Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific
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| Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific | |
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| Developer(s) | Ubisoft Romania |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft |
| Designer(s) | Dan Dimitrescu, Tudor Serban |
| Latest version | 1.1 |
| Release date(s) |  March 20, 2007 (NA)
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| Genre(s) | Simulation game |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: RP |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Media | 1 PC-DVD |
Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific aka Silent Hunter 4 is a submarine simulation developed by Ubisoft Romania and published by Ubisoft. It places the player in command of an American submarine during World War II and takes place in the Pacific theater.
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[edit] Gameplay features
The simulation uses detailed and accurate 3D graphics to immerse the player in a World War 2 submarine. The systems of the vessel are largely functional and the player learns many aspect of procedures of the time. The game allows the player to choose how realistic and challenging the game experience is to be and is designed to allow new players to easily master the basic game play and for experienced users to manually control systems such as crew management, torpedo allocation, radar, sonar and target trigonometry.
Like its predecessor Silent Hunter 3 the simulation features a fully dynamic campaign. The game gives you various mission objectives and unique rewards, and attempts to make each campaign a unique experience . The major naval battles of the war in the Pacific, such as the Battle of Midway are re-enacted and players are informed of them via radio. Unlike its prequel however the game gives more specific missions during the campaign, rather than just assigning a patrol grid although the pacific still contains non scripted naval traffic and missions play out differently each time the game is played.
[edit] Multiplayer
Silent Hunter 4 features a new online adversarial mode and gives players the opportunity to command Japanese destroyers and pit them against US submarines. Servers will support up to eight players and let them choose from several scripted and generated missions.
[edit] Playable submarines
- United States S class submarine
- United States Porpoise class submarine
- Salmon class submarine
- Tambor class submarine
- Gato class submarine
- Balao class submarine
[edit] "Hollywood movie" Graphics
Graphics have been enhanced significantly over those of the prequel, and according to the developers, the game's menu system and game-play is to look like a Hollywood movie. The developers chose this approach to appeal to a larger fan-base, hoping to attract players of more simplistic, action-oriented games as well as simulator players.
Graphics have been enhanced in the following ways:
- Character models are greatly improved.
- Water is now transparent.
- Smoke and flames extend further.
- Terrain and terrain features such as trees have been greatly improved.
- Harbors feature eye-candy such as animated cranes.
[edit] Radio traffic
Silent Hunter 4 features tactical radio traffic from vessels and aircraft and from HQ to a much higher degree than its prequel. In addition, historical radio broadcasts from across the world have been implemented. Tokyo Rose was planned but omitted.
[edit] Survivors
Unlike its predecessor, which omitted this feature for ethical reasons, Silent Hunter IV simulates surviving sailors and airmen from destroyed ships and aircraft.
[edit] Criticism
As with most initial-release PC games several bugs exist, some of which have been addressed in the version 1.1 patch which was released on 22 March 2007. Version 1.2 is currently under development but no release date has been announced. Much controversy has arisen among the game's user community as to the number of bugs which exist in the initial release.
A small sampling of bugs present in the game post version 1.1:
- Pressing the letter 'a' results in a crash to desktop. (There is a community fix at the ubisoft forums).
- The HUD resolution can be changed at will, but the game itself will be rendered in 1024x768 no matter what.
- Anti-Aliasing is not available, and cannot be forced through drivers.
- The hydrophones can not be used when submerged at periscope depth, one has to submerge past 53 feet (16m) in order for the hydrophones to function.
- The F8 key brings up the sonar station. Passing the mouse cursor over the sonar shows it incorrectly as "RADAR". The hydrophones are turned using the "HOME" and "END" keys (there is no provision for slowly turning the dial).
- There is no specification information on ship classes in either the "Museum" feature or in the in game ship recognition manual.
A website has been created to track bugs found by users, it is available at the following URL: http://www.sh4bugs.com/.
Another minor point of criticism at the point of release is its relative historical inaccuracy in some areas. Lancaster bombers, for instance, are used by American forces. The United States never purchased or leased Lancasters, let alone used them in combat. Also lacking are major ships from the recognition guides, such as the Akagi. Some users have even reported sinking three or more Yamato class battleships, when in fact only two were built by Japan during the war with a third having been converted into an aircraft carrier prior to completion.
[edit] See also
- Silent Hunter, released in 1996.
- Silent Hunter II, released in 2001.
- Silent Hunter III, released in 2005.
