Why do you play Silent Hunter?

[Boris]

G'day fellow Silent Hunter players,

I need to conceptualise a study for a university assignment and need your help.

Basically, all I would like is for you to explain why you play Silent Hunter 3/4.
What are your motivations, what do you get out of it, and anything else that pops into mind.
Also, do you tend to play alone, with others, online etc.

Don't take these questions too rigidly, just write generally whatever you think, about why you like playing Silent Hunter games.

The main thing is, why do you play Silent Hunter?

I hope you guys can help, the more responses I get, the better.

Cheers

Boris

[grasovka]

I like history and simulations which are as immersive as it can be. Thus Silent Hunter covers an interesting aspect of the cruel WW2: the eager fight of the keen u-boat men. Furthermore SH3 makes it possible to try different tactics in the unforgiving environment of the Atlantic Ocean. Recently it is the difficulty which these oldschool technology of the WW2 u-boats which makes this game so suspense-packed as it is.

*Sry for my dict.cc-English

[Boris]

Originally Posted by grasovka

*Sry for my dict.cc-English

Deutsch wäre auch ganz ok gewesen

[Swat]

It's one of the few games the player can learn from,or it makes (force) the player to be interested in this particular topic.It's my case.I was always interested in all major conflicts of 20th century,mainly WW2,just like lots of men all over the world.I started with pacific theater,reading about Pearl Harbor,Midway etc.Then,because I like PC gaming,I bought SH3.Knew only a little about the war in Atlantic...Now I already read some books,I'm surfing on the net,searching for another infos,downloading authentic photos,reading about the men and boats,I built the model of VIIC/41.....and I play Silent Hunter.I've already mentioned somewhere here on Subsim-especially with GWX it's an interactive documentary for me.

Why I play Silent Hunter III? It is the best submarine simulation! It shows me some things about history too, about the Navy/Kriegsmarine. It's realistic and it's hard for the game to bore me.

[KptLt Lindemann]

I've always been interested in submarine/naval simulators, albeit never WW2 ones. However, when I saw Das Boot again a few months ago (the first time I had seen it was many many years ago), the impact was such that I immediately began researching that particular era, reading books, visiting websites and of course looking for a WW2 U-boat sim. Thus I ended up with SH3, GWX2 and been spending countless hours patrolling the North Atlantic since then. Oh and lurking in these forums when taking a break from patrolling, it's the friendliest community I've seen.

[ryoga_77]

I always had an interest in the various branches of the military,present and historical especially where WW2 is concerned.Silent Hunter 3 & 4 have allowed me to have a virual first hand expierence of the weapons,the technology,the theatres and last but not least the boats themselves.The enjoyment of the game does not come from the end objective (ie winning the war) because the outcome is known beforehand.

The enjoyment comes in setting sail in an ever changing dynamic virtual world with real world mechanics ,going on patrol with orders like the real capts. did but most of all from the hunt.The whole process from sighting/detecting to interception,recognition,setting up the attack and evasion ,whilst time consuming in itself,is tremedously atmospheric. Depth charge attacks shake me as i do my best to evade pursuit counting only on the sonarman reports,loud propeller rumbling ominously overhead are a heart stopper but the relief that can be felt when it is reported that the contact has faded away is a reward unto itself.

I have had large convoys in sight with nought but a torpedo in my tubes , returned to port with the last drops of diesel,returned to base out of fuel with nothing to show but a few fishing boats,had a priority enemy target survive due to dud torpedoes or torpedo depth failure and the satisfaction of sending large enemy merchant and military targets on a one way ticket to Davy Jones's locker.Also it's nice to get back to base and be presented with Medals,promotions and Unit commedations.

Silent Hunter 3 and 4 shower the player with a long time of inactivity but this made up for by the anticipation,fear,tension and the enormous satisfaction one feels when the torpedo strikes , enemy tonnage is sunk and a successful return to base can be matched by few games.The outstanding contribution by the community with efforts like GWX2,Trigger Maru and innumerable others have provided a much longer shelf life to these games than the clean versions ever could.

True to history equipment , craft , theatres of operation and a compelling expierience second only to the real thing keep me vising these games.

[AOTD_MadMax]

Why do i play silent hunter ?

Hmm this question i often ask to myself ................:rotfl:

Greets

Maddi

[Jimbuna]

I started playing because I've always had a keen interest in military warfare....one of my favourite eras being WWII naval warfare and in particular submarines.

A probable motivation was the fact my father served in the British merchant marine, and in particular, the Arctic and Atlantic.

When I'm 'immersed' in the gameplay it helps detoxify my mind of what are often potentially disturbing memories regarding certain elements of my profession (law enforcement).

I usually play alone, but since my involvement with The Grey Wolves commenced, it is not uncommon to play online with my colleagues as one of the means to ironing out gameplay anomalies.

Hope this is of some use.

[Aldag]

For me, i purchased the game off amazon on a whim about a month ago. Being a former OTC member, my interest in WW2 was always on the land campaigns and i researched the Spanish Civil War quite a lot too.

What i have found is that merely playing the game, as another poster says above, forces you to take an interest and learn about the era, the boats, the weapons etc etc. For me it has opened up a whole new area of history that excites me and every patrol forces me to go and look up another set of situations to discover if it would really have happened that way, or why what happened did.

For example, tonight i have been looking up how many depth charges a V class destroyer carried, and hoping its not many more than the 6 he's thrown at me!

[Dowly]

My biggest influence was Das Boot. I wasnt that keen to WWII naval warfare before, mainly air warfare and the Finno-Russo war. But after watching Das Boot and playing SH2, I just had to get SH3.

Soo, my answer is Das Boot.

[moscowexile]

To annoy my wife.

[melnibonian]

I was always facinated by the military technology and the German U-Boats. SH3 was sort of OK but if it was not for the supermods I would not have been playing for the last 3 years.

[Brag]

I started playing flight sims to maintain my instrument flying skills. And combat flight sim to keep reflexes tuned. When I discovered SHII, I found it a lot more absorbing. I play SH3/GWX to completely clear my mind. The combination of the game and this forum create a very special world for me. The novel I am working on now has been inspired by SH3.

[Mittelwaechter]

In der Sprache der Kaleuns!
Das Spiel macht einfach Spass.
Es ist ein ausgezeichneter Mix aus Action und Entspannung.
Es ist fordernd aber nicht überfordernd; man kann den Schwierigkeitsgrad sehr individuell justieren.
Die KI ist durchaus clever und sorgt für eine gewisse Unberechenbarkeit. Etwas, was den meisten Spielen fehlt und dadurch zu einer geringen Langzeitmotivation beiträgt.
SH3 läßt sich wunderbar modifizieren - und wird daduch von erstaunlich fähigen Leuten noch immer weiterentwickelt.
Die Grafik hat mich seinerzeit aus dem Staunen nicht heraus gebracht.
Das Spiel hat eine angenehme Fangemeinde - trotz des "kritischen" Themas. Die meisten Leute machen einen recht erwachsenen Eindruck.
Online spiele ich nicht. Mit anderen Spielen habe ich die Erfahrung gemacht, dass Annonymität nicht spielförderlich ist; ein Clan ist mir aber wieder zuviel Vereinsmeierei und Diktat. Multiplay via LAN wäre eigentlich das Richtige.