The talented Subsim mod gurus are hard at work making tweaks and improvements to the recently released Silent Hunter 4, everything from redefined battery and fuel performance, sub skins, radio content to new interface features.

Check out the Subsim SH4 Mods Workshop today!
Some examples include:

Gameplay mods

Harder Enemy Escorts- Better Sensors

Realistic Battery Life

Increased Crush Depths



Interface/Visuals mods

Real Medals v1.00

RetroNavMapTools - Jiims NavMapTools - Aces Colored Menu Bar (Combined)

Keyboard Function Mod

Changed HUD Lamp Color - Green for depressed buttons

Mini Chronometer

Historical Chronometer

Pearl Harbour Menu

Disable Navmap & attack map mouse scrolling

jimimadrid's HUD - Gauges & crew status icons

Depth Charge Shake

Dark Sil tga's for the Recognition Manual

360 Bearing Tool for SH4

Retro Navmap Tools


Sound mods

Ultimate Soundmod

Spax's Run Silent Run Deep SH4 Sound Mod


Ship mods

Maxim Gorky Class and River Class Frigate

H.M.S. Repulse


Texture mods

Gato Redfin Skin

Gato re-color


Radio mods

Less Radio messages

Old time radio entertainment station

Captain Midnight's CBS News Mod

Now you can attack ships in Silent Hunter 4 using the full realism and well-designed TDC.

A new video by Neal Stevens of Subsim shows the steps necessary in setting up an manual torpedo data computer to attack a target in Silent Hunter IV.

Subsim's Silent Hunter 4 Attack Video

This Silent Hunter 4 video was at one time the #31 video on You Tube. Using full realism settings, this video shows an attack on a Japanese convoy.

Fansite Gamershell's Pirates of the Burning Sea gallery has been updated with several new screenshots from this upcoming MMORPG in works at Flying Lab Software. Set in the Caribbean during the 1720s, Pirates of the Burning Sea offers a variety of fighting styles to suit anyone's taste. Players can choose between three basic schools of fighting: the classic scoundrel's dirty tricks, the formal yet deadly art of fencing, or the wild-eyed, free-wheeling use of small swords and daggers. Through the use of an innovative balance-based attack system, players gain advantage based on position and initiative. Avoiding the typical fire-and-forget MMORPG combat systems, swashbuckling in Pirates of the Burning Sea puts the control in the player's hands. Much like our celebrated ship combat system, swashbuckling provides opportunities for even the newest player to prevail in battle, allowing cunning and tactics to take a front seat to character level and experience. Pirates of the Burning Sea is currently in closed beta and will be released in June 2007.

This is from the notes and audio during the January demo and presentation of Silent Hunter 4 in the Ubisoft studio in San Francisco.

Silent Hunter 4 Multiplayer
Two types of play: Cooperative and adversarial. Cooperative is sub players vs. AI surface ships. Adversarial is up to three sub players vs. a convoy command player who controls the merchants and escorts.

As a convoy commander player you would know going into the game how many subs you are playing against, from the pre-game lobby. But you would not know where they are located. Presumably, the gamewill arrange the sub players randomly, but I have not tested this.


Convoy Commander
You control the escorts and the merchants. You can set escort waypoints, direct their course, and have them take up station using the top-down map or from a bridge station on the escort ships, reminiscent of Destroyer Command.

You can control fire from aft and side depth charge racks, individually.

Escort player gets sonar contacts in form of blue bearing lines.

Sometimes your contacts will be false contacts; dev team to balance.

DDs not assigned activity will process as AI (not as effective?) and prosecute a contact automatically.

I noticed that if a DD gets a contact, you could direct another DD to the area; if he gets the same contact, you have triangulated a good target area (where the two DD contact lines intersect). However, this does tie up two escorts, leaving fewer resources to search for the other two subs, and if the contact is false, then the sub players have an advantage.

Convoy
You can change speed and zigzag pattern but you cannot change overall course (would overwhelm sub players). It remains to be seen how much course control you have. I would think a convoy commander could change the convoy course some, say 15 degrees overall. The result could help or hurt him, and likewise could help a sub player by coming right at him as likely as moving away. The convoy cannot turn around go the opposite direction.


Overall, this looks like it could be a lot of fun for both the convoy commander and sub players, if the MP is stable and not laggy, and if the gameplay is well balanced. The game should look for anything that rewards skill. I was told there would be settings that make the game realistic, no magic weapons officer giving perfect range or external views if you choose to play hardcore. Of course, there needs to be a good battle report, as well.


Audio: Direct control of an escort in SH4 MP.

Subsim Silent Hunter 4 Hands-On Preview

Subsim Silent Hunter 4 Forum

The first real submarine simulation in two years, Silent Hunter 4, has gone gold. Release date is set for March 22, 2007 worldwide. For more details, click here.