The Silent Hunter IV (Pacific Campaign) WISH-LIST

[Capt. D]

Back in the late 50's (yea that far back) I began my interest with US WWII submarines with my first visit to one, the USS Cero in Detroit. Since then I have visited the USS Silversides, Lionfish, Cod, Croaker, and most recently the Atomic powered USS Nautilus in Groton. I have read many books on the subject - War Fish, Clear the Bridge, Pig Boats, Sink 'em All, Batfish, and Wahoo to name just a few. I also have played Sub Sim games as they came on the market. Gato, Up Periscope, Silent Service, SH, SH2, SH3, Sub Commander, and Aces of the Deep. When I heard/read of SH4 "on the ways" was very pleased. Having played many of the Sub Sims I am really looking forward to what SH4 will bring to the table.

Reading some of the comments here I would like to add to them,

1. I also believe the crew management feature of SH3 should be imporoved on. I like the idea of placing crew members in their "departments" with secondary functions. OOD when at battle stations would be in the Control Room as the Diving Officer. Lookouts would go to the bow and stern planes, etc. On SH, SH2, and SH3 you have the Campaign button to go to if you have one in place or start one. Here I believe would be an excellent spot - when first starting a campaign, to manage your crew and what functions you wish them to do whether on the surface or submerged, at battle stations or not. Also as the war progressed a rotation system was put in place to rotate some of the senior or experianced officers and enlisted men off to new constructions. This could take place periodically giving the "Commander" an opportunity to "remanage" his crew based on experiance levels.
2. I also believe internal views of the boats compartments should be improved and more be available. Some have mentioned being able to visit each compartment. They may be too much and take up too much "space" within the program. However the Conning Tower - the heart of the battle process - the Control Room, Torpedo Rooms, Engine Rooms, and Manuvering Room were very important areas.
Conning Tower - would be great to go there to use the Scopes (both) the TDC, the SJ and SD Radars, Sonar and the main helm position. It would be great to toggle for a scope and see the "Captain" wait for the scope to go up position himself to use it and then you would see what he sees - as an example.
Control Room - would be great to see the men by the diving planes and the "Christmas Tree" and the valve controls.
Torpedo Rooms - would be great to see men loading the torpedos

Other compartments - Wardroom - for viewing Ultras and checking on patrol progress with the officers. The Captains Stateroom - with it's gauges and a place where he can enter into his log book. Maybe the Radio Room to receive and send messages.

3. Topside it would be great to see the OOD and the lookouts and to see the guns maned for battle surface attacks.
4. A question on how many subs would be made avaliable. SH had a very nice feature that you were given command of a boat that was an actual boat in WWII. However there should be at least the opportunity to be in control of the old S-Boats or a Salmon or Tambor class along with the Gato and Balao and Tench (late in the war) class boats.
5. Technology was always moving forward during the War. One must remember the different and improved radar, the radar tipped periscope (introduced late in the war), the ability to find different thermal layers (avaliable in SH), and there should not be a decline in "realism" when clicking on the depth under keel feature (as it is in SH). Most boats could "ping" to see what depth they had to work with.
6. In Up Periscope - one would get updates as to what was happening through out both theaters of the War. This should be a feature available.
7. Wolf packs were not the norm in the Pacific, however there were those that were formed and had success. One should be able to form a pack or become part of one - with the ability to act as a unit and communicate between each other.
8. Hopefully there will be an improvement in the graphics of the game. Better looking ships. More detail to them. More detail to the land and harbors of both home and enemy ports. Include the send off as is shown in SH3 - however a more realistic version - e.g. coming in and docking at Pearl or Midway. Maybe even a scene where the men are topside after docking receiving their mail and other things they got when arriving in port.

Just a few issues I would like to see in SH4. I think SH really gave substance to the war in the Pacific. Two new versions (SH@, and SH3) dedicated to the U-Boat war were great but a update and new version of the Pacific War is Long Overdue - and I had begun to think Presumed LostX!

Happy Hunting

[Sailor Steve]

Good thoughts, Capt. D, and welcome to the forums.

[The General]

:up:

Here are a few of the things I'd like to see in the eagerly anticipated sequel:

1) More elaborate under-water terrain.

2) Have randomly generated missions built into the historically acurate campaign. What I mean by this is that you could occasionally receive orders from BDU to go escort, hunt, destroy, rescue etc.

3) Make it so submarines can travel under the icepack. Think how cool it would be to try an avoid pressure ridges by using your Periscopes (No external view here, that would be cheating!).

4) Enemy subs should appear in the game and have the ability to attack you whilst submerged. It'd be cool to go head to head with an enemy skipper whilst under the icepack.

5) Whilst we're on the subject of ice, more icebergs!

6) A thermal layer.

7) Thermal underwear.

8) The abillity to roam freely about your submarine. You're the Skipper, you should be allowed to go anywhere you want. The programmers don't have to build all new 3D interiors for the German subs, just build on what exisits. I know the new game is focusing on the Pacific war, but that brings me to my next point.

9) The option of choosing sides; Japanese, American, German or British. More work for the programmers but hey, do you wanna do it right or don't you?

10) An improved multi-player aspect to the game. That way everybody's happy.

11) The surface should be transparent (but don't over do it), and enemy vessels should be able to spot you, weather permitting, if you're running near the surface and they're in close proximity.

12) Include some of this and Silent Hunter 4 should be the greatest simulation ever made! Good luck to the guys and girls at Ubisoft.

"If you shoot for the stars, you'll never land in the gutter."

[Safe-Keeper]

I want the graphics of landscapes, etc. to be the same everywhere. I like the detailed cities of Flight Simulator, but I didn't like the way the terrain suddenly declined when I left the major cities.

Either have good terrain and vegetation detail everywhere, or have it be poor everywhere.

Clumsy way to put it, but you get what I mean.

[djdemo]

More crew!!!

I've just watched Run Silent Run Deep, and I want the crew to do more stuff - so when I give the order to dive, as in SHIII the chief engineer repeats the order, and then the crew start to manipulate the dive controls - well more of that, the chief repeats the order you give, and then the crew member repeats the command - so that the boat feels like it contains a living breathing crew...

"Fire one" - "Fire one Aye" - "Torpedo in the water"

I like the 3D crew in the bridge and conning tower - it would be nice to give them more actions and animations - since if you are playing the game for real, you'll not be using external views but remaining in the command room... so the occasional crewman passing through, and a few more actions than them occasionaly scratching their chin would be nice.

I know some peopel didn't like the crew, but for me, that made SHIII like being in the Das Boot movie - so I'd like to see more effort here.

I'm sure there will be no shortage of Americans here willing to offer their voice talents for various crew comments.

[MGR1]

Well, my wishlist is:

1. Do one side only, and do it well.

Adding in the British, Dutch and Japanese boats as playable would add to the complexity unneccesarily.

By all means, have them as addon packs, but not in the core game.:)

If I want to play as the US, I don't want to be limited to the Gato/Balao class. The thought of chugging up the Phillipino coast in an S-Boat appeals....:cool: As does the Narwhal, Nautilus etc :up:

2. Realistic upgrades.

At the start, the US Boats had big conning towers, no AA and were painted black. If I play 1941-42, I'd like my boat to look like it should, not like a late war one minus the AA. (I'm slightly biased - I liked the US subs when they looked like that! :|\\ )

I'd also like the camouflage scheme to change as the war progresses, i.e. black to grey.

3. Better fatigue model - need I say more!:rotfl:

4. AI subs - friendly and enemy.

Plus a lot of what's already been suggested!

Mike.:)

[The General]

I've read that during the production of SH3 the original team had to shelve the project for some time, to sort out some financial issues and/or 'Corporate Restructuring'. This is why I know, despite many of you arguing with me, that SH3 wasn't finished when they put it out. They needed some quick cash for that particular tax year or something. I offer as proof the fact there was supposed to be a proper mission structure delivered via the Radio message system, but the team didn't have time to implement it and thus, you just get the 'proceed to grid reference blah, blah for 24 Hours' etc.

On the bright side, what was finished was great and there was room for some great Mods etc, which I hope to see more of in the near future, 'cos I believe there is still room for improvement.

[101Dixie]

I haven't read all of the previous posts, so at the risk of repeating what other people have said.

DUTCH AND BRITISH SUBS

I'd like to see Dutch and Royal Navy subs, mostly as a matter of national pride, I want to dock at Freemantle while flying the Jolly Roger :) . The Dutch and Royal Navy ops in the PTO were vastly different from the USN ops. RN subs tended to operate in shallower coastal waters around the Malaysian coast and around the DEI. However, I wouldn't want to see these at the expense of US subs (even/especially the rubbish types) such as the S boats operating from Manilla.

SPECIAL MISSIONS

Self explanatory really. A few random things chucked in such as rescuing downed airmen or assisting in the evacuation of the Philippines.

[TDK1044]

The ability to set the depth using the number pad.

[mcsquared]

Don't know if this has been mentioned before, but it would sure be nice if when you've gone to all the trouble and danger to penetrate any enemy harbor, there was some ships there! I remember in SH I, enemy harbors had all sort of nice ship targets in them, however, in SH III, I've penetrated Gibraltar, for example, and found nothing there! I've even docked at night at the pier in another enemy harbor!

[Safe-Keeper]

I second that.

Download Grey Wolves or some other mod if you haven't already. The ports will be full of ships:up:.

[TDK1044]

1) Evidence of noise and whatever visuals of people are feesible from on board a ship that has been struck with a torpedo. In SH111, a sinking ship was a ghost ship with no sign that anyone had ever been on it.

2) Use of the number pad to enter in a specific depth.

[Safe-Keeper]

Modder's tools. Give us a program that lets us easily find and change the contents of cfg files, tga files, xml files, wtf files, or whatever files you need to edit to change what's in the game.

Silent Hunter III's easy enough to mod, but it's a bit hard to find the file to mod in the first place.

Especially when I don't speak Romanian:p.

[Piter_]

I'd like celestial navigation :)

[Piter_]

May be it is already included in SH3 and I am blind, but i want possibility to assigne time list of duties for each crew member (for example: sailor "name" 18:00-24:00 engine room, and so on). And special standart list of duties in special situations.

[jas39]

And Enemy Ai Subs Too!

[Berserker2]

I just finished reading the interview of the SH4 DevTeam......very good!

One point you brought up was phosphorescence of sub and torpedo wakes. That's a really good item and I hope it can be included in the game.

Back in the early 60's I was a pilot flying S2 Tracker ASW aircraft on the East Coast and we did some night tracking exercises with the Nautilus.....yes, THAT Nautilus. After dropping sonobuoys abeam her while she was on the surface so we could get readings and recordings, she then dove so we could see how well our tracking equipment worked and I was amazed, looking down at how easy it was to follow her by that phosphorescent wake. Not sure how deep the boat was when I lost sight of her, but I'd have to estimate at least 100' or so. She also booted it in the butt and we lost her completely a short time later ,as noisy as she was, she was still way too fast for us to effectively track her with passive buoys that you had to drop a little minibomb on to act as an echo pulse.

I'm really looking forward to SH4 as I've always loved the original SH1 and the campaign it had. There's just something about the Pacific!!!

Bill

[edjcox]

Several quick wish list items came to my mind..

1. Enemy submarines, seemingly dismissed in Neils interview by UBI. The Japanese submarines posed a significant threatto our submarines and many were engaged and possibly sunk by them. The enormous variety and abilities of Japanese submarines made for interesting adversaries. Midgets, Seaplane carriers present interesting scenarios for missions. Find the mother ships and sink them. Track down and kill a submarine seaplane mobile base etc. I think knowing there may be periscopes looking for you as well is to important a facet of the game to simply dismiss.

2. The ability to fire colored flares from the conning tower (red, white, blue, green) for special signals in Wolfpacks, identification, turn points,etc. Historically accurate flares were used a lot.

3. Pilot recovery, including approaches, enemy air overcap, and some neat twists like encountering both enemy and allied survivors and recovery. Could be interesting if a crew might obtain vital sea lane intelligence from those adrift if they are recovered.

4. Ability to dump oil, the famous torpedo launch of fake debris, dead crew, to confirm to the enemy a sinking...

5. The inclusion of the historical torpedo fusing difficulty.

6. The use of Deck guns and machine guns on light vessels and wooden vessels. Realistic debris, damage, explosions initiated, fuel leaks, fires started. Incendiary shells (white phosphorous) for surface tanker attacks.

7. Realistic AI reaction to radio messages from sub and intercept for location.

I'll keep growing the list but my impression is that time is short and so is manpower at UBI for this project.

****

UBI might do well to keep a certain amount of the metadata on servers that only game owners can access and download to their PC's. Thus certain elements of the game might grow over time and extend the development of certain game elements beyond the initial release date...


Laters...:sunny:

[ijozic]

How about starting the campaign before the war so that you have a prewar patrols where you would train, test the sub, some recon missions, tracking Japanese fleets, etc?

[Lionman]

Having just finished reading the otherwise excellent review of the state of play regarding SH IV I confess to already being dissappointed as, reading between the lines, it sounds as if they are simply going to give us SH 3 + enhanced graphics and gameplay. Not that this isn't good, as I am a huge fan of the SH series and think SH3 is a benchmark for this type of simulator. BUT . . . . . the developers are seemingly ignoring the clamour from the whole community for more and better realism INSIDE the submarine and movement within the hull. This is a BIG DISSAPOINTMENT.

Why?

Because the whole ethos of submarine warfare revolves around being "trapped inside your sub in the midst of battle" so the whole game actually focusses on the sub's interior in combat and on long voyages. Think of Das Boot - we all became intimately familiar with that U Boat and the program makers knew that this was so crucial that they built a whole WW2 submarine and filmed live on board. This was absurdly difficult and expensive but it made the difference between another run-of-the-mill war series and a great all-time classic, possibly THE all time classic of the submarine genre.

So developers - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE heed the community's many many many requests for this aspect of the simulation to be enhanced. Restricted motion on board and those badly drawn and unconvincing AI avatars are just not good enough.

I am a Sub Sim enthusiast and a former professional underwater person (North Sea diver) and I tweaked my SH4 with a nice start up movie sequence inside real WW2 submarines from Das Boot, but I had to use the black and white version because when I used the colour version the transition into the SH3 sub's control room was just too unrealistic by comparison. You can't allocate grillions of polygons to complex warship graphics, then ruin the realism and immersion by leaving the human faces of the crew blocky, fixed, wooden and cartoon-like. We humans are more sensitive to the human face than any other image in our world, so the interior realism of the sub, motion within it and the convincing "look" of the AI crew are CRUCIAL to the realism of a submarine simulator.

Submarine warfare, just like living in saturation diving systems, which is very similar (and I did that for 17 years) is "up close and personal" and the realism of that interior world is totally crucial to SH 4. SH3 was a quantum leap forward from SH2 but SH4 must give us the ability to move around inside the subs, access more compartments and be with more realistic looking AI avatars. (Think of the faces of the avatars in Brothers in Arms for example.)

Otherwise SH4 will just be seen as a glorified add-on or "SH3 mark 2" and you will lose half your sales because the majority will see it as "more of the same" with a few cosmetic changes, however unfair that is. I have been a sales and marketing manager too since my offshore years and I seriously stress that you ignore this aspect of SH4 at your peril. The community (your market and buyers) made a BIG issue of how much they wanted the dynamic campaign in SH3 and you listened and did it. So don't ignore the fact that virtually every virtual submariner's wish-list has included the request for movement within the sub and more interior detail and realism.

We virtual submariner's want to "believe we are there" and "there" is INSIDE OUR SUBMARINE however marvellous the exterior world is. Personally I find the ocean world of SH 3 so realistic that I often take voyages in rainy weather just for the feeling of "sea time" in the NOrth Sea, my old professional work environment. My only real criticism is that in the real deep ocean the waves are MUCH BIGGER than they ever appear in SH3 and if we had bigger waves in SH4 the far closer visual horizon could surely be used to compensate for polygon demands? Seriously guys towering waves look even more dramatic from a lowe waterline craft like a sub and the awesome scary magesty of the ocean is really imposing from that perspective. Try crossing between two vessels offshore in an inflatable. Within 20 yards you are lost in a landscape of moving grey hills even in fairly mild weather and in a Force 5 plus it is really terrifying from that low perspective. The same applies ot small yachts in big seas offshore, something I have also expereinced first hand. The two "stars" of a submarine combat simulator are the ocean and the submarine itself. You could even use that as a marketing tag line because it is absolutely true.

In general the SH series is excellent and totally unparalleled in the history of simulations and we appreciate your work guys but remember that we scrutinise it perhaps more closely than any other online combat market of players.

The new multiplayer stress in SH4 sounds EXCELLENT as I for one play simulators mainly for social reasons and the single player game is far less important to me. I want human opponents and colleagues.

My personal dream is a multi-crewed submarine online which I could crew with my buddies, just as multi-crewed online aircraft have become possible in the combat flight sim world. There are few experiences more immersive or productive of cameraderie than sharing combat as a team online and I have made many great friends this way.

[-Pv-]

I was pleased with the interview and liked what I heard. I've waited years for this sim and it has the features I expected. I'll be one of the 1st in line. I also expect it will meet or excede SHIII sales based on US sales alone. I'm not a super-critical realist. I've just enjoyed sub sims for the last 20 years and the Pacific has always been my favorite. I want a chance at sinking those many many carriers and their escort fleets. To balance out the small problem of the US technology making hitting and evading easier as the war progresses, you also have to get smarter about finding fewer ships. There were carriers to sink right up to the end and US boats were still being sunk near the end.
-Pv-

[Berserker2]

1. Enemy submarines, seemingly dismissed in Neils interview by UBI. The Japanese submarines posed a significant threatto our submarines and many were engaged and possibly sunk by them. The enormous variety and abilities of Japanese submarines made for interesting adversaries. Midgets, Seaplane carriers present interesting scenarios for missions. Find the mother ships and sink them. Track down

Got to agree completely here. I watched a program on...History, Military..one of those type channels several months ago and they brought out the fact that in WW2 Japan has the largest and most varied submarine fleet of any nation plus the fact that some of their subs were WAY more advanced than Allied AND German boats.

So I cast my vote for having Japanese submarines included for our dining pleasure. (IF we're sharp)

I think the main point just about everyone is trying to emphasize here is that although SH3 was good, it's also yesterdays' news/technology and although some things can be carried over to SH4, we want as big a step forward as was done between SH2 and SH3, the formar being a total disaster IMHO! :arrgh!:

Just my 2 cents worth!!

Bill

[Hylander_1314]

Guys / Girls,

If this has been mentioned before, bear with me, I've been reading for hours.

When in shallower waters, where you can set the boat on the bottom or run close to it, have it impact the ASW devices as it should. Also where it was known, when you zoom in on the map(s), to have the known depth gradiants there. If the area was uncharted at the time, be careful while sailing there. And let us not forget the tides, as it can effect how you move through shallower areas. Reefs, and crystal clear lagoons, with breakwater waves, to make the clandestine jobs more interesting, and some of the recon and ASR missions.

[Nightmare]

I don’t know if this has been mentioned yet or not, but I’d like to see an accurate model of the TDC. The TDC equipped on the US Submarines was just more than the angle solver; it was also a position keeper that kept the solution up to date. That way after several observation and corrections (if necessary) if the final bearing matched that of the projected bearing on the TDC, you knew you had an accurate firing solution.

More info on the TDC here (http://www.fleetsubmarine.com/tdc.html)

I'd also like to see an accurate stadimeter with the split prism. You’d need to know the masthead height of your target, but then it’s just a mater of adjusting the superimposed image so that the second image waterline is set to the masthead of the actual image. I never could get accurate ranges with the line adjustment to masthead height in SH3.

[MuscleBob.Buffpants]

How about realistic damage - if your sub suffers a penetrating hit from a ships gun, it shouldn't be able to submerge without flooding.

Maybe this will remove the tendancy some captains have of dueling on the surface against armed ships.

[Fritz Wagner]

When traveling from Pearl harbor to Bungo Suido, a lot of real time can go by, even
with high time acceleration.

It would really be helpful for those of us who want a campaign but don't always
have (real) time for travel to the patrol area if we had a shortcut taking us to the edge of the assigned grid square.

It has always annoyed me when operating SH3 and I am assigned to the
horn of Africa or the Carribbean and I really haven't the (real) time to wait for the
trip out there (or back).

I realize there are a number of purists who won't use short cuts, but this is a GAME
and not everyone has the time to ignore the real world for that long at one stretch!

Please consider a short cut option when loading the mission! Thank you.

[Sailor Steve]

I agree that a short-cut is vital for those who want it, but not at the expense of those of us who really want to make the trip.

Having both options would be best.

[Fritz Wagner]

I agree that a short-cut is vital for those who want it, but not at the expense of those of us who really want to make the trip.

Having both options would be best.

Absolutely. Both would be best. These designers can do that I am sure with NO SWEAT. :D They are capable people and it wouldn't take them long to add the shortcut option. And there is a practical consideration, too. After someone has clocked a lot of hours on a game, interest falls off. The shorter mission option should extend the life of the game for the player.

FW

[Fritz Wagner]

Do you all remember in Silent Hunter (I) what happened when you had a good patrol? You got a citation, perhaps a medal, and a very naval voice read out the citation, beginning with "Attention to Orders!" I always liked that a lot. Made me feel good.:D Also, on the other hand, if you had a lousy patrol, you got reamed out. "If you aren't more aggressive you'll be replaced by someone else who is!" I liked that too, sort of.:oops:

I really want to see this featured restored in a new US Pacific Sub campagin! Maybe
it could just be borrowed from the old game?:cool: Thanks.

FW

[Capt. D]

Do you all remember in Silent Hunter (I) what happened when you had a good patrol? You got a citation, perhaps a medal, and a very naval voice read out the citation, beginning with "Attention to Orders!" I always liked that a lot. Made me feel good.:D Also, on the other hand, if you had a lousy patrol, you got reamed out. "If you aren't more aggressive you'll be replaced by someone else who is!" I liked that too, sort of.:oops:

I really want to see this featured restored in a new US Pacific Sub campagin! Maybe
it could just be borrowed from the old game?:cool: Thanks.

FW

Welcome to the forum!

Excellent idea!:lol: Totally forgot about that feature on SHI. This could be used in conjunction with other ideas - moral, shooting survivors in water and what would be done about it, etc.:hmm:

Somethimes the "old" is "rich" with ideas for the "new".

Happy Hunting :ping:

[Fritz Wagner]

I have been rereading Clay Blair Jr's SILENT VICTORY. I suppose it is the bible of US submarine operations in WWII. It seems to cover every single patrol and takes a thousand pages to do it.:huh:

I hope the design team owns a copy of this book because it covers the operational challenges and difficulties that need to be included in a well-designed SHIV. For one thing, since the boats had Ultra messages to advise them of targets, I would think that would be an important include.:)

It is also a good guide to the torpedo problems and the dates of their solution.

But it also points out some things that wouldn't be good in a game. In particular, a lot of boats went out on patrol and never had a contact, or only a trawler,etc. I am reading now the part where the six boats that went into the Sea of Japan in the summer of '43 came away with very little.

On the other hand, boats sent to the Formosa-Luzon bottleneck had a target-rich environment as did the boats sent to Empire waters east of the home islands.

I have to think that the designers are well aware of these matters but sometimes a timely reminder may help. :) Thanks

FW

[Threadfin]

But it also points out some things that wouldn't be good in a game. In particular, a lot of boats went out on patrol and never had a contact, or only a trawler,etc. I am reading now the part where the six boats that went into the Sea of Japan in the summer of '43 came away with very little.


I agree with most of your post, but I suppose I disagree with this quote. I think more in sim, than in game, terms. I do indeed hope there's a chance for a skunked patrol. I want to work for contacts, feel the excitement of making contact. And feel the disapointment if it slips past, knowing that may be my only chance. It's all too easy in SH3, way too many contacts. A zero patrol only makes a succesful patrol that much more rewarding. Sinking 70,000+ tons every patrol like in SH3 gets old after a while, no challenge.

I very much hope that SH4 has productive areas, and unproductive areas, and even further, an enemy that reacts to submarine sightings, so an area that may be thick with smoky marus, may dry up as soon as the first torpedo explodes or the sub is sighted, as the enemy re-routes their traffic to safer waters. I hope not to see every part of the theater just as productive as any other. I want to curse my Squadron commander for sending me to a bad area, or feel the satisfaction of finding myself right in the thick of it. Challenge me. Make me work for it. Only then will I have a sense of accomplishment.

In addition, I hope that the targets we find in SH4 are:

a) moving faster on the whole. Ships in SH3 go too slowly.
b) sailing a true zigzag course in some cases, not in others. Ships in SH3 do not zigzag, they weave.
c) reacting to the player being detected by pouring on the coal, and combing tracks, and radically changing course, even turning back the way they came, or turning to ram, all of which drastically complicates torpedo attack.

That said, the devs should indeed have Silent Victory, and I would be shocked if they didn't.

[Fritz Wagner]

I agree with most of your post, but I suppose I disagree with this quote. I think more in sim, than in game, terms. I do indeed hope there's a chance for a skunked patrol. I want to work for contacts, feel the excitement of making contact. And feel the disapointment if it slips past, knowing that may be my only chance. It's all too easy in SH3, way too many contacts. A zero patrol only makes a succesful patrol that much more rewarding. Sinking 70,000+ tons every patrol like in SH3 gets old after a while, no challenge.

You have persuaded me!:)

An occasional stinker will make the productive patrols that much nicer!
But not too hard, please!

And the zigzagging is an important desideratum, but it sounds "hard to do."

If your boat is based in Fremantel, you will earn every score!

A NEW POINT:
How hard would it be to give actual skipper-boat missions (eg Morton-Wahoo Sea of Japan Aug '43) and see whether we can do any better than the actual skipper did with the contacts that he had?

There is a romance to the history of these skippers and their boats that would
dramatically improve the enjoyment of the game. It would avoid the arcade
shooting gallery that can so easily happen with a war game! I guess this suggests
a different campaign design. But why not?

I hope these design folk are still checking this thread!!:D

Thanks.

FW

[timetraveller]

Driveable ships. Driveable ships. Driveable ships.

Otherwise this game is just a one-sided shooting gallery. Don't get me wrong, I loved SH3, and wrote a bunch of tools for it, but in the end, this is what was missing for me.

We don't need a fancy 3D historically accurate bridge for every ship, just a way to direct them, or program some simple ship AI in a mission so we can take a convoy through an AI wolfpack. Oh yeah, and wolfpacks.

If SH4 is a clone of SH3 in this way, I may pass till it hits the cheap shelves.

TT

[MothBalls]

I'd like to be able to replay and review missions from and observer point of view so I could see my mistakes and learn from them. Not everything in the entire mission, but just the area within the subs "zone of influence". Make it part of the final saved mission, you can't use it until the patrol is over.


================================================== ===================
A detailed captains log would be nice too. One that would record every important command given and what time it was given.

11DEC1941 0900 - Periscope depth
11DEC1941 0900 - Rig for silent running
11DEC1941 0905 - New course 270
11DEC1941 0930 - Fired T2 torpedo
11DEC1941 0934 - Torpedo impact - Imperial Cargo Ship
11DEC1941 0936 - Ship Sunk - Imperial Cargo ship - 9,875 tons
11DEC1941 0940 - Surface the submarine
11DEC1941 0943 - Sub damaged by Japanese air attack
================================================== ====================


Make the captain accountable and let him do what he wants. In SH3 you can only man deck/aaa guns in fair weather. If the Captain orders the guns manned, let him. If there is bad weather, increase the probability of losing that sailor.

wind 00 knots 00% chance of man overboard
wind 05 knots 02% chance of man overboard
wind 10 knots 30% chance of man overboard
wind 15 knots 70% chance of man overboard

Possibly include watch crews in this scenario, and allow the sub to be surfaced without a watch crew.

If someone does go overboard, allow the ability to rescue him. You have to stay surfaced within 500m of the point he went overboard and remain there for 1 hour to perform the rescue, possibly longer in bad weather.

If you do lose a sailor, you get penalized for it. Take away renown, etc. If you lose xX number of sailors over a career, your career ends. 15 sailors and your fired, or demoted, something like that.
================================================== ========================


At full realism, don't do anything automatically for the captain. For example, when you surface in SH3 it automatically switches from electric engines to diesel and moves the crew to the compartment, then puts a watch crew on deck.

Let the Captain give the orders, but make it easier than having to slide everyone around. Click switch to diesel engine, watch crew on deck, etc.

================================================== =======================

When an important decision has to be made, give the captain the option to:

1. Phone a friend
2. 50/50 eliminate one wrong decision
3. Poll the audience.

[Sailor Steve]

At full realism, don't do anything automatically for the captain. For example, when you surface in SH3 it automatically switches from electric engines to diesel and moves the crew to the compartment, then puts a watch crew on deck.
That's the only one of your suggestions I disagree with. The captain never tells the engine room crew to switch from diesel to electric. The captain gives the order to dive, the engine crew makes the switch immediately, the officer of the deck (duty watch officer) keeps an eye on the 'christmas tree' and reports all hatches confirmed shut. Then they dive. All the captain does is give the main order.

You might as well have him cook dinner for everyone.

[AG124]

I don't know if I posted this here before, but I have started a thread on it.

A better selection of merchant ships, including typical generic ones (both small and large). And the generic ones should have a randomized tonnage, such as the tonnages in AOD or in the new open-source subsim Danger from the Deep.

[MothBalls]

At full realism, don't do anything automatically for the captain. For example, when you surface in SH3 it automatically switches from electric engines to diesel and moves the crew to the compartment, then puts a watch crew on deck.
That's the only one of your suggestions I disagree with. The captain never tells the engine room crew to switch from diesel to electric. The captain gives the order to dive, the engine crew makes the switch immediately, the officer of the deck (duty watch officer) keeps an eye on the 'christmas tree' and reports all hatches confirmed shut. Then they dive. All the captain does is give the main order.

You might as well have him cook dinner for everyone.

I agree with your point now that I think about it. I guess there has to be a balance, or learn how to cook. :)

[Safe-Keeper]

I'd like to be able to replay and review missions from and observer point of view so I could see my mistakes and learn from them. Not everything in the entire mission, but just the area within the subs "zone of influence". Make it part of the final saved mission, you can't use it until the patrol is over.I'd like this, too. They have it for flight simulators, so why not for this game?

[DanCanovas]

what I would really like would be to have a static image through the bulk head doors of the rooms beyond those you can see. As I realise that its not possible or needed to model every compartment on the sub I think it would be great if you could see forward and backward down the corridor. Nothing hard to do, static images would suffice but give me the feeling that Im on a boat and Im not always wondering what beyond that door that never opens. I think this is a simple yet doable wish but I doubt its been thought of.

[JordanC]

What I would like is a bit more freedom onboard the submarine. I've never played SH3 on 100% realism and don't intend to but, I can imagine how couped up it feels. I know on a real U-Boat it would feel no different, but having 2 rooms and a circular conning tower to visit must drive you mad. Even if the captain didn't regularily visit places like the engine room, or torpedo room, it still makes you feel a bit more free. The problem with this though is the animations for the crew. A deck you could walk on while surfaced would be nice, too. Simple things like these can really make you feel more immersed.

[DanCanovas]

im not sure I would feel more immersed being able to see stations and areas of no use. After 3 weeks you would never visit them again and at what cost? Are you prepared to delay the game until 2007 for un-usable stations?

[Paajtor]

Forgive me, I'm to lazy reading all 15 pages, so I don't know if this has come up before... :oops:

But still I want to add, that I would love to be able to make notes on the SH4-maps.
You know, make (ie, just type, in a handwriting-like font you can choose) short remarks on certain spots, calculations on the side somewhere, put circles and arrows anywhere, put data from radio-messages on it, mines and anti-sub nets,...anything, anywhere you'd like.

Then put a date on it, and store it away, and make the map in question accessible during later patrols.

And also: I would like to add stuff to the Captain's Log myself, instead of the auto-entries.

[Safe-Keeper]

Forgive me, I'm to lazy reading all 15 pages, so I don't know if this has come up before... :oops:People these days;).

As for your ideas on the map and log, I like them all.

Are you prepared to delay the game until 2007 for un-usable stations?It's already set for release as late as Q1 2007. A fact for which I'm eternally grateful.

[Biggles]

Historical naval battles (THAT'S A MINIMUM!!!!!!!)

[Safe-Keeper]

As for the logs, it'd be nice if you could have the game make generic entries for you (of course, you should still be allowed to make entries and edit them yourself!).

For example, if you spot a merchant, ID it as hostile, and sink it, the log automatically adds something like "spotted single merchant identified as Japanese C-3. Fired one torpedo, hitting and sinking the target".

[HunterICX]

:hmm: Safe keeper that sounds really good

just to add

July 5th 0420 hours
Sound Contact moving ship 6 knts

July 5th 0500 Hours
Sound contact confirmed by visual hostile Merchants

July 5th 0515 hours
Fired tubed 1 & 3 , confirmed 1 explosion

[Albrecht Von Hesse]

My personal wishes:

1) Ability to pre-set crew watches for different conditions, and set as well their duty times so that they automatically under normal patrol conditions rotate, but still have the option to override that when necessary.

2) Freedom to move throughout the entire sub, and control things from the individual compartments. For instance, loading torpedoes from the torpedo compartments. I liked the ability to 'immerse' by commanding the officers in the control room instead of just using keystrokes and shortcut clicks (although they come in handy too --grins--) and I'd love the ability to do that throughout the entire boat.

3) Better internal and external visual and auditory damage effects. I hate seeing and hearing water spraying in the command room because I still have damage in the stern quarters.

4) Have the ability to dump oil and air to fake being damaged and sunk.

5) Better modelled and more realistic weather conditions and visual effects of weather.

6) Have chances of losing externally stored ordanance (especially torpedoes) when shelled or depth charged, and also if forced to dive when reloading an external torpedo.

7) Better detailed and informative manuals. I still can't believe how much was left out of the SHIII user manual. Even things like explaining what the different symbols, like the ones that appear when a compartment is damaged, mean. Yeah, sure, after a bit I figured out what they mean, but I shouldn't have to play guessing-games to determine what various symbols and indicators mean. Or what the option of 'synchronizing' does or doesn't do.

8) More 'interaction' with fellow Allied forces and bases.

9) Change the way navigation is done. As it is, I can set waypoints on the map and, with no sun for a week still manage to navigate dead to the meter. Same if I'm submerged; I can set waypoints and hit them dead on. I'm not looking for navigation to become overly complex, but just a bit more realistic.

Okies, I guess that's enough for now. :|\\

[Albrecht Von Hesse]

Having just finished reading the otherwise excellent review of the state of play regarding SH IV I confess to already being dissappointed as, reading between the lines, it sounds as if they are simply going to give us SH 3 + enhanced graphics and gameplay. Not that this isn't good, as I am a huge fan of the SH series and think SH3 is a benchmark for this type of simulator. BUT . . . . . the developers are seemingly ignoring the clamour from the whole community for more and better realism INSIDE the submarine and movement within the hull. This is a BIG DISSAPOINTMENT.

Why?

Because the whole ethos of submarine warfare revolves around being "trapped inside your sub in the midst of battle" so the whole game actually focusses on the sub's interior in combat and on long voyages. Think of Das Boot - we all became intimately familiar with that U Boat and the program makers knew that this was so crucial that they built a whole WW2 submarine and filmed live on board. This was absurdly difficult and expensive but it made the difference between another run-of-the-mill war series and a great all-time classic, possibly THE all time classic of the submarine genre.

So developers - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE heed the community's many many many requests for this aspect of the simulation to be enhanced. Restricted motion on board and those badly drawn and unconvincing AI avatars are just not good enough.

I am a Sub Sim enthusiast and a former professional underwater person (North Sea diver) and I tweaked my SH4 with a nice start up movie sequence inside real WW2 submarines from Das Boot, but I had to use the black and white version because when I used the colour version the transition into the SH3 sub's control room was just too unrealistic by comparison. You can't allocate grillions of polygons to complex warship graphics, then ruin the realism and immersion by leaving the human faces of the crew blocky, fixed, wooden and cartoon-like. We humans are more sensitive to the human face than any other image in our world, so the interior realism of the sub, motion within it and the convincing "look" of the AI crew are CRUCIAL to the realism of a submarine simulator.

Submarine warfare, just like living in saturation diving systems, which is very similar (and I did that for 17 years) is "up close and personal" and the realism of that interior world is totally crucial to SH 4. SH3 was a quantum leap forward from SH2 but SH4 must give us the ability to move around inside the subs, access more compartments and be with more realistic looking AI avatars. (Think of the faces of the avatars in Brothers in Arms for example.)

Otherwise SH4 will just be seen as a glorified add-on or "SH3 mark 2" and you will lose half your sales because the majority will see it as "more of the same" with a few cosmetic changes, however unfair that is. I have been a sales and marketing manager too since my offshore years and I seriously stress that you ignore this aspect of SH4 at your peril. The community (your market and buyers) made a BIG issue of how much they wanted the dynamic campaign in SH3 and you listened and did it. So don't ignore the fact that virtually every virtual submariner's wish-list has included the request for movement within the sub and more interior detail and realism.

We virtual submariner's want to "believe we are there" and "there" is INSIDE OUR SUBMARINE however marvellous the exterior world is. Personally I find the ocean world of SH 3 so realistic that I often take voyages in rainy weather just for the feeling of "sea time" in the NOrth Sea, my old professional work environment. My only real criticism is that in the real deep ocean the waves are MUCH BIGGER than they ever appear in SH3 and if we had bigger waves in SH4 the far closer visual horizon could surely be used to compensate for polygon demands? Seriously guys towering waves look even more dramatic from a lowe waterline craft like a sub and the awesome scary magesty of the ocean is really imposing from that perspective. Try crossing between two vessels offshore in an inflatable. Within 20 yards you are lost in a landscape of moving grey hills even in fairly mild weather and in a Force 5 plus it is really terrifying from that low perspective. The same applies ot small yachts in big seas offshore, something I have also expereinced first hand. The two "stars" of a submarine combat simulator are the ocean and the submarine itself. You could even use that as a marketing tag line because it is absolutely true.

In general the SH series is excellent and totally unparalleled in the history of simulations and we appreciate your work guys but remember that we scrutinise it perhaps more closely than any other online combat market of players.

The new multiplayer stress in SH4 sounds EXCELLENT as I for one play simulators mainly for social reasons and the single player game is far less important to me. I want human opponents and colleagues.

My personal dream is a multi-crewed submarine online which I could crew with my buddies, just as multi-crewed online aircraft have become possible in the combat flight sim world. There are few experiences more immersive or productive of cameraderie than sharing combat as a team online and I have made many great friends this way.

I couldn't have said it better if I'd worked at trying for years. Bravo!! And I totally agree 110%

[Albrecht Von Hesse]

Actually, now that I think about it, I'd like to see crew on deck when reloading torpedoes. Crew appear to man flak and deck guns, why not to reload external torps?

[Sailor Steve]

A nice suggestion. It would be neat to see the crew set up the crane, open the doors and reload the torpedo. Of course they would have to be a lot more animated than the gun and bridge crews; moving around and doing all the little jobs.

On the other hand, this is the SHIV wish list, and U.S. subs didn't carry external reloads.

[Robus]

1. Put calendar back in the game, as in SH2, that includes information about sunset and sunrise, moonlight, etc. Record information about sightings and kills on the calendar, and allow the player to make notes there.

2. A flexible and customizable set of events that trigger changes in game speed. For example, let me set the game to drop back to 1:1 speed for certain events--ship and aircraft sightings, radar detection. Let me set it to drop back to, let's say 4:1 for radio reports of distant ship sightings.

3. Make sure ALL critical events are capable of triggering a change in game speeds. In SH4, radar detection does not trigger a return to normal speed (or even an audible warning). This makes the game all but unplayable in later years of the war. You're crusing along at maximum acceleration. You get no warning and no deceleration when your crew has detected radar--which is the first indication that a bomber is approaching you. By the time your crew sights the aircraft, it's too late to escape. Amazing how such a little flaw ruins the last two years of the war, as far as gameplay goes.

4. Allow me to sit motionless on the bottom at accelerated game speed. This is impossoble in SH3 since proximity to the bottom automatically triggers a drop back to normal speed. As in #1, make these triggers flexible and customizable.

[_Seth_]

When an important decision has to be made, give the captain the option to:

1. Phone a friend
2. 50/50 eliminate one wrong decision
3. Poll the audience.

:up::up::up: :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

[mookiemookie]

A small wish...if I torpedo a ship and its fuel bunkers are damaged, an oil slick would be a nice touch for something to see.

[cncllc]

Well I am not sure if these have been mentioned, but I would like to see pennants representing ships sunk when returning to port. As for the other, I am not sure if it was in the the original Silent Hunter or if it was another subsim, but I remember that when evading a depth charge attack, the further away I was from the attacker the more distant the sound of the depth charges. That really helps with the immersion factor. I can't remember if this is present in SHIII.

[Sailor Steve]

Welcome aboard, cncllc!

I haven't been able to play for a few months, but I'm pretty sure I remember hearing depth charges going off in the distance a couple of times. Still, a good suggestion.

[cncllc]

Thanks Sailor Steve! I haven't played it for a few months either, I'll have to load it up this weekend and see about the depth charges. Any word on whether SHIV will have a locked resolution like SHIII? Or maybe widescreen support? :D Thanks.

[WilhelmSchulz.]

Id like to see the Tokyo Express modled in the game. :yep:

[shegeek72]

Do the devs check out this forum?
--
http://users4.ev1.net/%7Etaragem/sh3_u100.jpg

[kiwi_2005]

Apart from the Gato class what other US subs will we be able to command. If there are historical missions will we get to command the USS Drum - one of the most successful submarines of the Pacific War, or the cruisers Nautilus & Narwhal. The USS Tench, the Barb & Nautilus with her two deck guns were used in SH1 if i can remeber right, it would be great to command these boats again. And how the Germans had the IA small uboats, would we be seeing the American version of small coastal boats like the Marlin, Mackerel, ie start off with these in the campaign . The USS Tang went down in history as the submarine that sunk herself by her own torpedo that circled. Will there be an historical mission of the Tang :)

[Safe-Keeper]

Do the devs check out this forum?Yes, they do.

[WilhelmSchulz.]

The USS Tang went down in history as the submarine that sunk herself by her own torpedo that circled. Will there be an historical mission of the Tang :) The Tang was only one of many subs lost in this fasion. :nope:

[THE_MASK]

What i would like is , if a torp prematurely explodes say next to a freakin destroyer than the destroyer acts accordingly . Not some dumb ass blind ship asleep at the wheel .

[THE_MASK]

What i would like is the SDK for ship building purposes . Doesnt have to be the whole kit . Just the part so people can make more ships . Look at the http://www.auran.com/TRS2006/index.php game for example . Three quarters of the game is building railways . Give us some hulls and instructions and lets us add our own ships .

[humesdog]

There are lots of pages before this, I didn't take the time to go through them all but I think I have a neat idea if it hasn't been discussed yet.

The ability to give commands to the sub and then sit back and let the sim run until something happens. For instance, you could enter in instructions to the sim like 1) sail via waypoint A-B-C on the surface 2) make sound dives every four hours 3) sweep radar once every hour, etc. Then the sim runs those instructions with your chosen level of time compression. If your soundman hears something on a sound dive, the sim stops or plays a sound or does something and lets you know. If you're jumped by a plane the sim stops, alerts you and waits for your next command.

There's a lot of blue out there (and the Pacific is so much larger) and I can't tell you how many times I wanted to just let the computer run as I did a load of laundry or watched tv, or was out of eyeshot or earshot of the computer, etc. I think certainly type IX enthusiasts will appreciate this and even the smaller patrols. Even running at 512 TC it takes a while to get to your patrol zones and if you want to be historically accurate and take sound dives and such, you have to sit there for hours just to reach your patrol zone.

But I do like sailing to the zones! I don't want that to be removed, just a way to set instructions and leave the sim running and not have to constantly check on it. What do you think?

[THE_MASK]

What i would like is to buy SH4 as a pacific theatre on 1 DVD . The other DVD can be an expansion with the tools and files nessesary to add the rest of the WW2 world in myself . I hope this is not too much to ask. Looking forward to seeing the extra dvd in the case . Cheers Sober.

[THE_MASK]

Can we please have some moon light affects visual detection in the senses and some lunar charts for SH4 please .

[THE_MASK]

Could SH4 include a random reqest for new orders when completed a current patrol . Sometimes no new orders , sometimes another order , sometimes 2,3,or 4 new patrol areas in a row . In essence a patrol or series of patrols could last anywhere from a few days to a month or so . After these patrol areas have finished you could go anywhere like in SH3 .

Could SH4 provide an escort to the players sub where available.

[THE_MASK]

My idea for the SH4 crew management screen . Although the devs have prolly got something way better , but if not heres a suggestion .

Have a sub with the side cut out like in the picture and as you click on different compartments the compartment would show up full screen showing the internals and you could move the men around this way .

http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/972/sh3img141120062136va1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Aarleks]

Hi to all Captains - First post.

I haven't read all of the pages here but there are two things I would like to see in particular that I wanted in SHIII:

1. A 'Mark' command. When I'm looking through the scope/tbc I would like to be able to have one of my officers mark the bearing, range, and AOB on the map for me. I don't like that in SHIII you can take all this info down, but then have to go and draw it onto the map yourself, wasting valuable minutes. I guess it's kind of like the 'God's Eye' feature that you can enable in SHIII, but not automatic. Also, the great thing about this is that if you get the range etc wrong it would go on the map wrong. Fun for all!:rock:

2. That between patrols you can lose crew to transfers etc as well as get new crew. BUT!!! I would like to see some real crew transfer dynamics, not just getting complete newbies whenever you need new crew. I would like to have the ability to choose some crew who have patrols under their belt, who might have some medals, and so on. More realistic I think.

Anyway, that's my two main wishes.

Let me just say this is an awesome community. I've been a lurker for a while now, and have learned a great deal here. Thanks

[THE_MASK]

Have the GWX team beta test SH4 .

[aanker]

Upon learning with great disappointment that there will be no S-Boats or Narwhal class in Silent Hunter IV, I thought of some features I previously took for granted the Dev Team would not leave out.

I am now thinking that maybe they might leave some of these out:

Lifeguard duty and Photo Reconnaissance missions of IJN ports. Over 500 downed pilots owe their lives to WW II Submarines on station for Lifeguard Duty during air strikes and surface fleet engagements.

A Bathythermograph to detect thermal layers and a DUK "depth under keel" guage.

SD "A-Scope" aerial Radar and SJ "A-Scope" and the new (SJ-1) Improved SJ Radar (PPI) Plan Position Indicator Radar.

Realistic TDC Torpedo Data Computer for calculating optional Manual TDC or Automatic torpedo firing solutions.

Manual dive planes.

MK-10, MK-14, and MK-18 electric torpedoes.

Correct Order of precedence in awards. All do not need to be included but at least have them in the right order:

Medal of Honor
Navy Cross
Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star with Combat 'V' for valor
Bronze Star
Presidential Unit Citation
Navy Unit Commendation
Gold or Silver Life Saving Medal
American Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
WWII Victory Medal
Philippine Defence Medal
Philippine Liberation Medal

A scenario mission editor as in SSI's Silent Hunter I

Art

http://home.earthlink.net/~ptcbupersxo/SHCE01.jpg

sorry about the spelling

[pilotinho]

Some things I would love to see in SHIV...

1. Accurately model Japanese sonar and radar capabilities. Japanese had sonar but it was of a poor quality and they typically ran right over US subs without hearing them, this sonar was often out of action due to maintinance issues.

2. Japanese RADAR also stank but it worked occasionally. They never had centimetric wavelength RADAR. Their dectection probabilities should vary with weather, and sea condition. I don't want a Japanese destroyer to come charging at me with a SONAR lock while I am being conservative with my scope at silent running on a poor sonar condition day. A skillful US captain could remain undetected on most occasions until his torpedoes were either sighted or exploded.

3. I don't think I am the only player who uses SH3 as a surface warship simulator. I use the editor to set up opposing fleets and set myself up in a sub, out of the way, as an observer. I have noticed an AI bug that was present in SHII and seemed to carry into SHIII. One ship will start firing before the other, but the vessel fired upon will respond as soon as it is fired at. Indicating to me that it had detected the other vessel it just withheld fire for some reason. Guns are trained but not firing until the first enemy shells start splashing around it. Large warships were also not firing with the salvo method. I realized that this occured in real life for various circumstances but as a rule most ships fired full main battery salvos. Only advanced vessels had continuous fire such as modern US Cruisers (Helena, Boise)

4. Variable visibility. SHIII made huge strides in this direction but there is room for improvement. Fog banks moving around, Isolated thunderstorms moving across the water forming "sea going fox holes" False radar contacts because of the storms. Unreliable radar performance based on side lobe problems (the galloping ghost of the japanese coast). Interisland sailing vessels that you can close in on and look over, and that can report YOU to the enemy. The periscope fogging over when in cold water with warm air flowing across it.

5. In SHIII most ships took an unreasonbly long time to sink, in SHIV they took an absurdly short time to sink. I realize that the Barham went down quickly. Most large well served warships could take hours to sink. Overall I found sinking times WAY too fast in SHIII. The Yamato will not sink in immediately even if you pump 24 torpedoes into the son of a bitch. Also I have noticed that SHIII had progressive damage algorithms, but usually a ship would take a certain amount of damage and be stuck that way. What happens when ships repair themselves? This certainly happened. A good ship could level itself and pump out water. Increase speed after assessing its level of damage.

6. A mortally wounded ship could still fight, don't let me surface next to a sinking ship thinking that some brazen crew member wouldn't open up with a 25mm or a manually trained 5". The dying Yagumo nailed the Chevalier in Vella Lavella, the USS Duncan fired a torpedo by seaman's eye after the ship was knocked out. Merchant ships had military crews servicing their guns. The USS Tang was shot at by a dying ship and nearly hit. "How they pointed and trained their gun on that slanting deck with remain a mystery to me, and should be a source of pride for any nation" Dick Okane.

P.S. thanks dev team for reading my comments, they are just wishes and I am sure I will be thrilled with what your final product is, in whatever form it is. Thank you for all your hard work. Paul

[Sailor Steve]

5. In SHIII most ships took an unreasonbly long time to sink, in SHIV they took an absurdly short time to sink.
I'm sure from your later comments that you meant, respectively, SHII and SHIII. Other than that all your observations were good ones and most of them I hadn't thought of. Thanks for bringing those up.

Oh, and WELCOME ABOARD!

[pilotinho]

I did mean SHII and SHIII, thank you for the correction. Thanks for the greetings! I thought I was a member of the subsim community as I have been reading these forums forever but I found that I could not log on recently and I was demoted to "bilge rat".:damn: I love Subsim though and have been a loyal reader for years. I am dying to get my hands on this sim, I have made plans for a new computer just for this game, does that make me sick?

[Sailor Steve]

Sick? Probably, but it's a sickness we all share. I bought a new computer for SHIII, and I'm hoping it will serve for SH4, because I really can't afford to do that again for a while.

[Brausepaul]

Better crew management:

Crew members can be transfered away to man new (other) boats.

Player is subject to transfers:

Something like a maximum number of missions the player can do (optional) before he is transfered away from frontline duty. It always bothered me that there was no actual limit that keeps one from sinking 1.2 million tons in four years of war patrolling.

Something

Hey, I know it's to late to add, but a wish-list is a wish-list...

[Capt. D]

Upon learning with great disappointment that there will be no S-Boats or Narwhal class in Silent Hunter IV, I thought of some features I previously took for granted the Dev Team would not leave out.

I am now thinking that maybe they might leave some of these out:

Lifeguard duty and Photo Reconnaissance missions of IJN ports. Over 500 downed pilots owe their lives to WW II Submarines on station for Lifeguard Duty during air strikes and surface fleet engagements.

A Bathythermograph to detect thermal layers and a DUK "depth under keel" guage.

SD "A-Scope" aerial Radar and SJ "A-Scope" and the new (SJ-1) Improved SJ Radar (PPI) Plan Position Indicator Radar.

Realistic TDC Torpedo Data Computer for calculating optional Manual TDC or Automatic torpedo firing solutions.

Manual dive planes.

MK-10, MK-14, and MK-18 electric torpedoes.

Correct Order of precedence in awards. All do not need to be included but at least have them in the right order:

Medal of Honor
Navy Cross
Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star with Combat 'V' for valor
Bronze Star
Presidential Unit Citation
Navy Unit Commendation
Gold or Silver Life Saving Medal
American Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
WWII Victory Medal
Philippine Defence Medal
Philippine Liberation Medal

A scenario mission editor as in SSI's Silent Hunter I

Art

http://home.earthlink.net/%7Eptcbupersxo/SHCE01.jpg

sorry about the spelling

I just recently was able to get SHI to play on my XP Windows. It has been too long since I went to sea in an American Sub in WWII to sink Japanese ships. I had to copy aanker's message as he had very good representations of SHI screens. Playing the game again just opened up the wish list for the new and improved SHIV.

Though back in the day SHI had very good graphics now we need to have a real bridge of a US Sub. We should be able to see the lookouts climbing to their "perch" and be able to view the sea around us and have the instruments that were available to the bridge staff as they were - TBT, Compass, MC1, etc. We need to have a sea that will have waves crashing over the bow and the windscreen of the bridge during high speed chases in heavy seas. And we need to be able to watch the dive planes rig out for dive or rig in for surface travel if we just surfaced the boat. Little things but they mean a lot to get the feel of what it was like.

Interior wise we need the conning tower to be fully functional with the scopes, TBC, Sonar, Radar, main helm station, torp. fireing controls all there and functioning as they did. Same with the control room and the diving stations, main vents, Christmas Tree etc. We should be able to be in the wardroom to review and go over patrol plans. We should be able to go to the radio room and listen to reports or receive Ultra messages.

Many have mentioned about crew control. If one takes a look at SHI's damage control screen (center above - whcih was quit detailed "back then") there should not be an issue with showing crew members in each department - allowing the Captain to assign who is where and give us the option to have the men go to certain areas of the ship at certain times - e.g. surfacing - lookouts, damage control, diving - bow and stern planes, submerged approach - conning tower maned and ready, or a simple "battle stations" and men moving to their assigned areas.

Much has already been noted in this and other threads about what is wanted or needed. Playing SHI just brings it all to the "surface" more. And by ALL means do not forget the S-Boats the P's and T's and Salmon/Sargo class along with the Gatos/Balaos/Tench. (I am currently skipper of the USS Plunger a P class boat.) If SHI could have them so should SHIV.

Much discussion has been made on what the Devs can and can not do. One simply needs to look at the ads for sims that are on TV for the Holidays. Call to Arms 3, or how about Brothers in Arms - all highly detailed in graphics and action. Let's not have SHIV any thing but better!

Happy Hunting :ping:

[kiwi_2005]

Sry if this has already been mentioned, haven't read all posts. I would love to see in SH4 the option to type out your messages, maybe two options either send them automatically for those that cannot be bothered or type out the message yourself and send. All messages would be replyed back, for instance i might send a message: Convoy spotted requesting orders - then would get reply back saying proceed at full speed & attack convoy. Or once grid area has been patrolled for few days i might recieve a message ask to move to grid ## and patrol area...

[geetrue]

Did someone wish for a submarine tender yet? I tried to read as many post as I could, but I didn't see one requested. In fact I don't even know if they had them in WWII ...

I was on the USS Nerus in 63-64 and it felt that old ... :D

Maybe in the last days of the war the boats didn't have to go all the way back to Ohau, but then again they plan on ending the war in 1944 due to bad hunting, right?

[THE_MASK]

The SH4 layout (station panels etc) must look real and complement the rest of the sub .

[Sailor Steve]

Did someone wish for a submarine tender yet? I tried to read as many post as I could, but I didn't see one requested. In fact I don't even know if they had them in WWII ...
I'm sure they had them, and I hope we'll see some. It would be cool to tie up outside of three other subs alongside a tender at Guam. Don't know that it'll happen, but we all have dreams.

...but then again they plan on ending the war in 1944 due to bad hunting, right?
SH3 goes all the way to the end of the war. You just can't start later than 1943. I'm sure SH4 will be the same.

[THE_MASK]

dynamic fog

[THE_MASK]

Attention Devs , demotions is what we need in SH4 . I want my ass kicked when my torps dont detonate . QUOTE "Continuing on the belief that the poor showing (as in torp failures) was due to ineffective skippers, many were relieved of their commands, replaced by younger, more aggressive officers."

[Saukko]

It would be cool if the campaign starts at the morning of december 7th, 1941 (if you choose year 1941 your starting point), just before the Japanese attack. You are briefed to make short peace-time patrol with your new crew, but while in dock the attack begins.
Later you would receive a radio message to open hostalities and a patrol grid.

[Sailor Steve]

I would love to be already at sea and be ordered to return to Pearl immediately, or else go look for the Japanese fleet.

I would also love to be on an 'S' Boat in Cavite when the bombing begins there.

[geetrue]

This is just a wish list, right? :yep:

How about one (1) mission ... Just one (1), but one so good we could play it over and over again (bragging about it, etc).

Like Microsoft did for FSX before it came out ... I know, I know they have the big bucks and only a few people in Romania probably have over a 100k (just kidding).

Come on developers ... We'll be your best salesman ... The whole world will be waiting for the release with just one good demo ... No whimpering allowed if you don't. :yep:

[JSF]

After viewing the trailers I would like to see water spuing from the exhaust ports modeled.... Two and four ports depending on the load being placed on the generators at the time. And when you bend on 4 motors in hot pursuit it would be nice to see water pouring out. I think that would be a nice touch.

[aanker]

Did someone wish for a submarine tender yet? I tried to read as many post as I could, but I didn't see one requested. In fact I don't even know if they had them in WWII ...
Yes they did. Here is a link to a picture of:
http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/0838506.jpg

Proteus (AS-19) at Midway Naval Base May 1944 with Bang (SS-385), Pintado (SS-387), and Pilotfish (SS-386).

Of course navsource has pages for all of the Tenders:
http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/36/36idx.htm

I would like to see them included too.

Art

http://home.earthlink.net/~ptcbupersxo/SHCE01.jpg

[The_Pharoah]

I've got 1 wish - PLEASE add surface ships atleast for multiplayer/online play.

[Sea Wolf]

Promotion based on type of target sunk

Different Missions

Living world (harbour traffic, etc.)

[Berserker2]

I think it'd be interesting to be able to play the Japanese. After all, the IJN, for the most part, had better and more varied types of submarines than any other navy in WW2. Plus their Long Lance torpedos were absolutely deadly. Unfortunately (for them) they seemed more in love with the surface ships and never did make very good use of their submarine fleet.

Bill

[cyttorak]

maybe someone already mentioned about this, it's too big list for me to browse.

the wish:
what happened to captain's cabin?
in sh3 there was a calendar with different stages of moon -> quite useful to pinpoint your attack in bibleblack environment.