I got a look at Silent Hunter Online: now with pics & article

[Onkel Neal]

I was in Germany last week and I got to play Silent Hunter Online. I will be putting out a piece about the visit to Ubisoft/Blue Byte and my exeperince soon. Soon, I said. Working on it now, night and day. :k_confused:

Just think, I am already in the tonnage lead :shucks:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/picture.php?albumid=659&pictureid=5771

[Takeda Shingen]

Aha! The real reason for the trip comes out. :O:

[Dowly]

Sneaky Neal! :huh:

[gmccabe01]

Your just way out in front and I hope you enjoyed your break also lol

[Harald_Lange]

Haha, brilliant. Bet it was like visiting Willy Wonkas chocolate factory :)

[Hinrich Schwab]

I am very curious as to what your initial impressions of the game are.

[tonyj]

@Neal, were you pleased with what you saw?

[Madox58]

The main question I have is this............

Did you have 'THE SHIRT' on?
:hmmm:

To the Dev's? He does get his Tonnage erased right?
:haha:
Sneaky SOB that he is? It's not fair he get's a jump on us!!
:D

[letterboy1]

Thanks for making the sacrifice . . . by going to Germany. I hope you didn't have to drink too much bier and eat too many Schnitzels in the name of diplomacy. :D

Heh heh, seriously . . . thanks for the coverage. :)

[Gezoes]

So while Neal submits his review to Ubi, we get to look at a teasing piece of paper :wah:

[Sailor Steve]

So while Neal submits his review to Ubi, we get to look at a teasing piece of paper :wah:
No, he has his own review section here at Subsim.com, and as soon as it's done it will be up here.

[Herr-Berbunch]

To the Dev's? He does get his Tonnage erased right?


You assume he got some tonnage, maybe he struck a mine sailing out of port, maybe he just never saw anything past the weather. :hmmm:

As long as he didn't cross the equator, we'll be alright!

[Sailor Steve]

I am already in the tonnage lead :shucks:

You assume he got some tonnage
I suppose 0 tons would still put him in the lead at this point.

[Gezoes]

No, he has his own review section here at Subsim.com, and as soon as it's done it will be up here.

Sehr gut! Looking forward to it :cool: I have to be honest. When SH5 was out, who expected a new game. I sure didn't. I like the fact that we can have multiple subs we earned in our subpen. SHV's mission area style seems to be in, but can I sail off without it. Very important.

Why shouldn't I bring a mission along, but say, I'm in port and people chat that they found something. Maybe I just want to see the coast of Scotland. Random, open world stuff has to be in. Meeting up with other players, out there into the blue, random prey. Missions will get you more credits, xp etc. but I want that good old SH freedom. Essential.

And a subs vs destroyer PvP element of course. Those will probably be just missions, being able to pick either a U-boat or a destroyer could lead to some tricky side switching in the open world I suppose :arrgh!:

[Iron Budokan]

Looking forward to what he has to say. :)

[PL_Andrev]

I was in Germany last week and I got to play Silent Hunter Online. I will be putting out a piece about the visit to Ubisoft/Blue Byte and my exeperince soon. Soon, I said. Working on it.

Still waiting... :timeout:

[Jeffg]

Come on Neal, let us in on the scoop.

JeffG

[Gezoes]

Soooo...

[Sailor Steve]

He's working on it. It will be done when it's done.

[Onkel Neal]

Shouldn't be more than a few days, I have it mostly written, checking on a few details to ensure I got it right.

[mookiemookie]

Shouldn't be more than a few days, I have it mostly written, checking on a few details to ensure I got it right.

That's a completely unnecessary detail. :88)

[Sailor Steve]

That's a completely unnecessary detail. :88)
You, sir, are a completely unnecessary detail. :O:









No, wait...that's me.
:rotfl2:

[Gezoes]

Shouldn't be more than a few days, I have it mostly written, checking on a few details to ensure I got it right.

Thanks for the update Neil :up:

Sounds extensive, looking forward to it.

