[microdiver]

There's been some talk about the next Silent Hunter game. If they set in in WW2 in the pacific it will be much like the current game with the same technology limits.

They could make it another Uboat game, and upgrade the campaign to give it more variety, but they've already done 3 Uboat games.

They could make it a modern sub sim, but then they're competing with the likes of Sub Command. Granted, they have much better graphics, but if they keep the crew managment you'll be dealing with much larger crews. Also, being able to stay underwater forever would get rid of a lot of challenge.


Suppose they made the next Silent Hunter game a salvage/rescue game.
You'd use modern subs like the DSRV and small research subs to rescue crews of downed subs, recover munitions or wreckage from the seafloor, or do research missions. Perhaps they could even have stuff like Newtsuits, Wasps, and Deepworker type microsubs.

You'd be deployed from surface ships and your tools would be sidescan sonar, manipulator arms, hi res cameras, and in certain situations docking collars. Since most civilian subs have viewports you'd rely on visuals more than this game and would have to have seafloor detail and marine life. Most of this would be randomly generated and the short fog distance would keep framerates high.

Other than me, would anyone buy a game that was all about submarines but had no killing?

[Axeman3d]

Coming Soon.....

Silent Graveyard 1

Thrill... as you go down in your DSRV a few feet a second, then much later come back up again!

Gasp... as you stare at the photoreal darkness of the deep!

Shudder... as you realise you're days too late and that pretty much everyone in a sub accident is dead in minutes!

Never mind all that Hunter Killer nonsense, the cut and thrust of matching wits against a deadly opponent, you too can be a taxi driver that shows up after all the excitement is over!

[laglos]

[Mongoose]

[xrvjorn]

[AS]

Axeman must be referring to Jane´s Hunter/Killer. He only forgot to mention the waterfall displays.

LOL

Cheers, AS

[Vanagen]

[microdiver]

I suppose the reason I figured this sort of expansion would be do-able is that they've already done most of the work.
They've got a decent ocean surface and lots of ships. They just need to upgrade the textures a bit and add some new models.
Crew management is already in the game as are skills. The crew you hire would be on your surface support ship and instead of assigning a watch crew to the bridge you'd assign a mission crew to your submersable. Instead of qualifications like torpedo, flak and gunnery you'd have qualifications like sidescan sonar expert, manipulator operator and sub pilot.
Instead of using your sonar to search for a surface target that won't shoot at you and hoping you don't get blown up by depth charges you'd use sonar to find submerged targets and hope you don't get blown up by munitions you're trying to recover or trapped by having debris collapse on you if you bump a wreck too hard.
You already get paid for a sucessfull mission. They'd just have to call it cash instead of renown. Rather than buying better flak guns or a new conning tower you'd spend your earnings on better sonar, subs that can do deeper or hardsuits that can enter a wreck for recovery operations.
Sub handling would become precision maneuvering close to your target rather than lining up a torpedo shot at 500-1000m.

While it might seem that the ocean is a pretty safe place when nobody is shooting at you, I would imagine that trying to pick up a lost nuke or downed spy satellite in 3000' of water would have a hazard or 2. Especially if an unfriendly nation also wanted it.
No survivors to rescue in a sub disaster? What about the Kursk?

This wouldn't so much be a different game as a slight rewrite of the one we're already playing.
Games like MS Flight Sim 9, Need for Speed, Myst and The Sims tend to prove that people will buy stuff even if it's not all about killing. The only question is if the devs would want to take a chance and do an expansion that's different or if they want to copy what's already been done before.

[applesthecat]

The whole idea of the silent hunter franchise is to replicate the experience of WW II submariners specifically. It appeals to the WW II war buff in me. Dodging giant squid is a different genre. Even modern submarines are a different genre. I have no interest in modern subs. My interest stems from my life long interest in WW II.

I have no interest in shooting games. Never did. That is why I love the WW II sub sims. It is not about killing at all. In fact, this game has less killing in it than most games. This is about playing a cat and mouse game as it was really played out for real 60 years ago. I'm looking forward to the next WW II pacific theater game. I miss SH1.

[Abraham]

I can see some credit in Microdiver's idea of SH IV (I guess he is a diver - like me, I'm recreational though), but Applesthecat's argument is more convincing to me (although I don't limit my interest for subs to WW II). The Silent Hunter series should be about WW II submarine warfare...

[Squidget]

[jason210]

Personally I think it's a great idea - if it was extended to include shipwreck salvage subs like Ballards and ROVs. And visits. We could go to the Brittanic and Titanic wrecks!

But it's not a game is it? Its a VR sim, like Orbiter. As I say, I think it would be great....

Anyone

[Greentimbers]

Give me the Pacific

After they have added the major missing items in SH3.

[Dvlos]

I suppose they dont go beyond the WW2 because well modern torps track, there is tactical, but its not the same. Plus there are tons of stories to draw from for single missions and campaigns for a game based on WW2.

I dont think Silent Rescuer of the Silent Hunter would make a good game. Sorry.

[tmhop7180]

Actually, it's time to get serious with SH4!

After we slam a torpedo in the side of a ship, we should see the crew scrambling on board, some abandoning ship and others lowering life boats and such.

Some should be thrashing in the water with sharks circling after their ship goes down.

We should also be able to decide to take prisoners, just leave em for the sharks or whatever else we decide at the time.

...depending on our mood that is.

We should also be able to board a wounded ship and cease the remaining crew and cargo if we want.

Come on! Let's put some fun in this game!