Software:Silent Hunter (video game)

From HandWiki
Short description: 1996 submarine simulator
Silent Hunter
Developer(s)Aeon Electronic Entertainment
Publisher(s)Strategic Simulations
Producer(s)Carl C. Norman
Designer(s)William T. Becker
Kim Biscoe
Programmer(s)William T. Becker
Artist(s)Kim Biscoe
Composer(s)Doug Brandon
Platform(s)MS-DOS
ReleaseMarch 25, 1996[1]
Genre(s)Submarine simulator
Mode(s)Single player

Silent Hunter is a World War II submarine combat simulation for MS-DOS, developed by Aeon Electronic Entertainment and published by Strategic Simulations in 1996. The game takes place in the Pacific War during World War II, the player commanding a submarine of the United States Navy. Most contemporary US submarines and Japanese warships are featured along with some generic merchant ships.

Gameplay

A single encounter generator is available, but the standard mode of play is the career mode, where the player must take their boat to patrol far behind enemy lines with the mission to search for and destroy any enemy shipping. For best success, the player should concentrate their search on shipping lanes, which may be deduced from contact reports. There are also special missions which may be assigned to a boat, such as beach reconnaissance involving photographing potential landing beaches through the periscope, and the rescue of downed airmen. Both missions were performed by the fleet submarines of World War II. The boat is actually commanded by crewing various stations in first person (no crew is visible, even though their voices are heard), which is common in the genre.

Periscope view and torpedo controls

In career mode, the game begins when war against Japan is declared and continues through until August 15, 1945, when CINCPAC (Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet) issues the order to cease all offensive operations against Japan. Success against the enemy rewards the Captain (the player) with medals as appropriate to the degree of success on a given patrol. However, there is a flip side to the game. One patrol without any sinkings will result in a verbal reprimand from COMSUBPAC (Commander, Submarines, Pacific Fleet). Two consecutive patrols with no sinkings will result in the Captain being relieved of command, as happened frequently in the Silent Service, particularly in the early days of the war. If a captain is relieved of command, the game is over. Also, it is possible for Japanese destroyers to sink a submarine by gunfire on the surface, or by depth charge attack while submerged. This also ends the game.

The submarines available in the game are the boats the United States Navy had during the war. They range from the ancient S-boats, and interwar boats like the Tambor class and Sargo class, to the later wartime Gato-class, Balao class, and Tench class subs. Technological advancements become available to the player at the same time in the game that the boats in the fleet got them. These include radar, the plan position indicator radar display, and the bathythermograph.

Weaponry similarly reflects what the boats had at any given point in the war. The torpedoes range from the Mark X used by the S-boats, to the Mark XIV steam torpedo and Mark XVIII electric torpedo, to the anti-escort "Cutie" acoustic homing torpedo. Deck guns, which are of minor value but have their uses, similarly range from three to five inch, again as the boats received them.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
GameRankings81%[2]
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGameStarStarStar[3]
CGWStarStarStarStar[4]
GameRevolutionC+[5]
GameSpot8.3/10[6]
PC Gamer (US)91%[7]
PC Zone90%[8]

The game received "favorable" reviews according to video game review aggregator GameRankings.[2] Silent Hunter II developer Shawn Storc stated in an interview that Silent Hunter was a commercial success with 300,000 sold units.[9] By 1999, global sales had reached 350,000 copies.[10][11] Bruce Geryk of GameSpot considered it a noteworthy hit in the simulation genre, a genre whose "era had passed" in his view.[12]

Silent Hunter was nominated as Computer Games Strategy Plus's 1996 simulation of the year, although it lost to Jane's AH-64D Longbow.[13] The game was a finalist for Computer Gaming World's 1996 "Simulation Game of the Year" award,[14] which ultimately went to Jane's AH-64D Longbow.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Torpedoes Away! Silent Hunter now on Patrol!". March 25, 1996. Archived from the original on February 5, 1997. https://web.archive.org/web/19970205040543/http://www.ssionline.com/cgi-bin/omixlink?4913+insider/press_releases/pr_silent.html. Retrieved June 24, 2022. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Silent Hunter for PC". GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/pc/198642-silent-hunter/index.html. Retrieved December 21, 2014. 
  3. ↑ Wigmore, Glenn. "Silent Hunter - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141115090529/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=6059&tab=review. Retrieved December 21, 2014. 
  4. ↑ Turner, Kevin (June 1996). "Run Silent, Run Deep (Silent Hunter Review)". Computer Gaming World (142): 78–80. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_143.pdf. Retrieved April 24, 2016. 
  5. ↑ Carnevale, Jason C. (October 1996). "Silent Hunter Review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on February 10, 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20010210014210/http://www.game-revolution.com/games/pc/sim/silenth.htm. Retrieved December 5, 2017. 
  6. ↑ Mical, Kevin (May 30, 1996). "Silent Hunter Review". https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/silent-hunter-review/1900-2533001/. Retrieved December 21, 2014. 
  7. ↑ McDonald, T. Liam (June 1996). "Silent Hunter". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on February 26, 2000. https://web.archive.org/web/20000226172028/http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/946.html. Retrieved December 21, 2014. 
  8. ↑ "PC Review: Silent Hunter". PC Zone. 1996. 
  9. ↑ Special: Silent Hunter 2 - Interview on 4players.de "Das Original "Silent Hunter" hat sich über 300.000 Mal verkauft. Bei dieser Zahl war es für uns selbstverständlich, einen Nachfolger zu erschaffen." (2001, in German)
  10. ↑ "Silent Hunter II Submarines Will Be Pitted Against "Destroyer Command" Battleships in a Simulated War through the RTIME Interactive Networking Engine". August 6, 1999. Archived from the original on February 12, 2001. https://web.archive.org/web/20010212083859/http://www.rtimeinc.com:80/rtime_web/ie/press_releases/rtime-sh2-dc.html. Retrieved July 26, 2022. 
  11. ↑ PC PowerPlay staff (December 1999). "Spotlight: Silent Hunter II". PC PowerPlay (43): 24. 
  12. ↑ Geryk, Bruce (August 22, 2000). "Where Are They Now?". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 23, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040423024324/http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/pc/where/. 
  13. ↑ CGM staff (March 25, 1997). "Computer Games Strategy Plus announces 1996 Awards". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on June 14, 1997. https://web.archive.org/web/19970614161401/http://www.cdmag.com/news/0325971.html. Retrieved November 2, 2010. 
  14. ↑ CGW staff (April 1997). "Best of the Bunch: Finalists Named for CGW Premier Awards". Computer Gaming World (153): 28, 32. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_153.pdf. Retrieved December 5, 2017. 
  15. ↑ CGW staff (May 1997). "The Computer Gaming World 1997 Premier Awards". Computer Gaming World (154): 68–70, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_154.pdf. Retrieved December 5, 2017. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.





Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Silent_Hunter_(video_game)&oldid=672933"