The Silent Hunter series of games remains one of the most acclaimed sim game franchises with UbiSoft's Romanian studio developing the WWII naval sim series. For the upcoming fourth game in the series, Silent Hunter: Wolves Of The Pacific, the game takes a slightly different turn as players control US sub in the Pacific Theater. FiringSquad got a chance to chat with the game's project manager Florin Sanda to find out more about their plans for Silent Hunter: Wolves Of The Pacific:

FiringSquad: First, when it came time to start development of Silent Hunter 4 what were the development team's main goals?

Florin Sanda: Our intention from the start was to produce a game/simulation better than the critically acclaimed SH3, of course set this time in the Pacific and onboard US Submarines. To achieve this we looked hard at the design ideas leftover from the previous project, all new ideas we had, community desires and also our own estimates of what could be improved or changed: Make the game even more spectacular and action filled, while never forgetting it is still a simulation at core Improve the campaign as to make it more immersive, more dynamic in nature and every patrol unique to the player Improve the multiplayer mode by the addition of an adversarial multiplayer mode  

FiringSquad: How do the missions and campaigns in the new game differ and expand on previous games in the series?            

Florin Sanda: Pacific Theatre was quite different from our old Theatre of operations. The first thing to note is that you are playing on the winning side this time, working towards a victory that in real history was owed in no little part to the US submarine service. Also it is widely known that the Pacific was characterized by great air and naval battles between the Allied/US and Japanese fleets. The player is free to go where he pleases but our dynamic objective system will make sure he gets sent to participate in those battles or near their area, to see the spectacular action.

In addition for Dynamic Campaign we implemented some special objectives like Lifeguard duty, Insertion Commandos, Insertion Spies, Supply Drops and Photo Recon. These objectives are dynamically assigned, not only in base but also during it, so you should always be on your toes.  

FiringSquad: What kinds of new options do players have in controlling the boats in the game?

Florin Sanda: The control level is similar to Silent Hunter 3 as we feel that was about the right mix of depth and accessibility. What we chose to do is enhance the usefulness of the interface, the ease of control. It is now more intuitive and player oriented, while in the same time allowing for a more cinematic look. On top of that the interface is very easy to customize, so each player can change the look or the way HUD works to suit his preferences.

FiringSquad: How do the game's crewmates evolve as the game is played over time?

Florin Sanda: Basically a crew member evolution starts from the rank of sailor and can rise up to the rank of Chief Petty Officer. There might be possible that in special occasions some of your CPO can be promoted to the Officer rank.

While taking parts in battles or achieving objectives crew members gain experience. Every time player returns to base, depending on his performance he will be allowed to promote a limited amount of crew members. While a crew gets promoted to Petty Officer, player can choose a specialization for it. Upon promotion to Chief Petty Officer or Officer a crew member can gains new skills or abilities and of course improve in their performance during the game. So, while the player doesn’t need to baby-sit the crew anymore – this being a main issue we had with the previous game – he can pay a little attention to it and shape it into a better fighting unit.

FiringSquad: How will the combat be different from previous games in the series?

Florin Sanda: In offline the combat in general lines will be the same but of course this time you are fighting onboard US fleet boats, which are quite different than uboats. Bigger boats, bigger guns, more torpedoes, but lower maximum safe depths. So you got to play more aggressive this time.

FiringSquad: How will multiplayer work in Silent Hunter 4?

Florin Sanda: The players will be able to choose from two different multiplayer modes: Cooperative and Adversarial. In Cooperative mode up to 8 players will form a wolf pack and take side against an enemy convoy in the Pacific. They will have to work together as the convoy could be very large and good synchronization could be the key to victory. In Adversarial mode the server takes the lead of the Japanese convoy. He will have to face a wolfpack of up to 3 American submarines. The convoy leader will have to keep his convoy alive for a period of time or to destroy all the American submarines, while the submarines have to destroy the convoy before that period of time expires. The convoy leader has the possibility to give hints and orders to the escorts from the convoy, making harder for the submarines to destroy the convoy.  

FiringSquad: What other aspects of the game do you consider to be important?

Florin Sanda: All aspects from the game are important, together graphic and game play conduct to a good game. Now the interface is more powerful and friendlier like before and also the new crew management, new music the new briefings implemented will create the sensation for being there and all of these we hope that will recreate the feeling atmosphere of Pacific in WWII.  

FiringSquad: What can you tell us about the graphical features in Silent Hunter 4?

Florin Sanda: The environment where the player evolves looks fantastic and all vehicles form the game have an incredible amount of details. Also to enhance the general view of the game we implemented several graphical effects like reflections, refraction, lighting, cast shadows, transparency of the water, god rays, volumetric fog, impurities on the water, realistic 3D wake ships, 3D interiors for any ships from the game and we hope those will create a believable and creepy environment of wartime game play.  

FiringSquad: Are there any plans for a demo to be released and if so what will it contain?

Florin Sanda: Like in SH III, we’ll not be able to release a Demo version because of the size of the game. As you know in this title like in previous one we reproduce the terrain for the entire world so only terrain data accounts for 1.4 GB.  

FiringSquad: Finally is there anything else you wish to say about Silent Hunter 4?

Florin Sanda: The Silent Hunter 4 is very special through the mix of the right amount of Hollywood, action and simulation. Players of all skill levels can enjoy our games and become engrossed in the flavor of a gone era and partly forgotten conflicts. When playing Silent Hunter 4, its more than a simulation, its an experience – that of a submarine captain in the Silent Service. Speaking at a generic level about World War 2 and simulation titles, I guess the main attraction factor is the actual combination of technology, tactics and old-style guts required to succeed in your actions. And in a submarine, there’s always a few seconds or one mistake distance between the hunter and the hunted. In the end I would like to say that Silent Hunter III was a gorgeous game and we hope that Silent Hunter 4 will meets the fans expectations and will be highly appreciated by the public and media.

Blog + Share: Digg • Del.icio.us • Reddit • SU • furl • More: