My thoughts on UBOAT - Page 2

Raf1394 · 01-04-25, 08:32 AM

Welcome to Subsim!

Bilge_Rat · 01-29-25, 05:34 PM

Picked this up on sale. Not sure how I felt about it. Spent the first hour just going WTF!, nitpicking everything and thought about asking for a refund…but…

…it kind of grows on you. It has a lot of interesting concepts and I can see a lot of potential with this game.

Marko_Ramius · 01-29-25, 10:03 PM

Hi Bilge Rat,

It was almost the same for me, almost. When one come from SH3 with mods like GWX, it's not surprising to react like this.

I didn't give up and quickly been amazed by what i discovered while playing it. I won't spoil, but i think it's on the way to be a masterpiece. There are things in it that do not exist in the other big titles, and we can expect more.

One very important thing : At the beginning of a career, when we set things like realism and such, this part is absolutely crucial because you won't be able to change them later (in this same career) and it may completely change the feel of your game.

Do not give up

Threadfin · 01-30-25, 08:56 AM

Like anything, it isn't for everyone.

As a long time Silent Hunter fan I tried UBOAT, not expecting it to surpass Silent Hunter, but maybe compliment it. Sims in subs is what I had been expecting, as that was the general buzz around it during development.

There is some of that, of course, with the crew management. But overall I found pretty quickly that I preferred it to what SH is. For me, it has just about everything that makes Silent Hunter great, and plenty more.

Campaigns are the heart of these sims, and I prefer UBOAT to what Silent Hunter offers.

If you want to compare supermods to vanilla UBOAT feel free. But I expect that eventually, UBOAT will have these too and it won't be a contest for me. Your mileage may vary.

daemonofdecay · 02-04-25, 10:54 PM

Yeah, I consider it a solid game, and really do hope we see some healthy modding - or that it does well enough that it starts a series.

Bilge_Rat · 02-05-25, 09:18 AM

I have been spending a lot of time getting into this game and apart from a few minor quibbles, it is pretty amazing.

Graphics are pretty spectacular. I am able to max them out on my system. Love the crew management aspect. Nice to be able to tweak pretty much anything you fancy that is crew related and it is really immersive, you feel like you are in an actual ship with a living crew. I have been spending a lot of time just looking at the crew buzzing around the sub, at work and play.

The manual targeting system is also very complete, although I have not had a chance to use it much yet. OTOH, based on the Recognition Manual, there does not seem to be many different types of Merchants, compared to say WOLFPACK.

The Vanilla game also seems very complete. Unlike SH 3-4-5, I have not felt the need to mod anything yet.

It is unfortunate it took so long for me to discover this game, but whenever I popped into this forum over the years, the comments always seemed to be mostly negative.

Anyway, back to the bridge of the U48 for me....

CaptBones · 02-06-25, 02:58 PM

I saw it on sale at Steam and bought it a month or so ago. Played through the Tutorials in U-4 and U-48 and was very impressed by much of what it has to offer. But there were just too many things "wrong" to continue until some of the talented modders get a few good "fixes" released and ready to apply. I'm sure there are answers to my issues already available, but I really haven't got the motivation to search for them right now; I'll stick with my library of SH3 and SH4 "Super Mods" for a while longer.

So, what I mean by "wrong" includes these examples of annoyances that really killed the enjoyment for me, right out of the box...yeah, I know it's "nit picking", but I've got plenty of time on my hands to be picking nits!
1. Depth meter and draft: the draft on the surface is not "0" meters and periscope depth is not 6 meters...more than annoying; a ridiculous error.
2. There is no "third gear" in a submarine propulsion plant...good grief!
3. If I was in command and a bunch of random sailors wandered into the Control Room and helped themselves to the Observation Scope, they would all be hung from the nearest yardarm, or periscope shears, the next time we surfaced. Besides that, why on earth are the scopes still fully raised when the boat dives below periscope depth? Do I have to give orders for everything to get done correctly?

