Idea: Captain Fatigue

Elmer Kosterman · 05-04-08, 12:53 PM

In the world of Silent Hunter III, the player assumes the role of the captain, who is ever-present, aware, and can do just about anything better than any member of the crew (omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, like the God). My idea is that it would be interesting to take the captain's need for sleep into account in future simulations. Here's how it could work:

The captain needs about 7-8 hours of sleep every twenty-four hours.

He can go without sleep for significant streches, and can make it up later, but he cannot "store" sleep.

To go to sleep, the player brings the captain to his bunk, and selects 'Sleep.' The screen then goes blank or indicates the game's status by displying z's or sheep.

There are a number of ways the captain can be woken:

---after a specified length of time

---upon the receipt of certain reports (sound contact, ship spotted, urgent message from BdU, etc.)

---alarm situations

---at the leisure of the player

This sleep feature would add some suspense to the game, as the Captain sleeps not knowing if he will wake to his IWO standing over him with a message or by the LI screaming "ALARM!" It would also be a challenge for the player to reacquaint him- or herself with the status of the boat after waking up (especially in an emergency), perhaps through a quick breifing from whoever had the conn as to the present, position, heading and depth. Of course this feature would be time compression-compatible.

Should the Captain not get enough sleep, the player would be confronted with a set of hardships, including:

---a shakey cursor
---unstable scopes
---slower movement between stations
---garbled hearing of the hydrophone

In such situations, the player would be advised to rely on the crew to perform sensitive operations such as firing the deck-gun, plotting positions, or computing firing solutions.

If the captain goes too long without sleep, the game will render him unconsious for a time, during which the player will not be able to wake him.

What do you guys think?

GoldenRivet · 05-04-08, 02:39 PM

sounds interesting.

theoretically on high time compression you would be going to sleep every 3 or 4 minutes though.

this would be good for a 1x time compression patrol so that you could set your captain to "sleep" whenever you decided to go to bed.

or you can do as i do on long patrols, slow down to 1x compression, dive to abotu 80 meters, go to the captains bunk screen and then actually go to bed yourself... resuming your game when you get up the next morning (let the computer run through the night)

Red Heat · 05-04-08, 03:49 PM

Hartmann · 05-04-08, 05:29 PM

curiosly there is a captain texture in the original vanilla game in one of the folders but i supose that dev team don´t have enough time for finish it.

For example could be nice see the captain in the tower during external views

Cohaagen · 05-04-08, 05:30 PM

I always suspected that the otherwise useless "Captain's Bed" position in SH3 was an unused feature that was originally intended as a sort of "hibernation" feature to - so that you could instantly warp to a certain time, eg. when you reach your patrol grid or whatever, being awoken whenever an emergency or message pops up.

GoldenRivet · 05-04-08, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cohaagen

I always suspected that the otherwise useless "Captain's Bed" position in SH3 was an unused feature that was originally intended as a sort of "hibernation" feature to - so that you could instantly warp to a certain time, eg. when you reach your patrol grid or whatever, being awoken whenever an emergency or message pops up.

or warp in 8 hour increments perhaps

GoDeep · 05-04-08, 06:21 PM

It's an interesting idea, but as has been pointed out, it would make the most sense for people who play SHIII in real time, without time compression. I myself don't have that luxury, plus I need my PC for other things besides playing this game. I need to get some work done too, so I can't leave it running 24/7.

In addition, I don't think that "impaired Kaleun ability" is a feature most people would want. Lord knows that I make enough errors in judgment with my real life fatigue and distractions as it is, without adding another layer of difficulty on top of an already difficult game.

That being said, it is unrealistic for the commander never to experience tiredness or to be able to command the ship non stop for a 4 week patrol. Of course in real life, command of the boat would be rotated among the officers, waking the commander as necessary. But since it is a simulation, with a simulated boat and crew, I don't have a problem with the commander being able perform everything on the boat and to be awake for that long. I simply think of him as the most experienced officer with the most training in the entire crew. After all, it is still a game.

