HMS Marulken to become Subsim Project

[StandingCow]

Awesome news! So... question... should we (if we still want to put money toward this game) donate what we kickstarted to subsim or will there be a future pre-order link put up?

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by Rydogdav

Ok. Onkle Neal, please take no personal offense, but d**n you. I was really looking forwards to this game. It was going to be innovative and unique. It wasn't going to be another Silent Hunter, or a second Dangerous Waters. It was going to become the first Sweedish Submarine Simulator, complete with an alternate history story. But now, you changed it with money, just like Minecraft (I know it's a stretch of a comparison and a childish one, but still, the comparison's there). It was going to bring something new to the table and make the game incredibly interesting, and also give the developers the option to use what ever design and type of technology they wanted. Now, you're paying them to change a 4 man design, to a 20 man design when we can barely scrap together 12 men for 3 subs. It seems unfortunate and unfair to this amazing concept.

However, the news of full development funding for this great team is very reassuring that, whatever this game turns out to be, there will be a final product that I will look forwards to for an amazing game. And for that, I thank you Mr. Neal. Keep up the good work! (P.S: I am totally keeping Build 144, even if the newer U-Boat version surpasses it completely)

I'm still angry Microsoft outbid me for Minecraft but I have to let that go....

Thanks for expressing your concerns, Rydog, I understand, there was some interest in a fictional history Swedish sub game, but not nearly as much as real history U-boats. With Swedish subs, even in a made up universe, sinking convoys of German merchants in the North Atlantic.... that's a stretch. I want to keep the Swedish campaign in the game, and the devs do too. Why not? Yeah, it will be fun to opt for a special mission where the King gives you a clandestine mission to give the German Navy hell. So we really will be polishing and finishing up the Swedish portion as we develop the U-boat version. I can't outline the specifics, we still have to work out what we think is best with what we can accomplish, but I think you will be surprised, and pleased.

I want to point out, we are NOT changing the 4 man design, no sir, not at all. That was the magic that brought out a lot of players and we intend to keep it. We will be adding one important option, that is, a user interface where 1 or 2 players can access ship functions and play the game. And if players want to schedule a match where they can man 2 or 3 U-boats to locate, shadow, and feed on a massive convoy by the light of a new moon in the stormy Atlantic, that is going to be available. So, if you cannot find 6 or 7 guys, you can still have a great mission with 2, 3, 4, etc. Having scalability is very important to a good design and is a top priority.

Best
Neal

PS: Moving to Sweden: no joke. I'm all in on this.

[Dowly]

I keep checking if I've overslept big time and it's April's Fool day again.

Pretty exciting news and all the best to you Neal, if you are really planning on moving to Sweden (I believe it when I see it ).

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by daft

Firstly, awesome news! I really approve of the new direction!

Secondly, you're moving to Sweden?! Now, I haven't been the most Active member on Subsim, but I've been here for a looooong time now (before my current forum nick namn I had another which I lost the password to), and Subsim and consequently you Neal, have come to mean quite a bit to me throughout the years. So IF you really are moving to Sweden (Stockholm I assume), I insist that I finally get a chance to meet up and buy you a couple of beers.

Yes sir, thank you, looking forward to it. I also plan to visit the U-Boat in Kiel, for research and honor.

Originally Posted by nsomnia

We've got you covered, check back this weekend (Very very late Saturday GMT or Sunday) mail has been shipped out and should be arriving in port anyday now. :

Edit: Just noticed top 100 of 35,500 on indieDB in my siggy, thanks for the publicity Neal & Co!

Outstanding! Please be assured, as my role of Admin with Subsim, I will always back your effort and support you. There is no such thing as too many quality subsims.

Originally Posted by Zerim

So, I downloaded the game ~2 days ago based on a recommendation from some of my friends from Eve Online, so I'd like to chime in and speak as someone who knows very little about submarines and hasn't played a sub game before.
I'm very happy that it's been funded, because what you have at the moment is special. This game has the potential to be quite popular among mainstream gamers (your own Google Analytics may provide insight). At the moment, the game, as incomplete as it is, isn't just some obvious clone of another game, and it provides extremely memorable gameplay for groups of friends, with serious, tense, scary, funny, and enjoyable moments, somewhat similar to Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes or Spaceteam. I'd like to offer a few pointers, though as you've decided to fund development, it's your money, so feel free to disregard them.

1. Mainstream gamers do not care about the submarine type, and they won't care about what's historically accurate (beyond tangible things like armament, instrument quality, or other special equipment). I'm sure ... I have read every bit, thanks --NS

tl;dr- The core gameplay has tons of potential mostly regardless of historicity. Good luck with its development!

Zerim, thanks for taking the time to share your views. They are gold, you are right about the value of appealing to casual gamers. I have always believed that a good sub game should have scalable options and good tutorials where a newbie can pick up the game quickly and enjoy the hell out if it; it should also be able to represent historical and physical reality, and options for that are mandatory. I want the ship models, capabilities and tactics to represent real life, with concessions to game play only as needed.

Thanks also for the other game suggestions, I will investigate them. If a game does it right, then I like to study it for keys to success.

Originally Posted by StandingCow

Awesome news! So... question... should we (if we still want to put money toward this game) donate what we kickstarted to subsim or will there be a future pre-order link put up?

Yes sir, hold on to your $$, when the game is ready, we will put it on Steam.

[nsomnia]

Any plans on releasing more details? Is Subsim/Sweeds on a 50/50 basis or do they have a bit more say knowing how game development works etc?

I understand keeping business CLASS however.

[HawkCZ]

Really glad to hear that the game got funded and that we'll have it here one day.

When I first heard about this game, I thought: "Wow, is this like SH but with multiple people in one sub? Awesome!"

We immediately downloaded the demo to try it. That's when I started to be skeptic about the fun that the game could offer. Sure, the idea of controlling the sub with bunch of friends is great. But how long can it last? The full game offered "a campaign". Thing is, it looked more like a number of separated missions which would probably be always the same, so the replay value would be pretty low. The reason why I like Silent Hunter is based primarily on the campaign it offers. You get a sub, massive scale map and almost 6 years of war to play with. In the newest dev update, it was mentioned that the U-Boat version of HMS Marulken will offer dynamic generated missions. Does that mean something like the campaigns in Silent Hunter? Or just the separated missions I mentioned earlier that would just get more randomized? I think there's a big potential in the Silent Hunter type of campaign and in the big variety of its randomized features (weather, day/night cycle, ships that you may come across, etc.) and it would be great at least as one of the playable game modes. But that could be just me..

I also agree about the opinion on difficulty (=realism). Adding the realism settings would be a good benefit, since the casual gamers would be able to play the game, while experienced sub captains would find it a challenge and would enjoy the authenticity and realism.

Another gameplay feature that could be worth thinking about is including proper damage model and repairs of the sub. Imagine a following situation - destroyer attacks you with depth charges and damages the sub. Water starts flooding the interior. Some of the crewmembers must leave their stations to seal the cracks in the hull, repair some of the modules in the sub (engines and such) and perhaps place water pumps to pump out the water. (Or whatever they did IRL). Everything could be done using minigames. On the other hand, I realize that having this mechanic in such a small sub like the one that is currently in the game would be almost impossible.

Other things that I suggest (other than those that were already announced):
• Adding active sonar
• Using sonar to measure depth below keel
• Improving AI of enemy ships (Sometimes it felt really weird in the demo; eg. going 2,5km past a destroyer without him noticing us, and similar events, it just sometimes felt too easy)

(I realize that most of my suggestions is just Ctrl + C from Silent Hunter, since it is the only series I've played so far, sorry about that.)

I wish you the best of luck with the development and I am looking forward to any kind of news!

