Supplies idea

[Incubus]

A neat idea (just a fantasy here, bear with me) I had for SHIV is a supply system in your submarine. Since US subs made long patrols, I'd like to see more than just fuel be a limiting factor. Here's how I envision it:

Your boat has a 'maximum displacement'. This is the absolute limit of crap you can fit in your boat. There are three primary catagories of supplies:

1.) Consumables- This consists of food/drink/medicine/coffee/ice cream that your crew needs to eat. All militiaries run on their stomachs, and I wouldn't imagine a sub crew to be any different. Just as you can travel slower to conserve diesel, you could vary rations to conserve consumables. High rations=high morale, low rations=low morale/greater crew fatigue. Maybe random events, like a crewmember falling violently ill or having an accident doing routine work (hey, its a dangerous job) which causes him to be laid up and drains supplies. In base, you can decide how much you want to bring, with the game telling you the estimated duration in days your supplies will last.

2.) Spare parts- Rather than simply have damage either be quickly repairable or utterly non-repairable, have it work in a spectrum. Depth charges rattle a few bunks loose? Fix it in a jiffy! Engine fried? Hmm, I hope we remembered to bring enough spare valves/pistons...Screw shafts bent like a pretzel? Wonder if the current will eventually drift us back to Pearl... this way, depending on how conservative you are, you could have damage that you may or may not be able to fix. Making the repair times realistic (and maybe a little more random) would also make it exciting.

3.) Special- This would be stuff for special missions; space allocated for downed airmen you rescue or enemy POWs, commandoes, reconnaisance equipment, supplies for other ships, etc.

[_Seth_]

Originally Posted by Incubus

A neat idea (just a fantasy here, bear with me) I had for SHIV is a supply system in your submarine. Since US subs made long patrols, I'd like to see more than just fuel be a limiting factor. Here's how I envision it:

Your boat has a 'maximum displacement'. This is the absolute limit of crap you can fit in your boat. There are three primary catagories of supplies:

1.) Consumables- This consists of food/drink/medicine/coffee/ice cream that your crew needs to eat. All militiaries run on their stomachs, and I wouldn't imagine a sub crew to be any different. Just as you can travel slower to conserve diesel, you could vary rations to conserve consumables. High rations=high morale, low rations=low morale/greater crew fatigue. Maybe random events, like a crewmember falling violently ill or having an accident doing routine work (hey, its a dangerous job) which causes him to be laid up and drains supplies. In base, you can decide how much you want to bring, with the game telling you the estimated duration in days your supplies will last.

2.) Spare parts- Rather than simply have damage either be quickly repairable or utterly non-repairable, have it work in a spectrum. Depth charges rattle a few bunks loose? Fix it in a jiffy! Engine fried? Hmm, I hope we remembered to bring enough spare valves/pistons...Screw shafts bent like a pretzel? Wonder if the current will eventually drift us back to Pearl... this way, depending on how conservative you are, you could have damage that you may or may not be able to fix. Making the repair times realistic (and maybe a little more random) would also make it exciting.

3.) Special- This would be stuff for special missions; space allocated for downed airmen you rescue or enemy POWs, commandoes, reconnaisance equipment, supplies for other ships, etc.

Not a bad idea at all, mate! But IMHO i think this takes the focus from what the game really is about; sinking ships +more... But its an excellent idea; especially the Spare part- bit....

[mookiemookie]

I can't really say I'm on board with this idea. I thought SH4 was trying to get away from playing "The Sims" with your crew!

Not a necessarily a bad idea, but just not something I'd like to see included.

[Incubus]

I know the game is supposed to be about sinking ships. But I'm guessing the voyages are going to be long, and it would be nice if there was something to do beyond crank up the TC up to 4000 for half an hour.

[_Seth_]

Originally Posted by Incubus

I know the game is supposed to be about sinking ships. But I'm guessing the voyages are going to be long, and it would be nice if there was something to do beyond crank up the TC up to 4000 for half an hour.

I agree with you on that. Maybe some small "in-game" games, like recognition Q&A, that lets you increase your skill or rank; like a series of test you can do aboard the sub. I Also would like to have the ability to conduct drills, to increase the experience of the crew. But this sounds like it should be in the suggestion thread....

[danlisa]

:hmm: On board training? Visual recognition tests, Hydrophone tests, course plotting etc...

But I suspect that this will be incorporated into the academy missions.

[_Seth_]

Originally Posted by danlisa

:hmm: On board training? Visual recognition tests, Hydrophone tests, course plotting etc...

But I suspect that this will be incorporated into the academy missions.

Possibly, but it would be cool to conduct IE fire drills with the crew or something like that (if fire is a possibility in SHIV...).

[Loaf]

You could have a system where conducting various drills on your way to your patrol area (vs. sitting there with the time compression cranked up and reading a novel) has a direct effect on crew performance. For instance, even with a veteran crew, if you run on the surface for days and days without diving once, are they going to do the world's fastest crash dive in an emergency? Likely not!

This feature could be linked to realism settings for those who want to disable it...

Speaking of realism and dive times, it always bugged me in SHIII that your dive times were unaffected by deck actvity... For instance, if the guns are manned, that would have to seriously slow you down. The big one is transfering torpedos from external storage - getting caught on the surface by an aircraft in the middle of that must have been disastrous in real life, but in SHIII you just crash dive as per usual...

Did US subs have external torpedo storage I wonder?

[Safe-Keeper]

Consumables? Yup.
Spare parts? Yup.
Rescuing downed airmen, etc.? Yup.
Drills during patrol? No. Sounds fun on the surface, but come on, it'd be no more than hitting 'C', then 'S'. Hardly a huge, great feature.

You could have a system where conducting various drills on your way to your patrol area (vs. sitting there with the time compression cranked up and reading a novel) has a direct effect on crew performance. For instance, even with a veteran crew, if you run on the surface for days and days without diving once, are they going to do the world's fastest crash dive in an emergency?

Yes, very likely so. Subs were on the surface "for days and days" a lot.

[Loaf]

Originally Posted by Safe-Keeper

Yes, very likely so. Subs were on the surface "for days and days" a lot.

My notion of drills would not be a big deal in the game, agreed... It would only appeal to realism nuts. However, you are incorrect in stating that WWII subs would cruise on the surface for days without diving. I have read many WWII patrol logs by US sub skippers, and they made regular dives when in transit to keep the crew in practice, adjust submerged trim as stores were consumed and take bathythermograph readings. We may just push a key to dive but a real WWII sub took a lot of skill to safely dive and keep trimmed, especially if you wanted to be able to do it quickly.

Here are some quotes from the first few lines of the first random report (from a patrol by USS Nautilus) I just grabbed off the web:

"0900 May 24, 1942 underway from Submarine Base. U.S.S.
WASMUTH escorted this vessel until dark. Made trim dive."

"May 25 to May 27 made daily dives enroute to patrol area
northwest of Midway."

"From May 24 until June 3 made routine dives."

Etc...

Here's the link if anybody's curious... I find these logs very interesting:

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/1592/nautilus1.htm

[_Seth_]

Originally Posted by Loaf

Speaking of realism and dive times, it always bugged me in SHIII that your dive times were unaffected by deck actvity... For instance, if the guns are manned, that would have to seriously slow you down. The big one is transfering torpedos from external storage - getting caught on the surface by an aircraft in the middle of that must have been disastrous in real life, but in SHIII you just crash dive as per usual...

i couldnt agree more!