A Long Term SH Player's Take On UBOAT

rickidoo · 09-29-19, 01:13 PM

Let me set a small backdrop first.

I'm an experienced SH series player who started with SH3, then SH4 and finally SH5. I would consider myself at the "intermediate" gamer level. I've spent countless hours sailing these seas in these. (And I am retired Navy... but not subs...)

Over the last few years I would take all three versions for a spin once in a while, but clearly gone was the intensity that I once enjoyed. The engagements are exciting enough, but overall it has lost the draw it once had. I think, honestly, that the adrenalin rush that I get from combat flight sims (especially now in VR) has made my brain wanting more excitement and challenge.

So with that backdrop, I want to report my take on UBOAT. I did not know what to expect going into it. The videos I had seen of "little people" going about their chores ala "Sims" was a bit of a turn off. And it seems like there are a lot of those "little people" videos out there.

I was relieved to find out the game can be played both in "sim mode" and in first person mode. And it's quite easy to go back and forth between the modes.

UBOAT is NOT the same as a hypothetical Silent Hunter 6. The concepts of crew management are SH5 on steroids. You do feel a lot more connected to the officers, and when you "become one of them" you feel it - its not just a small icon on the bottom of the screen.

I've always thought visual character customizing was childs play, but it comes in handy in this game. The chief engineer in my game and the actor who played that role in Das Boat look an awful lot like each other.

You probably know this game is early access, meaning you are playing a "work in progress" build. And so there are pieces and functions that are not yet in place. Talking about the character customization again, that is probably at the 60% complete point.

There are part of this game that dramatically stand above SH, and there are parts that still need work. On the later, for example, on my missions my fuel must be fed to the engines in an eye dropper because it's hardly used - ditto for the batteries.

These are issues of "balance", which very likely will be adjusted and tweaked by the game developer and should in no way be used to strike against the game now. It really is a work in progress.

Aircraft and other boat radars are way too powerful; this no doubt will be a balance issue to be worked out.

The graphics are pretty 2019 and the game was silky smooth on my I-9900K and 1080 card.

I love many of the surprising incidental details in this game. For example, in the old SH games, between missions the calendar advanced so many days until you launched again.

In UBOAT, you decide how much of your budget to spend on crew R&R. On my second mission I sent them to a 2 week stay at a French resort where they could bring "guests" along. This vacation will increase my crews disipline levels on the next voyage. Such is the life of a sailor.

You are not forced to play along with these "extras" but I found them fun and they added a degree of immersion.

Another thing that separates UBOAT from the series is the ongoing effort it takes to keep the ship humming - both in terms of items like O2 levels and how happy the crew is when one of the officers prepares a special meal.

I'm not trying to outline every difference between the SH series and UBOAT, but I do want to paint a picture that in UBOAT your mind is engaged much more between battles than with the SH series. My mind says "Thanks for the adrenalin."

I bought the game a week or two ago on sale on steam for $22 or so. The developers have released two substantial patches in the last couple of months. There is still a lot of fixes and adds to make, so if you want to experience a fully polished game, I recommend you pass for now.

But if you are willing to ride along with the devs as they pound out the sharp creases AND dents as I was, I recommend you get it.

JU_88 · 09-30-19, 03:47 AM

Good assesment ^
Yeah SH was battle focused. while you where not hunting, You would be whizzing around in TC just keeping and eye on Fuel and the weather, making the odd Hydrophone check. But that was it, there was nothing else to think about or do.
Granted, since the 'action' was games focus, SH did part very well indeed.

Uboat is a more complicated beast, it has a steeper learning curb than SH. Controlling your boat and crew is not as intuitive as SH. but at the same time, it makes you realize just how much was automated in SH.

09-29-19, 01:13 PM	#1
rickidoo Watch Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 27 Downloads: 417 Uploads: 0	A Long Term SH Player's Take On UBOAT Let me set a small backdrop first. I'm an experienced SH series player who started with SH3, then SH4 and finally SH5. I would consider myself at the "intermediate" gamer level. I've spent countless hours sailing these seas in these. (And I am retired Navy... but not subs...) Over the last few years I would take all three versions for a spin once in a while, but clearly gone was the intensity that I once enjoyed. The engagements are exciting enough, but overall it has lost the draw it once had. I think, honestly, that the adrenalin rush that I get from combat flight sims (especially now in VR) has made my brain wanting more excitement and challenge. So with that backdrop, I want to report my take on UBOAT. I did not know what to expect going into it. The videos I had seen of "little people" going about their chores ala "Sims" was a bit of a turn off. And it seems like there are a lot of those "little people" videos out there. I was relieved to find out the game can be played both in "sim mode" and in first person mode. And it's quite easy to go back and forth between the modes. UBOAT is NOT the same as a hypothetical Silent Hunter 6. The concepts of crew management are SH5 on steroids. You do feel a lot more connected to the officers, and when you "become one of them" you feel it - its not just a small icon on the bottom of the screen. I've always thought visual character customizing was childs play, but it comes in handy in this game. The chief engineer in my game and the actor who played that role in Das Boat look an awful lot like each other. You probably know this game is early access, meaning you are playing a "work in progress" build. And so there are pieces and functions that are not yet in place. Talking about the character customization again, that is probably at the 60% complete point. There are part of this game that dramatically stand above SH, and there are parts that still need work. On the later, for example, on my missions my fuel must be fed to the engines in an eye dropper because it's hardly used - ditto for the batteries. These are issues of "balance", which very likely will be adjusted and tweaked by the game developer and should in no way be used to strike against the game now. It really is a work in progress. Aircraft and other boat radars are way too powerful; this no doubt will be a balance issue to be worked out. The graphics are pretty 2019 and the game was silky smooth on my I-9900K and 1080 card. I love many of the surprising incidental details in this game. For example, in the old SH games, between missions the calendar advanced so many days until you launched again. In UBOAT, you decide how much of your budget to spend on crew R&R. On my second mission I sent them to a 2 week stay at a French resort where they could bring "guests" along. This vacation will increase my crews disipline levels on the next voyage. Such is the life of a sailor. You are not forced to play along with these "extras" but I found them fun and they added a degree of immersion. Another thing that separates UBOAT from the series is the ongoing effort it takes to keep the ship humming - both in terms of items like O2 levels and how happy the crew is when one of the officers prepares a special meal. I'm not trying to outline every difference between the SH series and UBOAT, but I do want to paint a picture that in UBOAT your mind is engaged much more between battles than with the SH series. My mind says "Thanks for the adrenalin." I bought the game a week or two ago on sale on steam for $22 or so. The developers have released two substantial patches in the last couple of months. There is still a lot of fixes and adds to make, so if you want to experience a fully polished game, I recommend you pass for now. But if you are willing to ride along with the devs as they pound out the sharp creases AND dents as I was, I recommend you get it.

09-30-19, 03:47 AM	#2
JU_88 Silent Hunter Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: UK Posts: 3,727 Downloads: 11 Uploads: 0	Good assesment ^ Yeah SH was battle focused. while you where not hunting, You would be whizzing around in TC just keeping and eye on Fuel and the weather, making the odd Hydrophone check. But that was it, there was nothing else to think about or do. Granted, since the 'action' was games focus, SH did part very well indeed. Uboat is a more complicated beast, it has a steeper learning curb than SH. Controlling your boat and crew is not as intuitive as SH. but at the same time, it makes you realize just how much was automated in SH.