[Aktungbby]

HawkCZ!nice balanced opinion/review first post!

[horsa]

Bold move, Neal. Best wishes for every success with this venture

[TheQuack45]

Really glad to hear about this, I had concerns regarding the potential of the alternate history idea. I'm not sure if I entirely believe if Onkel Neal is serious about the moving to Sweden part, but if that really is the case I want to hear how it goes initially... But anyway I'm happy to hear that Neal is going to be heavily involved with the process going forward, I have high hopes for this project.

Can't wait until the game goes up on Steam so I can get hold of the next build!

[Zerim]

Originally Posted by Onkel Neal

I want the ship models, capabilities and tactics to represent real life, with concessions to game play only as needed.

I agree there. A more experienced crew should be able to use tactics like hiding behind the noise of a target's engines, or avoiding flipping switches/diving too fast making lots of audible noise that AI could detect, or charging batteries only at night.
What I meant more specifically was concerning the accuracy of, for example, 3D models. If/when you get to modeling e.g. the actual (which is a bit more complicated than the current decoder), realistic usage would be fun to a point, but I wouldn't spend an entire week perfectly recreating its internal wires and behavior unless I was sure it would add to game play.
Or, if you add a day/night cycle, a 24-hour cycle rarely works well in video games. But again, your call :D

[Aktungbby]

Zerim!

[p4p3rm4t3]

An interesting development. I can't wait to see what surfaces.

[cherbert]

This is excellent news and makes commercial sense.

I had no intention of backing the project because I simply don't have an interest in the history of Sweden. If the Kickstarter still existed I would back it like a shot. Just please make a dynamic campaign without map restrictions.

Ever since I have seen this game I kept saying to myself I wish this was set in the uboat war in the Atlantic. I couldn't believe it when I saw this announcement.

[troopie]

Way to go Neal! I can't believe what I'm seeing! I just about did a back flip when I checked my email today.

I was actually thinking that when the kickstarter inevitably failed we could pull the subsim community together and approach the devs with an offer to try and publish it through subsim with the help and input of this amazing community.

I didn't suggest it because it seamed an outlandish idea...; and here you are going one step further!

Absolutely amazing and massive respect to you!



:s ubsim:

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Onkel Neal

From the devs


From the time I started Subsim, back in 1997, I have always dreamed of being part of the production of a multiplayer sub game. When Skvader Studios notified me back in Aug 2015 that they were working on a co-op sub game, I had a look and asked them to keep me posted on its progress. When they sent me the demo, and I had a chance to try it, I was really impressed. No, it's not Silent Hunter 5 (but it isn't finished either), but it had a real charm to it. There were concepts in the game design that appealed to me very much.

I immediately pledged the maximum amount. A few days later I raised the pledge another $100. The Kickstarter campaign rose slowly, too slowly to suit me. I reached out to the devs and offered a proposal; I would fund the development of the game for up to a year, including living expenses, hardware, software, and licenses, if they would agree to switching the base unit to a Type VII U-boat. And I am pleased to report that we came to an agreement.

The new game (name to be announced at a later date) will retain much of its original scope and flavor. We will try to retain the Swedish sub adventure, I am sure we can fit that in as a Special Mission. There will also be other Special Missions with designated objectives. There are some features to be added, others to be polished, but we will be careful not to overreach and jeopardize the project. . We want the game to do what it is made to do and do it very well, even on early release. And that is, to provide co-op and multi-sub dynamic convoy battles in the North Atlantic, Baltic, and North Sea.

We have a lot of work ahead of us. I will be moving to Sweden soon, I hope I can find some Dr Pepper there. I hope we can make this a community effort, your support and interest will be crucial. You've never let me down in the past, I have no doubt we will succeed and this could be the first step to a true U-boat/Escort/Convoy simulation. Wish us luck!

Good hunting!
Onkel Neal
SUBSIM

Well, the news is certainly out there now buddy

Nice one and all the best