Software:Silent Hunter III

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Short description: 2005 submarine simulator
Silent Hunter III
Developer(s)Ubisoft Bucharest
Publisher(s)Ubisoft
Producer(s)Florin Boitor
Designer(s)Tiberius Astianax Lazar
Composer(s)Patrick Giraudi
Platform(s)Windows
Release
  • NA: March 15, 2005
  • PAL: March 18, 2005
Genre(s)Submarine simulator
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Silent Hunter III is a submarine simulation developed by Ubisoft Bucharest and published by Ubisoft. It was released for Windows on March 15, 2005. Like Silent Hunter II, it places the player in command of a German U-boat during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II.

Gameplay

Silent Hunter III features a dynamic campaign. Instead of giving the player a specific set of objectives for each mission, Silent Hunter III simply assigns the player a certain patrol grid, and appropriate naval traffic, such as convoys, destroyer escorts, and task forces are automatically generated by the simulation engine. How the mission proceeds and what targets are attacked is determined by the player.

The sub's periscope view

Silent Hunter III features two methods of play - either a dynamic campaign or select historically-inspired missions, such as an operation to save the missing name, or the sinking of Script error: The function "ship_prefix_templates" does not exist. in Scapa Flow.

German World War II veteran and sub commander Jürgen Oesten was a technical advisor for the game.[1]

U-boat campaign

In the campaign version of the game, a player begins their career as a "Lieutenant, Jr." (corresponding to Leutnant zur See), with the choice of initial assignments to a U-boat base between 1939 and 1943. The war time and political situation of World War II is reflected in the geographical area and time period which the player begins their career.

The Silent Hunter III campaign will assign the player a certain patrol grid with appropriate naval traffic such as convoys, destroyer escorts, and task forces, automatically generated by the simulation engine. How the mission proceeds and what targets are attacked is up to the player. The player has the option to change realism settings on the submarine, adding challenges such as fuel being limited as well as various game play assistance features involving navigation, weapons, and the ability to switch to external camera mode to view the submarine's surroundings.

The most difficult realism setting in the game allows a player to manually target torpedoes for an attack on enemy vessels. In the manual targeting feature, the player must observe vessels, determine their class and nationality, as well as calculate speed, angle on the bow, and gyro angle for torpedo launch. The player has the option to set torpedo depth and spread shot with multiple weapons. De-selecting manual targeting allows a "Weapons Officer" to make these determinations for the player, although approaching targets at certain angles and determining relative motion is still a factor.

The simulation engine generates coastal and port cities, which appear as large harbors surrounded on the outskirts by town buildings, churches, and factories. It is possible for the player to sail into such ports (friendly, neutral, or hostile) and dock or engage moored targets. Some of the cities available are Portsmouth, Scapa Flow, New York City, Norfolk, Virginia, and Tampa, Florida. Although possible to sail to South America and into the Pacific, the simulation will not generate traffic or port cities for these regions.

The game features a fully 3D U-boat control room, allowing the player the ability to look around the interior of certain submarine rooms. Unlike other submarine simulations, where the crew is often heard but not seen, Silent Hunter III allows the player to see and interact with crew members. The game tracks the stats of individual crew members, such as rank, experience, morale, and decorations between missions.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic90/100[2]
Review scores
PublicationScore
CGWStarStarStarStarStar[3]
GameSpot8.9/10[4]
GameSpyStarStarStarStarStar[5]
GameZone8.6/10[6]
IGN8.8/10[7]
PC Format88%[8]
PC Gamer (US)90%[9]
PC Zone83%[10]
VideoGamer.com7/10[11]
X-PlayStarStarStarStar[12]

The game received "universal acclaim" upon release according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[2] According to NPD Group, Silent Hunter III sold 26,600 copies by June 2005.[13]

The editors of Computer Games Magazine presented Silent Hunter III with their 2005 "Best Simulation" award, and named it the year's third-best computer game. They wrote, "Are sims dead? Not when they're this good."[14] It also won the "Best Simulation 2005" award from PC Gamer US, whose editors called the game "simply an amazing voyage."[15]

During the 9th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Silent Hunter III for "Simulation Game of the Year".[16]

References

  1. ↑ "Softpedia News talks with the creators of Silent Hunter III". news.softpedia.com. 22 May 2005. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Softpedia-News-talks-with-the-creators-of-Silent-Hunter-III-2142.shtml. Retrieved 19 April 2010. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Silent Hunter III for PC Reviews". https://www.metacritic.com/game/silent-hunter-iii/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. Retrieved December 20, 2014. 
  3. ↑ Lackey, Jeff (June 2005). "Dangerous Waters [Online Version vs. Silent Hunter III"]. Computer Gaming World (252): 94–95. http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_252.pdf. Retrieved April 24, 2016. 
  4. ↑ Baker, Tracy (March 29, 2005). "Silent Hunter III Review". https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/silent-hunter-iii-review/1900-6121268/. Retrieved December 20, 2014. 
  5. ↑ Chick, Tom (April 8, 2005). "GameSpy: Silent Hunter III". GameSpy. http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/silent-hunter-iii/602818p1.html. Retrieved December 20, 2014. 
  6. ↑ Knutson, Michael (March 27, 2005). "Silent Hunter III - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081002191055/http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r23423.htm. Retrieved December 20, 2014. 
  7. ↑ Butts, Steve (March 18, 2005). "Silent Hunter III". http://www.ign.com/articles/2005/03/18/silent-hunter-iii. Retrieved December 20, 2014. 
  8. ↑ "Silent Hunter III". PC Format (175). June 2005. 
  9. ↑ "Silent Hunter III". PC Gamer: 64. June 2005. 
  10. ↑ PC Zone staff (May 25, 2005). "Silent Hunter III review". PC Zone. Archived from the original on December 2, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141202150248/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/118042/reviews/silent-hunter-iii-review/. Retrieved April 24, 2016. 
  11. ↑ McCafferty, Iain (June 7, 2005). "Silent Hunter III Review". VideoGamer.com. https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/silent-hunter-iii-review. Retrieved December 5, 2017. 
  12. ↑ Bemis, Greg (May 4, 2005). "Silent Hunter Review". X-Play. Archived from the original on May 7, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050507093053/http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/features/51687/Silent_Hunter_III_Review.html. Retrieved December 20, 2014. 
  13. ↑ Saltzman, Marc (June 18, 2005). "Top PC games can end up in bargain bin". CNN. Archived from the original on July 2, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20050702011558/http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/fun.games/06/17/bargain.games/index.html. 
  14. ↑ CGM staff (March 2006). "The Best (and Worst) of 2005: The 15th Annual Computer Games Awards". Computer Games Magazine (184): 42–47. 
  15. ↑ PCGUS staff (March 2006). "The Twelfth Annual PC Gamer Awards". PC Gamer 13 (3): 33–36, 38, 40–42, 44. 
  16. ↑ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Silent Hunter III". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. https://www.interactive.org/games/video_game_details.asp?idAward=2006&idGame=174. 
  • Official website
  • 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 lengthy 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]

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. 
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