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Old 06-22-20, 02:43 PM   #1
Sonarman
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Default New game announced - Destroyer - The U-boat Hunter



Game Facebook page with screenshots & storyboards

https://www.facebook.com/Destroyerthegame


Official website...

https://ironwolfstudio.com/


Wishlist on steam

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1..._UBoat_Hunter/


From the press release...

Destroyer: the U-Boat Hunter is an interactive war thriller which seamlessly blends tactical anti-submarine warfare simulation with a gripping storyline. Take command of a meticulously reconstructed Fletcher-class destroyer and lead your crew against nazi U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic!

It’s all in your hands, captain!

The game is set in 1942, i.e. when the convoy system was finally introduced by the US Navy in response to operation ‘Drumbeat’ and the bloodbath that the U-boats had caused along the US east coast. The player will take full command of USS Janson (DD-524), a fictional Fletcher-class destroyer based on USS Kidd (DD-661), which will lead the escort group of an important convoy. It will be assisted by three AI-controlled destroyers that the player will be able to give orders to. From setting the formation, through ordering attacks and search plans to picking up survivors.

- Our goal is to build a credible, highly authentic game environment. To that end, we are aiming at recreating naval warfare technology and US naval combat doctrine from the 1940s, as well as portraying day to day activities of the crew, their problems, and interpersonal relations. These motifs will be incorporated into the main plot, and will be based on actual stories and anecdotes by US Navy veterans. - says Bartosz Pluta, CEO of Iron Wolf Studio.

Simulator with a cinematic feel

The plot of Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter will be conveyed via highly detailed cutscenes which strongly tie into the game’s choice and consequence mechanic. The captain’s strategic decisions, as well as certain story-related aspects of the game will be controlled by the player, with consequences for both the situation in combat and plot development. Gameplay as such will focus on several key locations on-board: the combat information centre, the bridge, the sonar room, the engine room, and observation posts. The player will be able to switch between these locations at any moment in the course of the battle.

- One of the main premises that we keep to in our design is something that we call ‘realistic combat awareness’. What it means is that there will be no way to see through the fog of war other than by using authentic equipment and procedures. There is no ‘bird’s eye view’, and the player will be far from omniscient. We believe this is especially important in recreating anti-submarine warfare, where advantage in combat is achieved mainly through detecting, locating, and keeping track of enemy presence. - adds Artur Salwarowski, vice-president of Iron Wolf Studio.

Key features of the game:

Platform: PC

Genre: tactical milsim with interactive story element.

Realistic radar, sonar, and navigation instruments.

A choice and consequence mechanic will allow players to make key decisions as the plot develops.

Xsense and Face Ware technologies (motion capture) will be used in cutscenes to ensure high quality character animation.

The first episode in the series will focus only on anti-submarine warfare - the studio is planning to release further episodes which will take place in the Pacific Theatre and expand the gameplay by adding surface and surface-to-air combat.

Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter

The game is published by Iron Wolf Studio.

The release date will be announced soon.

About Iron Wolf Studio:

Iron Wolf Studio was created by merging Iron Wolf Studio with Inimages. The two companies had created U-Boot the Board Game - a unique blend of PC U-boat simulator and board game with beautiful physical components. It was a big success, with the game’s first and second printing selling out immediately and the publisher planning to release further editions. The game also enjoys a user score of 7.9/10 on Boardgamegeek.com and has been nominated for a number of prestigious awards. Given the studio’s experience in WW2 naval simulation, a decision was made to start developing quality PC simulators and Destroyer: The U-Boat Hunter will be their first title.

Media contact:

Kinga Wodzyńska

Senior PR Manager at better. gaming



kinga.wodzynska@bettergaming.pro
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Last edited by Sonarman; 06-22-20 at 03:09 PM.
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Old 06-22-20, 10:45 PM   #2
Kongo Otto
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Added to wishlist. Remembers me about the good old Destroyer Command back in the days.
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Old 06-22-20, 11:30 PM   #3
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I'll be watching this one closely! I like the idea of this being "The First Episode". If it works and turns a profit, I wouldn't be surprised if they added player controlled submarines into the mix...


I'm hopeful about this one.
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Old 06-23-20, 01:28 AM   #4
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@Kongo Otto,
Yes I still have my Destroyer Command disk, that was the first thing I thought of.

Might be good, problem is I hate STEAM so I won't be getting it.

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Old 06-23-20, 05:56 AM   #5
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I was the same with Steam i was definitely a have it with the box and manual retail guy, however Steam is about the only place to get PC games now, most other resellers are simply selling steam codes etc. i am avoiding smaller independents now as i lost a lot of games when Desura disappeared. I figure / hope Steam is big enough not to disappear.

