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Editor: Neal Stevens
Dec 16, 2000
Dear Neal Stevens,
I am Jay Weingand, a player of "Silent Hunter" and a former player of "Silent Service". When I picked up and played "Silent Hunter", I felt that I was in the pacific and in a real sub. But, that's before reading your preview of "Silent Hunter 2". I was so surprised about the level of realism and authenticity of the up-coming game. You answered many of my questions except one. The main trouble area in "Silent Hunter" was the ships, themselves. Although the ships looked more real, they sink on pre-determined sinking sequences by the programmer.
My question to you is do the ships sink at the damaged area in Silent Hunter 2? For example, a torpedo struck a ship in amidships and the ship start to list on the side where the torpedo hit. It doesn't do that in the original game. I hoped that since you played the Beta version (Test one), you should know.
Thanks, J. Weingand
San Antonio, TX
Hi Jay,
Sorry for the delay in answering--holidays!
From my observations, the ships in SH2 do not model the exact hit and damage from a specific torpedo the way you're hoping. I'll have to do more testing to be sure though. When hit, the ships do list but I don't know for sure if it is always from the stricken side. The dev team has declined to model ships breaking in half as the did in SH2; something about the complexities of 3D modeling.
Hope this helps.
Dec 3, 2000
S! Guys
Before anything, Ive got 2 things to tell 1)You do a great job guys, we don't know what we could do without you 2)Im french, so please excuse my poor english :)
So, it is written "And there aren't any sound files or music (well, there might be, but I couldn't get it to work on my computer). The PC speaker buzzes to simulate engine sounds (which thankfully can be switched off!) "
I don't understand: at home, my PC speaker get many different sounds for each engine levels, my officer yell "AYE AYE SIR" everytime I give an order, torpedoes sounds are here, along with sub charges explosions and gun fires.... Are you sure you can't make it working? His sound atmosphere with the IBM speaker is far beeing better than the one of the Silent Hunter's french version (!)
If you want I can send you my 3,5' disks data by mail, but SSII merits, for sure, fare more than 02/10 in my sense :)
THanks for all :)
ALain-James
You may be right about the low rating for the sound--I was unable to get the vocal and sound effects to work.
Nov 27, 2000
Neal, Great article!
Very informative. Thanks for the "no holds barred" type of approach. It's good to have an experienced subsimmer finally write a good review. Those s-shots really have me going! I cannot wait for the big going gold party! :) I knew that there would be a select few to take pot shots at the review, but this letter is just to remind you that there are those 100% excited about it's release, no matter if there isn't a, I hesitate to say, Dynamic Campaign. Yet, I understand their fustrations and objections.
Your review painted a brilliant game with many breakthroughs, and I fully understand the missing shell to incorporate all the campaign missions. However, I'm certain that I'll probably not notice the missing link. I'm in full readiness for the online battles and the Wolfpack League. Looks like longtime dreams are finally going to come true. Those boys in DC land might have their way with some of the newbies, but experienced subsimmers will give 'em hell. :) I was at home for the holiday and just got back into town. Everything looks very awesome.
Again, great job on the review! I'm looking forward to playing this amazing new subsim.
Thanks,
Mark
Nov 25, 2000
Everything fine now. Love the Website. You may be interested to know I'm calling from Plymouth, England, and tried for about 3 months to get my game running. The store told me to forget it, (it's a DOS game). The Email help line said I would have to make a pure DOS boot disk. That didn't work either. As a newcomer to the Web I'm amazed at how much good help and information can be had. My disk was only V.1.1 as opposed to the CE I used to have. With the installation of your upgrades I'm back to CE. Thanks again, keep up the good work.
Jim (Plymouth U.K.)
Nov. 10, 2000
Neal,
Thanks for the site information. I will call them; hopefully they will have some sort of a technical support line. Thanks for answering so quickly, and for the help. One question if you don't mind: I was looking to try and find a submarine game that is similar to Silent Hunter. Do you have any advice? I want someting that is not too complicated to learn to play initally, as I am sort of a "point and shoot" guy. I like games that you can start playing right away, but allow you to learn as you go along...something like Silent Hunter. Which other sub games are similar?
