DEV Q&A post on Ubi Forum

[TDK1044]

There is a DEV Q&A post over on the Ubi Forum with a few interesting responses. I know we don't usually post links, but I though some might find the initial responses interesting.

http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1121062387/m/8591082387/p/1

[donut]

:down::down::down:

[martes86]

:down::down::down:

Huh?

[Webster]

i find this comment xtremely troubling:

How much freedom will we be seeing/getting? Are we able to navigate from the rear torpedo room all the way to the forward torpedo room seamlessly or will it be more like SHIV, click on a ladder/door/hatch to enter the next submarine section?

The player will have full access everywhere inside the submarine. Just like in any other first person game and just like a real captain had. But remember, you’re not just a camera, you’re the captain. Don’t go sunbathing on the fore deck or you’ll have a long way to go to that conning tower hatch before the sub can dive!

so as i understand itthe way its written, this means if your not where you need to be then there is no click to station feature so you must go through the sub yourself to get to the control room before you can give any orders to your crew.

[Safe-Keeper]

:down::down::down:
I second the 'huh?'.

[SteamWake]

Im assuming he is upset it was posted there instead of here. I can see why it was posted on the 'official' site.

But I think it would be wise of them to mirror this over here as well. A good deal of this community wont even open the UBI forums ;)

[JU_88]

i find this comment xtremely troubling:



so as i understand itthe way its written, this means if your not where you need to be then there is no click to station feature so you must go through the sub yourself to get to the control room before you can give any orders to your crew.

Nope the above is bit misleading as they also said you will be able to switch stations via shortcuts aka SH3/4
You got nothing to worry about. :up:

[SteamWake]

We’ve changed the water and terrain rendering engine, solving the bugs that prevented this in the previous version and increasing the rendering distance too.



There you go rendering engine changed. Cant wait to see it in action.

[DarkFish]

i find this comment xtremely troubling:
How much freedom will we be seeing/getting? Are we able to navigate from the rear torpedo room all the way to the forward torpedo room seamlessly or will it be more like SHIV, click on a ladder/door/hatch to enter the next submarine section?

The player will have full access everywhere inside the submarine. Just like in any other first person game and just like a real captain had. But remember, you’re not just a camera, you’re the captain. Don’t go sunbathing on the fore deck or you’ll have a long way to go to that conning tower hatch before the sub can dive! so as i understand itthe way its written, this means if your not where you need to be then there is no click to station feature so you must go through the sub yourself to get to the control room before you can give any orders to your crew.To me this comment sounds very appealing. I think it'll add a lot of immersion to the game, as you have to get to every room by yourself. No more magically teleporting:D
Besides, I guess you can give orders about anywhere in the ship. I mean, wouldn't a real U-Boot captain be able to just give commands from anywhere within the boat? I guess the order would just be passed on by other crewmembers:hmmm:

[Webster]

I guess you can give orders about anywhere in the ship. I mean, wouldn't a real U-Boot captain be able to just give commands from anywhere within the boat? I guess the order would just be passed on by other crewmembers:hmmm:


well thats the part i found troubling, if you have to get there then to me that means you cant command the sub from the non command sections of the sub. if you could then there would be no cause for the statement

"you’ll have a long way to go to that conning tower hatch before the sub can dive!"

[GoldenRivet]

:up::up::up:

It has the GoldenRivet Seal of approval thus far.

March 2010 is too damned far away if you ask this skipper.

[FIREWALL]

I can see why it was posted on the 'official' site.
A good deal of this community wont even open the UBI forums ;)


You've got to be kidding.:haha: They probably have a shortcut to it like, they do SubSim.

Hell. I do.:03:

[mookiemookie]

well thats the part i found troubling, if you have to get there then to me that means you cant command the sub from the non command sections of the sub. if you could then there would be no cause for the statement

"you’ll have a long way to go to that conning tower hatch before the sub can dive!"

Theres a very good cause for that statement - you may give the order to dive, but they're not going to dive while the captain's still on deck.

[goldorak]

i find this comment xtremely troubling:

so as i understand itthe way its written, this means if your not where you need to be then there is no click to station feature so you must go through the sub yourself to get to the control room before you can give any orders to your crew.

It makes perfect sense, once you have the ability to visit 100% of the sub, you can't have the ability to "teleport" your crew/captain below deck just because you've spotted an enemy. That makes going to the surface and getting your men/officers/captain on the the deck a much more realistic/visceral experience.
I like it, I like it a lot. :yeah: :yeah:
Don't understand why many are :down::down::down:

[martes86]

Theres a very good cause for that statement - you may give the order to dive, but they're not going to dive while the captain's still on deck.

Or they might dive, but the captain would drown anyways. :rotfl2:

[TDK1044]

There is an update posted today.

30.09.2009

How does the morale system work?

Your crew is a highly trained unit of the German Kriegsmarine. They will do their duty, but as with every man, there is a question whether they will go the extra mile for their captain and mission. This is translated into their morale – their capacity to use their special abilities such as making a team effort to reload all bow torpedoes very fast to deliver a fatal blow to enemy shipping.
Of course, as you spend time at sea, your crew will long for their families, get tired of canned food and their morale will go down. This diminishes your capacity to use them and excel in battle, so as captain, you have to be careful that there’s reasons for the crew to be happy. Sink some ships, make them proud, and it should be ok.


Will there be improved ship buoyancy dynamics EG the roll and pitch of the submarine?

Yes. Physics throughout the game is under tuning. We added a “flooded” mechanic to enemy ships as well, which simulates water flowing from one compartment to another, thus buoyancy is expected to be more realistic.


I have noticed that the ship/submarine textures on all the current screenshots are VERY basic; will you be replacing them with more realistic skins and textures like in SH4? (EG bolts and rust ect).

Textures and graphics are still under tuning. We textured the submarine based on real images taken from real uboats.

Will more realistic sounds be used for the ships and subs? Also will we finally have the function to change the crew’s voices to German (instead of relying on mods)?

Yes. There will be new sounds, true surround effects, and a German voice pack distributed with the game.

[SteamWake]

So no more endless patrolls :yeah:

[Carotio]

Im assuming he is upset it was posted there instead of here. I can see why it was posted on the 'official' site.

But I think it would be wise of them to mirror this over here as well. A good deal of this community wont even open the UBI forums ;)

Why would anyone even bother going there? Most of the topics in the official SH forums are off-topic threads, often made by the "leading characters" there... :88)
The dev team members, who honoured the subsim meet(s), visit subsim and gives feedback here, and thank you for that. :up:

(and I'm not welcome there, but that's another story... :haha:)

[Akula4745]

There is an update posted today.

30.09.2009

Well SH5 sure sounds interesting to me... and since I most certainly plan to buy it upon release... methinks I shall not pick it apart too quickly. If you shake the box too many times before Christmas Day arrives your present might not be much of a surprise...

Heck... I still wanna go back and play SH3 w/GWX... even more so now that there will be no GW mod for SH4. So there is plenty to keep me busy till 3/2010. Since I bought SH4 my gaming has been intriguingly sub-clusive... and it likely shall not be changing anytime soon. Besides... maybe I will have this dad-gum U-boat career done by March 2010.

[Sledgehammer427]

one thing I liked to hear

The harbor keeps the first person perspective, but some of the management jobs are better done through 2D interfaces.

so I guess that means we will be able to walk about in the harbor. me like

[Elder-Pirate]

one thing I liked to hear



so I guess that means we will be able to walk about in the harbor. me like


Well if that's true I sure hope the Devs arrested that hot-rod truck driver on the docks. :haha:


Very impressive the way he made those 90 degree turns.

[Sledgehammer427]

Well if that's true I sure hope the Devs arrested that hot-rod truck driver on the docks. :haha:


Very impressive the way he made those 90 degree turns.

:rotfl2:

"watch aus!"
huh?
*boom*
fade to black
Your Captain died in a tragic car accident, in port, July 7th, 1942

[V.C. Sniper]

There is an update posted today.

30.09.2009

How does the morale system work?

Your crew is a highly trained unit of the German Kriegsmarine. They will do their duty, but as with every man, there is a question whether they will go the extra mile for their captain and mission. This is translated into their morale – their capacity to use their special abilities such as making a team effort to reload all bow torpedoes very fast to deliver a fatal blow to enemy shipping.
Of course, as you spend time at sea, your crew will long for their families, get tired of canned food and their morale will go down. This diminishes your capacity to use them and excel in battle, so as captain, you have to be careful that there’s reasons for the crew to be happy. Sink some ships, make them proud, and it should be ok.


Will there be improved ship buoyancy dynamics EG the roll and pitch of the submarine?

Yes. Physics throughout the game is under tuning. We added a “flooded” mechanic to enemy ships as well, which simulates water flowing from one compartment to another, thus buoyancy is expected to be more realistic.


I have noticed that the ship/submarine textures on all the current screenshots are VERY basic; will you be replacing them with more realistic skins and textures like in SH4? (EG bolts and rust ect).

Textures and graphics are still under tuning. We textured the submarine based on real images taken from real uboats.

Will more realistic sounds be used for the ships and subs? Also will we finally have the function to change the crew’s voices to German (instead of relying on mods)?

Yes. There will be new sounds, true surround effects, and a German voice pack distributed with the game.uber 1337

[Webster]

It makes perfect sense, once you have the ability to visit 100% of the sub, you can't have the ability to "teleport" your crew/captain below deck just because you've spotted an enemy. That makes going to the surface and getting your men/officers/captain on the the deck a much more realistic/visceral experience.
I like it, I like it a lot. :yeah: :yeah:
Don't understand why many are :down::down::down:


it can be a very good thing once we get used to it but the "key" thing i am concerned over is i want to be sure i can give orders no matter where i am on the boat and that they happen "while" im running back to the control room.

like the capt on deck thing, the sub should start the emergency dive while im in the process of getting to the hatch in time. at the very least go to decks awash untill i get inside, this is how it was in real life, the priorities were to save the boat #1, save the crew #2, save an individual #3

[Sailor Steve]

Sorry to be replying to a post made several weeks ago, but this caught my eye and I felt I had to say something.

Besides, I guess you can give orders about anywhere in the ship. I mean, wouldn't a real U-Boot captain be able to just give commands from anywhere within the boat? I guess the order would just be passed on by other crewmembers:hmmm:
Nope. If the captain is in the torpedo room and gives an order to change course, someone has to go to the control room and tell the helmsman. Problem is, the Officer Of the Deck (who is in command when the captain is not) has to be sure the order actually came from the captain. Who's to tell?

The officer in charge commands from the control room in a submarine, and that means the captain when he's actually excercising command, and the OOD when he's not. That's why all the controls are in the control room, including dive planes, steering and torpedo fire controls. Of course they are repeated on the bridge for surface operations, but the captain can't command from the engine or torpedo rooms - it just won't work.

it can be a very good thing once we get used to it but the "key" thing i am concerned over is i want to be sure i can give orders no matter where i am on the boat and that they happen "while" im running back to the control room.

like the capt on deck thing, the sub should start the emergency dive while im in the process of getting to the hatch in time. at the very least go to decks awash untill i get inside, this is how it was in real life, the priorities were to save the boat #1, save the crew #2, save an individual #3
I have to disagree here as well. Standing operational procedure, at least on the American boats (and if the German procedure was different it would be interesting to see evidence) was that the flood vents were never opened until all hatches were reported shut, even in an emergency dive.