It does have some advantages in that all your games are stored in the cloud so you can delete them without worry from your Pc if you are tight on space, and they dont seem as restrictive on modding as i first thought mainly just the exe and anti cheating multiplayer stuff that’s out of bounds.
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Old 06-23-20, 09:23 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonarman View Post
I was the same with Steam i was definitely a have it with the box and manual retail guy, however Steam is about the only place to get PC games now, most other resellers are simply selling steam codes etc. i am avoiding smaller independents now as i lost a lot of games when Desura disappeared. I figure / hope Steam is big enough not to disappear.

It does have some advantages in that all your games are stored in the cloud so you can delete them without worry from your Pc if you are tight on space, and they dont seem as restrictive on modding as i first thought mainly just the exe and anti cheating multiplayer stuff that’s out of bounds.

Yes. Steam has become a good platform for games. I avoided it for quite a while but now companies do everything online. I haven't had any problems with Steam for three years now and, like you say, all games purchased from Steam remain in my Library for installing them whenever I want.
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Old 06-23-20, 03:12 PM   #7
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Very nice game idea, not sure the destroyer play part to chase submarines has ever been made. I was always looking for a game like this, and it has become true. Thank you


Please consider making the game available on GOG also. Thank you.




Greetings,
XS
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Old 06-23-20, 03:14 PM   #8
Artur Salwarowski
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Hello Everyone,

Thank you for expressing your interest in Destroyer. We have just revealed the game and we will soon follow up with much more info, including a gameplay trailer that ought to shed more light on how it all works.

We hope that our vision of destroyer simulation will appeal to you. In the meantime, if you have any questions about Destroyer: the U-Boat hunter, I will be happy to answer them.

Artur Salwarowski
Iron Wolf Studio
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Old 06-23-20, 04:10 PM   #9
Sonarman
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Thank Artur, the game already looks great considering it is still over a year from release. Many here have been waiting a long time for a good destroyer sim to come along.

Some questions...

Are you planning to release the game in early access on Steam in a similar way to UBoat?

Your team has obviously put a great deal of work into the stunning graphics and detail of the various compartments. I know that the game will be split between story elements as seen in the trailer and simulation elements. What kind of interactions will be possible on the simulation side of things?

I notice that this is the first chapter and later chapter will encompass anti air and anti surface elements is there any plan for multiplayer in this or future versions possibly with player controlled subs vs destroyers in future releases?

Its great that you are introducing a character and story driven narrative into the game and especially as you are basng a lot of the encounters on real life veteran anecdotes. Will these be randomised in some way to ensure long term replayability or perhaps have additional missions or even a dynamic campaign mode outside of the main story mode as in Battelstations Midway / Pacific etc.


Thanks
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Last edited by Sonarman; 06-23-20 at 06:39 PM.
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Old 06-23-20, 10:00 PM   #10
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i been looking for a game like this since destroyer command but when i read this got me worry The first episode in the series will focus only on anti-submarine warfare - the studio is planning to release further episodes which will take place in the Pacific Theatre and expand the gameplay by adding surface and surface-to-air combat. is this in the base game price or is it going be pay dlc
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Old 06-24-20, 01:36 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Artur Salwarowski View Post
Hello Everyone,

Thank you for expressing your interest in Destroyer. We have just revealed the game and we will soon follow up with much more info, including a gameplay trailer that ought to shed more light on how it all works.

We hope that our vision of destroyer simulation will appeal to you. In the meantime, if you have any questions about Destroyer: the U-Boat hunter, I will be happy to answer them.

Artur Salwarowski
Iron Wolf Studio

Hello there Artur!
Great project (but you've seen me saying that already elsewhere I guess ^^)
If you have a minute to spare, there are a few gentlemen over there at Grogheads who'd like to know more about it too!
http://www.grogheads.com/forums/index.php?topic=24596.0


Cheers and thanks for them
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Old 06-24-20, 02:10 AM   #12
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Artur I apologise for my early remark about it being on steam, I like a few other don't like steam but going off the above posts it seems to have improved.

I was in flight sim for a long time and always preferred the disk versions to steam, at the time getting help was a problem so I avoided it.

I see your game/sim is American, would it be a problem to also have other nation destroyers, I mean in the Atlantic from what I understand the US escorts went part way then the British took over the other leg of the route?

Or if you base it in Asia then Australian navy played a part, also this would encourage/attract players from other countries to possibly go for the game.

Moving on to the future maybe introduce mine layers or mine sweepers.

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Old 06-24-20, 02:58 AM   #13
Artur Salwarowski
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@sonarman:
Yes, early access will probably be the case so that we can iron out the creases before official release and get more feedback from the community.

As regards interactivity, then you already know there's gonna be the CIC, the bridge, the sonar room, the engine room, and observation platforms available for gameplay interaction. I could give you a full list of functionalities for each compartment, but we are still in very early development, so some of these may still change. All I can say for sure is that you will be able to play with a lot of instruments and that they will be working in a realistic and meaningful way

As far as mutiplayer is concerned, I can already tell that the game is being made strictly as a single-player experience. If it proves to be a success, then we will be definitely looking into the possibility of making a U-boat vs destroyer multiplayer. After all, we and the Uboat guys work within the same parent company and we have collaborated before, so a game like this could appear one day, who knows

In terms of random elements, we are aiming at procedural generation of U-boat attacks, so that the game can stay fresh and replayable. Apart from the story mode (which is going to offer various plot choices and endings), we will introduce a skirmish mode where you can fight in semi-randomly generated convoy battles.

