Questions for the SH5 dev team???

[Schultz]

I hope my question is getting answered

[Arclight]

Cheapskate, they need every penny! :rotfl:

I almost feel sorry for the devs; going out to meet some fans and being bombarded with questions... nah, I'm sure they'll handle themselfs just fine.

[THE_MASK]

Hi devs , will there be a mission editor and will we have lots more control than the one in sh4 . cheers sober out .

[andqui]

A spherical world instead of a projection map would make my day, so that it doesn't take 2/3 as long to cross the Atlantic as it should.

[Reece]

Howdy Red, long time no hear, I dare say when SH5 is released we will be seeing you around here a bit more, Cheers mate.

[Pentallion]

Will there be that horrid anti-piracy program that destroyed my PC's legitimate DVD burning program?

[Morpheus]

Would like to point out some good stuff posted here

Originally Posted by Uber Gruber

5. Will there be a "hard core" option, i.e. 100% manual targeting, 100% navigation, 100% everything so we can experience all operational elements of the U-Boat ?

Yesss, please! We want to play a uber subsimulator!

Originally Posted by sevn_up

1. Will we see flooding in individual compartments and to be able to close off those individual compartments to prevent flooding to nearby compartments?

Interessting thought. Could combine this one with a pick up! Machineroom lost ... etc.

Originally Posted by von hally

milkcows that are dockable in game..on screen.

Yes! And they would also come to your position, when in emergency (out of fuel). Realistic refitting procedures and times. Both subs submerging while pumping over the diesel, to remain undetected. Interessting stuff like that.

Originally Posted by SteamWake

Individual engine control, ablilty to run electrics on the surface ?

A must! Please, did you hear me

if some of these things would just come true ...

cheers
morph

[Mikhayl]

Another question
We all have our idea of what a great subsim is and what's the most important part of it: historical accuracy, graphisms, immersion, level of difficulty, pace of the game, micro management or not, etc etc...

So, for you, what's the single most important thing you wanted to have in SH5, the thing that shapes the "identity" of the game, and why?

Are there some "real life" aspects that you'd want to take liberties with to make the game better for your taste, and why?

And what are the "real life" aspects that you don't care about and wouldn't mind not having in game, of even "real life" things that you wouldn't want in game at all, and why?

And bonus question for the dev team: what is the most favoured era among you? WWI, WWII, Cold War, alternate history, ...?
And which sub do you like the most? (or which country's subs)

[Platapus]

:
Originally Posted by von hally
milkcows that are dockable in game..on screen.
Yes! And they would also come to your position, when in emergency (out of fuel). Realistic refitting procedures and times. Both subs submerging while pumping over the diesel, to remain undetected. Interessting stuff like that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SteamWake
Individual engine control, ablilty to run electrics on the surface ?
A must! Please, did you hear me

1. I don't think it was possible for the linked subs to submerge while transferring fuel.

2. I am not appreciating the advantage of being able to run electric motors on the surface. Why do you want that?

[Soundman]

After reading many suggestions, and many of them very good, I'd like to comment. Knowing this is really a "question for the devs" thread, forgive me for commenting rather than questioning, but I can't help but voice this.

The ability to move freely through the sub is certainly going to be entertaining.....at least for a little while, until we've roamed the boat a certain number of times and heard all the scripted lines the crew has to offer and will be ramdomly using. After a while, and once we have heard all the possible lines the crew can give us (such as the cook asking if we wnat to sample the days menu) I fear it will become quite boring and we'll all go back to keystroke navigation between compartments as we've done all along. Still a nice touch though!

The idea I've heard that sounds most intriguing is true navigation. Now that's a true simulation! While I'm the one suggesting (earlier in the thread) an option to RTB once out of enemy territory, if we could navigate like a true sailor, I'd find that to be a challenge on it's own, and it would certainly take a lot of boredom out of that long trip back home. It would throw in a whole new learning experience for most of us. Not to mention, imagine us having to ease off the time compression for a change. We'd be forced to keep an eye out for landmarks to avoid running aground or crashing the boat , or better yet, and most importantly.... confirm our location. Imagine the satisfaction of navigating across the ocean with much anticipation, and then discovering a landmark confirming you are where you had hoped to be. What a thrill! I would find that more rewarding than sinking the Yamato, Bismark, Enterprise or whatever any day.

I realize many (maybe most) players will not have the patience for this and those not desiring to do so, could use the "GPS" option. But man! It would open up a whole new facet in the game and take it to well..... again, a real sim. This would be a fantastic selling point too!

