Submarine simulator

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Simulation video games

A submarine simulator, or subsim for short, is usually a computer game in which the player commands a submarine. The usual form of the game is to go on a series of missions, each of which features a number of encounters where the goal is to sink surface ships and to survive counterattacks by destroyers. Submarine simulators are notable for the highly-variable pace of the game; it may take hours of simulated time to get into position to attack a well-defended convoy, and sub simulators typically include an option for players to adjust the ratio of real time to simulated time up and down as desired.

Most subsims use World War II as the setting; its submarine warfare was lengthy and intense, the historical material is extensive, and the limited capabilities of the period's submarines place a high premium on game playing skill. Games usually feature either US submarines in the Pacific, or U-Boats in the Atlantic. Another popular category is modern attack submarines, especially those of the Los Angeles class also known as "688s" after the ship number of the first of the class.

Game displays generally include an overhead map or "radar" view, showing the submarine and any ships whose position can be detected, the periscope view if the sub is close enough to the surface, a set of gauges showing depth and course, and a boat plan showing torpedo availability, damage to various subsystems, and so forth.

Subsims were especially popular in the earlier days of computer gaming. The graphics demands were well-matched to the hardware of the times, as was the computing load; ships move relatively slowly, and an encounter typically entails fewer than a dozen objects moving simultaneously. More recent games enhance the graphics, although much of it is "chrome", for instance using photorealistic interiors instead of a panel of gauges.

The first submarine simulator available to the civilian public was Thorn EMI's Submarine Commander of 1982.

Titles

Name Year
1914 Shells of Fury 2007
688 Attack Sub 1988
688(I) Hunter/Killer 1997
Aces of the Deep 1994
AquaNox series. Heavily stylized, futuristic series sharing more in common with space combat simulators. 1996–2003
Archimedean Dynasty 1996
Command: Aces of the Deep 1995
Dangerous Waters 2005
Danger from the Deep Open source 2010
Das Boot: German U-Boat Simulation 1990-91
Deadly Tide 1996
Depthcharge 1977
Deep Fighter: The Tsunami Offensive 2000
Dive to the Titanic 2010
Enigma: Rising Tide 2003/2005
Fast Attack: High Tech Submarine Warfare 1996
GATO 1984
Grey Wolf
The Hunt for Red October 1987–90
Iron Wolves
OpenSSN (Open source) 2010
Operation Neptune (video game) 1991
Periscope 1966
Radar Mission (Mode B) 1990
Red Storm Rising 1988
Silent Service series 1985, 1990
Silent Hunter 1996
Silent Hunter II 2001
Silent Hunter III 2005
Silent Hunter IV 2007
Silent Hunter V 2010
Silent Steel 1995
SSN-21 Seawolf 1994
Steel Diver 2011
Submarine Commander 1982
Sub Battle Simulator 1987–88
Sub Command 2001
Sub Culture 1997
Sub Hunt 1982
Sub Hunter 1977
Sub Mission 1986
Subwar 2050 1994
Tom Clancy's SSN 1996
U-BOAT
U-Boat Simulator (Android game) 2013
Up Periscope! 1986
Virtual Sailor 1999
Wolfpack' 1990s

The adventure game Codename: ICEMAN (1989) by Sierra On-line contained a submarine simulator portion.

The vehicle simulator game Naval Ops: Warship Gunner 2 (2006) by Koei features submarine hulls & puts the player through several submarine piloting missions, though several other missions are also restricted against submarine use.

AUV Simulators

There are also a number of simulators available for underwater robots such as AUVs. These simulators are commonly used by research institutes for testing robot control and coordination algorithms before or during the development of a submarine.

External links

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