Quote:
Originally Posted by janh
Thanks for the link! That sounds like Ubisoft is really heading away from PC platform games, at least the single player ones. I don't think there is much to expect from them in the future anymore, but maybe they will sell the Silent Hunter label to one of the smaller developers that already focuses on highly detailed realistic simulations and strategy games.
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I think that might be the worst of all possible outcomes, for several reasons:
The code base is buggy -- it still has problems that were never fixed in SH4 and were patched up with chewing gum and duct tape by modders. An independent dev starting from scratch would have a better chance of giving the subsim community what we're looking for. Maybe even a cross-platform sim that would work on Windows/Mac/Linyx? That's how X-Plane works. They even have a stripped-down app for iPhones, which seems silly, but it brings in lots of cash to fund development of the PC sim versions.
Also, any money paid for a license from Ubi would be money that can't go to more art development and programmer man-hours. That's one reason why Bioware bailed out of the D&D franchise and created their own IP for Dragon Age.
Finally, for better or worse, the "Silent Hunter" name has a big footprint in the market. It needs to go away, to leave room for new projects that can develop their own franchise in this area... the way the LockOn air combat crew did after Microprose and the "Jane's" series disappeared. Actually there is a new "Jane's" game coming out, but it looks like a console-type action shooter, nothing like the original combat flight sims. That's the kind of thing that can happen when franchise names are sold, unfortunately.
Anyway, I'm ready for a completely fresh look at this type of sim, from a developer whose heart is 100% into it, and backed by a financial side of the company that won't pull the plug, before the game is actually ready for release.