SimHQ.com - Naval Combat Zone - Interview: Silent Hunter III

A. We considered this but we decided to follow the “U-boat Commander’s Handbook” recommendation in this regard: “It is better to sink less than to damage a lot.”

Q. If Silent Hunter III is a success do you have any plans to do Silent Hunter IV in the Pacific? If so what time frame?

A. If Silent Hunter III proves the success we hope for, there are a number of options we can pursue, including the Pacific theater as a theme for a next installment. We don’t exclude other options like Destroyer Command II.

Q. In higher realism will the player receive no assistance when looking through the scopes?

A. The player will receive assistance only if he/she requests it. Anyway, for experienced players and hard-core fans we developed a specific interface to allow the player to collect data manually in high realism modes.

Q. On your web site SH3 Live Chat on August 4, 2004 you stated “In dynamic campaign the entire ocean is your battleground”. Does this mean that as in Aces of the Deep, that if a player decides not to go to his patrol zone, or to leave it, that the world will be alive with shipping? Or will we have a situation where as in Silent Hunter II the world was only alive with shipping within the specified area?

A. Our campaign mode will resemble Aces of the Deep - freedom means not only more space to explore, it means more options to play! We want to allow the player to intercept shipping anywhere on the ocean theaters we intend to cover - Atlantic, Arctic, Mediterranean, Caribbean.

Q. Will there be a negative effect on your career if you do not obey orders regarding your patrol zone?

A. Doenitz has always held aggressive commanders in high regard. As your historical counterparts, you can choose to disregard orders from BDU, but you’d better have a good reason for it! Bring impressive results from your patrol, and nobody will question your decisions.

Q. Will allied ASW technology be phased in? That is, if a new version of radar become available from January 1 1942 will we still encounter vessels with either no such device or an older model?

A. All instances of the same ship will bear the same equipment at any given moment. If Flower corvettes are upgraded in ‘43 with Hedgehogs, expect any Flower corvette encountered to engage you with Hedgehog! However, different ship classes will receive the upgrades at different same time.

Q. A major failing in past U-boat / submarine simulations was the ability to hover at periscope depth whilst at a stand still. Making attacks very "gamey". How will Silent Hunter III model a U-boat at periscope depth?

A. Most likely, you will be able to hover at periscope depth. However, this will not be as easy as it sounds, since low waves may reveal the conning tower, thus giving you away.

Q. All videos to date have been shown using the casual mode of game play. Will you be releasing a video of a lone merchant attack with the realism settings at maximum?

A. We cannot confirm this at the moment. However, we feel that recent previews of the game (such as this one at Subsim Review) have generally illustrated quite well the mechanics of a manual torpedo attack. We believe that our game will offer the best and most accurate “manual targeting” mode in any WW2 sub sim to date.

Q. How many beta testers are you expecting to take from the community and can I be a beta tester? LOL!

A. Again, this has not been decided yet!

Thank you all for taking the time to visit with the readers of SimHQ. We can hardly wait for Silent Hunter III.

Download a pdf of this article here (280 kb).

Click here to go to top of this page.