[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by hunter301

Excellent answers.
Being somebody who does more playing than modding what exactly is a source code and why can't it be seen?
Are there files that are downloaded with the game that we actually can't see?

+1 TorpedoBait

source code is techno-lingo for programming language stuff.
there are many programming "languages".
TorpedoBait mentions that he is proficient in a couple of those.
Silent Hunter was probably written in C-Language or one of its derivatives.

source code is then combined with libraries of common tools which are used in programming and an "executable" is created. there are the various ".exe" files that you see in folders. in addition to .exe files, there are other proprietary files such as DLL files which contain encrypted information specifically formatted to work with the .exe.

the .exe and .dll files are proprietary to the software developer. we call them source code or executables or a lot of other names. you and i (and other SH4 users) agreed to a EULA that says we cannot modify the source code of Silent Hunter.

you and i (and other SH4 users) modify the peripheral files used by the .exe and .ddl files. those files are NOT encrypted and are used to change the conditions under which the game is played.

so, apologies if i went all-Propbeanie on you. suffice it to say that we-users can change some aspects of the game but not others.