SHIV viewing stats
 

Found this interesting when looking at the number of viewers on the below forums on Subsim

SH4: 125 viewers
SH4 MODS: 72 viewers

SH3: 228 viewers
SH3 MODS: 212 viewers

GENERAL TOPIC: 152 viewers


I don't think I have ever seen SH4 displace SH3 as far as viewers go, but was very surprised to see even General Topics outdo SH4. I really thought SH4 would have pulled in more viewers by now given the patches, the modders enhancements and the favourable press it has been getting lately.

viewers
 

Very interesting. I've seen SH4 with more viewers lots of times. I guess some really good things are happening over there right now. I've been spending more time with SH4 lately.

That doesn't mean that SH3 is a dinosaur. It's equal to SH4 in my opinion, except for its problems losing career saves if several criteria aren't carefully met when you save the game (not too close to land, no ships in detection range, not engaged in combat...... unfortunately the list goes on and I probably don't know some of it). That really killled the joy for me. But the game is fabulous quality and the U-Boat war is much more engaging for me, an American who has always been fascinated by Admiral Donitz and his Shakespearean tragedy. Their strengths were their weaknesses. What propelled them to greatness condemned them to defeat. Their incomparable gallantry wasn't enough to save them. What a compelling situation! That game will be played for many years.

By the way, right now:

SH4: 138 viewers
SH4 Mods: 70 viewers

SH3: 234 viewers
SH3 Mods: 237 viewers

General Topics: 131 viewers

I hope the crybabies haven't succeeded in scaring people away from SH4, the best submarine simulator on planet Earth. If they have it will be many, many years before we see another sub sim published. And if they succeed I hope they're happy with the fruits of their foolishness.

In the end it is nice to have 2 great theatres to sim in :yep:

For me SH4 has been played since the beginning, SH3 is not going anywhere though.


RDP

Really, look at how many posts for SH3 and SH4 have been made. Sh4 seems to be about 1/2 as many as SH3 (both mod/general forums for each). 1/2 as many is not bad considering the amount of time SH4 has been out. These figures would indicate a good interest in SH4. Then again, perhaps 1/2 of those posts are due to the bugs upon public sales generating more than the usual numbers of post if the game was flawless out of the box.

Its cyclic.

You cannot form a set of average values based upon a snap shot.

I have personally noticed that the amount of 'noise' on SH4 forums is far less than what it was when SH3 was released.

The forum rolls over much slower than the previous release.

All that means to me is that there is less people posting. It seems there is a few people perhaps a dozen or so that post on a regular basis further skewing the statistics.

On the other hand I have noticed an influx of 'new users' which is always a good thing.

Often these 'new users' post and the community jumps at them with 'use the search' or 'Oh thats old news' really making them feel welcome. Think about that before 'you' press the submit button next time.

Another thing to take into consideration when looking at the stats is that SH4 needs a higher spec machine to run it compared to SH3. I'm in the situation where SH3 runs fine on my current PC but SH4 would struggle so I haven't purchased SH4 yet. I'm sure others are in a similar situation.

I know that these issues can be a pain for some but for me they don't really have an impact on the enjoyment SH3 provides. Perhaps thats because I have never been affected by problem saves.

Nemo

Ditto, Im not sure why but I have never had a corrupted save and I save in all sorts of situations, submerged, in the middle of a convoy, surfaced in the middle of the pacific. etc.

I do keep a set of 4 seperate saves always overwriting the oldest just in case.

But were wandering off topic.... sorry :hmm:

Just wondering what 230 people would talk about, 2 and a half years after a game's launch date :hmm:

SH3 is constantly evolving into a better sim with the likes of GWX and other mods. The GWX Mod Team as well as other mod developers have continually worked their socks off to make SH3 a better sim. This, in my opinion, is what has maintained a very high interest in SH3 and the forum.

Nemo

Some of the difference between the SH3 and SH4 figures can be explained quite easily. Simply log out and see what forums you can view. SH3 Mods Workshop: YES, SH4 Mods Workshop: NO.

So instantly there goes the stowaways from your SH4 Mods Workshop figure. ;)

Anyway, I don't think that simply taking snapshots of the number of viewers at any given time is any indication of "interest". There are too many other variables that influence the outcome of doing this - the time of day (prolly not too many SH4 forum viewers at 3am central US time but more Europeans on SH3 as it's 12pm their time and vice versa etc), the question as to whether viewers = activity, the adoption of a suitable "benchmark" level of interest etc etc.

Don't forget the SH3 archives. ;) The current post/thread figures only reflect from late-July 2005 - there's still many months' worth of SH3 posting/activity before that. ;)

@maerean_m: there are still some new roads being forged with SH3. It ain't dead yet. ;)

I blame it on the bad launch, personnaly. When SH4 was first launched, it had more viewers then Sh3 did. After awhile, i think the crowd got judgemental, and just went back to Sh3. If you cruise over the Sh3 forums once in a blue moon, occasionally you'll find a thread where all they do is make fun of SH4. The impression i get while viewing those threads, is that the general concensus is pretty much stuck in their ways, and they believe SH4 is crap. I suspect one day, they'll wake up and realize it isn't, but i dont expect that day to occur anytime soon.

Mostly chicks and their last nights conquests. Honestly though, I purchased SH3 when it first came out. After about 3 months of playing, I got bored with it. A year ago I decided to mess with it and by that time supermods were the buzz words. Once the mods were installed, I was hooked for a very long time and still hooked. SH3 is just a great game and a fantastic game once the modders got a hold of the files. So, there was much to talk about even today.

Well , have a guess . You helped design it !!!!!! .

Thats one way to put it.

In some ways SH3 is still a superior game but that is only because they have had two years to mod the heck out of it and continue to do so.

That being said SH4 is still a very good game becoming better every day. I presume someday it will actually trump SH3 when it is all said and done.

Lets hope it does, that's the idea right, to make these sims the best experience they can be. Be it SH1, 2, 3 now 4 and beyond....


RDP