Danger From The Deep as an alternative to SH5

[KL-alfman]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

Yer, I'm not sure what rascal was thinking there.

maybe the "Alternative to SH5?"-thread?

edit: oh no! just noticed that rascal himself opened a thread about DftD

Originally Posted by KL-alfman

maybe the "Alternative to SH5?"-thread?

edit: oh no! just noticed that rascal himself opened a thread about DftD

Yes, but this is the "official one", I don't have the right to ask rascal to delete his.

[martes86]

This has been in development for quite some years now. It's way too slow a progress that it has, doesn't even get close to SH3 in looks after all these years (no offense), and I think they're using SDL to develop it... too complicated me thinks, I prefer Ogre, it's much much easier to plug stuff in, there's a big and solid community for it, and there's the advantage I'm already working on a project that uses it, I guess I'm biased.
And, projects right out of the zip file look much better than what DftD has archieved. So, if you're going for a subsim, use Ogre, and I'll try to cooperate as well.

Cheers

Originally Posted by martes86

This has been in development for quite some years now. It's way too slow a progress that it has, doesn't even get close to SH3 in looks after all these years (no offense), and I think they're using SDL to develop it... too complicated me thinks, I prefer Ogre, it's much much easier to plug stuff in, there's a big and solid community for it, and there's the advantage I'm already working on a project that uses it, I guess I'm biased.
And, projects right out of the zip file look much better than what DftD has archieved. So, if you're going for a subsim, use Ogre, and I'll try to cooperate as well.

Cheers

I don't agree with you in the "graphics area". Look at the water and you will see one difference between Danger From The Deep and SH3, the water it's like in SH5. Overall, SH3 looks better graphically speaking, but this is not the point, I know for sure that there are some rotten things that cannot be changed in SH3 or SH4, no matter how hard modders will try. Maybe concentrating to a new raw, uncorrupted and opened source code, like Danger From The Deep has, it can be a much more viable option.

[martes86]

Originally Posted by Gunnodayak

I don't agree with you in the "graphics area". Look at the water and you will see one difference between Danger From The Deep and SH3, the water it's like in SH5. Overall, SH3 looks better graphically speaking [...]

There's a contradiction. You don't agree with me but later you say SH3 looks better overall (which is kinda my point anyways).
The water in DftD looks good... well, good for them (it's been some time since I saw it last time, so I can't counter that) I never mentioned any specific details anyways, but anything else doesn't, in fact, they use a full 2D interface (like in SH2) which, as a developer myself, I can't think of ever implementing in a modern game, no matter how well it worked back then.

Cheers

Originally Posted by martes86

There's a contradiction. You don't agree with me but later you say SH3 looks better overall (which is kinda my point anyways).
The water in DftD looks good... well, good for them (it's been some time since I saw it last time, so I can't counter that) I never mentioned any specific details anyways, but anything else doesn't, in fact, they use a full 2D interface (like in SH2) which, as a developer myself, I can't think of ever implementing in a modern game, no matter how well it worked back then.

Cheers

I am talking here from the position af a subsim member who would rather play a subsim game with an interface close to SH3 (and Danger From The Deep has the potential to overcome SH3 in this area, that's for sure!) but very good fom historical and simulation point of view, than the stillborn Role Playing Game Internet Mandatory Connection SH5, with an eye-candy graphics.

Look this!

[andycaccia]

Originally Posted by cherbert

Progress on this has been slow at best. And I now can't even get it running anymore on Windows 7. Just crashes with a red screen.

And it hardly compares to the fully 3D sub we are getting in SH5. If you are asking me to play Danger From the Deep I might as well dig out my old copy of Silent Hunter 2.

This happened to me as well on win Vista 32 bit, I guess it's a Opengl issue. That's strange, because every recent graphic driver should contain latest release of opengl libraries..

[Brag]

The work they have done so far is impressive. It looks like a couple of years before the game is really playable. What amazes me, they are willing to share their progress. I imagine that an influx of help and support from Subsimmers would be a lucky break for some very deserving people.

A breath of fresh air compared to Ubi who doesn't even respect its own Devs.

[The Enigma]

Originally Posted by Brag

.... Ubi who doesn't even respect its own Devs.

Sorry Brag, that's an assumption and as long as there is no proof, a very harsh statement.

[artao]

regarding contacting them: they have an IRC channel at #dangerdeep on freenode. They've been quite friendly and as helpful as they could.
I can't get it to run myself, as I use win xp with an ati x700 - a bit old, and this is yet another reason I need to replace it - as i've read others have win problems as well. They've told me they don't HAVE a win developer, and compile their win versions in a win virtual machine under linux. I'd like to try compiling it myself, but have little to no experience doing so, thus haven't.
However, the whole 'helping them out' thing is illustrated well, i think, by this issue. If someone who knew HOW would do a win compile, and/or look at the code to see if there's some inherent windows incompatibility accidently programmed in, that would improve things a good deal.
This is a perfect opportunity to build a sim we'd like to play. The game, as is, with just these devs, MAY be a couple years from playable, but that could be sped up significantly with an influx of help. I'm trying to decide where I could contribute myself ...

Originally Posted by Brag

The work they have done so far is impressive. It looks like a couple of years before the game is really playable. What amazes me, they are willing to share their progress. I imagine that an influx of help and support from Subsimmers would be a lucky break for some very deserving people.

A breath of fresh air compared to Ubi who doesn't even respect its own Devs.

I totally agree with all that you are saying. I also think that with some support from here, this project will raise up its capabilities, the potential shown is really impressive. And the most important fact, they don't belong to a company, that have as its first rule: "MAKE MONEY, DOESN'T MATTER HOW!" And that means they are more opened minded, with no strings attached.

Yes, it's really fresh air. I would rather play a simulator game like Danger From The Deep with lower emphasis on eye candy graphics, then playing SH5, "walking" to my Uboat and see people that are acting with a such of nonsense attitude. A lot of people are talking about the "immersion", but I can gain that feeling without the need to see ghostly people around my uboat. My imagination can surely make them move with real purpose, while the game itself would present itself like a simulator. If I would be so ecstatic about seeing people with "staring into void" eyes and nonsense pattern moves, I would probably play a shooter. Steel Beasts and Ka-50 "Black Shark" are simulators, and Danger From The Deep has the potential to be one. Silent Hunter Series has lost its direction into simulation zone, unfortunately.

I am aware that I might attract some antipathy from some, but I will say what I think: Those who need to see crew members going to the toilet, manning wheels, and the cook making goodies, before putting the emphasis on the REAL THINGS that matters in a simulation game, they probably have a serious lack in the region of the brain that is responsible for the imagination. I am sure they have other qualities, but not this one. And they are probably not aware that in their subconscious mind, they are looking for a shooter or for an RPG game. And this is not an insult towards them, it's about the different kind of taste and the different kind of each and everyone's personality.

Originally Posted by artao

This is a perfect opportunity to build a sim we'd like to play. The game, as is, with just these devs, MAY be a couple years from playable, but that could be sped up significantly with an influx of help. I'm trying to decide where I could contribute myself ...

I think they are missing some research in the historical events area, dynamic campaign design, but in these matters we can sure help, we'll just need to gather ourselves in an organized way and open some "communication channels", they seem to be somehow isolated.