Question for the casual gamers who play this game...

[Agiel7]

What was the allure of the "Silent Hunter" series for those who've never watched "Das Boot" or have never read "The Hunt for Red October (granted, its a Cold War story, but anyways)?"

The "Silent Hunter" series, and its cousins, "Dangerous Waters" and "Sub Command" are a far cry from the "Grand Theft Autos" and "Gears of Wars" out there. Sub sims are the poisons of choice for military history buffs and those who find the measured and methodical process of sinking tonnage strangely satisfying and iI'm curious to hear an outsider's perspective on the series (I don't know if I'd consider myself a hardcore SHIII and IV player, even though I play with manual targetting, limited batteries, limited diesel, limited oxygen, realistic reloads, realistic damage, and realistic sensors, the thought of empty nav. maps frighten me).

In order to avoid any flame wars about "mainstream games," lets just leave it at "to each his or her own."

[hermanJnr.]

SH 4 is my first sub game.

The reason I liked the look of it was partly because I had had my eye on Silent Hunter 3 for quite a while, and partly because I wanted a game with more complexity than most.

I get a sense of satisfaction out of learning to do new things in a game. It's one of the reasons I like games like Uplink, too - the game starts off very hard, but once you figure out how to perform different actions, it starts to become quite intuitive.

While Gears of War and the like are fun for a bit of mostly mindless blasting and explosions, once you master playing online you just hit the "ceiling" of the game. It's still fun to play, but there is none of that "new stuff" satisfaction.

SH 4 also has the advantage of being a sandbox game, and it's pretty non-linear, which I was also drawn to.

Finally, I'm interested in the history of WWII, which helps I think.

EDIT - Oh, and the difficulty involved in sinking ships drew me in too. In your average game you're just swarmed with dumb enemies who die like flies, which is both silly and rather stale.
A harder target that requires strategy and precision to attack efficiently is a lot more rewarding :)

[neosnk35]

SH 4 also has the advantage of being a sandbox game, and it's pretty non-linear, which I was also drawn to.

that sums it up..

Oh, and the difficulty involved in sinking ships drew me in too. In your average game you're just swarmed with dumb enemies who die like flies, which is both silly and rather stale.
A harder target that requires strategy and precision to attack efficiently is a lot more rewarding and dont forget the sceneries with those magnificent environmental mods

[Red Devil]

Comparing SH4 to GTA4 is like asking the Pope to marry Jordan. So called games that are the current genre seem to orientate around violence and drugs, I would not be surprised if virtual sex is in there somewhere.

But simulations (not games) like SH4, based on historical fact and not some make believe city in 2013 or whenever, are 'here to stays' in my book. I just came in now to look for a copy of SH3 to dwnload into my Win XP laptop to take to work with me ( I do security) with the Pacific added. I cant find my SH3 anymore. I have on my laptop (and pc) first person shooters and Age of Empires 1 & 2 and regularly play Far Cry on my laptop at work and Far Cry 2 on my home pc, excellent and good to replay certain saved levels. BUT, SH4 is my main recreational pursuit when I am not working on my sites.

Why do I like SH4 above other sims? Its timeless, good support forum with very helpful members/staff and its 'real'. There was another excellent reason but I got distracted and its flown my mind!!

Can I ask if any of our japanese members enact this or do they go for the U Boat version? I refuse to enact SH3 in its original format as I will not, under any circumstances, even sink my own countries virtual ships!

[steinbeck]

[quote=Agiel7;
In order to avoid any flame wars about "mainstream games," lets just leave it at "to each his or her own."[/quote]


Well, for me it's the challenge of the sea and seeing just how stealthy I can be v the Japs. I am an avid gamer of all type, although mainly military ones mostly. I have just bought,from 'Matrix Games' the 'Crown of Glory Emperor's Edition'. I have around 12 of their games + I have many board games too Going from Ancients to Napeoleonic era's
But I do LOVE my Sh4 and all the wonderful mods that some amazing guys do.

steinbeck....:salute:

[Red Devil]

Thanks, you just reminded me of the reason I forgot, the stealth. In a plane I cant run off and hide, or play with the enemy, its do or die! But in a sub, I can have fun too.

[Webster]

i think every boy loves to play war, even after hes all grown up

and this game is a mental challenge too so you get the best of both

[donut]

Just played SHCE the other nite. Game play still the best,guess I still love to go to sea http://triton.imageshack.us/Himg99/scaled.php?server=99&filename=26151763.gif&xsize=640&ysize=480 (http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/839/26151763.gif)

[Frame57]

Most of the Chiefs when I was in the Submarine Service were on the old Diesel boats, so I became a studious fan of this era. I find the AI to be well served in these sim/games. I find the concept of hunting prey to be more realistic in this sim than in any other format of gaming. Even the DW and SC are very scripted IMO. If they employ the ability to hunt with AI wolf packs in SH5, it will be an awesome experience.

[VonGlaus]

Well, I'm a casual gamer, but not a big-time gamer. I haven't played a first-person shooter since Rainbow Six.

I started with ShIII, finding it by random in a store, "Oh cool! A Submarine Game!" and then finding my way here. The rest is history...

I like the mental aspects, the hunting and being hunted. And as posted above, there isn't hordes of zombies lining up to fall over. I tend to run at low compression rates, so my patrols take awhile. It's a nice change of pace.

Other games? Spore was around for a bit, but didn't live up to the hype. The only other game on my computer right now is Flight Sim X.

I need a new firstperson shooter...Something with lava...

[captgeo]

What other game could you play where one moment youre the "Cat", and next youre the "Mouse".