Working on a new submarine sim: Sub Commander - advice needed!

[TheGeoff]

Originally Posted by Myxale

Mighty Shiny. I had no idea you were already this far.

Kudos for sharing.

Thanks! It's progressing quickly now, but there is still a long way to go.

Here's an early work-in-progress shot of compartment 3, the control room of the Foxtrot class submarine:

Of course there is still a lot of detail to be added here, and basic graphical effects like shadows and bloom haven't been added yet.

All of the controls and dials here are completely functional - and accurately controlling the submarine's depth is quite a challenge! The Project 641 submarines (foxtrots) were built in the late '50s and early '60s before modern control systems automated any of the ballast system, so the 12 tanks must be manually flooded and blown using the wheels you can see in this screenshot. Pages 39-55 of this manual describe how the system works (it's a manual for a WWII US fleet boat but the same principles apply to most early cold war subs).

Of course if you don't feel like spinning the wheels and adjusting the dive plane levers yourself, you can have an AI crewman can do the job for you. Every station on the boat can be either AI or player controlled, so the game can be as complex or as simple as you want.