Okay, time to throw in my two cents
First of all, graphics: IMHO, I don't think that the graphics in DW or SC are actually
that bad. In any case, I don't think that they are so bad as to ruin gameplay. In fact, I think that the platform models are actually nicely done; at least enough to enable the player to conduct a visual identification
As a matter of fact, I'm running the sim (DW, that is) on a laptop computer which wasn't even state of the art at the time I bought it - 1,7 GHz, 512 MB, and a GeForce 440 Go, which doesn't even support DX 9 effects. As a result, the water in DW doesn't look like you're used to on the screenshots, but more like a wobbling blue mass of tinfoil
But still, I'm not complaining - even though it would be nice if I had the shaded graphics (like probably everyone else). Given that fact, the water graphics in SC look even a bit better than in DW, but this is due to my hardware.
A huge complaint I have against a lot of recent (or not-so-recent-anymore) games is that they demand one beast of a computer to run on properly. FSX was mentioned, and I think this game is a paragon of absurdity. Seriously: By the time it was published (and I think even now), no one can run it with all the sliders set to maximum and still get a decent frame rate. And I personally don't want to buy a new computer every two or three years, even IF I could afford it (which I can't). I very much prefer a game which perhaps doesn't have state of the art graphics, but runs smoothly, over one which doesn't run properly, or not at all.
I'm glad that DW still works on my computer, although I still have some technical issues with the game/sim/whatever. The sound stutters from time to time or the sonar guy tells me something like "new contact bearing 220 designated sierra 3" about twenty times until I turn the sound off
. Also, I find it quite annoying that even with the 1.04 patch, there still seem to be some bugs - why on earth do I get the "The mission cannot be completed. Report for debrief."-message on the very first mission of the campaign if I use the 688(i)? Is there some "by the way, don't use the 688 because you will be detected immediately"-section in the briefing which I didn't get?
However, I think that there are a couple of other issues which deter people from playing games like DW. One huge complaint is accessibility. Of course, there's a huge manual. I recently ordered it through the subsim page (can't wait to get it
), but I've already read parts of it, and I must say that it doesn't make the game any easier. There's the old complaint of "It tells you about the
what, but not the
why". I've read the landlubber's guide, which I found extremely helpful, and am currently working myself through the Orion guide, but honestly: Such things should be put in a manual of a commercially oriented product if people hope to attract people which aren't already entrenched in the matter. It's great to have such guides, but I really don't think that it ought to be the job of the Subsim community to help out new players who don't have a suggestion of a faint and distant clue. Saying that, I absolutely don't mean that such games should be dumbed down! All I want is a proper documentation. For example, there should be sections included like "How to conduct a torpedo attack" or "how to conduct recon missions with the P3" or something like that. If it weren't for the great subsim community, I probably would have lost interest long ago - which I think is a pity.
To sum it up: Make the sim accessible to people who are interested, but uninformed. People who like the subject matter of the game can live with average, even poor graphics, since hardcore sims are already few and far between, but you have to do something to make them stay.
Oh, and by the way: Since this is my very first post here on the forum, I'd like to present my compliments to everyone on this great website