Working on a new submarine sim: Sub Commander - advice needed!

[TheGeoff]

Version 0.12 Released!
Download here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/22452707...ander_0_12.zip


This one's a good one:

• Other ships have been added to the game! Every nation now has a number of merchant ships travelling around the world, and your missions now revolve around finding and sinking rival nations' shipping. No warships implemented yet but they aren't far off. Every ship in the game is named after an actual cold war merchant ship belonging one of nine nations - though the lists aren't that long yet so there might be a few repeats. Not every nation has it's own name file yet (so Australian ships use British names, for example).
• A game guide/manual is included in the zip file, 'guide.txt'. Contains very detailed information on how everything works, including a much better write up on the nuclear reactors and a description of how the crew management system works.
• The tactical map now shows more information and allows you to identify and target nearby ships. The tactical map also now shows any torpedoes launched by your sub.
• Changed the power systems control panel to more accurately and clearly show the power consumption of each subsystem.
• A second type of mission is now in the game, involving hunting down and sinking a strategically significant enemy ship. The radio is slightly more functional now too.
• A few more nations and cities added.
• A couple of secret easter eggs have been added
• A lot of bugs relating to crossing the international date line have been fixed. Maps now display cities and targets correctly across the date line. Also, it's now possible to sail under the arctic ice and across to the other side of the globe.

Really happy with how the game's taking shape now. As always I appreciate all feedback Hope you guys enjoy it!

[thefinnishguy]

The interface could be slightly improved, but don't ruin the Minecraft-ish mood of the game, and keep the realism high. One all-round sub is good enough (Kilo, Akula III, 688I). Also, some type of multiplayer would be nice, but stay away from stuff like Uplay.

[thefinnishguy]

I like how the crew interacts to disasters, in many ways this game is more realistic than Silent Hunter, where the sub's systems are invulnerable to malfunction and where the crew member who just got shot in the leg by a destroyer's deck gun is now calmly rubbing his head and leaming forward to look at the gauges every 10 minutes. Ubisoft's SH games have after the third game only been made for economical purposes. This is just the project that's progress I'd like to track. Oh, and by the way, could you add some kind of "options" screen for customising controls, my European Logitech Ultra-Slim keyboard is unable to do the speed, heading and depth commands because the keys don't have the same properties as Western keyboards. Also, when I look through the periscope, the game pauses, not good while attacking.

[TheGeoff]

Glad you like it, and thanks for the feedback! Realism and versatility (that minecraftish feel) are exactly what I'm aiming for in this game, it's always good to see someone who appreciates that.

I didn't know that different keyboards would respond to the controls differently, thanks for pointing that out. I'll include a control setup file in the future (probably in the next release). As for the periscope, it's definitely a work in progress... it's pretty much useless at the moment, but I'll overhaul it sometime soon so it doesn't need to pause the game when used.

And as for multiplayer... there are no plans for that any time soon. Maybe one day once I'm happy with the rest of the game.

[Red October1984]

This is a great project!

Keep up the awesome work!

[TheGeoff]

New version in time for the weekend: 0.14!

http://rapidshare.com/files/12651374...ander_0_14.zip

This is a big update over 0.12, several major new features are now fully functional:

• The periscope has been completely overhauled. It no longer pauses the game, provides a lot of navigation and attack controls and features a (very basic) homemade sprite-based 3D engine! Now you can actually see the enemy ships you're firing at. This still needs a lot of improvement but it's well on the way. Try it out and let me know what you think!
• The game now monitors oxygen levels in the submarine. Fires consume a lot of oxygen quickly, but will be extinguished when the supply runs out. A ventilation system simulation has also been added to the submarine, controlled from the misc. systems control panels. Together, these open up a huge range of possibilities - there are a lot more ways for things to go wrong now but there are also a lot more ways to deal with an emergency!
• Radar has been added. There are two types of radar model - an old, WW2 style radar and a newer '70s/'80s radar. Choose which one you want in the gameoptions.ini file before you start the game. Radar is accessed through the "Sonar Equipment" object near the command room (it's misnamed at the moment).
• Crewmen are now a lot more individual - each man has a set of skills and abilities which will affect performance at different tasks. Crewmen will become more proficient at tasks they complete often. The starting skillset of each crewmember depends on their rank; the captain won't be good at loading torpedoes or welding, for example, but he probably will have good leadership skills.
• It is now possible to control which tasks each crewman will complete (select the crewman then press T). This allows you to respond to emergencies more effectively and protect important crewmen from entering dangerous situations.
• You are now (usually) assigned missions close to your current location. So you won't start in Los Angeles and be ordered to patrol the coastal waters of Madagascar any more, for example. Sometimes you'll have to travel a significant distance but it's a whole lot better than it used to be.
• As requested, it's now possible to change key bindings. Instructions are in the guide.txt file.
• Added a loading progress bar on startup, when the game is loading the world map.
• Slightly edited the world map in a couple of places, particularly around the Suez Canal and San Francisco. It's now possible to access some harbours and areas which were previously inaccessible.
• Whole bunch of other bugfixes.
  

[troopie]

G'day Geoff! Love what you're doing here but unfortunately I haven't really got the time to get involved at the moment.

In regards to the request in your first post though, Neal posted this great link to a USN training film about the construction of a WWII era diesel/electric sub:



It covers some of the fundamentals of a sub such as ballast ect.

I imagine you're fairly well along now but I hope it maybe of some use to ya.

[TheGeoff]

New update: Version 0.15
http://rapidshare.com/files/17135265...ander_0_15.zip

This one took a while, I haven't had much time to work on this project lately.

Change log:

• Equipment has been added to the game. There are about eight different pieces of equipment currently, with many more planned - read the guide for instructions on how to equip crew. The different pieces of equipment behave roughly as they would in real life, play around and see what combinations are effective.
• Added simple depth indicators to the periscope and maneuver control panels. This will help you determine if the conning tower is above the waterline or not, among other benefits. It also helps avoid hitting the sea floor in shallow water.
• Crew names are now tied to the submarine's nationality - so if you pick a US sub your crew will have American names, if you pick a Chinese sub the crew will have Chinese names etc. Still got to add name files for a few nationalities but it's on the way.
• The game speed can be changed in the gameoptions.ini file. You can pick any speed (in frames per second) you want, but about 8-12 is recommended.
• Ships now look more 3D through the periscope.
• Numerous changes to how crew skills work, especially with regards to gaining proficiency with a task.
• Made a few small changes to the UI to make important information more obvious.
• Redid a few dodgy parts of the water/pressure physics code to fix a couple of old bugs. Water will now flow more naturally, and water pressure in flooded compartments should work correctly now.
• Fixed an amusing bug where switching on the ventilation system in a flooded compartment would turn all the vents on the sub into vacuum cleaners, rapidly sucking all of the air out of the sub (still don't know what caused that one!)
• Fixed a bug with the day/night cycle lighting which sometimes made the sky turn green at about 8:00am.
• Probably more small bug fixes and minor changes, I forget.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

[TheGeoff]

It's been a while since the last update but I just wanted to clarify this project isn't dead... I'm still working on it, just at a much slower rate. Hopefully I'll have another update ready soon!

[TheGeoff]

New Update: Version 0.16
http://goo.gl/wwMJqL
(Now hosted on Dropbox because Rapidshare's stopped working)

Changes:

• Completely overhauled the damage modelling for most of the submarine. Now everything is tracked in much more detail; it's not just "Nuclear Reactor: 50% damaged" any more, now the internal components are modeled as well. Press D to order a crewman to examine an object in detail and report how damaged it is. As far as possible, everything behaves as in real life... try it out and let me know what you think! Since the new damage model introduces a lot of complexity and may be daunting for new players I've made it optional, you can disable it in gameoptions.ini
• Added the ability to give a crewman a direct order (select a crewman and press O). He will immediately start work on the assigned task, and anyone who was already working on that task will get out of his way. This is really useful for managing damage control teams - you can now order your expert fireman to extinguish the fire while your best welder focuses on repairing the hull breach, without worrying about them trying to do the wrong job.
• Added (limited) mouse support. You can now use the mouse instead of the arrow keys, if you enable it in gameoptions.ini
• Added a couple of different rendering styles for fire in the game. Select style 1, 2 or 3 in gameoptions.ini and see which one you like best.
• Added the ability to change the font used in the game (once again, this is set through gameoptions.ini) Most Windows fonts should work I think.
• Some graphical improvements when looking through the periscope.
• Many small bug fixes and tweaks.

Sorry about the wait!

[Red October1984]

Still got a great project with great work being done, I see.

Keep it up man!

[rooivalk]

brilliant so much potential

[Onkel Neal]

What's this game called?

[TheGeoff]

It's called Sub Commander

[Onkel Neal]

Nice. Keep the updates coming