Features in SH1 and Aces That Have Since "Disappeared"

[swampa]

In Aces of the Deep, I am sure that there was a voice command option. Use a mic to give the order to dive & what depth , surface, turn port & starboard etc. I may also be very wrong

[razark]

Originally Posted by Rosencrantz

Wasn't there zig-zagging convoys and Task Groups in SH1?

Pretty sure there were. I seem to recall that feeling I got, reliving moments from books I had read. Perfectly set up on a convoy, just about coming into range, and seeing them zig away. I remember the one time I had the joy of having a task force, including an aircraft carrier, that was out of reach zag right into a perfect set up for me.

Yep, haven't seen that in a while.

[Robsoie]

Originally Posted by IanC

That's because the waves looked horrible in SH1 . Aces had a much better rendition if I remember correctly.

Aces of the deep (the original dos version, not the Command Aces of the deep that was a window version) had the superb waves being dependant on your cpu cycles.
Running it in DOSBox in which you can modify the cpu cycles on the fly can then have constant big waves if you go too high.
Command Aces of the deep despite having its graphic resolution increased in comparison to the dos version featured uglier water if i remember well.

[finchOU]

I liked the Random breakdowns of AOTD. keeps you on your toes and you cant rely 100% that your stuff actually works...like how it was. unpredictable escort behavior...modded pretty good in SH3...but it could take hours for you to lose an Escort....not the 30min from last contact stuff.

[Powerthighs]

Originally Posted by utops

This whole situation is not according only to subsims,but sim genre in general,
for me Red Baron is still very playable, so as Knights of The Sky by Microprose just because of details, newspapers with whats new on the front, randomness and nothig really was the same from mission to mission.
My Amiga, floppys B-17 FF,KoTS,RedBaron,Silent Service and I 18pm to 4 am
sweet times of the 90s.

Utops, I don't know if you've heard of it but you should check out Over Flanders Fields. It's the closet thing I've found to that old-school style that exists today.

There is one primary point to make: Giant corporations like Ubi make decisions based on perceived business value, market research, profit-loss margins, etc. With the massive cost of developing games these days due to graphical complexity, any dev team that works under a corporate umbrella will never produce the type of games you guys are looking for. It doesn't make sense from a bean counter's perspective. Believe me, I work at just such a company.

Only small independent developers or studios can make decisions with artistic merit as the primary factor. For example, see the excellent mods made by the modders here, which are labors of love.

Everything else is just a business.

[don1reed]

Scanning the surface with the TBT in SH1...nada. Then raising the scope to have a "Look See" on the other side of the horizon...Shazam! There's the convoy!

[mobucks]

You guys feel about the same as i felt when Fallout 3 was coming out. Fallout 1/2 were great RPGs, definately my favourite RPGs ever, and fallout 3 was all show and no go. It was a fraking FPS! Spent a lot of time venting my frustration on Bethesdas boards, got banned a few times, tralala. ect. ect.

More and more games are like this, why it is starting to happen in PC simulations, makes little sense to me, they are mostly niche markets, i can only think it has to do with every publisher (not developer) wanting to make the next "Halo" or in today's case, Modern Warfare.

Also the raising of graphical standards costs developers a lot of money so at the end of the day you really can't blame them (whoever them are) for wanting to make money.

Saving grace? Mods. Thats what i love about being a pc gamer. Hopefully SH5 is a platform modders can work with, thats up to the developer though so lets keep our fingers crossed.

[Sgtmonkeynads]

Originally Posted by mobucks

You guys feel about the same as I felt when Fallout 3 was coming out.

That was the first Fallout I played, and I thought it was pretty awesome! Then one of buddies said " NO, It really sucks, play this instead." He broke out his old copies of 1 and 2. I played them and came think the same way you do now.

This brings me to Sh5. If it is the only version new players have played, they wouldn't know that it is missing anything and wouldn't care. Old players will notice right away if something isn't right and go right back to playing Sh3. The only way the old players can get what they want out of the franchise is to educate new players on how bad the new game they just bought and thought was the coolest thing ever, actually sucks the moss off the bottom of SH3's hull. If we do this the game makers will have to bow to our wishes, because now the old guard is the majority.

[JScones]

Originally Posted by swampa

In Aces of the Deep, I am sure that there was a voice command option. Use a mic to give the order to dive & what depth , surface, turn port & starboard etc. I may also be very wrong

I think that was the Win95 "Command: Aces Of The Deep" edition. I tried it, but couldn't get it working too well.

[swampa]

Win95 "Command: Aces Of The Deep" edition.

I have found the game and it is. Don' think I could get it working either

[trenken]

Well things change, nothing any of us can do about it. You try to find something to like in each new game and thats all you can do.

The good thing about PC games is you still have a machine that can run those old games.

It's different with consoles. I still love old NES games, but Im not about to go hooking up my old NES. PCs are more convenient this way, SH1 will always be what it is, a great game thats still playable.

[KL-alfman]

Originally Posted by trenken

Well things change, nothing any of us can do about it.

that's new to me

[Chef]

Originally Posted by swampa

I have found the game and it is. Don' think I could get it working either

That's the version I had but I never tried to get the command part working. I was just watching part of Das Boat (also rereading the book) today and when they received the message about a convoy at grid AK22, I whipped out the old AoD patrol map to see where it was.

[misfitdreamer]

this topic is a good reference/starting point for SH5 modders. assuming these features are still left out.

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by misfitdreamer

this topic is a good reference/starting point for SH5 modders. assuming these features are still left out.

Modders can only change resource files. Or files the game calls upon when executing programmed routines, they can't change the programmed routines.