Is this it?
 

This is not a rant.

This is the first new WW2 U.S. sub sim to be released in a decade. Unfortunately it was developed by people who use the metric system (not a negative remark) and funded by a company that has so many other ways to make money that its survival does not depend on making sure quality is there before putting products on the market. SH4 would have faired better if it were developed by some little upstart company that had to do it right the first time.

Anyway, I'm hoping there will be another patch that brings this sim to the standard we all expect (i.e., "finished"). I bought the game the day it was released and still have not played it. I patched 1.3 last night but today have started reading about the issues that still remain (mag torpedoes always on, transparent crew on deck, non-functioning periscope animation, to name a few). Incredible!

I realize it will never be 100% perfect but I have to tell you, the stuff that was wrong with this sim when it was first released (and even after the first patch) had me wondering how people who are smart enough to study historical submarine technology and translate that into a computer sim could let their code be packaged and put on market, knowing it was incomplete (and they had to know...some of this stuff is so glaringly wrong it would blind you).

I'm a software developer. I know the complexity of this field. I just find it baffling and at the same time inexcusable to see what has become of the software market in general. Half-baked software is now the norm!

Should we as consumers be happy and grateful that a company has grudgingly decided to patch something they put on the market, knowing it was incomplete? Is that what we have become? Happy like dogs to get the scraps somebody decides to throw our way?

The solution here is to stop buying software from a company once it's known they will release incomplete products to the public. Make them accountable or this will only get worse. Of course I realize the vast majority of the buying public knows nothing of this issue and is out there blindly buying garbage and being wowed by all the pretty bells and whistles, so I'm not expecting anything but it still remains that our purchase is our vote and as long as people keep buying crap, the companies out there will gladly supply more.

"Consumers are to economics as voters are to politics."

Everytime you buy something, you are saying "Yes" to whatever it is...whether it be an incomplete piece of software or an overpriced house or condo. You are saying you accept, condone, and agree with the quality of what you're buying and the price you are paying for it.

Anyway, maybe they will allow one of their people to work on another patch or (cross your fingers) create a special relationship with a handfull of simmer/programmers so they can work on the source code and fix the problems just because they want it done right. Falcon 4.0 eventually got into the right hands as did EAW. Maybe UBISoft will see the light at some point and realize there are alternatives to their current marketing strategy.

If you say so.

Valid points, nevermind the fanboys.

This is a discussion board. Or it used to be, none of this fanboyism over in the SH3-section.

The mods are running wild to stomp on anyone who complains about something (because of the "excellent realtionship with the devs") and anyone not totally in love with SH4 gets branded "whiners" or just get the good old :roll:.

I like SH4, by the way.

It's close to the knuckle. :hmm:

Creative Labs X-Fi Elite Pro

have you used this with Vista yet?

I have an audiology 2 ZS and since installing Vista it only will give me 2.1. With headphones I only get sound out of the left ear.

I've used about sixteen different drivers from Creative, both for XP and the new, wonderful vista drivers that took Creative about ten months to make.

Still no *^%*@#^ surround sound. No EAX. The only options are 'mono' and 'stereo.'

So, I was wondering, does YOUR creative sound card work with 5.1 or 6.1 or even 4.1?

Oh, my periscopes work, and I've heard the new surround sound stuff is pretty cool. Too bad that I don't know because my STUPID sound card wont' work with this OS.

That's not a rant. I just hate creative, dell, and microsoft at the moment. My SH4 seems to run pretty well, and all the junk works.

If UBI decides to build anyother cool WW2 sim, I'll buy it.

Totally agreed.

Bought it on launch, I've played it maybe three hours total since I've never been able to get a good session going. I've spent more time reading subsim and all the tutorials and figuring out the game than I have actually playing it. I've always managed to turn it off in disgust since something show-stopping just appears all of a sudden and kills my game - that, or I'll get frustrated with the erratic mouse and framerate.

I *love* Silent Hunter. So do a lot of people. That's why we get a lot of complainers here, since, well, the game is broken beyond belief. There's no way of saying anything else. If anything, it should be seen as a positive thing that so many people are passionate and rant about this game.

Sure, the devs are doing some stuff to fix the bugs, but let's be honest here - the game is broken, and probably will remain broken for a loong time..

It's such a good game as well, hidden beneath the layers of corporate horse**** and ridiculous attempts at damage control.

Thanks...I did try to qualify what I said, including mention of "reality" versus "ideals". For the most part, I just wanted to state what's going on with sim development in general. Too bad SH4 was not one of those releases that for some obscure reason made it to market intact.

I know bugs exist. Hell, I can remember calling FTP Games back in 1987 to report a bug in "Dungeon Master" on my Amiga computer. They jumped right on it and thanked me for calling. But things were different back then. Bugs were embarassing and companies felt a real obligation to address them. Today they are treated as if they are supposed to be there.

I think I would like SH4 too. I waited so long for a new U.S. WW2 sub sim to be released, I don't want to touch it unless it's pretty much a finished product. I mean, that's what I paid for didn't I?

Developer here as well, given I only do web applications... the number of bugs in all released games in the gaming industry all around baffles me.

Or am I the only one on this planet to have a QCM?

I set up my PC to dual boot with XP and Vista. The Elite Pro works fine in both but I only have 2.1 speakers. I suspect large speaker sets would also work. I think your major problem is having a Dell computer. Everyone I know who bought a Dell has regretted it.

I think one of the reasons that people slip into fanboyism (admittedly, I'm a big offender) with sub sims is that we have no choice. It's either this or nothing. I'm all for changing the status quo of half finished software being released, but I think you're picking the wrong battlefield here. Like it or not, Ubi owns the SH franchise. And if you're a WW2 submarine simmer, they're the only game in town. People think that if they bitch and complain and boycott the SH franchise, they're going to get a better game. Wrong. They'll get no games. SH is already a niche type product and you can't tell me the profit margins aren't razor thin on this title.

I think that the developers have done a great job getting the most egregious bugs worked out. For example, I can live with a half transparent watch crew. That doesn't affect how the game plays.

If you're starving and the only thing thrown your way is scraps then you're darn happy to get them.

Fairly good points stabiz for sure :yep:, except much of the same has been said before, its gets old after awhile.


RDP

lol

Indeed.

lol

Your points are well taken. As far as the "dog" comment is concerned, that's how the situation makes me feel and even if it is all I can get, it still seems wrong that it has to be this way.

One thing I find encouraging though it the fact that many of us software consumers are also capable of fixing the product we are purchasing, if the companies would only start working with us to create a win/win situation. It's entirely feasible and would completely resolve the bug problem. It's like there's a huge resource right in front of them (free for the most part) and they don't see it.

Ubisoft now see SH 4 as being finished. So the answer to "Is this it?" is Yes. It's about modding 1.3 going forward.

This is so very very true, thankyou Stabiz for having the balls to say it. When I first joined these forums they were a great place to be, but lately all this bumscrumtiousness has really lowered the bar.

And I like SHIV too.....finally!