A New Subsim?

This may not be the right place for this but,

I watched a friend play DW a few years ago for about 5 minutes, got bored and walked away. Later, I started playing the Silent Hunter Sims and fell in love with the Sub Sim world. However, Silent Hunter revolves around WW2 and doesn't venture out into more modern submarine eras.

That being said, other than DW is there any newer modern subsims out here similar to Silent Hunter, or am I stuck trying to track down a copy of DW and try to figure that game out?

[Hitman]

You are stuck if you mean major commercial projects, like the SH series.

There's hop though in terms of indie developers. Take a look at Dr Sid's evolving simulator at C&C forums, you will like it. Only problem is that it will still take a long time to be completed.

[Bartolomeus]

Yes, Dr. Sid`s Community SubSim is awesome! Cant wait for the next release!

[Blacklight]

I would reccomend giving Dangerous Waters another shot. It DOES have a learning curve, but it's a fantastic game. Especially with mods like the LWAMI and RA mods. (Besides, That game is one of two modern subsim options and it's the newer of the two)
I never get board playing it. You can't just watch someone else play it and get an idea of what the game is really like. Dangeous Waters is like a Chess game. It's more cerebral (just like real submarine commanding is). Just like you simply cannot get a true feel for Chess by watching someone play, you can't get a proper feel for Dangerous Waters or games like it without playing.

Yeah, so Dangerous Waters doesn't have the same graphics ability that Silent Hunter III and IV have, but you don't need them. DW is more of a true simulation. You should be stareing at the sonar and TMA panels most of the time. Looking outside at the 3D graphics is cheating.

The only other modern subsims I know of are 688I Hunterkiller and Sub Command.
You can get Dangerous Waters here:
http://www.strategyfirst.com/en/games/DangerousWaters/

688I Hunterkiller is an older subsim and is the precursor to Sub Command of which Dangerous Waters is the sequel (and both are very much alike except that in DW, there are several new platforms, including a couple aircraft and a FFG). 688I and Sub Command are both EXCELLENT and Sub Command is a favorite here on Subsim (and on my computer) as is Dangerous Waters.
You can get a bundle pack with 688I Hunterkiller, Sub Command, and Fleet Command in the Sonalysts "Naval Combat Pack". They sell it for 19.99 and it's worth it. The games are fully patched to the latest versions so you don't have to hunt for new patches and mods exist for Sub Command and Fleet Command that really add to them.
You can get that here:
http://www.strategyfirst.com/en/games/NavalCombatPack/

Dangerous Waters needs a patch from Sonalysts "Unless things have changed since I last checked". I beleive that Subsim has a copy of the patch here in the downloads section. There are a metric ton of player made scenarios for these games, both here, and at Subguru.com.

The community here is also fantastic. If you have a question about ANYTHING subsim/military/navy related, someone here WILL have an answer.

[PeriscopeDepth]

Originally Posted by Hitman

There's hop though in terms of indie developers. Take a look at Dr Sid's evolving simulator at C&C forums, you will like it. Only problem is that it will still take a long time to be completed.

It's a pretty big project for one man...Hopefully it comes to a playable simulation in two years or so. Hopefully.

PD

[kgsuarez]

I am going to agree with PD here.

A single man undertaking such a huge project is admirable, but it is a poor decision in the light of other options. Putting a game together is hard work even when you have a whole development team on the job. I wish Dr. Sid the best in his work on ComSubSim, but I am skeptical as to whether he will produce a workable game that can rival mainstream subsims such as SC or DW.

To the original poster: You are stuck with DW. We all are. Welcome.

DW seems very complicated at first, but its really not, it just takes a little bit of patience and some dedication. If you want to get into it you're going to have to read the manual. There's no two ways about that. The manual will teach you how to operate the tools at your disposal on board a simulated submarine. A lot of people fail to put the time and effort into this vital step, and they will never enjoy this great genre because of it.

Once you understand all the technical junk then you can get into the fun part; using all those complicated screens and buttons to find your target and sink that bastard. There's a bit more to it than just that, obviously. But that's the gist of it. At this point you will want to read up about the tactics and strategies that are effective in submarine warfare, there are many online manuals on the subject. This is the addictive end of subsims. Some of us will pursue our thirst for knowledge on the subject to the Gates of Libraries and Bookstores.

[goldorak]

Originally Posted by PeriscopeDepth

It's a pretty big project for one man...Hopefully it comes to a playable simulation in two years or so. Hopefully.

PD

You are too optimistic.
Dr Sid has already done an admirable job, as well as the people that contributed 3d models to his game (and boy what magnificent models, I wish DW could handle such detailed models ).
I think CSS is exciting in the sense that you get to see the progress from release to release, but having a "finished" game is something that will always elude us. There is just too much on the plate, and very little manpower.

Projects such as Orbiter have taken on a life of their own because although the core was programmed by one man (the core is still closed source), very early on he made available an extensive SDK and API that got people to create add-ons. And now almost 10 years laters, Orbiter is the only freeware/open source (partially) game that truly is a complete simulation and not only rivals but surpases commerical sims.

[Dr.Sid]

Hi there. My advice is start with DW, and new DW mods. Every know-how earned will be useful in my CSS too. As for next CSS release, I'm getting close it. Yes, I'm saying that for half a year now .. but Christmas will hopefully provide time needed. Actually financial crisis hit freeware sector too .. I have to work for people we were forced to 'abandon' .. for last two months I did not have even one day free. Anyway the project is not dead, by any measure.

[goldorak]

Originally Posted by Dr.Sid

Hi there. My advice is start with DW, and new DW mods. Every know-how earned will be useful in my CSS too. As for next CSS release, I'm getting close it. Yes, I'm saying that for half a year now .. but Christmas will hopefully provide time needed. Actually financial crisis hit freeware sector too .. I have to work for people we were forced to 'abandon' .. for last two months I did not have even one day free. Anyway the project is not dead, by any measure.

Dr Sid, you are developing it in your own free time, so every bit of "news" is good news.

Now the 1 milion dollar question : are you going to have the time to include the vector display maps in the next version ?

[Dr.Sid]

Map is sure thing. And sonar trackers.
General tracks not, neither TMA screen.

You can also draw waypoints and set course on the map.

Now let's talk about the million ..

[goldorak]

Originally Posted by Dr.Sid

• Map is sure thing.
• And sonar trackers.
• General tracks not,
• neither TMA screen.
• You can also draw waypoints and set course on the map.

Now let's talk about the million ..

first let me win the lottery.

[Bartolomeus]

Hi Dr.Sid! Really great news from CSS!