Aces of the Deep, if you can find it. Silent Hunter II should be available in the latter part of 2001.
Nov 7, 2000
Ahoy there!
I have been looking to buy a copy of the Microprose Silent Service II game for years, since my originals became corrupted over 8 years ago, from the stoned virus. I've searched the Microprose site, but there are no offers to sell this really old game, and i REALLY have to get my hands on it again.
Your site is the ONLY site I have found that even mentions this 'ancient' sub.sim, let alone give a review. ....What a classic!
Could you please give me a contact where i could buy it from (again). I would appreciate it greatly.
Thanks, Vasili Manelis Johannesburg, South Africa
Nov 6, 2000
Gentleman,
Just a quick note regarding your site. Thank you very much for your complete, in-depth reviews of subsims and related info.
I'm in the market for a subsim since I've finally gotten into the Pentium age (PIII/500) from the "Dark Ages" (486DX4/100). I thoroughly enjoyed Silent Sevice II (and agree with your review wholeheartedly); but I'm now looking for a subsim that is both enjoyable and realistic.
Your site provided me with a wealth of information that is invaluable. I now know what to steer away from, and what to put on my wishlist. Awesome job! (And if any of the staff are former Navy- BRAVO ZULU).
Keep up the good work.
Lee Parshook (former airdale- USS Kitty Hawk)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ |______________>I know, nothing but a target, right? <G>
Nov 2, 2000
Dear Neal,
I've been lurking for quite a while and finally decided to come out. I want to thank you for the work you've put into your site and the new league, and the respect you have for all submariners. I am historian of my old unit from Vietnam, and trying to keep track of a few hundred guys and events over 7 years is nothing to what you are taking on here.
Michael Tiomkin LTC, 1st Special Forces Regiment, Retired
Oct 3, 2000
Hi,
I haven't participated in the message board for some time now. But I just wanted to let you know how much I've enjoyed your website. Reading the posts and articles on your site has become a part of my morning routine. Also the tips, and downloads have been very helpful.
I've finally got 'Silent Hunter Commander's Edition'! Yeah!! It took a little tweaking, but it now runs fine. Except for the opening movie, but that's no big deal. Been having a lot of fun with it, and it works A LOT better on my computer than Aces of the Deep.
I also love playing Fast Attack, and of course Jane's 688. I really would like to see someone develop a Russian nuke sim. Commanding an Akula would be so much fun! It's interesting to see the gamers that are trying to develop their own subsims. I wish them the best in their efforts. Myself, I've got good ideas, but programming is WAY over my head. :-)
Well keep up the good work!
Mike
August 9, 2000
I told you on July26 that I had installed Silent Hunter, and the screen came up fine. Only after I printed the manual did I have problems. So, I put the disc away.
Now, a miracle has happened. My Grandson, who had been away all summer, returned and came by. He proceeded to install Silent Hunter into Windows 98, and it has been playing beautifully for two days now. I have been practicing how to maneuver the sub and going up against a small convoy without escorts. I have finally made my first "kill" - a 900 ton coastal tanker. As it becomes easier to play, I will have more and more fun. Hopefully, I will be really experienced by the time Silent Hunter 2 comes out.
Many thanks for all your help and encouragement.
Cliff Jung
Hey, the future belongs to the young, eh? Good hunting!
July 18, 2000
Thanks for your two e-mails and for your concern.
At about the same time as I received your kind offer regarding your sending me a copy of FA. Now, using the original to install the game and running the game, it does seem to work reasonably well. There are still some intermittent crashes where everything just goes black (with no re-boot), but in general, FA is now running. The truth of the matter is that my involvement with FA is just the Band-Aid to keep me satisfied until (at last) SHII is available, and indeed in the German version. I just can't dig being on a VIIC where everyone is speaking English!
Once again, many thanks for your interest and help over that last few weeks. If you happen to be in Germany in the Cologne area at some time in the future, be sure to give me a call.
All the best to you.
Tv
July 15, 2000
Hi, Neal.
I really like SSR. As I think I told you, I had been away from war simulations for almost 10 years, so when I saw your package, 'Ultimate War Game Collection, Vol 2, WWII', I ordered it right away.
