Any word from Sonalysts???

Sea Demon · 08-06-08, 02:01 PM

Neal (or any other who might know),

Has anybody heard any words at all from the people at Sonalysts? It seems as though they have totally disappeared. Completely. Even at their own website forum. I have asked questions directly there and the silence is deafening. As I've enjoyed every sim SCS has created, and was initially drawn to Subsim by playing their naval games, I was hoping that SCS might produce something more in the future. Any plans? Any news? Any contact with them at all?

Konovalov · 08-07-08, 10:27 AM

I loved Sub Command. It would be a shame for the naval sim community if they never produce anything again.

Onkel Neal · 08-09-08, 12:02 AM

No news, they are focusing on their military contracts. The PC segment has not been large enough to compel new game development.

GrayOwl · 08-10-08, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neal Stevens

No news, they are focusing on their military contracts. The PC segment has not been large enough to compel new game development.

688HK/Jane -----> SubCommand ------> Dangerous Waters -------->

Linton · 08-11-08, 12:13 PM

Frying Tiger,a sonalyst employee still drops in from time to time though his recent posts all seem to be in the SH4 forum!!!
He has not made a post regarding sonalysts since last year!

GrayOwl · 08-12-08, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Linton

Frying Tiger,a sonalyst employee still drops in from time to time though his recent posts all seem to be in the SH4 forum!!!
He has not made a post regarding sonalysts since last year!

Commons: SA For Games - Dead... This Is True.

GrayOwl · 08-13-08, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Linton

Frying Tiger,a sonalyst employee still drops in from time to time though his recent posts all seem to be in the SH4 forum!!!
He has not made a post regarding sonalysts since last year!

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Sea Demon · 08-18-08, 12:09 AM

Thanks Neal and all others who responded. This is rather depressing really. With this is mind, just who out there is going to develop modern naval sims for us to enjoy on the commercial market? I don't see anybody else filling this role. Do you?UBIsoft? EA in conjunction with some gaming studio? Can we talk to those who make some of these modern flight sims into looking at modern naval sims as a potential development line? Should we start a petition to Sonalysts themselves to reconsider?

Sorry to the WW2 subsimmers, but without modern naval simming, things could get pretty dry in the naval sims sector. I think a good mix of WW2 style subsims and modern naval stuff is what keeps naval simming so intriguing. I happen to play and enjoy both. I'm still playing and enjoying DW but we're about a little less than a half year away from 2009. Oh well..........................

Syxx_Killer · 08-19-08, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sea Demon

Thanks Neal and all others who responded. This is rather depressing really. With this is mind, just who out there is going to develop modern naval sims for us to enjoy on the commercial market? I don't see anybody else filling this role. Do you?UBIsoft? EA in conjunction with some gaming studio? Can we talk to those who make some of these modern flight sims into looking at modern naval sims as a potential development line? Should we start a petition to Sonalysts themselves to reconsider?

Sorry to the WW2 subsimmers, but without modern naval simming, things could get pretty dry in the naval sims sector. I think a good mix of WW2 style subsims and modern naval stuff is what keeps naval simming so intriguing. I happen to play and enjoy both. I'm still playing and enjoying DW but we're about a little less than a half year away from 2009. Oh well..........................

I know what you mean! Even though we have no modern conflicts to really model a dynamic campaign after, a realistic "what-if" scenario would be good (eg Red Storm Rising). I'm DYING for a truly dynamic campaign with a moden nuclear sub. I'd love to go hunting in my Los Angeles or an Akula class subs! I'd love to be tracking a possible sub contact only to get a message to proceed to a different area to wait for an enemy fleet or something!

Hawk66 · 08-22-08, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sea Demon

Neal (or any other who might know),

Has anybody heard any words at all from the people at Sonalysts? It seems as though they have totally disappeared. Completely. Even at their own website forum. I have asked questions directly there and the silence is deafening. As I've enjoyed every sim SCS has created, and was initially drawn to Subsim by playing their naval games, I was hoping that SCS might produce something more in the future. Any plans? Any news? Any contact with them at all?

