Silent Hunter 4, it's almost here

Onkel Neal · 03-16-07, 07:25 AM

The excitement of a new subsim!

I don't know about you fellows but I treasure the anticipation, the buzz, and the buildup when a new sub game is about to be released. The months and days leading up to the first install and patrol are great, I really cherish the experience. Of course, if there were 4~5 companies releasing a new subsim each year, it would be fairly routine, plus you could pick and choose the very best one. As it is, Ubisoft is just about the only show in town, and Silent Hunter has really turned into a franchise we can enjoy and be proud of. From the first news and screenshots through all the rumors and humor, the discovery and the discussion, it's like Christmas, a first date, and a scavenger hunt all rolled into one.

I remember when Sierra set up a forum (primitive compared to this one) for the release of Dynamix's Aces of the Deep. Talk about exciting, all everyone talked about was realistic wave effects and we were hoping for 256 colors. I spoke with the game rep, and he hinted Sierra would be releasing a nuke subsim soon, too, it would be called Fast Attack. It was a nice game but had severe crashing problems that basically sank it (until we got it patched, but that's another story). The first Silent Hunter snuck up on me, I didn't get any news about it until it was almost released. I remember thinking, "Wow, the interface is almost exactly like the one in Aces, I wonder if they copied it or had some of the Mike Jones team working on it....?"

I was more involved with Silent Hunter II. Just about everything that could go wrong did with that title. First, the initial dev team was released. Suddenly, one dev team had two games to complete. Then the company was sold, causing all kinds of disruptions. The numerous, even humorous release date pushbacks (oh! The jokes we had at their expense

)Troy Heere, the lead programmer for the companion sim Destroyer Command, worked literally 18 hours a day for months, doing the heavy lifting to recode SH2 and save the game (tip of the hat to you out there, Troy and Dave) . In the end, the game had flawed AI and no dynamic campaign, and the multiplayer was so wonky it really couldn't be called multiplayer (until we got it patched, but that's another story). Still, it had a decent 3D engine and there was some reward in playing it. The sales were so good, that Ubisoft decided to fund Silent Hunter 3.

Ah yes, Silent Hunter 3... all hail, Romania! What a great subsim. When I first saw it at E3 2004, I was mightily impressed. But no dynamic campaign in that first version. Well, Ubisoft decided to listen to you and the results speak for themselves. I've been fortunate to meet many of the SH3 and SH4 dev team, and a true submarine enthusiast couldn't ask for a better group of guys to work on their subsim. And essentially, that's what it amounts to. We have hired a dev team to build us a subsim. Sub games, especially full-blown simulations, are a small segment of the shrinking PC games market, there isn't much comparison shopping to be done in sub games. No matter how hard a dev team works or how talented they are, no game is perfect, but that's the great thing about the Silent Hunter community; no one tries to form a lynching party. We praise the good stuff and criticize the weak stuff, but we support the Ubisoft and the dev team. Not many games benefit from such a symbiotic working relationship as ours.

So here we are on the eve of another new subsim. New program, new maps, new contacts to make, new radio messages to read, new harbors to sneak into... wait till you order a dive and you hear the aaooghah! You'll know you're in the Pacific then, treading on the old hunting grounds of men like Dealey, Morton, Fluckey, Kossler, Ramage, and many more. Sailing right up to the front door of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Savor the excitement, friends. Here's to Silent Hunter 4. I look forward to sailing with you again in the cyberseas.

Good hunting!
Neal Stevens
Subsim

SUBSIM
Web's #1 Sub & Naval Game Resource since 1997
www.subsim.com

03-16-07, 07:25 AM	#1
Onkel Neal Born to Run Silent Join Date: Jan 1997 Location: Cougar Trap, Texas Posts: 21,289 Downloads: 534 Uploads: 224	Silent Hunter 4, it's almost here The excitement of a new subsim! I don't know about you fellows but I treasure the anticipation, the buzz, and the buildup when a new sub game is about to be released. The months and days leading up to the first install and patrol are great, I really cherish the experience. Of course, if there were 4~5 companies releasing a new subsim each year, it would be fairly routine, plus you could pick and choose the very best one. As it is, Ubisoft is just about the only show in town, and Silent Hunter has really turned into a franchise we can enjoy and be proud of. From the first news and screenshots through all the rumors and humor, the discovery and the discussion, it's like Christmas, a first date, and a scavenger hunt all rolled into one. I remember when Sierra set up a forum (primitive compared to this one) for the release of Dynamix's Aces of the Deep. Talk about exciting, all everyone talked about was realistic wave effects and we were hoping for 256 colors. I spoke with the game rep, and he hinted Sierra would be releasing a nuke subsim soon, too, it would be called Fast Attack. It was a nice game but had severe crashing problems that basically sank it (until we got it patched, but that's another story). The first Silent Hunter snuck up on me, I didn't get any news about it until it was almost released. I remember thinking, "Wow, the interface is almost exactly like the one in Aces, I wonder if they copied it or had some of the Mike Jones team working on it....?" I was more involved with Silent Hunter II. Just about everything that could go wrong did with that title. First, the initial dev team was released. Suddenly, one dev team had two games to complete. Then the company was sold, causing all kinds of disruptions. The numerous, even humorous release date pushbacks (oh! The jokes we had at their expense )Troy Heere, the lead programmer for the companion sim Destroyer Command, worked literally 18 hours a day for months, doing the heavy lifting to recode SH2 and save the game (tip of the hat to you out there, Troy and Dave) . In the end, the game had flawed AI and no dynamic campaign, and the multiplayer was so wonky it really couldn't be called multiplayer (until we got it patched, but that's another story). Still, it had a decent 3D engine and there was some reward in playing it. The sales were so good, that Ubisoft decided to fund Silent Hunter 3. Ah yes, Silent Hunter 3... all hail, Romania! What a great subsim. When I first saw it at E3 2004, I was mightily impressed. But no dynamic campaign in that first version. Well, Ubisoft decided to listen to you and the results speak for themselves. I've been fortunate to meet many of the SH3 and SH4 dev team, and a true submarine enthusiast couldn't ask for a better group of guys to work on their subsim. And essentially, that's what it amounts to. We have hired a dev team to build us a subsim. Sub games, especially full-blown simulations, are a small segment of the shrinking PC games market, there isn't much comparison shopping to be done in sub games. No matter how hard a dev team works or how talented they are, no game is perfect, but that's the great thing about the Silent Hunter community; no one tries to form a lynching party. We praise the good stuff and criticize the weak stuff, but we support the Ubisoft and the dev team. Not many games benefit from such a symbiotic working relationship as ours. So here we are on the eve of another new subsim. New program, new maps, new contacts to make, new radio messages to read, new harbors to sneak into... wait till you order a dive and you hear the aaooghah! You'll know you're in the Pacific then, treading on the old hunting grounds of men like Dealey, Morton, Fluckey, Kossler, Ramage, and many more. Sailing right up to the front door of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Savor the excitement, friends. Here's to Silent Hunter 4. I look forward to sailing with you again in the cyberseas. Good hunting! Neal Stevens Subsim SUBSIM Web's #1 Sub & Naval Game Resource since 1997 www.subsim.com