More questions answered from our dev team…
How does the morale system work?
Your crew is a highly trained unit of the German Kriegsmarine. They will do their duty, but as with every man, there is a question whether they will go the extra mile for their captain and mission. This is translated into their morale – their capacity to use their special abilities such as making a team effort to reload all bow torpedoes very fast to deliver a fatal blow to enemy shipping.
Of course, as you spend time at sea, your crew will long for their families, get tired of canned food and their morale will go down. This diminishes your capacity to use them and excel in battle, so as captain, you have to be careful that there’s reasons for the crew to be happy. Sink some ships, make them proud, and it should be ok.
Will there be improved ship buoyancy dynamics EG the roll and pitch of the submarine?
Yes. Physics throughout the game is under tuning. We added a “flooded” mechanic to enemy ships as well, which simulates water flowing from one compartment to another, thus buoyancy is expected to be more realistic.
I have noticed that the ship/submarine textures on all the current screenshots are VERY basic; will you be replacing them with more realistic skins and textures like in SH4? (EG bolts and rust ect).
Textures and graphics are still under tuning. We textured the submarine based on real images taken from real uboats.
Will more realistic sounds be used for the ships and subs? Also will we finally have the function to change the crew’s voices to German (instead of relying on mods)?
Yes. There will be new sounds, true surround effects, and a German voice pack distributed with the game.
Will ship damage and breakup be improved?
Yes. Now the ships can break in multiple parts, still stay afloat even though, for instance, they lost their bow due to a torpedo hit. The explosions and the SFX will also be enhanced.
In SH III, the engine telegraph orders are German translations of US Navy orders. For example, the Kriegsmarine never used the term, “Eins dritte fahrt voraus.” Could Ubisoft put in the correct German telegraph orders?
In Silent Hunter 5, the crew voice lines for the engine telegraph orders will be appropriate for the German u-boat engine telegraphs. For instance, that particular German voiceover will be “Kleine fahrt voraus”.
Will there be any AI operated boats forming a Wolfpack?
There will be AI operated boats. Wolfpack mechanics are under consideration. This is something we always wanted to do but we want to do them properly so there’s a question if we’ll be able to fit them before release.
Will we be able to meet another u-boat, while on the patrol? Say hello, exchange fuel and food supplies, perhaps?
Resupplying from milk-cows will definitely be possible. Meeting other u-boats will be possible but the degree of interaction with them is to be decided.