I've recently got the info, that they still 'wait and see'. But I assume, as long as they get enough contracts from the navy/DoD they are not eager to return to the PC market. From the company's perspective I can fully understand this (benefit).

Probably it would work if the codeline between the commercial and the government version is nearly the same (only add ons etc. like in Harpoon and Steel Panthers).

And I do not think that other vendors will produce a naval sim in the foreseeable future. You just have to compare the number of threads between DW and Silent Hunter....

I think an open source naval/subsim is the only alternative...

Linton · 08-22-08, 02:32 PM

I believe that any future sim will come from a gaming company.Only a hardcore of players will buy a sim because they like the sim engine and the realism.The majority of purchasers want eye candy and that means really good graphics.This DW did not have and by suppressing any mods of the visual models this will never be achieved.
The promised expansion packs and campaigns never appeared.I wonder if they were ever made or were they just some pipe dream at Sonalysts.for versatility I believe that SC will never be bettered,and that is because we made it what it is!

Takeda Shingen · 08-22-08, 04:18 PM

Well, that is just it: Hardcore simulation is a niche market. To echo what Neal has said, Sonalysts is a company, and like any company, it exists to serve a bottom line. The government contracts were far more lucrative than the PC market, so Sonalysts moved to where the money is. I agree that it is a shame for us. Looks like I'll be taking extra special care of those DW disks so that the sim may serve me for many years to come.

Of course, if the interest was strong enough, and I mean really strong enough, the community could make it's own. If it could happen anywhere, it would be SubSim.

Linton · 08-25-08, 03:11 PM

It would have been nice for Frying Tiger to have actually have posted a comment about this as he is a Sonalyst employee.I am trying to remember who the forum member was that used to post a lot on here but then left Sonalysts about the time DW appeared.Does he still visit?

Hitman · 08-26-08, 08:27 AM

Well if this abandoning the PC gaming market would at least open the doors from the modding community with Sonalyst's agreement, that would be great. I wish they could have some talented guys sign an NDA and hand them the code over to improve the game and let people add controllable platforms.

Or at least, give officially permission to add new playable units :hmm:

The game is nowadays old enough (Visually speaking) to make it be no competition for any future product they could develop. Just look at SH2 now....would someone say that ANY mod of it could detract sales from SH3/4 or a future SH5? Obviously not.....

Hawk66 · 08-26-08, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hitman

Well if this abandoning the PC gaming market would at least open the doors from the modding community with Sonalyst's agreement, that would be great. I wish they could have some talented guys sign an NDA and hand them the code over to improve the game and let people add controllable platforms.

Or at least, give officially permission to add new playable units :hmm:

The game is nowadays old enough (Visually speaking) to make it be no competition for any future product they could develop. Just look at SH2 now....would someone say that ANY mod of it could detract sales from SH3/4 or a future SH5? Obviously not.....

You have to keep in mind that they use the core (naval sim engine) in their government projects also (at least to my knowlege)...so they cannot release the source code etc.

08-06-08, 02:01 PM	#1
Sea Demon Ocean Warrior Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: USA Posts: 2,552 Downloads: 33 Uploads: 0	Any word from Sonalysts??? Neal (or any other who might know), Has anybody heard any words at all from the people at Sonalysts? It seems as though they have totally disappeared. Completely. Even at their own website forum. I have asked questions directly there and the silence is deafening. As I've enjoyed every sim SCS has created, and was initially drawn to Subsim by playing their naval games, I was hoping that SCS might produce something more in the future. Any plans? Any news? Any contact with them at all?

