Isn't the TMA a little too perfect?

[Wiz33]

Originally Posted by PL_Harpoon

I don't consider myself to be part of the elite in anything. But that's not the point. The point is, you can play any Silent Hunter game with the right settings without reading the manual at all. And still they didn't sell well enough to justify a successor (at least in Ubisoft's eyes).

The cost of developing a game (especially by a big studio) has risen substantially. At the same time, the target audience hasn't while the number of casual (I do not mean that as a negative) gamers increased. Making a sim more accessible does not guarantee more sales but simplifying it can guarantee alienating some of the existing audience. There is a room for them though and it is on an indie market and that where games like CW and Uboot come in. The only problem is, those lite-sims are still harder to develop that typical games.
Let's look at the Naval War: AC. If you look at it's Steam reviews (http://store.steampowered.com/app/20...p_reviews_hash) most negative ones are not about realism, but poor performance/bugs/crashes/bad interface etc. Poor realism seem to be only one of the reasons it failed.
Let's also take a look at another lite-sim on Steam: Combat Air Patrol 2 (http://store.steampowered.com/app/34...p_reviews_hash)
Again, most of it's negative reviews aren't about poor realism, but poor gameplay/lack of progress.
If you compare them to CW (which is also a lite-sim) you can see the difference.

My point is, complains about "not being realistic enough" might turn off some players, but on the whole have very little effect on sales.

Some good point, especially about games that was rush to market with bug and stability problem. but I would also say that one of the reason why the genre is not growing is that there is a lack of entry level sims. Although there are options to automate a lot of things in SH5, It's still look more complex than SH1, just look at the game description on Amazon:

Put on the captain’s uniform - For the first time, walk through highly detailed submarines, access every part of your U-boat, and manage your crew in the new first-person view.
Become a real leader - Directly command your crew and experience the tension and fear inside the U-boat through the new advanced order system.
Test your war strategies - Choose your own strategy and select your targets with a new objective-driven, dynamic campaign.
Make the enemy react to you - Open new locations, upgrades and resupply possibilities, while the Allied ships adjust dynamically to your approach. Your actions will directly impact the evolution of the campaign.
Accessibility Enhanced - Prowl the waters with a brand-new user interface. Now, every beginner can successfully command a sub free of confusion. In expert mode, experienced players will be provided with all the necessary information and controls to command the sub completely on their own.

They were targeting previous owners. Nowhere did they talked about how new player can get into this. It doesn't help that there are no Youtube playthrough back then to show that you can take on the responsibility one step at a time.

It also didn't help that it was buggy as hell at launch, even the review here at subsim rate it 1 out of 10 for bugs and stability.

Just ask yourself, if you're a player without prior experience in the series, would you pick it up back then

[PL_Harpoon]

Originally Posted by Wiz33

Just ask yourself, if you're a player without prior experience in the series, would you pick it up back then

I'm not sure I'm the best example here. My first subsim was Silent Hunter 2 and even as a kid, the first thing I did was to go to options menu and set everything to the highest realism.
But to ask your question, without any previous subsim experience and based only on that description - sure, I'd buy it.

For comparison:
When I wanted to try out heli sims I did not start with the Take On Helicopters on easy settings. Instead I got X-Plane 10 and constantly crashed for the first week or so until I saw some RL training lessons on YouTube. But that's what I mean by " I'm the best example here"

[Wiz33]

Originally Posted by PL_Harpoon

I'm not sure I'm the best example here. My first subsim was Silent Hunter 2 and even as a kid, the first thing I did was to go to options menu and set everything to the highest realism.
But to ask your question, without any previous subsim experience and based only on that description - sure, I'd buy it.

For comparison:
When I wanted to try out heli sims I did not start with the Take On Helicopters on easy settings. Instead I got X-Plane 10 and constantly crashed for the first week or so until I saw some RL training lessons on YouTube. But that's what I mean by " I'm the best example here"

And you say you're not a hardcore gamer ;-P. I think Youtube is really helping to revive the genre. There are quite a few messages on the steam forum from new player or player with little or no experience with mil sims. Not tons but a lot more than you usually see and the usual answer (just like here) is to asking them to watch some of Jive's video.