-Thunak- Hello and welcome to today’s Silent Hunter III chat!
-Thunak- Thanks for joining us. Our guest this evening is: Florin BOITOR
-UbiRazz- Right, where's the cake and tea?
-Thunak- Hello, and thanks for joining us this evening for the SH3 live chat
-SH3_Dev_Team- Hello everyone! It's actually a whole bunch of people here (including Florin and Tiberius)
-SH3_Dev_Team- hola for the spanish community!

-Thunak- This is how we’ll proceed: you may send your questions only to me and I will relay them. Please do not send them directly to the SH3 team, they will only answer to mine. To send me a question double-click on my nick (Thunak) on the right hand column and a new window will open in which we may chat.
-UbiRazz- Slip of the fingers, Thunak? :p
-Thunak- We will then choose the questions according to their interest and relevance. Please remember this chat is exclusively dedicated to Silent Hunter III. We will not answer questions not related to this game.
-Thunak- We will post a full transcript of the chat on the official SH3 site, http://www.silent-hunteriii.com and on the boards ASAP.

-Thunak- Here we go!

-Thunak- "(Zambet): Will SH3 run on laptops? im complying with the specifications: P4-2.6Ghz, 512 ram and Geforcefx5300 at 64 Mb
-SH3_Dev_Team- SH3 will run on video cards supporting Vertex Shader 1.1 and Pixel Shader 1.1. If your card supports this standards, it should work.
-SH3_Dev_Team- ;
-SH3_Dev_Team- =

-Thunak- (Linby-5707-sub): Will 'punkbuster' be incorporated into SH3?
-SH3_Dev_Team- nope. =

-Thunak- (Plankton) Please tell us about the Multiplayer part in the game. How many people can play together?
-SH3_Dev_Team- Up to 8 players on a LAN, and 4 over the Net. This is what we can guarantee. We may allow more, but it's up to your bandwidth. =

-Thunak- (DocMoriarty) Is the damage radius of depth charges now dependend from the depth or still same at all depths ?
-SH3_Dev_Team- Depth charges are still as lethal at all depths. However, this doesn't mean your depth doesn't influence how vulnerable you are. =

-Thunak- (Lanzfeld): Will the manual TDC dials be re-worked so we can input target speed in one knot increments?
-SH3_Dev_Team- YES. This will be reworked before release. Have a little faith, guys! :) .=

-Thunak- (Huttich): Is the dynamic campaign already working ?
-SH3_Dev_Team- Yes. Let us tell you some details about our dynamic campaign:
-SH3_Dev_Team- Main convoy routes with composition accurate for each historic period are in and working.
-SH3_Dev_Team- local, coastal and individual traffic routes are in. And working. According to historic period too :)
-SH3_Dev_Team- Coast patrols, base patrols and task forces - same
-SH3_Dev_Team- airbases, naval bases, coastal defenses, minefields, anti-sub nets - it's all there
-SH3_Dev_Team- Specific historic events - are coming in
-SH3_Dev_Team- by this we mean events such as landings, naval battles, etc
-SH3_Dev_Team- that's the campaign described very briefly .=

-Thunak- (Shan_Hackett): May seem trivial, but what format will SH3 be produced in? CD-ROM-DVD-ROM!?
-SH3_Dev_Team- DVD-ROM only for the March release in US and Europe. For other editions it may come also on CD-ROM.=

-Thunak- (DocMoriarty) Does it play a role for my visibility from which side i attack? What i mean is, does it matter for example whether i have the moon in my back (bad) or the moon in the victims back, likewise sun in my back etc. ? Also does the moon phase play a role (dark vs bright night).
-SH3_Dev_Team- The light level is taken into account for detection algorithms. As for the moon's position relative to you and your target - no it's not considered.=

-Thunak- (Willey) How detailed is the speech engine? Can we hear acknowledgment for every order? Can we hear stuff like (vorne unten 10, hinten unten 15, 210 grad gehen durch, usw)
-SH3_Dev_Team- The crew acknowledges most of the orders, and the samples are dynamically composed. However not all orders have audio feedback associated with them.=

-Thunak- (Drebbel): - From Fire-Fox: "How (if there still in) are mine fields and/or anti-sub/torpedo net/booms going to work. - with respect to mine cabls/sounds and if there is any chance of them beeing detectod by the sound gear. 
-SH3_Dev_Team- Minefields and nets are basically going to be an impassable obstacle for you. By using the external camera, you may be able to navigate through some of minefields. As for the sounds... still not decided.=

-Thunak- (Seben): How will radio communication work between fleets? Like, passing on information or asking for support?
-SH3_Dev_Team- You can only communicate with BDU. Escorts communicate with each other and there are other levels of communication for the AI. However, this will not be transparent to the player, except in the form of encounters in the dynamic campaign.=
-SH3_Dev_Team- Yes, there are instances when your visibility may be affected by debris, shipwrecks, smoke and oil on fire.=

-Thunak- (macker33): How moddable will the game be?
-SH3_Dev_Team- Moddable aspects of the game include: the whole campaign data, 3d location tileset, single and online missions.=

-Thunak- (Gotrek39fltBetasom): will be possible change speech and tag with some of selfmade?
-SH3_Dev_Team- It will be possible to change the speech and text messages in the game.=

-Thunak- (hbcc|billsux): Will there be rescue Missions like in Silent Hunter 1 where shot down Pilots have to be rescued?
-SH3_Dev_Team- Sorry guys, not in this version.=

-Thunak- (Amaris) Can we operate the diesel (or the electric) engine seperatly? So use the starbord diesel and let the bord diesel off line. Can we use both engines together (diesel and elektric) to get a little bit more speed?
-SH3_Dev_Team- No. Your Chief Engineer will set the engines to be used, based on the propulsion mode selected: standard (diesel or electric), recharging, snorkeling.=

-Thunak- (zaza-mushi): Can we go pacific area? Or can we go penang base at indonesia as a monsonn boat?
-SH3_Dev_Team- We have all the oceans included in the game. Unfortunately, the Pacific area could not be included in our dynamic campaign (too much data to edit, to many ships to model, etc.). However, Penang and Soerabaya are modelled and accessible. This means the Indian Ocean is an operational area for your u-boat. :)=

-Thunak- (McBeck): Question: In regards to moddebility, what format will the sound files be in?
-SH3_Dev_Team- The sound files format is .ogg. The gramophone in the game can play .mp3, .wav and .ogg files.
-SH3_Dev_Team- =

-Thunak- (oscar18681): what we can expect of the deparure home-comming in the dynamic campaign?
-SH3_Dev_Team- During career, all mission departures will start in a specific base associated with you current flotilla or the last port you docked at. Sometimes you may see a departure comitee (and harbor activity), depending on weather and time of day. Expect the same at home-commings, too. =

-Thunak- (Visco): If in the WWII a ship was under attack by a submarine or a ship, they used a kind of "international distress frequency" to call help by morse code,and the U-boats sometimes catched those signals after attack. Is it possible for the player in SH3 to catch these kind of signals after a ship attack to know the ship requested help?
-SH3_Dev_Team- Although we intended to include this in the game, we dind't have enough time to do it. Maybe in the next version, guys. :) =

-Thunak- (GertFroebe): Can we set automatically watch-crew shifts, so that I as a player can sleep for a time?
-SH3_Dev_Team- No watch shifts. But don't worry, there are crew pre-sets according to your current navigation mode just one click away. You'll easily be capable to arrange your crew to best maximize their efficiency. =

-Thunak- (Kankkis): Is MP missions Co-op or versus
-SH3_Dev_Team- Our multiplayer missions are cooperative only. Anyway, watch where you launch those torpedoes. They are as lethal to your comrades as for those merchants. =

-Thunak- (BobTuck): Will historic U-boat aces be present in the campaign?
-SH3_Dev_Team- You will not meet any U-boat ace on the sea in the campaign. In any case, in the career menus you'll have the tonnage charts available for performance comparison. =

-Thunak- (fatty): Do you have any regrets about the project? Anything you would do differently or change if you were given free rein and unlimited time?
-SH3_Dev_Team- There are a lot of things we would have liked to include in this game. Anyway, we are happy to see that SH3 community was so supportive during our development. We hope that our game is a new start in the naval simulation genre and we'll have the chance to do more.=

-Thunak- (mailfor): why was the game delayed?
-SH3_Dev_Team- As JFK said: "... not because it is easy, but because it is hard!" :) =

-Thunak- (Vjatschislav): will it really be released in march or do we have to wait a second time?
-SH3_Dev_Team- The March release is the definitive release date. For good, this time. =

-Thunak- Now the BIG one :p
-Thunak- (ADROCK): can we expect a demo prior to the release of the full game?
-SH3_Dev_Team- We always wanted to release a demo before game release. Unfortunately, there are very few chances we'll have this opportunity. Preparing a demo at this stage would require some resource re-allocation that we cannot afford till March. =

-Thunak- Do we have time for a few more questions?
-SH3_Dev_Team- Affirmative!=
-Thunak- OK :)

-Thunak- (ruoiauropazu): Have you set differents levels of resistance to pression when in deep diving in function of the submarine type?
-SH3_Dev_Team- Yes, crush depths will depend on the type of u-boat you are playing with. Also, the amount of damage you took will influence the maximum safe depth you can reach!!=

-Thunak- (Drebbel): - From Kresge: "Have the system requirements been finalized / updated?"
-SH3_Dev_Team- Yes. The only changes from what is already published are min. RAM 512, DVD-ROM and OS XP/2000 only.=

-Thunak- (Dominico): Is the amount of compressed air we have simulated and limited, or is it unlimited? Or say set to only one use for blowing all tanks?
-SH3_Dev_Team- The compressed air is fully simulated and limited. Anyway, the realism settings allow you to set it for unlimited, if that is what you like. :) =

-Thunak- (Ailantd): Will there be improvements in gameplay and graphics, like the sea engine, in future addons or patches like the IL2 team do?
-SH3_Dev_Team- We intend to support SH3 with following patches and add-ons.=

-Thunak- (fop) Tell us more about the damage system in your simulation. Do we still have a chance to excape, even if the boat is heavily damaged, or is one deth charge enough for game over?
-SH3_Dev_Team- The damage system is complex enough to allow you options in critical situations. It will be crucial to manage you crew for repairing damage and stopping floods. All that being said, there will be instances when one (un)lucky depth charge may gloriously end your u-boat captain career. =

-Thunak- (Curiosity): will the crew get panick-stricken. if yes, how to handle the situation in terms of orders and the likes?
-SH3_Dev_Team- If your crew ends up in morale damaging situation, you should pay closer attention to crew managment, maximizing the effect of your officers. Ah, and you should try to sink ships. This is a guaranteed morale booster.=

-Thunak- (Despot): How far away can subs in multiplayer drive from each other? Can one boat be at NewYork, and the other near GreatBrittain simultaneously?
-SH3_Dev_Team- Theoretically, you can keep them oceans appart. Anyway, time compression has to be severely restricted on over the internet games, due to bandwidth restrictions. The missions we will provide will place you in convenient range to a significant target. Remember, there is strenght in numbers and more targets for the escorts. =

-Thunak- (Grossi) Do we receive News from home (Wochenschau)? For example, how is the war going at the fronts in england, russia and africa.
-SH3_Dev_Team- Sorry, but there is no more time to add this feature to the campaign.=

-Thunak- (BadHat17): Will the fathometer acuracy be dependent on echo soundings , will echo soundings be player controllable and will the soundings affect stealth ?
-SH3_Dev_Team- You will need to use the Atlas Echolot (fathometer) to find the depth under your u-boat keel. And it will affect your stealth. =

-Thunak- I guess that’s it then.
-Thunak- We will post a full transcript of the chat on the official SH3 site, http://www.silent-hunteriii.com and on the boards ASAP.
-Thunak- Thank you guys for popping in for the chat. There are still masses of questions pending but we will try to bring you answers ASAP. It's always great to see such enthusiasm for a game :)
-Thunak- Thanks Dev Team for taking the time to answer our questions.
-SH3_Dev_Team- Goodbye everyone. Great meeting so many of you. Thanks for your support and your patience. All ahead flank!=
Many thanks!!!!
-Thunak- (zambet): (Some Romanian words: Un sincer BRAVO pentru tot ceea ce ati realizat pana acuma! Mult noroc in continuare!!!!)

The SimHQ Staff was asked: What is the one thing that affected or impacted simulations the most in 2004 — good or bad and what are your favorite sims from 2004? "We are no longer in the golden age of simulations, but thanks to the efforts of thousands of people, the hobby continues to progress and evolve. It always interests me to see a member in one of our forums announce the release of a project he or she has been working on and all the excitement it generates."

"We are a relatively small group — a niche of the gaming universe — and yet we have a passion, a fire for this hobby that is unmatched by any other. It is this passionate interest that drives people to work insane hours for little or nothing and to create everything produced in 2004."


For the full article, visit SimHQ.