08-07-08, 10:27 AM	#2
Konovalov Ocean Warrior Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: High Wycombe, Bucks, UK Posts: 2,811 Downloads: 9 Uploads: 0	I loved Sub Command. It would be a shame for the naval sim community if they never produce anything again. __________________ "In a Christian context, sexuality is traditionally seen as a consequence of the Fall, but for Muslims, it is an anticipation of paradise. So I can say, I think, that I was validly converted to Islam by a teenage French Jewish nudist." Sheikh Abdul-Hakim Murad (Timothy Winter)

08-09-08, 12:02 AM	#3
Onkel Neal Born to Run Silent Join Date: Jan 1997 Location: Cougar Trap, Texas Posts: 21,385 Downloads: 541 Uploads: 224	No news, they are focusing on their military contracts. The PC segment has not been large enough to compel new game development. __________________ SUBSIM - 26 Years on the Web

08-11-08, 12:13 PM	#5
Linton Sea Lord Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 1,898 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Frying Tiger,a sonalyst employee still drops in from time to time though his recent posts all seem to be in the SH4 forum!!! He has not made a post regarding sonalysts since last year! __________________ http://lintonsview.blogspot.com/

08-22-08, 02:32 PM	#11
Linton Sea Lord Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 1,898 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I believe that any future sim will come from a gaming company.Only a hardcore of players will buy a sim because they like the sim engine and the realism.The majority of purchasers want eye candy and that means really good graphics.This DW did not have and by suppressing any mods of the visual models this will never be achieved. The promised expansion packs and campaigns never appeared.I wonder if they were ever made or were they just some pipe dream at Sonalysts.for versatility I believe that SC will never be bettered,and that is because we made it what it is! __________________ http://lintonsview.blogspot.com/

08-18-08, 12:09 AM	#8
Sea Demon Ocean Warrior Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: USA Posts: 2,552 Downloads: 33 Uploads: 0	Thanks Neal and all others who responded. This is rather depressing really. With this is mind, just who out there is going to develop modern naval sims for us to enjoy on the commercial market? I don't see anybody else filling this role. Do you?UBIsoft? EA in conjunction with some gaming studio? Can we talk to those who make some of these modern flight sims into looking at modern naval sims as a potential development line? Should we start a petition to Sonalysts themselves to reconsider? Sorry to the WW2 subsimmers, but without modern naval simming, things could get pretty dry in the naval sims sector. I think a good mix of WW2 style subsims and modern naval stuff is what keeps naval simming so intriguing. I happen to play and enjoy both. I'm still playing and enjoying DW but we're about a little less than a half year away from 2009. Oh well..........................

08-22-08, 04:18 PM	#12
Takeda Shingen Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2000 Posts: 8,643 Downloads: 19 Uploads: 0	Well, that is just it: Hardcore simulation is a niche market. To echo what Neal has said, Sonalysts is a company, and like any company, it exists to serve a bottom line. The government contracts were far more lucrative than the PC market, so Sonalysts moved to where the money is. I agree that it is a shame for us. Looks like I'll be taking extra special care of those DW disks so that the sim may serve me for many years to come. Of course, if the interest was strong enough, and I mean really strong enough, the community could make it's own. If it could happen anywhere, it would be SubSim.

08-25-08, 03:11 PM	#13
Linton Sea Lord Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 1,898 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	It would have been nice for Frying Tiger to have actually have posted a comment about this as he is a Sonalyst employee.I am trying to remember who the forum member was that used to post a lot on here but then left Sonalysts about the time DW appeared.Does he still visit? __________________ http://lintonsview.blogspot.com/

08-26-08, 08:27 AM	#14
Hitman Pacific Aces Dev Team Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Spain Posts: 6,109 Downloads: 109 Uploads: 2	Well if this abandoning the PC gaming market would at least open the doors from the modding community with Sonalyst's agreement, that would be great. I wish they could have some talented guys sign an NDA and hand them the code over to improve the game and let people add controllable platforms. Or at least, give officially permission to add new playable units :hmm: The game is nowadays old enough (Visually speaking) to make it be no competition for any future product they could develop. Just look at SH2 now....would someone say that ANY mod of it could detract sales from SH3/4 or a future SH5? Obviously not..... __________________ One day I will return to sea ...