I thought it was cool that when you hit 'Dive' in SH3 you were instantly taken below. Of course the conning tower would have felt more real, but you have to take what you get. But I hated it in SH4 when you and the watch crew stayed on the bridge until it actually dipped beneath the waves.

[Webster]

I have to disagree here as well. Standing operational procedure, at least on the American boats (and if the German procedure was different it would be interesting to see evidence) was that the flood vents were never opened until all hatches were reported shut, even in an emergency dive.



well your right about the SOP but i think you have to agree that the sub shouldnt just sit there untill your inside, it should start moving up to speed and whatever else is doable to be prepared for the second the hatch closes just like it would be in real life

[Sailor Steve]

well your right about the SOP but i think you have to agree that the sub shouldnt just sit there untill your inside, it should start moving up to speed and whatever else is doable to be prepared for the second the hatch closes just like it would be in real life
Oh, absolutely. If the captain (or any other officer, for that matter) gives the dive order, everyone is going to rush below and do everything that needs to be done. They just won't begin the actual flooding until the 'Christmas Tree' shows all green, indicating all hatches closed. Otherwise you might not be saving the boat first. Or at all.:rotfl2:

[Stormfly]

iam not shure if it was historical correct, but in a scene from "Das Boot", after a "ALARM" callout (command of preparation process for the emergency dive process) :O:, the commanding (watch)officer and last man on the bridge, after closing the hatch, gave a additional command "FLUTEN" ("flood"), without beeing able to watch on the cristmas tree. In another scene (Gibraltar), a crew member in the "Command Room" gave imidiatly command "FLUTEN" ("flood") after "ALARM" command from the bridge. The "Kaleun" than gave order "NICHT FLUTEN" ("dont flood") while still on the bridge, "LI" (Leading Engineer) than gave orders to blow tanks to prevent sub from diving and so on... :hmmm:

This also let me think, in emergency situations, the cristmas tree was reviewed from someone while the flooding was already commanded and perhaps also initiated...

[Webster]

well movies always "slaughter" reality for "good scenes" so in most cases they do things wrong but in real life there were im sure the occassional times proceedures were cut short because people make mistakes when scared.

[Sailor Steve]

I would tend to agree with both of you. I'm sure in an emergency dive they wouldn't flood until given the order. The 'Christmas Tree' shows the man on the flood valves all the hatches and engine vents - everything that leads outside. While on patrol I'm sure they would keep everything right on the edge of diving. The torpedo loading hatches are secured, as are any other hatches except the one leading to the bridge. As soon as the dive order is given the engines are shut down and the engine intake vents shut. The only light on the panel that will still be red is that conning tower hatch. As soon as it shows green (or white, if U-571 is to be believed) they'll go ahead and pull the plug.

Another thing that's been missed so far is the reality of 'Decks Awash'. If the boat is trimmed positive it isn't going to dive at all. Going directly to a neutral trim and trying to lower the boat just a few feet is going to be very tricky. One slip and the captain and everyone else on the bridge crew is going to be swimming. I'm pretty sure the correct procedure was to dive the boat normally, then trim neutral and come back to the desired depth. Of course this would mean that all decks-awash attacks would have to be made on electric motors - no dashing around at high speed in that condition.

[Letum]

My impression was that decksawash was achieved not with neutral buoyancy and dive planes, but with diminished positive buoyancy.
No?

[finchOU]

Will there be any AI operated boats forming a Wolfpack?

There will be AI operated boats. Wolfpack mechanics are under consideration. This is something we always wanted to do but we want to do them properly so there’s a question if we’ll be able to fit them before release.


:damn: Nothing has changed I see. If you didnt have a warm fuzzy about Wolfpacks being a major upgrade in SH5 this should clue you in that it aint happening for sure! Reading between the lines: Under Consideration means Not going to happen. The second sentence means they will not be working on it before the release. Basically it was not a "must" for development..which...Again!...is very troubling from seeing how a Majority of subsimers think this is probably the most important feature that NEEDS to be added to push SH5 to the next level. Please dont be sheep....again....I probably will not purchase this product. I'm not saying its not hard to implement...but really...how different from SH3 can it be? Graphically sure...but gameplay wise? How is it I played a sim 15 years ago which at least tried to implement Wolfpacks and today have a company not even consider it a priority for release of a NEW sim? I mean...am I taking Crazy pills here?? haha. Can some Smart MoFo get a job with this company and finially figure out how to develop this feature? Its almost 2000 effing 10...Seriously!?! :nope:

[Arclight]

:damn: Nothing has changed I see.
Apart from AI boats and a whole list of features and improvements, not to mention a brand new engine? No, not really. :roll:

[Tomi_099]

Sorry to be replying to a post made several weeks ago, but this caught my eye and I felt I had to say something.

...................................


:yeah:Yes !! let as seen something !!:rock:

[mookiemookie]

Of course this would mean that all decks-awash attacks would have to be made on electric motors - no dashing around at high speed in that condition.

Not to mention that the diesel exhausts would most likely be submerged in a decks awash situation and would have to be closed.

[looney]

Not to mention that the diesel exhausts would most likely be submerged in a decks awash situation and would have to be closed.


According to HA Werner (Iron Coffins) they used the electric engines a lot more than we are able to. So i don't know if that is bad. The reason for running Decks awash is to be more stealty and to be able to dive faster.

[Sailor Steve]

My impression was that decksawash was achieved not with neutral buoyancy and dive planes, but with diminished positive buoyancy.
No?
I'm not sure exactly how they would achieve that. They could pump out fairly precise amounts of water, but letting water in was accomplished by simply opening valves in the top ot the ballast tanks. I don't think they could control the exact amount that came in.

[kptn_kaiserhof]

i hope there will be soup

prefer hot tomato soup

[vickers03]

decks awash (at least for german boats):
boat is trimmed down with flooded main ballast tanks,
only conning tower is visible,
then the fast-diving tank (schnelltauchtank), which
has the volume of the conning tower could
be flooded to entirely dive the boat.

[Sailor Steve]

That leaves me confused. How flooded are the ballast tanks? Fully flooded, and the boat dives. Partly flooded makes sense, but as I asked before, how precisely is the flooding controlled if the only way to flood is to open the vents? The boat can only be precisely trimmed if it is submerged.

[vickers03]

as i understand it from my book, when main ballast
tanks are fully flooded the conning tower is still visible.
main ballast+fastdive-tank together fully submerges the whole boat.
the fastdive tank is placed below the command room
in the center gravity of the boat and has the volume
of the conning tower.
i could scan the page but it's german:dead:

[kemeri]

That leaves me confused. How flooded are the ballast tanks? Fully flooded, and the boat dives. Partly flooded makes sense, but as I asked before, how precisely is the flooding controlled if the only way to flood is to open the vents? The boat can only be precisely trimmed if it is submerged.

From the theory of submarines...

There are 3 groups of the main ballast tanks: aft, stern, middle.
All the main ballast groups are flooded (blowed) completely, thus reducing (restoring) submarine buyoancy to about zero.

For exact buyoancy and trim adjusting there are 3 trim tanks: aft, stern, middle. Aft and stern tanks are used for trim adjusting, middle one - for exact buyoancy adjusting. Flooding of trim tanks is controlled precisely.

The "fast-dive" tank is used during the dive to decrease submarine buyoancy below zero (flooded/blowed completely and rather fast), thus speeding up the submarine diving and leaving water surface. Right after the sub leaving the surface, "fast-dive" tank is blowed, restoring buyoancy of the sub to about zero (otherwise the sub will sink).

AFAIK the "fast-dive" tank had been implemented from XXI project only.

I'm rather clever boy, am i not? :DL

[CNA0]

"Fast dive" ballast tank (Negative tank is its USS name) belongs to this class. Negative tank not only gives negative bouyancy, to accelerate the dive its situation gives a negative angle to the stern.

Safety tank (a tank usually full) also belongs to this class. It has to be blown if the conning tower became flooded, to compensate the submarine buoyancy. For this reason its situation is centrated and its state doesn't change the trim conditions.

One more is the "Bow buoyancy tank" that can be blown on emergency to get not only buoyancy, also the stern elevation to get the surface in ahead propulsion.

There can be another more: the "Stern buoyancy tank"

I don't know how this theory is applied to WWII german Uboote. As far as I know they didn't have a separate Conning Tower as USS did.

[Takeda Shingen]

To the point of the the roaming captain, I would agree that this is a good thing. The CO on any naval vessel can't just expect to be walking around the boat willy-nilly. If the CO is away from the conn, and there is an emergency, then the CO had better haul his backside back to the conn right away. No teleportation for me, and no orders from aft torpedo. :up:

[Philipp_Thomsen]

I imagine that for a IX-B uboat to be at periscope depth, it must have its buoyancy = zero, neutral.

I dont know how much does it weights a torpedo, maybe a couple tons?

What happens if you fire all 4 bow and 2 stern torpedos at once? It would be like blowing ballasts, wouldn't it?

I would like to see it simulated on SH5.

[karamazovnew]

and no orders from aft torpedo. :up:
Uhmm, didn't they have those voice pipes in every compartment? Actually the replies you hear should sound differently if the officer is in the same compartment (normal voice) or in a different one (normal voice through voice pipe). TO give an order from the torpedo room, all you'd need to do is stand near the voice pipe, and click on it.

[Philipp_Thomsen]

I just found out that the G7a weights 1.528kg.

I dont know if its the heavies torpedo, but I guess the differences can be that big.

So, 6 torpedos would give near 10 tons of difference.

How many tons of water does it fit in the main ballast tanks?

Edit:
Displacement:
(tons)1051 (sf)
1178 (sm)

So, more then 100 tons of water. 10 tons wouldn't even make a difference. Nevermind my request.

[vickers03]

when a torpedo is fired, trim tanks near the tubes
are filled to equal the loss.

[Philipp_Thomsen]

when a torpedo is fired, trim tanks near the tubes
are filled to equal the loss.

What about all the water that fills the torpedo tube after its fired?

Should weight the same as a torpedo... its pumped out?

[Takeda Shingen]

Uhmm, didn't they have those voice pipes in every compartment? Actually the replies you hear should sound differently if the officer is in the same compartment (normal voice) or in a different one (normal voice through voice pipe). TO give an order from the torpedo room, all you'd need to do is stand near the voice pipe, and click on it.

I know what a voice pipe is. Never-the-less, what CO is hanging out in the aft torpedo room, watching the crew members load the fish while in dangerous waters? Furthermore, what responsible CO would issue an emergency order without proper appraisal of the situation. In the case that you mentioned, the voice pipe would be used to call the CO to the conn, not for him to issue an order without the proper information. The conn/control room/CIC is the nerve center of the boat for a reason, and as such the tactical orders are issued from there. It is below the conning tower. It houses the 'scopes. It's right next to the sonar and radio shack. That's where all of the information comes into the boat. If you didn't need that information, everyone could hang out in the aft torpedo room. :03:

[vickers03]

What about all the water that fills the torpedo tube after its fired?
Should weight the same as a torpedo...
a torpedo does not have the same density as water:D

[Philipp_Thomsen]

a torpedo does not have the same density as water:D

If so, you fire the torpedo and it goes straight down to the bottom of the ocean... :hmmm:

[kemeri]

What about all the water that fills the torpedo tube after its fired?

Should weight the same as a torpedo... its pumped out?

The water from the tube after launch was discharged to trim tanks near the tubes ("torpedo replacement tanks")

[vickers03]

If so, you fire the torpedo and it goes straight down to the bottom of the ocean...
density must be lighter than water i think,
i didn't know the water from the tube was pumped
to the trim tanks, sounds complicated

[kemeri]

density must be lighter than water i think,
i didn't know the water from the tube was pumped
to the trim tanks, sounds complicated

The practice shows, that the torpedo "density" is little bit more than water density: after detonation failure the exhausted torpedo sinks, isn't it? :DL

Why complicated to discharge the water from the tube to the tank, specially provided for? :hmmm:
It's not a above mentioned trim tank, it's the special tank for torpedo replacement. There were 2 ones in the bow and 1 in the aft on type VII U-boat.

[CNA0]

Combat torpedo weights a bit more than its volume of sea water; so that, when its engin power is finished, it sinks.
Exercise torpedos weight a bit less than their volume of sea water; so that at the end of their run they keep floating and can be recovered.

After the torpedo shot, the tube is full of water; once closed the outer door, if you don't empty it, you can't open the inner door without taking a good shower. The best way to do it is to discharge the water to a tank (WRT tank in USS) keeping almost without modification trim and total displacement.

[Webster]

Exercise torpedos weight a bit less than their volume of sea water; so that at the end of their run they keep floating and can be recovered.


:06::06::06: i know the game isnt always completely realistic but come on now, floating torpedos? :doh:

[Takeda Shingen]

:06::06::06: i know the game isnt always completely realistic but come on now, floating torpedos? :doh:

No, he's right. Exercise torpedos are designed to float.

[Platapus]

No, he's right. Exercise torpedos are designed to float.

Which of course just adds to the difficulty in identifying any depth keeping problems (Type 7a/Mk 14)

[Arclight]

Fitting dummy warheads that don't weigh the same as the real ones doesn't help with that either. :lol:

[PL_Andrev]

#1
I know, that from time to time uboats send its position (on BdU request), and allies break Enigma codes to know the location of uboot.
After that the near ships was warned and uboat was hunted...

Can location request will be implemented?
Will the Allies be able to 'read' position and look uboats in this area?


#2
On SH3 / SH4 we have command 'send inforamtion about contact / send information about convoy'... (and request about position)

If the capitan does not send will have negative consequences of returning to the port (radio not destroyed)?


#3
What about stones and rocks (and destroyed ships) on bottom of sea?
It will be "scenery" or real object causing malfunction when sub hit him and metal yelling when contact?

[TDK1044]

25.11.2009

What historical documents do the developers use for the creation of models of the German submarines?

Our research started of course with modeling books such as the “Vom original zum Modell” series and the technical books by Eberhard Roessler. But there’s much more that we do with analysis of photos and guesswork. We also took trips to visit the Vesikko submarine in Finland and the U-995 in Germany. I can tell you, nothing can match the experience of walking the deck of a real type VII u-boat.


Will we see water flooding the submarine or fire in 1st person view?

Yes you will, even more you will have to manage the flooding.

[HanSolo78]

[B]25.11.2009


Will we see water flooding the submarine or fire in 1st person view?

Yes you will, even more you will have to manage the flooding.


Sounds interesting! Hope it is not gonna be only a water splash like in Sh3 ;)

[PL_Andrev]

Yes, the flooding accident was prepared good in SH4 but was not too climatic.
I hope that it will be prepared with "water drops" on captain's eyes...
:)

[Alex]

Sounds interesting! Hope it is not gonna be only a water splash like in Sh3 ;)

Exactly, Hans. :yep:
*This man took the words out of my mouth* :smug:

[Snestorm]

I hope the 1. Engineering Officer can "manages the flooding".

[Elder-Pirate]

I hope the 1. Engineering Officer can "manages the flooding".

Well he or someone sure better for as the Kaleun I'm sure as heck not going to. :damn:

And if it is left up to me I'll be finding out if Davey Jones soup is better than ours. :dead: :smug:

[Lord Justice]

#1
I know, that from time to time uboats send its position (on BdU request), and allies break Enigma codes to know the location of uboot.
After that the near ships was warned and uboat was hunted...

Can location request will be implemented?
Will the Allies be able to 'read' position and look uboats in this area?


#2
On SH3 / SH4 we have command 'send inforamtion about contact / send information about convoy'... (and request about position)

If the capitan does not send will have negative consequences of returning to the port (radio not destroyed)?
Not certain if these questions will be implemented, but i like these 2 ideas, damm good, as for getting wet, nein mein crew should and vil fix ze leaks.:smug:

[TDK1044]

03.12.2009


Will you be able to change ammo storage loadouts, such as adding more AAA rounds, or more deck gun rounds?

Like in the previous games, we believe the main weapon of the U-boat is the torpedo – and the player is only allowed to customize that loadout. The ammo stocks for the deck and flak guns will be standard.

Will there be weight simulation? The more weight within the sub the lower it sits in the water thus more drag with the water, will torpedoes, AAA ammo, deck gun ammo, and fuel all affect the subs weight, thus changing the speed vs fuel usage?

We’re working on improving the submarine dynamics (underwater drag mainly) in relation to the customizable items on the deck: deck gun, conning tower, flak guns. This feature is still some ways away, though!


Will the captain support options from U-boat missions be available in SH5? Such as requesting a friendly DD to scout or sink a convoy, requesting Luftwaffe recon/bomber/fighter aircraft?

There will be some co-operation with friendly forces in Silent Hunter 5, but we’re trying to make it in a realistic fashion – as opposed to giving direct command over another unit.


Will it be possible to turn off the fatigue-system? I always thought it's not my job as a sub commander to sing everybody to sleep.

Say good bye to the fatigue system. SH5 takes a completely different approach to modeling crew fatigue and morale, built upon the idea that these men are after all professionals, doing their job and knowing that their life depends on it.

[karamazovnew]

Cool, nice update TDK :salute:.

We’re working on improving the submarine dynamics (underwater drag mainly) in relation to the customizable items on the deck: deck gun, conning tower, flak guns. This feature is still some ways away, though!Hope they stick with this one. Without torpedoes and food on board, you're looking at at least a 10% weight reduction but you'd also need to balast the uboat with the same ammount of water to keep it ready for a crash dive so that would've been useless. Drag from the guns however, I've never thought about that one :D

[Uber Gruber]

Move along please....nothing new here :wah:

[mookiemookie]

Say good bye to the fatigue system. SH5 takes a completely different approach to modeling crew fatigue and morale, built upon the idea that these men are after all professionals, doing their job and knowing that their life depends on it.

Hooray! :yeah:

[GoldenRivet]

Move along please....nothing new here :wah:

If you go to the original post on this thread and link over to the Developer Q&A session at Ubi forums it might enlighten you a bit.

I check in on that regularly.

These most recent questions being answered is in fact new to me - and probably others as well?

you were expecting maybe a playable demo?

[Snestorm]

Thanks, TDK1044.
The newest answers are looking realy good.

[totodog]

We’re working on improving the submarine dynamics (underwater drag mainly) in relation to the customizable items on the deck: deck gun, conning tower, flak guns. This feature is still some ways away, though!
.


I'd like to see how that one turns out. More defense surfaced but reduced speed underwater, for example?

[JScones]

Will there be weight simulation? The more weight within the sub the lower it sits in the water thus more drag with the water, will torpedoes, AAA ammo, deck gun ammo, and fuel all affect the subs weight, thus changing the speed vs fuel usage?

We’re working on improving the submarine dynamics (underwater drag mainly) in relation to the customizable items on the deck: deck gun, conning tower, flak guns. This feature is still some ways away, though!
I wonder if they've found accurate figures for the underwater effects of removing the deck gun? This has been an unanswered (as in factually answered, rather than speculatively answered) question around here and u-boat.net for years.

I also hope addition of snorkel is included in this feature as well as wintergarten updates (more/less flak guns etc).

Still, a positive inclusion.

It's also nice to know that it's highly unlikely that I'm gonna have to pat my crew's bums every four hours and toddle them off to their bunks with a cup of Horlicks.

[mookiemookie]

I also hope addition of snorkel is included in this feature as well as wintergarten updates (more/less flak guns etc).

I hope they model the speed limitation while snorkeling and the vibration on the periscope at higher submerged speeds.

[TDK1044]

09.12.2009

Will there be random damages or problems with the U-boats? I am thinking about problems with the Diesel-Engine or other technical problems (maybe like sabotage by dockyard workers, which happened more often later in the war).

While we strive to give the player a realistic view on the war and the machines taking part in it, we think random malfunctions or sabotages are very dangerous for gameplay reasons. These kinds of events cannot be controlled by the player and they may ruin a mission, a plan, or a patrol for you. In the future, we will tackle them in some way, but for now, we have no such thing in the game.


Will there be dual monitor support?

There will be available resolutions for dual screens, but nothing customized in terms of HUD. Not for now at least.


Will the ladder in the galley be modeled? Just a detail, but I think it can't do any harm to ask.

The galley hatch is modeled, but the ladder is not mounted since we understand it was not standard practice to have it in place for normal operations.


Will the toilet be accessible too? It's not really important for gameplay, but it would be funny.

Nope, you have to use your own 

[mookiemookie]

While we strive to give the player a realistic view on the war and the machines taking part in it, we think random malfunctions or sabotages are very dangerous for gameplay reasons. These kinds of events cannot be controlled by the player and they may ruin a mission, a plan, or a patrol for you.

Yeah, that's kind of the whole point! :damn: Make it a realism option that can be clicked on or off, and you have no more problems for those who want or don't want it.

[Arclight]

The option would be nice. :yep:

Kind of disappointed I can't go to the head. Doesn't have to be functional, but it's part of the interior so I should be able to go in there. :hmmm:

[Herz]

After reading that QA I'm only more excited now. Bring in on SH5!

[PL_Andrev]

random damages or problems with the U-boats

These kinds of events cannot be controlled by the player and they may ruin a mission, a plan, or a patrol for you. In the future, we will tackle them in some way, but for now, we have no such thing in the game.

Buy game when release or wait for patched version...
:hmmm:

[TDK1044]

Buy game when release or wait for patched version...
:hmmm:

A few months back, I would have advised you to wait at least six months and buy the game fully patched. I now get the sense that SHV is well worth buying at the time of release. :DL

[THE_MASK]

"Will the toilet be accessible too? It's not really important for gameplay, but it would be funny.

Nope, you have to use your own "

This is a crap question .

[Arclight]

Let's hope it didn't piss them off.

[Sailor Steve]

Oh, man, you guys are going to get this thread flushed!

[JScones]

09.12.2009

Will there be random damages or problems with the U-boats? I am thinking about problems with the Diesel-Engine or other technical problems (maybe like sabotage by dockyard workers, which happened more often later in the war).

