Men on deck

[frog7]

know we coverd this before...but i was whatching the Video of PT Boats Nights of the Sea as i whatched i seen men running on deck of the Enemy ships it looked real good...i know we got men on SH3 manning the Guns but id love to see people on board enemy ships...say when they get torpedod you will see them on deck...will this be in SH4?....it would make a big Diffrence to how real the game would be...

It would be nice to see your own crew moving around the sub, too, but it might take so much processing that even good machines would have trouble running it.

I don't know.

[Seminole]

Since Japanese shipping didn't usually convoy in such large groups as found in the Atlantic battles we should have ample processing power to employ animated crewmen on target vessels....provided other aspects of the sim remain anywhere similar to SHIII.

Those huge convoys in SHIII really take their toll in processing resources.

Something,almost anything, to give the illusion of life aboard the target vessels would add much to the immersion effect. The decks wouldn't have to be crowded with crewmen in oder to accomplish that goal.

[DeepSix]

Actually, IMO the stock SH3 convoys are smaller than would be historical; I actually think they're about the right size for historical Japanese convoys. Happy to be corrected on this, but if I'm remembering Blair correctly it seems like there were lots of six to ten-ship convoys.

And there were at least two enormous ones - the invasion force for Malaysia shipped in two groups of about (IIRC) 40 transports each. Historically, though, no allied sub came in contact with either of these main bodies. Again, willing to be corrected on that....

Animations would be really cool, but they might eat up too much processor. The game has to be marketed to the middle of the bell curve - most people don't have high-end machines. So.... I'm with Sailor Steve; I don't know either.

[GreyOctober]

Originally Posted by DeepSix

most people don't have high-end machines. So.... I'm with Sailor Steve; I don't know either.

I beg to differ: MOST have medium to high- end machines and considerring the fact that the game is due in one year from now, situation in the computer business is likelly to change in a good way in terms of price.
Anyway, rederring crews is no biggy in my book, but it has to be done in a smart way because were dealing here with tight enclosed spaces and glitches are likelly to occur, for instace its quite a bugger when 2 characters are on the same corridor goin in opposite directions. Quick fix would be just making them run through eachother and not make one stand asside while the other passes. And motion capture is a must (a standard these days id say). Come to think of it, the best way would be to motion capture few dozends on instances and transitioning them. Example, character hanging on do dear life during a DC attack and then transitioning to another animation, lets say running and passing through a hatch (like in Das boot). It really depends on how far are they willing to go with this. Like i said, no big deal to render 30 to 40 men but animating them in a realistic and convinging way is a headache. but NOT impossible to make though.

[DeepSix]

I politely disagree. No, it's not impossible, but that wasn't really what I meant. I meant that "possible" doesn't necessarily equate to "practical" or "desirable."

Yeah, computers will be even snazzier by the time the game comes out - but I'm not planning on buying a new computer just so I can play it. That means it'll probably have to run on this 4 year old fossil, and I strongly suspect there are more people in the same boat than there are playing on the very latest rigs.

That's about all I want to say about it - because, in a way, I think this discussion is partly a debate over "game" vs. "sim" and the type of playing experience you get with each. Your mention of making sure that the rendering is done realistically so the animations don't look "goofy" is a great example. How much of that the devs decide to include is a matter of them deciding what the game will be essentially about. For me, it is essential that game subs behave more or less like real ones, that targets behave more or less like real targets, that engagements are more or less realistic, etc. Everything else is - for me - just window dressing.

[Rosencrantz]

Deepsix wrote:

I politely disagree. No, it's not impossible, but that wasn't really what I meant. I meant that "possible" doesn't necessarily equate to "practical" or "desirable."

For me, it is essential that game subs behave more or less like real ones, that targets behave more or less like real targets, that engagements are more or less realistic, etc. Everything else is - for me - just window dressing.

I agree. Definetly!

-RC-

[GreyOctober]

Originally Posted by Rosencrantz

I agree. Definetly!

Officers, take this man away!

:rotfl:

[Donner]

I guess I'll have to be taken away as well.

I agree wholeheartedly with DeepSix. I would prefer the devs spend their time making sure that the sim is accurate and works properly than to spend IMHO an inordinate amount of time animating crew members. To be honest, the crew animation is something that I would "oooo' and 'aaahh' over for about ten minutes. The rest of the time I would find it superfluous.

I know I will be spending my time commanding the boat instead of watching the crew react. If I want to see something like that, I'll pop in flick like "Run Silent, Run Deep", "Torpedo Run", or "Das Boot."

[GreyOctober]

I hereby proclame dictatorship and anyone found to agree "wholehartedlly" with Deepsix is to be fed raw squid and brocolli.

Originally Posted by Donner

I would prefer the devs spend their time making sure that the sim is accurate and works properly than to spend IMHO an inordinate amount of time animating crew members.

You have a valid point though...hmmm.. :hmm: ..SPARED!

[DeepSix]

Originally Posted by GreyOctober

I hereby proclame dictatorship and anyone found to agree "wholehartedlly" with Deepsix is to be fed raw squid and brocolli. ...

:rotfl: Hey! I like broccoli!

[Rosencrantz]

[b]GreyOctober wrote:[b]

Rosencrantz wrote:
I agree. Definetly!


Officers, take this man away!

I'm sorry GreyOctober, but because I'm not a native speaker, I didn't got your point. So maybe you (or someone else) would like to tell me what I did wrong?



-RC-

[/i]Edit: Blah... Don't worry. I read Donners post and I think I understand now. GreyOctober...



-RC-

[Rosencrantz]

Jeez...

What's the matter with those buttons you can adjust the type of the text...
Well, doesn't matter...

-RC-