A positive perspective

TDK1044 · 03-30-07, 04:51 PM

I just wanted to post this thread in the hope that some members may calm down a little and just think things through.

I see comments like "they've had two years to make this game work" and "this game is unplayable" and suggestions that the Devs "went through the motions with this game".

So I'd like to point out a few things.

1) They didn't have two years to build this game. Silent Hunter 3 was released in March 2005. The sales for that game were then assessed over the following 6 months, and I believe Silent Hunter 4 got the official green light in September 2005. That gave the Devs about 18 months to build Silent Hunter 4, not 24 months. Big difference.

2) They were in effect asked to build a hybrid that was part sim and part game. Ubisoft made it very clear to them that Silent Hunter 4 had to attract the casual gamer in large numbers, something that didn't happen enough with SH3, as well as make a sim to satisfy the existing hard core sub simmer.

Just think about that last point, Guys. You have 18 months to build a new game using an existing game engine that you know has problems, and you have to create a game set in a different theater of operations which also offers significant graphical improvements over Silent Hunter 3. Oh, and by the way, you also have to add a lot of new elements to the game, such as active crews on the decks of ships reacting correctly to real time events, and life boats in the water allowing the game to give the player the ability to rescue the occupants.

I'm not in any way judging those of you who are expressing their disappointment with Silent Hunter 4, Guys, I understand your frustration. I just want you to think about just how difficult it would be to achieve what I've mentioned above plus a lot more in 18 months.

Companies like Ubisoft care about two things: How much money will this game make for us? How little money do we need to spend in order to achieve how much money this game will make for us?

The schedule for the release of this game was unrealistic from day one, and that's why we now need the additional patches that the Devs are currently working their asses off to give us. Not exactly the actions of people who don't care.

I applaud Dan and his team for their dedication and the many long, long days that they put into building this game, and I thank them for listening to and incorporating many of the ideas suggested in this Forum. If they are allowed to continue patching beyond 1.2, then between the additional patches and the awesome modding we'll have a great game a few months down the line.

Oh, and for those few of you who think that a Moderator shouldn't be making a post like this ...."Get over it"!

03-30-07, 04:51 PM	#1
TDK1044 Ocean Warrior Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Georgia, USA Posts: 2,674 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	A positive perspective I just wanted to post this thread in the hope that some members may calm down a little and just think things through. I see comments like "they've had two years to make this game work" and "this game is unplayable" and suggestions that the Devs "went through the motions with this game". So I'd like to point out a few things. 1) They didn't have two years to build this game. Silent Hunter 3 was released in March 2005. The sales for that game were then assessed over the following 6 months, and I believe Silent Hunter 4 got the official green light in September 2005. That gave the Devs about 18 months to build Silent Hunter 4, not 24 months. Big difference. 2) They were in effect asked to build a hybrid that was part sim and part game. Ubisoft made it very clear to them that Silent Hunter 4 had to attract the casual gamer in large numbers, something that didn't happen enough with SH3, as well as make a sim to satisfy the existing hard core sub simmer. Just think about that last point, Guys. You have 18 months to build a new game using an existing game engine that you know has problems, and you have to create a game set in a different theater of operations which also offers significant graphical improvements over Silent Hunter 3. Oh, and by the way, you also have to add a lot of new elements to the game, such as active crews on the decks of ships reacting correctly to real time events, and life boats in the water allowing the game to give the player the ability to rescue the occupants. I'm not in any way judging those of you who are expressing their disappointment with Silent Hunter 4, Guys, I understand your frustration. I just want you to think about just how difficult it would be to achieve what I've mentioned above plus a lot more in 18 months. Companies like Ubisoft care about two things: How much money will this game make for us? How little money do we need to spend in order to achieve how much money this game will make for us? The schedule for the release of this game was unrealistic from day one, and that's why we now need the additional patches that the Devs are currently working their asses off to give us. Not exactly the actions of people who don't care. I applaud Dan and his team for their dedication and the many long, long days that they put into building this game, and I thank them for listening to and incorporating many of the ideas suggested in this Forum. If they are allowed to continue patching beyond 1.2, then between the additional patches and the awesome modding we'll have a great game a few months down the line. Oh, and for those few of you who think that a Moderator shouldn't be making a post like this ...."Get over it"!