[Sailor Steve]

Neil
You might want to get Neal's name right. :O:

[Gotmilk]

ok.

I am now officially on a hunger strike. I am not gonna eat anything until i see that review. :sunny:

[Sailor Steve]

Given that it's been almost three weeks since the first post, you might get pretty hungry.

[longam]

He's got milk so he is good to go.

[TwoGamers]

Hope its good! Im still new but I love Silent Hunter and a multiplayer active one sounds great.

[Onkel Neal]

ok.

I am now officially on a hunger strike. I am not gonna eat anything until i see that review. :sunny:

Break out the K rations, I am pushing it through now.

[Gotmilk]

wohoo :salute: :woot:

[Hactar]

Break out the K rations, I am pushing it through now.



*Breaks out the pop corn*

[Dowly]

Schneller! SCHNEELLEEER!!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Jfc_FgIpyLw#t=48s)

[Iron Budokan]

Schneller! SCHNEELLEEER!!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Jfc_FgIpyLw#t=48s)

Haha, ok, that really made me laugh. :haha:

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Haha, ok, that really made me laugh. :haha:

Me too. You can always count on Dowly for a laugh. :up:

[PL_Andrev]

Right...
:har:

But I don't expect some kind of "miracles"... still no access to beta, huh?

[Gotmilk]

am i missing something? I dont see SHO anywhere.

[Hactar]

Break out the K rations, I am pushing it through now.



Running dangerously low on K rations, Captain. ;)

[Gezoes]

I'm not a muslim, but this is how ramadan must feel. C'mon Neal. Spill them beans. Neal. Neal!

Sorry about that, Steve may be watching :shifty: :D

[Iron Budokan]

I'm starting to get the subsim shakes and we all know what that can lead to.... :O:

[Sailor Steve]

Sorry about that, Steve may be watching :shifty: :D
Watching what? What'd I miss this time? :-?

[McBeck]

Oh, come on Neal! I need a fix real bad...

[Hitman]

Be more agressive!! :woot:

[Dowly]

http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc488/blog_jc2/tumblr_l94gkd8HBx1qc2dnk.png

http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/trollol_1.jpg
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x462/Dowly/trolol_2.gif

God damn it! :stare:

[Seeadler]

all previews are locked down by Ubisoft/BueByte:know:

[Will-Rommel]

Troll? :timeout: :haha:

[Oberon]

all previews are locked down by Ubisoft/BueByte:know:

We need to get this thread to 10 pages to unlock the first part of the preview. :yep:

[longam]

Well

[Hinrich Schwab]

We need to get this thread to 10 pages to unlock the first part of the preview. :yep:

Since it is the free-to-play model, I am sure anyone can pay Ubisoft whatever they are asking to unlock the previews without the thread reaching 10 pages, first. :D:haha::haha::har::haha::haha:

Silent Hunter Online: Bribe Your Way to Victory! :D

[Herr-Berbunch]

# Why are we waaaaaiting. . . # :sunny:

[Onkel Neal]

Conn, Sonar: we are ready for missile launch.
Silent Hunter Online - first look (http://www.subsim.com/2010_03/silent_hunter_online_first_look.php)


Please remember, this is not a review or even a preview. The game is still evolving. This is only a first look, an introduction. So, I'm going light on editorial content, too. The time for that is when the game goes live.

Thanks for waiting, enjoy!:salute:
Neal

[Julhelm]

So this basically sounds like we're going to have a winner. Awesome!

[Sartoris]

Sounds like the complete opposite of what I want from a Silent Hunter game.:down:

[Chad]

Great Article Neal :up:

I think super hardcore simulation players will be upset to hear it's not a pure simulation. And while that's the shame, I think this will introduce the genre and the history to more players, players who haven't even heard of the Silent Hunter genre, and, like in my case way back in 2001/2002, even heard of what a U-boat is!

I joined at the right time during release of Silent Hunter 2, and joined a great community at the WolfPack League. SH2 had it's flaws, and wasn't perfect, but it was fun, and the community is what really sold it for me. Had it not been for those guys (and few girls), the constant connection drops, bugs, and whole Project Messerwetzer drama would not have been worth it.

I personally am excited, it may not be super hardcore, but I think it will be fun. It's a hard job for a developer to make something everyone wants to play, it's impossible. Good luck SHO team, and pick me for the Closed Beta! :rock:

[Alex]

Good article, yes.
So this basically sounds like we're going to have a winner. Awesome!
Depends on how you define a good game.

Graphics were an important part of the game, and
http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/4151/retourverslefutur219890.jpg
Erm.
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/827/retourverslefutur219890.jpg/

[Sailor Steve]

Unfortunately I'm not a gamer, or this might actually appeal. :cool:

[Hinrich Schwab]

Conn, Sonar: we are ready for missile launch.
Silent Hunter Online - first look (http://www.subsim.com/2010_03/silent_hunter_online_first_look.php)


Please remember, this is not a review or even a preview. The game is still evolving. This is only a first look, an introduction. So, I'm going light on editorial content, too. The time for that is when the game goes live.

Thanks for waiting, enjoy!:salute:
Neal

Thanks for the sitrep, Neal. :) I see that SHO is exactly what I expected it to be. That being the case, I will definitely pass on this. Regardless of quality, it just seems a little too "arcade" for my tastes.

[Onkel Neal]

Great Article Neal :up:

I think super hardcore simulation players will be upset to hear it's not a pure simulation. And while that's the shame, I think this will introduce the genre and the history to more players, players who haven't even heard of the Silent Hunter genre, and, like in my case way back in 2001/2002, even heard of what a U-boat is!

I joined at the right time during release of Silent Hunter 2, and joined a great community at the WolfPack League. SH2 had it's flaws, and wasn't perfect, but it was fun, and the community is what really sold it for me. Had it not been for those guys (and few girls), the constant connection drops, bugs, and whole Project Messerwetzer drama would not have been worth it.

I personally am excited, it may not be super hardcore, but I think it will be fun. It's a hard job for a developer to make something everyone wants to play, it's impossible. Good luck SHO team, and pick me for the Closed Beta! :rock:

Thanks, Chad. Yes, the game definitely has possibilities. It will not replace SH3/SH4, but that was made clear from Ubisoft on day 1. I think some people need to be reminded several times, but whatever :)

I went for a long motorcycle ride today and was thinking along the same lines--one of the main engines of the growth and success of the Subsim community was the Wolfpack League social network that formed in anticipation of Silent Hunter II and interop multiplay with Destroyer Command. While the games were not what we had hoped for, the interaction among WPL players was superb. I can say that I never had more fun online. I migrated the WPL social aspect to Subsim and it was the right move. Through all the games we've seen:SH3, SH4 Sub Command, DW, etc., it has been as rewarding to interact with other players regarding the games as playing the games. And like you said, while SHO may not be what some players want, I think there will be thousands who really have a ball playing online with a strategic-layered, accessible Silent Hunter that connects them to their network stronger than ever.


Thanks for the sitrep, Neal. :) I see that SHO is exactly what I expected it to be. That being the case, I will definitely pass on this. Regardless of quality, it just seems a little too "arcade" for my tastes.

Thanks for reading. I completely understand, we will always have SH3. :Kaleun_Cheers:

[THE_MASK]

If it makes some revenue for ubisoft and keeps them interested in submarine games and gets more captains on subsim then it has done its job :yep:

[Hactar]

Thanks for the write-up.

[John Channing]

I am thinking of this along the same lines as Battlefield 1942. Real... not in a million years.

Fun? Hell yeah.

Luckilly for me I can enjoy both.

JCC

[Onkel Neal]

I am thinking of this along the same lines as Battlefield 1942. Real... not in a million years.

Fun? Hell yeah.

Luckilly for me I can enjoy both.

JCC

As usual, John, you hit the nail on the head. BF42, Vietnam, BF2 were all fantastic games. I enjoyed them immensely. I would never argue they were real worlds, realistic, but they were great computer games.

If it makes some revenue for ubisoft and keeps them interested in submarine games and gets more captains on subsim then it has done its job :yep:


Agreed. And hopefully it will pull in many new guys who really haven't been interested in or exposed to submarine warfare. Who can say, maybe a successful SHO will grow the player base several times over and there could be demand for a Silent Hunter 6: like SH5 but fully engineered to replace SH3. :cool:

One thing we need to remember (we being the guys who have been playing subsims since Gato... our realism skills grew with the games. Wolfpack and Aces of the Deep were pretty simple to learn and play. There was no manual TDC, map plotting, and complexity in those games. We were ready when SH3 came along. It's possible a lot of new players are discouraged by the realism features we enjoy.

Another thing I was thinking about, how many SH3/SH4 players among us do not like TDC work? I have heard many times here, from passionate subsim players, they love realistic games but they feel the Captain does not get his hands dirty with plotting and TMO. He has officers for that. :hmm2: A valid point. I personally prefer the game to depend on my actions for updating the plot map, so I play SH3/SH4 with no map contacts. My maps never show any enemy ships, I plot them all from observations (and it's usually full of errors, but hey! that was real life). That doesn't mean the guy who like real-time moving ship icons (Aces of the Deep style) is any less of a player (or more), just we have different preferences. :salute:

Cheers!
Neal

[BigBANGtheory]

I can overlook the hardcore simulation aspect, but I am struggling with the presentation and immersion.

I would suggest the SHO developers take a good look at how Piranha is handling MechWarrior Online which is also online F2P. The important thing to note is how they have listened to and got the buy in from their fanbase already with plenty of people paying up to $120 before the game is even released!

SHO does not appear to be what I want, I think you hit the nail on the head. Is it what the wider or majority Subsim community wants I guess is the question...

Regardless of my opinions...thanks for the review Neal, and I look forward to any future updates or developments.

[Chad]

Please remember too that SHO is a free to play game. You have no obligation to pay for anything, and if at the very least, give SHO a chance. F2P games are very number weary, the developers (and much more so the publishers) are watching the number of players, and if there isn't much interest then it's considered a lost cause.

Take for instance Google Fiber. Living in Kansas City, it is very possible I will be able to get Google Fiber at my work. There are three plans, $120 a month which is internet and TV, $70 which is just internet, and free, but free requires a $300 installation charge.

Google is measuring the interest and testing the waters with new technology, much like what Ubi is trying here with SHO. If they're offering free service and nobody seems interested, it's possible that the US of A will stay behind many countries in broadband speed. SHO is offering a free to play model, and if no interest is shown, it's possible Ubi will completely drop the SH line, which we have feared so many times.

Let's not let this happen. Participate in the beta, actual game, post your criticisms. Just give it a shot, who knows, you might just like it! :)

[captnmike]

OK.... Keep pushing Neal! And I agree with Others who say they love Silent Hunter and are looking forward to this online verson. I've played them all but never tried the SH5 online? Have applied for the "Beta access" also!

Salute', Mike :-)

[U-snafu]

Thanks for the early info/review Neal!

My 2 cents...Ive got SH3 for the uboats (with the mods that have been made--years of entertainment still ahead (who knows SH5 might take over someday-just ordered it), got SHIV for the pacific (which I havnt really even got to yet...........so now SH online with a chance at a multiplayer online style with BDU incorporations :sunny:----Just gotta accept it wont be SHIII online and with it being f2p--can't complain.



Also......with mmo/online games---development is usually an ongoing standard thing that just doesn't end with a patch or 2 right after release.....2 years after it's start SH online can possibly be a complete differnt animal then how it begins....

(It's good to see Silent Hunter is continuing in at least some kind of form)...

just sayin,

[PL_Andrev]

Hm, hm, hm...

I would to know if some information about game are restricted at this moment but...

1. What about available period of war?
2. Wchich region are available for players (Arctic, Middleterrain, Indian Ocean)?
3. Is multiplayer mode available for this game - means some players play together as multiplayer missions at SH3-5?
4. What about weather or weather impact? Will we see snow?
5. What about night surface attack or gun attack?
6. What about damage system and repairs / supply at sea?
7. Airplanes roles? Enemy submarines? HK groups? Heavy units? Allies? Neutral units?

I hope that it isn't a "BdU simulation" with arcade and light-sim mode...

[Sailor Steve]

@ Antar: I agree that those are good questions, for a game you're thinking about buying. Since the basic service is free the "gift horse in the mouth" advice is the best advice. If you're not paying for it knowing those things in advance doesn't mean anything. When it is released all your questions will be answered, and if you don't like it, well, it didn't cost you anything, did it?

[reaper7]

Hopefully they decide to go the route of online Battlestar Galactica with State of the art 3D graphics directly in your internet browser window.

http://us.battlestar-galactica.bigpoint.com

Check out this vid.
http://youtu.be/9F_kD_hiRYM

Imagine SH Online with this power :yeah:

[Iron Budokan]

Thank you for the info! :)

[adejb1]

Thanks for the early preview and I agree "Panzer Elite is a wonderful addition to your sim library"

[Onkel Neal]

Thanks for the early preview and I agree "Panzer Elite is a wonderful addition to your sim library"

....and you just won the Easter Egg prize!

PM your mailing address my way,

cheers
Neal

[Dowly]

There was an easter egg? :doh:

[Herr-Berbunch]

There was an easter egg? :doh:

:hmm2: I think it's just an in-joke between Neal and adejb1, something to keep the rest of us on our toes! :o

[Chad]

I think Neal met the developer, or a developer, of Panzer Elite whilst in Germany.

[PL_Andrev]

@ Antar: I agree that those are good questions, for a game you're thinking about buying. Since the basic service is free the "gift horse in the mouth" advice is the best advice.
Sorry, but I disagree. Game should be good and playable.
Imagine - why players will choose SHO then SH3/4? Becouse it is a new sub game or F2P game only? Sorry - but SHO doesn't surprise me today.

[Chad]

I lied.

Scroll to bottom:

http://tanksim.com/reviews/panz_elite.htm

[Onkel Neal]

Sorry, but I disagree. Game should be good and playable.
Imagine - why players will choose SHO then SH3/4? Becouse it is a new sub game or F2P game only? Sorry - but SHO doesn't surprise me today.

I don't think SHO should surprise you, or anyone. It will have its own unique strengths and weaknesses, like every game, and you will be able to examine them at your leisure, at no cost. One of those strengths will be, since it is a service, not a "buy it and it's yours" product, the devs will be continually upgrading and improving it as it goes along.

I always try to be very careful not to form an opinion until I have a firm grasp of the matter. I mean, who knows how this will end up. SHO could evolve into a stimulating, interesting U-boat sim like we've never seen before... :hmm2:

Congrats to adejb1, you sir, are a very sharp lookout. I am recommending you for promotion to BdU. :rock:

[Dowly]

I lied.

Scroll to bottom:

http://tanksim.com/reviews/panz_elite.htm

Aaah, missed that. :doh:

Good catch, adejb1! :up:

[Ducimus]

http://www.funflashgames.com/Submarines-Attack.html

No comment. :haha:

[Iron Budokan]

http://www.funflashgames.com/Submarines-Attack.html

No comment. :haha:

I made it to level 5. The immersion was wonderful. I could feel the salt spray in my face. :D

[volodya61]

http://www.funflashgames.com/Submarines-Attack.html

No comment. :haha:

Very nice sim :har:

[McBeck]

I'm a casual player, so I don't do the manual TDC. What's important to me is that you feel like you are there...

I think the mod vs not-moddable discussion will be around the same issue as the iphone vs android phone.
Some like that everything works in a certain way, but its always the same.
Some like that you can tailor it to what you want.

SHO will be an iphone experience....

[Onkel Neal]

I made it to level 5. The immersion was wonderful. I could feel the salt spray in my face. :D


Thanks, now, back to work!

