Sleep deprivation in games: Silent Hunter 4
Posted on 27th Feb 2009 at 11:35 by James Gorbold with 10 comments
As the guys in the office will attest I’m somewhat obsessed by realistic military simulations, choosing to forego the dubious pleasures of games such as Team Fortress 2. As a result, every day for the last two weeks I’ve been stumbling into the office, with a brand new set of black patches under both eyes.
Contrary to suggestions, I haven’t developed a drug habit, or been moonlighting as a delivery man for Milk Tray, I’ve simply reinstalled Silent Hunter 4.
Released in early 2007, Silent Hunter 4 is a US Navy submarine simulator set in the Pacific during the Second World War. Although SH4 can be played as an arcade style shooter, it's far more satisfying when played with most, if not all the realism settings enabled.
I forgo the mental gymnastics of having to calculate torpedo trajectories via trigonometry (it's a game after all), as real submarine commanders had a bridge crew and TDC (torpedo data computer) to help them out, so I don’t consider this too much of a break with realism. Instead, you can configure the difficulty settings so that the TDC does most of the calculations for you – although you still have to factor in any changes in the targets course and speed and the sea state (smooth/rough).
The trouble is, submarine warfare isn’t particularly fast-paced, and even with several time compression settings to choose from, SH4 has a tendency to destroy your sense of the passing of time in the real world. As a result, my reinstalling of SH4 has had a severe impact on my sleep patterns.
To further add to my sleep deprivation, Bohemia Interactive recently announced that they will start selling a cut-down version of their battlefield simulator, VBS2, to civilians soon, and have agreed to send me a copy for review. VBS2 is an enhanced version of Arma: Armed Assault, and is used by several government organisations around the world, including the British Ministry of Defence, for training purposes.
As I mentally prepare for another weekend of ship hunting in SH4, what games are you afraid may deprive you of sleep?
Contrary to suggestions, I haven’t developed a drug habit, or been moonlighting as a delivery man for Milk Tray, I’ve simply reinstalled Silent Hunter 4.
Released in early 2007, Silent Hunter 4 is a US Navy submarine simulator set in the Pacific during the Second World War. Although SH4 can be played as an arcade style shooter, it's far more satisfying when played with most, if not all the realism settings enabled.
I forgo the mental gymnastics of having to calculate torpedo trajectories via trigonometry (it's a game after all), as real submarine commanders had a bridge crew and TDC (torpedo data computer) to help them out, so I don’t consider this too much of a break with realism. Instead, you can configure the difficulty settings so that the TDC does most of the calculations for you – although you still have to factor in any changes in the targets course and speed and the sea state (smooth/rough).
The trouble is, submarine warfare isn’t particularly fast-paced, and even with several time compression settings to choose from, SH4 has a tendency to destroy your sense of the passing of time in the real world. As a result, my reinstalling of SH4 has had a severe impact on my sleep patterns.
To further add to my sleep deprivation, Bohemia Interactive recently announced that they will start selling a cut-down version of their battlefield simulator, VBS2, to civilians soon, and have agreed to send me a copy for review. VBS2 is an enhanced version of Arma: Armed Assault, and is used by several government organisations around the world, including the British Ministry of Defence, for training purposes.
As I mentally prepare for another weekend of ship hunting in SH4, what games are you afraid may deprive you of sleep?
10 Comments
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i was going to bring up exactly this. ...just one more turn!
The problem with it, is the length of a game. If you are thinking "Oh, just a game of CSS before I do some work" then fair enough; 20 or 30 minutes later, you have had your fix, and start to work.
A friend asks if you want a game of FA though, and things change. Games can take hours, literally. Countless small skirmishes, massive power struggles, and dozens of individual, behemoth like super units make for a truly epic game. And that's even before you realise the enemy you are heading for has sent what can only be described as a UFO to your base. As if the Independence Day-like beam weapon it employs wasn't enough (it cut's through base defenses like... well, an Independence Day-like beam weapon would), it then unleashes enough Tech 3 gunships to level the map. And then someone launches a nuke. Cock.
The moment you bring up the score screen, reality kicks in. You are incredibly hungry, havent showered, need to do laundry, and have at least one university assignment in for the next day that you planned on doing after FA. Fair enough, let's get cracking...
Except for the fact it is 5 in the morning and you have to choose between a good night's sleep with terribly rushed work to hand in later that day, or grab some food (which helps fend off the worry that if you do go to bed, you will starve to death in your sleep) and nail the coursework until the day breaks.
Either way, it is life ruining. But when you are playing, the entertainment is more than worth the cost. And you know full well what the cost is. Usually from experience.
RTSes are so epic :D
although it really does take longer than it should to complete a game thanks to the memory leak once you get passed turn 120. At university i spend 3 months playing a continuous game (several hours a night) and broke into a four figure turn count!
Civ is also on that list although i now choose to play it on the DS. its easier to get my head into the game than the original as although the games are epic you can get it done in a night.