While we strive to give the player a realistic view on the war and the machines taking part in it, we think random malfunctions or sabotages are very dangerous for gameplay reasons. These kinds of events cannot be controlled by the player and they may ruin a mission, a plan, or a patrol for you. In the future, we will tackle them in some way, but for now, we have no such thing in the game.
Hmm, I hope no-one tells Flight sim or Tank sim devs this - they've been including some form of breakdown options for years. Seems odd that it's such a concern in a Sub sim though...or is it just a convenient excuse? :hmmm:

Will the toilet be accessible too? It's not really important for gameplay, but it would be funny.

Nope, you have to use your own 
You mean it won't be an unlockable achievement? What are the devs thinking. :nope:

[totodog]

This thread has been going down the drain.

[Reece]

This thread has been going down the drain.Yes it's starting to stink now!!:O:

[Buddahaid]

Besides, someone will always be in there anyway as there's only one. :-?

Buddahaid

[Uber Gruber]

we think random malfunctions or sabotages are very dangerous for gameplay reasons. These kinds of events cannot be controlled by the player and they may ruin a mission, a plan, or a patrol for you. In the future, we will tackle them in some way, but for now, we have no such thing in the game.

I suggest you give up 'thinking' and try some bloody 'listening' for a change!

[mookiemookie]

Hmm, I hope no-one tells Flight sim or Tank sim devs this - they've been including some form of breakdown options for years. Seems odd that it's such a concern in a Sub sim though...or is it just a convenient excuse? :hmmm:


I don't buy the "won't someone think of the gameplay!" excuse, either. I think having breakdowns from pushing your equipment too hard would add an excellent strategy aspect. Do I chase that convoy at flank speed all day and run an increased risk of my engines breaking down, or do I let it go? It would fit in great with this "crewman special abilities" angle they're implementing too. An experienced chief would be able to push the engines hard with a reduced risk of a breakdown. Works great!

These kinds of events cannot be controlled by the player and they may ruin a mission, a plan, or a patrol for you.

Yeah, you know what other uncontrollables can ruin a mission, plan or patrol for you? Stormy weather. Destroyers. Airplanes. Task forces. Dud torpedoes. Let's just take all of those out of the game, too!

What a bullcrap excuse. :nope:

[PL_Andrev]

Yeah, you know what other uncontrollables can ruin a mission, plan or patrol for you? Stormy weather. Destroyers. Airplanes. Task forces. Dud torpedoes. Let's just take all of those out of the game, too!

What a bullcrap excuse. :nope:

:up:

The question is where is the problem?

The resistance is known in France and Norway. Is the problem to set up the probability of damage for example 2% in Norway bases, and 4% in France bases in April 1942? A simple data file for each database and each month of the war.

The main cause of damage were leaks - is the problem to simulate a weak (random) integrity of each room, which would be unhide after the first depth and can be removed?
For example:
stern tubes 100%
conning tower 25%
engine 75%
When the first depth the conning tower begins to leak at 50 meters, the engine at 150, and stern tubes at the critical depth.

Of course if the leaks are critical is only one way: emergency surface and return to homebase and repair...

Similarly, a periscope or diesel, these elements may be damaged - if something is completely damaged - back to base. If the damage is partial - what is problem to remove this malfunction?

I do not understand UBI's problems...
:hmmm:

[Arclight]

I do not understand UBI's problems...
:hmmm:
They're not Ubi's, they're the devs problems. And they're called deadlines. :lol:

[C DuDe]

Wonder if there will be Tenders to refit / refuel at sea and if we'd get the option to call in a tow when in sight of a friendly harbor.
(Obviously the tow has to be done at night so you won’t be to embarrassed getting to port). :O:

Maybe get the option to call in for help when you’re in friendly waters to refuel when you ran out... even when it takes days for them to get to you.

[Alex]

Wonder if there will be Tenders to refit/refuel at sea

Can we call in a refuelling sub or to reload the torps in the middle of Atlantic? and perhaps we can also see the crew in actions to refuel and reload the torps?

Whether the crew will be visibly performing these actions is still to be decided, but you’ll definitely be able to resupply at sea. This was an important factor in the real U-Boat campaign and it will be the same in our game too.

http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1121062387/m/8591082387

[elanaiba]

Regarding malfunctions, I'd say in reality you'd have the option to assign your crew to doublecheck systems that may be prone to sabotage, run tests, detect the problems before they occur in battle. If something is detected you have the option of a quick yard repair (insteaad of waiting the full 2-3 weeks standard in port). Doable? Yes. Simple? No.

The example of "torpedo duds" is the only one that kinda stands but even in reality the source of the problems was design of the system rather than sabotage. Also note that when torpedo malfunctions were implemented, many player controlled factors were taken into account - dud chance is based on impact angle, premature chance is based on sea state and torpedo running depth. As in real life, the player has some control - but he has the benefit of historic hind sight.

Aircraft, destroyers, depth charges, are also related to player performance and choice of tactics.

And I will never give up "thinking", its in my blood ;)

[JScones]

I'd say in reality you'd have the option to assign your crew to doublecheck systems that may be prone to sabotage, run tests, detect the problems before they occur in battle. If something is detected you have the option of a quick yard repair (insteaad of waiting the full 2-3 weeks standard in port). Doable? Yes. Simple? No.
But the beauty of sabotage was to "break things" without detection. For example, drill holes in the fuel bunkers, battery acid on all the seals, weakly welded hull plates...none of which could be easily identified in port, only when out to sea.

Steel Boat, Iron Hearts by Hans Goebeler devotes a whole chapter to sabotage and how frustrating it was. For example, he alleges that it took four patrols before workers found the drill holes in the fuel bunkers!

Now, most general malfunctions could be found through the usual dive checks just out of port...but the idea here isn't just to have stuff break or stop working, it's to add another element of decision making to the Commander - "gee, I can't reach full speed, should I continue or return to port?". It's not as black and white as just a "dud battery, u-boat can't move" type of malfunction.

[THE_MASK]

I think for game play sake the average player would not get much out of it . Imagine in SH4 that your fuel range was reduced for no apparent reason . There would be threads about the stupid fuel bug or something . You cannot put everything in the game , imagine the size of the dvd .

[JScones]

I think for game play sake the average player would not get much out of it . Imagine in SH4 that your fuel range was reduced for no apparent reason . There would be threads about the stupid fuel bug or something . You cannot put everything in the game , imagine the size of the dvd .
I think the DVD would still be 12cm in diameter. :hmmm:

Certainly true though, malfunctions/sabotage would have to be well explained. I mean, I always found it perplexing that people would select the option in SH3Cmdr and then complain that they couldn't see through the periscope, or couldn't reach flank speed..."bug!", "bug!" they cried...

[THE_MASK]

I think choice/options screen is the new buzword though.

[mookiemookie]

Now, most general malfunctions could be found through the usual dive checks just out of port...but the idea here isn't just to have stuff break or stop working, it's to add another element of decision making to the Commander - "gee, I can't reach full speed, should I continue or return to port?". It's not as black and white as just a "dud battery, u-boat can't move" type of malfunction.

That's exactly the point. It's a strategic decision the commander is making when he decides to press on with the patrol, despite a boat that has issues. It was a fact of life for the U-boat men, and something that they dealt with just as much as anything else currently included in the game. Adding more layers of decision making and tactical skill means a more rich and nuanced game in the end. Dan, I respect you guys to the max, but I have to disagree with the line of thinking that leaves sabotage/malfunctions out of the game.

[Laffertytig]

I think the DVD would still be 12cm in diameter. :hmmm:

Certainly true though, malfunctions/sabotage would have to be well explained. I mean, I always found it perplexing that people would select the option in SH3Cmdr and then complain that they couldn't see through the periscope, or couldn't reach flank speed..."bug!", "bug!" they cried...

i think the main problem with the way this worked was that there was no way of fixing the engine if it malfunctioned.

[PL_Andrev]

Nice question was found on SH5 forum:

Unsinkable submarine (on surface after player death) in SH4 patch 1.5 kills almost all matches in multiplayer mode...

After that should I buy SH5 without slightest doubts?:rotfl2:

[elanaiba]

Dan, I respect you guys to the max, but I have to disagree with the line of thinking that leaves sabotage/malfunctions out of the game.

Remember, Mark, the answer says "In the future, we will tackle them in some way, but for now, we have no such thing in the game."

[mookiemookie]

Remember, Mark, the answer says "In the future, we will tackle them in some way, but for now, we have no such thing in the game."

:salute: Then, as always, I trust in your judgment sir. Keep up the good work, and I'm eagerly awaiting your latest masterpiece.

[PL_Andrev]

Remember, Mark, the answer says "In the future, we will tackle them in some way, but for now, we have no such thing in the game."

Not exactly.
The problem is that in patched SH3 and SH4 the big bugs were not solved ( for example decoys at periscope depth in SH3).
I prefer to see bad / incomplete solution than hear words "it will be implemented later". Early is the bigger chance that the wrong function will be detected and fixed by next patch.

[karamazovnew]

Remember, Mark, the answer says "In the future, we will tackle them in some way, but for now, we have no such thing in the game."

If you wouldn't mind, I've been an avid supporter of the changes being made in SH5. Every time someone complained about eye-candy pushed in front of realism I was right there waving the Ubi flag. That's because at some point I started modding SH4 and let my imagination run wild. It went downhill fast after getting stuck by small hardcoded issues. When the first preview of SH5 was shown, I couldn't believe my eyes: it was the exact same list of features that would've loved to see, point by point, feature by feature. I just couldn't believe it. It's one thing to mod a game trying to bypass hardcode and another to actually have the things you need in the code and a tool to make life easier. I almost gave up modding the Sh4 interface but I'm glad I didn't. I can't believe how good SH4 UBM has become with Operation Monsun. It has completely replaced SH3 for me and made the wait for SH5 a lot easier.

Now here's my question.. If so much has been achieved in SH4, things which were thought would be impossible even with all the SH3 modding experience, why are so many people scared by features not being present in vanilla SH5? Even I can't imagine what SH5 will look like in a few years. As long as you guys allow us to create scripts, the sky will be the limit. We have 3d maniacs like Tomi and Ju88 (and soon ME), campaign freaks like Lurker, realism gurus like the GWX team and Dulcimus, perfectionists like Makman and Hitman and the gods of thunder themselves, Luke and W-clear. And if all else fails, Skwasjer will save the day with an editor. All I want to see in SH5 is a well rounded game, bug free, with smooth performance and ready for complex modding.

Let's face it, this might be the last U-boat sim for a looooong time. I suppose some features will make their way into an expansion (like real navigation /pray). Maybe later you'll release another PTO sim (hopefully with the Japanese Imperial Navy too) and MAYBE the U-boat core will be upgradeable to the new engine. What's next? Cold war sim? WW1? Surface warfare? What I want to underline is that any mod made for SH5 will not interfere with the sales of your future sims.

[raymond6751]

What about having a sub start with an unknown efficiency number (mid to high) for various equipment. During the mission, getting full use could be improved by having good crew in the compartment. A captain will learn the efficiency of his boat and crew during a patrol.

My earlier suggestion about crew qualifying training and drills during a mission could improve over time the efficiency. Losing a good crewmember in port would impact the boat.

While sailing to your patrol area you can run drills, i.e. guns, torpedo loading, that would improve accuracy and reload times. Tracking neutral or friendly ships to the point of a firing solution could improve torpedo accuracy. Crew could qualify to rank up by courses. Things like that.
It adds another layer of complexity but it is very real. A captain doesn't just go fast forward to cntact. That would reduce his abilities.

