It was going to become the first Sweedish Submarine Simulator, complete with an alternate history story. But now, you changed it with money, just like Minecraft (I know it's a stretch of a comparison and a childish one, but still, the comparison's there). It was going to bring something new to the table and make the game incredibly interesting, and also give the developers the option to use what ever design and type of technology they wanted. Now, you're paying them to change a 4 man design, to a 20 man design when we can barely scrap together 12 men for 3 subs. It seems unfortunate and unfair to this amazing concept.
However, the news of full development funding for this great team is very reassuring that, whatever this game turns out to be, there will be a final product that I will look forwards to for an amazing game. And for that, I thank you Mr. Neal. Keep up the good work! (P.S: I am totally keeping Build 144, even if the newer U-Boat version surpasses it completely)

[nsomnia]

Ok. Onkle Neal, please take no personal offense, but d**n you. I was really looking forwards to this game. It was going to be innovative and unique. It wasn't going to be another Silent Hunter, or a second Dangerous Waters. It was going to become the first Sweedish Submarine Simulator, complete with an alternate history story. But now, you changed it with money, just like Minecraft (I know it's a stretch of a comparison and a childish one, but still, the comparison's there). It was going to bring something new to the table and make the game incredibly interesting, and also give the developers the option to use what ever design and type of technology they wanted. Now, you're paying them to change a 4 man design, to a 20 man design when we can barely scrap together 12 men for 3 subs. It seems unfortunate and unfair to this amazing concept.
However, the news of full development funding for this great team is very reassuring that, whatever this game turns out to be, there will be a final product that I will look forwards to for an amazing game. And for that, I thank you Mr. Neal. Keep up the good work! (P.S: I am totally keeping Build 144, even if the newer U-Boat version surpasses it completely)

I'm hearing alot of sell out comments and a lot of positive comments. They are directly related to casual players and old salts. I agree and disagree with all your points which I won't say how or which but a man puts a lot of love and effort into this website if he wants to take the benefits his hard work reaps and put it on his dream there's no better feeling. The move to Sweden I still question as a joke however. Neal and co has alot to learn and the Swedish two have a lot more to live up to now. Not just part kf the community but -the- community. Gonna be some interesting posts on the next days to come.

[Nippelspanner]

What the... this is awesome!
I didn't care about this project at all because it was about some Swedish sub.
Now I learn that it will shift towards German VII boats.

Today is a good day.

[Zerim]

So, I downloaded the game ~2 days ago based on a recommendation from some of my friends from Eve Online, so I'd like to chime in and speak as someone who knows very little about submarines and hasn't played a sub game before.
I'm very happy that it's been funded, because what you have at the moment is special. This game has the potential to be quite popular (https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=hms%20marulken) among mainstream gamers (your own Google Analytics may provide insight). At the moment, the game, as incomplete as it is, isn't just some obvious clone of another game, and it provides extremely memorable gameplay for groups of friends, with serious, tense, scary, funny, and enjoyable moments, somewhat similar to Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes (http://store.steampowered.com/app/341800) or Spaceteam (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sleepingbeastgames.spaceteam&hl=en). I'd like to offer a few pointers, though as you've decided to fund development, it's your money, so feel free to disregard them.

1. Mainstream gamers do not care about the submarine type, and they won't care about what's historically accurate (beyond tangible things like armament, instrument quality, or other special equipment). I'm sure the controls at each station in the current game are dumbed down compared to real life, but they're still not 100% intuitive--please try to avoid making them unnecessarily complicated in the name of accuracy. If you happen to have an abundance of development time, consider a simple mode (i.e., similar to current) and a realistic mode for some stations. That said, elements of realism can make a game really educational and interesting if you don't scare the player away.

2. I'm sure this will sound almost as bad as #1 to many of you, but don't obsess with the story to the detriment of gameplay; the alt-history Swedish setting was cute, but unless you hire a professional writer or an enthusiastic historian, people will likely hit escape to skip the roleplay portions, as we did. However, that doesn't mean good historical story elements would go unnoticed--I'd love to be thrown into this guy's (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasili_Arkhipov) situation and have to solve it. (I'd personally rather have two somewhat historically inaccurate submarines in different eras than one perfect WW2 submarine. Just don't rule out the possibility of a later DLC release with Cold War-era boomers with similar gameplay :)

3. Be careful not to uproot everything that's done if you're going to be changing a lot--Unity is a great choice of an engine, with a nice asset store, and it should allow you to move into VR, which to me is an obvious step for this game. I'm surprised at how good the game already looks, especially the ocean waves and the smoke around the generators; avoid going full ARK: Survival Evolved (which is UE4 and visually pretty but crippling-ly optimized) unless you're certain you could deal with the downsides. Custom 3D game engines are the death of small teams.

4. Don't be afraid to monetize the game some to offset expenses as you develop, especially if the demo goes viral before the 'corrected' version is complete. That said, you can't and shouldn't rely on the chances of it going viral, and don't over-promise or under-deliver like ~75% of Steam Greenlight games. I wouldn't hesitate to drop $5 on the game as it currently is if it had a few more core features (listed below), as this is exactly the kind of game I'd buy for a few hours of weekend fun assuming core functionality is in place.

So, things that need to be priorities (aka, I'm just gonna make the post longer and throw suggestions for the game as-is)-
1. Game saving and loading. I soloed the current mission (6-8 kills!), and it took me a few hours in one sitting. For long duration missions, saving is a must; without it and autosave, expect people to ragequit and leave bad reviews.
2. Player models for multiplayer. I know they've posted some WIP 3D models, but invisibility is an awful placeholder--just a standard Unity player capsule (http://i.imgur.com/UzgeVVY.png) would be way better than nothing, and should really be in the very next version.
3. Tweaks to the user interface/experience, both in the menu and in game.
In the menu: various things like mouse-over color changes are simple to add and very helpful to the user.
In the game: the papers ('O' and 'F' keys) being affected by lighting will lead to some great gameplay as people try to read their orders as their lights flicker due to lack of power... however not being able to read because it's too bright in the EWAR room is lame. In addition, WASD should work if you're not holding right click. Consider the option to make right click a toggle instead of a hold.
As a bonus: the fact that radio broadcasts are in German is a nice touch, but having to open up Google Translate doesn't help immersion, no pun intended. If you plan on having realistic languages, add a translation cheat sheet or AI crew translator or something.

tl;dr- The core gameplay has tons of potential mostly regardless of historicity. Good luck with its development!

[daft]

Firstly, awesome news! I really approve of the new direction!

Secondly, you're moving to Sweden?! Now, I haven't been the most Active member on Subsim, but I've been here for a looooong time now (before my current forum nick namn I had another which I lost the password to), and Subsim and consequently you Neal, have come to mean quite a bit to me throughout the years. So IF you really are moving to Sweden (Stockholm I assume), I insist that I finally get a chance to meet up and buy you a couple of beers. :)

[nsomnia]

Just don't rule out the possibility of a later DLC release with Cold War-era boomers with similar gameplay :)


We've got you covered, check back this weekend (Very very late Saturday GMT or Sunday) mail has been shipped out and should be arriving in port anyday now. :salute::

Edit: Just noticed top 100 of 35,500 on indieDB in my siggy, thanks for the publicity Neal & Co!

[StandingCow]

Awesome news! So... question... should we (if we still want to put money toward this game) donate what we kickstarted to subsim or will there be a future pre-order link put up?

[Onkel Neal]

Ok. Onkle Neal, please take no personal offense, but d**n you. I was really looking forwards to this game. It was going to be innovative and unique. It wasn't going to be another Silent Hunter, or a second Dangerous Waters. It was going to become the first Sweedish Submarine Simulator, complete with an alternate history story. But now, you changed it with money, just like Minecraft (I know it's a stretch of a comparison and a childish one, but still, the comparison's there). It was going to bring something new to the table and make the game incredibly interesting, and also give the developers the option to use what ever design and type of technology they wanted. Now, you're paying them to change a 4 man design, to a 20 man design when we can barely scrap together 12 men for 3 subs. It seems unfortunate and unfair to this amazing concept.

However, the news of full development funding for this great team is very reassuring that, whatever this game turns out to be, there will be a final product that I will look forwards to for an amazing game. And for that, I thank you Mr. Neal. Keep up the good work! (P.S: I am totally keeping Build 144, even if the newer U-Boat version surpasses it completely)

I'm still angry Microsoft outbid me for Minecraft but I have to let that go....:03:

Thanks for expressing your concerns, Rydog, I understand, there was some interest in a fictional history Swedish sub game, but not nearly as much as real history U-boats. With Swedish subs, even in a made up universe, sinking convoys of German merchants in the North Atlantic.... that's a stretch. I want to keep the Swedish campaign in the game, and the devs do too. Why not? Yeah, it will be fun to opt for a special mission where the King gives you a clandestine mission to give the German Navy hell. So we really will be polishing and finishing up the Swedish portion as we develop the U-boat version. I can't outline the specifics, we still have to work out what we think is best with what we can accomplish, but I think you will be surprised, and pleased.

I want to point out, we are NOT changing the 4 man design, no sir, not at all. That was the magic that brought out a lot of players and we intend to keep it. We will be adding one important option, that is, a user interface where 1 or 2 players can access ship functions and play the game. And if players want to schedule a match where they can man 2 or 3 U-boats to locate, shadow, and feed on a massive convoy by the light of a new moon in the stormy Atlantic, that is going to be available. So, if you cannot find 6 or 7 guys, you can still have a great mission with 2, 3, 4, etc. Having scalability is very important to a good design and is a top priority.

Best :salute:
Neal

PS: Moving to Sweden: no joke. I'm all in on this.

[Dowly]

I keep checking if I've overslept big time and it's April's Fool day again. :doh:

Pretty exciting news and all the best to you Neal, if you are really planning on moving to Sweden (I believe it when I see it :hmph:).

[Onkel Neal]

Firstly, awesome news! I really approve of the new direction!

Secondly, you're moving to Sweden?! Now, I haven't been the most Active member on Subsim, but I've been here for a looooong time now (before my current forum nick namn I had another which I lost the password to), and Subsim and consequently you Neal, have come to mean quite a bit to me throughout the years. So IF you really are moving to Sweden (Stockholm I assume), I insist that I finally get a chance to meet up and buy you a couple of beers. :)

Yes sir, thank you, looking forward to it. I also plan to visit the U-Boat in Kiel, for research and honor.

We've got you covered, check back this weekend (Very very late Saturday GMT or Sunday) mail has been shipped out and should be arriving in port anyday now. :salute::

Edit: Just noticed top 100 of 35,500 on indieDB in my siggy, thanks for the publicity Neal & Co!

Outstanding! Please be assured, as my role of Admin with Subsim, I will always back your effort and support you. There is no such thing as too many quality subsims. :salute:

So, I downloaded the game ~2 days ago based on a recommendation from some of my friends from Eve Online, so I'd like to chime in and speak as someone who knows very little about submarines and hasn't played a sub game before.
I'm very happy that it's been funded, because what you have at the moment is special. This game has the potential to be quite popular (https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=hms%20marulken) among mainstream gamers (your own Google Analytics may provide insight). At the moment, the game, as incomplete as it is, isn't just some obvious clone of another game, and it provides extremely memorable gameplay for groups of friends, with serious, tense, scary, funny, and enjoyable moments, somewhat similar to Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes (http://store.steampowered.com/app/341800) or Spaceteam (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sleepingbeastgames.spaceteam&hl=en). I'd like to offer a few pointers, though as you've decided to fund development, it's your money, so feel free to disregard them.

1. Mainstream gamers do not care about the submarine type, and they won't care about what's historically accurate (beyond tangible things like armament, instrument quality, or other special equipment). I'm sure ... I have read every bit, thanks --NS

tl;dr- The core gameplay has tons of potential mostly regardless of historicity. Good luck with its development!

Zerim, thanks for taking the time to share your views. They are gold, you are right about the value of appealing to casual gamers. I have always believed that a good sub game should have scalable options and good tutorials where a newbie can pick up the game quickly and enjoy the hell out if it; it should also be able to represent historical and physical reality, and options for that are mandatory. I want the ship models, capabilities and tactics to represent real life, with concessions to game play only as needed.

Thanks also for the other game suggestions, I will investigate them. If a game does it right, then I like to study it for keys to success.

Awesome news! So... question... should we (if we still want to put money toward this game) donate what we kickstarted to subsim or will there be a future pre-order link put up?

Yes sir, hold on to your $$, when the game is ready, we will put it on Steam.

[nsomnia]

Any plans on releasing more details? Is Subsim/Sweeds on a 50/50 basis or do they have a bit more say knowing how game development works etc?

I understand keeping business CLASS however.

[HawkCZ]

Really glad to hear that the game got funded and that we'll have it here one day. :)

When I first heard about this game, I thought: "Wow, is this like SH but with multiple people in one sub? Awesome!"

We immediately downloaded the demo to try it. That's when I started to be skeptic about the fun that the game could offer. Sure, the idea of controlling the sub with bunch of friends is great. But how long can it last? The full game offered "a campaign". Thing is, it looked more like a number of separated missions which would probably be always the same, so the replay value would be pretty low. The reason why I like Silent Hunter is based primarily on the campaign it offers. You get a sub, massive scale map and almost 6 years of war to play with. In the newest dev update, it was mentioned that the U-Boat version of HMS Marulken will offer dynamic generated missions. Does that mean something like the campaigns in Silent Hunter? Or just the separated missions I mentioned earlier that would just get more randomized? I think there's a big potential in the Silent Hunter type of campaign and in the big variety of its randomized features (weather, day/night cycle, ships that you may come across, etc.) and it would be great at least as one of the playable game modes. But that could be just me..

I also agree about the opinion on difficulty (=realism). Adding the realism settings would be a good benefit, since the casual gamers would be able to play the game, while experienced sub captains would find it a challenge and would enjoy the authenticity and realism.

Another gameplay feature that could be worth thinking about is including proper damage model and repairs of the sub. Imagine a following situation - destroyer attacks you with depth charges and damages the sub. Water starts flooding the interior. Some of the crewmembers must leave their stations to seal the cracks in the hull, repair some of the modules in the sub (engines and such) and perhaps place water pumps to pump out the water. (Or whatever they did IRL). Everything could be done using minigames. On the other hand, I realize that having this mechanic in such a small sub like the one that is currently in the game would be almost impossible.

Other things that I suggest (other than those that were already announced):
• Adding active sonar
• Using sonar to measure depth below keel
• Improving AI of enemy ships (Sometimes it felt really weird in the demo; eg. going 2,5km past a destroyer without him noticing us, and similar events, it just sometimes felt too easy)

(I realize that most of my suggestions is just Ctrl + C from Silent Hunter, since it is the only series I've played so far, sorry about that.)

I wish you the best of luck with the development and I am looking forward to any kind of news!

[Aktungbby]

HawkCZ!:Kaleun_Salute:nice balanced opinion/review first post!

[horsa]

Bold move, Neal. Best wishes for every success with this venture :up:

[TheQuack45]

Really glad to hear about this, I had concerns regarding the potential of the alternate history idea. I'm not sure if I entirely believe if Onkel Neal is serious about the moving to Sweden part, but if that really is the case I want to hear how it goes initially... But anyway I'm happy to hear that Neal is going to be heavily involved with the process going forward, I have high hopes for this project.

Can't wait until the game goes up on Steam so I can get hold of the next build!

[Zerim]

I want the ship models, capabilities and tactics to represent real life, with concessions to game play only as needed.

I agree there. A more experienced crew should be able to use tactics like hiding behind the noise of a target's engines, or avoiding flipping switches/diving too fast making lots of audible noise that AI could detect, or charging batteries only at night.
What I meant more specifically was concerning the accuracy of, for example, 3D models. If/when you get to modeling e.g. the actual Enigma (https://youtu.be/ASfAPOiq_eQ?t=293) (which is a bit more complicated than the current decoder), realistic usage would be fun to a point, but I wouldn't spend an entire week perfectly recreating its internal wires and behavior unless I was sure it would add to game play.
Or, if you add a day/night cycle, a 24-hour cycle rarely works well in video games. But again, your call :D

[Aktungbby]

Zerim!:Kaleun_Salute:

[p4p3rm4t3]

An interesting development. I can't wait to see what surfaces.

:Kaleun_Cheers:

[cherbert]

This is excellent news and makes commercial sense.

I had no intention of backing the project because I simply don't have an interest in the history of Sweden. If the Kickstarter still existed I would back it like a shot. Just please make a dynamic campaign without map restrictions.

Ever since I have seen this game I kept saying to myself I wish this was set in the uboat war in the Atlantic. I couldn't believe it when I saw this announcement.

[troopie]

Way to go Neal! I can't believe what I'm seeing! I just about did a back flip when I checked my email today.:huh:

I was actually thinking that when the kickstarter inevitably failed we could pull the subsim community together and approach the devs with an offer to try and publish it through subsim with the help and input of this amazing community.

I didn't suggest it because it seamed an outlandish idea...; and here you are going one step further!:Kaleun_Cheers:

Absolutely amazing and massive respect to you! :sunny: :Kaleun_Salute:



:subsim::subsim::subsim::subsim::subsim::subsim::s ubsim::subsim::subsim:

[Jimbuna]

From the devs


From the time I started Subsim, back in 1997, I have always dreamed of being part of the production of a multiplayer sub game. When Skvader Studios notified me back in Aug 2015 that they were working on a co-op sub game, I had a look and asked them to keep me posted on its progress. When they sent me the demo, and I had a chance to try it, I was really impressed. No, it's not Silent Hunter 5 (but it isn't finished either), but it had a real charm to it. There were concepts in the game design that appealed to me very much.

I immediately pledged the maximum amount. A few days later I raised the pledge another $100. The Kickstarter campaign rose slowly, too slowly to suit me. I reached out to the devs and offered a proposal; I would fund the development of the game for up to a year, including living expenses, hardware, software, and licenses, if they would agree to switching the base unit to a Type VII U-boat. And I am pleased to report that we came to an agreement.

The new game (name to be announced at a later date) will retain much of its original scope and flavor. We will try to retain the Swedish sub adventure, I am sure we can fit that in as a Special Mission. There will also be other Special Missions with designated objectives. There are some features to be added, others to be polished, but we will be careful not to overreach and jeopardize the project. . We want the game to do what it is made to do and do it very well, even on early release. And that is, to provide co-op and multi-sub dynamic convoy battles in the North Atlantic, Baltic, and North Sea.

We have a lot of work ahead of us. I will be moving to Sweden soon, I hope I can find some Dr Pepper there. I hope we can make this a community effort, your support and interest will be crucial. You've never let me down in the past, I have no doubt we will succeed and this could be the first step to a true U-boat/Escort/Convoy simulation. Wish us luck!

Good hunting!
Onkel Neal
SUBSIM

Well, the news is certainly out there now buddy :03:

Nice one and all the best :sunny:

[vdr1981]

Truly a great news! :up::up::up: Something like this would really be a fulfillment of the dream...

Give this dev team a shovel, they are going to bury SH5.
I sincerely hope that they will be able to bury SH3 and 4 as well because even these games are still far away from my vision of a genuine submarine simulation...

I have no doubt that Subsim modding community (including my self) will offer any help and assistance where ever and when ever is necessary...:yep:

Looking forward to it...:up:

[NightFromTheWest12]

First of all Congrats for your sponsors. I am glad to see that this game will make it to release. Now there is a request I have. Would you be able to allow the demo to stay up until release? I was planning to play it and make it a part of my YouTube Channel and help spread the word about it. That is all I wanted to know. Thanks and have a good one.

[Aktungbby]

NightFromTheWest12!:Kaleun_Salute:

[Usurpator]

First of all Congrats for your sponsors. I am glad to see that this game will make it to release. Now there is a request I have. Would you be able to allow the demo to stay up until release? I was planning to play it and make it a part of my YouTube Channel and help spread the word about it. That is all I wanted to know. Thanks and have a good one.

Hi!

The current demo will stay up until release :)

[SFCspoonman]

I had just discovered this game about 3 hours after it was taken down... Dammit! I want to play now!

Seriously, now I have to wait, but it is with anticipation! :/\\!!



EDIT: Just found it, thank you!

[Usurpator]

Wait, what? Where is this demo?

You can download it here: http://hmsmarulken.se/

[Aktungbby]

SFCspoonman! After a nine year silent run!

[Chromatix]

If you do manage to make it "open world" rather than "discrete mission" based, something fundamental will be the world model. Silent Hunter - all of them - use "plate carrée", which badly distorts both distance and direction anywhere but the Equator.

With modern computing power, it should easily be feasible to use a true spheroidal model, but that'll need to be designed in at an early stage. An obvious approach would be to use an Earth-centred physics model, in double-precision, and for rendering, merely translate all objects from that space to a single-precision graphics space centred on the camera. This of course means that ships in the vicinity of southern Australia really will be upside-down in physics space, but since the camera will be as well, it'll look right in the end.

A side benefit of a true spheroidal model is that draw distance decisions are greatly simplified: you draw all the ships and other objects that are above the local horizon from the camera's perspective. So it's no longer necessary to arbitrarily cut things off at a specific distance.

Extending the game world beyond the Baltic Sea also means that all those finicky details about saltwater density, tides and suchlike suddenly become a lot more relevant.

Weather patterns also vary a lot worldwide - perhaps a complete forecast-quality weather model is too much to ask from a small team, but you should at least model the trade winds, average fog and rainfall incidence, and seasonal storm likelihood, for which first-order data is available on ocean pilotage charts. Also, the smaller types of waves (high-frequency components of the Fourier transform) react a whole lot quicker to changes in wind speed and direction than the big swells (low-frequency) do. This would be a big improvement over the abruptly-changing, context-free, completely random weather in Silent Hunter.

If you plan to model torpedo failures realistically, the magnetic detonators were apparently affected by latitude due to the vertical angle of the geomagnetic field. Ambient sea noises, especially biologics and ice cracking, are also region-dependent, while the incidence of suspended silt and/or vegetable matter in some regions has a strong attenuation effect on sonar transmission, making both submarines and escorts almost completely deaf.

The above factors are the sort of thing which add to game depth rather than complexity as seen by the player; this is generally a good thing. How many of them can be done within the new game's format and budget remains to be seen.

[nsomnia]

I'll tell you right now now very many very easily. In the game industry you fake it till you make it.

[raymond6751]

:up:
I'm 100% happy with this news. I too had always dreamed of a multi-player sub. Neal, you are the MAN!

I backed the Kickstarter and I will be eager to be in the front of the line to get the game on Steam and all of its future versions. No mistake, it will live a long life because Onkel Neal and his gang will see to it.

I intend to send my pledge for the Kickstarter to Subsim as a donation. Neal has his hands full, guys, so we can help in this way.

Yay :yeah:

[Homuth]

Excellent news, I will be looking forward to play this game in co-op! :subsim:

[Akotalaya]

awesome, glad to see this will actually get somewhere! by that i mean the kickstarter could have failed and the game fade into the shadows, though it was unlikely..so where do i pre order at? also, Niel i dont see how you can afford this, you must be loaded haha! but really, where do i preorder?

[Onkel Neal]

Thanks, guys. I have been waiting years for the opportunity to both be involved in the production of a quality game, and to apply my financial support to a worthy effort. This game really appealed to me in a way that the previous games lacked, the fun of a subsim with the social element of horsing around with friends. I have been well-supported by the community and now I can take that support and do some cool things. Over the next few weeks, we will be launching a re-branding of the game with a new name, a list of features, and summary of the game scope. I will be reminding everyone that this is a first step--Rome wasn't built in a day. We want the first release to be stable, do all the things we build it to do, and provide real fun for the players.

thanks! :salute:
Neal

[grouchy993]

Is there any way we can contribute Neal?

[Onkel Neal]

Yes sir, a few ways:


When we announce the game in a few days, spread the word with a post in a few of your favorite relevant forums, maybe a few emails to blog and website media outlets

Please keep checking this forum and feel free to make suggestions, this is a community project. We want to include as much input from you as possible.

If you speak a second language, or if you have good 2D art/modding skills, or any other talents, we may need you.

When the game is released on Steam, if it looks like something you will enjoy (and it's my job to ensure it will), buy a copy

Join me on Subsim Teamspeak and let's sink some bloody merchants!


Thanks! It was very nice of you to ask :salute:

Neal

[wolfofthedeep]

sir neal, I support you and the Swede team all the way..this is great news but as alternatives to steam...please consider IL2-Sturmovik, DCS, Rise of Flight model for sales and updates, I feel it is more personalised for a genre with tens of thousands lovers worldwide :sunny:

[Catfish]

:o
It is like waking up, where have i been the last weeks?
Neal you really going to Sweden? Unbelievable!!

And of course congratulations to this new simulation, god i had no idea, at least not before yesterday. This can well be the one that i have dreamt of since decades! Where do i donate?

If you are into passive and active sensors like Funkmess (Radar) and the different german systems and combinations with antennas over the years, i had already made a list about that long ago, for SH3/GWX. Also lots of books about the boats, and info. Well i guess you already have all that.
Only downside is that now being employed at least until next year i have so few time for the interesting things in life :haha:.

Sweden. Unbelievable. Snowy cold winters, summer, the islands, sailing, the danish south sea. And the chances to meet have just risen.
All the best to the team :up:

[macjim]

sir neal, I support you and the Swede team all the way..this is great news but as alternatives to steam...please consider IL2-Sturmovik, DCS, Rise of Flight model for sales and updates, I feel it is more personalised for a genre with tens of thousands lovers worldwide :sunny:
I also echo this post. Good news that the project will be supported.
But I hope there is an alternative to Steam. Additionally it would be helpful if it is possible to play the game truly single player, without connecting to the internet.

[Hawk66]

Also the best wishes from me..It's great news and it is more than astonishing what those two young folks from Sweden have already achieved.

Frankly, since I am more a cold war skipper, I would like to change the theme :D, just kidding I guess I support it on steam anyways.

But seriously if you build the sim with unity I'd guess there would be much reuse potential for a cold war simulator later. Any chance considering this (build the stuff in a modular way already now)?

[Mogs55]

Is this the first Multi person Submarine simulator in history? I think it is.

[Aktungbby]

Mogs55!:Kaleun_Salute:

[jdkbph]

Is this the first Multi person Submarine simulator in history? I think it is.

Does anyone know if a single player campaign mode is planned?

JD

[Schuck]

I have to say this is great news.
I certainly think a type VII will have alot more pulling power and appeal.
I hope the Swedish guys are ok with this.
But i do think its a step in the right direction.

Maybe even a few more stations could be available, engine room, torpedo room, radio room, sonar, dive plane operator, navigator etc.
Just imagine 6 or 8 of us in a VIIC attacking a convoy in the North Atlantic! :ping:
Where do i sign up!!!

[Gwenydd]

Is this the first Multi person Submarine simulator in history? I think it is.

I believe Dangerous Waters was.

[Onkel Neal]

Does anyone know if a single player campaign mode is planned?

JD

Unknown at this time, sir.

I believe Dangerous Waters was.

That's correct, we are striving to be the first U-boat sim with that capability.

[Flangduck]

Is there to be anything for the single-player crowd?
How about offline use?
Just asking. :>)

[THEBERBSTER]

A Warm Welcome To The Subsim Community > Flangduck
Subsim <> How To Donate <> See The Benefits <> Support The Community (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?p=2033119%23post2033119)
Highly Recommended SH5 > The Wolves Of Steel Mega Mod (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2165720&postcount=1)
Highly Recommended > LIVING SILENT HUNTER III EDITION 2015 Mega Mod (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=220285) > Full Tutorials And Much More In My Signature

[Aktungbby]

Flangduck!:Kaleun_Salute:

[Jimbuna]

Welcome to SubSim Flang :sunny:

[Onkel Neal]

Is there to be anything for the single-player crowd?
How about offline use?
Just asking. :>)


Hi Flang, still working out the details, but there will be some kind of single player interface.

[KentHutch]

Best of Luck! Will Support You!

[crazygerbil]

Any news on when a new demo version might be released? I know they were working on the player model and the Steam refactor of all the netcode. Has anything new happened? Have you made it to Sweden yet?

[Onkel Neal]

I'm in DC this week. Stay tuned for fresh radio traffic.

[DedEye]

Excited!!!! :subsim:

[5n4fu1]

I never really been a big part of the subsim community,

however whenever i engaged in these forums - mainly because of questions i had here and there regarding amazing mods you guys shared - i always fell under the impression that y'all are a great bunch of very talented and dedicated folks..


Just making this post to say "Thank You" for not only pushing this amazing project forward, but also for changing the whole setting, and mainly the sub, to an iconic Type VII [though Type IX's are probably my favs for their size/shape/looks & endurance]...

Naturally, i wish y'all the "best of luck and loads of success" with this project.


I'm sure to check in for more exciting news frequently from now on!

:salute:

[Onkel Neal]

Yes sir, thank you for the supporting words. The devs are really going full tilt now, engineering the game for a U-boat and characters.

Iconic is the word for the German Type VII U-boat.:yep: I am researching for a co-op campaign, where a crew of players will team up and fight the convoy war from 1939 to 1945. So many legendary phases to the Battle of the Atlantic....The Happy Times, the Flak boats, Operation Drumbeat, Metox struggles, Milch Cows, Black May, Scapa Flow, Bay of Biscay transits.... really rich stuff that will be all new with a co-op subsim. :Kaleun_Salivating:

[Gewehr98]

I'm tremendously excited to see how Subsim guides this game into something special.

I am curious if someone has passed the ONI data on U-570 off to the devs yet?

[Einhanded]

Incredible news! I backed this game and I'm really stoked to see that a community I've been supporting was ready to swipe it up! Great work Subsim!

[PL_Andrev]

No offence here, but if this project is supported by Subsim - would it be supported by community?

I mean work done by Subsim community for outher game producers like Silent Hunter series or others. These products are sell indepedently and have their own business model to sell. Marulken will have their business model I guest...

But now I'm reading that devs working with Uboat type VII interior... WHY???
Subsim modders may build ship models, campaigns, mission scenarios, interios from german uboats to japanese submarines.

