"jump to next action"

[Shikkapow]

Does anyone know if SH4 will have a jump to next action sequence button? I stopped playing SH3 because when I had 40 minutes to play and limited time to screw around on the computer I would try to play a mission and barely get out of the harbor (Lorient:down::down::down:) I can't imagine the 45 minute ordeals going from Pearl to Japan for hunting.

Please OH please kill the dead time in SH4 and I hope they put one in or I won't even bother picking up a copy
(as I type this my little circle of death is trying to find its way out of Lorient harbor....)
I re-installed SH3 today just to get my fix and already I remember why I deleted it off my computer. its taken FOREVER to get out of Lorient, and I still have a gazillion miles left to my patrol box.

I realize many like to immerse themselves in the game and all but I don't have the time to "simulate" the hours and hours of tedium while at sea...

[Redwine]

Does anyone know if SH4 will have a jump to next action sequence button? I stopped playing SH3 because when I had 40 minutes to play and limited time to screw around on the computer I would try to play a mission and barely get out of the harbor (Lorient:down::down::down:) I can't imagine the 45 minute ordeals going from Pearl to Japan for hunting.

Just wonderful....!!

[d@rk51d3]

Gave me flashbacks to Silent Service 2, where you drag your icon around the map, and then when you find a target, it jumps into action.

[DaMaGe007]

Hit the + key on your numberpad, for time compression(hit it fast and many times its better than using the mouse to click time compression up)

If your near land and it restricts you to a low number, you can change that with SH3 Commander. It would be nice for a max time compression key, but sh3 doesnt have one, I have no idea what they are going to do with Sh4 in this regard.

So your problem is already solvable in SH3 I suspect sh4 will be similar, hopefully CTRL and + will be max time compression, CTRL and - for min time compression, similar to the periscope (CTRL and pageup)
SH3 may already have this (CTRL thing) I havent played in awhile.

[Safe-Keeper]

Does anyone know if SH4 will have a jump to next action sequence button?Yes. It's called "time compression".

Having said that, I'd really like some way to exit harbours faster. Preferrably, I'd like to be able to tell my watch crew to shut the Heck up while in harbours and not report every single docked little dinghy they see. If I'm on a collision course, by all means, brake the game so I can take evasive action. But hey, I know there are ships in the harbour. Going "Ship sighted, bearing..." and so on every five seconds while simultaneously snapping time compression down to 32 makes for a very annoying departure.

Or even better, just give me an option to start out 25 KM away from the harbour.

[DaMaGe007]

I think sh3 commander allowed the setting of TC to 1024 for friendly encounters so they wont stop you at all, I hope sh4 includes a decent options menu to allow this.

Collisions are not very often so you just need to be willing to reload sometimes.

[Dowly]

But the waiting is part of the game.. :cry:

[irish1958]

DaMaGe007 wrote
" I think sh3 commander allowed the setting of TC to 1024 for friendly encounters so they wont stop you at all, I hope sh4 includes a decent options menu to allow this."


The problem with this is that the TC of 1064 stays with your patrol until you save, exit and then reset the TC; so you will fly by all your contacts

[DaMaGe007]

Thats a shame, I never bothered to try it...the devs could do it better this time im sure.

[Capt. D]

Hit the + key on your numberpad, for time compression(hit it fast and many times its better than using the mouse to click time compression up)

If your near land and it restricts you to a low number, you can change that with SH3 Commander. It would be nice for a max time compression key, but sh3 doesnt have one, I have no idea what they are going to do with Sh4 in this regard.

So your problem is already solvable in SH3 I suspect sh4 will be similar, hopefully CTRL and + will be max time compression, CTRL and - for min time compression, similar to the periscope (CTRL and pageup)
SH3 may already have this (CTRL thing) I havent played in awhile.
I have to agree with leaving port and the time spent getting to the patrol area can be a bother at times. In SH you saw your boat leave the dock then the next view you had was your map and you were in your patrol area. Not much fun for those who wish to go through the process of sailing to the area on their own - and have the "real" time to sit and wait. ( However, I recall a few times I had to quit a game in SH due to "real" time factor. Back then you could not save your game where you were - you quit and bam you were back at your base with a "Attention to Orders" and the failing messge. That needs to be changed to what SH2/SH3 had where you save exactly where you are in the patrol.)

Time compression should be able to satisfy everyones wishes on this point. Either set sail, plot your course and hit the + key until you are moving "over time" at the speed you wish or just set sail and plot your course using only ''real time" e.g. no TC. One thing SH3 does not have (if I'm not mistaken - that SH and SH2 had) was an automatic return to 0 time compression by tapping the "back slash" key. If you were in a high TC rate and you received a message that you were in visual sight or radar or sonar contact you could hit the key to 0 your TC and get to the attack without passing by or getting sunk before you knew what was happening.

Bottom line every SH so far had TC I believe this one will also. Just make it user friendly.:D

Happy Hunting :ping:

[don1reed]

I agree with the Option to be at least 25nm away from port.

Wouldn't it be sweet to be able to "click" onto your boat and drag it to any piece of ocean you desired, then "drop" it with auto subtraction of fuel--addition of date, and time at the new location?

[cmdrk]

Does anyone know if SH4 will have a jump to next action sequence button?Yes. It's called "time compression".

Having said that, I'd really like some way to exit harbours faster. Preferrably, I'd like to be able to tell my watch crew to shut the Heck up while in harbours and not report every single docked little dinghy they see. If I'm on a collision course, by all means, brake the game so I can take evasive action. But hey, I know there are ships in the harbour. Going "Ship sighted, bearing..." and so on every five seconds while simultaneously snapping time compression down to 32 makes for a very annoying departure.

Or even better, just give me an option to start out 25 KM away from the harbour.

Maybe that is why the harbors are not stocked with ships in the stock game. It was an easy fix.

[Safe-Keeper]

Maybe that is why the harbors are not stocked with ships in the stock game.Doesn't explain why enemy harbours were empty.

[cmdrk]

Maybe that is why the harbors are not stocked with ships in the stock game.Doesn't explain why enemy harbours were empty.
True. Then, there is the FPS hit. It was just a passing thought.

With the map and time compression, I could see a no encounter zone circling Pearl out to almost Midway. The time compression can run super fast, then once outside the zone, the upper limit of TC would be reduced.
Maybe even zones in other very open areas of the Pacific.

The no encounter zones could be active based on dates. The Pearl Harbor attack would be a time to have normal compression ranges around Pearl. Battle of Midway the same way.

[Godalmighty83]

But the waiting is part of the game.. :cry:

a really, really dull part if your not in the mood for full on immersion/ realism.

[Shikkapow]

I know about the time compression, and at one time tweaked the reg file to go all the way up to 4096, and it still seems to be a waste of time to sit there and watch the circle of death slowly plod across the ocean. Especially on the East coast US patrols.
I completely understand that waiting is part of the game but, to me at least, wasting 30 minutes just to get to your patrol zone is completely useless.
I like the auto fuel and time adjustment. and then once you get to your patrol zone you can time compress until your crew spots or hears something.
The Pacific theater is HUGE compared to the Atlantic. I'll have to wait and see and not rush out and buy a copy as soon as it hits the shelves like I did with SH3

[kylania]

The difference is are you playing an arcade game or a sub simulator? If all you want is action, action, action than you want a console game, not a simulation. Setting up SH IV to be nothing but click button, then attack, then click another button and attack somewhere else takes it away from the whole ocean simulator of SH3 and makes it into a something lesser.

[Safe-Keeper]

The difference is are you playing an arcade game or a sub simulator? If all you want is action, action, action than you want a console game, not a simulation. Setting up SH IV to be nothing but click button, then attack, then click another button and attack somewhere else takes it away from the whole ocean simulator of SH3 and makes it into a something lesser.Good argument, actually.

[Sldghammer]

So you don't use time compression, klyania?

[rls669]

The difference is are you playing an arcade game or a sub simulator? If all you want is action, action, action than you want a console game, not a simulation. Setting up SH IV to be nothing but click button, then attack, then click another button and attack somewhere else takes it away from the whole ocean simulator of SH3 and makes it into a something lesser.

Poor argument. The sub and all its systems, enemy units and AI can all be simulated in exhaustive detail, but it's an arcade game because I have a life and can't spend my limited entertainment time watching . . . nothing? Quit projecting your low threshold of boredom onto others. I can go down to the dock and sit all day watching the empty ocean and it's more of a "sub simulator" than sitting in a chair watching empty ocean on the screen. But the option is always there for people who feel they need to waste hours of real time doing nothing. The rest of us would also like the option to play as we see fit. It's not like it costs the real-timers anything, either, except apparently an affront to their delicate sensibilities. It certainly doesn't "take anything away". It adds a capability that the majority of players want.

[Shikkapow]

Poor argument. The sub and all its systems, enemy units and AI can all be simulated in exhaustive detail, but it's an arcade game because I have a life and can't spend my limited entertainment time watching . . . nothing? Quit projecting your low threshold of boredom onto others. I can go down to the dock and sit all day watching the empty ocean and it's more of a "sub simulator" than sitting in a chair watching empty ocean on the screen. But the option is always there for people who feel they need to waste hours of real time doing nothing. The rest of us would also like the option to play as we see fit. It's not like it costs the real-timers anything, either, except apparently an affront to their delicate sensibilities. It certainly doesn't "take anything away". It adds a capability that the majority of players want.

What he said.
If you want a pure sim. why the time compress? Why the torp screen, why the external camera, why no food?
If you would like to sit for 45 minutes to an hour doing nothing but listening to the rumble of the subs engines, more power to you. I have other things to do in real life and want to spend that 45 minutes to an hour ducking from airplanes, getting depth charged by destroyers and shooting torps at liberty ships, not watching a little cirle move slowly across my screen

[Rydox]

The difference is are you playing an arcade game or a sub simulator? If all you want is action, action, action than you want a console game, not a simulation. Setting up SH IV to be nothing but click button, then attack, then click another button and attack somewhere else takes it away from the whole ocean simulator of SH3 and makes it into a something lesser.

Giving players the "option" does not make it something lesser.
I want to have a choice. Sometimes Im in the mood to sail out of port at 1x speed. Sometimes I would like to get down to buisness. It takes forever to get to any patrol zones near the US even at 1024x. If you do go across the Atlantic at 1024x your just staring at a laggy (for me)map screen, not much of an ocean simulator.

I love SH3 just sometimes find it annoying.
For whatever its worth, I vote for the option.

[Immacolata]

Yes indeed. Let the purists idle away hours of their lives bobbing up and down on the waves as they make their 7 day journeys without incident. I much would love to see some kind of option to eliminate this for more highlights in the game sessions. Indeed, how can this option take away anything for those who want the full run?

[fredbass]

I do sympathize with those who don't want to spend time waiting. And luckily we have the SH3 Commander mod which can help you out in the harbors. Just change some of your various time compression settings in that mod during the time in harbor. Once you get out to sea, save and exit. Change your settings back once you start Commander again and off you go.

I do however hope that in SH4 that we don't have to lower the time compression during gameplay to detect enemy and avoid missing contacts.

Oh, by the way, you really don't lose that much renown by not going to your patrol zone if that helps. But I also change my zone in the Commander mod to a closer location thus avoiding those long journeys.

[Safe-Keeper]

Poor argument. The sub and all its systems, enemy units and AI can all be simulated in exhaustive detail, but it's an arcade game because I have a life and can't spend my limited entertainment time watching . . . nothing?Yes.

Quit projecting your low threshold of boredom onto others.It's not more boring than you make it yourself. Read a book, solve a hard Su Doku puzzle, play with your doggie, or come up with something else fun.

I can go down to the dock and sit all day watching the empty ocean and it's more of a "sub simulator" than sitting in a chair watching empty ocean on the screen.Yup.

But the option is always there for people who feel they need to waste hours of real-time doing nothing.If you consider watching the ocean a waste of time, I pity you;).

The rest of us would also like the option to play as we see fit. It's not like it costs the real-timers anything, either (...)Implementing an arcade-ish teleportation system takes away time from other features. The developers probably have too little time to implement things as it is.

except apparently an affront to their delicate sensibilities. It certainly doesn't "take anything away".
It adds a capability that the majority of players want.Can you actually prove that the majority wants it, or is it just a faulty assumption á la "the vast majority of players wants all compartments to be 3D"?

[Immacolata]

It adds a capability that the majority of players want.Can you actually prove that the majority wants it, or is it just a faulty assumption á la "the vast majority of players wants all compartments to be 3D"?

It is a ridiculous to call it a faulty assumption. If looking upon hours of map screen while the time compression runs is what people want in the majority, we would have seen loads of "Microsoft Watch Paint Dry Simulator" games and yearly Pro Watch Grass Grow League refreshers from EA. People want action in games. It was never a problem in vanilla SH3, because you were literally flooded with radio contacts. You never really had time to be bored. This was how Ubi worked around this issue of boredom. The sail from Bremerhaven to NY could be done with in 10 seconds this way, provided you were not spotted on the way. Why is that bad?

You need compression of some sorts, and the suggestion of an actual jump-to mechanism instead of a flakey time compression mechanism isn't such a bad call. We all know that it worked poorly in SH3. A compromise would be to make the highest compression actually be an abstraction. Instead of simulating the world around the submarine constantly, but at increased pace, then make it an abstraction that you pull off tables. %Chance of convoy encounter (Based on location and date) %chance of flight encounter etc.

It would probably irritate the already hypersensitive realism glands of the most assinine pro-realism guys, but they could then chose to run it at a lower speed and let the busy of us cut to the chase. Wherein lies the harm I ask?

[Safe-Keeper]

It is a ridiculous to call it a faulty assumption. Nope. It's based upon the posts of this forum and the reviews of the game. Not ridiculous at all.

Actually, when I upgraded GW to 1,1a, which allowed me to get on the deck gun at x1024 time compression, I found it to be one of the greatest part of the game. Just sitting there, listening to the steady, re-assuring engines, the sunrises, sunsets, stars, moon, and the endless sea... It should've been introduced to psychiatric hospitals as a therapeutic tool for people with anger management problems. It'd revolutionalize mental health care.

[Immacolata]

But there is more than this forum, isn't there?

There are 300,000 players of SH3. How many of them do you think enjoy spending 1 hour to "get to the action" everytime they start a game?

[Takeda Shingen]

There are 300,000 players of SH3. How many of them do you think enjoy spending 1 hour to "get to the action" everytime they start a game?

I enjoy it, so that makes two. Ultimately, this is a simulation, not Pac-Man. The ocean is vast, and submarines, both modern and historic, go sometimes weeks without seeing or hearing a single contact. Since this is how it really is, I would want that represented in any realistic simulator. Remember, any simulation with it's mettle replicates not only systems, but operations.

[Immacolata]

But why does it detract from your experience of this element, Takeda, if other players with no such ambitions are given the option to skip this period and get to the action?

[Takeda Shingen]

But why does it detract from your experience of this element, Takeda, if other players with no such ambitions are given the option to skip this period and get to the action?

This was answered above:

Implementing an arcade-ish teleportation system takes away time from other features. The developers probably have too little time to implement things as it is.

except apparently an affront to their delicate sensibilities. It certainly doesn't "take anything away".

[The Noob]

If you don't wanna wait use the Time Compression. But, as Immacolata already said, it would do not do any harm to put such a feature in. "We" could still use our Prefered slow method, while Non-Addicted with a life could have it the faster way.

IMHO i have a better method than any suggested. You plot a course and click the "Warp Factor 6, Scotty!" button. Then the game Calculates at your Maximum Computer Speed, your route, and the route of Airplanes, Ships, Fuel needed at Specified speed (With "Bingo Fuel" warning. "Bingo Fuel" comes from Military airplanes and means you only have fuel for your return to base), and so on, with crew Rotation done automatically or with Specified Values (Wich man to rotate when). It would be good if you could also tell your Watch officer (I don't know whats the equal for it on US subs, but i think they call it XO) if you want to dive during day and run surfaced at night, at wich speeds and ect. over a special menu in-game. If the Game calculates that you would cross the routes of any of those, the game teleports you there. Sounds Cool, ain't it you arcadish People? ;)

For me, it's one of the most beautiful things in SH3 with GW1.1a is to sit there, watching that damn Icon move across the sea at 256x Compression (To solve the Airplane issue), watching that icon move painfully slow wondering what happends next. Radio contact? Airplane Spottet? Single Mercant? Sudden lone Destroyer Encounter?

The waiting time is also very relaxing, the only time i have time to read newspaper (Yes there are still people who read it) or read books, ect. And of course....

http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/8135/ussr0409ca9.jpg

:lol::rotfl:

Or listen to Hynkels speeches (Chaplins "The Great Dictator", Recorded them from DVD!:up::rotfl:) while sailing across the atlantic. Those Speeches are a Great Morale booster for the Crew...:rotfl:

Anyway, i would use the slow way. :smug:

[Immacolata]

But why does it detract from your experience of this element, Takeda, if other players with no such ambitions are given the option to skip this period and get to the action?

This was answered above:

Implementing an arcade-ish teleportation system takes away time from other features. The developers probably have too little time to implement things as it is.

except apparently an affront to their delicate sensibilities. It certainly doesn't "take anything away".

That is essentially the same as saying none other than your wishes are valid, since anyone else's wish will be to the detraction of yours. Yes, then I can see how any deviant meaning could be considered a threat. I still belive the compression system of SH3 is poorly made, and could need an overhaul, since forcing all 300.000 players to endure hours of nothingness to please a few thousand diehards is much to ask.

[Takeda Shingen]

That is essentially the same as saying none other than your wishes are valid, since anyone else's wish will be to the detraction of yours. Yes, then I can see how any deviant meaning could be considered a threat. I still belive the compression system of SH3 is poorly made, and could need an overhaul, since forcing all 300.000 players to endure hours of nothingness to please a few thousand diehards is much to ask.

Exactly. By my theory, once I have Silent Hunter IV molded in my specific vision, I can then concentrate on projecting my image of the world into the homes of millions of unsuspecting consumers. Entertainment, leisure and even love will fall into my iron grasp, and none shall escape. Before long, all cimematic films will be shot in real time, network broadcasts will spend an obligitory 20 minutes discussing semantics, and newspapers will be required to print the sports page after the lifestyle section.

[Immacolata]

Hehe sounds like MY world domination plan! Cannot be room for two megalomaniacs, so I get to pick ministries first!

[rls669]

Nope. It's based upon the posts of this forum and the reviews of the game. Not ridiculous at all.

The people on this forum are a tiny minority of buyers of the game. The people who want to do everything in real time are a subset of this. You think the thousands of gamers who don't even bother to read the forums are sitting there wishing they could spend more time staring at an empty screen? Unless you've got some compelling evidence I'll go with common sense on this one.

[Safe-Keeper]

I still belive the compression system of SH3 is poorly made, and could need an overhaul, since forcing all 300.000 players to endure hours of nothingness to please a few thousand diehards is much to ask.They're working on overhauling it, though, aren't they? According to an interview, they're trying to get 4000+ to work properly.

You think the thousands of gamers who don't even bother to read the forums are sitting there wishing they could spend more time staring at an empty screen?Did I say that?

I said that I think the majority of players want time compression (as it is now), rather than instant teleportation to whereever they want to go.

I said nothing about "wanting even more time staring at the empty screen".

As for "jump to next action sequence": If you're talking about this the way it was implemented in Combat Flight Simulator 3, then, well, that's the system we've got in Silent Hunter III. It's called "time compression". The only reason it takes thirty minutes to get to your mission area in Silent Hunter III and thirty seconds in Combat Flight Simulator 3 is that it can't take 30 seconds in Silent Hunter III. Have you noticed how much the game can lag already at x1024?

That is essentially the same as saying none other than your wishes are valid, since anyone else's wish will be to the detraction of yours. Yes, then I can see how any deviant meaning could be considered a threat.Not wanting a specific feature in because I believe developers should focus on more important things is a long shot from "not accepting any deviant suggestion" or saying that "no other wishes than mine are valid", and I think you know that. Every single one of us has a unique opinion on what should be in and what would be a waste of time.

[rls669]

SH3's time compression scaled up to Pacific distances = long periods of absolutely nothing happening, so by default anyone wanting to keep this system is voting in favour of spending more time staring at nothing.

I'm not saying an instant teleportation feature is required. I am saying that the current time compression system will be totally unacceptable to me if it takes an hour of real time just to get to the operations area. I disagree that time compression can't be better in SH3 -- really, what's going on that the game has to keep track of? Convoys that spawn according to tables, follow waypoints and interact with nothing until the player gets near. Compare that with Falcon or MiG Alley where everything interacts, AI and flight models are being calculated for dozens or even hundreds of units, persistent damage to facilities has to tracked and stuff like resupply rates is affected, yet have far better TC than SH3. I just think TC was one of the things that was left half-finished to rush SH3 out the door. Hopefully SH4 will be better.

[Shikkapow]

What about the option of just skipping the entre patrol travel time and warping to the patrol zone?
I just don't see the point of running the game for 2 hours and not really [i]doing[i/i] anything. its a game not a training simulator.

[Trygvasson]

What about the option of just skipping the entre patrol travel time and warping to the patrol zone?
I just don't see the point of running the game for 2 hours and not really [i]doing[i/i] anything. its a game not a training simulator.

To me it's a sim, not a game, and while I'm not up to crossing the Atlantik in realtime(done it once, in a sailing boat), getting there and back again is an important feature of the game. And it looks like few of the people with the skill, time and will to mod the game are interested in increasing the broad-spectrum appeal of the game. If you are correct in assuming that lots of people are interested in 'speeding up' the game, then I'm sure somebody is willing to actually do something about it.

[Dantenoc]

No no no.... you can't have a teleport feature on the game, because that would completely take away from the game, eliminating any chance of surprise or chance encounters while on-route... heck, navigating is also part of the fun, choosing your route, avoiding detection from the enemy while reaching your objective, etc. etc.

Now, having said that, a complete rehaul and fix of the time compression feature is needed, because SHIII time compression is just horrible. When on higher time compressions, enemy ships and airplanes are not properly detected by your crew, and more often than not, they'll shout "ship sighted" way too late. Also, if you don't want to miss out on all the enemy radio-contact reports, you have to play with your eyes glued to the nav-map and your hand poised over the keyboard ready to bring back time to normal the instant that something pops up on the screen... somebody called you and you were distracted looking away from the screen for 30 seconds? at a high time compression of 1024 that would represent more than 8 and a half hours of game time, making any radio contact that appeard on the nav-map virtualy useless :down:

This is certainly one of the hardest parts of the game to fix, but efforts should be made to fix it never the less.

[John Pancoast]

No no no.... you can't have a teleport feature on the game, because that would completely take away from the game, eliminating any chance of surprise or chance encounters while on-route... heck, navigating is also part of the fun, choosing your route, avoiding detection from the enemy while reaching your objective, etc. etc.

Now, having said that, a complete rehaul and fix of the time compression feature is needed, because SHIII time compression is just horrible. When on higher time compressions, enemy ships and airplanes are not properly detected by your crew, and more often than not, they'll shout "ship sighted" way too late. Also, if you don't want to miss out on all the enemy radio-contact reports, you have to play with your eyes glued to the nav-map and your hand poised over the keyboard ready to bring back time to normal the instant that something pops up on the screen... somebody called you and you were distracted looking away from the screen for 30 seconds? at a high time compression of 1024 that would represent more than 8 and a half hours of game time, making any radio contact that appeard on the nav-map virtualy useless :down:

This is certainly one of the hardest parts of the game to fix, but efforts should be made to fix it never the less.

Regarding radio messages arriving during high tc, just change the tc parameters, so that upon receipt of a message, time drops back down to 1x.

What I did, works great.

[Capt. D]

Giving players the "option" does not make it something lesser.
I want to have a choice. Sometimes Im in the mood to sail out of port at 1x speed. Sometimes I would like to get down to buisness. It takes forever to get to any patrol zones near the US even at 1024x. If you do go across the Atlantic at 1024x your just staring at a laggy (for me)map screen, not much of an ocean simulator.

Can you actually prove that the majority wants it, or is it just a faulty assumption á la "the vast majority of players wants all compartments to be 3D"?

You need compression of some sorts, and the suggestion of an actual jump-to mechanism instead of a flakey time compression mechanism isn't such a bad call.

But there is more than this forum, isn't there?

There are 300,000 players of SH3. How many of them do you think enjoy spending 1 hour to "get to the action" everytime they start a game?

...and lastly:

If you don't wanna wait use the Time Compression. But, as Immacolata already said, it would do not do any harm to put such a feature in. "We" could still use our Prefered slow method, while Non-Addicted with a life could have it the faster way.


A wide range of opinions - and that's what's good about this type of forum. If I may put my take to all this;

There are those who wish to be able to experiance the total experiance with which US subs crews had during their patrols - that being from the first order "cast away forward lines" to "all stop" while the band plays "Anchors Away" and officers of COMSUBPAC walk across the gang plank to welcome the boat back and congratulate it on a job well done. Great! and if one has the time to spend 60 some days to experiance this all the better! This is a sim and should give one the feeling of being there. (Some times I wish we could just go to the holo deck and tell the computer to initialize patrol 1 - for you Star Trek fans)

There is much to be said about the sim giving one the most realistic experiance one can have from a computer generated "game". However there is also much to be said about the opportunity to "skip" to the "meat of the problem" (patrol). I think the words "Non-Addicted" are rather strong. I am definitly an addicted "fan" of the US Submarine actions in WWII. I have read many many books on the subject both fact and fiction and have viewed movies of the same. I have visited many US WWII boats and plan on a third visit to the US Silversides later this month. My point is I enjoy and look forward to playing the current sub sims in the Silent Hunter series and have waited for a new Pacific version anxiously for some time. Having said all this I do not have the opportunity at this juncture to be able to sit down and use some of the valuable "real time" that I have to cover the many miles of ocean I need to travel to get to the "meat of the problem" my patrol area. Hence time compression.

If I am not mistaken SHI - when using time compression - would automaticaly either reduce the time you were in or automaticaly bring it to 0 if you were in contact with enemy shipping. Is this the ultimate process. No. But could some tweaking make it possiable for those who can not make "real time" for the process of getting to the patrol area, be able to go there with TC however be made aware of and forced to deal with contacts from way point to way point. The "jump to" feature some discuss I believe was somewhat avaliable in SHI when after leaving your base the next screen did place you in your patrol area. Something of that feature could be made avaliable as a choice to the player when setting up your realism factors!

When it comes down to the bottom line ( and we can not forget that that is and must be in the discussion - bottom line) the quote above indicating 300,000 SHIII players - UBISoft I am sure is also looking at sales. Having been in retail for over 37 years, marketing is a major factor for new items being placed for sale. Both sides have excellent issues, and both sides must be able to be drawn to the game for UBISoft to be profitable. I would gather that they will attempt to cover both sides of this issue with the hope to please the addicted gamer whether they have the "real time" to play the game in real time or need to quicken the pace so they can be at their childs rehersal or sport game etc. I really believe this can be accomplished and maybe be placed in an area where the gamer is setting up their realism factors!

Just my thoughts for what they are worth.

Happy Hunting :ping:

[Dantenoc]

Regarding radio messages arriving during high tc, just change the tc parameters, so that upon receipt of a message, time drops back down to 1x.

What I did, works great.

No, you're talking about something completely different. I have changed it (using SH3 Commander version 2.4) so that incoming radio messages drop down the TC back to 1x, but that's a different issue... I'm talking about the little ship icons that "magicaly" pop up on the nav-map from time to time, which offer vage info about speed and heading of an unknown contact, which are meant to represent incoming inteligence received by radio (although the game doesn't realy generate any radio message for it).

[John Pancoast]

Regarding radio messages arriving during high tc, just change the tc parameters, so that upon receipt of a message, time drops back down to 1x.

What I did, works great.

No, you're talking about something completely different. I have changed it (using SH3 Commander version 2.4) so that incoming radio messages drop down the TC back to 1x, but that's a different issue... I'm talking about the little ship icons that "magicaly" pop up on the nav-map from time to time, which offer vage info about speed and heading of an unknown contact, which are meant to represent incoming inteligence received by radio (although the game doesn't realy generate any radio message for it).

Ah, ok, sorry about that.

[Shikkapow]

No, you're talking about something completely different. I have changed it (using SH3 Commander version 2.4) so that incoming radio messages drop down the TC back to 1x, but that's a different issue... I'm talking about the little ship icons that "magicaly" pop up on the nav-map from time to time, which offer vage info about speed and heading of an unknown contact, which are meant to represent incoming inteligence received by radio (although the game doesn't realy generate any radio message for it).

Well thats what I was talking about with the "jump to next action" (JTNA)feature. if one of those pops up, it drops you to 1x. period. end of story.
If you have no "chance encounters" you jump to the end of your plotted route.
I can't remember what subsim game it was (aces of the deep maybe?) but you plotted your route, and clicked the JTNA button and you warped to the next action, whether it was a plane, ship radio message or the end of your route.
Some here have said that ubisoft is building the game for the uber-sim crowd. I hate to tell you , but Ubi is building it for the masses. If they can tweak their sales by 15% by adding an "arcade" feature.. you can bet the house that they will do it. They have a good following with the sims crowd (obvious by the amount of mods that were created and distributed) but if they can increase it by adding features thet can be used or not used depending on the players paitence or skill, you can again bet the house that they will do it.
Look at it this way: If ubi created a perfect simulator built specifically for the uber-sim crowd, there would be No TC, No auto gyro input, no God's view, no torp screen , no floating camera, no options concerning limited fuel, air batteries etc.

want to guess how many copies would be sold if they did that? about 22 would be a fair guess.

If you want to tun all those features off. great for you, but if I don't have the option to turn things off and on as I see fit, I won't buy the game and spend my cash on something else. My money My choice. If ubi is listening, then maybe they can figure out a way to incorporate it. Not just for my $50 but for all the other masses that don't like staring at a blank screen for 2 hours to do absolutely nothing.

[frontman]

Thank god we don't have the instant action guys helping develope flight sims. I think what you guys are looking for is a game called enigma rising tide. That should
get you close enough to the battle.

[Onkel Neal]

Does anyone know if SH4 will have a jump to next action sequence button? I stopped playing SH3 because when I had 40 minutes to play and limited time to screw around on the computer I would try to play a mission and barely get out of the harbor (Lorient:down::down::down:) I can't imagine the 45 minute ordeals going from Pearl to Japan for hunting.

Please OH please kill the dead time in SH4 and I hope they put one in or I won't even bother picking up a copy
(as I type this my little circle of death is trying to find its way out of Lorient harbor....)
I re-installed SH3 today just to get my fix and already I remember why I deleted it off my computer. its taken FOREVER to get out of Lorient, and I still have a gazillion miles left to my patrol box.

I realize many like to immerse themselves in the game and all but I don't have the time to "simulate" the hours and hours of tedium while at sea...

Sorry man, that's what people said they wanted back when SH2 and 3 were in development. If anyone mentioned "warping" all hell broke loose in here. I would prefer both options, time compression and instant patrol area warping, but that's me.

[Shikkapow]

Thank god we don't have the instant action guys helping develope flight sims. I think what you guys are looking for is a game called enigma rising tide. That should
get you close enough to the battle.

Yeah you're right, I guess ther is that .1% that likes to pilot a 757 from New York to LA by taking off before heading out to work, setting the auto pilot and landing it when they get home that night.

You like staring at a screen for hours in the hopes of doing something, I have limited time to play, and don't want to waste it simulating boredom.

[Onkel Neal]

What about the option of just skipping the entre patrol travel time and warping to the patrol zone?
I just don't see the point of running the game for 2 hours and not really [i]doing[i/i] anything. its a game not a training simulator.

Good point. The reason many wanted realistic travel to the patrol zones is because, even with time compression, as you moved along to your patrol zone, you never knew when the sim would drop to real time with a cry of "Smoke on the horizon!". To keep these players happy, SH4 has to have the option to let the player sail from PH to Japan. He can use TC and he may have random encounters. It would be very beneficial to the other players, people who do not prefer this option, to have another option, as Shikkapow and ris669 suggest, an Instant Patrol Zone spawn and Instant Combat Generator. Guys like me and Tak do not have to use them.

More options is better, if the dev team can do it.

[MothBalls]

If I get sent across the ocean, I usually navigate out of the harbor and past the local traffic and do a save. Exit game.

Change my compressions setting to “enemy spotted” and “aircraft spotted” to Zero [0], pause the game.

Load saved game, resume patrol. Takes all of 5 minutes to do this.

Set TC to 512 [for me that runs really smooth] and alt-tab out, and go read subsim forums and buy many things at subsim.com, kill time, etc.. When I switch back to the game, it’s usually found something for me to do, and then I switch back.

I also load up the grammaphone with MP3’s before every patrol. So if I end up stalking for a while, I play some music and pass the time [being careful to not let the enemy hear it].

Right now I’m heading down to S. Africa, reading the forum and typing this.

[Capt. D]

Was just watching a program on TV and it gave me a thought that led to a chuckle and this.....

The year - the 24th Century
The place - USS Enterprise
It's mission - to seek out new life - to go where no man has gone before
The scene - Halo deck 3

"Computer Load Sub Simulation 'Silent Hunter 24 - Pacific Theater of Operations'
Patrol 5 from base Pearl Harbor."

The gate onto the halodeck opens and onto the bridge of the USS Mako - a Balao class - you walk as the gate closes and then vanishes behind you.

The OOD turns to you, "Ship ready for patrol, all hands aboard and accounted for sir"
"Thank you", you say then turn and pressing the bridge intercom order "start four main engines!"

Now that would be a sim to wait for!!! I bet there would be no need to worry about TC, what class boats, AI Jap subs, etc. etc. You would be there!!!!

If only..............

Happy Hunting!!! :ping:

[NEON DEON]

What about the option of just skipping the entre patrol travel time and warping to the patrol zone?
I just don't see the point of running the game for 2 hours and not really [i]doing[i/i] anything. its a game not a training simulator.

Good point. The reason many wanted realistic travel to the patrol zones is because, even with time compression, as you moved along to your patrol zone, you never knew when the sim would drop to real time with a cry of "Smoke on the horizon!". To keep these players happy, SH4 has to have the option to let the player sail from PH to Japan. He can use TC and he may have random encounters. It would be very beneficial to the other players, people who do not prefer this option, to have another option, as Shikkapow and ris669 suggest, an Instant Patrol Zone spawn and Instant Combat Generator. Guys like me and Tak do not have to use them.


More options is better, if the dev team can do it.



If they seperated strategic(global 2d) from local(tactical 3d), they could have you across the Pacific into your patrol zone in 10 seconds. If global generates ship lane routes syncing it with appropiate historical battle times you would not have to have 3d render across the entire globe making alot more strategic options available. Like modeling the entire japanese navy and merchant marine. Ship routes, asw AI, and friendlies could all be handled by formulas leaving the 3d wow factor for the tactical sub sim encounter. You could 3d model the entire globe but just load the appropriate grid and and assest available within it into the 3d model. I think that way they could also get rid of the 7 kliometer fog.

IMHO that would reduce the boring factor while increasing the strategic factor at the same time.

[John Pancoast]

Thank god we don't have the instant action guys helping develope flight sims. I think what you guys are looking for is a game called enigma rising tide. That should
get you close enough to the battle.

Yeah you're right, I guess ther is that .1% that likes to pilot a 757 from New York to LA by taking off before heading out to work, setting the auto pilot and landing it when they get home that night.

You like staring at a screen for hours in the hopes of doing something, I have limited time to play, and don't want to waste it simulating boredom.

You wouldn't be simulating boredom at all; it'd be the real deal :D

Options are a good thing; I'm with Neal, both TC and warping would be great.

That's the beauty of options; they're optional.

[Hylander_1314]

If we have the option to traverse the entire route in open seas, I would like to see some warning messages from HQ as to enemy activity while on-route, especially air activity. This will help you to plot your chart, and when, and how to plan on entering "hotspots", like adjusting your speed so you arrive in the general vacinity after dark, instead of just getting suprised all the time. Warnings like, intellegence reports, "Enemy Destroyers have been active in and around "lat. (fill in the blank) so many minutes, by long. (fill in the blank) so many minutes. Adjust your course, and try to avoid this area unless absolutly necessary to traverse the area, while traveling to your area of operations.

Not to say the above is an accurate account, but it would be nice to know the areas where the enemy is active, so you can try to keep your watch crews fresh.

[The General]

Poor argument. The sub and all its systems, enemy units and AI can all be simulated in exhaustive detail, but it's an arcade game because I have a life and can't spend my limited entertainment time watching . . . nothing? Quit projecting your low threshold of boredom onto others. I can go down to the dock and sit all day watching the empty ocean and it's more of a "sub simulator" than sitting in a chair watching empty ocean on the screen. But the option is always there for people who feel they need to waste hours of real time doing nothing. The rest of us would also like the option to play as we see fit. It's not like it costs the real-timers anything, either, except apparently an affront to their delicate sensibilities. It certainly doesn't "take anything away". It adds a capability that the majority of players want.If you're as smart as I think you are, you will accept that time compression, in a sim like this, is the only viable option. What needs to be addressed is finding something to do during long sailing periods, albeit very compressed sailing periods of up to 20 mins, with not much happening. I personally like to read, or have my favourite radio show, running in the background on my computer, during these periods. If my XO alerts me to a contact then I get back into the game (make my way to the conn). This mimics the captain being in his quarters during the quieter perods at sea. I know I'm not alone in this rather bizarre behaviour.

[SteamWake]

Well the game is called Silent HUNTER...

What part of hunter is overlooked here ?

Whats next power up bubbles to make you go faster and fly ?

Hell we already have magical GPS maps.

edit; Puncuation.