Harpoon 3

[Delareon]

Hey guys,

is there anybody out here who play Harpoon 3?
Because i want to take a look at this game and download the demo.
Fine so far.
But the i was taking a look at the different versions of the Game.
No i get confused, i found many different versions of the Game but....
whats the differences?

[SUBMAN1]

Hey guys,

is there anybody out here who play Harpoon 3?
Because i want to take a look at this game and download the demo.
Fine so far.
But the i was taking a look at the different versions of the Game.
No i get confused, i found many different versions of the Game but....
whats the differences? What I really want is an updated Fleet Command.

-S

[Herman]

is there anybody out here who play Harpoon 3?
Because i want to take a look at this game and download the demo.
Fine so far.
But the i was taking a look at the different versions of the Game.
No i get confused, i found many different versions of the Game but....
whats the differences?
I play Harpoon Classic Commanders Edition, Harpoon3, and Harpoon3: ANW. I trust that you are only comparing the two H3 versions and not Harpoon Classic Commanders Edition.

A demo of Harpoon3: ANW is available:
ftp://ftp.matrixgames.com/pub/Harpoon3ANW/Harpoon_3_Gouge_Demo_1.exe

I can try to locate a demo of the previous Harpoon 3.6.3 version if you send me your e-mail address. However, the user interface is nearly identical between the two versions (H3.6.3 and ANW). What you see in the ANW demo is pretty much what you would see in the H3 demo (except that ANW has Multi-player). Unfortunately, the MP function is not offered with the ANW Demo.

[Blacklight]

Harpoon3 ANW is much better than Harpoon3. I still have yet to try Commander's Edition which is a redoing of the original Harpoon but still a great game (with an easier interface and slightly updated graphics) from what I hear.

[Delareon]

ANW seems to be interesting but im sceptic of things like you can read here:
http://www.harpoonhq.com/?page_id=15

They say there are heavy Bugs in ANW anybody know how bad it really is?

Can anybody tell me how i can get the Version 3.6 then?
Because the only version you could buy is 3.8

[Herman]

Yeah, they are good at whining and complaining, but give no details. Typical of that site. :roll:

If you want to see a comprehensive list of bug reports and test / confirmation files, check out:

* Known Harpoon [ANW] Issues (http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42076)

From what I've been told, the ANW Demo is nearly identical to version 3.8.0. That's the patch that came out on June 2007. The list has all the known problems and has been updated to cover 3.8.0. Some are minor and some are huge, IMO. You can decide for yourself if the game is ready for you or not. Don't rely on the fanbois.

There is no way to get a copy of H3.6.3 because it is no longer on sale. You might be able to find one on eBay, but that's about it.

[Blacklight]

The bugs in ANW are NOT game breaking and for most average users, they aren't even aparent. It's a good game. The people who are complaining about it are nit picking on it and making a big deal about a lot of little things. Should the nit picking be happening ? Yes. By all means I'm all for fixing the bugs and nit picking is how we find them. DO I think the bugs that exist make the game not worth it ? No. 90% of those bugs aren't noticable unless you go over the thing with a fine toothed comb and even then, they don't make an appreciable difference in the game.
Silent Hunter III even in it's current state has as many minor flaws but no one is nit picking it apart claiming it unplayable. Why ? Because most of those bugs aren't noticable under most circumstances. Just like in ANW.

[Herman]

The bugs in ANW are NOT game breaking and for most average users, they aren't even aparent.

I'm going to have to disagree. Many are game-breaking. If your level of function / acceptance is, "Game doesn't CTD", then I agree. ANW doesn't usually CTD when run.

However, just because you aren't aware of something doesn't mean that it doesn't have a major effect upon your game play.

Let's take a look at a couple of real examples:
Active sonobuoys dropped passively (http://tinyurl.com/2jdvav)

Sonobuoys with active-only sonar systems are dropped in passive mode even when the "Drop Active Sonobuoy" hotkey is depressed.
Unknown Sub contacts not attacked (http://tinyurl.com/25865g)

Unknown submarine contacts no longer attacked unless positively identified as hostile.
If you were to play a scenario and commanded a submarine, you might penetrate a carrier task force and shoot the hell out of it. Are you a good commander? A genius, perhaps?