@les green 01:
We are dividing the game into episodes so as not to get overwhelmed with the whole scope of possibilities. For the first episode, we wish to deliver a comprehensive ASW experience, with a lot detail and depth. If people like the way the game works, then we will introduce the Pacific Theatre with all the facets of naval warfare. I think that the second episode will be more of a full sequel than just DLC, but it's too early to say anything more at this point.

@Amiral Crapaud:
Thank you for letting me know! I will gladly visit their forum and answer any and all questions they may have

@Col7777:
If the game proves to be successful, then we are not ruling out appearances by other navies that took part in the conflict. Both the Atlantic and the Pacific theatre saw joint effort of varied forces and I guess it would be good to underline this fact where possible.
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Old 06-24-20, 10:27 AM   #14
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@Artur


From what I have read regarding your development of Destroyer, I think you are on course. Concentrating on specific elements of a destroyer's tasks rather than trying to "do it all" for initial release is a great path. I'm very happy that you are starting with ASW which seems to me, to be one of the most challenging aspects to handle. Some questions and wish-list items that come to my mind follow.

AI Crew Ratings. Most naval sims give a flat crew experience to the entire ship's crew ie, a ship is rated as novice/green/average/experienced/elite. That rating applies to all aspects of the ships company. I would like to see this rating broken down into departments. Example: An AI ship can have and Elite Sonar section, average visual search, experienced radarman, green damage control and experienced gunnery/CIC section. In reality, ship crews had their strengths and weaknesses and it would be great to see this simulated.

Merchant crews should have different standards than naval crews especially regarding visual search capability. History shows that "most" merchant crews were effectively blind to surfaced u-boats especially while they were in convoy.

Which Sonar and radar systems will you be modelling for initial release? SC or SG radar? QCA? I'd really LOVE to see accurate sonar models for both player controlled units and AI. IMO it has never been done in WWII simulations.

Dynamic ocean environments. Will sonar be affected by Wake turbulence/depth charge explosions/thermal conditions and ambient noise generated by other ships (especially convoys). I could go on in more detail but will try to keep it basic for now.

Depth Charge damage radius: will a depth charge explosion radius get smaller with increased depth of a submarine target?

Search patterns/doctrine for reaquiring lost submarine contacts. Box/ladder/line abreast sweeps? This is something that SH3 and SH4 specifically didn't model and I believe was a major over sight. Ironically, the very old subsim Aces of the Deep did model those behaviors...

Zones of responsibilty: It would be great if escorts guarding convoys could be assigned specific areas to cover. Instead of simple right flank/front/left flank/rear, there was a grid system in place in each of those areas. During the day, they could be assigned zones further out and at night be brought in for close escort. This is how it was done historically.

Obviously, you will be catering to as many play styles as possible. There will be customers who expect "every-depth-charge-to-be-a-kill people all the way up to those who want as much realism as possible short of getting salt water in their computer. I happen to fall into the last group and while your bread and butter customers will probably be somewhere in the middle, I think it is the grognards who will provide longevity to your project.

It appears that your initial release will be mainly scripted so as to follow a story line. I don't have a problem with this but also think that creation of a dynamic campaign encompassing multiple Atlantic crossings would be a tremendous asset. A dynamic campaign definitely adds longevity to a simulations appeal.

You are using a Fletcher class destroyer for your simulation. While that isn't my first choice (I would prefer a Buckley/Evarts/Captain/Black Swan etc) I actually think the Fletcher is a good choice. It'll get you into the Pacific for fleet actions etc. It also has some gunnery power compared to DE's so again I say Good Choice!

My hope is that you "make it real" for the community who has long looked for a simulation that reflected reality rather than a simplified version of it. If you get this first installment right, I believe you will create a community that will back you with not only their thanks but their wallets.


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Old 06-24-20, 11:33 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Artur Salwarowski View Post
If it proves to be a success, then we will be definitely looking into the possibility of making a U-boat vs destroyer multiplayer.
This is a little bit sad information.
Since 20 years there is no game includes convoy battles as old good SH2 vs DC multiplayer skimrish...
(WoWs is too arcarish)

But wait a moment.
As I know during Battle of Atlantic there were more than one escort ship near the convoy (HX-300 was protected by 32 escort ships). What is your philosophy to play the escort ship game?

Anyway I hope you noticed all Destroyer Command's disappointsments to avoid them.


BTW.
It may be a huge shock for navy fans if you call your game "Destroyer: The Gato hunter" and hunt American submarines at Pacific theater first.
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