Why isn't there a WWI sub game?

[Aviv]

I was reading about uboats that were in World War I from Germany and the Austrian Empire. They seemed to sink a lot of merchants and was in the Atlantic as well as the Mediterranean. I think they had bureaucracy problems in 1915 which disallowed them from attacking merchants or something, because of the Lusitania sinking, but from 1916 they sank alot of ships. I don't know much about it really (especially compared to some people here I'm sure).

But it got me to think, how come there isn't a World War I submarine sim to allow playing as German or Austrian Uboats? Do you think that would make for a fun and interesting game? Especially since there's very few World War I games.

[Diopos]

Check this thread. It's "work in progress".

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There's always Shells of Fury, the SubSim forum is here:

Shells of Fury

[Loudspeaker]

I agree that we need a WWI sub simulator, the childhood of the submarine. I can't wait till the Wolves of the Kaiser is released

Things were very different back then when it comes to sensors and weapons. Their 'listening devices' (they can hardly be called 'hydrophones') were very primitive, and we do not want to talk about their torpedoes. Often the boats presented their own crew with more dangers than did the enemy.

Also it would be an aestetic pleasure to watch the old steamers and Dreadnaughts from early 20th century cross the oceans. There is just something about that era...

[cpinney]

The lack of WWI sims is evident throughout PC gaming...not just subs.....very little out there that is up to date in terms of gameplay and graphics. Too bad....it would be so refreshing.

[Vaux]

Originally Posted by cpinney

The lack of WWI sims is evident throughout PC gaming...not just subs.....very little out there that is up to date in terms of gameplay and graphics. Too bad....it would be so refreshing.

It is disappointing. I used to play the heck out of Red Baron 3D. I can still hum the home screen music!

[WernherVonTrapp]

Originally Posted by Aviv

Why isn't there a WWI sub game?

Because nobody has made one yet?

[Sailor Steve]

I'm guessing the larger interest is WW2, because of all the movies and books available compared to those on WW1.

[iambecomelife]

I suspect WWI's an unpopular genre for the following reasons:

-More primitive technology. Tanks, jet fighters, & automatic weapons are "cool" & "exciting" to modern gamers. These machines were either primitive or entirely absent from the Great War.

-Few first-hand participants survive. There are still quite a lot of WWII vets out there, and of course more for Vietnam, the Gulf Wars, etc. "Aces of the Deep", "WWII Fighters", and other sims had the attraction of technical advice from men who had really been there. Because nearly all WWI combatants are dead, this is not feasible for WWI simulators.

-Little American participation. The US didn't get involved in WWI until 1917 and incurred relatively few casualties. The Great War never had the pop-culture impact of the American Civil War, WWII, or post 9/11 military campaigns. Like it or not, America is a huge market for games and most Americans nowadays don't know much about foreign history. Flying for the Royal Flying Corps or sailing a Kaiserliche Marine sub is not going to appeal to many modern PC gamers, who like FPS's where you are an American combatant.

I have several friends who like to game, but none of them (aside from people I know from Subsim) have any idea about my modding work. Their idea of fun is shooting "terrorists" in a modern war game or tossing a ball in a Madden NFL or NBA game. And MAYBE, once in a great while, playing a World War II FPS as an American GI. But World War I simming? Not a chance.

[89]

Originally Posted by iambecomelife

But World War I simming? Not a chance.

Yes chance! Check out Rise of Flight- not only is it the finest prop plane combat sim, with the BEST physical modeling, but it is also set in WW1

Check this video out!


The physics! the attention to detail! the passion! It has 200.000 users and its userbase is growing as is the game itself.

I'd love a SubSim from WW1, I guess there was no TDC back then? Deflection shooting with torpedoes- sounds fun

[Hylander_1314]

Rise of Flight is great for WWI aerial fighting, and geared more toward online play

And Over Flanders Fields which is geared toward offline play, but has a complete dynamic campaign complete with moving lines as they did. Action in the trenches below, and rifle fire aside from machine gunners if you are low over the lines.

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by 89

the attention to detail!

I don't think either the Foker nor the Pfalz had optical aiming sights.

I have OFF and I hope that soon I will have the time to dedicate to playing it. The graphics are wonderful.

[USS Drum]

I know this has been posted on this thread recently but there is Shells of Fury a WWI sub simulator.

[89]

Originally Posted by Platapus

I don't think either the Foker nor the Pfalz had optical aiming sights.

I have OFF and I hope that soon I will have the time to dedicate to playing it. The graphics are wonderful.

The earliest record of the reflector sight being used with fighter aircraft was in 1918. The optical firm of Optische Antal Oigee of Berlin, working from the Grubb patents, developed 2 versions what came to be known as the Oigee Reflector Sight. Both used a 45 degree angle glass beam splitter and electrical illumination and were used to aim the plane's machine guns.
These were optional (as thy are in RoF).
Of course, the quintessential S.E.5a British scout had optical sight fitted at factory as standard

Bottom line- there is plenty of interest in WW1, WW1 sims and "non-automatic everything"

Although even 2009's RoF is merely *good* graphically (in terms of physics - it is *the best*), other WW1 games look very old (pun intended) Shells of Fury looks like 1990s game

[Aviv]

Haha wow I like this airplane game; really great looking! The last combat sim I played was Microsoft Combat Simulator 2. A while ago, me and my brother were talking about how a flight sim should work where you can fly a zeppelin on missions to England. Haha we thought that should make a very interesting game!

Also this WWI mod for sh4 looks really cool. When it will be ready and I am becoming bored with the pacific, I'll be sure to give it a try. Shells of Fury looks ok, but I would prefer to stay with Ubisoft games such as Silent Hunter.

I think another reason there's no WWI games is because of the nature of the conflict in europe; you sit in your hole, then you jump out and get shot at then you climb back to your hole. It doesn't really make for exiting games. It's a shame they didn't look at other campaigns other than europe though, like WWI in Africa or something.