Quote:
Originally Posted by Treetop64
Patchman, as others have already stated, you are placing too much emphasis on details that are irrelevent for a WWII fleet boat simulator. Especially the "shipwrecks" part. You sink a ship in the middle of the ocean and it is never seen by anyone again. To expect to see shipwrecks floating all over the place or, as you said, "at the bottom of the ocean" is ridiculous.
Subs were only extremely rarely - if ever at all - in a position to see air formations in action. Submarines acted alone in isolation. The overwheming vast majority of their time on patrol was spent cruising along looking out at an empty ocean. This could go on for weeks at a time. Sometimes for more than a month. There were some US boats that didn't engage or even spot a single target for an entire patrol, and sometimes in successive patrols as well. This potential eventuality is reflected in the sim.
Other than the Dutch sub crew that was rescued by a US boat (don't remember which) no US, British, or Dutch subs coordinated with each other. Each boat in each respective navy acted independently.
99.999...% of the time a submarine would only see another friendly sub when it returned to base after a patrol - the other boats parked next to the tender.
Finally, producing mods for the sim is no quick-and-easy task. It is not a financially profitable endeavor. Modders spend a tremendous amount of time, trial-and error, and frustration producing their work. They do it for free, and on their own time. They have lives, too. To blithely suggest that "a better job can be done" is thoughless.
Your passion for the sim is appreciated but very badly misdirected.
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In fairness, I honestly don't mind "bending" history in simulators. If you're a guy like Patchman and want more encounters, more wrecks, more cooperation between units, & such I can sympathize.
Moreover, I am sure that, for example, even high-realism players of SH3 and SH4 see much more action than a typical U-Boat crew would, and sink many more ships. That's perfectly fine with me. A 100% realistic U-Boat simulator would involve vast amounts of boredom, then sudden death out of the blue - especially come 1943, when the Allies get their act together.
I was reviewing stats recently on uboat.net, and the number of young Kriegsmarine men who died with no successes (or maybe just 1 ship sunk) is STAGGERING.
Similarly, a 100% realistic SH4 would involve, by 1945, combing Japanese waters for small ships - by then as you know, Japan's merchant navy was decimated, and America's new submarines were a bit "underemployed".
I'm sure a few SH3 players love "Black May 1943" and beyond, but it seems like most guys on subsim prefer 1939-1941 (or in the case of SH4, the post torpedo scandal years). Times when you have a fighting chance to sink, say, 3-4 ships per patrol.
Just my rambling $0.02. I used to be a realism die hard who took pride in "boring" patrols; now, I think a "pinch" of Hollywoodizing is ok. So long as there is the option to turn it off (which we do, thanks to the campaign layers and modding tools). Interesting thoughts on both sides, guys, and I hope nobody takes offense.