As for saboutage, these are things out of the player's control. I don't think it should be part of the game.

[Rip]

I've been given some insight into the future questions the devs will answer. Some really great ones coming up. I will let you know what they are a little in advance.

So the next one is........

.......

........

........

Will you be able to taste the soup and then suggest what spices need added, and will this have an effect on crew morale?



I can't wait for the answer!

[Arclight]

Ah, that was mean. What a Rip-off. :lol: :O:

[THE_MASK]

I've been given some insight into the future questions the devs will answer. Some really great ones coming up. I will let you know what they are a little in advance.

So the next one is........

.......

........

........

Will you be able to taste the soup and then suggest what spices need added, and will this have an effect on crew morale?



I can't wait for the answer! Spices and curry will be added . After your men eat the curry you may need to unlock the toilet door feature .

[Lord Justice]

Spices and curry will be added . After your men eat the curry you may need to unlock the toilet door feature . Indeed, draw your gun and tell them to line up in an orderly fashion, i think that be good cause for mutiny! hold the line :rotfl2:

[THE_MASK]

18.12.2009 - there will be no new updates for the next 2 weeks


Will we see the crew on deck whilst they move torpedoes from external storage to internal storage?

Not for now, but you’ll be able to see the reloading of the torpedoes taking place inside the submarine!


Will there be lifeboats that rescue some of the crew of a torpedoed ship?

Like in SH4, yes, you’ll be able to see those.


What will the customization level be to make the boat really feel yours, like naming it yourself, adding hull serial numbers, personalizing your captain’s cabin etc?

The player is given command of a standard U-boat of the Kriegsmarine, but he doesn’t own it. Naming it is out of the question, since it was not the way “it was done”. Likewise, hull serial numbers were removed at a war’s start.
You will be able to customize it with a conning tower emblem and a custom hull paint scheme, should you wish.

By the way, in case you missed it, you can vote in the following THREAD (http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1121062387/m/5531086518) for your favorite tower emblem from a series of community submitted emblems. The top 10 will be added into the final game!


Can you tell me please if the horizontal dive bug problem of the subs in Silent Hunter 4 will be fixed in SH5. In Silent Hunter 3 the developers team made the subs dive properly in a tilted way (bow dive first), unlike in Silent Hunter 4 when the brand new developers team forgot this and the horizontal sub dive killed a bit the immersion factor.

Many of the developers of of SH4 were there for SH3 too! We did have those problems, but they were caused by changes in the water dynamics in another part of the code. The water has been changed again – it looks and behaves amazing - and we’re looking to tune the submarine dynamics better than in SH3 or SH4.


Will there be an option for the sub to auto-dive to periscope depth and switch the engines to 1-2 knots when the surface crew spot a unknown/enemy vessel or plane? (This is mostly for the new players)

As in the previous games, this kind of “standing orders” will be available to help the player. We believe these automated drills and responses to encounters are good simulation of how the crew works in a real submarine and also serve to take some of the tedious micro-management out of the game.

[Rip]

I love the way they sometimes answer a question without you know...answering it. SO will the sub tilt with the angle when it dives properly or not?!

[Elder-Pirate]

I love the way they sometimes answer a question without you know...answering it. SO will the sub tilt with the angle when it dives properly or not?!


I think they have a lawyer on their team. :hmmm: :D

[JScones]

...or a politician...

[totodog]

I love the way they sometimes answer a question without you know...answering it. SO will the sub tilt with the angle when it dives properly or not?!

I think they have a lawyer on their team. :hmmm: :D

...or a politician...



:har:

[karamazovnew]

As in the previous games, this kind of “standing orders” will be available to help the player. We believe these automated drills and responses to encounters are good simulation of how the crew works in a real submarine and also serve to take some of the tedious micro-management out of the game.

I hope that only applies to when you're not near the command room or the deck (chatting with the guys in the forward torpedo room for ex). Drills are best used in time compression such as periodically diving to 30 meters, cutting engines and slowly turning the boat 360 degrees to listen for contacts, more often during storms. I believe that these macros should be completely customisable by the player IN GAME. Another example would be crew pumping out water during depth charge attacks, but stopping the moment when all goes quiet. On the other hand, this might be a major feature so, if they hadn't already made it, I don't think that there's time left.

[theluckyone17]

...completely customisable by the player IN GAME...I picture myself wanting to change the script, so I grab my netbook, SSH into my gaming rig, log in as SH5Admin, edit the script by hand, restart whatever daemon's handling the scripts, log out, and return to the game.

:timeout:

I don't want /\ that. Even having to Alt-Tab or pause the game to bring up a script editor breaks the immersion.

What I would like to see is the ability to customize the scripts beforehand, outside the game, adding them as appropriate to triggers. That SH4 window that pops up when you sight a target/warship/aircraft... it'd be nice to modify those orders, even adding as necessary.

Consider it training the crew beforehand, so they know what to do when you give a simple order. Anything else, and you're going to have to bark out each order that would've otherwise been scripted.

[karamazovnew]

I picture myself wanting to change the script, so I grab my netbook, SSH into my gaming rig, log in as SH5Admin, edit the script by hand, restart whatever daemon's handling the scripts, log out, and return to the game.



I didn't mean like that. Dragon Age allows you to script the behavior of your party and it's very easy to do it. You can also save custom scripts and load them with just 1 click. SH would greatly benefit from this. In game the scripts would be simple and access commands that have a special flag.
Outside the game, a simple Editor could allow access to all commands and special conditions. We'd be able to create very special scripts and share them on Subsim. These could be easily integrated without breaking immersion but actually giving the crew a bit more personality. A complex script could automatically check distance to home base along custom departure/arrival patterns and make the Nav officer come to you and tell you that you're approaching Bingo fuel. Even the editor could have a nice interface allowing you to access it in game without a break in immersion. But to make it so powerful we'd need:

- access to all commands in the game (those that have a special flag enabled)
- conditions based on all values in the game
- commands assigned to individual crew or compartments
- temporary values for checking purposes
- Plotting patterns assigned to bases
- repeating procedures based on time
- break points that call for dialog boxes with other procedures
- procedures can use other procedures automatically (procedures can return a value, like functions)

The beauty of such a system would be that it could be also used to change crew behavior for the enemy or other uboats. I won't hold my breath though. I remember Ubi saying that the palyers will not be able to create/access scripts. Which is a huge shame. But even a Dragon Age system is better than nothing at all.

[PL_Andrev]

This is screenshot of new "real time in-game footage" SH5 trailer.

The question is:

Why these smokes are in difeerent directions???
:o

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/5773/sh5.jpg

[Elder-Pirate]

^^
Wind just changed?? :06:


Really it does not look good, hope it gets changed.

[THE_MASK]

It would be cool if SH5 was playable with the nvidia 3D kit .

[Reece]

It would be cool if SH5 was playable with the nvidia 3D kit .Not interested!!:O: ...... has ATI card!

[PL_Andrev]

It will be a disaster if the direction of smoke in SH5 will have this same directions as ship course ... SH3 forever?

By the way, maybe I'm wrong but the dev team asserted that the SH5 code is afresh written...
Re-written with old bugs copying?

[Arclight]

Same technigues, perhaps. Why reinvent the wheel if you already know how to make one?

I think on a windstill day, the smoke would indeed reflect the direction of travel. Maybe the second plume is from an escort heading in the opposite direction, obscured from view by the hull.

And again, they're still working on it. ;)

[mookiemookie]

Same technigues, perhaps. Why reinvent the wheel if you already know how to make one?

I think on a windstill day, the smoke would indeed reflect the direction of travel. Maybe the second plume is from an escort heading in the opposite direction, obscured from view by the hull.

And again, they're still working on it. ;)

http://crhba.gkmedia.org/sendstudio/temp/images/5/house%20under%20construction.jpg

I'm not living in that house! It doesn't even have walls! It's a disaster! :roll:

[Webster]

It will be a disaster if the direction of smoke in SH5 will have this same directions as ship course ... SH3 forever?

By the way, maybe I'm wrong but the dev team asserted that the SH5 code is afresh written...
Re-written with old bugs copying?


as mookie illustrated, until finished its hard to judge it but the trailers so far have the same too fast smoke from fires that look like they are moving a good 15kts or more so im hoping the clouds arent also going at too fast a speed as they did with the sh3 & sh4

i think its safe to say yes you will be dissappointed in a lot but you will be pleased with a lot of great impovements as well so my opinion is it will be about the same level of completion and have as many bugs as sh4 did but i think they will be less noticable and easier to fix.

[Elder-Pirate]

http://crhba.gkmedia.org/sendstudio/temp/images/5/house%20under%20construction.jpg

I'm not living in that house! It doesn't even have walls! It's a disaster! :roll:



Yeah but I love the front lawn. :haha:

[PL_Andrev]

I would like to thank all DEV TEAM for their commitment to the development of Silent Hunter 5. When I watched last movie UBI-TV I saw a crew member at sonar room who is resting (sonar doesn't work because submarine is on surface).
This view gave me a hope for a really good final product!

Thank you!

http://www.longam.net/sh4/sh5_7.jpg

[totodog]

I would like to thank all DEV TEAM for their commitment to the development of Silent Hunter 5. When I watched last movie UBI-TV I saw a crew member at sonar room who is resting (sonar doesn't work because submarine is on surface).
This view gave me a hope for a really good final product!

Thank you!



It also looks like he is... umm... how can I say this? spanking the monkey?

[Arclight]

:timeout:

That's gonna keep me up. I'll be tossing and turning all night.

[Lord Justice]

:timeout:

That's gonna keep me up. I'll be tossing and turning all night.lol, devine bliss, sheer ambrosia, yes i do believe he seems rather joyfull. :doh:

[mookiemookie]

I see this has been updated.

When you visit a friendly port or sub tender while on a mission, will you be able to request half replenishment instead of a full replenishment so you can get back out to the mission sooner?

It’s an interesting idea – but we’ll have to keep it for the future. I’m wondering how often would a captain choose “less than full” loadouts if he had the choice.

If you were replenishing from a milk cow, it wasn't an option. You got minimal replenishment. You got one or two torpedoes, as the time it took to float them over using life vests and inflatable rafts was substantial. I doubt you would have received a full load of fuel - stocks were limited and I am betting you would have received only enough to get you home or enough to top you off if you were on your way to your patrol grid.

I have "Milk Cows - U-boat Tankers At War" (http://www.amazon.com/MILK-COWS-U-Boat-Tankers-1941/dp/184884008X/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262787243&sr=8-3)sitting on my book shelf at home but have not got to read it yet. It's next in line. Will have to see what it says about this topic.

[kapitan_zur_see]

I've been given some insight into the future questions the devs will answer. Some really great ones coming up. I will let you know what they are a little in advance.

So the next one is........

.......

........

........

Will you be able to taste the soup and then suggest what spices need added, and will this have an effect on crew morale?



I can't wait for the answer!

