Need a History Lesson

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by MarkQuinn

will it be quite the opposite, with American submarines having a difficult time early on but taking the advantage as the war dragged on?

This is exactly correct. The Americans had troubles early on, some from the IJN and some of their own creation (American torpedoes were notoriously unreliable until late 1943.) but as the war went on, the American subs were finding it harder and harder to sink ships because there was nothing left to sink!

A very simplified rundown goes like this: American successes at the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway (Japanese lost 4 carriers at Midway!) in 1942 were considered by many to be the turning points of the war. After Gudalcanal which streteched into 1943, the Japanese were on the defensive. '44 is really when the U.S. subs saw their heyday. By '45 the submarine war was pretty much done. This is why they won't let you start a new career in '45 in SH4, but you can continue on up to the end of the war with a career started earlier.

How it will actually shake out in terms of gameplay...I guess we'll have to wait and see.