The Silent Hunter IV (Pacific Campaign) WISH-LIST

Originally Posted by Agrippa

I haven't posted in this thread yet, and because it's so long I haven't read the whole thing, so I apologize if I make a suggestion someone else has already made (I doubt very much that my ideas will be terribly original).

1. I'd like to see other ships in port. As far as I'm concerned, that's the only scenary improvement that needs to be made.

Well, except for the above mentioned tropical foliage. I agree about the ships, but they've made it easy enough for us to do that.

2. The option to "Exit Patrol" while at sea, like in SH3, but one that doesn't automatically teleport you back home. Sometimes, after a successful patrol, or one where I've used up all my torpedoes because my aim is off (or both), I don't want to sit around with the time compression maxed out waiting to go back home. But for reasons of realism, I don't want to be instantaneously transported back to base. So, if surfaced with no contacts around, you should be able to exit the mission, but the computer should trace a path back to you base at the optimum speed, and have you docked in port on the day and time it would have taken you to do it yourself. This is still a cheat, because it allows you to go home without being detected, but would save a lot of dull time at sea just waiting to get home.

Personally I think that would be a waste of resources, but on the whole it's not a bad idea. In Silent Service you used the mouse to drag your boat all around the Pacific while in a time compression so high you watched the map change from day to night every few seconds.

3. People have mentioned this before about SH3: There should at least be the a realism setting to have occasional breakdown of equipment while at sea. Along with this should be more crew injuries than there is in SH3--I can count on one hand the number of crewmen I've had wounded or killed in action (excluding times when I'm sunk, and everybody dies).

Agreed. Crew sickness has also been mentioned.

4. some more precision when moving the periscope. I don't know how many times I've gotten the wrong distance of a target because the periscope moves too much at the slightest mouse movement.

You use the MOUSE to move the periscope? I use the Arrow Keys. Holding down the Shift Key increases the rate of movement; using the Control Key slows it way down and gives all the precision I need.

5. This may sound odd, but I'd like to have a less-than-perfect weapons officer. I don't like having to either do all the torpedo work myself, or having the weapons officer do it perfectly. That officer (if not all the officers) should have a skill level that could increase with time, that effects his accuracy. Just having an officer who's accuracy could be off by as much as 5% could make a huge difference in making a torpedo attack--am I more accurate than my own weapons officer? Would my decision change if I thought my officer would become more accurate by letting him do it, even if it meant missing with this attack?

Not only does it NOT sound odd, but many people have mentioned it before. I agree; a less-than-perfect XO/Weapons Officer would be a wonderful addition.

6. I mentioned this in another thread, but more flexability with the realism options, and to know more about what each option means in game terms. For example, I find the "god map mode" or whatever it's called (where every ship in view of your sub is located accurately on the nave map) to be way too easy, but I also occasionally find "no god mode" too difficult. I'd like a middle option, say something where bearing lines are placed on the map instead of completely accutate postings, a middle option between god mode and no god mode. Just having three settings instead of two ("easy" "medium" and "realistic") would be nice. I like options, and the ability to tailor the realism more to what I want to play at that moment, as I often use different settings at different times, depending on my mood.

Have you tried the Assisted Plotting Mod? For me it does exactly what you describe. Again I agree; it would be nice to see something like that implemented in the game.