[Platapus]

Unless a fighting war is fictionalized up, where would the exciting game play be in a modern nuclear submarine?

Hours of moving very slowly and making gradual turns either following someone or being followed by someone, may be realistic but I am not sure it will be a sell-able game concept.

Just from an academic curiosity standpoint, would not mind some sort of computer simulation of the insides of a Nuke Sub. But I am having a hard time imaging a "SH" type of game.

One of the mechanics, that, in my opinion, makes the SH series enjoyable is the emphasis on the personal skill of the captain. The captain was the one making the observations and making the gut decision whether to attack, when to attack and how to attack.

Does any of that even take place in a Nuke Sub these days? There are so many stations and computers working together and running in the background, I don't know if any Nuke Sub actually looks through a periscope and decides to zig right or zag left. I am not sure where the exciting game play could be in a peacetime Nuke Sub simulator.

And then there is my opinion that simulators are not games and games are not simulators. I am sure that someone can design a nuke sub simulator that is accurate but I don't think it will be marketable. It is possible to make a nuke sub game that would be marketable but it won't be much of a simulator.

In these types of software development there is consistent compromise. Trying to make it simulated enough but at the same time fun enough is tough. Added on to that a desire to make it profitable and I understand why so few software developers want to move into the submarine game area.

For me, it is the technological limitations of WWI and WWII submarines that make it attractive as a game. These submarines were surface craft that could occasionally submerged and putter along for a little while. One has to maneuver on the surface, where the sub is vulnerable trying to get to a position where it is possible to submerge and gain some advantage.

I don't get that with modern nuclear submarine games where I can follow a surface ship while remaining submerged. Sub against Sub is the only aspect I enjoyed about nuke submarines and that was mostly a contest to see who could sneeze last.

I think the only future for a nuclear submarine would be an independent effort. I just don't see the major game developers being able to make a favorable market case for selling this on the open game market.

Sadly, I do believe that SH5 is the last SH. But in today's gaming environment, I can't see a SH6 being developed by a major developer.

Look at what is selling these days and see if there is any aspect of what sells that could be applied to a nuke sub game. I am not seeing much.

The good news is that I feel that SH3 and 4 will be around for a long time and I hope that there is continued modding.

I can't opine on SH5. I bought it when it first came out and tried to play it. I have not been motivated enough to try some of the great mods out there for SH5.