In my opinion devs (and Onkel Neal) waste their time and money - devs should focus on game engine only, mods supporting and maybe further development plan like playing versus human-controlled destroyers as it was in old, good Destroyer Command.

Neal and devs, please: do not ignore power of community. See what modders did for SH3/4/5. Focus on engine. Playing italian Calvi class or british DD Tribal versus other players may be funny too. Make project open for modders activation and focus on engine.

[Lost At Sea]

Fantastic news:salute:
A Uboot sim produced / co-developed by subsim. Can the community really ask for anything else?

Cheers,
Lost

[CabbageMS]

If this ends up becoming a simulation with the fidelity of say DCS, this could be incredible. Good effort so far!

[Bigfish6156]

Yet another boring U-Boat thing.

Has anyone considered prosecuting UBISOFT for releasing 5 (V) faulty products?

[Darojax]

Yet another boring U-Boat thing.

You do realize these are the SUB-sim forums?

:Kaleun_Wink:

[PL_Andrev]

You do realize these are the SUB-sim forums?

:Kaleun_Wink:

Uboat means submarine, but submarine doesn't mean uboat.
I suppose Bigfish6156 is not a fan of german submarines...
:06:

[Onkel Neal]

Update: In Stockholm 1 week now, devs are UV mapping the new Type VII model; established basic game scope and timeline established; Dr Pepper is available in Sweden if you know where to look for it; some early VIVE VR testing done (it's amazing!); trip to Kiel set.

:salute:

[p4p3rm4t3]

Update: In Stockholm 1 week now, devs are UV mapping the new Type VII model; established basic game scope and timeline established; Dr Pepper is available in Sweden if you know where to look for it; some early VIVE VR testing done (it's amazing!); trip to Kiel set.

:salute:

Awesome!

[Hawk66]

nice article/interview on RPS:

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/07/22/the-flare-path-submarine-dreams/

[PL_Andrev]

nice article/interview on RPS:

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/07/22/the-flare-path-submarine-dreams/

http://www.animated-smileys.com/emoticons/animated-smileys-reading-004.gif

"Neal: I told my friends in Texas that I moved to Sweden because of the Presidential election (they have three months to ensure our next President is not Trump or Clinton, otherwise I may stay here)."

:o :rotfl2:

@Neal:
:up:

[Jax von May]

That's great news. Count me in.
J:subsim:

[WhoopAss_McGue]

Oh boy I can't wait for this to be released

[Aktungbby]

WhoopAss_McGue!:Kaleun_Salute:

[Onkel Neal]

The devs just wrapped up some labor-intensive work for a part of the game that ...well, it's amazing. Without getting too far into the weeds, they wanted to ensure the game would be compatible with VIVE VR. I got to sample a bit of the VR thing and it's impossible to describe...except that it works 1000 times better than I would have guessed. :rock: Nothing beats standing on the bridge of a surging U-boat and seeing the stormy Atlantic Ocean all around you.

This week it's back to work on the game code, U-boat texturing, campaign outline (see other thread (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?p=2421078#post2421078)) and prepping for the trip to Kiel to survey U-995. Then the rebranding and press release.

[Jimbuna]

Onward and Upward :sunny:

[Polak]

Wow,just heard about this. Best of luck Onkel Neal, watch out for swedish taxes! They will destroy you sooner or later. :yeah:

[VirtualVikingX]

This nothing short of amazing!


Sent from my iPhone so pardon any autocorrect bollocks

[TDK1044]

As a member who hasn't been around for quite a while, this project is exciting news to return to. Great to see some of the old timers still here too. :)

[THE_MASK]

Could we have a thread that has some progress photos . Anything that creates some interest .

[Onkel Neal]

We will have an update in a couple weeks, until then here is the latest article (https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/07/22/the-flare-path-submarine-dreams/). We were able to include some examples of the gameplay we have in mind.:yep:

[PL_Andrev]

Ok, already tested in multicrew mode (only two players).

Spotted disadventages:

Persicope permanent depth - hide / rise made by mechanist only,
Battery level is going highly down (only few minutes of dive possible) and can be charged with... seconds on surface? (very, very fast),
Surfaced speed is 30 kts / submerged 16 kts both direction (forward / backward),
Reloading torpedo time: approx 1 minute per torpedo,
Uncorrected depth of Bay of Puck (90-100m, wiki says that should be 2-6m depth average),
Ships are hided by horizon line much much closer than in reality (2000-3000 meters I think),
Tutorials are YT movies only (no TDC / gun training for non-SH fans)
Starting mission with cruising destroyers? Hmmm... to difficult for non-SH fans...


Adventages:

all team have something to do, no boring game for everyone.
game looks extremelly fast, but this is extremelly good playable
playability, playability and once again playability


It looks like is much more disadventages than adventages, but playability with team-cooperation beats all disadventages. And again: a lot of unrealistic changes matches to team / crew cooperation.
Really good game with bright future!

[Onkel Neal]

Ok, already tested in multicrew mode (only two players).

Spotted disadventages:

Persicope permanent depth - hide / rise made by mechanist only,
Battery level is going highly down (only few minutes of dive possible) and can be charged with... seconds on surface? (very, very fast),
Surfaced speed is 30 kts / submerged 16 kts both direction (forward / backward),
Reloading torpedo time: approx 1 minute per torpedo,
Uncorrected depth of Bay of Puck (90-100m, wiki says that should be 2-6m depth average),
Ships are hided by horizon line much much closer than in reality (2000-3000 meters I think),
Tutorials are YT movies only (no TDC / gun training for non-SH fans)
Starting mission with cruising destroyers? Hmmm... to difficult for non-SH fans...


Adventages:

all team have something to do, no boring game for everyone.
game looks extremelly fast, but this is extremelly good playable
playability, playability and once again playability


It looks like is much more disadventages than adventages, but playability with team-cooperation beats all disadventages. And again: a lot of unrealistic changes matches to team / crew cooperation.
Really good game with bright future!


Good report. Yes, the demo gives a flavor of what is different about our game vs the Silent Hunter series. There is no way we are trying to dismiss SH3/4/5, those will remain great games to play. As you said, we are trying to get you into a U-boat battle with 3 friends/teammates and work as a crew, with a more procedural and social element.

