Simple Integration - Writing Patrol Logs / Reading Books

[Frederf]

The following is two related suggestions for Silent Hunter 5. A lot of suggestions for the upcoming release are grandiose, pie-in-the-sky ideas that would require massive development effort and very early introduction into the development cycle The two ideas listed below should be relatively to introduce at a moderate to late stage in development and should provide good bang-for-the-buck value in terms of development effort.

Writing Patrol Logs

One of the stronger modern references to WWII submariner activity is the patrol log. They vary from simplistic statements to rich paragraphs and give surprisingly efficient insight into the reality, complexity, and feeling experienced. Similarly, letting Silent Hunter players construct, read, and exchange journals at sea will provide a feeling of history and connection with their boats and the community at large.

The best thing about logging is that, given a few simple tools and abilities, the content is all user-created. There are no 3D modelers and skinners to employ for countless hours. Some rather compartmentalized programming and minimal UI design is all that's required.

The list of suggested features (priority top):

• User Entry. Automatic, unalterable entries feel cold and severely lack flexibility. Even a simple blank space for the user to type whatever he wants would be invaluable.
• Import / Export. More than likely, players will want to share their creative works with others and also take in works made by the community.
• Assisted Insertable Features. Insertable hyperlinks that are tied to map coordinates, timestamp entities, casualty reports, standardized weather entries, templates, and reduce the workload and enhance the presentation. Any automated or templated entry needs full user delete/edit control.
• Screenshot photograps. Pictures make a written work far more accessible. Automatically resized and placable amidst text with black-and-white or GUI-free options.

Try not to think too small or restrictive in this idea. Let the template/auto-function definitions be in script files that users can edit and create their own. Allow several concurrent logs in case people want to make a separate weather or navigation log for instance.



Reading Books

I can't count the number of times that I've wanted to read some website, pdf, or forum discussion while playing Silent Hunter but have been unable to since the document is outside the game and I'm inside. Given a way to have simple text (possibly with graphics) books accessible in game, so much could be possible.

Community-written submarine guides could be referenced and read by new players while playing. Historical manuals, orders, and references could be read during patrols. Even simple entertainment reading is easy.

Books might have a date associated with them to control release. A 1944 book might not be accessible in 1941 for example. Not all documents would choose to be restricted but the possibility opens up loads of opportunities.