Anyway, just "venting". I'll keep watching for the mods that will make the game a real winner IMHO, while also anxiously awaiting the release of GWX Knight's Cross.

Ruby2000 · 02-07-25, 02:43 AM

HI CaptBones,

it's deliberately intended that the depth gauge shows 0 meters, otherwise too many players will have a problem with it. It symbolizes surfaced. It's not a bug, it's a decision made by the devs.

Why don't you give an order not to use the obs-peri? You can generally forbid it in crew-management or directly at the periscope with RMC if it is a short-term order.
No, the periscopes are retracted at a slightly deeper depth. But you have probably already noticed this.

Cheers Ruby

Subcomfreak · 02-20-25, 12:51 PM

"forbidding it" on the crew management screen will work in certain situations. HOWEVER WHAT MAKES THE CREW USE THE SCOPE IS HAVING SAILORS ASSIGNED TO AN OFFICE USING THE ATTACK SCOPE. Thus, it is best practice to unassign everyone from the officer on observation after diving and to also forbid anyone from using the periscope.

I think Uboat needs some time to cook. I've enjoyed my 300 hours in it so far. However, back when UBE was a thing and we had a ton of different ships it felt great. Problem is that the game is in active development and things get broke, unbroke, and broke again. I think the game still needs some more time in the oven for the devs to say, "hay guys, here's the game, here's your type IX, we aren't going to radically change anything at this point" and then another year or two for modders to do their thing.

With that said, however, with the flood mechanic and better crew management (and better graphics, let's be honest) and each machine in the boat being functional... in 2-3 years time it will be the top tier sub game in my opinion.

01-29-25, 05:34 PM	#17
Bilge_Rat Silent Hunter Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: standing watch... Posts: 3,855 Downloads: 344 Uploads: 0	Picked this up on sale. Not sure how I felt about it. Spent the first hour just going WTF!, nitpicking everything and thought about asking for a refund…but… …it kind of grows on you. It has a lot of interesting concepts and I can see a lot of potential with this game. __________________

01-30-25, 08:56 AM	#19
Threadfin Ace of the Deep Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 1,163 Downloads: 38 Uploads: 0	Like anything, it isn't for everyone. As a long time Silent Hunter fan I tried UBOAT, not expecting it to surpass Silent Hunter, but maybe compliment it. Sims in subs is what I had been expecting, as that was the general buzz around it during development. There is some of that, of course, with the crew management. But overall I found pretty quickly that I preferred it to what SH is. For me, it has just about everything that makes Silent Hunter great, and plenty more. Campaigns are the heart of these sims, and I prefer UBOAT to what Silent Hunter offers. If you want to compare supermods to vanilla UBOAT feel free. But I expect that eventually, UBOAT will have these too and it won't be a contest for me. Your mileage may vary. __________________ What? Behind the rabbit?

02-05-25, 09:18 AM	#21
Bilge_Rat Silent Hunter Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: standing watch... Posts: 3,855 Downloads: 344 Uploads: 0	I have been spending a lot of time getting into this game and apart from a few minor quibbles, it is pretty amazing. Graphics are pretty spectacular. I am able to max them out on my system. Love the crew management aspect. Nice to be able to tweak pretty much anything you fancy that is crew related and it is really immersive, you feel like you are in an actual ship with a living crew. I have been spending a lot of time just looking at the crew buzzing around the sub, at work and play. The manual targeting system is also very complete, although I have not had a chance to use it much yet. OTOH, based on the Recognition Manual, there does not seem to be many different types of Merchants, compared to say WOLFPACK. The Vanilla game also seems very complete. Unlike SH 3-4-5, I have not felt the need to mod anything yet. It is unfortunate it took so long for me to discover this game, but whenever I popped into this forum over the years, the comments always seemed to be mostly negative. Anyway, back to the bridge of the U48 for me.... __________________

