MicroProse Returns....Sea Power: Naval Combat in the Missile Age

[Captain Hurricane]

This looks pretty good.........good enough to make my Steam wishlist anyway.

https://youtu.be/w5kx9QaPfew

 

 

Edited September 21, 2024 by Captain Hurricane

[Stuart Galbraith]

Yeah, Its been on my steam list for a while. I want to see some reviews first. The developers last subsim was ok, when you modded the hell out of it to turn it into a half decent sim.

 

[Ssnake]

In that video, not sure if it's indicative of a bigger problem, the opposition AI appeared rather passive.

You have a jet positively IDing an sub hunter helicopter. It fires its one missile and turns away. Two sonar buoys in the water. The rest of the ships maintain course and, well, do nothing except defend themselves for a while against the incoming missile barrage. Besides, three escorts for a single merchant ... strikes me as slightly abnormal.

[Stuart Galbraith]

Its based upon cold waters, which had open architecture and you could mod it fairly easily with notepad. As far as detection ranges, you could play with them easily. I unputted the sound index for the Norwegian sea, and it suddenly became VERY hard to pick up soviet submarines.

As far as the formation of a patrol or an escort screen, that was adjustable as well. it may be that if they havent done the detail work, the Mod teams probably will. Of course, that isnt what people are paying for...

[Captain Hurricane]

There are a fair number of videos on youtube featuring scenario playthroughs by various players which show just how wide the scope of this game potentially is.

Having watched a few I feel like I would definely not make some of the same tactical decisions as they do, put it that way

Here is a link to a video that shows every land/sea/air platform represented in the game so far: https://youtu.be/GbmvRYFmKq4

Sorry Stuart the RN is NOT represented at all, though they evidently plan to add it as an official DLC down the track. I would have thought with the North Atlantic featuring heavily in the game that the RN would have some representation, but its down to the USN and Norwegians to hold the line initially.

There seems to be a lot of comments already about modder scenarios being planned for the South Atlantic in the early 1980's.

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

7 hours ago, Captain Hurricane said:

There are a fair number of videos on youtube featuring scenario playthroughs by various players which show just how wide the scope of this game potentially is.

Having watched a few I feel like I would definely not make some of the same tactical decisions as they do, put it that way

Here is a link to a video that shows every land/sea/air platform represented in the game so far: https://youtu.be/GbmvRYFmKq4

Sorry Stuart the RN is NOT represented at all, though they evidently plan to add it as an official DLC down the track. I would have thought with the North Atlantic featuring heavily in the game that the RN would have some representation, but its down to the USN and Norwegians to hold the line initially.

There seems to be a lot of comments already about modder scenarios being planned for the South Atlantic in the early 1980's.

 

Well, not going to buy till they do. The same developers said they were going to do it for Cold Waters IIRC, and never did.

I mean, a North Atlantic scenario without Nimrods is like the Eastern Front without Tigers. What are they thinking?

[Ssnake]

Either they speculate that it'll sell well as an extra (and I can't fault them for trying to milk it for every penny, usually game development is not very profitable), or they are severely manpower restrained and want to do it but can't while reguler development is ongoing. Again, they would have my sympathies, been in that spot myself.

[Stuart Galbraith]

Perhaps so, but I can remember as far back as 1998 when M1 Tank Platoon 2 came out. I was hanging out on the Combat ace forums, and they were promising a DLC update to add a theatre in the US, a kind of civil war thing, and unlocking the challenger which you could then play in the other campaigns. Then they binned all that and released the woefully crap Gunship update instead (which I waited before it was in the bargain bin before confirming, yes, it was crap). In the end, it was the modders that activated the Challenger, and even then the civ was broken.

I guess the point im making is, whilst accepting developers always have problems making ends meet, so does the Customer. And the customer has a choice about what they buy. If I want to wargame the Royal Navy in WW3, Ive already have CMO to do that just fine. I dont need something new, particularly if its going to require more investment to get what I want from it. Sure, they dont HAVE to do that. Equally I dont have to buy it.

[Ssnake]

There's the things that you hope for, and careless marketers try and sell those hopes as "plans", and then there's "life", the things that happen instead.

Life, and business, may have seemingly stable trajectories. But there's always an element of chaos lurking, occasionally breaking through the surface.

[Der Zeitgeist]

Watching some of the streams of the SP pre-early-access version, it seems to me that the big issues to solve before 1.0 will be tactical unit AI, mission planning / unit automation and the dynamic campaign (quite similar to the challenges CMANO/CMO was/is facing). Adding more nations and their units will take time but seems relatively trivial in comparison.

[Ssnake]

You expand laterally that when you've solved the fundamentals.

[MiGG0]

Game was released today to early access. Played couple of scenarios and seems really good game. At the moment there is still no dynamic campaing (first version of it should be added Q2 2025).

[Der Zeitgeist]

13 hours ago, MiGG0 said:

Game was released today to early access. Played couple of scenarios and seems really good game. At the moment there is still no dynamic campaing (first version of it should be added Q2 2025).

How is the AI handling tactics for the enemy computer player?

[MiGG0]

1 hour ago, Der Zeitgeist said:

How is the AI handling tactics for the enemy computer player?

Only played those 2 scenarios so far. Vietnam scenario US vs Vietkong shore batteries and Norway vs Soviet supply convoy. In Vietnam scenario AI had no change as me playing US has total fire superiority but as I had EMCON first they did suprise me with MIG attacks and sunk 2 of my destroyers before I could react. After that I but everything emitting and I destroyed all their assets with remaining ships (they really had no change).

In Norway scenario. Soviet AI used its helos to scout ahead but was flying both of them too low so my FACs shot both of them down with AAA (They didnt have any AA missiles). After that I just followed convoy wiht my subs passive sonars and attacked with FACs ASM coming from cover of islands and retreating back to cover after each salvo. Convoy escort were not using radar first so they did not know what hit them. After I used all my FACs ASMs subs sunk rest of the fleet when it came close.

Overall so far only "stupid" thing for AI was using those helos way too low and too close to my FACs.

Edited November 13, 2024 by MiGG0

[Captain Hurricane]

A Youtube interiew with the developers - Triassic is a very small outfit, with only two people involved with the main development of Sea Power apparently.

https://youtu.be/n5xmAgoplKU

They also talk about the dynamic campaign development and adding further content (the Royal Navy and Falkands stuff is being worked on currently and will be a future DLC).

 

[Stuart Galbraith]

Ok, well if they promise they are working on it, Ill probably take a punt on it then.

Why Is it I wait for so long, and several decent games come out at once?

[MiGG0]

There are couple old British Destroyers modelled in some scenario already. Must buy for you now Stuart 😁

[Stuart Galbraith]

What ones?

 

[MiGG0]

C-class and Z-class. Used probably in Egypt/Israel/Pakistan scenarios.
 

Edited November 14, 2024 by MiGG0