Meet the crew.

[Task Force]

Or maby those are just the "main crew" with all the voice sound bytes. ya know, like the crew in 3, where you click on them and you get options.

[oscar19681]

Yes most likely

[razark]

So, does this mean that we get the same crew every time? Or are these just examples of what we might get?

I could have sworn the cook was named Marcus.

And some of these abilities listed seem just wrong.

Crush depth - knowing how to handle the systems, the chief engineer, can increase the maximum depth for his boat.
Maneuvering - The submarine will turn faster either surfaced or submerged.
Reveal hidden enemies - Based on intuition and experience, the sound guy, can unveil hidden enemies where nothing seems to be.
Total revealing - An experienced sound guy is able to offer you more information about the hydrophone targets than usual. You will be able to see on your map all contacts as if are in visual range.
Warheads specialist - A veteran Torpedoman is able to adjust the torpedo systems in order to obtain a longer range and higher damage.
Pre-heat torpedo - Pre-heating the torpedo systems just before the firing, the torpedo damage and speed will be increased.

[Letum]

...'special abilities'...'over charged torpedo warheads'...'increase crush depth'?
Just what every "simulation" needs.

[Sailor Steve]

Yep, just like the 'Special Abilities' in SH4, or the 'Engine Upgrades' in SH3.

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Yep, just like the 'Special Abilities' in SH4, or the 'Engine Upgrades' in SH3.

If moddable (and im sure they will be), you can always rewrite them. With special abilities you have two choices.

a.) Disable them

b.) Rewrite them to represent an experienced crew.

In TMO for SH4, i rewrote many of these abiliites, and outright removed a few of the super gamey ones from play to represent changes brought on by an experienced crew.

The trick is "nerfing" the player sub in such a way so that by default it performs as a green crew would have performed. And then rewrite the abilities to reflect changes that a veteran crew could do. Diving abilities is one of them. In TMO by default, a fleet boat crash dives in 60 seconds or so. The minimum required in order for a boat to be considered fit for duty. With the right crew, you can increase that dive time to 35 seconds, which is what a vet crew could manage. So your crew members become valuable in a semi realistic way.

[TH0R]

Originally Posted by Letum

...'special abilities'...'over charged torpedo warheads'?
Just what every simulation needs.

Lol, was just thinking the same.

Seems to me they are trying to make this a DnD game...

[Iron Budokan]

Originally Posted by TH0R

Lol, was just thinking the same.

Seems to me they are trying to make this a DnD game...

I swear, that's the first thing I thought of when I read them, too, and I posted it on another thread.

Hey. I'm guilty. I admit I've played thousands of hours of RPG and I swear this stuff reads just like what you'd see in a monster manual. :P

[Stealth Hunter]

Originally Posted by TH0R

Lol, was just thinking the same.

Seems to me they are trying to make this a DnD game...

A military RPG style game?

I like the concept. It's like Oblivion, only in World War II... and with submarines.

[Steeltrap]

It's god-awful is what it is.

Chief can make your sub dive deeper?

I could accept a torp gunner making your eels more reliable (they babied torps in USA subs to an unbelievable extent to try to give the best chance of reliability), but do more damage??

I think I read it's not Win 7 supported, either....that true? Counts me out; I just bought a new rig late last year with Win 7.

Oh well.

[Weather-guesser]

Reading the crew bios made my stomach turn. I hope we don't have to deal with that kind of garbage in-game...I wanted the ship at battle stations but the "bosun" was too busy with his poetry. Yeesh!

[GoldenRivet]

personally i think it adds a unique and interesting dynamic to the game to have the interpersonal story line to the game.

think of it this way.

Go play the original Medal of Honor

then

Go play Brothers in Arms...

in BIA the cut scenes tell the story of various characters, though both games deal with WW2 combat, brothers in arms is clearly the superior game... not because of interface, not because of graphics, but because the ENTIRE outlook and concept of the game is revolutionized.

When a character in MOH gets his head blown off... i could give a damn.

When a character in BIA steps on a land mine, there is a moment of reminiscence, a feeling of loss... a connection that other games of the genre dont offer.

hopefully, this is the effect we see on the SH series.

i know for a lot of you, driving a sub from waypoitn to waypoint on a map and attacking ships is all its about.

but i genuinely think that this whole RPG element could take the SH series to a whole other level of greatness.

[SteamWake]

Prehaps I'm mistaken but I believe the pre-heating was done to perk up the batteries on electric fish and had nothing to do with 'more damage'.

It really is starting to sound like combat sub simulator.

[Letum]

Originally Posted by SteamWake

Prehaps I'm mistaken but I believe the pre-heating was done to perk up the batteries on electric fish and had nothing to do with 'more damage'.

Yup, they only ran very slowly and for a km or so with cold batteries.
Pre-heating took at least 30 mins.
The aft tube on the VII boats did not usually have the equipment to
heat the fish so only steam torps where fired from the aft tube.

It certainly isn't a 'special ability' or optional. The idea that it would make
for a more explosive torp is ludicrous.

Tenner says that isn't quite how SH5 sees it.

[Hitman]

Exec: when Erich lost an eye during a training exercise at school, his naval career seemed over before it started.

This must be a joke, really

WTF???? Since when an IWO, who needs a special ability with depth perception in order to do the torpedo shooting and watch keeping (Range estimation) can have only one eye?? Couldn't they have chosen the cook if there had to be a guy with only one eye??

And BTW it's an ancient sailor superstition that you will run into bad luck when a one-eyed man looks at you

Also, why is he called executive officer? He is the FIRST watch officer, not the "exec" as in the US subs.

WO: he always plays tricks on the crew, and often gets into trouble with the Bosun for it.

Ohh excellent ... now an officer can get into trouble with a bosun, and not inversely... right.

Cook: I never thought he would be the twin brother of the IWO and of the torpedo officer, but OK

Navigator: With glasses??? In an UBoat??? The physical requirements for joining the uboatwaffe were quite strict. A man with glasses would hardly have a chance to go there, let alone if he is old

The more I see, the more convinced I am that I won't miss SH5