[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

I'm keeping an open mind. One thing that bears repeating, when a game development team sets out to build a new type of game, they may not include "features" seen in previous versions. In this case, they are specializing on the personal element of being a captain and leading a crew of U-bootmen, and they are providing a new type of subsim, an interaction first person subsim. This game appears to be designed to give more of a Das Boot experience than an SH2/SH3 overarching career.

I know Dan is a serious, simulation-oriented developer. And you guys who joined us on the U-995 tour last Sept could see how Dan, Mike, and Mihai were really intent on learning as much as possible, crawling in every crevice and taking pictures. If we had not pried them loose, they would still be there, I bet.

My sole concern at this point is the state of the game when released. I think most would say I am pretty forgiving of minor glitches and bugs, and I update reviews with info about patches-- I know no game is delivered 100% perfect. I would feel a lot better if there was an actual preview copy to evaluate before the game goes on sale. Ubisoft protected SHIV until the game was released, and it was pretty messed up until months and patches later. That's my worry. I can buy into a different direction for this edition, with the emphasis on the captain/crew expereience, but SHV must be up to the level of quality of SH3.

Agreed....only after playing and evaluating personally will I feel I'm in a position to decide.

Your last sentence is of particular paramount importance IMO.