Submarine game Dangerous Waters Mulitplayer preview

November 25, 2004 - We just got a fresh copy of Dangerous Waters to evaluate. I arranged a five-man multiplayer session with the BETA team last night to start getting the feel of the new multiplayer. If you've been sharing a cave with Bin Laden the last few months, Dangerous Waters is the name of the upcoming naval simulation by Sonalysts Combat Simulations (Jane's 688(I), Fleet Command, Sub Command). You can play as a submarine, Perry-class frigate, Seahawk ASW helo, and a P-3 Orion plane. With such a wide range of naval platforms to command, multiplayer is a very exciting prospect.

In Sonalysts' previous first-person sims, it was sub vs sub. Dangerous Waters' new MP style opens things up a lot, allowing surface and air players the chance to execute some real teamwork. To that end, let me present the players of last night's maritime melee.

Bill "SubGuru" Nichols: Bill is a been there-done that subsim vet. He served aboard the USS Nautilus, America's first atomic powered sub. He is the rock-solid contributor of the World Naval News and has probably created more custom missions for Sonalysts' titles than anyone. Bill manned a 688(I) sub in this game.

Tim "TimmyG00" Grab: Tim served aboard submarines in the nineties and holds the reigns as the Sub Command HQ Admin, as well as moderating Subsim Review forums. Tim's a wily player who uses his experience to good effect. Tim manned the Seahawk helicopter.

Ramius: One of the founders of SCX and the #2 all-time poster on the Subsim forums. Ramius has over 12 years experience on various SSN's and SSBN's in the Royal Navy. We have Ramius manning the Russian diesel-electric Kilo-class sub.

Smuook: A dedicated Orion player and the webmaster of the Orion Warrior website. In this game Smuook manned the P-3 Orion reconnaissance plane.

Yours truly (Neal) manned the Perry-class frigate, leading a convoy of 4 merchants.

Sort of an All-Star lineup, even with me in there!

The mission objective was simple: the frigate was to shepard the convoy past a certain point, after which the mission would be deemed a success. The trick was to locate and attack the two subs before they had a chance to plot and launch an attack on the convoy. Finding subs is always difficult and with Ramius and SubGuru commanding them--gulp! The convoy I'm leading is composed of a tanker, cargo ship, a supply ship and a car carrier. Oh well, I guess people need their wheels even during a war.