My views on the SH4 U-Boat Addon

[Kapitan_Phillips]

I've been playing this addon for just over a week now, and I've read the vast majority of the posts concerning it. It appears to be the same people complaining about the same things from when stock number 4 came out.

Now fair enough, each are entitled to their own opinions about something they spent their money on, but I get ratty when you get the few who start spouting "Yet another disappointment" or "Screwed again by Ubisoft" or something to that effect. What these people fail to realise is that Ubisoft has funded yet another development into a niche genre (and for $10 at that) and its pretty much encompassed what we wanted to get from it.

Now I know there are lots of bugs, but trying to develop software that calculates positions of ships in a ridiculously huge expanse of terrain, calculating how fast they should sink, and how they should react when hit in specific areas, torpedo properties, deck gun shell properties, crew attributes etc. etc. wont be without errors. I actually think its physically impossible to get it even close to perfect on the first try, and that's why it needs the input from people who maybe have more time to dedicate to it than the developers, who have to work on the next project when they churn out this one.

My point is, we've experienced exactly the same problems before, and look what we got. SH3 and GWX has to be a simulation to rival Flight Simulator, but it took time and effort to get there.

And dont say "Well the devs had plenty of time to fix errors", because no, they didnt. We had a completely new graphical engine for SH4 (and admit it, if we didnt, alot of people would accuse it of being a SH3 expansion) and an entirely new theater. So it must've basically been like making SH3 from scratch again.

All I'm saying is give it time, give the devs your support, and enjoy the game for what it is. Totally a hint towards multi-theater SH5.

[Seeadler]

Originally Posted by Kapitan_Phillips

And dont say "Well the devs had plenty of time to fix errors", because no, they didnt. We had a completely new graphical engine for SH4 (and admit it, if we didnt, alot of people would accuse it of being a SH3 expansion) and an entirely new theater. So it must've basically been like making SH3 from scratch again.

This is also affected by the esteem and quality assurance a manufacturer grant to his product.
I have been working for years as a project manager in software development and if I requiring in addition further three or four months for testing and bugfixing of our software modules, then I get it even after a brief discussion and explanation of the development problems.

Precisely because our company management ensure product quality, because we are not the only manufactur in the embedded software market and product line, and perhaps most importantly because of software errors in our modules, human life can depends.

If one follows the quarter sales reports of Ubisoft, one can see that the PC area is only a very small sector, including in this, simulations an almost negligible value. With subsims they have basically no competitors in the market and need not to fear that someone else offers a better product. I hope that this will change in the future, see the re-introduction of the label MicroProse.

[ReallyDedPoet]

Originally Posted by Kapitan_Phillips

My point is, we've experienced exactly the same problems before, and look what we got. SH3 and GWX has to be a simulation to rival Flight Simulator, but it took time and effort to get there.

Well put Also I have been playing SH4 since 1.0 and it has come along way since that point to now 1.5, really it is a much improved game in all regards, and it still has a lot of potential going forward.

I have only played the U Boat add on briefly, and although it needs some work, I see it similar to what SH4 was in the beginning with one exception: most folks want to see an Atlantic Campaign, to get there it is going to take quite a bit of work because only the IO is developed. But I am sure it will happen, just not anytime soon.


RDP

[Jaeger]

Originally Posted by Seeadler

With subsims they have basically no competitors in the market and need not to fear that someone else offers a better product. I hope that this will change in the future, see the re-introduction of the label MicroProse.

do you have special information? can you confirm this by giving a source?

[Seeadler]

Originally Posted by Jaeger

[
do you have special information? can you confirm this by giving a source?

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=132329

[me262]

I only got it today. An estate agent might decribe it as, suitable for the DIY enthusiast. The only thing that bugged me was the non speaking Germans, but that has been sorted. Now looking forward to the future

[Jaeger]

Originally Posted by Seeadler

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=132329

thanks for that, very good news. in some years, we will have two good subsims, bugfree! competition on the subsim market will be back...

greetz, Jaeger

[MONOLITH]

Originally Posted by Seeadler

With subsims they have basically no competitors in the market and need not to fear that someone else offers a better product.

The supply & demand/competition aspect is certainly true.

However, I do look at every new sub type game that appears on the main newspage of Subsim; and every other sub game I have seen or tried, is arcadish compared to the Silent Hunter series. I would say that regardless of 'lack of competition', Ubi Romania certainly put their heart and soul into creating an excellent product.

No game is perfect, and I tend to focus on the good things a game brings me, not on it's faults.


Last night I took my new Uboat on a world trip up to the North Atlantic. I made a brief stop into Scapa Flow, and then on up to more frigid waters. Somewhere, way further up north than we're supposed to go, in the middle of the night, I called an all stop.

I stood on the deck, the full moon glowing an orange yellow low on the horizon. All around me, a North Atlanic wind blew white caps against my boat, a strangely calming sound of the water lapped against her sides. An eerily realistic wind blew across my headphones.

I looked up at the flickering stars, and actually saw Orion the Hunter and Taurus the bull, exactly where they're supposed to be. Around me, nothing for miles and miles but ocean, and adventure.

"Crank her up boys. Let's head south, and raise some hell."

Silent Hunter is an amazing experience; not a flawed game.

[GlobalExplorer]

Some very good observations Kapitan_Phillips and all others. Hats off to UBI / and especially the devs in Romania for supporting the genre !!

[JAKE]

Hear hear