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

[Aktungbby]

Vivalas! & Zazyman32!

[Jimbuna]

Welcome to SubSim to you both

[Aegean Islands]

I think that an actual medkit item should be required to treat radiation, and a health system for crewmembers could be put in place, like for each to start at 100% and then radiation damage or oxygen deprivation damage, or brute force/burn damage from being close to an explosion/fire without protection etc.

[Aktungbby]

Aegean Islands! I completely agree!

[TheGeoff]

Originally Posted by Zazyman32

Hey Geoff, just wanted to say first off I'm having loads of fun with the game in its normal set format, and with my own set challenge. But first of all, a quick suggestion:

With all of the traits in the game, how about a medical trait? So like, a trained medic is able to help with radiation (unlike the rest of the crew) and also deal with other problems faster like unconsciousness, and as they do it more, they progress like a welder or a repairman.

Another suggestion is to have the item/traits meaning guide in the actual guide it self, so that people can refer to it and quickly understand what each crew member can do, and what equipment is best for each job.

Oh, and as my own challenge, I've been trying to get the sub reliablity setting as low as possible, and I have to do 3 missions. I'm allowed to go to friendly ports if I want, but as you might see on the other thread I'm in a pretty bad way.

And again, thanks for the great free game! I hope it continues to grow, as well as your 3D version

Nice idea for a challenge! Glad you're enjoying the game.

I'm working on a new tutorial and manual which will explain the traits a bit better, so that should clear up those questions. Basically:
Repairman / Technician / Engineer - Faster object repairs
Welder - Faster hull repairs
Strong - Faster torpedo loading, better at swimming
Tough - More resistant to fire and radiation sickness, can last longer in water before drowning
Leader - Nearby crew do all tasks slightly faster, with the radius and the improvement % based on how good the leader is.

I think that covers all of them. I might add a medic skill in the future, and maybe a medkit object, but I'm still thinking about it. It might take away a lot of the pressure to avoid radiation exposure if it can simply be undone by the medic, and that would make the decisions like "Which crewman should I send in to fix the reactor this time?" less meaningful. On the other hand it might open up new options. Maybe there should be a limited supply of medication on board the boat? I'll do some experiments in a future version.

Originally Posted by Vivalas

Greetings, I am new to this forum but have been lurking for some time and was waiting for a more appropriate time, but I just couldn't help myself.

I really love your game and everything about it, and really can't wait to see how far it goes, the interesting cross-over of DF and FTL mixed with submarine simulation is amazing.

After reading through this whole thread (which took a long time), the real reason I came was to report a bug where if you refit as the diesel-only sub, it loses the extra efficiency that it's engines have and it becomes unusable, since it doesn't have enough power for it'e engines. (I'm guessing that it's diesels have more output since the other subs can't run using just diesel at the speed it can.

Thanks, glad you like it! And thank you for reporting the bug. I think I know where the problem comes from and I'll fix it for the next version.

Originally Posted by Aegean Islands

I think that an actual medkit item should be required to treat radiation, and a health system for crewmembers could be put in place, like for each to start at 100% and then radiation damage or oxygen deprivation damage, or brute force/burn damage from being close to an explosion/fire without protection etc.

This is actually similar to the current system, although the numbers are hidden from the player so it's not obvious what's going on. All crew have an 'energy level', which drops through injury, sickness or physical exertion. Crew with low energy are labelled 'tired', or 'dizzy' when it's really low, and if energy hits zero they fall unconscious. Everyone starts with around 100 energy, although it can be higher or lower - 'Tough' and 'Very Tough' crew have significantly above average starting energy. At the moment crew recover energy steadily over time, with faster recovery if they are off duty or if they are given first aid. Radiation exposure continuously drains energy, even after the crew member has left the irradiated area, so crew with radiation exposure will recover slower from injuries even if they don't have actual radiation sickness.

I'm looking at changing the system so there is both physical health and energy. For example an explosion would cause physical injuries, while treading water would drain energy. Not sure whether this would improve the system or just make it more complicated.

[jadervason]

Health systems are a slippery slope! You can find yourself lost in how intricate you want to make one.

But maybe Fitness and Energy should be split into two categories. Obviously a guy blown in half would have a pretty low fitness rating, and even a Terminator would eventually run out of energy.

But as I said, slippery slope!

[Fieters]

Hi TheGeoff ,

You've made an awesome game which I really enjoy, are you still working on the project? Haven't seen a new version for quite some time. I know that a game costs quite some time but it would really be a pitty if this nice project would be on Ice

I just want to ask how it goes

Thanks for this awesome game!

[TheGeoff]

Hi Fieters, glad to hear you're still interested! I am still working on the game when I get time, but it's been a very busy year. I have several new features almost ready for release but I'll take a little more time to improve them and test them. The next version will also come with a tutorial, which I have nearly finished writing. Hopefully I will have time to finish and release the new version within the next two weeks

[auricom]

Hi I just wanted to say - your game is really awesome. Please keep working on it!

Honestly I think it's something you should even think about selling for a few dollars on Steam if you are going to keep developing it. It is very polished, and a lot of fun.

If I had one request, it would be to be able to 'full screen' it or make the window bigger.

Keep up the good work!

[succerpunch]

Is this dead because the last new release was in March and it is now October, I would hate to see this project die since it was such a good one.

[TheGeoff]

Thanks, I know it's been a long time since the last release but I do plan to continue work on Sub Commander. I've been slowly working on a new update for months but I don't have as much spare time for developing these days.

I'm not going to speculate on a release date this time because that never seems to end well, but rest assured that the next update is still being worked on. Good to see people still interested in the game anyway

[Vanagandr]

Found the Foxtrot equipment room bug -

subs/foxtrot/objects.ini

[ GENERAL ]

defined_objects = 29
UI_folder = foxtrot
...
[OBJECT_19] <<<
objectname = Equipment Storage
...
[MISC_OBJECTS]
electricmotorobj=5
equipmentobj=31 <<<
periscopeobj=9
turbinegeneratorobj=5

Tweak these to match and everything works as it ought to.

Would be nice if Diesel-Electrics wouldn't be given objectives off on the other end of the world - it's a bit tedious to get there.

As for equipment, I can see what most of them do, but what's a chemical suit for? Gas masks presumably reduce the effect of low oxygen, but what are leather gloves for?

The guide in the version linked on the first page doesn't mention the +/- keys for the sonar's warbook, either.

[JerikTelorian]

Originally Posted by jadervason

Health systems are a slippery slope! You can find yourself lost in how intricate you want to make one.

But maybe Fitness and Energy should be split into two categories. Obviously a guy blown in half would have a pretty low fitness rating, and even a Terminator would eventually run out of energy.

But as I said, slippery slope!

Before he knows it, Geoff is going to go full-Toady and be simulating damage to the second-knuckle of the third-toe of Seaman Johnson, who stubbed his toes trying to go on break

[Lightningy]

I've been playing for a while now (about 7ish months) and i would like to say well done, this game is so complex and the depth (pun intended) is superb!

I have started making custom subs and i put one with 8 missiles and 8 tubes together, however there is no way for me tor fire more than 4 of the tubes (basically all extra tubes are just there and can NEVER be fired only the first 4 that are declared). I was wondering if, perhaps, there is a way to have more than 4 tubes and still be able to use them all?

[Aktungbby]

Lightningy!