"If you've ever dreamed of working on a
highly detailed German type VII U-boat during the Second World
War, Wolfpack is the game for you." - PC Gamer
Back
in 2016 a couple of recent grads from the Stockholm University built a
submarine game demo with a really unique concept: co-op with 4 player having
hands-on control of a non-historical sub. It was fun and solidly made and
caught on with the Subsim crowd. Neal Stevens, owner of Subsim, flew to
Stockholm and struck a deal with the devs Oscar and Einar to produce the
game. The game was refocused on the legendary German Type VII U-boat
and historical settings straight from Das Boot. After nearly three years of
hard work and sacrifice by the two talented devs, Usurpator and Subsim
present:
Wolfpack.
11/10, remember to close the hatch. - Konrad
I
finally decided to make a review of Wolfpack, but I don't know
where to begin. Currently Wolfpack is already the most
realistic submarine simulator I've ever played. -
MasterKill95
10/10,
U-96 sunk with all hands, forgot to close the hatch before going
under. - GunMan1942
Spent about one and a half hours to
figure out how to find enemy ships, dive and surface properly,
etc. Then while we were hunting for a target so we could learn
how to fire a torpedo effectively, we heard pinging. As we
frantically looked for what was happening, I peered into the
periscope as a destroyer zoomed over us only just slamming into
the periscope... Never before have I simultaneously ♥♥♥♥ my
pants and laughed so hard as I died in a video game. 10/10 would
die again. - Lady TrashPanda
Currently, Wolfpack is still considered Early Access
but the game features the backbone of WWII U-boat missions: Open ocean
convoy battles. The convoys are randomly generated just out of visual
reach, so you will want to dive and locate with the hydrophones. Size
and number of merchants varies dynamically, escorts patrol in realistic
manner, and as long as you are not detected, you can maneuver in from of
the herd for a salvo or a series of well-placed torpedo shots.
UPDATE May 23, 2020: Wolfpack now features in-game voice chat with two options: simplified, where you can talk with any member on your boat no matter where they are on the boat, and Realistic mode, where you can only speak to players in the same compartment as you or talking through the hatch. There is a voice tube on the bridge that connects to the contyrol room. The voice tube allows communication between the bridge and the control room. Step close to the voice tube and call out for the men in the control room.
UPDATE March 27, 2020: New radio system with Morse code. The new system has two modes: Simplified and advanced. The mode is set in the lobby settings before starting the game. In simplified mode, players type in messages using the keyboard, but unlike before, the message can be typed out in full, without having to pause between each letter while it is being sent. In advanced mode, the morse key functions like it does in real life. Players will have to learn morse code in order to use this system. The new system uses fixed receive channels for each U-boat. Channel 1 is used to broadcast to all U-boats.
As a subsim enthusiast since 688 attack sub (1989) I can
tell you that Wolfpack is the next subsim you're going to want
to play and will probably continue to play for years to come. To
those with some familiarity with this genre you can expect...in
this game, ...your friends are the crew! For perspective, Silent
Hunter III would fall somewhere in the middle, as there is time
compression and crew management but the player orders their crew
to perform the individual functions on the boat.
Wolfpack is even more realistic as there is
no time compression and each player must man individual stations
in question so as to operate the sub as desired. The upshot is
the game feels more realistic than any of its predecessors.
Wolfpack is said to be developed by Silent
Hunter III players for SHIII Players so, if you like that game,
you should really enjoy Wolfpack. While the game is advertised as operating a
U-boat with a team of your friends, you should be aware that it
is entirely possible to do this SOLO!
SHIII is firmly ranked as one of my top 3
favorite games and any contender is going to be judged harshly.
Wolfpack definitively takes the title and its still only version
0.15! Despite the little gripes I mentioned this game is
absolutely amazing.
The community in this game at its core are a
very unique group of people - wargamers, servicemen and
enthusiasts. They actually have a FREE naval academy you can
join to be fully trained to operate all systems on board a Type
VIIC U-boat. How cool is that?? Learn to operate a type VIIC
Today!
The first thing I noticed while playing Wolfpack was the
impressive immersion. The overall tone, the realistic and
detailed interior of the sub, the creaking sounds of straining
metal, the TILT of the sub when diving or surfacing--I can only
imagine what it would be like to play this in VR!
I really love the interactive gameplay, especially in an age
when video/computer games tend to oversimplify. I appreciate
that this game respects that you are intelligent enough to
actually play the game instead of a "one button does everything"
style. Plus this makes the gameplay so much more interesting and
enjoyable. I had no problem learning the different stations in
Wolfpack and was really impressed with the historically
realistic torpedo data computer.
Wolfpack has the same vibe as Aces of the Deep, an older sub
game that I really enjoyed playing when I was younger. You can
play solo but it's 1000x more fun to play with a couple of
friends. Unlike some co-op games, Wolfpack doesn't restrict the
players to only one role which allows them to explore their
style as a team. Not to mention when the stuff hits the fan any
player can jump onto any station as needed. Each team member
feels essential to the mission and it's so satisfying when you
and your team successfully sink a ship. My crew and I raced
through the night to ambush a huge and well-defended convoy;
they had no idea what was about to hit them. When the first
salvo hit a pair of merchants, the escorts launched flares and
suddenly night became day and our little boat was exposed. We
executed a fair crash dive and spent an hour evading depth
charges with the sonar guy calling out bearings for us to
maneuver around. It was really tense and fun, and no time
compression to cheat this part of the adventure.
All the energy, time, and talent has been expended to
get this game working and releasable and in the hands of the players for
feedback. And that has been very successful. Your participation and
support has driven development, thank you.
Excellent newbie introduction to a hardcore WWII U-boat sim: Wolfpack
Wolfpack is not overrated, if I say that this
is an extraordinary simulation and a great game simultaneously.
I am really gasping for breath from the first second I enter the
Type VII boat. For a game - and I really know a large amount and
the history of this submarine-games over decades - this is a
quantum leap of immersion. Right feeling and underwater-physics
are realized here at a high level, never seen before.
This is by very far the best simulation of a
Type-VII U-boat, and may be its the best U-Boat game too. And I
think this detailed simulation is exactly what most U-Boat-gamer
have desired in dreams over decades of gaming. I do so!
Knowing Silent Hunter 5 and the very good
Wolves of Steel-mod, I was able to master the tutorial very fast
alone as a single player. I only need some few minutes of
reading in the manual. The TDC-simulation, its just: Wow wow
wow! What a fun! I tested, if it is possible to manage the
boat as a single player. It is possible! But it is hard work and
you need a good plan. But by far
the most fun and the most immersion is to play this with
friends who make serious roleplay!
At the time of this article, Wolfpack includes a
training mode where the player can opt to see the "solution" on the map.
This means players can practice on dummy ships that do not react to the
player and offer a chance to practice with the TDC settings to become an
Ace.
A wonderful subsim. While I do hope many
features are yet to come, it's the most detailed and
rewarding for the serious submarine enthusiast or 'subsimmer'
I've yet to find. The methods used to calculate target
distance (range), angle on bow, the plotting tools on the map
are all excellent. The TDC (Torpedo Data Computer) is also
amazingly accurate and detailed. There are many many kinds of
merchant ships and about four or five types of 'warships' or
escorts as they're called as of now - along with about five
types of passenger ships. Visual identification can be tricky
but I like that about it. Although this sim emphasizes teamwork
and cooperation , I typically am very happy as commander or
captain of my own U-Boat, as that's just how my personality
leaves me wanting to play for now. It's cool though because I
can join a lobby (what they call servers in Wolfpack) or host my
own, have a U-boat all to myself and 3 or 4 others can be full
of other players - with whom I can communicate both over the
telegraph either in plain text, or encrypted via the enigma
machine.
If your group of friends are not available
to coop play with or if you simply want to attack His Majesty's Navy solo,
you can select Lone Wolf solo mode
where you can manage the boat easily
without running from station to station. You still have the option to
go to a station and manage it hands-on, if you wish. But now you will have
the ability to stay at the periscope and the AI crew will hold the boat at
periscope depth for you, you can change speed and course with a cool overlay
that brings the controls up when you wish.
This will also create games where four guys can each operate one sub
effectively and coordinate a wolfpack attack on dynamic convoys. Or two
guys can manage one boat and employ the bots for one, two, or three of
the stations if desired.
Of course, check the roadmap for future developments. Don't make the
mistake of thinking Wolfpack is done, far from it. We've got a ton of
new cool stuff in store for Wolfpack players.
Summary by Neal Stevens Many years ago, when I started Subsim in 1995, I dreamed of working
closely with a small dev team to make a really unique submarine game that
does more than allow a person to "play it"; I wanted a subsim where a guy
could "live it". Feel so close to being in a German submarine with hands-on
control of the ballast tanks, the TDC, the diver station that it would leave
all the previous games far behind. With Wolfpack, that dream has come true.
And now I present to you a chance to make this dream your own reality. --
Neal Stevens
