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Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper
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Mate, don't mock my want of realism when you're talking about "...sea water in the batteries producing chlorine gas.."  And what are we meant to do if that happens? Hold our breath?
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Gas masks. And surface really, really fast. I'd like it, actually, if implemented well.
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SHIV will probably be released in 2007. Players with 2001 computers who don't want to upgrade shouldn't try to get Devs to crap up games for them. I understand your frustration (I've had to upgrade many a time), but why should those of us with huge machines (AMD 64X2 4200 Dual Core, 2 Gig Ram, 2X7900GTs in SLI Mode here) have to continue to play graphically unapealing or downright ugly games because you refuse to upgrade? Or what about newbies coming from the "shoot-em up" genre? They'll want the advanced graphics too.
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As I said before, just put this Graphics Prettifulness Level slider in the options screen. SH3 is the bottom of the slider, Awesome SHIV With All Glory On is the top. Then some check-boxes for various features like Dynamic lighting, etc (not that anyone'd turn it off  ).
As for graphics being necessary for immersion: I disagree here. Sure, the terrain in SHIII looks pretty bad, and sure, the officers' models aren't the greatest, but you're supposed to be able to immerse yourself nonetheless. I am.
Not to say graphics shouldn't be improved, but saying that the game has to make use of every last piece of technology to be immersive? I beg to differ. Call me a "board game player" or "DOS Lover" all you want, but I beg to differ. |
Well, I did not mean to imply that graphics are necessary for immersion. Au contrare, I simply meant to imply that to take out 3D crew members while retaining a 3D interior would detract from immersion. If SHIV had the same graphics engine/same graphics as SHIII I for one would be happy. My main contention is that simulators should not have to be made graphically unappealing or downright ugly because some consumers choose to have six or seven year old computers. Graphics are not necessary for immersion - gameplay is the key factor. But playing (what I consider to be) an immersive campaign of SHIII with its graphic interiors and 3D crew, and then going to SHIV with the 3D crew removed and a worse graphic quality for other consumers will detract from gameplay. Many times I have played sims that were great on gameplay, but had crappy or even bad graphics (EAW.... one of my favorite sims of all time, but the planes didn't even have moving parts!). But in 2007, with computers as powerful as they are now, it is not unreasonable to expect - or demand - both.
I don't think graphics are necessary for immersion. However, bad or unreaslistic graphics, or in particular graphics that are worse or a step behind a prequal (as many have suggested do with SHIV) can detract from immersion. Today, would you play a tank simulator with blocky, pixelated tanks? Or how about a flight sim where the planes have no moving parts? Or how about an infantry sim where the guns are nothing more than bitmaps with no moving parts? These are relatively small things, that today are expected. My whole contention is that after SHIII, I feel that 3D crewman should become an industry standard in naval simulations. That is my only contention on graphics.