So is this it!

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by Sonarman

SHV I think was a victim of poor project planning, the decision to completely overhaul the interface was the first major error. Imposing a linear path RPG elements in a supposedly dynamic game the second. Then either the project ran out of time to develop the full war timescale or they planned an addon which never materialised. The final nail in the coffin was of course the horrible always on DRM system which should never have been imposed on what is essentially a single player offline experience.

SHO also seems ill conceived but at least it is an evolution and it certainly is something that has not been done before, in gameplay terms it reminds me more of the ancient Novalogic "Wolfpack" title than any SH game. I am prepared to give it a chance. For a supposedly dead niche genre Ubi seem intent on making another attempt when most of us had completely given up hope of seeing anything from them again. I just wish they would ask what their community want before starting work rather than when the project is virtually complete.

Gotta disagree partially that it's all about the bottom line, sure Ubi is a business and they have to make money but why in the name of hell would they sink their money into something as niche and risky as a subsim supposedly is? It's not that they hate their customers it's that they think they know best and do not listen enough to their own communities. What they need is a brand manager/consultant from the community (someone like Neal) who can play an important part in each stage of the development process, shaping their products based upon the majority of community's wishes.

I need to buy you a beer. Great points.

SHV I think was a victim of poor project planning, the decision to completely overhaul the interface was the first major error. Imposing a linear path RPG elements in a supposedly dynamic game the second.

Redefining the interface was a really stupid move I think. If you have never played a subsim, it's not that big of a deal, but if you've ever played a subsim, those changes are big because you can't seemlessly change between games.

SH5 reminds me more of the sims at sea. I gon't over the eye candy really fast.

SHO also seems ill conceived but at least it is an evolution and it certainly is something that has not been done before, in gameplay terms it reminds me more of the ancient Novalogic "Wolfpack" title than any SH game.

That was the first thing I thought when I saw it.



In regards to the business side, I blame the bean counters higher up in the food chain. I don't think they have any interest in naval wargames. You really need to have people that have an interest in the product to promote it. That's the exact problem E:RT had with Dreamcatcher. E:RT was selling well, but Dreamcatcher spent all their money and time promoting some other shooter game.

It would be like subsim promoting fantasy games. It would get a thread and nothing else.

[Red October1984]

Maybe ubi will cut this project down and end SH before they ruin it too much. I secretly hope that they do a Silent Hunter 6: Cold War type of game. I have this hope that they end the series on a high note. Since SH5 released, Cancer has spread throughout the Naval Simulation Community. It's dead. Done deal. Sim Gaming is done for. If you select the "simulation" genre on any gaming website, The Sims 3 and MLB 2K13 comes up.

We're a dying breed.

THE END IS NEAR CHILDREN!

[Cybermat47]

Originally Posted by Red October1984

THE END IS NEAR CHILDREN!

Unless we, the players, make ourselves an epic sub sim, and all the money from it goes to Neal.

It's time to think BIG

[HundertzehnGustav]

SHIII for life.

[Sailor Steve]

AOD for life!

[Red October1984]

What if...


There was the gameplay of AOD and the Graphics of SH3 put together in one game....

Somebody should do an AOD mod for SH3.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Red October1984

What if...


There was the gameplay of AOD and the Graphics of SH3 put together in one game....

Better the graphics of SH5.

Somebody should do an AOD mod for SH3.

RUB, NYGM, and GWX were all attempts to do just that. AOD had great gameplay, but was a very simple program. There is no way that AOD could be adapted. What is needed is a new game, completely new, combining the best routines with the latest graphics. Even then I can think of some ideas even AOD didn't have.

What I can't do is come up with several million dollars to produce and market what would be needed.

[Takeda Shingen]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

RUB, NYGM, and GWX were all attempts to do just that. AOD had great gameplay, but was a very simple program. There is no way that AOD could be adapted. What is needed is a new game, completely new, combining the best routines with the latest graphics. Even then I can think of some ideas even AOD didn't have.

What I can't do is come up with several million dollars to produce and market what would be needed.

Ultimately, yes, we'd need a new engine to get everything we want. And outside of an indie developer, I don't see that happening.

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by Takeda Shingen

Ultimately, yes, we'd need a new engine to get everything we want. And outside of an indie developer, I don't see that happening.

All Indie Developers UNITE!

[Cybermat47]

Perhaps we could give SHIII the graphics of SHV? Hopefully 3 has the right sort of engine, and it's been done before. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary is a game from 2001 that was given all new graphics in 2011, without changing gameplay at all. Perhaps we could try something like that?

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Cybermat47

Perhaps we could give SHIII the graphics of SHV?

Been discussed several times before, and it's not possible. Much easier to give SH3's gameplay to SH4. Actually, SH4's is better, except for a couple of parts they broke. If modders had paid more attention to SH4 it would be much better than SH3. But that didn't happen, and likely never will.

Now if someone could just figure out how to get the good parts of SH3 into SH5, that might make a difference. There are still a few things AOD and SH1 did that none of the newer versions seem to be able to replicate. We'll see what the future holds.

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Been discussed several times before, and it's not possible. Much easier to give SH3's gameplay to SH4. Actually, SH4's is better, except for a couple of parts they broke. If modders had paid more attention to SH4 it would be much better than SH3. But that didn't happen, and likely never will.

Now if someone could just figure out how to get the good parts of SH3 into SH5, that might make a difference. There are still a few things AOD and SH1 did that none of the newer versions seem to be able to replicate. We'll see what the future holds.

Its definately possible, it just takes time like any good thing. Couple that with the fact that SH5 is probably the last Sub Simulation that UBI will put out or that will be out for a while, and I feel that eventually, as each modder tinkers away more and more, SH5 will get better and better.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by USNSRCaseySmith

Its definately possible, it just takes time like any good thing.

First, it's "definitely" (sorry, that's one of those little things that make my teeth hurt).

Second, it would require rewriting the code to take the new graphics, which would land the programmer in jail, or at least get him a heavy fine. So no, putting SH5's graphics into SH3 isn't going to happen.

As for rewriting the code, that's exactly what the SH5 team did, and they made it modable on top of it. Current mods have already come far toward getting similar gameplay, and the campaign and ships are hopefully just a matter of time.

Couple that with the fact that SH5 is probably the last Sub Simulation that UBI will put out or that will be out for a while, and I feel that eventually, as each modder tinkers away more and more, SH5 will get better and better.

Put SH5 graphics into SH3? No. Give SH5 decent gameplay and a real campaign? Probably. Add ships to SH5? I hope so. It sure seems to be taking a long time though.

And no, I'm not knocking the modders over that. I'm just wondering how possible/feasible some things really are.

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Add ships to SH5? I hope so. It sure seems to be taking a long time though.

And no, I'm not knocking the modders over that. I'm just wondering how possible/feasible some things really are.

If anyone did a search to find out just how many people are seriously picking apart the GR2 format?
They would find that SubSim modders are the closest thing to experts outside of RAD Games Tools that you can find that tell you anything.

TDW is working on a great program for SH5 and I had a big hand in whacking the SWTOR style GR2 file format.


But there's only two of us and we both have heavy work schedules in real life.

It will happen. Just not tomorrow.

[Sailor Steve]

Cool. I'm looking forward to it, but with appropriate patience. I only wish I had the skills to contribute to something like this.