[THE_MASK]

Will the mod comunity be able to make there own ships for SH5
Maybe some program within the mission editor to enable to build and insert diffrent ships into the game . Just call it ship editor or something .

and how about the subnets?

will they finally look like real subnets in sh5 or will they still have the solid concrete wall look to them?

and shouldnt subnets always have net tending ships attatched to them for opening and closing or just holding correct position?

or is that only just how they did it in those war movies?

[iambecomelife]

What will the merchant vessels be like in the final version?

Will there be improved merchant AI, with commodore ships, rescue ships, & real convoy tactics like emergency turns, the "half raspberry", etc? Will convoys plod along like sheep when a surface raider appears, or will they scatter? Even in "Sub Battle" from the 1980's a convoy would scatter if it was being decimated by your submarine.

Will the game rely heavily on standardized ships like Liberty/C2 cargos, or will there be lots of generic freighters (as was the case in real life)?

Do the developers plan to have different funnels, bridges, & superstructures on ships, using the current node system? This would be a great way to add diversity to the shipping roster without increasing filesize too much.

Are ships going to be brightly colored throughout the war, like they were in SH3 and SH4? Or will they start out in company colors and switch to camo paint as time goes on?

Will drafts be uniform, or will there be ships in ballast or loaded depending on whether they're inbound or outbound convoy ships? I've always wanted to see an OB convoy where all the merchants are riding high.

Will fire just be decorative as it is now? Or will fire gradually spread/go out/intensify/cause secondary explosions depending on cargo & damage control? Will hitpoints or structural integrity gradually decline due to fire & worsening seastate?

Will there be more realistic physics for collapsing masts, funnels, and other parts? Will ships experience structural failure because of tilt angle (like the "Titanic" did) & gradually break up?

Will destroyed merchants sink instantly, or will they drift for days if their cargo is buoyant? SH3 badly needs new internal cargoes different from the standard "Freight", "Fuel", and "Ammunition". Balsa wood and iron ore were both freight, but they had very different effects on sinking rates - on ore freighters/steel carriers many sailors didn't bother with lifejackets because they would have been no use! It would just take a little bit of coding to make this work - in fact I can do this now for SH3/SH4 but the game limitations make all changes uniform.

Will we get that annoying "ship destroyed/she's going down" message, even in hardcore mode?


Will crews abandon ship too early due to panic/poor discipline, especially early in the war? At present every single merchantman fights to the bitter end.


Will destroyers perform rescue operations and scuttle damaged ships? Please note I'm not asking for The Sims here - just an AI routine where a few escorts are dispatched to screen damaged vessels. Time after time U-Boats managed to escape because escorts needed to focus on search & rescue tasks. Will the escorts all stampede after my U-Boat, or will they keep some in reserve to guard against other subs/aircraft?


Will men actually abandon ship by lowering lifeboats/jumping overboard? Or will lifeboats just spawn out of thin air? Will there be different numbers/types of lifesaving craft & survivors depending on what you sink? I have noticed that the current lifeboats/debris mods impose very little performance hit on a modern pc.

Will there be hull flags & running lights for neutrals, randomized armament, signal flags, lots of deck cargo, moving parts/damage control...?

Will the game automatically list a merchant as destroyed, with appropriate tonnage? It would be much better if the devs took the approach used in "Over Flanders Fields", where there is a kill claim system. Ideally, players will be responsible for filing reports of vessels sunk & estimating tonnage, with Kriegsmarine intelligence verifying them based on intercepts, agents, press reports, &c. It would be great if filing too many false claims affected your credibility, or if there was a chance that an actual kill would get denied due to lack of evidence. SOS message intercepts/photos/survivor interviews could be used as "evidence" to corroborate a kill.

And the list goes on & on!!!

[Reece]

I think you scared them off .... Gee, is that the Dev team I see running over them yonder hills??!!
Would be nice though!!

[JScones]

Originally Posted by iambecomelife

Will the game automatically list a merchant as destroyed, with appropriate tonnage? It would be much better if the devs took the approach used in "Over Flanders Fields", where there is a kill claim system. Ideally, players will be responsible for filing reports of vessels sunk & estimating tonnage, with Kriegsmarine intelligence verifying them based on intercepts, agents, press reports, &c. It would be great if filing too many false claims affected your credibility, or if there was a chance that an actual kill would get denied due to lack of evidence. SOS message intercepts/photos/survivor interviews could be used as "evidence" to corroborate a kill.

Now this would be nice! Good suggestion IABL. The only tweak I'd make is to overtly include nationality as well.