Maybe.

But what if it was because the enemy's Sonobuoys don't work?
Or, the AI was tracking you throughout your approach, but just couldn't fire?
Or, the weapons that they actually fired at you would not explode?

You certainly may not be aware of those problems because you can't see what the AI is or isn't doing, but they do occur and they do affect how you play the game. There are test files accompanying every reported problem so that you can prove it to your own satisfaction.

IMO, to say that there are no glaring bugs is almost as bad as those who dishonestly claim that it is nothing but bugs. I'd be happy to go through all 140+ reported cases with anyone who wants to challenge if they are or aren't bugs. However, all the behaviours reported have been documented and confirmed. It's up to the reader to decide if they are intelligent actions or bugs.

[Delareon]

Ok i see a list of many bugs. As a Software Developer i know that there will be allways bugs in such a complex software. But if the bugs are in Version 3.8 many of them should also be in 3.6. Not every bug, some of them will be created when they fixed others but most of them should also be in 3.6 so why should an older version be better then?
Just to have another bugs instead of the current known bugs?
Why are the bugs from 3.6 arent so critical like many people say about the 3.8 bugs?

[Herman]

Ok i see a list of many bugs. As a Software Developer i know that there will be allways bugs in such a complex software. But if the bugs are in Version 3.8 many of them should also be in 3.6. Not every bug, some of them will be created when they fixed others but most of them should also be in 3.6 so why should an older version be better then?
Just to have another bugs instead of the current known bugs?
Why are the bugs from 3.6 arent so critical like many people say about the 3.8 bugs?

Here is the list of known bugs in the old 3.6 version:

* Known Harpoon 3 Issues (http://www.gamesquad.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25821)

As you can see, many of the bugs listed for ANW were not apparent in the 3.6 version. Yes, many of the 3.6 ones are now eliminated, but some persist. In fact, some bugs from the Harpoon II version are still being dealt with (13 years after that version was released).

There were some pretty major problems with 3.6 i.e. non-functional sonobuoys, unlimited logisitics, re-fueling, etc. However, many of these are still in ANW (though in slightly different ways) i.e. non-functional sonobuoys, unlimited logistics, re-fueling, etc.

Now, with the MP aspect, there is yet another avenue for problems. A whole slew of the issues reported are significant to MP play because there is virtually no MP testing. One bug had the game crashing whenever you fired a weapon. How the heck do you not catch something like that? This is a WAR game, after all. ;)

IMO, some of the 3.6 bugs were critical, too. (How do you play a naval simulation without sonobuoys?) I think that some folks wax nostalgically about 3.6 because the bugs in that version were at least "stable". There are a number of capable persons involved in the Harpoon community. If there is a brick wall presented in the form of 'bugs', some of them can be circumvented by innovative methods. If you know of the problem and it isn't changing, you can probably find a way to work-around it.

Unfortunately, ANW is in constant flux. There really isn't any stability, IMO. Some scenarios were tested and released when the game first went public in June 2006. When the first patch came out in 2007, some things that were found to work in 2006 don't work in 2007. And, some of the beta testers have said that things that worked for 2007 might not work for the next patch in 2008. So, what's a user to do? Check their entire body of work every few months?

[JackAubrey]

What I really want is an updated Fleet Command.

God YES! I would ride naked on a flaming pig right through a cactus field if they would make another game like that.:rock:

Played it so many times and had so much fun with it.

[Blacklight]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SUBMAN1
What I really want is an updated Fleet Command.



God YES! I would ride naked on a flaming pig right through a cactus field if they would make another game like that.:rock:

Played it so many times and had so much fun with it.

Have you tried Global Conflict Blue ?
http://gcblue.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

[JackAubrey]

Have you tried Global Conflict Blue ?
http://gcblue.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Thanks for that. :up:
Yes, i tried it but it does not seem to run on my XP PC.
It always crashes or hangs, but i will certainly keep an eye on that game.