Positive preview at SIMHQ

[Sanuck]

Well this chap is positive at SIM HQ

Neal it would be nice to get your thoughts on this ? (added Tom the author from simHQ popped in and answers some questions about his preview, page 3 onwards in this post. Thanks Tom )


http://www.simhq.com/_naval/naval_035a.html

[Decoman]

I wish I knew more about how they colored the North Atlantic.

Without being an expert, I suppose its a bit greenish, and then the ocean would be colored abit different at various places, depending on it being in the Atlantic Ocean or in the Mediterranean Sea.

Any experts here who know more about this?

[Darkreaver1980]

wow, nice preview. cant wait to play it

[ichso]

I have to say the reviewer has a strange understanding of simulation games as he proclaims SH5 is more simulation than the previous titles only because of walking around the sub. I think there is much more to the aspect on simulation than this.

Originally Posted by preview

You can still man stations, but now you have to "walk" in real time to that station. It also means you may not be where you need to be when the proverbial [enemy] stink hits the fan. In essence, you have to learn to trust your crew and likewise you have to build your crew up.

Nothing new, but still it sounds really interesting. That makes me excited how it will play out in the final version and in the long run.
The previewer makes it sound like this has a deep gameplay impact. Which would be really nice. But it could also be more of a immersion-thing only, we'll see.

Some of the videos from the last time have shown this and here is a screenshot of this as well: sometimes there are waterdrops blurring the view although you stand on the bridge, not using the UZO or anything. This is a bit strange, perhaps you are wearing glasses in this game ?

[ichso]

Originally Posted by Decoman

I wish I knew more about how they colored the North Atlantic.

Without being an expert, I suppose its a bit greenish, and then the ocean would be colored abit different at various places, depending on it being in the Atlantic Ocean or in the Mediterranean Sea.

Any experts here who know more about this?

Yes, I think it should get a slight green-grayish tone. I like how it looks under stormy conditions but some of the screen we've seen taken in good weather show the water in too clean and nice conditions. At least for the northern sea.

I have to say though, when I visited spain some time ago in the summer there was a small atlantic harbor and the water there was really crystal clear, so maybe it's not really that far off, if at all.

[piri_reis]

Good shots and nice to see someone positive, but what I don't get is:

All previews are dead short, none of them started a campaign, none of them went on a real patrol, found a convoy, ran from the escorts, depth charged, contact bdu, met the wolfpack, ambushed by aircraft... That's where the fun of the game is...

What's with this "because of time constraints"
Did you get a copy for previewing purposes or what !! Some people need to get their act together..

[Nordmann]

Yes, it's a tad worrying, why have all previews thus far avoided showing the campaign? Surely it is one of the most critical aspects of the game, yet apparently they are more concerned with graphics.

[Brag]

Here is what it says regarding drum and our protest:

Ubisoft's UPlay
I suppose this is as good a place as any to bring up Ubisoft's new Digital Rights Management System titled UPlay. Ubisoft has announced that UPlay will be included in all of its future releases starting with Assassins Creed II and would include Silent Hunter 5 . There is a large and quite vocal group of naval combat fans in the Subsim Forums that has stated point-blank they will not purchase the sim if it has Ubisoft's UPlay Services included.
This is my opinion on this controversial topic. I am not a fan of Ubisoft's UPlay Service as it is currently provided. It isn’t a deal killer for me, but it can be a decision maker if I am on the fence concerning the purchase of a piece of software. DRM software should make it difficult for hackers to copy and use the game, but it should be as minimally intrusive as possible for the purchaser of the software. Any DRM that prevents legitimate users from playing the game is a bad piece of software. It has to be remembered that it isn’t the hackers that pay the salaries of the executives in charge — it is the legitimate buyers of the game. Alienate them enough and there will fewer purchases. There are ways to check for legitimate users without resorting to such methods. Just look at what StormEagle Studios did with their DRM protection software. It isn’t perfect, but in my opinion it does what it should do — allow legitimate game owners to play without constantly needing to be connected to the Internet. What do you think? Discuss it further in the SimHQ Forum on the topic.

[Lanzfeld]

What has Neal said about the campaign? Did his copy have it?

This whole business of "wanting to save some stuff for us to discover ourselves" is hogwash. Those that dont want to know shouldnt read the previews.

Give us the straight dope Neal. Did we ever get a final crew count? Why hold back this info?

[Bilge_Rat]

Tom Cofield is one of us, a serious wargamer. I trust his opinion. Did anyone miss these tidbits?

