I just want to say

[Front Runner]

I am in Las Vegas, NV for the National Association of Broadcasters Conference and I have been attending many engineering sessions on various aspects of very expensive high end video and audio equipment and software products.
No matter how innovative and high tech and cutting edge the products are, there are alway reports of BUGS. That's right, they're not perfect right off the shelf and require on going patches and software and firmware updates to remain compatible with all the other feature rich equipment from many different vendors and suppliers.

SH4 isn't perfect but it is really cool! Okay, I know that there are some very frustrating "features" that jerk us back to reality from our fantasies of stalking the IJN fleets and hordes of Maru, but all in all SH4, IMHO, is off to a great start toward being the Best WW2 Subsim, bar none, ever created.

Just as the Submarine Commanders of WW2 that we admire and try to emulate within SH4, who also had to put up with BUGS, (buggy diesel engines that were poorly designed and constructed, buggy torpedo systems, batteries that were supposed to be cutting edge that didn't perform and seriously impacted to ability of the submarine to be an effective combat unit, I could go on, but just read the book Silent Victory for more info on the REAL WORLD bugs that not only frustrated Commanders but were very deadly to REAL WORLD submarine crews,) we must also be patient because patience is what got them into attack postion and patience is what put the tonnage on the bottom of the sea.

Perhaps, in a way, SH4 has unintentionally created a more high fidelity simulation in that we, as users, are also experiencing the frustrations of our real world counterparts albeit because of software and hardware bugs and incompatibilities.

I have faith that the UBI DEVS and the modding community will eventually make SH4 come close to all of our fondest desires to emulate and simulate the Honorable and Heroic men that served our country so well in those war years.

It is my sincere hope that those of you who are frustrated and angered by the bugs and incompatibilites take time to read some of the great books written by those who were there, "Silent Victory", "Clear the Bridge", "Take Her Deep", "War in the Boats", "Submarine", "Run Silent, Run Deep" and so many other stories of the men who served and their all too frequent frustrations with malfunctioning equipment, sometimes in the heat of battle. Once you have read one or two of these books, come back to SH4 and enjoy the experience.

[Front Runner]

Bump

I am asking for comments.
Thanks

[Kapitan_Phillips]

Very good post. Too many dont appreciate the effort it takes to make a game like SH4. :up:

[AirborneTD]

I agree. I look at some of the bugs such as faulty radar and realize that in RL, the radar was constantly breaking down. Torpedoes not running exactly at set depth does not bother be either--as that's how it was. I do like the game. The mods have helped tremendously.

[badaboom]

:up: I am really just enjoying the game for what it is,patch 1.2 helped my system perfomance quite a bit!!!!To The Devs.Thank You for your hard work!!:rock:

[DenRJ]

hi,

Same here, patch 1.2 made it playable for me.
Thanks to the devs. Enjoying the Pacific.:D


DenRJ

[CCIP]

I dread the moment this thread will be invaded by some troll :damn:

So far, it shows the sentiment of the more positive bunch of us. I mean, perhaps to me it's all very individual, but hey... I've been a voluntary unofficial tester for SH3/4 for over two years now (that is, I've spent a ton of time tweaking/making/testing mods), and I still love it thoroughly. As far as SHIV, I'm THIS close to 'decomissioning' SHIII because of it - and perhaps that would only be a formality as I hadn't touched SHIII in weeks (though that may also be because I had no time for it).

There's been plenty of fair criticism coming at SHIV, too, but that doesn't mean we can't love it. And people who whine in pain at having to test it and mess with it and be faced with a brick wall of unfixed an unfixable features - oh shush. Unless you're in the long-time modders league, you really don't know how ugly it is under the hood, and how ugly it's been below the hood for all these years. But you know what? There's a reason that I and many other people have stuck to this one like glue. And it's mostly the fact that, all in all, it's an awesome game, bugs and all.

[vanjast]

I agree with what you're trying to say, but with a piece of game software , if it doesn't work we can't play it. We cannot fix it because we're not 'there' (unlike the men in the subs), and if we're to experience RL as it was, put this in the game that works well.

I'd rather them have waited for all the bugs to be sorted out before placing it on the shelf. What will the DOD say if you gave them a sub that falls apart just beyond the harbour mouth. They'll put you 'up against the wall'.

I'm afraid UBI (not the Devs) have failed all these people with this. They have severly tarnished their reputation and will not regain this for a long long time. This naturally opens the market for others, which might happen... we'll see. I wonder if UBI have a 'qualified Damage Control team' scuttling around putting out the fires...
;)

[Chock]

Agree. Yup SH4 has its flaws to be sure, but it is a long way from being unplayable and it's an absolute oasis in a desert of hackneyed first person shooters and cash-cow MMORPGs as far as I'm concerned.

It's apparent that shifting development work to a country where (presumably) labour costs are cheaper, and the pressure to get the thing on the shelves has brought with it some issues. But I have to say that as a basis for something to be modded, tweeked and corrected, it's all there.

[ReallyDedPoet]

Nice thread:up: I am enjoying SH4 as well.

RDP

[SteamWake]

Im really enjoying the game as well.

But let us not forget that corperate pressure pushed this game out the door before it was ready to meet there Q2 projections.

Thank goodness the developers worked their butts off to give us two patches in as many months to give us a much improved product and that there is a competent modding crew.

Hats off to those guys :up: