Unofficial SH4 Patch 1.4 Needed

[Webster]

ok lets start listing all known issues that patch 1.3 failed to fix.

please lets not make this about complaining but about things needing to be fixed.

hopefully our talented members here can take this list and find ways to fix them.

please detail your problem to help everyone understand what needs to be fixed.

EDIT: i don't believe anyone really expects another official patch from ubisoft but that doesn't mean we shouldn't begin working on a way to finish fixing the game ourselves.
.

[Spike]

Battery seems to run down fast on easy and airplane patrolls are a pain in a$$(too many).:damn:When you lose the base in the philippines it doesnt tell what base is the new one.I wish it had over all hull(percentage), integrity like SH3.

[The General]

Volumetric fog: a nice idea in theory, that doesn't work that great in practice. See-through crew members is an unacceptable by-product.

Ship-sinking times: way too quick in stock 1.3.

Finishing touches: The periscopes going up and down has been removed in 1.3. I always wanted them to go up and down when clicked in the virtual world. I also wanted the T.D.T. accessible by clicking. It's much less 'slick' a design to have to find an ugly icon on the bottom of the screen and click that. In summation; making the 3D world more interactive by having various switches and levers accessible. Time-consuming for the DEVS maybe, but I definitely wanna see this in SH5. You could almost illiminate the need for any H.U.D. and thus make the sim more immmersive.

Overall, 1.3 SH4 is lookng great! The modding community will add more and more interesting elements to the game making playing enjoyable for months to come.

[WernerSobe]

the issue with the torpedoe detonators.

[MaxT.dk]

Patch 1.4 won't be released, you can stop your whining right after this line :roll:
__________________________

[Webster]

Patch 1.4 won't be released, you can stop your whining right after this line :roll:
__________________________


this is not about whining, it is about fixing unresolved issues with the game.


i don't believe anyone really expects another patch from ubisoft but that doesn't mean we shouldn't begin working on a way to finish fixing the game ourselves.

[Von Manteuffel]

I'm afraid I have to agree with MaxT. The fact that the 1.3 patch is also a "No-CD/DVD" patch speaks volumes. I believe that Ubi regard Silent Hunter IV as "Job done!" Any future changes, developments will be up to the modding community.

[schmutt]

They didn't want to do 1.3 in first place. So why should they come up with 1.4? I woudn't in their place. SH4 is dead for UBI. Wait two weeks and nobody will even have heard of it. SH4??? Aye? What are ye talking about...:down:

[Morts]

I'm afraid I have to agree with MaxT. The fact that the 1.3 patch is also a "No-CD/DVD" patch speaks volumes. I believe that Ubi regard Silent Hunter IV as "Job done!" Any future changes, developments will be up to the modding community.
then they could atleast release a SDK for SHIV (and SHIII)

[Webster]

i thought it was obvious to everyone that we would never get another official patch from ubisoft but to clean up any confusion i added this notation to my original post.

[MaxT.dk]

i thought it was obvious to everyone that we would never get another official patch from ubisoft but to clean up any confusion i added this notation to my original post.

Is that why the title of your discussion thread asks for a PATCH?
I don't remember the last time when any released MOD could be called for a PATCH :roll:
If it did happend, please refresh me.

That's basically the reason of my reply :roll:
And I'm sure modders will get there, just need to give it some time and patience :yep:

[Von Manteuffel]

Originally posted by Morts:
then they could atleast release a SDK for SHIV (and SHIII)
Now THAT would really be something!

[CaptainCox]

From one of the Devs!

Silent Hunter is a very lucky game. It's a game created by grown-ups for other grown-ups to play it. All of them which are fanatic about simulations and submarine simulation. So because of this grown-up thing, there can be an unofficial dialog (here on subsim) about the good and the bad of the game. And as players can see, the dev team has listened to the problems and fixed them as knew best using the available resources (time, money, people). The satisfaction rate about SH4 has increased steadily with each patch. I think that is very obvious.

It is only the satisfaction of the players that motivate the devs (and the money they spent on the game that motivates the Ubi bosses). And everyone can see that we already have a 3rd patch that makes the SH4 experience even better.

Time is now to enjoy the game. Otherwise, you've wasted your money (I think is silly to buy a game, wait until patch no 3, and not play it at all. It's like not enjoying life until you're 30, just because you're not all the way smart and experienced).


As for the idea that Ubi should make the source code public, I completely disagree. The devs are the owners of the source code and this ownership is the only thing that gives them the right to come back to make a new patch or start a new game (SH5). Plus, you can imagine the complexity of the code of a game like SH4, which took in a total of almost 4 years to develop (including SH3, SH4 being based on it). It's almost as complex as the software that runs the Boeing planes. It takes a game professional to be able to handle that amount of code, of that complexity. Although the players understand all the inner workings of the simulation of the sub, I think they don't understand what it takes to make that simulation happen on their screen. "A genius is someone who makes it look easy".
Everybody should do what they do best: the devs create the game, the players play it. Being able to mod a game doesn't imply the ability to create a game. There is a subtle but important difference. Plus, the devs use completely different tools than moders do.

A great deal of effort has been put into SH to make it modable. SH is not modable by chance. So have fun with the game, mod it the way you want, but it's not fair to ask for the code. The ownership of the code is the only thing that pays for the salaries of the devs. Working on SH4 is what pays for their kids going to school.


SS Thread Link:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?p=593295#post593295

[TDK1044]

Ubisoft has not announced that SH4 is now a finished product. While it's true that they were reluctant to authorize patch 1.3, and while it's quite possible that there won't be further patches, personally, I wouldn't write SH4 off just yet.

Reading the posts written by two of the Devs in this Forum, I'd say that all is not lost. No guarantees of a further patch, but let's keep the glass half full, guys.

[kv29]

I don´t need another patch. What I need from the devs (and would really appreciate) is a little more info that allows me to finish my present and/or future mods.

[Fearless]

With the talented modders around such as Beery, Ducimus, Captain Cox, CCIP just to name a few and I'm sure there are many more around (My apologies for not mentioning them), the game will come to a satisfied stage for each and all to enjoy.

Everyone has some kind of dissatisfaction about some part of the game but it'll never be perfect unless the hardcode can be accessed. That will definitely not happen. So instead of whining, bitching, complaining about it, make a list instead and our top talents may look at it to see if some compromise can be made but also remember these guys bought the game also so they can enjoy what they love doing. Subbing...:up:

[mercury_marauder]

for the JAP's And change the number of planes for the bases to your liking. Also adjust their max range of flying and in the Airstrike file also adjust the range and attack proabilities to make it work better for you. Personaly I like the fact on how the visual capabilities for the planes work now at least during the day time as they spot conning towers while at radar depth where as before they never did.

[PepsiCan]

the issue with the torpedoe detonators.
You are refering to the Switch to set Contact or Contact Influence not working, right?

And I would like to add the transparent ship mates on the bridge when Volumetric Fog is on.

Also, the ghost convoy bug, where a sunk ship respawns too quickly and when you sink it, you do not get the credit.

Last but not least, the view from the AA gun when you have a 'bath tub' conning tower. As soon as you swing the gun port or starport and upwards, you place yourself outside the tub, putting a big fat metal plate in between yourself and the gun sight.

[LukeFF]

then they could atleast release a SDK for SHIV (and SHIII)

Never going to happen, unless you want the Silent Hunter franchise to die.

[Monica Lewinsky]

this is not about whining, it is about fixing unresolved issues with the game.
HERE, HERE

[CaptainHaplo]

I am going to try like Pepsi did and get this back ON topic - what remains to be fixed in 1.3 - regardless of if ubi or mods do it....

My list in order of preference is as follows:

1> Zombie ships. This .... bug effect it not only is frustrating - simply removing a ship from the "playfield" once its sunk makes sense as its one less thing for the PC to track - thus helping keep performance good. From what digging I have done - this looks like its an effect caused by a waypoint change or a "date" change - either one is seems to be the respawn culprit.

2> Damage Control - while historically no sub skipper ever had his CE or COB tell him "We're at 68% hull integrity" - we do need a bit more info on how our hull is doing. Something like either an estimated damage percentage - or better yet a text on damage that gives an "estimate" of depth that the hull could withstand. This would be realistic as a CE would tell his captain "I've got the forward bulkhead shored up as best we can - but I wouldn't advise taking her past about 150' because I ain't sure she will hold up past that....".

3> Torpedo Exploder Switch issue - already well documented.

4> Limited Bridge Perspective - as Captain if I wanted to get higher so I could, like a lookout - get a 360 degree view (without the conning tower blocking my view) - it should be possible. Would probably require a new station created.

5> Deck gun commands do not stick. By this I mean I tell my gun crew to hold fire - then designate a single merchant target that they shoot at. Once its considered sunk - the crew reverts back to a "fire at will" order that I haven't given. With the limited deck gun ammo and the amount of damage a single hit does - I dont want them wasting it on a ship I dont want them shooting at. Yes I know I can man the gun myself - but if I am on a NSA (Night Surface Attack) I better be conning my boat!

************************************************** ************
The above issues are those that I suspect cannot be fixed by modding. While I do concur that some folks have concerns with graphical issues or glitches - and those also will not likely be fixable by modding, they do not affect my enjoyment of gameplay and so I won't put them on my list. Not to say that they are not important for other gamers - just not for me. Each to their own in otherwords...
The issues below I suspect will be able to be modded out at some time in the future. Some of them (noted with a following $) are already addressed in whole or in part by existing mods that are either released or are WIP's. Released mods may not yet be 1.3 compatible as yet.
************************************************** ************

6> Destroyer Hulls still Self Destruct when ramming.

7> Aircraft raid spawning and vectoring. $

8> Enemy Traffic Patterns fail to follow historical data. Convoys early in the war when they were not there, battles between task forces that are not modeled in the layer, etc. $

9> Ship Sinking time/physics - as noted earlier - its too fast/not accurate. $

10> Fuel/battery consumption rates - not historically accurate. $

As noted - 4 of these 5 already were taken care of in whole or in part with mods that were available. #8 is the only one that will take a good bit of time I suspect to complete - as the layer files are handled differently than in SH3 - they are set for periods instead of one big layer. Easier to change one thing at a time perhaps - but very tedious so kudo's to those working on that. #'s 7,9 & 10 were already fixed in mods for 1.2 so I suspect that the 1.3 compatible versions won't take long to appear.

I have not been able to replicate the forced retirement bug - although some have indicated it still exists. If it does - then it still needs to be fixed. I am unsure if folks meant the bug where your original sub was retired forcing you to go with it even if you had a new sub, or if they meant you couldn't spend renown to continue patrols. If its the first - a 1.3 compatible fix will be out soon I suspect. If its the latter - it should be #6 and would go in the list that would require Dev support to fix.

One last thing I will say - I appreciate the work the Devs have done - both developing the game and working toward patching it as best they could. Thanks, Dan and Company!

[Excalibur Bane]

- Saving your game in base, then quitting and later reloading your game makes some torpedoe types disappear from the loadout screen.

- Low or no realism can lead to situations where you have a crew ready to be promoted but haven't been given enough "promotion" upgrades to properly upgrade crew.

[Farinhir]

One thing which I do not think could be modded easily that I would like to see adressed sometime is the fact that active sonar doesn't get fooled when the sub is hiding on the seafloor. This was discussed somewhat in the following thread.

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=118489

Thanks
~F~

[nomad_delta]

One thing which I do not think could be modded easily that I would like to see adressed sometime is the fact that active sonar doesn't get fooled when the sub is hiding on the seafloor. This was discussed somewhat in the following thread.

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=118489

Thanks
~F~

Have to agree with this. Since most of the fun in Silent Hunter, for me at least, comes from tactics. Anything that expands our abilities to employ actual tactics used by real subs and receive realistic results is the #1 most important thing to me in a simulation game like this. (Much more so than graphics, etc) I want to be able to do everything that a real sub commander would, for the same reasons, and get realistic results.

The ability to 'hide' from active sonar on the seafloor is just one example of this type of improvement.

I think maybe if there ever is an SH5, the game designers would do well to read as many sub 'patrol reports' as possible, and make a big list of the actions taken by real sub commanders, and their reasons for doing those things. Then make a big list of all known tactics and ask "can a player do the same thing in the sim and have it work in the same way?" -- and if not, why not? :)

nomad_delta

[STEED]

If there is no 1.4 patch from Ubi then the time has come to rip the guts out of the game (So to speak :roll: ) and get to work on a super mod.

[Iron Budokan]

I would like for the enemy bases to show up in red, please. Pretty please, with sugar on it and a twist of lemon.

There, I asked nicely. I won't do so again....:nope:

Fix The Bases! :damn:

[Bear]

Now that we can open all tubes before an attack. I have noticed that after firing a few fish I can't remember which tubes are still open when the fight is over. I have to hop out of the boat for a visual inspection.

I am hoping one or more of the brains on this forum would find a simple way of letting me/us know which tubes were still open.

I was thinking maybe the little ring around the selected tube could be made a different color when the tube is open or closed maybe.

It is not a big deal, but if it is not that hard to do, would some smart modder Please make a mod that indicates when torpedo tubes are opened or closed.

[nomad_delta]

Now that we can open all tubes before an attack. I have noticed that after firing a few fish I can't remember which tubes are still open when the fight is over. I have to hop out of the boat for a visual inspection.

I am hoping one or more of the brains on this forum would find a simple way of letting me/us know which tubes were still open.

I was thinking maybe the little ring around the selected tube could be made a different color when the tube is open or closed maybe.

It is not a big deal, but if it is not that hard to do, would some smart modder Please make a mod that indicates when torpedo tubes are opened or closed.

Actually, there's a question -- what difference does it make in the game whether your torpedo tubes are open or closed? I can imagine all sorts of problems it would cause in a real submarine if you left your tubes open, of course.

What happens in the game if you open all your tubes and go cruising around at flank -- anything?

nomad_delta

[mercury_marauder]

When your being depth charged if your tubes are open while diving deep instead of just your aa guns and deck gun.

[spidermind79]

Hi, i've noticed an amazing bug: i enter the game, set my custom options for realism, like unlimited fuel, then start a new career, after the loading of the 1st mission, i have all gameplay option reset to 88%, how is possibile? The game decide for me or what? And this without any mod activated, so seems incredible, someone else noticed that?.

[Webster]

When your being depth charged if your tubes are open while diving deep instead of just your aa guns and deck gun.

this was done on purpose to reflect the fact that open torp doors would allow greater damage in real life (the tubes werent armored like the tube doors) so it was added to the game for realism.

you also have a greater chance of your scope being destroyed if you havent lowered it fast enough because again, in real life it would be knocked out fast if it was up during depth charge.

[Weather-guesser]

Please fix the problem with NO INTERIOR DAMAGE SOUND :nope:

[corleonedk]

A lot of people still have trouble whit save games getting bugged,especially after upgrading ships:damn:

[DedEye]

The periscopes going up and down has been removed in 1.3. I always wanted them to go up and down when clicked in the virtual world.

I noticed in the Sargo the attack scope animation doesn't work but the observation scope animation does. Maybe there's a clue in there somewhere :hmm:

I am hoping one or more of the brains on this forum would find a simple way of letting me/us know which tubes were still open.

It'd be nice if somehow the flickering lights on the panels in the conning tower could be made to do this.

Hi, i've noticed an amazing bug: i enter the game, set my custom options for realism, like unlimited fuel, then start a new career, after the loading of the 1st mission, i have all gameplay option reset to 88%, how is possibile? The game decide for me or what? And this without any mod activated, so seems incredible, someone else noticed that?.

I set mine in the main menu at 88% and it defaults to 11% in campaign. Easy enough to change in the campaign options though. Click on the radio in your office ;)

[Poop]

All I want is an end patrol option. And more or less the stuff posted above me.

[GeoffBelding]

I have noticed that when travelling submerged, no CO2 shows up on the scale.

Cheers

Geoff

[switch.dota]

I have noticed that when travelling submerged, no CO2 shows up on the scale.

Cheers

Geoff
You usually have enough O2 for about 48 hrs submerged. That's about 8 times the amount a stock sub can travel on batteries.

[PepsiCan]

I am going to try like Pepsi did and get this back ON topic - what remains to be fixed in 1.3 - regardless of if ubi or mods do it....

My list in order of preference is as follows:

1> Zombie ships. This .... bug effect it not only is frustrating - simply removing a ship from the "playfield" once its sunk makes sense as its one less thing for the PC to track - thus helping keep performance good. From what digging I have done - this looks like its an effect caused by a waypoint change or a "date" change - either one is seems to be the respawn culprit.

2> Damage Control - while historically no sub skipper ever had his CE or COB tell him "We're at 68% hull integrity" - we do need a bit more info on how our hull is doing. Something like either an estimated damage percentage - or better yet a text on damage that gives an "estimate" of depth that the hull could withstand. This would be realistic as a CE would tell his captain "I've got the forward bulkhead shored up as best we can - but I wouldn't advise taking her past about 150' because I ain't sure she will hold up past that....".

3> Torpedo Exploder Switch issue - already well documented.

4> Limited Bridge Perspective - as Captain if I wanted to get higher so I could, like a lookout - get a 360 degree view (without the conning tower blocking my view) - it should be possible. Would probably require a new station created.

