SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post - Why I've decided not to buy, or own, SH5 (and I hope Ubi reads this)

schlechter pfennig · 05-04-10, 11:24 AM

I understand why some of you are upset that someone who doesn't own the game and hasn't played it is rendering an opinion about the game. I would like to point out that if 18 out of 20 people whose opinions I respect have a negative opinion about something, be it a steak, car, or game, I don't see any reason to buy said steak just to prove that, yes indeed, it tastes and smells like liver.

I'd also like to point out the following, taken from reviews written by SimHQ . . . who have played the game.

SH3: The Heart and Soul of Silent Hunter III is the 'Dynamic Random Campaign'. To quote the manual, "The game uses a dynamic, random campaign engine based on historical reality. Every time you play, you can have a unique career"

The Silent Hunter III world is a replica of the one of 1939 to 1945. The shipping lanes and the volume and type of traffic will reflect that of the war and changes over the years. Countries will historically be neutral, your enemy or your ally or all the above as the war progresses.

I came to Silent Hunter III with hope and modest expectations. Silent Hunter III has exceeded my expectations in so many ways with the stunning graphics, a crew, a good sailing model, a Dynamic Random Campaign based upon real shipping lanes and convoy routes, AI that responds to your presence and changeable weather.

A finished Silent Hunter III will be a very strong contender for "Sim of the Year", if not "Game of the Year" and would be the undisputed king of U-Boat / submarine simulations.

SH5: The campaign structure is fairly simple. You start out as a young U-boat commander in 1939 and you work your way through to 1943, gradually upgrading your boat. Once you get done with the initial campaign around the British Isles, you can select different segments of the campaign based upon your peaked interest, and upon the success you have in the initial setup. It eventually culminates in the disaster that was 1943, when the Allies finally started getting the upper hand on the U-boat threat.

But tempered with these achievements are some serious problems that badly need to be resolved. The game is currently a buggy nightmare in some critical areas. Certainly there are bugs with all games, and some are forgivable, but some of the bugs in Silent Hunter 5 are near showstoppers. There are already some mods released that will correct some of the deficiencies in the game, but the fact that the second patch — the one that is supposed to correct many of these problems — is delayed once again means players that bought the game in good faith are still waiting for fixes that shouldn’t have been in the gold release.

Once players can get past these issues, there is a potential for a lot of fun with this game. There is a lot of good here and I honestly think that if Silent Hunter 5 follows the series history and is patched adequately, this will be a winner. Sadly, the fact is for right now, I cannot recommend Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic in its current condition.

Now this is a professional reviewer. If I was indecicive about buying SH5 and decided not to do so based upon the review, would I be naive and gullible? Then why should I value my fellow subsimmers' opinions any less? In fact, I value theirs' more so.

I am tremendously impressed by the graphics examples I've seen. Heck, some of them appear to be almost photo quality! Makes me drool, in fact, and I'm greatly envious.

But one of the most, if not the most, recognized attraction of SHIII, was the random, dynamic campaign, and I can't help but feel that, somewhere along the line, Ubisoft missed the boat (no pun intended).

05-04-10, 11:24 AM	#103
schlechter pfennig Commander Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 462 Downloads: 53 Uploads: 7	I understand why some of you are upset that someone who doesn't own the game and hasn't played it is rendering an opinion about the game. I would like to point out that if 18 out of 20 people whose opinions I respect have a negative opinion about something, be it a steak, car, or game, I don't see any reason to buy said steak just to prove that, yes indeed, it tastes and smells like liver. I'd also like to point out the following, taken from reviews written by SimHQ . . . who have played the game. SH3: The Heart and Soul of Silent Hunter III is the 'Dynamic Random Campaign'. To quote the manual, "The game uses a dynamic, random campaign engine based on historical reality. Every time you play, you can have a unique career" The Silent Hunter III world is a replica of the one of 1939 to 1945. The shipping lanes and the volume and type of traffic will reflect that of the war and changes over the years. Countries will historically be neutral, your enemy or your ally or all the above as the war progresses. I came to Silent Hunter III with hope and modest expectations. Silent Hunter III has exceeded my expectations in so many ways with the stunning graphics, a crew, a good sailing model, a Dynamic Random Campaign based upon real shipping lanes and convoy routes, AI that responds to your presence and changeable weather. A finished Silent Hunter III will be a very strong contender for "Sim of the Year", if not "Game of the Year" and would be the undisputed king of U-Boat / submarine simulations. SH5: The campaign structure is fairly simple. You start out as a young U-boat commander in 1939 and you work your way through to 1943, gradually upgrading your boat. Once you get done with the initial campaign around the British Isles, you can select different segments of the campaign based upon your peaked interest, and upon the success you have in the initial setup. It eventually culminates in the disaster that was 1943, when the Allies finally started getting the upper hand on the U-boat threat. But tempered with these achievements are some serious problems that badly need to be resolved. The game is currently a buggy nightmare in some critical areas. Certainly there are bugs with all games, and some are forgivable, but some of the bugs in Silent Hunter 5 are near showstoppers. There are already some mods released that will correct some of the deficiencies in the game, but the fact that the second patch — the one that is supposed to correct many of these problems — is delayed once again means players that bought the game in good faith are still waiting for fixes that shouldn’t have been in the gold release. Once players can get past these issues, there is a potential for a lot of fun with this game. There is a lot of good here and I honestly think that if Silent Hunter 5 follows the series history and is patched adequately, this will be a winner. Sadly, the fact is for right now, I cannot recommend Silent Hunter 5: Battle of the Atlantic in its current condition. Now this is a professional reviewer. If I was indecicive about buying SH5 and decided not to do so based upon the review, would I be naive and gullible? Then why should I value my fellow subsimmers' opinions any less? In fact, I value theirs' more so. I am tremendously impressed by the graphics examples I've seen. Heck, some of them appear to be almost photo quality! Makes me drool, in fact, and I'm greatly envious. But one of the most, if not the most, recognized attraction of SHIII, was the random, dynamic campaign, and I can't help but feel that, somewhere along the line, Ubisoft missed the boat (no pun intended).