:haha::har::har::rotfl2: ROFL That's so true!
I don't even take a look now to the Q&A, as it's a waste of time. I've been complaining and pesting about it just like you for too long, it's obvious they can't/don't want to answer to interesting/critical questions. We'll have to wait and see, i guess.
But loved your mocking attitude anyway :D

As I already said somewhere else, it probably has to do with the marketing department of SH5, so better ask your questions directly to the marketing manager... how, mind you? I found his email!!!!! :yeah: yeah, some brother of the father of an uncle of the son of one of the devs who works at UBI told me...
no,no, pal... no need to thanks me! my pleasure, really... :yep::

SH5_Marketing_Manager @ Bucharest_Psychiatric_Hospital . com

mmm... wonder if the last part has something to do with SH5 "odd at the very least" way of being marketed/advertised :hmmm:

[TDK1044]

06.01.2010

When you visit a friendly port or sub tender while on a mission, will you be able to request half replenishment instead of a full replenishment so you can get back out to the mission sooner?

It’s an interesting idea – but we’ll have to keep it for the future. I’m wondering how often would a captain choose “less than full” loadouts if he had the choice.


Will there be a feature if you're being pinged by a enemy vessel to have one of your officers do a depth under keel ping/check at the same time an enemy ping goes off to help prevent them from finding you while checking to see how deep you can go?

Would it really be possible for the pings to be timed so well as to disguise them? It’s an interesting question and a good suggestion noted for the future. Considering the layout of the Atlantic, I doubt it would be useful in most convoy battles though.


possible to see team members’ breadI’m interested to know whether or not it would be s growing during a campaign.

We are working on this right now; we thought about it and discussed it since the game was started. We believe that we have a good technical solution but given that it’s mostly eye candy (and therefore secondary in importance to gameplay and simulation) it might make it or not in the final build.


Is it possible to sit in the officer’s mess or "sleep" in my commander bunk?

It is possible to sit and you even have a pinup girl poster to keep you company.  Sleeping is another thing – but we have something in plan for that part.

[DarkFish]

06.01.2010
[...]YEAH! I just got info as birthday present!

[Alex]

06.01.2010

When you visit a friendly port or sub tender while on a mission, will you be able to request half replenishment instead of a full replenishment so you can get back out to the mission sooner?

It’s an interesting idea – but we’ll have to keep it for the future. I’m wondering how often would a captain choose “less than full” loadouts if he had the choice.


Will there be a feature if you're being pinged by a enemy vessel to have one of your officers do a depth under keel ping/check at the same time an enemy ping goes off to help prevent them from finding you while checking to see how deep you can go?

Would it really be possible for the pings to be timed so well as to disguise them? It’s an interesting question and a good suggestion noted for the future. Considering the layout of the Atlantic, I doubt it would be useful in most convoy battles though.


possible to see team members’ breadI’m interested to know whether or not it would be s growing during a campaign.

We are working on this right now; we thought about it and discussed it since the game was started. We believe that we have a good technical solution but given that it’s mostly eye candy (and therefore secondary in importance to gameplay and simulation) it might make it or not in the final build.


Is it possible to sit in the officer’s mess or "sleep" in my commander bunk?

It is possible to sit and you even have a pinup girl poster to keep you company.  Sleeping is another thing – but we have something in plan for that part.

And once again KzS is right. :o

I don't even take a look now to the Q&A, as it's a waste of time.

Purely and simply ! :wah: :wah: :wah: :wah: :wah: :wah: :wah: :wah: :wah: :wah: :wah: :wah: :wah: :wah: :wah: :wah: :wah: :wah: :wah:
SH4's dev diaries were so much better !

[Arclight]

I don't get it, those answers made perfect sense imho. :06:

[Col. Caldwell]

06.01.2010

Will there be a feature if you're being pinged by a enemy vessel to have one of your officers do a depth under keel ping/check at the same time an enemy ping goes off to help prevent them from finding you while checking to see how deep you can go?

possible to see team members’ breadI’m interested to know whether or not it would be s growing during a campaign.

Is it possible to sit in the officer’s mess or "sleep" in my commander bunk?

These three questions are the last things I'd probably never ask. For the first question though, the thing I wouldn't do is ping for depth while evading. I imagine some boats hit bottom while trying to evade.

Seeing team member's bread? :O: I'm thinking that person meant beard. That question I definitely would have never asked.

Sleep in the captain's bunk. I don't think that's important. Whenever I exit from SH4, I think of it as that's when I head to the bunk in-game for sleep.

[mookiemookie]

It's almost if they're cherry picking the most mundane and unimportant questions to answer.

Who cares if you can sit in the officer's mess? I want a sub combat simulator, not a "sitting in a chair" simulator. :damn:

[TDK1044]

It's almost if they're cherry picking the most mundane and unimportant questions to answer.

Who cares if you can sit in the officer's mess? I want a sub combat simulator, not a "sitting in a chair" simulator. :damn:


Q: Will our crews' clothes get ripped during our mission?

A; Yes. We're working on the patches now. :)

[Col. Caldwell]

Q: Will our crews' clothes get ripped during our mission?

A; Yes. We're working on the patches now. :)

And what if one of the crew were female? :O: Yeah, like that'll happen... :haha:

[kapitan_zur_see]

It's almost if they're cherry picking the most mundane and unimportant questions to answer.

Who cares if you can sit in the officer's mess? I want a sub combat simulator, not a "sitting in a chair" simulator. :damn:

Exactly what I was believing at the beginning, then, it gave me an idea...:hmmm:
I asked UBI a picture from their marketing department in charge for SH5, and then... it all started to make sense!

Take a look at the evidence I gathered :|\\

http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/3475/markoffice.jpg

[mookiemookie]

It also comes down to the people asking these sorts of questions too. Is that really the most burning question you have on your mind?

[Sailor Steve]

What? You don't think having to deal with your crew's athlete's foot is important?

The mold growing on the bread?

I've lost all respect for you now, Mookster!

[Chad]

While some of these questions seem irrelevent to the game and overall gameplay, at the SubSim Meet in Denmark this year I asked some silly questions :ping:

The devs are just tryin to make everyone happy.

[kapitan_zur_see]

It also comes down to the people asking these sorts of questions too. Is that really the most burning question you have on your mind?

My point exactly!! I remember having said somewhere months ago if the thread could be moderated to simply delete any post where questions would be silly (to say the least) or mundane... but no, I was ignored a bit like "don't feel superior, as if you know what's good or not better!". But then again, you can't do anything about the ubi forum from which they choose the questions to answers!

They would have been forced to answer critical questions if there was but those. I'm totally amazed by the number of idiots :nope: posting totally stupid mundane questions.
But come on! the devs perfectly KNOWS those are but mundane questions! They're far from being silly! So no, they obviously are not permitted by UBI to please everyone (us primarily), sadly! because they're not trying. So far it's been 99.9% mundane and for the 0.1% left, Rip has it right, they're "answering" without answering (a la politician's style)

SO!:
As a friendly "counter-attack", and to show, us, at subsim, are not mere idiots turning ecstatic with ridiculous questions, I propose we begin here some "the most stupid and mundane questions" contest :arrgh!:

Once in a while, who knows if one of them might reachs the Q&A! :rotfl2:

Here I shoot the first salvo! :salute:



Will I be able, from the deck, to jump in ocean and take a bath around the sub?
Are there any secret passages inside the uboat to find more ammo/new weapons?
Is the grease you put on torpedo to help manipulate them inside tubes when reloading do start to freeze if it gets colder inside the boat whilst deep enough and if you're close to Arctic regions?
When close to shore, will the seagulls not only fly above but this time dive into water and fly back in the air with a fish in their mouth?
Will my IQ improves posting such useless questions?

[mookiemookie]

My turn:

Where is my "Silent Hunter 5 - Penguins of the Atlantic" that Dan promised at the 08 meetup? I want my merchant gunner sim!

[Webster]

Here I shoot the first salvo! :salute:



Will I be able, from the deck, to jump in ocean and take a bath around the sub?
Are there any secret passages inside the uboat to find more ammo/new weapons?
Is the grease you put on torpedo to help manipulate them inside tubes when reloading do start to freeze if it gets colder inside the boat whilst deep enough and if you're close to Arctic regions?
When close to shore, will the seagulls not only fly above but this time dive into water and fly back in the air with a fish in their mouth?
Will my IQ improves posting such useless questions?



i'll add mine, lol

will the water move?
will the lights go out when i leave the room to conserve batteries?
will i be able to draw pictures on my torpedos before firing them?
will the seagulls drop poop for the sake of realism?
will i be able to select the clothes i wear? (oops, that might be a real question)
will i be able to get in a raft and go on shore for bonus missions on land?
will i see my breath in cold weather?
will i be able to operate the controls in the head?

[mookiemookie]

will the seagulls drop poop for the sake of realism?

No, no, you've got it wrong. When someone wants to justify their ridiculously nitpicky suggestion, it's because "it helps immersion" not realism. :rotfl2:

[DarkFish]

OK Webster, here you go (real Dev's answers - only the questions were a little different:)):

will the water move?
We are working on this right now; we thought about it and discussed it since the game was started. We believe that we have a good technical solution but given that it’s mostly eye candy (and therefore secondary in importance to gameplay and simulation) it might make it or not in the final build.

will the lights go out when i leave the room to conserve batteries?
It’s an interesting idea – but we’ll have to keep it for the future.

will i be able to draw pictures on my torpedos before firing them?
Not for now, but you’ll be able to see the reloading of the torpedoes taking place inside the submarine!

will the seagulls drop poop for the sake of realism?
This is an interesting feature and one that we have considered many times and would like to do – but it comes with some design and technical problems that need to be solved before committing to it. For release the answer is No.

will i be able to select the clothes i wear? (oops, that might be a real question)
Nope, you have to use your own http://forums.ubi.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

will i be able to get in a raft and go on shore for bonus missions on land?
Yes. This is one of the enhancements of the damage system and the dynamic campaign.

will i see my breath in cold weather?
This is a nice feature and one we have in plan. However, it is regarded as less important than other features.

will i be able to operate the controls in the head?
The player can jump in most of the key positions on the ship – firing guns, periscope, hydrophone, navigation map. More so, each of these stations is realistically modeled, and, combined with the FPS view, the immersion should be total. Additionally, we’re aiming to make the player work SIDE BY SIDE with his crew – be it on the periscope, when identifying a ship, or on the map, when looking for enemy convoys.

[Webster]

OK Webster, here you go (real Dev's answers - only the questions were a little different:)):




:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

but you forgot to include the answers for KZS's questions

[Sailor Steve]

:rock: DarkFish! That's gotta win an award for most creative use of real answers!

[j_o_nn_y]

Does anyone ask these questions or are they made up by Ubi or the Devs?.

[Alex]

Does anyone ask these questions or are they made up by Ubi or the Devs?.

That one is THE question ! :up:

[kapitan_zur_see]

ROFL Darkfish! :rotfl2::rotfl2:

In the same fashion, you forgot some of subsim members questions:

Will you AT LEAST ONCE answer a mature AND IMPORTANT question?
This is a nice feature and one we have in plan. However, it is regarded as less important than other features.

Once and for all, do you actually knows the meaning of "YES" or "NO" and have the ability to use them when we ask you direct questions????
It’s an interesting idea – but we’ll have to keep it for the future.


Does anyone ask these questions or are they made up by Ubi or the Devs?.
funny... I was just thinking about this myself while doing those posts... ;)

[kapitan_zur_see]

I FOUND THE WAY, MY FRIENDS!!

