[don1reed]

In addition to the Photo Recon & Lifeguard missions, I would also like to see WW2 Special Ops Msn of INFIL/EXFIL Marines and/or Australian Coast Watchers, i.e., Macon Is. etc.

Post Photo Recon Msn, have a mid-ocean link-up with PBY Catalina to whisk away the photo intel for timely processing. (Calm Wx: the PBY makes water landing. Foul Wx: Flyby grapling hook pickup of photo canister strung between masts.) Perhaps with Far and Near recognition signal[s].

cheers,

[Abraham]

[Highbury]

[Joe S]

I have played Up Periscope, Sub Battle Simulator, AOD, SHI, SHII and SHIII. I have had the most fun with Sub Battle Simulator, developed a simple solution for manual fire control and a manual plot, the graphics were crude but acceptable, the sound effects were zero, but the gameplay was great. I think part of the attraction with Sub Battle was that it was a groundbreaker in so many ways, and state of the art at the time. As graphics and sound effects got better, so did our expectations, and usually the result did not quite match up to expectations. I enjoy SHIII a lot, but I have not had the marathon all night missions that I used to play with Sub Battle. Joe S

[Sailor Steve]

I never said what I like most about the games.

Silent Service II: It was THE quality sub sim at the time. Other than that, I like the newer ones better.

Sub Battle Simulator: That I could run a German Type VII or a Gato. Other than that, not much.

Silent Hunter: The careers. The Photo Recon missions (especially when the enemy had air cover-the tension was excruciating). The Lifeguard missions (especially when I was close enough to watch the air attacks). Being able to abandon ship and be captured, rescued or lost at sea.

[Abraham]

I couldn't agree more, Sailor Steve.

[missleman01]

Id say, if you wanted to make a bestseller Pacific Theatre Silent Service simulator take Silent Hunter I and keep as much as you can while combining with some features of the newer games.

Take SHII's map system with unlimited navigation options.

Populate the various patrol zones from SHI (commanders expansion disk included)

Keep all the missions, pilot rescue, photo reconaissance as options in the game.

Keep a similar mixture of target ships from SHI (sampans includeded )

Of course, be sure to model the American TDC well like SHI did.


Update graphics and add options, but Ill tell you right now, the absolute best thing you can do is preserve the atmopshere that SHI gave its users. It was a classic and any new classic should take lessons from it.

[-Pv-]

What kept me playing all night day after day in Silent Service was the ability to learn the trade/convoy/warship routes and historical engagements, partol those areas and find lots of action if I was in the right place and hadn't given myself away. Once I starting sinking ships, the enemy convoys would stay away from there. SHIII historical map has a similar functionality. I also liked that fuel and weapon load were not the only patrol limiiting features. I could also run out of food, so I had to make the limited time on patrol productive. In other words, I had to stay aggressive.

Like most people I'm impressed with today's 3D textured modeling, but if the core logic/AI of the game forces me to suspend believability, then the graphics won't save the game. SS had the most primitive graphics of any game, but the core logic of the game had me immersed.
-Pv-

[trebby]

I liked the rich variety of subs, from crappy (but very rewarding if succesful) S- class, then every major type up to Tambor class.

My BIG WET DREAM (we are in the water right) is an option to operate DUTCH K-class submarine (DREBBEL help me out on exact type)
They operated althrough the war, through varying types of missions.
Say, throw in 2 dutch types and 2 british (S and T class?)
The US subs have been done to death in the past (and should be done again) this would give the game an enormous extra kick for all subfans.


(Just remember what the russian front did when it was first done in the IL2 flightsim by maddox, after the west front had been modelled to death;
it was a fresh, innovative approach to an old theme!)

Cheers, good luck and big fun on developing!

trebby

[Beery]

Hey, can we include what we liked in previous sub sim mods?

I like SH3 Commander's 'Newsmod' feature, which shows a monthly news report and the Axis territorial gains/losses as the war progresses. Sure, I designed it, but I think such a feature is essential to any sub sim.

Also, someone already mentioned the radiolog. Such things increase immersion greatly.

Realistic 'speed of sound' (as in Average Joe's mod). If I'm far away from an explosion I expect a delay after seeing the explosion until I hear it.

Realistic career length option. It's unrealistic and just plain depressing to be expected to patrol from 1939 to 1945. Real U-boat commanders retired to desk jobs after a few patrols. AoD had this feature, but SH3 doesn't unless the player uses the SH3 Commander mod.

[AG124]

I can tell you something I liked that was in AOD, but was not in any other subsim that I ever played. Ships with random tonnage. In AOD, if you sank a 'Heavy Merchant,' its tonnage could range anywhere between 2,000 and 5,000 GRT. A 'Heavy Merchant' could even displace more than a 'Medium Merchant', which was good because it is hard to classify such generic ships as this into specific and narrow categories. They would all show up in the log book as 'merchant' anyway, which I also think is a good idea for generic designs.

In SHI, every single tanker you ever sank was either 906 GRT or about 18,500 GRT. SH2 was just as rigid in its tonnages - SHIII has a little bit of hard-coded variation but it is within 10 GRT (worthless).

In SHIV, I hope they bring back the random tonnages. They could have a variance factor included in the .cfg file that could be different for different kinds of ships. For example, a US Liberty class freighter (a specific design) could have no variable tonnage (0% setting?) and always have the same tonnage. But a generic small or coastal merchant which represents no particular class could have a varied amount of random tonnages which could range within a set amount.

Warships would have to have specific tonnages too of course. This was done in AOD anyway. The whole idea if definitely workable.

Does anyone agree with me?

[Beery]

[AG124]

[Safe-Keeper]

Have an actual ship agenda. For example, a fully-loaded tanker goes from Port A to Port B. Once at Port B, it unloads its oil and thus loses some of its weight (tonnage decreases). It stays in port for 48 hours and then get a new load of gasoline (tonnage gradually increases as the gasoline is pumped on board). Then it leaves for Port C...

You get my point. It'd also be really nice if full ships were lower in the water and slower than empty ships.

[Seminole]

I liked the reverse advantage aspect of playing in the Pacific theater. That is to say starting out as the disadvantaged underdog and seeing your efforts rewarded as the war progresses. In the U-Boat war despite your best efforts you are always, execpt for a few brief exceptions, on a steady decline to the end.

What I would like to see is an ability to play from the Japanese perspective. I know that isn't about to happen but still I can just imagine how much fun it would be to fly a scout plane from a sub looking for targets.