Page 1
Article Type: Preview
Article Date: July 19, 2001
Back To Part II - Single Missions, Campaign, Ship Stations, Mission Editor
For this third look at Sub Command we’ll talk about navigation, take a look at the campaign from the Russian side, and talk about the Training missions.
The beauty of commanding any of the tree boats in Sub Command is that you can command while not dealing with the nitty gritty of any of the key stations. You can select Auto Crewmen for any or all stations while simply issuing orders.
Inevitably, however, you will work your way through the four key stations: radar, TMA, sonar, and fire control. Of these, TMA is the most demanding.
In Sub Command, the three training missions are Basic Sub Ops, Basic Sonar Ops, and TMA Ops. While the interface screens in Sub Command have much in common with the interfaces of 688I, there is more happening behind the scenes; there are new and more sophisticated weapon and detection systems, and that means additional complexity for the skipper and crew.
In order to ease your transition, it’s best to run through the three training missions. With step-by-step voice narration, each station is explained and you are led through the various functions, prompted by the expert instructor. As is typical with most voice-over training missions, the instructor asks you to click a button or enter a number, and then waits until you have performed the task.
If you miss a step, you can’t scroll the voice instruction backwards, but you can use the message history bar to scroll the text backwards. The text in the message bar is identical to the voice instruction.
For those familiar with 688I, it may be possible to bypass this training entirely. If you are like me, familiar but far from expert, these training missions are a great refresher. The novice will probably want to run through the Sonar and TMA training a couple of times. After some familiarity with the stations and their functions, the manual can be referred to on a case-by-case basis.
If you are like me, you really want a quick introduction to get into the game. The use of interactive voice instruction makes it possible to do this, without wading through pages of documentation.
Note: the 225 page manual that accompanies Sub Command contains forty pages of instruction on using the very sophisticated Mission Editor.
Any method that assists the player to keep their hands off the keyboard improves gameplay and reduces the learning curve. The training missions are based on the sonar and TMA systems of the American platforms. These systems look and work differently than the Russian systems; unfortunately, I'm told that the Russian systems will not receive a separate walk through. Of course, the differences are covered in the manual, and the user community will likely take up the slack with some good tutorials.
When you first install Sub Command you are given the option to also install Microsoft Speech Recognition (except with WIN95). With around eighty commands ready to use, this is going to be a great aid to gameplay.
After my first couple of hours touring around Sub Command, I wondered what changes we would see for navigation. This is an area that really begged for improvement in 688I. Let’s take a look at what we can do in Sub Command.
Along the task bar in the lower left of the screen are two icons. The leftmost icon accesses the Ship Stations pop up. The icon to the right accesses the Orders menu. From this menu you can navigate, raise and lower masts, or access countermeasures. You can also view a history of crew reports, incoming messages, or multiplayer chat messages.
If you want to set navigation waypoints, however, you must first right click on your Ownship symbol in the Nav display. This brings up the menu you see above, where you can set waypoints or do many of the functions you can command from the Orders Menu.
Setting waypoints places your auto helmsman into action. He will follow your selected course until instructed otherwise. Notice that there are also hot keys available for these actions. Hitting the “C” key while in the Nav screen brings up a directional cursor. Click anywhere on the screen to order a course change.
In this image you can see that I have set two waypoints. Once set, you can use your mouse to drag a waypoint to a new location. This will instantly issue an order for a change of course, and you’ll hear helm respond verbally.
Furthermore, selecting a particular waypoint changes the information in the Data Display Indicator (DDI) at top left of the screen. Notice that the location, distance and ETA of the waypoint are all displayed. Pretty handy for planning your tactical maneuvers.
Double clicking on a waypoint you have set brings up a dialogue box that allows you to specify an EXACT location for the waypoint. Handy if you need to be at an exact location at a certain time. You can also use the drawing tools to mark a point and label it, as I have done in the second image. This will be a handy way to lay out a tactical plan in advance.
Printer Friendly
Sub Command Hands On, Part III
by Len "Viking1" HjalmarsonArticle Type: Preview
Article Date: July 19, 2001
Back To Part II - Single Missions, Campaign, Ship Stations, Mission EditorFor this third look at Sub Command we’ll talk about navigation, take a look at the campaign from the Russian side, and talk about the Training missions.
 |
| The Akula from Opening Media |
Training
With any simulation of this complexity, the developer had better do a good job with the training missions. In Jane's 688I Hunter / Killer, while they weren’t bad, they didn’t have step-by-step voice narration to teach the systems.The beauty of commanding any of the tree boats in Sub Command is that you can command while not dealing with the nitty gritty of any of the key stations. You can select Auto Crewmen for any or all stations while simply issuing orders.