Tired of never having your clever and meaningfull question picked by the devs?

KzS brings you the answer! At last, you can have those questions that burns your mind answered personnaly here, only at subsim!

How? I've taken on my time to dig an old friend o' mine (well, sort of actually in an interloper campsite but you haven't heard of that...:|\\) and sign a yes-disclosure contrat exclusively for subsim.com!

Let me introduce you to the...

SUBSIM OFFICIAL SH5 FORTUNE TELLER!!!!
She can read into dan's or devs mind for you and dig out those answers!
(please don't ask for non-sensical questions this time...:D)

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/4466/fortunel.jpg

[totodog]

*snip*

:har::har:

[JScones]

@DarkFish and KzS: :har::har:

[Seeadler]

the new ones from 06.01.2010

Q:
When you visit a friendly port or sub tender while on a mission, will you be able to request half replenishment instead of a full replenishment so you can get back out to the mission sooner?

A:
It’s an interesting idea – but we’ll have to keep it for the future. I’m wondering how often would a captain choose “less than full” loadouts if he had the choice.

Q:
Will there be a feature if you're being pinged by a enemy vessel to have one of your officers do a depth under keel ping/check at the same time an enemy ping goes off to help prevent them from finding you while checking to see how deep you can go?

A:
Would it really be possible for the pings to be timed so well as to disguise them? It’s an interesting question and a good suggestion noted for the future. Considering the layout of the Atlantic, I doubt it would be useful in most convoy battles though.

Q:
I’m interested to know whether or not it would be possible to see team members’ breads growing during a campaign.

A:
We are working on this right now; we thought about it and discussed it since the game was started. We believe that we have a good technical solution but given that it’s mostly eye candy (and therefore secondary in importance to gameplay and simulation) it might make it or not in the final build.

Q:
Is it possible to sit in the officer’s mess or "sleep" in my commander bunk?

A:
It is possible to sit and you even have a pinup girl poster to keep you company. Sleeping is another thing – but we have something in plan for that part.

[Sone7]

The player can jump in most of the key positions on the ship – firing guns, periscope, hydrophone, navigation map. More so, each of these stations is realistically modeled, and, combined with the FPS view, the immersion should be total. Additionally, we’re aiming to make the player work SIDE BY SIDE with his crew – be it on the periscope, when identifying a ship, or on the map, when looking for enemy convoys.

Interesting. Maybe the ship identification (and RM itself) would not be just "finding differences" among multiple images, but pointing out the most important characteristics of the target (number of masts, presumable length etc) and letting the crew match it with the RM example (no more switching pages...)?
I would like it that way, realistic and immersive :)

[Onkel Neal]

I FOUND THE WAY, MY FRIENDS!!

Tired of never having your clever and meaningfull question picked by the devs?

KzS brings you the answer! At last, you can have those questions that burns your mind answered personnaly here, only at subsim!

How? I've taken on my time to dig an old friend o' mine (well, sort of actually in an interloper campsite but you haven't heard of that...:|\\) and sign a yes-disclosure contrat exclusively for subsim.com!

Let me introduce you to the...

SUBSIM OFFICIAL SH5 FORTUNE TELLER!!!!
She can read into dan's or devs mind for you and dig out those answers!
(please don't ask for non-sensical questions this time...:D)

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/4466/fortunel.jpg



:har:

[Rip]

It's almost if they're cherry picking the most mundane and unimportant questions to answer.

Who cares if you can sit in the officer's mess? I want a sub combat simulator, not a "sitting in a chair" simulator. :damn:

If I were going to ask something about the captains area I would ask if we would get sunrise/set and moonrise/set phases etc. You know some actual info for when I am tired of wacking off to my pinup girl.

[Snestorm]

It appears that distances will still be measured in Kilometers as opposed to Nautical/Sea Miles.
This is something that should have been corrected before all the eye-candy enhancements, which personaly, I could care less about. Same goes for the FPS view.

Accuracy should come before eye-candy.
No nation in the world (including Germany) has EVER measured distances at sea in Kilometers.

I'm becoming hesitant about spending time and money upgrading my PC just for SH5, as there is no other reason to do so.

[JScones]

Q:
When you visit a friendly port or sub tender while on a mission, will you be able to request half replenishment instead of a full replenishment so you can get back out to the mission sooner?

A:
It’s an interesting idea – but we’ll have to keep it for the future. I’m wondering how often would a captain choose “less than full” loadouts if he had the choice.
It wasn't a choice. The U-boat would be given what the tenderer could give them, which was very rarely, if ever (based on what I've read) a full complement.

So now we know that if we are running low on fuel/torpedoes we can dock at a tenderer at any time and get a full loadout. This essentially means that tenderers/friendly bases contain unlimited supplies and are always at full capacity.

I wonder if this also extends to damage - dock at a tenderer and miraculously all your damage disappears.

[JScones]

It appears that distances will still be measured in Kilometers as opposed to Nautical/Sea Miles.
This is something that should have been corrected before all the eye-candy enhancements, which personaly, I could care less about. Same goes for the FPS view.

Accuracy should come before eye-candy.
No nation in the world (including Germany) has EVER measured distances at sea in Kilometers.

I'm becoming hesitant about spending time and money upgrading my PC just for SH5, as there is no other reason to do so.
Yes, interesting considering the comment here (http://www.gamervision.com/gamer/coop/blog/article/preview_silent_hunter_5) (from Dan) about the all important cutting board and sink which will certainly be fixed before release.

If anyone needs definitive proof of where Ubisoft/the devs focus is with SH5, they need only read the above-linked preview and compare it to the accuracy errors that they see in the screenshots (ie incorrect reticles and so on - stuff that IMHO should be right from the start in a simulation, not left to modders to fix).

But hey, you can relax knowing that the cutting board will be modelled correctly. :up::roll:

[THE_MASK]

These Q and A are getting more rediculous every time .

WTF
Q:
I’m interested to know whether or not it would be possible to see team members’ beards growing during a campaign.

A:
We are working on this right now; we thought about it and discussed it since the game was started. We believe that we have a good technical solution but given that it’s mostly eye candy (and therefore secondary in importance to gameplay and simulation) it might make it or not in the final build.
Look at my avatar , do i look bitter and twisted .

[JScones]

Ubisoft, always tackling the hard hitting issues head on...

[Col. Caldwell]

Ubisoft, always tackling the hard hitting issues head on...

Much like today's politicians...

[Sailor Steve]

Look at my avatar , do i look bitter and twisted .
No way, man! You just look old!

[elanaiba]

Yes, interesting considering the comment here (http://www.gamervision.com/gamer/coop/blog/article/preview_silent_hunter_5) (from Dan) about the all important cutting board and sink which will certainly be fixed before release.

If anyone needs definitive proof of where Ubisoft/the devs focus is with SH5, they need only read the above-linked preview and compare it to the accuracy errors that they see in the screenshots (ie incorrect reticles and so on - stuff that IMHO should be right from the start in a simulation, not left to modders to fix).

But hey, you can relax knowing that the cutting board will be modelled correctly. :up::roll:

There are all kinds of players in the world. For some, the accuracy in the modelling of the interiour of the "unit" (aircraft/submarine) etc is very important.

While it is not possible to "solve everything", it should be clear that programmers don't do 3d modeling and therefore are not involved in fixing any errors inside the boat.

[nikimcbee]

My turn:

Where is my "Silent Hunter 5 - Penguins of the Atlantic" that Dan promised at the 08 meetup? I want my merchant gunner sim!

I have video of Neal playing the demo, I really need to upload it.:hmmm:

[JScones]

There are all kinds of players in the world. For some, the accuracy in the modelling of the interiour of the "unit" (aircraft/submarine) etc is very important.

While it is not possible to "solve everything", it should be clear that programmers don't do 3d modeling and therefore are not involved in fixing any errors inside the boat.What about screw direction, which has been a known issue for ~5 years? :hmmm:

For some, the accuracy in the modelling of the exterior of the "unit" (aircraft/submarine) etc is also very important. ;)

[Col. Caldwell]

What about screw direction, which has been a known issue for ~5 years? :hmmm:

Hmm, I haven't noticed that until recently when someone mentioned that. Not that it's a terrible eyesore but it'd be great if they spun in the right direction when ordering "ahead..." or "back..."

[longam]

No way, man! You just look old!

PEACE

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3063/2685202925_7472c7e39d.jpg?v=0

[Lord Justice]

There are all kinds of players in the world.

While it is not possible to "solve everything", . Indeed, I beg of you sir to excuse some of these hasty scrawls, as it is impossible to reconcile this spontaneous uprising. thank you :yep:

[Reece]

Indeed, I beg of you sir to excuse some of these hasty scrawls, as it is impossible to reconcile this spontaneous uprising. thank you :yep:
Spontaneous!!:x I think very carefully before posting my trash!!:yep:

[frau kaleun]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3063/2685202925_7472c7e39d.jpg?v=0

Dude - that musta been one seriously long patrol.

[Lord Justice]

Spontaneous!!:x I think very carefully before posting my trash!!:yep:Sir reece, i feel excessively for you, my learner friend, good day.:cool:

[Snestorm]

There are all kinds of players in the world. For some, the accuracy in the modelling of the interiour of the "unit" (aircraft/submarine) etc is very important.

While it is not possible to "solve everything", it should be clear that programmers don't do 3d modeling and therefore are not involved in fixing any errors inside the boat.

What does this have to do with Ubisoft's error of using Kilometers, rather than Nautical Miles?

Is the sink more important than the proper distance measurement?!?

SH5's mandatory computer upgrade is looking less likely.
Pre-order cancelation is looking more likely.

The Time, Effort, and Expense of a computer upgrade, for the sake of eye candy, which does not interest me, is just not justified.

[Lord Justice]

:doh::arrgh!:
Pre-order cancelation is looking more likely.

The Time, Effort, and Expense of a computer upgrade, for the sake of eye candy, which does not interest me, is just not justified. Sir, do as you must, i personaly shall not jump to any conclusions, until after the sim release and perhaps completion of my third patrol. All the accusations, negative comments, panic, at such time of development is quite absurd. When one has played and expirenced the final results then let them serve their necessary remark, at least backed with some common sence. Thank you :damn:

[Méo]

All the accusations, negative comments, panic, at such time of development is quite absurd.

Well said. :up:

[karamazovnew]

What does this have to do with Ubisoft's error of using Kilometers, rather than Nautical Miles?


Using Miles is absolutely pointless unless you have realistic navigation. It's also pointless in the attack procedures, when all TDC values are in metric. Just multiply by 0.54 and you get the same thing. A while back someone requested usable anchors. What's the point in using an anchor if you don't have any wind or currents? It's like using a sextant without having refraction tables and refracted horizon... pointless. Ubisoft's "error" was in not implementing realistic features that are, truth be told, outside of the game's spectrum. I would've loved doing some double anchor maneuvers or showing off with a Norie's in the game. :hmmm:

[DarkFish]

The Time, Effort, and Expense of a computer upgrade, for the sake of eye candy, which does not interest me, is just not justified.which does not interest YOU!
eye candy does interest me, and is the reason I don't play SH3 anymore but SH4 instead. If you don't want eye candy, go back to SH3, DL GWX and stop complaining.

