no world map in SH4???

[McBeck]

What if the entire area of operation - like the one we had for SH3, was broken down into sections, but still covering the entire area.

The reason for this approach is very simpel:
Shorter load time, less stress on the PC and more details.

Downside is that you will have to expect some kind of load time, when you sail into a new map.

[Immacolata]

McBeck, I could live fine with that. Time Compression is anyway a kind of load time, so if I am staring at a map waiting for time to fly by at 4096 or at a load screen, fine for me. The people who desire entire oceans can have them, and the rest of us can zip forward to the area we find interesting without hassle and delay.

[GlobalExplorer]

I don't like the idea of "15 maps" instead of the world data. Biggest problem I see is that this will it will not be possible to mod in other theatres, anyone ever thought of german submarines in SHIV??

What exactly they are going to do is in the stars, but I hope they will at least do in a way as good as SHIII. If the terrain is limited to the current TOO, so be it, but please don't limit the theatres so much as to have any real "borders" (like LOMAC for example) - that kills immersion for me, even if I don't want to go anywhere special.

The world was one of the parts I liked most about SHIII. Satellite data is around, freely available, and they (UBI Romania) showed how a believable game world can be made from them .. not that usual hand made phantasy stuff and lame arguments like "of course it not possible to model x with that amount of detail so we thought sticking with y would be cooler". Since playing CFS2 I cannot go back to playing crap on tiny, handmade areas, when there is already a perfect solution. Therefore, my advice to simulation developers is: always use satellite data, it's free, it's good and it covers the whole world, + you can fire the map editors, they're low grade personnel anyways

[AJ!]

I recon having the whole world as the map would be pritty stupid for silent hunter 4. Having the whole pacific however makes perfect sense. Heck im pritty sure thats what everyone was expecting for this game.

Hopefuly these 15 maps are just areas of the pacific map with more detail then other areas and scripted events eg. midway battle

Also fingers crossed the graphics on land are better this time
I mean since the navy in the pacific had alot more involvment in land assaults it would make sense to add much more detail to the land.

[zephey]

I think AJ has a point. I am kind of picturing it like Google Maps for example. You know, how some cities are in High Def and others look like smudges. They might be able to do that. Where some places in the Pacific are "High Def" while the rest of the world is "smudges" if you guys can see what I am saying.

[Safe-Keeper]

I recon having the whole world as the map would be pritty stupid for silent hunter 4. Having the whole pacific however makes perfect sense. Heck im pritty sure thats what everyone was expecting for this game.

Hopefuly these 15 maps are just areas of the pacific map with more detail then other areas and scripted events eg. midway battle

Also fingers crossed the graphics on land are better this time
I mean since the navy in the pacific had alot more involvment in land assaults it would make sense to add much more detail to the land.

I suggest you read the reviews and watch the teasers out there. Everything in your post is answered by them.

1. The game will feature the whole world.
2. Land graphics are far better this time.

As for satellite data, it's good, but far from perfect. First of all, the Earth's changed from the 40's to now in several ways, even if you disregarded that, the satellite data needs review so that we don't end up with a map akin to the one in Silent Hunter III, where certain narrow straits and fjords are filled in when they could perfectly well be open.

And, of course, a "handmade" map has a certain charm. Not that I'm advocating one, but it certainly has a charm.

[Harry Buttle]

I'm happy to warp to my patrol location, as long as the PC calculates sightings along the way and drops me into real time when the lookouts/radar/sonar picks up a ship.

For those that want to do it in real time, go for it (but have you considered joining the navy? they'll pay you to do it).

[Iron Budokan]

I don't like the idea of not having a world map, but I kinda understand the idea behind the 15 maps or however many there might be. But what happens when you reach the end of one of these 15 maps?

I guess there's still a lot about the game we don't know yet.

I understand the arguements against a world map, I really do. But....

[Iron Budokan]

Of course if you left one area of operations and entered another via the different maps, that would be cool.

But I don't like the idea of "warping" from map to map, except as an option. Oh, well....

[Safe-Keeper]

They said we'd be able to navigate the entire world, so that must mean that the 15 maps, together, make up the entire world, or at least the watery portions:p.

I'd also assume that when you reach the edge of a map, the game loads the adjacent map. No reason to believe otherwise. Time compression of 4000+ was specifically mentioned in interviews, so "warping" will not be the only option, if an option at all.

[Schatten]

I'm still no seeing where there isn't a whole world map, I could have sworn that the Devs said even the Atlantic was in SH IV but it just happened to be empty. Although I'm sure modders will fix that one...

If you're basing the idea that there isn't the whole world on the one video I was taking that map to be one of the single mission ones, not the campaign map.

Also maybe the confusion is over the word "map". When I say the whole world map is there I mean that things like the Atlantic are in the game and you can sail there. When there have been comments over 15 maps, that could mean there are 15 nav maps available, as opposed to limiting it to 15 ocean zones maybe? I'm pretty sure the whole world is modeled, so that's what I mean by full world map. If it's a navigational chart thing then I don't mind if there isn't one chart to rule them all, having seperate nav charts for geographical areas not only makes sense but means you could get higher fidelity on those charts for depth and the like.

So I'm a little confused...but I could have sworn I saw/read that all of the oceans will be modeled contiguously.

[Iron Budokan]

Yes, separate nav maps for different regions makes good sense, imo.

[wamphyri]

Well what if the talk about the seperate maps is just for the single player game like was stated. What I mean is that they may have a "story or plot" lined up resulting in certain missions happening in certain areas. SH3 didn't have this sort of thing and was basically just one big sandbox in game terms. Sh4 may have the exact same thing as SH3 along side it's story mode. It's just another idea i'm throwing out there since we know for a fact that the US subs did more than hunt merchants on the high seas.

Keep an open mind!

Wamphyri

[TwistedFemur]

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.

The question specifically asked if the campaign is dynamic and he doesnt specifcally say it is

if no dynamic campaign ill be keeping my money

[Schatten]

I think the campaign is dynamic, it'd be sort of silly to not be especially since SH IV is based off the SH III engine, but what I think he means there is that instead of the interaction between your sub and HQ being limited to "Go to this area, sail around for a day and try to sink something" that there will be events that come through during the course of your patrol. Things like picking up downed pilots and taking pictures of enemy held harbors are two things that I remember being specifically mentioned for those events.

To me that makes it more dynamic, not less. I read some interviews talking about the SH III campaign development and they wanted to do more with it than the 24 hour patrol grid tasking, but didn't have time to put it in. This time, they have the time.

At least that's how I'm reading it, the campaign will work like SH III's but there will be radio messages changing your orders or adding supplemental orders as you go along. Just look at the scripted and dynamic layers in the campaigns now, that's a massively powerful tool (one I wish someone would put in a flight sim to be honest) being able to have both random events and scripted events occur during a campaign. In SH III the scripted layer can do some amazing things (look at GWX's accurate task forces, battles, etc) but with some more triggers it could be even more amazing since while you're in the campaign the dynamic and scripted layers are completely transpearent. With some tweaking instead of the scripted layer being used mainly for task force placements it could be used to trigger radio events that direct you to go to certain areas if certain events happen.

Just guessing here, but that's how it seems it will work in SH IV. I mean going back to a SH II completely scripted campaign would be not only a regression of the engine, but a waste of a very powerful tool (the campaign layers) which haven't really been exploited to their full potential yet I don't think.