@Artur
From what I have read regarding your development of Destroyer, I think you are on course. Concentrating on specific elements of a destroyer's tasks rather than trying to "do it all" for initial release is a great path. I'm very happy that you are starting with ASW which seems to me, to be one of the most challenging aspects to handle. Some questions and wish-list items that come to my mind follow.
AI Crew Ratings. Most naval sims give a flat crew experience to the entire ship's crew ie, a ship is rated as novice/green/average/experienced/elite. That rating applies to all aspects of the ships company. I would like to see this rating broken down into departments. Example: An AI ship can have and Elite Sonar section, average visual search, experienced radarman, green damage control and experienced gunnery/CIC section. In reality, ship crews had their strengths and weaknesses and it would be great to see this simulated.
Merchant crews should have different standards than naval crews especially regarding visual search capability. History shows that "most" merchant crews were effectively blind to surfaced u-boats especially while they were in convoy.
Which Sonar and radar systems will you be modelling for initial release? SC or SG radar? QCA? I'd really LOVE to see accurate sonar models for both player controlled units and AI. IMO it has never been done in WWII simulations.
Dynamic ocean environments. Will sonar be affected by Wake turbulence/depth charge explosions/thermal conditions and ambient noise generated by other ships (especially convoys). I could go on in more detail but will try to keep it basic for now.
Depth Charge damage radius: will a depth charge explosion radius get smaller with increased depth of a submarine target?
Search patterns/doctrine for reaquiring lost submarine contacts. Box/ladder/line abreast sweeps? This is something that SH3 and SH4 specifically didn't model and I believe was a major over sight. Ironically, the very old subsim Aces of the Deep did model those behaviors...
Zones of responsibilty: It would be great if escorts guarding convoys could be assigned specific areas to cover. Instead of simple right flank/front/left flank/rear, there was a grid system in place in each of those areas. During the day, they could be assigned zones further out and at night be brought in for close escort. This is how it was done historically.
Obviously, you will be catering to as many play styles as possible. There will be customers who expect "every-depth-charge-to-be-a-kill people all the way up to those who want as much realism as possible short of getting salt water in their computer. I happen to fall into the last group and while your bread and butter customers will probably be somewhere in the middle, I think it is the grognards who will provide longevity to your project.
It appears that your initial release will be mainly scripted so as to follow a story line. I don't have a problem with this but also think that creation of a dynamic campaign encompassing multiple Atlantic crossings would be a tremendous asset. A dynamic campaign definitely adds longevity to a simulations appeal.
You are using a Fletcher class destroyer for your simulation. While that isn't my first choice (I would prefer a Buckley/Evarts/Captain/Black Swan etc) I actually think the Fletcher is a good choice. It'll get you into the Pacific for fleet actions etc. It also has some gunnery power compared to DE's so again I say Good Choice!
My hope is that you "make it real" for the community who has long looked for a simulation that reflected reality rather than a simplified version of it. If you get this first installment right, I believe you will create a community that will back you with not only their thanks but their wallets.