I've been so busy, though, that the only game in there that I've played is Silent Hunter, but I'm puzzled about something. Why are these other sims played from the viewpoint of the other side, specifically the Germans? Luftwaffe Commander, Panzer Commander, and now, I hear that SH2 will be played from the U-boat perspective.
Am I old-fashioned or something, to feel a distaste about playing from the German point of view? What's going on? Did the sim writers just run out of new ways to write sims from the Allies point of view, or did the sim players themselves burn out from always playing from the Allies point of view, or are the sim writers just trying to attract a more international audience?
Thanks, Will
Hi Will,
You are not alone in wondering about playing a wargame from the German
perspective. A lot of people feel the same way, to varying degrees.
I will try to explain my feelings about this, which means I don't speak for anyone else, but perhaps others feel similarly. Sometimes I wonder if playing any wargame is "right", considering what it represents.
The Allies opposed German and Japanese military expansion in WWII. If you were American or British, you most certainly believed in the Allied cause. If you were a citizen of Germany or Japan, it makes sense to realize that you would probably support their cause. Patriotism is a common thread among all nations. Even when one's country is doing "wrong", the citizens of that country will rationalize it away.
The Germans didn't invent war, and there have been wars since creation, by different nations, in differing alliances, for differing causes. The British fought the American colonies (1776-1779), the British fought the French (1337 to 1453, the Hundred Years' War), the French invaded Russia (Napoleon 1812), Germany/Prussia, Russia, Britain, and Austria defeated the French (Waterloo 1815), Britain, America, Russia and France allied against Germany (August 1914-1918), ..... you have to ask yourself, who are the "bad guys"? The individual nations? The citizens of the nations? The determined and often megalomaniacal leaders?
It's pretty easy to blame Hitler and the top echelon of Nazis but I believe that they were to blame. They had their hands on the controls of authority and they wanted war. Each individual German would have preferred to live in peace, just as the people of America, Britain, and France. But what do you say when your country goes to war? In America they call you a draft dodger, but in Germany or Japan....
Every nation has an army and navy, with soldiers and sailors whose job it is to fight when their leaders tell them. Even when they believe the war is wrong or hopeless, most armies do not slack up or waver. They rarely refuse to fight when ordered. German pilots, U-boat men and tank commanders didn't have much choice. They had trained to defend their country and that is what they believed they were doing. They fought hard and bravely, even though they fought against us. To refuse would mean death by firing squad.
So with all that said, when I play a wargame as a German or other nationality, I keep in mind that there were young men, through no decision of their own born in their native country and raised to believe their country was special, who found themselves in war they couldn't win. It is a tragedy whenever any war occurs, for the winner and the losers.
Hope this helps. I'm not trying to sway your opinion, just offering my thoughts. Enjoy the games!
May 18, 2000
Dear Neal,
Thanks for your quick response! The solution to installing CAOD was really simple. I just refused the test and proceeded with the install. However, I had to change my graphics to 640 by 480 with 256 color pallete. My computer is a relatively new AMD K62 with 64 MB RAM. Also, I have a 32 MB graphics card. Again, thanks for the help and your great editing at SUBSIM!
Sincerely,
Rory Voeks
May 18, 2000
Hello Neal,
Thanks for the tip on successfully completeting the last mission in the 688 game. Your tip worked like a champ.
Another question, now that I finished the set I was given a message and a code to get Dolphins, is that legit or a come on?
I also have Fast Attack and installed the download and it has worked really well. I run it in ms-dos and delete everything not needed and it works fine. I would recommend it to anyone who likes simulations. I also got SSN-21 Seawolf, but I have just started learning it so I can not pass any information along.
Thanks for the help
Ron
I don't know if the Jane's dolphins are still available but when 688(I) was new, the offer was valid. I received a pair myself.
May 8, 2000
Hi Neal,
I'm very humble, I can't thank you enough for all your help, I'm going to make a donation to the Starlight Foundation, It's a charity over here that looks after young children with cancer.
Thanks again for all your assistance
Stuart Campbell
I got you covered. That's part of the SUBSIM Review service, to help players in need.