Bosje · 05-04-08, 07:24 PM

the game takes care of things on it's own accord, i think
I too go to the captain bed and leave the game running while i have a kip

that experience increases value when it's done at 3am after an intense convoy engagement.
'looks like the destroyers have finally pissed off boys, maintain silent running at 100 meters, i am going to bed'

time compression very much the same

and i agree that the game doesn't need captain impairments, the above example is exhausting enough, when the choice is to risk a buggy savegame or to sit it out till 3am

05-04-08, 12:53 PM	#1
Elmer Kosterman A-ganger Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: München Posts: 71 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	Idea: Captain Fatigue In the world of Silent Hunter III, the player assumes the role of the captain, who is ever-present, aware, and can do just about anything better than any member of the crew (omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, like the God). My idea is that it would be interesting to take the captain's need for sleep into account in future simulations. Here's how it could work: The captain needs about 7-8 hours of sleep every twenty-four hours. He can go without sleep for significant streches, and can make it up later, but he cannot "store" sleep. To go to sleep, the player brings the captain to his bunk, and selects 'Sleep.' The screen then goes blank or indicates the game's status by displying z's or sheep. There are a number of ways the captain can be woken: ---after a specified length of time ---upon the receipt of certain reports (sound contact, ship spotted, urgent message from BdU, etc.) ---alarm situations ---at the leisure of the player This sleep feature would add some suspense to the game, as the Captain sleeps not knowing if he will wake to his IWO standing over him with a message or by the LI screaming "ALARM!" It would also be a challenge for the player to reacquaint him- or herself with the status of the boat after waking up (especially in an emergency), perhaps through a quick breifing from whoever had the conn as to the present, position, heading and depth. Of course this feature would be time compression-compatible. Should the Captain not get enough sleep, the player would be confronted with a set of hardships, including: ---a shakey cursor ---unstable scopes ---slower movement between stations ---garbled hearing of the hydrophone In such situations, the player would be advised to rely on the crew to perform sensitive operations such as firing the deck-gun, plotting positions, or computing firing solutions. If the captain goes too long without sleep, the game will render him unconsious for a time, during which the player will not be able to wake him. What do you guys think?

05-04-08, 02:39 PM	#2
GoldenRivet Subsim Aviator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 8,726 Downloads: 146 Uploads: 0	sounds interesting. theoretically on high time compression you would be going to sleep every 3 or 4 minutes though. this would be good for a 1x time compression patrol so that you could set your captain to "sleep" whenever you decided to go to bed. or you can do as i do on long patrols, slow down to 1x compression, dive to abotu 80 meters, go to the captains bunk screen and then actually go to bed yourself... resuming your game when you get up the next morning (let the computer run through the night) __________________

05-04-08, 03:49 PM	#3
Red Heat Ace of the Deep Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Portugal Posts: 1,093 Downloads: 267 Uploads: 0	__________________ "There is three kinds of man: the living, the death, and those who are at Sea." Plato

05-04-08, 05:29 PM	#4
Hartmann Sea Lord Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Grid CH 26, Spain ,Barcelona Posts: 1,857 Downloads: 204 Uploads: 0	curiosly there is a captain texture in the original vanilla game in one of the folders but i supose that dev team don´t have enough time for finish it. For example could be nice see the captain in the tower during external views __________________ But this ship can't sink!... She is made of iron, sir. I assure you, she can. and she will. It is a mathematical certainty. Strength and honor

05-04-08, 07:24 PM	#8
Bosje Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 732 Downloads: 89 Uploads: 0	the game takes care of things on it's own accord, i think I too go to the captain bed and leave the game running while i have a kip that experience increases value when it's done at 3am after an intense convoy engagement. 'looks like the destroyers have finally pissed off boys, maintain silent running at 100 meters, i am going to bed' time compression very much the same and i agree that the game doesn't need captain impairments, the above example is exhausting enough, when the choice is to risk a buggy savegame or to sit it out till 3am __________________ And when an 800-ton Uboat has you by the tits... you listen!

05-04-08, 05:30 PM	#5
Cohaagen Frogman Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: UK Posts: 296 Downloads: 43 Uploads: 0	I always suspected that the otherwise useless "Captain's Bed" position in SH3 was an unused feature that was originally intended as a sort of "hibernation" feature to - so that you could instantly warp to a certain time, eg. when you reach your patrol grid or whatever, being awoken whenever an emergency or message pops up.

05-04-08, 06:21 PM	#7
GoDeep Planesman Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Netherlands Posts: 188 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	It's an interesting idea, but as has been pointed out, it would make the most sense for people who play SHIII in real time, without time compression. I myself don't have that luxury, plus I need my PC for other things besides playing this game. I need to get some work done too, so I can't leave it running 24/7. In addition, I don't think that "impaired Kaleun ability" is a feature most people would want. Lord knows that I make enough errors in judgment with my real life fatigue and distractions as it is, without adding another layer of difficulty on top of an already difficult game. That being said, it is unrealistic for the commander never to experience tiredness or to be able to command the ship non stop for a 4 week patrol. Of course in real life, command of the boat would be rotated among the officers, waking the commander as necessary. But since it is a simulation, with a simulated boat and crew, I don't have a problem with the commander being able perform everything on the boat and to be awake for that long. I simply think of him as the most experienced officer with the most training in the entire crew. After all, it is still a game.