[kiwi_2005]

Well if these are the same makers of Settlers Online then i hope it doesn't lean too much in that direction. Settlers online was terrible imo, it started out good but then it slows right down where the only way you can advance is through patience meaning days of waiting or go straight to the online shop and buy the materials needed to move forward. I've played Settlers single player 6 and 7 that are brillant building games i still play S6 today. But as a online game its a flop imo.

With Silent Hunter online it wont matter all that much if those who choose to do it the old fashion way and not spend a cent compare to those that do. Seriously? I think it would make a huge difference where like most of these games unless you don't mind being left behind and just play otherwise you will be playing catch up unless you hit the shop.

At least with pure MMO's where a monthly fee is required every one starts equal there is no shop to help you advanced with better gear etc the only players that do well are those with skill. Skill is not required for these browser games.

Pity they didn't go the whole hog and make SH a pure mmo or just go back to single player.

[Gezoes]

Don't take this the wrong way m8, but I think that's exactly what they want you to think. I enjoy free MMO's no problem. I feel no need what-so-ever to spend money to keep up with something or someone. That's their bait. I stand my ground ok, so I'll get there eventually. If it stays with me, and I like it enough, I will spend max what I would have if it was laying in the shop.

I hate a monthly subscription fee. Take EVE. I would gladly play it, and I'm sure I'll like it enough, to also give them real money for their trouble. After all, if I would buy it, I'd spent 40-60 euro's anyway. But a standard fee every month just so I can play 'my' game? Never, ever.

[Rockin Robbins]

I'm ready to go into this with an open mind. Cloud-based games are going to be absolutely necessary to take us out of the era of the drink coaster game market. Every time a new game is published, we have a new dev crew who doesn't understand the previous release so they have no choice but to spend most of their effort reinventing problems long solved by others.

They fix some past problems but introduce more of their own. The result is no progress. SH4 was no real progress over SH3. They fixed as much as they broke. SH5, same deal. Break even at best. We are at the end of what a team of generic game devs can accomplish for us.

Only continuous and continuously financed evolving projects can take us any farther than we are. That will necessarily mean some kind of subscription or value-added payment by players. Sorry. Everything has to be paid for somehow.

So I don't expect Silent Hunter Online to be anything more than interesting. This is new ground and it will change. Hopefully they can generate an income stream that will keep a single dev team employed for years evolving and optimizing the product.

Sure, we're going to give up some things in the transition, just as we gave up things in the transition between board games and computer games. But we enthusiastically adopted deeply flawed sims before. We shouldn't hesitate to take this one for a spin either.

[Chad]

Well said Rockin Robbins.

I never thought of the situations you presented, but they clearly are the way the market is shaping up.

Look how popular DLC is for many franchises now. You can clearly see all of your points hit right there.

[SilentOtto]

I prefer thinking that a semi-pro, niche market, is very different from mainstream. And you can have general purpose stuff (think, google docs) which can do easy tasks, but for a more complex task you'd need a full office suite.

If you can, or want to, tell the difference between a simulator, and an arcade with some strategy game, fine. But those are (and probably will, for quite a long time) be different things. I just still hope we won't run out of sims!

[BigBANGtheory]

There was a good article on Kotaku today, it would do Blue-Byte no harm to follow thier advice which can be summarised as follows :

"Here are some suggestions, game makers. Some tips to get the fans back on your side. Free of charge.

Answer questions. As many as you can. Questions are not your enemy. We're all here because we all love video games.
We know it can sometimes feel like we complain about everything. It's not easy to please everyone (http://kotaku.com/5920572/the-trouble-with-the-never+satisfied-gamer). And there will always be complaints on social media and message boards, no matter how candid you are, no matter how many questions you answer. But people complain because they care. And if you show that you care back? Maybe there'll be a little less to complain about.
Don't be afraid to tease games that are coming in the far future. We love teases. And we won't even mind if those games get cancelled, as long as you don't lie or pretend they're not.
It's okay to throw around the "We don't comment on rumors and speculation" line, but try not to make it your default response to everything that crosses your desks. You don't have to tell us about the next Xbox, but it's okay to shed a little light on your plans for a new HD collection bundle. Nobody's going to die if you have to make your official announcement a few days early. We'll all still be talking about it.
If you don't have plans to do something that fans want, at least tell us why. We want to understand what you're thinking. If you logically explain why it wouldn't be financially or legally viable to translate Valkyria Chronicles 3 (http://kotaku.com/5638203/valkyria-chronicles-3-is-coming-to-the-psp) or bring Earthbound to Virtual Console (http://kotaku.com/5154779/this-might-be-why-we-dont-we-have-earthbound-on-virtual-console-yet), we'll be a lot more sympathetic than if you just spout the same old "We have no plans" nonsense over and over again.
Just talk to us. Explain the logic behind your decisions. Help us understand you. Help us relate. Help us empathize.
When a relationship is in trouble, the only way to fix it is communication. The relationship between video game fans and video game makers is in trouble. Let's fix it. Let's talk."

I think the 2nd to last point is particularly relevent here, but that is just my opinion.

[Onkel Neal]

BBT, I agree with most of those points, straight-forward, sincere, and unscripted communication is a legit dev team/game producer's best friend. :up: If you want people to like the game, make the game people like. And if you do that, there's no reason to stifle conversation, discussion, questions and debates about the game.

I do disagree in part with But people complain because they care; not always, quite often people disagree because they have a desire to be contentious and it makes them feel special. :O: That's why you will see the usual suspects in the SHO forum complaining and being snarky many times after they have firmly stated they have no desire to play the game.

[Gezoes]

Nice read Neal, thanks for going there. Fun to see their faces too :yep:

BBT states some fine points btw :yeah:

So, SHO looks heavy on the arcade side, but there's too little to judge it yet. For now, hey, at least there is something new coming, and that, in itself, is awesome. Battlestar Galactica did an outstanding job in a browser, so it is more than possible.

I think they know what we want and what we would accept to make it more accessible to casual players. Question is if they are able to strike that balance. But I'm open minded in this. (Free to play) MMO's are dominating right now, so the choice is sound. It also allows for more support and continued development. I'm not sinking it before I get to play/test it.

[Julhelm]

I wouldn't say it looks arcade. Arcade to me is something like the mobile version of Silent Hunter or that abortion of an X360 sub game that came out a couple years ago.

[SilentOtto]

I had to google "snarky" but then I learned a new word! :up:

[BigBANGtheory]

Personally I would be prepared to pay $200 per year for the right submarine simulation, the one that immerses me in the role that I choose to play at any given time, against the opponents I choose to play against (AI or otherwise), patches the bugs & mistakes over time (cos nothing is perfecy on day 1) and keeps pace with modern PC hardware.

Could I suggest that between SHO and Subsim that we have a polite (and moderated) ask the dev team thread?

[Herr-Berbunch]

Could I suggest that between SHO and Subsim that we have a polite (and moderated) ask the dev team thread?

I'm guessing we could try, but I think I'd rather they concentrate on getting things right than answering our questions. Perhaps we should, if they agree, have a 'collect the questions' thread and pick a handful per fortnight for them to peruse and hopefully answer. :up:

Neal?

[Grun Teufel]

Sehr gut! Looking forward to it :cool: I have to be honest. When SH5 was out, who expected a new game. I sure didn't. I like the fact that we can have multiple subs we earned in our subpen. SHV's mission area style seems to be in, but can I sail off without it. Very important.

Why shouldn't I bring a mission along, but say, I'm in port and people chat that they found something. Maybe I just want to see the coast of Scotland. Random, open world stuff has to be in. Meeting up with other players, out there into the blue, random prey. Missions will get you more credits, xp etc. but I want that good old SH freedom. Essential.

And a subs vs destroyer PvP element of course. Those will probably be just missions, being able to pick either a U-boat or a destroyer could lead to some tricky side switching in the open world I suppose :arrgh!:

I totally agree with about the open world thing. Sometimes, it's nice to stretch out a bit and just roam freely.:Kaleun_Binocular: