My Periscope vs SH5's Periscope

[Frederf]

Looking at the periscope views in Silent Hunter 5 videos has gotten me down. The design philosophy that has started in Silent Hunter 3 (or before? I haven't played anything previous) has unfortunately fallen into a narrow-minded rut with regards to the periscope interface. Small tweaks and addons have grown from SH3 to SH4 to SH5 when what's really needed is a whole new breath of fresh air to the concept.


If this doesn't strike you as wrong, I don't know what will.

Too long the idea has been to bog down the player in a bevy of 2D GUI elements that really have no basis in reality. If real Kaluns and Captains of WWII managed to sail their vessels without the benefit of a 2D GUI, surely us video game players can manage keeping such effrontery to a low roar. The 3D submarine interior art is getting better all the time... why aren't we utilizing it properly?!

I present to you a tasty glimpse of beautiful focus and simplicity.


Ahh, isn't that better?

But what about those functions that are stripped, won't they be missed? Here we take a case-by-case basis view of all the commands & displays on the original periscope interface and either move, hide, or delete them.


The offenders that need to go aware (red) and the annoyances that don't need to be permanent (green).

1. Status icon - Whoopdeedoo. Who needs these things? What are they? A brief flash maybe to get your attention but after 3-5 seconds they should be gone! Globe and watch can get their own periscope, this one belongs to the captain!
   
2. A "you're underwater" status, TC control, TC quick buttons, shortcuts to stations... really? You guys have to intrude on my personal time with sweet Lady Eyepiece, REALLY? We know we're underwater, TC control is a keyboard thing that can fade quickly after use, and any stations I can walk to or give orders to from where I'm standing. Gone!!
3. There's no such thing as this bearing readout. It's complete fiction. Bearings are read (most of the time by helper crew and not the player) off the exterior of the periscope. Gone!!
4. I'm pointed at a ship, I know. Happy bubble not necessary... GONE!!
5. Recognition manual while looking through the periscope? I'm one talented 5-eyed Kalun... Gone.
6. Minimap, ugh. Digital depth readout, what? Happy permanent preset depth buttons? No thanks, how often do I change depth anyway? If I want to change depth next week I'll give an order using the order interface. 9 gear submarine, how hot rod. If I want to change speed I'll give an order, until then go away! If I want to know what speed I'm going I will look away from the periscope and look at the gauge on the wall... just like Mr. Big Daddy Real Life Kalun! All of it is OUTTA HERE!
7. Torpedo settings... what am I ordering these changes or am I turning the screws myself? Make up your mind. If I am ordering these changes then I'll use the orders interface, if I am turning the screws myself then I need a new crew! Torpedoes were prepared before the attack, attacks take time and cooperation. This is standard submarine gameplay Silent Hunter! All of this junk is bye-bye!
8. Ok, this is talking to your crew, something that real Kaluns did in real submarines while having their real bushy eyebrows pressed up against real periscopes. However I don't need his speech balloon and chat buffer clogging up my view 100% of the time, just when I need him. This interaction gets relegated to pop up, minimalist, crew orders/interaction 2D UI.
9. Why is my sonar operator texting me like we're facebook buddies?! Surely we can combine and/or standardize all crew verbal interactions. Why is this different visually than talking to my XO? Does my young hydrophone operator really speak with a white background while my manly XO talks with the classic gray background from southern Austria? Can we have faith that the audio alone is sufficient most of the time and hide, fade, make optional the WoW text chat buffer nonsense?

Orders Interface

If you think of the Captain giving orders to the crew, you think of a conversation. Do conversations happen in rusty, bolted on steel panels with dials? No. Do options for conversational topics hang in the air all the time waiting to be said? No. Conversations are initiated, constructed, executed, and then dismissed. Naturally SH5's orders should follow these guidelines. As captain I should be able to raise my voice out of notion, quickly get to the point, speak the command, and then let the conversation "close" back again to nothing so I can continue my tasks.

From nothing...
This means any interaction with the boat & crew other than real, physical touching of controls by the captain himself should be invisible and absent until such a time as that interaction is called for.

Breaking the silence...
When the captain speaks he commands. Holding down a large, friendly key such as space bar, a semi-transparent overlay pops up giving the captain power to construct a verbal command with the clarity and immediacy that mimics real vocalization.

Making it happen...As the order interface is clicked on or the orders overlay is dismissed (by releasing the held space bar or by dismissing a toggled arrangement), the captain verbalizes his order and the chain of events that makes that happen begins. Often this means time will pass until the effect occurs. This is good as it makes the player feel that he is on a 2000 ton submarine with 60 men and not an iPhone app.

Back to nothing...
As the order is finished the captain returns to observing only the 3D world around him, making the player feel at one and "there" on the boat.


A very rough design of what the orders overlay might look like