What can SHV learn from SHIII?

[GoldenRivet]

Im sure for many of us this topic has been discussed at great length, but you can never have too many ideas... after all, out of 100 ideas for the next generation of a specific game are observed only about 1/4 of them will be implemented to any respectable degree.

SH3 captured our attention because it saught to do things that no other subsim had been able to do before; most notably IMHO the 3D interior and the interactive crew. not to mention the leap in enviromnental apsects of SH3.

Check out a few of the things floating around my mind... and then submit your own

here goes: (LONG LIST)

1.Overhauled environmental system like you would expect in a top brand flight simulator
a.Weather systems are no longer “global”. Storms can be seen building from many miles away, and the storm moves slowly from place to place and even dissipates.
b.On clear days with isolated storms, the sub can be hidden within the storm from the prying eyes of aircraft and surface ships which you commence repairs or other surface activities.
c.More weather besides just rain, now snow and dense translucent fog forms.
d.Ice can form on the U-boat in northern latitudes; crews must spend several minutes chipping off the ice in order to use deck guns or AA guns.
e.Variable cloud layers, low stratus clouds drift on the wind, cumulus clouds hang high on relatively clear days, and cirrus clouds sit high above at 30,000 feet. Each of these cloud layers can conceal enemy aircraft, and each cloud type appears with the appropriate weather conditions.
f.The world upon which you fight is truly spherical; latitude and longitude match that of real world maps.


2.A living U-boat
a.Crew men fill every compartment
b.Micromanage your crew, or delegate certain tasks to officers.
c.Shift rotation, every eight hours crewmen change shifts and can be seen climbing up and down ladders, and moving from compartment to compartment.
d.Every inch of the u-boat is re-created in detail from the bow tubes to the stern tubes and everything in between.
e.Complex external stores loading process must be timed and often prevents diving or moving the sub… the process is animated from start to finish!

3.Completely overhauled crew / boat management system
a.Before each mission, torpedoes must be loaded, munitions stored and even food and water stowed aboard the u-boat, all of this is done within a virtual 3D first person sub pen where workers can be seen repairing and overhauling your sub and completing various tasks.
b.Pack enough food for 10 days 20 days 60 days or 90 days, food stores run low, the more you pack the more food you see on the u-boat… as time goes on the food begins to disappear.
c.You can manage each member of your crew or place an officer in charge of handling a specific situation. For example: if an internal torpedo storage rack is empty, upon surfacing in a non combat situation your weapons officer will ask if he can load the external torpedoes.

4.A living war, a living world
a.In the sky above you and the sea all around you the war rages on.
b.Cruise the North Sea in 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1945 and see the contrails of the bomber stream high above at 20,000 feet heading to and from Germany.
c.AI u-boats depart sub pens with their own set of orders. You may encounter them at sea and you may not. You may stumble across a destroyer depth charging a friend in the distance or you may not.
d.U-boats and available surface ships within a reasonable distance of your position respond to your radio reports and attempt to assist you.
e.Pinpoint your position by homing in on English, French, German, Canadian and American radio programs
f.Use caution when sailing on the surface! Enemy submarines can launch a devastating torpedo attack against you when you least suspect it!
g.Crippled ships launch flares and send distress signals which can be intercepted by your radio operator to aid in identification of the ship which was attacked.
h.A complete roster of historic ship types and ship names is updated every time you start a mission. Sink the hood in 1939? It will never be seen again for the remainder of the campaign!

5.Dynamic BdU
a.As tactical situations change, so do your orders.
b.Send a contact report after sighting a convoy and BdU will automatically “know” if other u-boats are within your area, if so you may get a radio message telling you to “broadcast homing beacon and await the arrival of other boats before attacking”.
c.Send and receive weather reports to and from BdU and other U-boats and surface ships, need to escape a storm? Clear weather may be in the next grid square but you will never know unless you ask!

6.Dynamic Navigation
a.The submarine symbol on your map is an estimate based on time speed and distance; your real position must be determined by use of the sextant. Another duty you may delegate to your navigator or accomplish yourself, once your position is “refreshed” the estimate of your position degrades over time.
b.Home in on other submarine homing beacons or on shore based radio stations to assist in navigation.

7.Working historic replica of the Enigma cipher machine
a.Option for Radio messages from Headquarters are transmitted in encrypted text which must be deciphered by the enigma.
b.Delegate this process to your radio operator or master this skill yourself. Messages could take 2 minutes or 10 minutes to decode depending on length and importance. But be aware… some messages from BdU are “Captain’s Eyes Only” and can only be deciphered by you.

8.Dynamic Shore Leave
a.Be a home body and stay on base, or go with a few crew members to the French bars and restaurants where you can learn of new strategy and scuttlebutt in a virtual 3D first person environment.
b.3D first person walk through Sub pens, offices, and barracks, are the locations where you will go to change settings or outfit your sub… the 3D interface replaces the 2D interface of SH3

9.Victims and survivors
a.Men leap overboard from ships while they sink, some men burning leap into the water.
b.Life boats begin to be manned and lowered as a sign that the ship is sinking… no more arbitrary “She’s going down” message.
c.Bodies float in the water with various other debris like boxes, barrels, life boats, and life rings, survivors swim to and cling to debris.
d.Your own wounded men receive a prognosis from the medic to include chances of recovery or an estimate of number of days left to live. Make the call to continue on in hope for the best or elect to abort the patrol and hurry back to base to save his life.