The demo is just an alpha demo, there are a lot of things in it that won't be in the released version. The periscope will work up and down, the Chief will be in the control room, periscope depth will not be set and forget, etc.

The consumables is an interesting question. Of course, the demo has everything working many times faster than real life. We would want to slow it down some, but, here's the important aspect: for consumables to have any impact on the gameplay and player decisions, they must make their impact within 1~3 hours.

Why 1~ 3 hours? Without any hard research to back me up, I have to estimate/predict how long a typical 4 real person co-op game will last. For starters, I am saying 1~3 hours. I have played a lot of MP games, and 1~3 hours is about right in my experience. I realize there are dudes who spend 60 straight hours on their games, but they are in the minority. Let's say once a week, you and your mates can control their personal lives enough to carve out 2 hours to play a mission. The wife says its ok, the kids are next door, and there is no football on the telly. Great! lets play.

You start the game, after 15~30 minutes you have engaged a massive convoy, you and your crew are getting into firing position. You attack, retreat to reload, re-engage but a corvette spots you and forces you down. All this time you are consuming fuel, battery, O2 and compressed air. Now, fuel is probably not ever going to be a problem. Battery and O2 could be, but are you expecting to stay submerged for 20 real life hours? No, probably not. So, in order to make batteries and O2 factor, they have to be sped up some. How much? hard to say at this point, we will do a lot of beta testing to get a good balance.

Right now in the demo, the batteries do drain quickly, and recharge really quickly. Not realistic at all--but--I think the devs are on the right track. Design the consumables so that they do become a factor in the gameplay. And they have to do this within the 1~3 hour allotment that we expect to complete a mission.

We are discussing the ability to include save game functionality. If it would be possible to save the 4 person game and pick up where they left off, that would greatly reduce the scheduling burden. However, it is unknown if that is a do-able thing within the limit of our resources (2 man dev team). Again, my mantra: if first steps are successful, put on your running shoes!


Thanks for your comments, especially the playability, that is key to a successful game and I am glad you enjoyed that!
Neal

[raymond6751]

In my humble opinion, to reflect the realities, a save game is necessary. Perhaps it can be stored on each player machine on exit. On reload the save game files are compared and the latest dated/timed is auto-selected to continue.

I understand you are going to make the game playable by 1-4 players. This would mean the crew could work together in an ongoing mission. If one or more players are missing, the empty slot is taken care of as you would in beginning any game with less than 4 players.

Without the save game, it becomes repetitive, and will have a short life.
If save games are on the player cpu's, replacement players can be used by sharing a save game file with the new player via email.

If one player goes rogue due to an argument, the remaining three players can continue their game without him.

[PL_Andrev]

The consumables is an interesting question. Of course, the demo has everything working many times faster than real life.
If something is going good why to fix it?
It may be a special "arcade" mode - yes, it is unrealistic but well working with multicrew option. I'm afraid that with real conditions the sneaking mode may takes too much of player's patience...

I have played a lot of MP games, and 1~3 hours is about right in my experience. You start the game, after 15~30 minutes you have engaged a massive convoy, you and your crew are getting into firing position.

I've played hundreds of multiplayer missions (SH3, SH4, DC as anti-sub, DC as some warship at naval battle) and we played 2-hrs missions only, where pursuing and sneaking takes 0.5-1 hrs, shooting takes 0.5 hrs and escort escaping last 0.5 hrs (convoy was too distant).
Now I'm little bit older, have a less free-time and Markulen game style matches too me. OK, maybe sub is too fast, but 5-10 minutes to catch convoy is acceptable for me.

Without the save game, it becomes repetitive, and will have a short life.
This game looks so good, that I think devs may create a playable DD to play versus uboats (one player per ship). With mission editor and free-unit to control this game may be ultimate sub game...

[klingenj]

I dont recall being this eager for a game to get developed for atleast 10 years.. I just cant wait for this game to come out!

I would also really hope that you try to focus on the PVP bit, as its the concept of 4 people working closely together to achieve success that makes this game so special. This gets boring very quickly unless you;

1) add sooooo much details that its hard to play (hard to hold steady, have to uncover deck-guns before using etc etc.)

2) add the pvp-factor. There will always be someone else outdoing you, and I cant imagine anything cooler than trying to prove yourself versus other real life crews. It would be so rewarding doing 4player PVP in a game like this.

If at all possible, I really hope that you look in to the possibility of adding a playable DD, as this would add so much to the PVP aspect.

I believe it could also draw a lot of players (including myself) looking for a DD simulator(ish) game, that simply doesnt seem to exist (Not one that isnt a 100 years old anyway).

Keep it up! I cant wait! :D :cool:

[Onkel Neal]

Thanks, we are glad to hear that. :salute:

[Aktungbby]

klingenj!:Kaleun_Salute:

[THEBERBSTER]

A Warm Welcome To The Subsim Community > klingenj
Subsim <> How To Donate <> See The Benefits <> Support The Community (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?p=2033119%23post2033119)

[PL_Andrev]

If at all possible, I really hope that you look in to the possibility of adding a playable DD, as this would add so much to the PVP aspect.

I believe it could also draw a lot of players (including myself) looking for a DD simulator(ish) game, that simply doesnt seem to exist (Not one that isnt a 100 years old anyway).

My "best" DD game at Destroyer Command:

Escorted group of US carriers at dark night, left side. Radar contact: japanese sub contact on right! Engine max power, turn hard right... and hit critically directly to carrier.
My DD sank fast...
:rotfl2:

[oskich]

Just found this project - keep up the good work! :-)

You should try to use nautical units intead of metric for distance measurments on the map... (NM, Knots) :)

[Onkel Neal]

Good suggestion, thanks.:shucks:

[THEBERBSTER]

A Warm Welcome To The Subsim Community > oskich
Subsim <> How To Donate <> See The Benefits <> Support The Community (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?p=2033119%23post2033119)

[Aktungbby]

oskich!:Kaleun_Salute:

[TDK1044]

I think this project is exciting on many levels. To have a sub sim built by people who have genuine passion and love for the genre, and without having to deal with the commercial pressures applied by a company with a 25 man Dev team,is awesome. I'm also very pleased for Neal. He has invested so much financially and emotionally into subsim over the years, that to get to be a part of creating something like this is wonderful to see.:)

[klingenj]

I'm also very pleased for Neal. He has invested so much financially and emotionally into subsim over the years, that to get to be a part of creating something like this is wonderful to see.