Inevitably, however, you will work your way through the four key stations: radar, TMA, sonar, and fire control. Of these, TMA is the most demanding.
In Sub Command, the three training missions are Basic Sub Ops, Basic Sonar Ops, and TMA Ops. While the interface screens in Sub Command have much in common with the interfaces of 688I, there is more happening behind the scenes; there are new and more sophisticated weapon and detection systems, and that means additional complexity for the skipper and crew.
In order to ease your transition, it’s best to run through the three training missions. With step-by-step voice narration, each station is explained and you are led through the various functions, prompted by the expert instructor. As is typical with most voice-over training missions, the instructor asks you to click a button or enter a number, and then waits until you have performed the task.
 |
| Broadband Display training with text |
If you miss a step, you can’t scroll the voice instruction backwards, but you can use the message history bar to scroll the text backwards. The text in the message bar is identical to the voice instruction.
 |
| Broadband Display in Training Mission |
 |
| Text from the Next Exercise |
For those familiar with 688I, it may be possible to bypass this training entirely. If you are like me, familiar but far from expert, these training missions are a great refresher. The novice will probably want to run through the Sonar and TMA training a couple of times. After some familiarity with the stations and their functions, the manual can be referred to on a case-by-case basis.
If you are like me, you really want a quick introduction to get into the game. The use of interactive voice instruction makes it possible to do this, without wading through pages of documentation.
 |
| Training for the Narrowband Classification System |
 |
| Voice Instruction for TMA |
Note: the 225 page manual that accompanies Sub Command contains forty pages of instruction on using the very sophisticated Mission Editor.
Any method that assists the player to keep their hands off the keyboard improves gameplay and reduces the learning curve. The training missions are based on the sonar and TMA systems of the American platforms. These systems look and work differently than the Russian systems; unfortunately, I'm told that the Russian systems will not receive a separate walk through. Of course, the differences are covered in the manual, and the user community will likely take up the slack with some good tutorials.
 |
| Akula Broadband Sonar |
 |
| Akula Narrowband Sonar |
When you first install Sub Command you are given the option to also install Microsoft Speech Recognition (except with WIN95). With around eighty commands ready to use, this is going to be a great aid to gameplay.
 |
| Installation of Voice software |
After my first couple of hours touring around Sub Command, I wondered what changes we would see for navigation. This is an area that really begged for improvement in 688I. Let’s take a look at what we can do in Sub Command.
 |
| Task Bar Icons |
Along the task bar in the lower left of the screen are two icons. The leftmost icon accesses the Ship Stations pop up. The icon to the right accesses the Orders menu. From this menu you can navigate, raise and lower masts, or access countermeasures. You can also view a history of crew reports, incoming messages, or multiplayer chat messages.
Navigation
 |
| Navigation Menu |
If you want to set navigation waypoints, however, you must first right click on your Ownship symbol in the Nav display. This brings up the menu you see above, where you can set waypoints or do many of the functions you can command from the Orders Menu.
Setting waypoints places your auto helmsman into action. He will follow your selected course until instructed otherwise. Notice that there are also hot keys available for these actions. Hitting the “C” key while in the Nav screen brings up a directional cursor. Click anywhere on the screen to order a course change.
 |
| Setting Waypoints |
In this image you can see that I have set two waypoints. Once set, you can use your mouse to drag a waypoint to a new location. This will instantly issue an order for a change of course, and you’ll hear helm respond verbally.
 |
| DDI Display shows waypoint info. |
Furthermore, selecting a particular waypoint changes the information in the Data Display Indicator (DDI) at top left of the screen. Notice that the location, distance and ETA of the waypoint are all displayed. Pretty handy for planning your tactical maneuvers.
 |
| Specify Exact Location |
 |
| Add Marker and Text |
Double clicking on a waypoint you have set brings up a dialogue box that allows you to specify an EXACT location for the waypoint. Handy if you need to be at an exact location at a certain time. You can also use the drawing tools to mark a point and label it, as I have done in the second image. This will be a handy way to lay out a tactical plan in advance.
Campaign - Russia
Finally, here are the briefing screens from the campaign from the Russian side.  |
| Russian Campaign Briefing 1 |
 |
| Russian Campaign Briefing 2 |
 |
| Russian Campaign Briefing 3 |
 |
| Russian Campaign Briefing 4 |
Printer Friendly