no world map in SH4???

[Garrincha]

http://pc.ign.com/articles/727/727647p1.html

"The single-player campaign stretches across more than 15 maps, and multiplayer modes allow for cooperative or combative action for eight players via a LAN or four players online."

just a thought: Now will this mean you are warped to the general patrol area, and won't be able to travel all the way, which of course would be a nuisance at best...

In the end i would still prefer to depart from Pearl and sail across the vast Pacific, even if it would take me the better part of a real hour to get there.

Am i misreading something, or is this article misinformed?

cheers,
G

[Safe-Keeper]

That one really frightened me, too.

But then in another review I read that I was "able to roam the map as I pleased and go whereever I want", so I suppose they're keeping the world map.

Or maybe they're increasing the scale of it and thus have to break it down into smaller maps? A 1:1-scaled representation of, well, anyplace in the Pacific would be awesome.

But I sincerely don't hope it means the campaign's not dynamic anymore.

[WilhelmSchulz.]

If it is I might not buy it.

[Safe-Keeper]

Am i misreading something, or is this article misinformed?

I just noticed you left the worst possibility out. Was that intentional, or was it your sub-conscious denial-in-the-face-of-bad-news instinct kicking in?

To be honest, it does not sound good at all, one way or another.

[kylania]

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

But I sincerely don't hope it means the campaign's not dynamic anymore.

It'll be dynamic as seen in this quote:

Subsim: Describe the campaign feature. Will SH4 have the same style dynamic campaign that was successful with SH3?

SH4 Dev Team: No, of course not. We’ll have a much better campaign this time. We’ll do this, among other methods, through more varied patrol objectives and constant interaction with COMSUBPAC and special events that serve to keep you on your toes even in the middle of nowhere.

Subsim: There are geographic aspects of the Pacific war that are distinctly different than the U-boats Atlantic war, such as numerous shoals and reefs, uncharted areas (marked on the maps as "dangerous ground", etc.), and countless islands. Describe how SH4 will capitalize on these areas.
SH4 Dev Team: You can’t have most of the special missions without wading in shallow waters, where there is not much room to dive into when trouble comes! The game will take players close to land on many occasions, especially, but not only, in the SUBSOWESPAC command area.

Now, the second answer isn't clear enough to tell if it'll be a full world map or just selected areas of the theater?

[Safe-Keeper]

Thanks, I'd forgotten about that quote.

[Garrincha]

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

I just noticed you left the worst possibility out. Was that intentional, or was it your sub-conscious denial-in-the-face-of-bad-news instinct kicking in?

To be honest, it does not sound good at all, one way or another.

sub-conscious denial-in-the-face-of-bad-news instinct

It seems like such a leap back in simulation, that i'm not even seriously considering it...

It can't be true... therefore it isn't

[Sonarman]

Bigger is not always necessarily better. If the maps are smaller and split into operational areas (as they were in the original Silent Hunter) it might actually give us much greater detail. Instead of generic ports we may have a more accurate representation of the actual cities and harbours. And smaller more focussed charts may allow for the inclusion of the depth datum which was absent from the charts in SH3.

[Garrincha]

Originally Posted by Sonarman

Bigger is not always necessarily better. If the maps are smaller and split into operational areas (as they were in the original Silent Hunter) it might actually give us much greater detail. Instead of generic ports we may have a more accurate representation of the actual cities and harbours. And smaller more focussed charts may allow for the inclusion of the depth datum which was absent from the charts in SH3.

True, bigger is almost always never better! But do you really believe that if we have operational areas like the philippines, marshalls, gilberts, dutch indies, formosa, yellow sea, japan, korea, marianas, solomons, midway, wake and hawaii... and for the sake of argument, i'm not mentioning ceylon, singapore, the US west coast, australia and all other possible areas... That adding open ocean, which doesn't take any extra resources in development, will lower the detail in named areas.

To be reasonable: Which harbors do we actually want to be realistic. 1) the harbors we all know in our local area. 2) the harbors which are important in gameplay (historical battles etc)

So if they reconstruct Pearl, Tokyo, Manila, Perth, Singapore, Truk, Rabaul, etc... That's fine... The rest can be generic...(the only thing that bothered me in SH3 wasthe positioning of Rotterdam, and the fact that the reclaimed land in the Netherlands that was claimed after WW2 ended is already on the map...)

Depth charts can be imported just like the map in SH3...In real life: in the 40s large areas of the oceans where not charted... Sure, generic depth was known, but only after the use of radar satellites we have precise charts of the globe... Detailed maps of coasts where still considered intellegence... Especially in rarely sailed parts of the pacific...

As said, i prefer a global map, with dynamic campaigning... Send me on lifegaurd duty to Iwo Jima, but i will go to the inland sea to find some shipping "on the way home"...

cheers,
G

[Hylander_1314]

The Pacific is a big piece of realestate. Having the theatre maps broken down will make it easier to patrol the area you are ordered to go to. And like previously stated, should have more detail, especially needed for the clandestine operations that will be included. Besides, there's not much need for a world encompassing map, as once you leave the the sphere of Japanese expansion, you'll be hard pressed to find targets to sink anyways, unless you plan on using Navy property for a pleasure cruise.

[TheSatyr]

Sounds to me like they are breaking it down ito patrol zones...which is the way it should be. Subs didn't leave their assigned patrol areas unless ordered to...or unless they had damn good reason to do so. I hope they use the USN patrol zone numbers. Looking forward to pulling area 7 for a patrol.

[Safe-Keeper]

If it's broken down and the pieces are 1:1, I won't complain as much. I remember patrolling the Norwegian fjords and being disappointed at how low the mountains were (their height was of course scaled down, too). So...

[The Noob]

Sounds Bad....

Maybe the want to do something Like with Silent Service 2?:hmm:

[Garrincha]

just figured it out... they can do BOTH.... Get high detailed patrol areas, and bind them with low detailed transit areas... The waves are the same, but i doubt i anyone will have a problem with "depth over 500 fathoms" when your test depth is 400 ft... (this might actually be the way SH3 worked)

[longdog499]

IMHO no matter how they might try to dress it up, no World Map would be a massive step back from SH III.I don't even want to think about the possibility.