02-06-25, 02:58 PM	#22
CaptBones The Old Man Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Rockton, IL Posts: 281 Downloads: 208 Uploads: 0	Not really into it yet. I saw it on sale at Steam and bought it a month or so ago. Played through the Tutorials in U-4 and U-48 and was very impressed by much of what it has to offer. But there were just too many things "wrong" to continue until some of the talented modders get a few good "fixes" released and ready to apply. I'm sure there are answers to my issues already available, but I really haven't got the motivation to search for them right now; I'll stick with my library of SH3 and SH4 "Super Mods" for a while longer. So, what I mean by "wrong" includes these examples of annoyances that really killed the enjoyment for me, right out of the box...yeah, I know it's "nit picking", but I've got plenty of time on my hands to be picking nits! 1. Depth meter and draft: the draft on the surface is not "0" meters and periscope depth is not 6 meters...more than annoying; a ridiculous error. 2. There is no "third gear" in a submarine propulsion plant...good grief! 3. If I was in command and a bunch of random sailors wandered into the Control Room and helped themselves to the Observation Scope, they would all be hung from the nearest yardarm, or periscope shears, the next time we surfaced. Besides that, why on earth are the scopes still fully raised when the boat dives below periscope depth? Do I have to give orders for everything to get done correctly? Anyway, just "venting". I'll keep watching for the mods that will make the game a real winner IMHO, while also anxiously awaiting the release of GWX Knight's Cross.

01-04-25, 08:32 AM	#16
Raf1394 Commander Join Date: Sep 2024 Location: Europe Posts: 445 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	Welcome to Subsim!

01-29-25, 10:03 PM	#18
Marko_Ramius Frogman Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Near Paris Posts: 303 Downloads: 113 Uploads: 0	Hi Bilge Rat, It was almost the same for me, almost. When one come from SH3 with mods like GWX, it's not surprising to react like this. I didn't give up and quickly been amazed by what i discovered while playing it. I won't spoil, but i think it's on the way to be a masterpiece. There are things in it that do not exist in the other big titles, and we can expect more. One very important thing : At the beginning of a career, when we set things like realism and such, this part is absolutely crucial because you won't be able to change them later (in this same career) and it may completely change the feel of your game. Do not give up

02-04-25, 10:54 PM	#20
daemonofdecay Watch Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Waco, Texas Posts: 20 Downloads: 58 Uploads: 0	Yeah, I consider it a solid game, and really do hope we see some healthy modding - or that it does well enough that it starts a series.

02-07-25, 02:43 AM	#23
Ruby2000 Officer Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 240 Downloads: 71 Uploads: 0	HI CaptBones, it's deliberately intended that the depth gauge shows 0 meters, otherwise too many players will have a problem with it. It symbolizes surfaced. It's not a bug, it's a decision made by the devs. Why don't you give an order not to use the obs-peri? You can generally forbid it in crew-management or directly at the periscope with RMC if it is a short-term order. No, the periscopes are retracted at a slightly deeper depth. But you have probably already noticed this. Cheers Ruby

02-20-25, 12:51 PM	#24
Subcomfreak Swabbie Join Date: Sep 2023 Posts: 8 Downloads: 11 Uploads: 0	"forbidding it" on the crew management screen will work in certain situations. HOWEVER WHAT MAKES THE CREW USE THE SCOPE IS HAVING SAILORS ASSIGNED TO AN OFFICE USING THE ATTACK SCOPE. Thus, it is best practice to unassign everyone from the officer on observation after diving and to also forbid anyone from using the periscope. I think Uboat needs some time to cook. I've enjoyed my 300 hours in it so far. However, back when UBE was a thing and we had a ton of different ships it felt great. Problem is that the game is in active development and things get broke, unbroke, and broke again. I think the game still needs some more time in the oven for the devs to say, "hay guys, here's the game, here's your type IX, we aren't going to radically change anything at this point" and then another year or two for modders to do their thing. With that said, however, with the flood mechanic and better crew management (and better graphics, let's be honest) and each machine in the boat being functional... in 2-3 years time it will be the top tier sub game in my opinion.