SH MMO
 

This may not belong in the SH4 forum, but I'm not sure where it does belong so the mods can move it if need be. I guess it could if it were ever added by the dev's as an add-on.

This may have been brought up here before, but what do you guys think about SH5 (or some future version/add on) actually having an MMO (massively multiplayer online) mode? The game would have the normal single player and multiplayer modes, but also an MMO mode. It would function similarly to games like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars.

You log in, and would see a list of "rooms" on the server, and how many people are in each room. They would need to limit the amount of subs per room of course. You then select a room and enter an instance of the world. The world would contain real people hunting AI ships, as well as each other.

Like games like Call of Duty, you could also host a server which really isn't too expensive, and do what you like there. You could do team warfare, or standard deathmatch. Co-op would be an option as well.

I'm sure there are details that would need to be worked out, one of which would need to be limiting the amount of people allowed in a room to how many ports there are in the world. Naturally you can't have people in a standard deathmatch spawning at the same port too close to each other.

Anyway, it's something that always intrigued me ever since I purchased SH3 being my first sub sim. I really believe this could be something special. I hope the guys at Ubi see this. :up:

I think the big question remains time compression. I don't think something like that would be possible until we have a way of dealing with time compression on this scale.

Very true. That is a major problem. An idea I had was not have any time compression, and have each room be limited to a specific area. So in the room list on the server you would see how many people are in each room, and next to that it would say, Atlantic, Pacific, Mediteranean, etc.

True, but even in those areas time compression is still a big deal. Even a convoy attack by several subs can in fact get to be a bit of a drag for some at 1TC, though certainly manageable. On a strategic level though... it gets kind of tough. One solution someone suggested is taking the lowest-set TC for a player (that is, have high TC until one of the players in-game needs low TC) and run with that, leaving other players as observers, but that still isn't neccesarily too exciting and could lead to some frustrating delays.

There COULD be a wolfpack mode though - where players more or less move in a group across the strategic map and initiate combat from a pre-arranged position as soon as they make contact. Again, though, I could see limits to that.

Personally I think a good thing for SHIV would be a good bunch of servers that kept player stats and maybe even an Adversarial League which would be a great measure of player skills in a wider arena.

For a strategic game with other players, my fix is Wolves at War play (a meta-campaign, where players don't directly play with each other but their orders and communications come from a multi-player community) :|\\

Look at the multiplayer game as a "campaign". It is set on a world map. That everyone views. Sort of like an intellegence map. it is broken into the sectors, e.g. BE3922.
layers.

Now, the players have a set amount of time to plot strategy. Most of the time it will be a movement. A player is given a "boat", a base, flotilla, etc. In base, you get a set amount of fuel as "expenditure points". You use this to get to your assigned sector. Before you leave port you view an overhead map and you plot your course to your sector ( or wherever you wish to go) and this plot uses your fuel EPs.

Once the time period is done. (say 2 min a day) the game calculates the movement of convoys, individual ships, player ships, aircraft, etc. If any "conflicts" are calculated, that player is dropped to 1X combat to deal with the situation. If there are other players within a set distance, they can join in at that distance, (say 50 kms).

The rest of the game continues on with the "campaign" stratagy screen. Once the player finishes his combat, he joins back to the campaign screen(CS).

If a player is in combat it shows up as report on the CS. Players could plot a course to intercept and join the multiplayer "hotspot", simulating wolfpacks.

If a player wants to crusie around in a sector he can set his sub to "patrol" and drop into the game. Other players would see an icon that the sub is on patrol and could join if they wanted and are given permision to join that player. The beauty of this is its by invitation, and you can set up for a wolf pack ambush if a convoy shows up.

There is no actual date in the game. It is just a map, with possible convoy/shipping routes. Players just use the campaign screen to move, see the status of sectors(who is patrolling in it).

There could even be a "BDU" moderator that issues orders.

With a server setup, and custom software, you could probably even use SH3 or SH4 to allow the campaign screen to drop players into the game (or multiplayer) if applicable. The CS software dropping the applicable game status info right into the "client" setup.

Basicly, the Campain software would be an interactive multiplayer lobby that uses a server-side databse of convoy routes to update a screen.

Anyway, Im not a software engineer, and I probably didn't explain what I envision very well, but I think it is do-able.

Time compression can be bypassed in an MMO such as that.

Grouping would be the biggest benefit. The group leader could run the group right across the map at high time compression just like in the old Red Storm Rising Microprose game. Once visuals are established, you would switch to the tactical situation. A single player would, of course, be his own group leader for solo play.

I would actually prefer that even in single player. Old style. :D

I think the biggest problem is that they would need to make being a player escort enticing as "the other side". Sure, there are many who would like to do that, but I think they'd be heavily outnumbered by the bubbleheads. Perhaps letting them command a whole escort group & able to switch between different vessels in that group? Along with issuing general commands to the rest.

Side Note: Not a bad idea. I think MMOs need to expand from what they currently are. I've also been thinking that a modern combat type of MMO would work as long as ranged warfare has a severe advantage over melee. Greasy food for thought, I guess.