Silent Hunter 4, it's almost here
 

The excitement of a new subsim!

I don't know about you fellows but I treasure the anticipation, the buzz, and the buildup when a new sub game is about to be released. The months and days leading up to the first install and patrol are great, I really cherish the experience. Of course, if there were 4~5 companies releasing a new subsim each year, it would be fairly routine, plus you could pick and choose the very best one. As it is, Ubisoft is just about the only show in town, and Silent Hunter has really turned into a franchise we can enjoy and be proud of. From the first news and screenshots through all the rumors and humor, the discovery and the discussion, it's like Christmas, a first date, and a scavenger hunt all rolled into one.

I remember when Sierra set up a forum (primitive compared to this one) for the release of Dynamix's Aces of the Deep. Talk about exciting, all everyone talked about was realistic wave effects and we were hoping for 256 colors. I spoke with the game rep, and he hinted Sierra would be releasing a nuke subsim soon, too, it would be called Fast Attack. It was a nice game but had severe crashing problems that basically sank it (until we got it patched, but that's another story). The first Silent Hunter snuck up on me, I didn't get any news about it until it was almost released. I remember thinking, "Wow, the interface is almost exactly like the one in Aces, I wonder if they copied it or had some of the Mike Jones team working on it....?"

I was more involved with Silent Hunter II. Just about everything that could go wrong did with that title. First, the initial dev team was released. Suddenly, one dev team had two games to complete. Then the company was sold, causing all kinds of disruptions. The numerous, even humorous release date pushbacks (oh! The jokes we had at their expense http://forums.ubi.com/groupee_common...icon_smile.gif )Troy Heere, the lead programmer for the companion sim Destroyer Command, worked literally 18 hours a day for months, doing the heavy lifting to recode SH2 and save the game (tip of the hat to you out there, Troy and Dave) . In the end, the game had flawed AI and no dynamic campaign, and the multiplayer was so wonky it really couldn't be called multiplayer (until we got it patched, but that's another story). Still, it had a decent 3D engine and there was some reward in playing it. The sales were so good, that Ubisoft decided to fund Silent Hunter 3.

Ah yes, Silent Hunter 3... all hail, Romania! What a great subsim. When I first saw it at E3 2004, I was mightily impressed. But no dynamic campaign in that first version. Well, Ubisoft decided to listen to you and the results speak for themselves. I've been fortunate to meet many of the SH3 and SH4 dev team, and a true submarine enthusiast couldn't ask for a better group of guys to work on their subsim. And essentially, that's what it amounts to. We have hired a dev team to build us a subsim. Sub games, especially full-blown simulations, are a small segment of the shrinking PC games market, there isn't much comparison shopping to be done in sub games. No matter how hard a dev team works or how talented they are, no game is perfect, but that's the great thing about the Silent Hunter community; no one tries to form a lynching party. We praise the good stuff and criticize the weak stuff, but we support the Ubisoft and the dev team. Not many games benefit from such a symbiotic working relationship as ours.

So here we are on the eve of another new subsim. New program, new maps, new contacts to make, new radio messages to read, new harbors to sneak into... wait till you order a dive and you hear the aaooghah! You'll know you're in the Pacific then, treading on the old hunting grounds of men like Dealey, Morton, Fluckey, Kossler, Ramage, and many more. Sailing right up to the front door of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Savor the excitement, friends. Here's to Silent Hunter 4. I look forward to sailing with you again in the cyberseas.

Good hunting!
Neal Stevens
Subsim

SUBSIM
Web's #1 Sub & Naval Game Resource since 1997
www.subsim.com

Thanks Neal, nice write-up. I am looking forward to the Pacific Theatre, pretty pumped for next week when I pick up SH4:yep:

To all fellow skippers' Good Hunting:up:

RDP

Many a true word stated there. We are fortunate indeed to have a Dev team that really cares about the game they are developing and who are not just taking the money and running.

Silent Hunter 4 is an exciting addition to the Silent Hunter series, and I for one hope that the sales of this game makes Ubisoft look seriously at further additions to the series.

There will be a bug here and there, and a patch and some excellent mods are inevitable, but I think SH4 is going to impress a lot of people right out of the box.

Less than a week now, Guys.

Good show.

Hi Neal,
Thanks for this and yes you sum up the forum and the excitement re SH4 very well.

However I must admit, while I am excited by the prospect of a new sub sim, and the new theatre of operations i.e. the Pacific. I have one more serious burning question.

I, like so many others will embark on SH4 mostly out of curiosity, and mainly because I am actually hoping and praying that the SH4 Dev team bite the bullet and update or upgrade SH3.

If you think this has been said many times before it’s because it has, there are many of us who are simply not all that engaged with the Pacific naval war. And I would emphasise that I mean absolutely no disrespect to the US navy personnel who served in the Pacific.

I simply feel that the North Atlantic campaign lends itself to a more challenging sim, especially with the vastly improved graphics and game play that SH4 promises to be.

Therefore I would ask for a definitive answer from the SH3 / SH4 dev team, are there plans to revise, revisit or redevelop SH3 the Atlantic theatre, in the light of the huge graphic and game play advances so clearly demonstrated in SH4.

I hope you or some one can answer this question

Well said Neal.

There was a time a few years ago when I despaired and thought we would never see the likes of SH3. I'm so happy I'm wrong :D

Now we have 4 and it looks to be even better!

I'm very excited about the adversarial mode. I think we're going to see alot more online activity with 4 because of this :up:

Well, I think it's time to change my sig....

I think the answer to your question, Rascal 101, will be found in the retail sales of Silent Hunter 4. If this game out sells Silent Hunter 3, then I think a re-visit to the Atlantic campaign is probable.

zzzzzZZzzz -snore -yawn. -- what i need heart trouble? and here i sit tryin not to think about it:stare:

Very nice post Neal. Assuming they did a fine job, I want to say kudos to the Dev Team too! :up:

Cheers

well said neal im pumped up too the excitement is building rapidly i guess i better spend the last few days i have with my woman before i shove off on my first patrol as commanding officer of the new fleet sub so i guess she will miss me but i need to give the rising sun a reality check like most of us here and that are so excited to do so we have the john wayne's the casey habits(ronald reagon from hellcats of the navy) and jp richardson (clark gable from run silent run deep) well all i can say to my fellow commanding officers good luck and good hunting and that goes especially to you neal and im promoting you to 3 star admiral

lt commander lare

WORD UP!

Very well said indeed, Neal! However I don't think I'm old enough to enjoy the months of waiting but that will change over time I guess.;)

I may be in the minority here but I go the other way. I liked SHIII but the U-boat campaign does little for me. Perhaps because by the time the U-boats get all those kewl toys it's too late for them to be used effectivly. And I never really felt any attachment to a mass produced boat named U-xxx - or whatever. US subs have names - they have character. The Pacific offers more in terms of gameplay than go here/sink that. And the targets can often include capital ships - every submariners dream. Finally, we are seeing the franchise return to its roots - after branching out to the Atlantic twice in a row.

Best give them time to get their after-party drunk on, have their vacation and give us a patch or two before they address that point.

I couldn't agree more. I was in dispair when Silent Hunter II was released and i was sure that was the last sub simulator we would see for a very, VERY long time. Well, Ubisoft smacked me good when they released the news of SH3, thank god :D

And now, 2 years after Sh3, we get a new toy to play with for (hopefully) another 2 years.:)