The Silent Hunter IV (Pacific Campaign) WISH-LIST

[DeepSix]

Originally Posted by Phylacista

1. radio traffic with impact: you get assigned to a new patrol grid, you will be ordered to attack a carrier group recently discovered by planes, orderered RTB when your status report indicates your boat is a pile of rubbish.
...

I also would like radio traffic that affects the outcome of the patrol/career/game. U.S. subs weren't assigned grids the way U-boats were; they were given stations but it wasn't a grid system like BdU's. Which just makes what you said even more worth asking for. A good dynamic model for the radio would be one of the single best things to have in SH4, IMO.

U.S. boats were very often shuffled around based on Ultra intelligence. It affected their deployments probably more than anything else. Codebreakers figured out IJN movements, which were then relayed to the boats through their base commanders (although course and speed projections were not always 100% accurate). To take your example of carriers - in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, U.S. subs sank two IJN carriers (Shokaku and Taiho) based on information gathered from Ultra.

In SH3, you often feel like BdU doesn't know or care where you are or what you're doing ("Be more aggressive") - in SH4 it would be nice if your success on patrol were more dependent on being able to send and receive.

Along the same line.... AFAIK Japanese RDF-ing wasn't done nearly as often, nor as effectively, as in the North Atlantic (though they did occasionally jam U.S. radio traffic), so I don't think breaking radio silence should always and instantaneously give you away.

And a somewhat related request: Devs, please make the SJ radar useable while submerged at periscope depth (which is historical). In other words, don't let the Type XXI radar bug creep into SH4.

[Threadfin]

It may have been mentioned, but I'd like to see an option for realistic career length, along with a 'Hall of Fame' for the top careers.

Career length random and predetermined (not player set), with most careers 4-6 patrols, with chance to be relieved after 2nd patrol for non-production. Rare chance for more than 6, up to 10, which is the record for most war patrols by a single U.S. commander (Lee S-12/Grayling/Croaker, and Dempsey S-37/Spearfish/Cod)

Two skippers had 9 patrols, three had 8, ten had 7, thirteen had 6. Taken from Blair's Silent Victory which lists the top 76 skippers so is an incomplete list, but it's unlikely any commanders with 6 or more patrols wouldn't be in this list.

[DeepSix]

Been pondering this idea for several days. Joseph Fitz-Patrick made 17 patrols (according to Blair) but I'm not sure how many of those were as skipper (not all of them, I'm sure). Also, a few skippers who had been relieved got second chances, so I'd hate to see a career irretrievably over after only 2 patrols (although I agree it would be realistic). So maybe factor in a chance for reinstatement if relieved for failure to acheive results.

I think the idea of limiting the number of patrols for a career to a realistic amount is entirely a good one, but my two cents would be to incorporate it via a mod rather than have it built into the stock game without any player control over it. I think the average or first-time player would not like to have limits.

Several skippers (thinking of Moon Chapple, one of the ones given a second chance) went through the war from start to finish, so if the number of patrols must be limited, IMO it'd be good to have them spread out - so you don't, for instance, start December 7 and find your career ended before Midway (unless you're dead, of course ).

[Edit: Just thought of something else - Lockwood or Christie think it was Lockwood) nearly always "relieved" his skippers for a rest after they'd completed 5 patrols. Based on Blair's top 76, the average number of patrols completed was 5.2.]

[CannonFodder]

I thought SH3 was fantastic, esp after some of the great mods that were later developed. For SH4 the biggest thing I could wish for would be a improvement and integration of time compression and crew management. Setting daily watches without guys falling asleep at the controls is a must! I would also like to see when you are in time compression above a number you set, ie 8X the captain, (you) are off duty and in your bunk. Your XO would be in command and follow captain's (your) standing orders. ie, avoid target "this" and "that", engage target "this" and "that" You would arrive on the command deck with the crew already getting underway to avoid or engage a contact, and not wake up to a "death screen" because you couldn't slow the time comp in time.

It only makes sense to me that if the enemy AI can currently attack and sink you before you can lift a hand to get out of time compression, that the friendly AI crew mates can be smart enough to avoid that rock, not hit that friendly freighter or crash dive when swarmed by destroyers while you are rising from your bunk rubbing the sleep out of your eyes.

Once the immediate threat is dealt with, your XO can report all happenings while you were napping.

PS new here. Nice board. Great to see this series alive and well in the community.

[DeepSix]

Welcome aboard!

[Iceberg]

How about support for wide screen resolution in SHIV?

Wide, as in 3840X1024 to work well with the Matrox TripleHead2Go.
(That would compensate for the poor 1024X768 they gave us with SHIII)
C'mon Devs... Add your game to the list!

Cheers,

Iceberg.

[Safe-Keeper]

More moddability: Ability to add interiors and player-control to any entity in the game. A deeper mission editor with far more trigger options and events.

[Patboot]

Not having read all ten pages, but my 2 bits?

Polycrewing- Being able to man stations with other players.

Think having 2 or three of your friends on the boat, in a mission.

[U-104]

Originally Posted by Harry Buttle

an excellent point, and well made.

I would just add, have a good look at the reviews of BC3000 and tell me that you want to see SHIV done that badly.

I have and like the game very much, thank you!!!

[Donner]

Originally Posted by DeepSix

Joseph Fitz-Patrick made 17 patrols (according to Blair) but I'm not sure how many of those were as skipper (not all of them, I'm sure).

Fitz-Patrick was in command (USS Paddle) for only 3 of his 17 patrols.

If we have accurate periscopes, radar, sonar, torpedo reliability, dive times, etc., why not have realistic "command relief?"
I'm all for it!

As is well known, Congressman Andrew Jackson May (D-KY), chairman of House Military Affairs Committee, visited the Pacific theater for operational briefings. At a press conference held after his return, May said the Japanese were setting their depth charges too shallow and our submarines were safe. Shortly afterwards, the Japanese began setting the charges deeper. Admiral Lockwood opined that May's statement probably caused the loss of ten submarines.

I would like to see an increase in Japanese depth charge accuracy (deeper settings) after June 1943 to reflect this.

[TangoShadow]

Hi,

* More compartments on the boat (even if you can only walk into them and look around - you can asses damage etc). Seeing the engines run/torpedoes being loaded would be neat, too.

* If you are at a station (e.g. Attack Periscope) - add the ability to right-click out of the view to the view as if you are sitting at the scope, then right-click out of the seat to the conning tower. You can go to the scope like this, but you can't get out again; you have to use the shortcut bar presently.

* Improved interior damage modelling (i.e. more of it)

* Other subs in the sea (both sides)

* More detailed interiors (but NOT to the deteriment of the smoothness of the sim - SH3 is great on my AMD Athlon XP 2600+ ! Don't go the way of many other games/sims with ever decreasing performance requiring faster computers!)

* Dud torpedoes ?

* Hulls that look like they've been to sea!


I really can't think of anythign else - SH3 is pretty darn good!

--TangoShadow

[George S]

For SHIV I'd like to see the following features to reflect the PTO accurately:

1) Dud torpedo % accurately depicted as war goes on
2) FOX messages assigned with your codename that change your mission while at sea
3) The operating theatre goes from the Aleutians to the Solomons
4) Many areas have innaccurate or outdated navigational charts, where depth, presence of reefs, etc are unknown
5) Possibility of mine fields
6) Some fishing boats used as lookouts and radio transmitters
7) Realistic equipment failure on the boat
8) FLASH intel reports while on patrol
9) Possibility of being attacked by friendly aircraft
10) Tokyo Rose on the radio
11) Recon, lifeguard, minelaying and supply missions accurately reflected
12) Hospital ships and Q ships represented

As far as SHIV portraying the Pacific war rather than the UBoat war, I'm sure I'm in the tiniest of minorities in saying that I have always thought the ATO less interesting compared to the PTO (in terms of playing a sub sim). I say that for one simple reason: except for a very brief period of time, the war in the Atlantic was never balanced. One side or the other always had a vast technical or numerical advantage. It's always either feast or famine. For the last year, as a sub commander, it's all you can do to stay alive day-to-day let alone attacking and sinking the enemy. I do not find that very interesting after a while.
On the other hand, in the PTO, even when Japan's naval power is broken, any individual encounter could go either way. And so it went throughout almost the entire war. Play balance nevers swings too far either way, regardless of time period.

[DeepSix]

Originally Posted by Donner

Fitz-Patrick was in command (USS Paddle) for only 3 of his 17 patrols.
...

Ah, thank you. I couldn't remember the exact number.

I think "realistic relief" is a great idea, but I also think it would please more people to have it as a mod rather than as a stock element. Casual players may not go for it if it's a stock feature, while the realism junkies (who are the most likely to use mods on a regular basis, IMO) will love it.

[slow_n_ez]

My only wish is ......................

Out of box game that don't need a patch after 2 weeks of being released ......

Out of box game that don't need 5 thousand mods in order to make it look 'interesting' or 'real'

Out of box game that I don't need to spend 500 us dollars to upgrade my computer in order to play it ..........

[Drebbel]

Originally Posted by slow_n_ez

My only wish is ......................

Out of box game that don't need a patch after 2 weeks of being released ......

Ah, so you want a game that has been tested on thousends of different computer systems and combinations by hundreds of people. Better prepare for a release date that is pushed forward for atleast 6 months, and then still it will not be bug free,

Out of box game that don't need 5 thousand mods in order to make it look 'interesting' or 'real'

Ah, so you want an unmoddable game. When a game is modable the modders always will be able to make certain parts of the game more interesting or better.

Out of box game that I don't need to spend 500 us dollars to upgrade my computer in order to play it

Ah, so you want outdated graphics, but you want it to look real.

Maybe you should go back to Silent Service 1, that game has next to none mods, runs smooth and has few known bugs, and you only have to downgrade your computer or run DosBox.

:p

Originally Posted by DeepSix

Anybody else besides me think seeing phosphorescence in the water would be really cool?

Yep, would sure be cool. The more graphics and options the better.