Night Owl 6/Night Owl's Shareware - PDSI-006 - Night Owl Corp (1990).iso/002a/ssiiv2.zip/SS2NOTES.TXT

Text File | 1990-09-20 | 20KB | 394 lines

MICROPROSE'S SILENT SERVICE II
Comments from the programmer/designer (Roy Gibson) and
designer/project leader (Arnold Hendrick)

(Both:) Thank to everybody who took the time to comment on Silent
Service II (SS2). We hope to answer some of your questions. But first,
Roy would like to ramble on some about the project.

(RG:) First the people. Four people are chiefly responsible for
SSII, Roy Gibson, Kim Biscoe, Arnold Hendrick and Bruce
Shelley. Kim, who is British, did the artwork (anybody with an
Amiga may have seen the work he did on Pirates). Bruce was
the original project leader but was replaced by Arnold when
his other ongoing project (Railroad Tycoon) went into
hyperdrive at the beginning of 1990. Arnold and Roy designed
the game. Arnold (an American) did his usual quality job on
the manual while Roy, another Brit, did the programming.

(RG:) Other people who greatly influenced the project include the
entire playtest group, programmers Dave McKibbin and Scott
Spanburg (this was my first IBM project so I asked these
poor guys many many questions) and of course the sound
department.

(RG:) Next the history. Bill Stealey wanted SSII because the
original SSI did poorly on the IBM and because he felt that
we could do a much better job nearly 5 years after the
original C64 version of the game. I had written many games
for 8-bit machines and wasn't eager to do more. When I heard
about this project, I grabbed at it. I was able to prove the
viability of digitized ships approach fairly quickly and the
project was a "go".

(RG:) And almost as quickly it ground to a halt because we had
problems finding a source for ships to digitize. The
original test graphics were taken from a page of an official US
Navy WWII ship identification manual. Unfortunately a
comprehensive set of these pictures proved impossible to
find. Bruce and I started calculating how long it was going
to take to build all the plastic models we would need. Then Bruce
solved the problem by finding (via the Naval Academy Museum)
Don Montgomery. He had a model of every Japanese ship of WWII.

(RG:) Roy, Bruce and Kim moved forward with the project until
Bruce's other project caused him to be replaced with Arnold
in January. About April we started making the difficult feature
decisions, which caused problems with the packaging. The software
was completed (457.01) just before the end of July 1990.

(AH:) The Silent Service II box was completed in January 1990, long
before the software was finalized. Management had a very optimistic
release schedule (they wanted the game for April or May '90), and
therefore began printing the boxes in February to meet that hypo-
thetical deadline. In hindsight, that decision looks unwise. But back
in February Roy was saying "Replay? Sure, no problem. I have these
great ideas, see..." It wasn't until June that we realized memory
space would be THE big problem that forced many unpleasant decisions.
By then $50,000 worth of boxes were piled up in the warehouse. We
couldn't afford to throw out fifty grand, so we had no choice but to
say "Sorry 'bout that" in the technical supplement. The box is now in
reprint, and we have adjusted the box back copy appropriately.

(AH:) Incidentally, at MicroProse the box covers, front and back, are
under the complete and total control of the marketing department. They
create the art, text, etc. They consult with us, but don't always take
our advice or suggestions. On the other hand, the game components inside
the box (disks, manual, maps, overlays) are controlled and produced
entirely inside MPS Labs, by the same group which creates the game
itself.

Enough of the background. Now the answers to some questions:

*1: New Versions

(AH) A revised SS2 - version 457.02 - is now in playtest here at
MicroProse. We're still trying to confirm whether one reported bug really
exists. We already have made a number of fixes requested by you, our
customers, are present, as well as a couple things we found after
release. Call MicroProse Customer Service starting 10/2/90 for
availability (the phone number and appropriate calling times are in
the Technical Supplement that nobody seems to read).

*2: Game Speed (does SS2 run too fast?)

(RG:) The game runs at 2:1 of real time if your machine can run
fast enough. On a slow processor/graphics combination you may
not acheive this speed. This was chosen to improve game play,
unfortunately on very fast machines this may be too fast. To solve
this problem we have added a "slow down" key to version 457.02.
This key is documented ONLY in the "Read.Me" file for that version.