5> Deck gun commands do not stick. By this I mean I tell my gun crew to hold fire - then designate a single merchant target that they shoot at. Once its considered sunk - the crew reverts back to a "fire at will" order that I haven't given. With the limited deck gun ammo and the amount of damage a single hit does - I dont want them wasting it on a ship I dont want them shooting at. Yes I know I can man the gun myself - but if I am on a NSA (Night Surface Attack) I better be conning my boat!

************************************************** ************
The above issues are those that I suspect cannot be fixed by modding. While I do concur that some folks have concerns with graphical issues or glitches - and those also will not likely be fixable by modding, they do not affect my enjoyment of gameplay and so I won't put them on my list. Not to say that they are not important for other gamers - just not for me. Each to their own in otherwords...
The issues below I suspect will be able to be modded out at some time in the future. Some of them (noted with a following $) are already addressed in whole or in part by existing mods that are either released or are WIP's. Released mods may not yet be 1.3 compatible as yet.
************************************************** ************

6> Destroyer Hulls still Self Destruct when ramming.

7> Aircraft raid spawning and vectoring. $

8> Enemy Traffic Patterns fail to follow historical data. Convoys early in the war when they were not there, battles between task forces that are not modeled in the layer, etc. $

9> Ship Sinking time/physics - as noted earlier - its too fast/not accurate. $

10> Fuel/battery consumption rates - not historically accurate. $

As noted - 4 of these 5 already were taken care of in whole or in part with mods that were available. #8 is the only one that will take a good bit of time I suspect to complete - as the layer files are handled differently than in SH3 - they are set for periods instead of one big layer. Easier to change one thing at a time perhaps - but very tedious so kudo's to those working on that. #'s 7,9 & 10 were already fixed in mods for 1.2 so I suspect that the 1.3 compatible versions won't take long to appear.

I have not been able to replicate the forced retirement bug - although some have indicated it still exists. If it does - then it still needs to be fixed. I am unsure if folks meant the bug where your original sub was retired forcing you to go with it even if you had a new sub, or if they meant you couldn't spend renown to continue patrols. If its the first - a 1.3 compatible fix will be out soon I suspect. If its the latter - it should be #6 and would go in the list that would require Dev support to fix.

One last thing I will say - I appreciate the work the Devs have done - both developing the game and working toward patching it as best they could. Thanks, Dan and Company!

You forgot a few:

- Sun shining through metal and crew becoming transparent when using Volumetric Fog and Environmental Effects graphic settings

- When you have the original conning tower (the bathtub model) swinging the gun to port or starboard and aiming upward, results in the 'bathtub' plating blocking the gunner's view. (Yes, I know there is a mod, but it in essence removes the bathtub, so you have reduced conning tower when it actually wasn't available.)

- No means to call for help when close to a base but out of fuel. Currently, all you can do is...well, start a new carreer because this boat is never coming home again.

Hope that helps

[nomdeplume]

Hi, i've noticed an amazing bug: i enter the game, set my custom options for realism, like unlimited fuel, then start a new career, after the loading of the 1st mission, i have all gameplay option reset to 88%, how is possibile? The game decide for me or what? And this without any mod activated, so seems incredible, someone else noticed that?.
I think this is more of an "unexpected feature", rather than a bug. As DedEye mentioned, if you click on the radio in your office you can change the realism settings.

I believe the intention is to allow a) different realism settings during a campaign compared to single missions and [possibly] b) multiple campaigns with different realism settings.

When you start a new campaign, you can select Easy, Moderate, or Hard (or something like that), which are presets for various realism options. These settings are applied to that campaign, but only to that campaign. So, when you start a new campaign make sure you notice the difficulty level setting (on the screen where you enter your captain's name and select the starting year and base), and let it be a reminder that you need to reset them to your preferences once you get into your office. (Unless of course, your preferences happen to exactly match one of the presets.)

Although the implementation is a little confusing, I think it probably is better than having realism settings apply across the board. At least this way, your settings for a campaign remain the same even if you experiment with different options in other missions.

[Webster]

i will add one of my own to the list,

DECK GUN CREWS NEVER FIRE AT THE GREATEST THREAT

too many times they shoot at sanpans when a DD is closer and it is shooting at me.

no command should be needed to say why dont you shoot at the ship firing back at us instead of the sanpan! this happens everytime there is more than one target to choose and they always shoot at the least threat to the sub forcing me to stop what i'm doing to redirect them.