I guess that would be how you view SHIV as whole.

Is a submarine simulation or is it a submarine skipper simulation.

If it is a skipper simulation, then sure run 4 to 5 patrols and then retire.

Actually, they weren't true bell-bottoms, which are tight at the top and flare at the bottom. They were stovepipe pants, and they were wide all the way down. The idea is to be able to roll out of the rack and put your shoes on first, thus eliminating the need to stand up, put your pants on and sit down again for the shoes. They're designed to go on over your shoes.

Never ceases to amaze me the literal acrobatic stunts apologists will go to to obfuscate matters. :o

Lemme put it this way, how much bending over backwards will it take to change the fact that of all the submarine sims I have ever played, SH4 seems to be the only one that has this..."feature". :doh:

Seriously guys, PLEASE LIST THE SUBMARINE SIM GAMES THAT HAVE FORCED RETIREMENT STRUCTURE, beginning with Silent Service 1 I played back in 1988. :roll:

Silent Hunter didn't force you, but it did start suggesting it after 6 or so patrols.

On the other hand, this "feature" was the rule in real life. But I agree, an option would have been nice.

USN Fleet submarines were often on patrol for 90 days, without counting refit, restore and leave time, 6 patrols could take over 500 days. Add back in the "down" time and the 6 patrol career takes over 2 years to complete. Even in peacetime, 2 years is a long time to be in command of 1 vessel. A man with 2 years experience in front line subs is a valuable asset and is better used in a higher ranking job where he can use his experience to better effect.

The problem with the "short" career in the game is that patrols seldom last for 90 days. Compared with the real world there are too many targets, they are too easy to find and too easy to sink. This means the a skipper in the game gets through 6 patrols in a year, or even less.

So we have an imbalance between accuracy and game play, and we know that we will always get these. I hope Ubisoft can deal with this and make the career length an option.

You could try and lengthen your patrols by ignoring about 90% of your contacts (roll dice or draw a card) but the game would probably cane you for not being aggressive enough.

That is about my entire point. The forced retirement should be an option, just like all the other options that effect realism.

Aimbot,
We worked 4 hours on and 8 hours off. So yes you were busy only on watch. But sometimes walking through the control room and seeing only 10 feet of water below the keel and knowing you were only in 60 ft of water was cause to be alarmed....we could just imagine some plane looking down and seeing us.

Aces of the Deep and Silent Hunter I...

Try and do a couple of patrols without sinking anything!

1969
 

1969, my sub spent 30 days submerged in a Cambodian harbor. With 10 feet between the keel and the bottom.
During the day we shot photos of ships coming in with contbrand, to be off loaded and move down the Ho Minh Trail to Vietnam.
At night we would leave the Harbor, to bring up the snorkel to get fresh air and recharge the batteries. Only to go back into the harbor again to get the shots.


To think that a few torpedoes could have prevented so much death in the South.....

I too would target Bridges and Rail Heads in the North alon the China border only to have my target sets rejected time after time as they were to Close to a no-fly area....


One simple lesson IF YOU ARE GOING TO WAR DO ALL YOU CAN AND KILL THE ENEMY..... DON'T PUSSYFOOT AROUND AND PLAY WHITE KNIGHT......

I LOST A ****LOAD OF GOOD FREINDS TO THE CARGO IN THOSE BOATS YOU WERE WATCHING AND PHOTOGRAPHING....:cry:

Um, as much as I'd like to sympathise, that last post was very inappropriate.

You are aware of those little things called 'orders', eh? :hmm:
Man, from your position, you gotta praise those guys and their taking photos as heroic. They're the ones that brought back the photos, got the enemy red-handed, and brought on a bombing campaign. Usually, just sometimes, you need to have a little bit of proof to start a war or change the orders... and that boat brought back the bacon, so to speak.

I do not like the replys which attack people who are upset with the half baked product they purchased in good faith. People should not, in any circumstance, put up with this kind of behaviour from software publishers. They have a right to be upset, and they have a right to email, post and call in there complaints in whatever method is available to them.

I still cannot play this game. I shouldnt have to "wait" on patches in order to enjoy the product out of the box.

pathetic no matter which way you look at it.
My apologies to anyone whos taken sides with a shadowy, underhanded coportate enitiy whos only interest is the bottom line, not customer satisfaction.

Topic below test depth, closing.