April 15, 2000
I see a lot of nice sub sims out on your site but failed to see any mention if any of the companies are planning to include us MAC users in their upcoming games. I can understand when Mac/Apple was thought of as a company that might not be there for very long so why bother (as some people thought), but that has proven to be a bad call. Now that Apple proved itself again I was wondering if you know of any companies that are planning to include us in their future games...(would be nice).
Thanks..
David A. Michael
Unfortunately for the Mac skipper, subsim selection is limited. The two Deadly Games subsims, U-Boat and Drumbeat, are available, but I believe that's it. If you hear of any others, let me know.
April 3, 2000
Dude,
I love your subsim site. I myself have been playing computer games since 1980 when my dad brought home an original IBM pc (no hard drive and 2 5-1/4's drives). I grew up on Gato and Sub Battle. The graphics were great for their time although shooting wire framed ships did get old. Lets just say that it left a lot up to the imagination.
The first 688 and Aces grabbed my attention but the detail just wasn't there. It was all point and click to shoot and run like hell. I tried the silent hunter demo and enjoyed it but found it a bit difficult. There's really no sonar other than "low speed screws bearing 355". I just finished tom Clancy's SSN book (based on the game) and thought it was great! You'll find it enjoyable.
Anyway, great site! I'm going to pick up a copy of Jane's 688(i) as soon as I grab some more funds.
Drew
Lincolnton, NC
March 16, 2000
Hey Neal,
Thanks for the keyboard controls for Silent Service II. I'm going to try and visit the USS Clamagore this weekend, but it all depends on me getting a ride across the harbor. Hopefully I can get my brother to give me a ride, but I'll keep you posted. I bought the WW2 value set last weekend (the one with SH CE) and, if I didn't have to work, I'd be out there in the Pacific right now.
My first patrol went good, but my second... whew! I was ordered to photograph the harbor at Truk island. When I got there, I found a Ryoju(?) carrier and a Yamato BB, plus 2 CL's and a tanker protected by about 5 escorts and DD's. Luck was with me and my USS Shark, and I evaded the escorts and got hits on the carrier and the BB. It took me 4 torpedoes to sink that battleship! I evaded once again underneath the convoy, with about 20 feet to spare under the keel, and drove inshore. (I figured they'd never think I went there!) Luck was again on my side and I put more torpedoes in the carrier and those cruisers. Then, the escorts had me... 6 full hours of viscous depth charges made me retreat with my tail between my legs, but I came away with moderate damage. This is only the beginning... Thanks again for all of your help and support! I'm officially back in the world of subsims!
mark
ps. Have you visited Truk island in the summer, ahh such a beautiful place! :)
Truk is certainly on my list! Enjoy the sim and don't forget the lifejackets.
March 13, 2000
Hello Neal.
Just a few words to say what a beautiful web-page you have. Actually all the people from the 'Sub' group have lovely sites. Keep up the great work as there's a lot of us out there who really appreciate your work. Jim Irving (Kiwijim)
Amateur Radio Station: ZL2BMH
E-mail: zl2bmh@hotmail.com
or zl2bmh@xtra.co.nz
March. 5, 2000
My first sub sim was Silent Service, which I played for months on a friends Commodore 64. I haven't played any sub sims since that time, and only briefly read the boxes when I came across them in stores. Recently I watched a special on Subs, and it brought my interest back. It wasn't until I was reading a release schedule for games in development that I remembered the SubSim Review (There was mention about Silent Hunter II).
I've spent the rest of the day researching sub sims, and tried to determine which would be best suited to me. I decided upon 688(i) Hunter/Killer. Most of the local stores that catered solely to computer software have closed down in my area, and the only other locations sell software don't have anything remotely similar. I'm really not one to order things on the net, and would prefer instant gratification by driving 30 miles to get the game I want. In this case I was running out of options. I decided to check the EA store... To my surprise, they don't have that game listed. (I also wasn't able to find anything in the SubSim Store for that matter) The only thing that has given me hope is finding this site. To my knowledge, it's the only one of it's kind, and it's actually updated regularly, even though the sub sim market has been relatively stagnant for years. I'll definitely bookmark your site, and return often.