(AH:) I feel a 2:1 speed is actually quite realistic. In real life
a sub skipper must manage his crew, and gains much of his information
(which we portray on various screens) by asking questions or relying
on their talents (such as charting). All this takes time and attention.
In the game you get the information magically. Those of you who have
had to rely on teamwork (rather than just yourself) in a high-pressure
situation will surely agree a 2:1 decision time adjustment is
appropriate. Meanwhile, tests with 386/33 and 486/25 machines at here
MPS Labs indicate that the game speed is about the same as on a 386/20
or 25. Roy's "built in" speed limit code appears to work just fine.
I feel the "slow down" key in 457.02 is a "cheater" included to
molify a vocal minority.

*3. Comparison to SS1 (is SS2 inferior to SS1? too close to SS1?)

(RG:) SS2 was written from scratch as a new game. However we kept
many of the excellent ideas from the original. Needless to say,
we had many more ideas than made into the published product.

(AH:) Of course SS2 is similar to SS1. The original was a fantastic
game. What we tried to do was keep all the good parts (the game concept
and the core game play experience), but greatly improve all the
surrounding details ("chrome"). I didn't want us redesigning too much
and ruining the game! You can debate some features back and forth -
what to add, what not to add - but overall I believe our choices
are sound.

*4. Memory usage (SS2 had problems with insufficient memory).

(RG:) About 592,000 bytes free RAM is required for the
VGA+Digitized speech+Non-IBM-sound option. The main reason for this
high memory usage is to cut down on disk access during game
play (which would make the game very clunky). The game runs in
512k on most EGA systems, especially with IBM or Tandy sound.
The VGA ship graphic data (compressed) is over 250k, while EGA
is about half that. This accounts for most of the difficulty.
I use QEMM with DOS 4.x on my 386. I hear that QRAM is very good
for 286 owners, giving you about 600k free on a machine with 1MB.

(AH:) I amazed by how many people don't read the Technical Supplement,
where we WARNED you about memory, told you what to look for, and noted
what options you might wish to drop. Note that "Their Finest Hour"
(Lucasfilm) and "Harpoon" (ThreeSixty) struggle with similar issues. We
decided to give you the choices, rather than forcing certain options while
disabling others. In retrospect this may have been unwise, since all
people did was complain about being unable to use ALL the options without
revising their system configurations. We're also including more memory
warnings in 457.02.

*5. Ship ID (you identify the ship correctly, but are told it's wrong).

(RG:) There is a bug in the first edition of the manual. The pictures
of the large and small freighters (pg 121) were reversed at the
printer. The small freighter has it's stack closer to the bridge, the
large freighter has a noticeable gap between the bridge superstructure
and the single stack. The manual has already been fixed for subsequent
printing runs. Games with the revised manual will start arriving
in stores this October.

(AH:) This was a big goof on our part. Sorry. Also, running under
DOS 2.x may cause ship ID problems. You'll need version 457.02
to solve them.

*6. Torpedo bugs.

(RG:) There are two bugs here: The first is whenever you
refit in port, you get historical torps (even if you initially
selected flawless). You'll need 457.02 for a fix. The second is
more dangerous, but can be avoided. If you fire a torpedo when
(a) your view bearing and the enemy's course are the same, while
(b) the torpedo is out of range (i.e., cannot overtake the target),
then internal calculations go wild, causing unpredictable and
generally fatal results (i.e., a game crash). 457.02 fixes this.

(AH:) When playing 457.01, always check your view bearing
against the enemy's course. If they match, change your course
until they don't match. This is one more thing to remember when
conducting "up the stern" shots.

*7. Ships sinking (do they sink too fast? can it hurt me?).

(RG:) The ships do sink faster than is realistic. We found
that slowly sinking ships slows down the graphics speed. This
slows down the game. We believe most games sold are played on
slower machines, and we wanted to help those people.

(RG:) The other question I've heard is about colliding with
sinking ships. Under the right (or wrong) circumstances a sinking
ship can collide with a submerged submarine. That's the way I
wrote it - BE CAREFUL DOWN THERE.

(AH:) Right on, Roy. In real life large ships often took 2 to 8
hours before they sank. All that fire and smoke would consume
enormous amounts of graphics processing - more than micros have
right now. Incidentally, fast 386s and 486s don't help that much.
The limiting factors are moving around lots of graphic data, which
is limited by graphics system design, bus size and bus speed.

*8. The screen layout (why isn't everything on one screen?)

(RG:) The organisation of screens is deliberate and is intended to
maintain a feeling of being in a submarine. The split of
screens represents the various individuals with whom you can
communicate on a submarine.

(AH:) The screen layout concept was an SS1 feature we decided to keep.
A single combined screen has many, many disadvantages. Just look at
Wolfpack.

*9. Periscope rotation (why doesn't the scope rotate faster?)

(RG:) Originally we felt the rotation speed was adequate. The shift
modifiers for 10 degree increments, plus the 'n' and 'm'key options
would cover all eventualities. However, enough people have commented
that we added a special key for a 180 degree rotation in version
457.02. Again, it's documented in the "Read.Me" file.

*10. Dud torpedoes (those duds are the a real pain)

(RG:) Read the manual closely. Most of the Mk 14 flaws can be reduced
to manageable proportions if you understand how the problem works.
Also note that the S-class boats carried an inferior but reliable
Mk 10 torpedo. I feel the Mk 18-1 is a waste of time. In fact we
almost forced those on the player because we thought nobody would
choose them otherwise. The Mk 18-2 is fine until you're spotted,
then its slow speed will make you wish for those old MK 14
workhorses.

(AH:) Check out page 98 in the manual. If you think duds are a pain,
imagine what the Tinosa felt like. They had 12 Mk 14s, fired 11 into a
juicy target, and got all duds. They took the last one back to Pearl
Harbor for examination. Talk about frustration!

*11. Visibilty while in reverse (you're less visible moving backward).

(RG:) This was may mistake - fixed in 457.02. I fed a negative number
into the visibility routine and behold!, smaller numbers resulted.
I should have absoluted the throttle value before using it.
This may be the only bug fix in 457.02 that people don't like.

(AH:) Playtest here at MPS Labs was mortified by this bug. They felt
they should have caught it. Well, in over 12 weeks of testing they
did catch about fifty million other problems! Meanwhile, realism fans
should NEVER go in reverse.

*12. Torpedo hit effects (some complain about their variability)

(RG:) Every torp hit has a small chance hitting the target's
propellers, therefore stopping it without causing serious damage.
In addition, hits can set a ship afire. Depending on the ship, this
can be more destructive than a torpedo, especially if the fire
burns for a long time. Merchant ships have quite variable crew
morale. Sometimes they abandon a damaged ship, and sometimes
they man their guns to the last. Surface on a damaged ship at
your own risk! Note that merchant ships may be unarmed in the
first year of the war.

(AH:) Improved and more realistic damage results are one of the big
improvements in SS2. This means far more variable results, both on
your sub and on target ships. Remember the Bismarck, crippled by a
freak torpedo hit to her rudder? You can't always predict what a
torpedo will do when it hits. Sometimes you can nail a CV with just
two or three, sometimes you need a half dozen or more.

*13. Snorkelling (why don't US subs have them?)

(RG:) US fleet boats in WWII did not have this capability, it was
invented by the Germans and deployed only in the closing stages
of the Atlantic campaign.

(AH:) Somebody out there believes US WWII subs had snorkels ??!!??

*14. Points scoring (how does it work, it seems unfair, etc.)

(RG:) Points are awarded for all ships sunk. However TARGETS are
given extra points depending upon the number and quality of
ASW ESCORTS. This means that in a convoy with a single TARGET
and 6 ASW ESCORTS most of the points are gained by nailing
the TARGET. As the war progresses watch out for ASW sweep
groups, these usually consist of a CL and 4+ DD's. They
contain few points (no TARGET) but are very dangerous.

(AH:) The "targets" Roy refers to are all merchantmen and all
large warships (cruisers, battleships, carriers). When in doubt
it always helps to read the manual (pgs 56 and 57)!

*15. Deck gun ammo (why isn't the ammo limited?)

(RG:) First don't use the deck gun for anything except clean up of
abandoned ships. Second the average number of rounds carried
was 3000 and frankly I didn't feel it important to track
3000 presses of the space bar. The only possible exception
to this is the NARWHAL class which carried 2 6 inch guns and
can therefore fire rapidly.

(AH:) We discovered during our research for SS2 that US subs carried
more deck gun ammo than we ever dreamed possible. I suspect some
subs left part of their ammo behind to make room for things like
ice cream makers, food freezers, etc. In SS1 enemy warship guns are
generally pretty putrid, but in SS2 they're pretty good, which means
surface gun duels with destroyers or cruisers are suicide.

*16. Patrol contacts (who do I find the enemy?)

(RG:) You increase the chance of contacts by staying in your
patrol zone, by cruising close to enemy ports/bases and by
being in historically active locations.

(AH:) We included lots of material in the manual about this. Check
out pages 81-87. We also included the brief history of the Pacific
War (pgs 87-92) to give you ideas about where to find enemy warships.
If you want to be a hot sub skipper, do your homework!

*17. Destroyers (target priorities, etc.)

(RG:) At the end of 1943 the US Navy changed the priority list under
which skippers operated. DDs were placed after tankers and major
warships, and ahead of normal merchantmen. This caused a number
of skippers of deliberately pick fights with DD's. Some initial
successes were scored but long term it caused the loss of several boats.

(AH:) The US Submarine Service histories greatly overrate the effect
of US subs on Japanese destroyers. Most of the "destroyers" sunk were
small ASW craft too slow and too weak to function with major warships.
In the game these are PCs and DEs. A real 30+ knot DD is a formidable
opponent, as many of you have probably discovered.

*18. Confidence.

(RG:) Players who start 12/7/41 will find that as they get more
confident, usually after 5-6 patrols or early 1943, the
enemy improves dramatically. The quality of IJN sonar
operators is at its best in this time scale as is the
quality of escorts assigned to convoys. You will not find
any more un-escorted tankers, you will find ASW sweeps. A
lot can happen to the quality of the enemy while you pick up
a new boat or leisurely re-fit in Pearl.

(AH:) We adjust many factors by historical date. Convoy routes
change; areas of warship activity move dramatically; enemy sonar
operators improve in quality (which greatly improves their ability
to detect you), the probabilities in encounters change as more and
more DEs and PCs appear in later years. The list is almost endless.
The only redeeming feature of 1944-45 is that many PCs and DEs are
newly commissioned, often with green crews (and therefore poor
sonar operators). 1945 is especially tough. Most of the Japanese
merchant marine is now sunk. Finding targets is really hard!

*19. Historical Play.

If you want to add your own "house rules" for greater realism,
try the following:

* TORPEDO ARMAMENT (RG & AH):
Whenever you have a choice of torpedoes, roll a six-sided die.
"1" means you must take Mk 14s, "2" means you must take Mk 18-1s,
"3" means you must take Mk 18-2s (if available, otherwise Mk 18-1s),
while "4" through "6" means you have a choice. Various torpedoes were
in short supply. Sometimes skippers didn't have a choice of armament.

* DEBRIS (RG):
Don't use debris - it never really worked.

* FIRING DEPTH (RG & AH):
Don't fire torpedoes below 100'. At deeper depths the tubes could not
be safely opened and the torpedoes ejected.

* CONTACT PROBABILITIES (AH):
Whenever you get a contact that has an "Y/N" option before you
fight, draw from a deck of cards. On 2 through 10, or an Ace, you MUST
say no (N) to the contact. If you get royalty (K,Q,J) you can make the
choice noramlly. Reshuffle after every patrol. This reduces sub-initiated
contacts to realistic levels. It's also very frustrating.

* INITIAL SUBMARINE CLASS ASSIGNMENTS (AH):
For your initial sub on 12/7/41, draw from a deck of cards.
A,K = Old "S";  Q = Barracuda;  J = Narwhal;  10,9 = "P";
8,7,6 = New "S";  5,4 = "T";  3,2 = Gato.

* INITIAL BASE/COMMAND ASSIGNMENTS (AH):
For your initial base on 12/7/41, you are assigned a base depending on
the name of your boat. If you have a "T" or "Gato" class you MUST start
at Pearl Harbor. If you have an "old 'S'" or "new 'S'" class you MUST
start at Manila. In all other cases you can select Pearl or Manila,
as normal.
   Sealion Special: If you get this boat (a new S), you must leave Manila
and immediately return, avoiding all contacts. When you return, go to
new construction. This is because in real life the Sealion was destroyed
at the dock by air attack, before she could put to sea.

* DOUBLE-BARRELLED PATROLS (QUICK TURN-AROUND PATROLS) (AH & RG):
If you're allowed to immediately go back on patrol when you
return (without the normal repair and refit time), take it ONLY if you
have an improved Gato class or Tench class boat. In other cases minor
mechanical problems usually forced a refit.

* SKIPPER EXHAUSTION (AH):
After five war patrols, skippers were encouraged to go back to the USA
for "new construction" (i.e., take command of a new boat). In ComSubPac
it's mandatory. If you finish your fifth patrol in a boat there, you
must take command of a new boat. In ComSubSoWesPac it's optional after
five patrols, mandatory after the sixth.