Sarge4ID
07-22-14, 12:27 PM
Hey, My name is Matt and I decided to join the subsim community! After owning all of the Submarine games I could find, it didn't occur to me that there might be a modding community for these games. Imagine my delight when I found this site! I want to tell you a bit about myself, and why I'm into submarines and some of the fears I have about them. I tend to write too much so get ready...
As a young kid I remember the time my father came home with our second PC that had the new CD-ROM but I don't remember what brand of computer it was. There was one game that really stood out and that game was called Wolf Pack. By today's standards it looks like crap. It was a 2D UI and very pixelated but it had a lot of the features the SH series has except they were very basic.
I do remember that the intro movie, victory and death scenes were made in 3D. You had the choice of playing a U-Boat Captain or an Allied Surface Captain. You could even switch units (ships). I'm sure some of you remember this game! After playing this game forever I fell in love with the Submarine. I've even visited the H L. Hunley confederate submarine on exhibit in Charleston, South Carolina. Naturally I own almost every submarine movie out there and have watched all the documentaries I can find.
When I was 17 back in 2001, I almost join the US Navy as I wanted to be a submariner, but was talked into joining the US Army instead by my cousin who was in the 3rd Infantry Division. He convinced me that hiding underwater or on a boat was cowardice and that I should be holding a rifle. I did indeed end up holding a rifle, deployed twice to Iraq with the 4th Infantry Division, but my cousin couldn't be more wrong about being a submariner and the bravery they have to muster to react under emergencies.
See, on land you have the sun, fresh air, and plenty of space... Even if it's 145 degrees and you're covered in sand. I realized, actually I already knew, that I probably could have never made it on a sub. There are two things I can't stand: Being in confined spaces for long, and the paralyzing fear of drowning in a steel can, never to be found. Every time I watch a movie like Das Boot, and I see those bulkheads fill with water... Every sailor turning a wrench or a clamp as fast as they can, I can picture myself in that scene freaking out... Then a sailor closes the hatch and I'm going to drown so that the rest of the crew might survive, but that isn't what's on my mind.
All I can think of is how painful and scary it will be when I can no longer hold my breath! What does it feel like to breath in water and suffocate? Many people know the answer as they have drown and been resuscitated. Do I hold on till my reflex to breath kicks in? Or should I force myself too so that it happens fast? It's said that around 30,000 German sailors were sent out and that only 10,000 returned. Imagine how hard it must have been for those young men to climb aboard an underwater deathtrap with a good chance that they would never return to their families. The men that did that and still do it are what you call "real" heroes. It takes a special kind of person to be a submariner. I salute you!
Like the rest of you I love playing these games as they are exciting and can be very realistic. But this innate fear in the back of my head of drowning to death makes me be extra cautious when captaining my submarine. I treat it as if it were real life and not a joke. I've never tested the crush depth of a sub in SH before, at least not on purpose. And sometimes I will engage in silent running or sit for hours if destroyers are in the area. In some way this makes the game more interesting yet frustrating!
I only play on realistic mode and have found some ways to calculate where and when I need to fire my torpedoes. I got my graphics calculator sitting on the desk next to a notebook with equations and cheat sheets, plus my little lamp that even has a red light bulb in it. I know it sounds dumb but you should really try it. Play in the dark with the red light and it can really add some immersion to the game, especially if you have surround sound!
Anyways, I always like to make a big introduction! And I'm glad I found this great site where I can fine tune my game to be as realistic as possible. Plus with all of these updates, fixes, and gfx/sfx mods, I can really crash dive into reality! I also just donated as I personally know what it's like to have to pay for a very large and very powerful dedicated server monthly, plus have it maintained by someone. Seeing the dedication and years the staff and modders have put into this community, it's the least I can do to say thank you for hosting all of these wonderful creations for those of us that don't know how to do it ourselves! With your help I can now be the ultimate and most feared captain of all submarines, from the safety of my home.
I'll see you all on the high seas. And remember, some ships were designed to sink while others need our assistance. Let's not keep them waiting! Flood tubes 1 though 4!
As a young kid I remember the time my father came home with our second PC that had the new CD-ROM but I don't remember what brand of computer it was. There was one game that really stood out and that game was called Wolf Pack. By today's standards it looks like crap. It was a 2D UI and very pixelated but it had a lot of the features the SH series has except they were very basic.
I do remember that the intro movie, victory and death scenes were made in 3D. You had the choice of playing a U-Boat Captain or an Allied Surface Captain. You could even switch units (ships). I'm sure some of you remember this game! After playing this game forever I fell in love with the Submarine. I've even visited the H L. Hunley confederate submarine on exhibit in Charleston, South Carolina. Naturally I own almost every submarine movie out there and have watched all the documentaries I can find.
When I was 17 back in 2001, I almost join the US Navy as I wanted to be a submariner, but was talked into joining the US Army instead by my cousin who was in the 3rd Infantry Division. He convinced me that hiding underwater or on a boat was cowardice and that I should be holding a rifle. I did indeed end up holding a rifle, deployed twice to Iraq with the 4th Infantry Division, but my cousin couldn't be more wrong about being a submariner and the bravery they have to muster to react under emergencies.
See, on land you have the sun, fresh air, and plenty of space... Even if it's 145 degrees and you're covered in sand. I realized, actually I already knew, that I probably could have never made it on a sub. There are two things I can't stand: Being in confined spaces for long, and the paralyzing fear of drowning in a steel can, never to be found. Every time I watch a movie like Das Boot, and I see those bulkheads fill with water... Every sailor turning a wrench or a clamp as fast as they can, I can picture myself in that scene freaking out... Then a sailor closes the hatch and I'm going to drown so that the rest of the crew might survive, but that isn't what's on my mind.
All I can think of is how painful and scary it will be when I can no longer hold my breath! What does it feel like to breath in water and suffocate? Many people know the answer as they have drown and been resuscitated. Do I hold on till my reflex to breath kicks in? Or should I force myself too so that it happens fast? It's said that around 30,000 German sailors were sent out and that only 10,000 returned. Imagine how hard it must have been for those young men to climb aboard an underwater deathtrap with a good chance that they would never return to their families. The men that did that and still do it are what you call "real" heroes. It takes a special kind of person to be a submariner. I salute you!
Like the rest of you I love playing these games as they are exciting and can be very realistic. But this innate fear in the back of my head of drowning to death makes me be extra cautious when captaining my submarine. I treat it as if it were real life and not a joke. I've never tested the crush depth of a sub in SH before, at least not on purpose. And sometimes I will engage in silent running or sit for hours if destroyers are in the area. In some way this makes the game more interesting yet frustrating!
I only play on realistic mode and have found some ways to calculate where and when I need to fire my torpedoes. I got my graphics calculator sitting on the desk next to a notebook with equations and cheat sheets, plus my little lamp that even has a red light bulb in it. I know it sounds dumb but you should really try it. Play in the dark with the red light and it can really add some immersion to the game, especially if you have surround sound!
Anyways, I always like to make a big introduction! And I'm glad I found this great site where I can fine tune my game to be as realistic as possible. Plus with all of these updates, fixes, and gfx/sfx mods, I can really crash dive into reality! I also just donated as I personally know what it's like to have to pay for a very large and very powerful dedicated server monthly, plus have it maintained by someone. Seeing the dedication and years the staff and modders have put into this community, it's the least I can do to say thank you for hosting all of these wonderful creations for those of us that don't know how to do it ourselves! With your help I can now be the ultimate and most feared captain of all submarines, from the safety of my home.
I'll see you all on the high seas. And remember, some ships were designed to sink while others need our assistance. Let's not keep them waiting! Flood tubes 1 though 4!