Why not a 20,000 leagues under the sea SH5 fantasy version?

Then the skys (maybe seabottom?) pretty much the limit as to where we can go...

Possibly little Mario Brothers to form away parties to complete missions...

No matter what era or what theater SH5 covers, you can bet your life it will be released as an unfinished beta program full of errors. I'm so sick of this that I barely touch SH4 and lost interest in SH3 long ago. It's like buying that new car you always wanted and then immediately putting it in the shop for an overhaul where it ends up never being quite what you bought it for.

Personally, I wish another developer would do a WW2 sub simulation. UbiSoft does not own the rights to the basic fleet or u-boat interface that is modeled in most sub sims.

Frankly, I wish that too :)

Scrapser
 

Unfortunately Ubi knows that the Subsim lot are a thick-skinned, stubborn and overly-forgiving bunch who just keep coming back for more. Case in point, a thread for the next edition of an "unfinished" game for no apparent reason!!!!;)

I hope you aren't one of the SH developers that worked on the SH series. If so, no offense. I have nothing against the people who do the coding. I know if they had control, the programs would not be released prematurely and any subsequent errors found would be patched. This is how is should be.

It's a strange world where software is only partially developed by companies and eagerly purchased by the buying public; knowing they are getting the short end of the stick every time and yet begging for more.

This is now, "normal".

I would say it's normal...
 

....for certain publishers but not all. For example, I think it's fair to say that EA has a pretty good reputation for delivering fairly solid final products. The Call of Duty franchise (ID publisher?) has been almost rock solid but if you look at the credits on these games they had a HUGE number of quality control types employed to check the games out prior to release (which was obviously missing with SHIV).

Having said that the one gem in Ubi's favour is the IL 2 franchise but I'm willing to bet that had a lot to do with Oleg and crew's dedication to their product (i.e. numerous free patches and their expansion 'packs').

The other side of this coin of course is the impatient gaming public who simply can't wait for the next iteration of a game and bombard publishers' forums/mailboxes with incessant "when's it coming out?"-type queries, inuendo and unsubstantiated rumours. Combine this with the necessity on the publisher's part of keeping ahead of the competition for the almighty $$ and you get a rush to release the latest and greatest product regardless of how "finished" it is.

I'm hoping that Oleg and 1C with Storm of War raises the bar yet again and shows that some things are simply worth the wait (as with IL 2). Maybe certain publishers will take note and realize that releasing a high-quality product will bring in just as much if not more money due to the fact that more people will buy it as opposed to a flawed product.
:lost:

Oleg is out of class...
http://files.games.1c.ru/il2pict/ScreenShot001.jpg

Just wish that Ubi Romania had 10% of his open-minded approach within development of projects an add-ons...

So imersive feeling of "being part of historical combat" with original Il2 , many years ago... it is just a "homework" for the rest of sim-constructors.

:|\\

It's out of topic and forum... sorry moderators...

There was a time when software companies began a project and then found out later on they had aimed a little too high and ran out of money before the project was finished. They were forced to put what they had on market to get some money to continue. If they were lucky, they could afford to fund the necessary finishing polish. This was understandable and acceptable as an exception to the rule.

But today, companies deliberately plan this approach right from the start. Maybe not all as other posters have pointed out but enough to be noticable as a trend. All things change in time and hopefully this approach too will ultimately fail as a way to produce software.

One thing I don't get about the SH series. Why don't the developers use the same development data they gathered in the previous program? When SH4 was developed, there were problems that SH3 never had...why was it so difficult to produce the same features in SH4? Features that are common to any submarine?

SH5 is supposed to be all new code. Why? Why not capitalize on previous work, not reinvent the wheel, and use the time and money to do the job right for a change? This is just plain common sense.

Common sense does not directly transfer into software development. I'm sure they will incorporate a lot of code from the previous versions, but in order to add really new features and streamline the code you must draw the line some day. A lot of the code will be inefficient or messed up, people will have left to other companies, and for the new guys it's often easier to start over. If you download the sourcecode for some opensourced games (e.g. Battle of Britain 2) and have a look inside you will understand. Games are really complex beasts.

Yes, I agree and did not mean to imply cutting and pasting existing code...rather, I was talking about the basic architecture from the design standpoint. They know the submarine's dive depth, top speed, physical specs, etc. They know the formulas for controlling torpedo behavior once fired. Things like that are the constants here and yet these are things that work better or worse from one iteration to the next.

I also understand how common sense does not factor into the IT world...I'm a developer myself. But what I see in my company is people always taking the quick and dirty approach to fixing something rather than the long view which pays dividends over time. Perhaps that's the problem with sims. Companies figure each new title is a one shot deal and don't think about making something that evolves with each new generation.

Maybe they never stop and think of it that way.

For sure it seems software development needs to repeat the same mistakes over and over. But it's usually not the devs that are to blame, though they contribute to it to some extent. Main reason is rush from the employers, who always want to see that next build "yesterday".

But who says the mysterious game is really about submarines? I think it's very likely that it will be some sort of surface ship sim, i.e. Destroyer Command.

And who says it's the aim to create the perfect product, with a really future proof engine? I guess the aim with releasing a new game is to sell it x number of times, and minimize the time t people are getting paid for doing it. If you get a much better game in 2t what would be the benefit for the company developing it, assuming it will not result in 2x sales? That's the sad truth about games development, if you are fed up with that you must head to the opensource world, or the few idealistic indy companies that we have. There actually exist games outside the mainstream that are more following the principles you righteously praise here.

I hear that a lot no matter what company or title is being discussed....:yep:

I wonder what I would hear if SH 5, provided there is one, hit the shelves fully finished,bug free, pirate proof with a price tag of $500.00...:hmm:
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But I've been thinking...looking at all these carriers through the 'scope in SHIV has made me dredge up memories of all those old Carrier Games that were loads of fun.

I wouldn't mind leaving the silent service for a tour in command of a WWII flat top task force.

Outside of the specific Ubi house (Romania or Ukraine? I cant remember) that develops it would the wider Ubi company have any more details? There's an Ubi booth at the convention I'm going to on the weekend and I was thinking of trying to get some SH 5 info out of them.

Boy did this thing turn negative.....

For the record - if you read Sailor Steve's recap, its obvious that SH5 will be WW2 - with at least part of its focus on the Atlantic.

Now - for those calling for SH5 to be a cold war sim - not only is it to late - but kindly don't go changing what made the SH games so great. There is more to the Silent Hunter FRANCHISE than just SH3 and SH4. The fact is - from day one the Silent Hunter name is about WW2. Its ok to want a more modern subsim - and its cool to want it done by UBI, but when you start messing with a franchise name that many here have come to love - your asking for negative responses as you have received. Pitch your ideas - but don't do so at the cost of something that others have come to cherish. Offer a name with the idea - but a thread about SH5 isnt the place for it. This isn't said to stifle conversation - but its done to make the point of WHY the negative responses have occured. Its a great discussion to have - just take into account we already have some information and thus it makes the discussion HERE - in an SH5 thread - moot and irritating.