SH5, shorter and more simplified than ever before?

[Paul Riley]

Hi guys.

Its been a while since I last used the forums but after recieving an email (interview with UbiSoft devs) from Neal something instantly grabbed my attention.I read that there will only be the type VII and all its variants available? Then after reading the email I decided to watch some footage on YouTube,then read some of the comments below the video and someone mentioned that the game also ends in 1943?If this is the case then that is quite sad really,as the IX and XXI UBoats were a lot of fun to use in SH3,and being able to sink ships right up to 1945 also made the game last longer and helped to make the game more tense,as the odds for survival were hugely against you!.
Its a shame lately that a lot of companies are only emphasizing on the graphics and not paying enough attention to the detail of the actual game,leading to a lot of rushed and unfinished games in some cases.But having said that UbiSoft are a fantastic company and have made some memorable titles and I can't imagine them resorting to such half hearted efforts.

Can anyone shed any light on these 2 points?
Thanks a lot.

Paul Riley

[Nimmo55]

Well Paul, you're really stepping into one huge debate going on the months leading up to the release. Bottom Line: no one really knows for sure what SH5 is going to be like. That in of itself is causing speculation...the lack of certaintity on some aresa that hardcore sub simmers consider very important...realism, campaign, substantive depth in the simulation, not just eye candy. The key issue that is being speculated about is whether the developers of SH5 have decided to aim for a much broader (read casual) audience with SH5...which in of itself, is not the problem. The suspicion (and I stress that this is only a suspicion...) is that they have dumbed the title down...made it easier for non hardcore players to get into the game. And that they have focussed on the look of the thing (to catch the eye of the casual gamer) at the expense of the substantive gameplay. There was the infamous 'periscope screen' in which a supposed screen from an advanced build of the game was posted...and it really set hares and speculation off and running..as it was truly terrible...cartoony, very basic and like some arcade shooter. (They seem to have done away with the realistic SH3 firing buttons and such..now more stylised than an accurate depiction of a real U boat firing apparatus...which is one of the things that got people wondering...) But we are told it was just a beta and not the final thing...and there seem to be other screenshots around which show a more advanced screen (but still not accurate, unfortunately...) (I hope this is so...) A lot of people are annoyed at the game finishing in 1943..that seems to be true....and the fact that some types of subs won't be simulated...cutting down on the choice of sub. (I for one don't care; if it means they put more effort into getting one right, then give me only one choice...I'll live with that. I say far better a 'study sim' than a 'survey sim' anytime!) There is also some murmouring about whether the campaign is truly dynamic such as SH3, but I can't see anything definitive that suggests it is not. There are many threads and a recent interview Neal did with the lead developer that you can trawl through and make up your own mind. But I guess we are just going to have to wait and see...I keep reminding myself that drawing hard and fast conclusions on the basis of little snippets now and then is probably misleading. I truly hope so.

Nimmo55

[Paul Riley]

I forgot,sorry to ask what has probably already been answered its just been a while since I last visited SubSim,and am somewhat out of touch.

PR

[timmyab]

I'd be quite happy to play with just a type VII as long as it's highly detailed and fully controllable. As for sinking ships into 1945, the reality was completely different.By 1944 the odds weren't just against you, it was suicide.With the game now ending in 1943, hopefully surviving until then will become much more difficult than it was in sh3 which will be more realistic. As for the point about graphics trumping gameplay, I agree totally, which is why I've stopped buying computer games.Here's hoping SH5 will be different.

[THE_MASK]

SH5 is not like SH3/4. They want SH5 to be an acurate portrayal of how life was like on a uboat so they have interactive crew , full interior of the sub . Think Das Boot and you get the picture . They said depending how SH5 sells , we might get add ons etc .

[sk065]

I dont want a story driven campaign - id rather have random. You dont know what to expect and I think thats were the SH3 replay value comes from.

As for a crew (or cast) of characters - I can see this becoming stale very quickly. There is only so much story driven dialogue that will get repeated and repeated regardless of how dynamic the campaign is.

Id rather have the crew respond to orders only.

[Paul Riley]

Thanks for the replies.Guess all we can do is wait,one thing that DOES sound promising though is the addition of frozen decks in icy seas,and the possibility of racing through blizzard conditions?.That will DEF add to the realism,as my old favourite haunts in SH3 were the Arctic routes and through the Denmark Strait.
Really hope they finally include some of the other bigger and more advanced UBoats,but probably not,as the VII was most widely used and the XXI was a late war weapon *sigh*

Cheers guys,appreciate it.

[Lorient Bunker]

Well I for one don't mind the mid 1943 ending for the following reason, and that is because all my Grand Campaigns in SH3 always ended up getting corrupted before I'd reached that far anyway!

For example I just recently had to abandon many months of off/on progress of a Grand Campaign in mid-mission during Nov 1941. A problem which affected the whole game not just campaigns and forced me to completely re-install.

My view is that so long this is just the start and we have DLC or add-ons to follow I'll be quite happy with this to begin with. But all those who have said they won't get the game because it doesn't have IX or XXI boats etc from the beginning need to consider this, that if sales are poor then the chances are that no DLC or add-ons will ever appear.

[Lanzfeld]

Why is this a sticky?

[Kapitanleutnant]

I don't know, but remove the question mark from the title and it's a pretty good summing up of the game as it stands.

[Iron Budokan]

There's only so many times a guy can offer you soup before it becomes dull.

[Jimbuna]

All will be revealed in March

[AVGWarhawk]

I believe all will find the game just cheeky.

[Letum]

Originally Posted by Lanzfeld

Why is this a sticky?

Because it's a well written and polite expression of the fears and
grievances that many people here have. These issues are the most
important to the vast majority of SH fans at the moment. A sticky post
is very appropriate.

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by Kapitanleutnant

I don't know, but remove the question mark from the title and it's a pretty good summing up of the game as it stands.

Well, considering no one has played the game, that's hard to say. Maybe you mean "it's a pretty good summing up of what everyone thinks the game will be".