When I read about this - and realized he actually moved to Sweden to follow up on this project - that's when I was completely sold. :salute:

[Rockin Robbins]

As a guy much more interested in the American submarines than the German ones, I wish this were about American boats. But realistically, if this is to be a success, it must succeed in the European market. That means U-boats.

It's great to see Neal put his money and his body where his mouth is. It's great to see a team of programmers whose main interest is submarines, not FPV shooters.

I love the idea of a cooperative game where players take stations in the submarine to perform those specific tasks. I think the key to making that happen is whether the guy with an hour to burn can jump to the sonar station of a boat already in action without disrupting the play of the other characters already there, and whether they can jump back out after they run out of time without disrupting the other guys playing in that boat.

Guys with no life have to integrate in a positive way with guys who steal an hour from an otherwise busy life, popping in and out of the game. Both sets have to be equally happy to play.

Looks like that's the direction you're headed! I hope you sell lots of games that people are dedicated to for ten years, and that you use some of the profits to produce a game about American submarines.:up:

[PL_Andrev]

As a guy much more interested in the American submarines than the German ones, I wish this were about American boats. But realistically, if this is to be a success, it must succeed in the European market. That means U-boats.
As a guy much more interested in the Japanese submarines than the German ones (...)
:D

Hope devs & Neal make this game moddable, so American, British, Japanese, Italian, Russian or "Surcouf" career will be possible to implement by modders and play.

[Onkel Neal]

When I read about this - and realized he actually moved to Sweden to follow up on this project - that's when I was completely sold. :salute:

And I had completely decided a few years ago I had done enough traveling and would never fly again!

As a guy much more interested in the American submarines than the German ones, I wish this were about American boats. But realistically, if this is to be a success, it must succeed in the European market. That means U-boats.

It's great to see Neal put his money and his body where his mouth is. It's great to see a team of programmers whose main interest is submarines, not FPV shooters.

I love the idea of a cooperative game where players take stations in the submarine to perform those specific tasks. I think the key to making that happen is whether the guy with an hour to burn can jump to the sonar station of a boat already in action without disrupting the play of the other characters already there, and whether they can jump back out after they run out of time without disrupting the other guys playing in that boat.

Guys with no life have to integrate in a positive way with guys who steal an hour from an otherwise busy life, popping in and out of the game. Both sets have to be equally happy to play.

Looks like that's the direction you're headed! I hope you sell lots of games that people are dedicated to for ten years, and that you use some of the profits to produce a game about American submarines.:up:


Hi Steve, if you are in this thread it means we are moving in the right direction. :up:

Quick question, have you played the demo with three other players yet?

[potus]

Is the team keeping the 4 players concept? If i recall correct when listening to the developer Q & A it was mentioned that 5 or 6 might be the new minimum.

[Onkel Neal]

Sticking with 4. Sure, it would be cool to have 6+ but how likely is it there would be many 6 man teams all ready to play at the same time...?

[potus]

If it is well organized don't underestimate that chance though :hmm2:

but yeah sounds good that it is staying with the 4 players setup.

[PL_Andrev]

(...)how likely is it there would be many 6 man teams all ready to play at the same time...?
Uhm... two uboats cooperation here?

[Rebel]

I came upon this post when I was looking around. I read about your adventure into being an entrepreneur. I don't recall reading anything about you needing any money. Which is a great way to start ,if you're going to be an entrepreneur. If you do read this post, I would like to offer my time freely to beta test your idea , of a good realistic submarine game . I am even willing to invest in what ever computer I might need to play. The one I have is at its limit with silent Hunter three-- GW X
being in the light:subsim:

[Onkel Neal]

hi Rebel, thanks, we will definitively be checking with you when it's time to do some beta testing, sir. :up:

[rentacow]

I'm hoping beta versions will be available to the community to try out, now that it is no longer an option to contribute early on for access during the games development.

[KlLLJOY]

As a guy much more interested in the Japanese submarines than the German ones (...)
:D

Hope devs & Neal make this game moddable, so American, British, Japanese, Italian, Russian or "Surcouf" career will be possible to implement by modders and play.

Oh god yes, I'd be the first to mod the hell out of this game :D

[KlLLJOY]

Sticking with 4. Sure, it would be cool to have 6+ but how likely is it there would be many 6 man teams all ready to play at the same time...?

Having different scale u boats with different advantages and disadvantages and optimal crew size (small -4) (large +4) that might solve this, but I have no information on the capabilities of the team, but if modding will be a thing then that might be a option

[Cheripok]

I've just popped by for the first time in ages and look at that news! If a quality subsim is in the pipeline that plays without the endless headaches of the Silent Hunter games then I'm a happy fellow. Good luck to all involved. (Personally I prefer they type IX but lets not be picky). Back to trying to get SH4 to stop crashing in the meantime...again.

[subunit]

Sticking with 4. Sure, it would be cool to have 6+ but how likely is it there would be many 6 man teams all ready to play at the same time...?

Are you guys looking at Pulsar: Lost Colony at all? It's a very similar basic concept- 5 man co-op crew operates a ship in station-based gameplay, runs around the interiors operating stuff/fighting fires etc. They have a drop-in drop-out model and it's usually no problem getting a 5 man public crew together on a weeknight, and this is in Beta. They also have bots, though. If credible bots can fill player slots, and there's decent drop-in drop-out functionality, I would hope for an upper limit of 6 or so on the crews.

Also I would like to echo Rockin Robbins and other in hoping for an eventual American boat expansion or the game being moddable to allow it. If I can finally run a proper Dick O'Kane tracking party on my bridge, I'll be happy as a clam.

[DGJ]

This is a GREAT idea.

I can't find it as early-access on steam yet, how do I support it right now?

[Onkel Neal]

Ba-bam!

[Pisces]

Wolfpack on Steam store page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/490920/Wolfpack/