Haze grey and under way
Michael
Feb. 24, 2000
Hi Neal, these few lines only to inform you that all is OK. I installed all games contained in 2 Aces CD-Roms without any problem! SIERRA technician's suggestion was absolutely correct. After having switched to English language it has been very easy to install the games.
Thank you again Neal. You did really a great job!
Forgive me now, but I have a convoy waiting for me in North Atlantic and I must try to sink some ships....
Thank you again Neal!
Ernesto
Feb. 3, 2000
Neal,
Thank you sooooooooooo much. It works! No boot disk. No config.sys or autoexec.bat fussing. Even the sound works. It installed beautifully. I didn't let it put in the voice recognition. All I need to do is change my display to 256 colors for the bridge views.
I am looking forward to getting Silent Hunter II through you. Is it a good idea to preorder? Sure wish they could pin down a date but it is better to delay than to cut corners on quality. Your SHII interview was like food to an empty stomach. I have one of the screenshots as my desktop. My wife hasn't changed it. Tell them we need a steady supply of SHII screenshots while we wait. My Silent Hunter I is still backordered but now I am back at sea and have my U-boat fix. :-)
Thanks again
Dave
Glad to hear it's up & running, Dave. As to pre-orders, your credit card is not charged until the game ships to you.
I don't usually post a series of exchanges in the
Reader's Comments section but this was a jewel. As you will read, a game tip
that helped me get Silent Hunter running on a PIII also helped a gentleman in
Belgium. This is exactly what SUBSIM Review is all about!
Jan. 29, 2000
Hello,
First excuse me for my bad English because I'm an old man (62 years) and I live in a French country of Belgium. I'm an unconditional lover for the game Silent Hunter but since I have replaced my old 486 PC for an Intel MMX 200 with a Sound Blaster PCI64V and Windows 98 the game refused to run, I have tried all possible things but nothing works. When I try to launch the game I received a address crash error message and when I try in Dos System it refused my sound cart. I have download a demo but it's the same problem. I can run the game but without sound. I know also that my CD is an older version of 1996 but I'm in retreat with not much money. Can you help me?
Kinds Regards
J. Beaufort
Hello Monsieur Beaufort,
I have a computer with the same sound card. I installed Silent Hunter and it runs without error. Maybe what I have done will help you. (I outlined the tips in the Silent Hunter section of TACTICS & TIPS).
Dear US Friend,
Nice ! Wonderfull ! The game runs perfectly, more and more thanks, you are a champion! Everybody told me that this game was death for the new PC. Now because you are a very good people I am going to play with a submarine game.
Have a giga nice day my friend
Jack
Jan. 26, 2000
Hi Neal,
I periodically receive Fix My 688(I) emails, and am flattered that people are still playing. You're right, I can't disclose anything now, but hope to have something for you in the near future about our next effort.
Regards,
Kim
[Kim Castro, Sonalysts--Jane's 688(I)]
Jan. 4, 2000
Neal !
I do thank you for the advice. I reinstalled the DX6, and now Jane's 688 works again. In the mean time, I choose a higher refresh rate for my video adapter to 85. Just as perfect as it was.
greetings from Netherlands.
Rick
Jan. 3, 2000
Neal,
I'm the guy you met who wants to work on the USS Stewart. I've been enjoying your website at home and have caught the Subsim bug! After reading your Subsim page I went out and bought 688(I). What a great simulator! I'm still working my way through the 250 page manual. It came with the electronic version of the manual. I'm trying to print it out as I don't like reading it on the computer. I'm still learning how to read the Passive Sonar Waterfall displays!!!
The question I have for you is, I tried to buy Silent Hunter and the guy at ET told me it wouldn't work on my brand new Compaq Presario computer. It came installed with Windows 98. He said Silent Hunter is a DOS based game and wouldn't work. Do you know if there is a version of Silent Hunter that will work on my computer?
Thanks,
Bill Scroggins
Hi Bill. Silent Hunter can be made to run on a Win 98 system. Sometimes it can take a little tweaking, but it is do-able. I installed SHCE and used a DOS window inside Win98 and it plays fine--sound, movies, and all. If you don't have the same luck, check the tips section.
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