Besides, 3d modeling is done by other people than the programmers, so it does not come at the expense of accuracy at all.

[JScones]

I don't see it as complaining at all - he is simply saying that for him, it's not worth the effort (heck, he even qualifies that point). That's called his opinion. He's not telling you what you should do, so why berate him and tell him what he should do? :hmmm:

At the end of the day we've all seen the same teasers from Ubisoft and we're all entitled to interpret them and form our own opinion however we like.

It's not up to the "opinion police" to tell everyone how to think. :nope:

[JU_88]

Ugh more hair splitting :down:

[Snestorm]

Using Miles is absolutely pointless unless you have realistic navigation. It's also pointless in the attack procedures, when all TDC values are in metric. Just multiply by 0.54 and you get the same thing. A while back someone requested usable anchors. What's the point in using an anchor if you don't have any wind or currents? It's like using a sextant without having refraction tables and refracted horizon... pointless. Ubisoft's "error" was in not implementing realistic features that are, truth be told, outside of the game's spectrum. I would've loved doing some double anchor maneuvers or showing off with a Norie's in the game. :hmmm:

TDC values are not only fine in metric, they are also historicly accurate in metric.
The same can not be said for Kilometers. If using Nautical Miles is pointless, why not just convert ship speeds to the metric system too?!?! Because it would be absurd! Exactly as absurd as using Kilometers to measure distances at sea. In addition it's a historical blunder, as well as a technical blunder.

Speed x Time = Distance. It's a very simple concept, but all factors have to be on the same scale for it to work.

But, why worry about getting such a minor thing right, when the realy important things, like a cutting board on a sink, can be moved to the forefront.

Kilometers are fine for your volkswagon, not for ships at sea.

The priorities for SH5 do not appear to be in order.

Has the Snorkel that doesn't replace CO2 with Oxigen, and does have a signature as big as a surface u-boat been fixed (from SH3), or is that too a minor thing that doesn't warrant attention? Or perhaps, is the look of the cook's hat much more important, and deserving of attention?

C'mon Ubisoft, take a little constructive critisism, and get it right.

[elanaiba]

Nobody here is moving the "sink" to the forefront of development (but then again, there are people pointing to doors opening in the wrong direction?!) ... it was just one example taken from an interview.

In that context, I was explaining to the gamervision guy how the interior of the sub is very close to museum quality, and only a few things (like the sink) are wrong. A game like this lets the player understand a little on what the uboat crew would go through and how they conducted their business. The medium in which they evolve matters.

In that conversation, I explained how I discovered the sink during the visit to U995, how it worked (to save space in the uboat), a little anecdote if you must. And I said that we'll probably fix it too before release.

It was never pointed out as "the most important thing that we must fix before release", but rather as "we only have a few things wrong in the interior and we'll probably fix them anyway".

[karamazovnew]

@Snestorm: Look, most nav software show distances and speeds in multiple formats. The most useful is meters per second and it's the easiest to convert to pretty much anything. The ship dimension are in metric, the engine specs convert to metric, the wind speed and currents are mostly given in metric and so on... Heck, even the european harbor pilots cringe when they see imperial spec sheets for maneuvering.
Now, In SH2 there were options for which type of grid you wanted to see on the map (Kriegsmarine grid or lat/long grid). Maybe the devs can put an additional option to show distances in miles and kilometers. Although, since nav points already have ToA displayed, I can't find any other use for miles in a cilindrical map mesh.

[Snestorm]

@Snestorm:

Maybe the devs can put an additional option to show distances in miles and kilometers

This would be a very positive thing but, Nautical Miles, not Imperial/English/Statute/US Miles.

Thank you both for your time in addressing this issue.
As an ex-Quartermaster it ways heavily on my mind, especialy in dealing with Waypoints.

[oscar19681]

Dude - that musta been one seriously long patrol.

It have been one with lots of lsd and music from the doors and jefferson airplane.

[frau kaleun]

And, sadly, repeatedly replying to BdU's demands to "be more aggressive" with requests for permission to "make love, not war" instead turned out to be a really bad career move, all things considered.

[Col. Caldwell]

I wonder if we'll ever be able to customize our subs in multiplayer. I mean in the campaign we could customize our loadouts and weapons. :hmmm:

[Rip]

These Q and A are getting more rediculous every time .

WTF
Q:
I’m interested to know whether or not it would be possible to see team members’ beards growing during a campaign.

A:
We are working on this right now; we thought about it and discussed it since the game was started. We believe that we have a good technical solution but given that it’s mostly eye candy (and therefore secondary in importance to gameplay and simulation) it might make it or not in the final build.
Look at my avatar , do i look bitter and twisted .


Well you look quite....well...er....SOBER!

:D

[karamazovnew]

Is it possible to sit in the officer’s mess or "sleep" in my commander bunk?

It is possible to sit and you even have a pinup girl poster to keep you company.  Sleeping is another thing – but we have something in plan for that part.


I wonder if high time compression will only be available when "sleeping".

[JScones]

I wonder if high time compression will only be available when "sleeping".
I've been thinking that too. :hmmm:

[TDK1044]

13.01.2010


Will there be a filter for events stopping the time acceleration?

Time Compression is a critical tool in our game as we don’t make compromises with the long travel distances involved in WW2 submarine warfare. There are some filters regarding the dreaded drop from time compression but details are not finished and it’s not clear how much you will be able to configure in game menus – as opposed to game configuration files.


Given the new ability to roam the sub and command system, will SH V support TrackIR 6dof?

I love my Track IR and it adds to immersion and usability in several titles I own. However, Silent Hunter has different needs from the interface point of view and the improvement in using this device would be marginal. For the release version of SH5 there will be no dedicated support.

[Topo65]

I do not understand. It's January ... they still being programmed ... the game goes on sale in March ... When will the beta-testing? And when they correct the bugs which may appear?

Best regards!

[Uber Gruber]

So we get 2 questions and answers.....TWO!

SH5 is turning into a joke.:nope:

[mookiemookie]

13.01.2010

Given the new ability to roam the sub and command system, will SH V support TrackIR 6dof?

I love my Track IR and it adds to immersion and usability in several titles I own. However, Silent Hunter has different needs from the interface point of view and the improvement in using this device would be marginal. For the release version of SH5 there will be no dedicated support.

Given the fact that about 14 people, give or take, care about the answer to that question, why would they choose that one to answer?

[Ship Hunter]

Because with the answers to this questions they don't tell us anything about the game - and they don't have to. This is why they pick those stupid questions.

[mookiemookie]

Because with the answers to this questions they don't tell us anyting about the game - and they don't have to. This is why they pick those stupid questions.

Good point. Easy answer without giving too much away. Wonder why Ubi is so tight lipped about this title? That's usually not a good sign.

[elanaiba]

Given the fact that about 14 people, give or take, care about the answer to that question, why would they choose that one to answer?

Well, somebody did ask that question. I for one base my buying decision on simulator games also on whether they support or not my Track IR, so I fail to see how it is not relevant.

Other information will be revealed too, part of a marketing plan. In the end, you have your choice to buy or not based on the information that you have, I guess.

[Apos]

I do not understand. It's January ... they still being programmed ... the game goes on sale in March ... When will the beta-testing? And when they correct the bugs which may appear?

Best regards!

AFAIK usually internal Alpha/Beta tests starts half or 3/4 year before final release. 2-3 months is very short period of time for developers. Ubi also must send game to publisher whos need time to get game copies and send them to stores.

Dont forget SHV use same engine as SHIV does, only with some extensions and there isnt so much work to do. I believe Ubi need most time for tests of new features (like new crew management) and balance things. Also new arcade gamemod need to be enought easy and attractive for newcomers :P.

greets

[Kapitanleutnant]

So we get 2 questions and answers.....TWO!

SH5 is turning into a joke.:nope:

More like two questions and one answer. The answer to the first question was completely uninformative.

When will the beta-testing? And when they correct the bugs which may appear?Probably on the sixth or seventh patch just like they did with Silent Hunter 4 oh wait no they didn't fix that game did they... welp

[mookiemookie]

Other information will be revealed too, part of a marketing plan. In the end, you have your choice to buy or not based on the information that you have, I guess.

Hah! You know I'll be there on day one. I'm a diehard. :03:

[PL_Andrev]

Other information will be revealed too, part of a marketing plan. In the end, you have your choice to buy or not based on the information that you have, I guess.

I hope you know that many players are waiting for new SH5. Unfortunately, the developer does not give us much information. We are very impatient and frustrated.

The truth is that the SH3 is too old (another matter that could be forever young with all time little support for improving), SH4 did not meet our expectations, however have opened many interesting and unique opportunities (the campaign by japanese submarines, soviet currently in develop). Some of us understand that the information is dosed by the advertising department. Some of us. So maybe you can answer for this question:

When some more detailed information will be published?

[JScones]

I do not understand. It's January ... they still being programmed ... the game goes on sale in March ... When will the beta-testing? And when they correct the bugs which may appear?

Best regards!
I believe beta testing starts on or around 4 March. It will be open to the public, but you have to pay for the game first...

Bug fixes will be fought for by the beta testers and will appear over a period of three months.

:D

[JScones]

AFAIK usually internal Alpha/Beta tests starts half or 3/4 year before final release. 2-3 months is very short period of time for developers. Ubi also must send game to publisher whos need time to get game copies and send them to stores.
Which certainly makes defensive comments like "Don't judge the game based on a half finished screenshot" laughable. I mean, if the devs are still designing and implementing features now, with a mere seven weeks left until we have it in our hands, then we will most likely have bigger problems than just what the periscope screen (for example) looks like. :hmmm:

[Nisgeis]

Well, somebody did ask that question. I for one base my buying decision on simulator games also on whether they support or not my Track IR, so I fail to see how it is not relevant.

As it has now been revealed that SH5 will NOT support Track IR, does that mean that you wouldn't buy it?

[Rip]

Given the fact that about 14 people, give or take, care about the answer to that question, why would they choose that one to answer?

I cared but never for a moment expected to see it supported. I would rather use my renown on more pressing features.
:03:

[karamazovnew]

A few years from now, we might have Head Mounted Displays at reasonable prices. SH would simply be amazing with it (as would any other game). But SH6, SH7? I have no idea how much time we still need to wait.
TrackIR makes more sense in sims where you can't move (driving and flight sims). It's great in those but not in FPS games. And definitely not in a game where you spend 90% of the time looking through the periscope. I'd be happy if they make SH5 compatible with 3d glasses. SH3 and SH4 were completely incompatible because of the graphics engine.

[elanaiba]

As it has now been revealed that SH5 will NOT support Track IR, does that mean that you wouldn't buy it?

I will not buy SH5 for myself, but not because of the Track IR issue, but rather because I will get it free :D. I will however buy a couple of copies for friends ;)

P.S. I believe karamazovnew has a good argument on this subject

[Nisgeis]

I will not buy SH5 for myself, but not because of the Track IR issue, but rather because I will get it free :D.

Bah, some people get all the perks. You don't even have to wait until its released to play it either. For you, zee speculation is over.

[Tomi_099]

As it has now been revealed that SH5 will NOT support Track IR, does that mean that you wouldn't buy it?

--------------------------------


Melancholic is spreading!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2447/3602213856_9d1e12e8c2.jpg