One of the reasons that Silent Hunter 3 and Silent Hunter 4 have remained on hard drives long after other games have been erased is because of the robust campaign system the developers put in place. Silent Hunter 5 continues to have dynamic campaign elements, but also adds a branching campaign system where the player gets to pick exactly where and how they want to continue the war effort. Players can slug it out in the North Atlantic or sail into the Mediterranean Sea.

Like its previous cousins, there is a variety of ways that you can either crank up, or tone down the realism in the game. Realistic dive times, ship targeting, torpedo reloads, battery life, fuel, ability to see your boat in third-person among other things are items that can be turned off or on depending on the type of play you prefer. Some will want to play the game with absolutely no "cheats" so they can feel as close to a realistic naval combat experience as possible while others (like me) can’t wait to jump to external view so they can admire their explosive handiwork first hand.

To be honest, I was mildly surprised by the fit-and-finish of Silent Hunter 5. That is not meant to take away anything from the seasoned development team. I have reviewed games that were gold launches with more issues than this Beta has demonstrated. I didn’t get the opportunity to test the multiplayer code so I can’t comment on that, but the single player setup is polished. Undoubtedly, I will have some nitpicks that I can throw out in the final shipping release, but lets see if those are still there with the final copy of the game.

This game won’t replace Silent Hunter 4 on my hard drive, but Silent Hunter 5 will have a spot right next to it. Short of a complete screw-up on someone’s part this game looks to be a real winner. I looked forward to it before I got the preview copy, but after spending time with it and seeing its features, details, and remarkable graphics, I am very excited to get my hands on the final version.

the comment about SH4 is because, like me, he prefers to play as the good guys in the Pacific rather than as an evil Nazi...

[Nisgeis]

Originally Posted by Decoman

I wish I knew more about how they colored the North Atlantic.

Without being an expert, I suppose its a bit greenish, and then the ocean would be colored abit different at various places, depending on it being in the Atlantic Ocean or in the Mediterranean Sea.

Any experts here who know more about this?

Sea colour depends on a large variety of factors, that all combine to give you a couple of colours. The light will be scattered by the water and will also be absorbed by whatever micro-organisms are in the water. How much light enters the water is determined by the angle of the sun and also clouds. On overcast days, much less light penetrates into the sea and it does not have as much of an inner glow from light reflecting off the organisms. The angle of the sun depends on the time of day and also how far north/south you are and the season. The more directly overhead the sun is, the more light goes into the sea, as it approaches the horizon, most of the light is reflected off the sea surface and doesn't enter the water (pretty sunset). The mirco-organisms vary depending on the conditions of the sea, e.g. the pacific has different things in it that the atlantic has, each organism will reflect a different colour of light. Ones in the atlantic reflect brownish light and the ones in the pacific reflect blueish light which is why seas are different colours. Also, there is silt disturbance as well, which also depends on the depth of the water. In shallow muddy atlantic waters, storms churn up the silt and make the sea an opaque brown, with hardly any light penetrating into it, so it makes the sea look quite cold as there is no inner glow of light reflected from within the water itself.

[piri_reis]

Originally Posted by Bilge_Rat

Tom Cofield is one of us, a serious wargamer. I trust his opinion. Did anyone miss these tidbits?

Yes I got that, and I can see he has been a subsimmer for a while.
I never had doubt the campaign had dynamic side to it, the devs made very clear. There might be a storyline branch but the sandbox, free roaming is possible.
He says the dynamic campaign is there, by the looks of the menus I guess; but being a subsimmer, why not spend a few hours previewing it Tom? He doesn't have to get into every detail, but hell, he didn't get a copy just because they love him so much, it's a copy to preview and get press..

[Rhodes]

"The other decision that was made was to have the war conclude in 1943 as opposed to spanning the entire war. I am not totally sure that I agree with this idea since the Type VII U-Boat did continue to serve for the entire war although most were replaced(???) by longer range Type IX boats."

[Lanzfeld]

Originally Posted by Rhodes

"The other decision that was made was to have the war conclude in 1943 as opposed to spanning the entire war. I am not totally sure that I agree with this idea since the Type VII U-Boat did continue to serve for the entire war although most were replaced(???) by longer range Type IX boats."

Good catch Rhodes. I didnt notice that myself. That is 180 degrees off.

[Sanuck]

Originally Posted by piri_reis

Yes I got that, and I can see he has been a subsimmer for a while.
I never had doubt the campaign had dynamic side to it, the devs made very clear. There might be a storyline branch but the sandbox, free roaming is possible.
He says the dynamic campaign is there, by the looks of the menus I guess; but being a subsimmer, why not spend a few hours previewing it Tom? He doesn't have to get into every detail, but hell, he didn't get a copy just because they love him so much, it's a copy to preview and get press..

IM sure we have been told No Campaign in the early preview copy