Silent Hunter IV is Official (Programmers wanted!)

[John Channing]

Originally Posted by Marhkimov

Well, aren't we free to do so?

We pay them 50 bucks to make our game, therefore we can b*itch and whine all we want. :D

Not here we aren't.

Check the Subsim FAQ.

JCC

[Marhkimov]

Anyways, we're not bitching... just wishing Ubi does a complete job, that's all.....

[Syxx_Killer]

This is indeed good news... I guess. I was hoping more for a WWI U-boat sim over a Pacific campagin. I'll keep my eyes on it, though.

[Paajtor]

Originally Posted by Sniper_1

In 2006 i've got Subwolves and SHIV to look forward too...how will i be able to cope with the wait .

Here, it says Q3 2007, btw.
So you will be looking forward to it in 2006.

[CCIP]

Awesome news! The subsim genre will survive at the very least.

And since it'll be the team's second attempt, I'm sure they'll have learned from some of the deficiencies.

More importantly, and I hope you've stressed this to them already Teddy Bar (if you indeed have access to them) - they have to pay attention to what the modders have done and, especially, what kinds of problems they found. It's better to fix them now than hope for a mod a year later to do the job through some backwards solution.

I hope it'll be an extension of the SHIII engine with some (much-needed) enchancements. I hope it fixes a few of the nagging issues. I hope they give the AI at least as much attention as the graphics.

Good luck Devs! I'm behind you 100% on this

[scrapser]

Perhaps some of the more passionate modders of SH3 might band together and ask the UBI people if SH4 couldn't be more of a joint effort. If the modders are willing to fix things in SH3 without compensation, maybe they would be willing to help with development on SH4 without compensation and instead be rewarded with having had an opportunity to contribute to a fine simulation. The benefit to the core developers would be to have a resource to take some of the load off their shoulders, giving them more time to create a sim of high caliber without the added expense.

This way, everyone wins. You know, the way games have been developed over the years is not set in stone, so why not?

scrapser

[CCIP]

I think it would be a little strange to have paid professionals and unpaid enthusiasts working side by side. That wouldn't really work as far as development goes.

The best thing would be for the devs to
1) consult the modders.
2) BETA. Betabeta beta. I can tell you that there are better beta-testers in this community than money can buy. There are some incredibly incisive players who proved remarkably capable of finding and diagnosing problems in the game.

I really wish they would consider drafting beta testers from the community. Because the community has more than proven its worth. Sure they might be hyper-critical sometimes, but I think it'd save Ubi some embarassment later when rather silly problems (remeber the UZO bug?) are suddenly found in the game's commercial release.

[Marhkimov]

I love your idea scrapster. Now granted, not everyone can contribute high volumes of ideas and/or work, but it would be cool if we were allowed to give them "stuff" to use.

[Hellcat]

Wow just goes to show that I was mostly wrong about ubisoft

This is great news, I would think that they'll simply port the SH3 engine and mod the hell outta it for this game.

[Sniper_1]

Interesting comments and ideas here. But one thing i think we can agree on is thay Ubisoft would be very unwise not to consult with the online community (recognising that Ubi did listen to us and implemented a dynamic campaign for SHIII). For a start, how many of use here use an 'un-modded' copy of SH3? i'd say very few. Now while everything the mod community has done is probably beyond the capabilities of a commercial software company, i think it would be in the interest if Ubi to enlist the help of the online comminuty.

Persoanlly i think using some of the talent found here to actually make the game if not as far-fetched as it seems, how about a contest to create the best 3d model and skin of a 1944 Gato? with the 'winner' having their model/skin included in the game. And if ubi were not prepared to go so far, then at least use the community as a Beta testing resource.

Personally for me the major gap in SHIII was the lack of other U-boats and their AI (i wanted wolfpacks...). If Ubi can fix this in SHIV, then i would be very happy.

My 'pushing out the boat' wish would be some sort of strategic element to the game, like the proposed subwolves (www.subwolves.com) project.

Sniper_1

[Marhkimov]

Honestly, I would help for free.. No incentive required.

How many other modders share my stance? I mean, it's not like we make mods for money...

[Zachstar]

I really hope they have learned the SH3 lesson and have decided to havily involve the community with this.

Sounds like wonderfull days ahead!

[CaptJodan]

Been absent for a while on these boards, but just came to check in again, and wow what wonderful news. With SH3 done, I was wondering if we'd ever see another subsim of the same or better calibar ever again.

I haven't been here for a while so I'm not sure what all the issues are everyone's discussing regarding SH3 lately. Personally, I remember the days of SH2, and think overall the SH3 team did a fantatic job (with some need of improvement in certain areas, of course, but it is overal I speak of). There's always little or even some moderate or major things in almost every sim, but SH3 still is great to play.

I'd like to see....
Increased resolution options
Most or all compartments modelled to some degree (not usually requested, but it's been something of a dream of mine to be able to walk through the boat, but barring that, at least click through the boat to different compartments).
Proper diving depths
And of course the usual suspects that were missed in this game, but for the most part were fixed by the community.

I'm actually happy with most of the core of the game itself, and as long as they stick with most of that, I think it'd be a solid game. The first two speak to things the community right now can't really fix, as it's hard code. At least we know the wonderful community is capable of fixing or tweeking the softer spots of the game if necessary (not that I want to make those modders do more work by any means, but we all know something will fall through the cracks).

Oh, and we could probably do without Starforce. It didn't kill my computer, but I know for many it did, and I feel their pain. I would have gone bonkers had it not worked when I put it in the drive for the first time.

[scrapser]

Well, I think involving the community is definitely doable at some level. Like I said, the way things are done now is not written in stone. All it takes is a little creative thinking and some genuine willingness to come up with something new. The sim market is a niche market, so it makes sense to work more closely with the customers don't you think? We've demonstrated rather well just how much we care about what's put on the market. All it takes is for a developing company to want to do something a little different and see how it goes. This could catch on if it proved itself. We're already halfway there with all the modding that goes on after market. Seems to me its the natural next step.

scrapser

[Hudsonhawk]

Looking Very Foward to this!!!!