i would
really love to see an online campaign take place on a dedicated server that would run 24/7. hell i might even participate in a limited role (dive to go to work or something as long as unlimited air was on!)
problems with this are
1. Disconnections: what happens if a player is stalking a convoy and broadcasting its position for a wolf pack to join up, and he spends the better part of 18 hours intercepting and assuming a firing position and suddenly a winter storm shuts down the power to his home? or his internet connection is reset?
2. Real Life: what protections exist for players who wish to "pause" their envolvment or disengage enemy contact so they can go out on that hot date, or go to work, or defecate etc?
3. Crashes: what happens if a player spends three days running full throttle for a contact report only to finally arrive and his computer crashes either due to an SH3 fault, or a fault caused by another program on his computer / random reason?
the list of problems with this type of multiplayer arrangment could go on.
I have given it much thought.
Ideally, i wish that there were some sort of 24/7 real time server that would run 1939 - 1945 SH3 (2007 - 2013) and it would be great if there were a virtual BdU that could issue orders to various flotillas, and flotillas that would issue orders to various boats within that flotilla etc - recreate the u-boat war so to speak. but, with a game that relies so heavily on time compression to make the game even remotely playable this type of multiplayer environment is far too vast in the level of dedication and time required for the average player... sure, if i was 13 or 14 years old again and had an entire summer to kill and had absolutely no other plans than to sit in my room from mid June to the end of September i would gladly join the ranks of a virtual Kriegsmarine. but unfortunately i think that for most guys with a 9 to 5 job and a family... and for myself with a job that requires me to leave home for 4 days at a time... its just not an attractive concept in terms of what is demanded of the individual player.
one other point comes to mind... if you choose to play for 5 or 6 hours and then resume on another day, what if all of the players that were there on day one couldnt all be there on day two? how are you going to reset the player starting positions so that they start out where they left off? and if you are stalking a convoy... they are surely spawned in the random layer, who is to say the same convoy you spent 6 hours tracking on monday will still be there when you start a new game on wednesday?
im not trying to shoot down your goal, dont get me wrong, in fact i hope you prove me wrong
, but - despite the concept being really cool - i think there are too many constraints associated with a real time simulation like SH3 to make it interesting to any more than only a hand full of players.