FIREWALL
09-18-09, 06:50 PM
Read this carefully. There's alot in this not posted here.
The demo opened on the deck of a Type VII sub in the docks at Narvik, Norway. In 1940 Narvik, an important North Sea port, was captured by the Germans, so the British sent a force, including the powerful battleship HMS Warspite, to seize the coast and deny the port to the Germans. German destroyers sailed out in an ultimately futile defense. In the demo, the player has the chance to take a submarine into the battle, just off the coast, and change history by sinking the powerful British warship.
The first thing I noticed about the game was the improved graphics. The draw distance is much greater now, so players will be able to see farther towards the horizon. The world is livelier as well, and you can see Fairey Swordfish zipping around in the air above the battle, dodging anti-air fire from below. The German destroyers are already just off the coast, firing broadsides at the battleship and her escorts. You can see all of this because of the untethered camera, which you can use to zoom high over the battlefield to take in the whole strategic picture, or dive down onto the decks of enemy ships to see the icicles hanging from their railings.
Back on our own sub, you'll notice that you have full freedom of movement. Now you can run around the sub as if you were playing Call of Duty, jumping down off the conning tower and walking up to the bow, or even climbing down into the hatch. Once at the bottom of the ladder, you can actually walk through the entire interior of your sub, stopping to look in the periscope in the command room before moving on past the radio and hydrophone operators to check on things in the torpedo room. Or if you'd rather visit the engine or the galley, you can head to the other end of the ship. Having this freedom is really impressive, but it's more than just a gimmick thanks to the new command system.
The command system in previous Silent Hunter games has focused on delegating orders to all the individual stations on a very flat, uninteresting screen. In Silent Hunter V, you can actually give your orders directly to your officers and they relay them to the petty officers and the rest of the crew. So, if you want to get the torpedoes ready for firing, you talk to your exec and he'll pass it along to the torpedo team. If you want to overcharge the diesel engines, you head aft and tell the chief engineer. If you want to check sensor status, you'll need to talk to your watch officer. It's a neat idea that emphasizes the chain of command and promises to help you grow more attached to your crew. Naturally, the story elements will tend to emphasize this aspect. Of course, there are still the same hand-of-god style controls as well, for moments when you just care about the results rather than the immersive quality of the game.
Morale is an important part of the crew system now. Each order you give costs your officers and crew a small bit of morale, and you'll need to recharge their supply with successful strikes and cruises if you want them to perform at peak efficiency. Moreover, successfully completing your missions will grant you promotion points you can spend to improve your officer and crew abilities, giving them things like better torpedo accuracy or better engine efficiency.
By now the sub is nearing the battle and, if the burning superstructures are any indication, we can clearly see that the German destroyers are in trouble. All of the most common commands are right on the HUD, so we're able to make the sub dive without leaving the first person view. The new tactical map also appears in a small corner of the map, and even shows contacts and your own field of view so you can tell what's what in the periscope. You can also plot moves on the tactical map and see the enemies' visual and hydrophonic detection ranges. This helps players adjust their speed (which affects their sonic signature) and their periscope depth (which affects their visual profile).
Using the new detection indicators, it's possible to get your sub in prime firing position before the destroyers start coming for you. Even so, you eventually will be detected and, when that happens, it's best to head right towards your target and start launching the torpedoes. paIn Silent Hunter V, torpedo firing solutions are drawn right on the tactical map, with one line showing the likely path of your target and one line showing the th of your torpedo. Both lines have the numbers one, two and three on them, indicating where the target and the torpedo will be when launched at different times. All you have to do to line up a good shot is get the same number to intersect with itself on both paths. Then fire at that speed and, as long as the target doesn't move, you should be golden.
Using these new tools, the sub was able to score a couple of solid hits on the Warspite. Watching the spectacular explosions, we also noticed a new damage and flooding meter above the targeted ship. As the armor drops and the compartments flood, the Warspite sinks below the waves and history is changed forever. As with other titles in the Silent Hunter series, players will be able to choose from a variety of realism options to make the game more or less difficult according to their own play style. Personally, I like the idea of having the extra interface options, but the torpedo firing lines and the flooding meters just seem a bit out of line with the real authentic experience I'd want from the game. We're not quite sure which of the various interface options are included in the general realism profiles, but it's a sure bet that you can set the game to be as light or as heavy on realism as you want
I underlined some of the good stuff. :DL
The demo opened on the deck of a Type VII sub in the docks at Narvik, Norway. In 1940 Narvik, an important North Sea port, was captured by the Germans, so the British sent a force, including the powerful battleship HMS Warspite, to seize the coast and deny the port to the Germans. German destroyers sailed out in an ultimately futile defense. In the demo, the player has the chance to take a submarine into the battle, just off the coast, and change history by sinking the powerful British warship.
The first thing I noticed about the game was the improved graphics. The draw distance is much greater now, so players will be able to see farther towards the horizon. The world is livelier as well, and you can see Fairey Swordfish zipping around in the air above the battle, dodging anti-air fire from below. The German destroyers are already just off the coast, firing broadsides at the battleship and her escorts. You can see all of this because of the untethered camera, which you can use to zoom high over the battlefield to take in the whole strategic picture, or dive down onto the decks of enemy ships to see the icicles hanging from their railings.
Back on our own sub, you'll notice that you have full freedom of movement. Now you can run around the sub as if you were playing Call of Duty, jumping down off the conning tower and walking up to the bow, or even climbing down into the hatch. Once at the bottom of the ladder, you can actually walk through the entire interior of your sub, stopping to look in the periscope in the command room before moving on past the radio and hydrophone operators to check on things in the torpedo room. Or if you'd rather visit the engine or the galley, you can head to the other end of the ship. Having this freedom is really impressive, but it's more than just a gimmick thanks to the new command system.
The command system in previous Silent Hunter games has focused on delegating orders to all the individual stations on a very flat, uninteresting screen. In Silent Hunter V, you can actually give your orders directly to your officers and they relay them to the petty officers and the rest of the crew. So, if you want to get the torpedoes ready for firing, you talk to your exec and he'll pass it along to the torpedo team. If you want to overcharge the diesel engines, you head aft and tell the chief engineer. If you want to check sensor status, you'll need to talk to your watch officer. It's a neat idea that emphasizes the chain of command and promises to help you grow more attached to your crew. Naturally, the story elements will tend to emphasize this aspect. Of course, there are still the same hand-of-god style controls as well, for moments when you just care about the results rather than the immersive quality of the game.
Morale is an important part of the crew system now. Each order you give costs your officers and crew a small bit of morale, and you'll need to recharge their supply with successful strikes and cruises if you want them to perform at peak efficiency. Moreover, successfully completing your missions will grant you promotion points you can spend to improve your officer and crew abilities, giving them things like better torpedo accuracy or better engine efficiency.
By now the sub is nearing the battle and, if the burning superstructures are any indication, we can clearly see that the German destroyers are in trouble. All of the most common commands are right on the HUD, so we're able to make the sub dive without leaving the first person view. The new tactical map also appears in a small corner of the map, and even shows contacts and your own field of view so you can tell what's what in the periscope. You can also plot moves on the tactical map and see the enemies' visual and hydrophonic detection ranges. This helps players adjust their speed (which affects their sonic signature) and their periscope depth (which affects their visual profile).
Using the new detection indicators, it's possible to get your sub in prime firing position before the destroyers start coming for you. Even so, you eventually will be detected and, when that happens, it's best to head right towards your target and start launching the torpedoes. paIn Silent Hunter V, torpedo firing solutions are drawn right on the tactical map, with one line showing the likely path of your target and one line showing the th of your torpedo. Both lines have the numbers one, two and three on them, indicating where the target and the torpedo will be when launched at different times. All you have to do to line up a good shot is get the same number to intersect with itself on both paths. Then fire at that speed and, as long as the target doesn't move, you should be golden.
Using these new tools, the sub was able to score a couple of solid hits on the Warspite. Watching the spectacular explosions, we also noticed a new damage and flooding meter above the targeted ship. As the armor drops and the compartments flood, the Warspite sinks below the waves and history is changed forever. As with other titles in the Silent Hunter series, players will be able to choose from a variety of realism options to make the game more or less difficult according to their own play style. Personally, I like the idea of having the extra interface options, but the torpedo firing lines and the flooding meters just seem a bit out of line with the real authentic experience I'd want from the game. We're not quite sure which of the various interface options are included in the general realism profiles, but it's a sure bet that you can set the game to be as light or as heavy on realism as you want
I underlined some of the good stuff. :DL