Features in SH1 and Aces That Have Since "Disappeared"

[razark]

For SHI, a manual that actually describes the game, the war, the real submarines and tactics, in part written by an actual sub commander.

A calendar with sunrise, sunset, moon rise, moon set, and moon phase information.

Bathythermograph. Air search radar that only displayed range and not bearing. Ability to turn on/off red lights. Abandon ship option. Surface radar that detects land masses. Compressed air. The ability to bottom the sub. In AotD, the ability to get the sub stuck in the mud. Chlorine gas from flooding reaching the batteries. The bar in AotD.

Just a few missing things.

Edit: Ack! How could I forget, from AotD, "Smoke on the horizon!"

[dcb]

Plus I remember in the old SH1, I was also credited for the ships I damaged, but did not sink.

[jazman]

You guys are ruining my day.

[Obltn Strand]

Escort strenght of convoys and possibility of finding unescorted ones when historically appropiate.

[Capt. Morgan]

SH1:

Thermoclines were randomized, you never knew if there was one, and at what depth, until you made a test dive. They also changed depth over time/distance.

Raising the periscope on the surface gave you greater visual range.

Ran beautifully on Linux via Dosbox (and Winders too, I guess)

Now Flight Simulator, They know how to upgrade their sim. I've had most every version from Flight simulator II (for the Commie 64) to Microsoft's FS9, and in every new release, they've always just added new features, and never removed old ones.

[kptn_kaiserhof]

and the very first 3d control room but no crew

[d@rk51d3]

Remember getting prop and/or shaft damage that would give your position away, if you tried to sneak away while damaged?

[V.C. Sniper]

Both have simple graphics that doesn't require the amount of time needed to build and maintain like the graphics of today, therefore more time can be spent on adding new realistic/simulation features.



SAD. Developers have to reinvent the wheel everytime a new game is being developed and forgot much of what was learned from building previous games.

[FIREWALL]

Originally Posted by V.C. Sniper

Both have simple graphics that doesn't require the amount of time needed to build and maintain like the graphics of today, therefore more time can be spent on adding new realistic/simulation features.



SAD. Developers have to reinvent the wheel everytime a new game is being developed and forgot much of what was learned from building previous games.

I had to only read to your post #10 to get to what I had planned to say. While graphics were what they were for the times, content was there.

As computers improved they went for the "GLITZ" and passed on the content.

It's a shame what could've been.

[Lanzfeld]

This is sad as ****!

I fell in love with subsims for all the above reasons and now all those reasons are gone because some needledicks feel they always have to reinvent the wheel to impress the A.D.D. idiots of the world.

I want Aces back with modern graphics...THAT IS ALL!!!!

[sayaret]

SH1 lot of stock and even more custom made historic scenarios.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Lanzfeld

I want Aces back with modern graphics...THAT IS ALL!!!!

People said as much when SH3 was under development. And I agree, but I have grown to like the crew management, especially in SH4. I also of course want modern sound.

To add to the list, though:

Aces: Bottoming the boat would actually make you harder to detect. On the downside you could get stuck in the mud and not be able to get unstuck, so you and your crew died.

Aces also had the most realistic damage-control screen ever - a blueprint of the boat, with damaged circled, and clicking on the circles took you to a simple report by the Chief telling you what, where and when.

SH1: The tear-off calendar with lunar phases, moon and sun rise and set times, and the weather.

SH1 also had super-thick fog in dead calm weather, as described already for Aces, and it was wonderful.

[TwistedFemur]

Originally Posted by Capt. Morgan

SH1:

Thermoclines were randomized, you never knew if there was one, and at what depth, until you made a test dive. They also changed depth over time/distance.

Raising the periscope on the surface gave you greater visual range.

Ran beautifully on Linux via Dosbox (and Winders too, I guess)

Now Flight Simulator, They know how to upgrade their sim. I've had most every version from Flight simulator II (for the Commie 64) to Microsoft's FS9, and in every new release, they've always just added new features, and never removed old ones.

And now FS is gone too

[raymond6751]

I think the problem has been getting developers who played the earlier versions or even understood what they had to begin with.

You would think as the systems got more powerful, we'd get more game, not less game and more limitations.

In the attempt to use all the bells and whistles of the latest equipment and programming concepts, they have lost an opportunity to enhance what was already great.

[JU_88]

Originally Posted by raymond6751

I think the problem has been getting developers who played the earlier versions or even understood what they had to begin with.

You would think as the systems got more powerful, we'd get more game, not less game and more limitations.

In the attempt to use all the bells and whistles of the latest equipment and programming concepts, they have lost an opportunity to enhance what was already great.

I think you have at least three problems

1) The market has changed, sims are not hot sellers anymore, the casual gamer wants insta-gatifiaction. sims require a level of commitment and patiance that most people are not willing to invest in a game.
For this reason sims dont get the budget and development time as tripple AAA title like COD or GTA.

2) Developers constantly try to 're-inevent the wheel' and strive for innovation, I guess this for a number reasons, one being not recieve flak for putting out an unoriginal product and second to keep things intresting for themselves.
At the same sime they have to be carful not to alienate their market, hen why most games fall in to a well established genre with just a few minor never seen before features.

3) The cost of games develepment it tenfold was it once was, all the technalogical advances mean that everthing is now way more complicated and time consuming to impelment.
Devs do what they can int he time they have, proffssionals or not - they are only human and sometimes make the wrong decisions.

Silent Hunter should have stuck to its orginal formula and gone down the DLC add-on road, that is the only way to get a complete sim these days.
Trouble is that many sub simmers tend to be a more mature audiance in there 30's and 40's, and Ive noticed that quite a few are (no offence) abit set in their ways, for instance I saw a thread where many of us here said they refuse to buy into things like DLC, and want everything on a disk.
Oh come on! Its 2010 for christ sakes... and its the begining of the end for optical media!
Roll with it grandpa