3 ms·

Show HN: Silent Shark – tactical map-based WWII submarine sim

79 points by epaga 2mo ago

I posted an early beta of this game a few months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48180924 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48180924 - May 2026 (45 comments) and today released the full version. You all gave extremely valuable and helpful feedback back then - thank you so much for that. It led to a lot of improvements: * I reworked the onboarding tutorials multiple times for clarity, adding protections to stop players from shooting themselves in the foot * I dropped the Comic Sans-reminiscent font and replaced it with Barlow Condensed * I improved the layout of the dials for all screen sizes to keep players on top of things * I added an "Angle-on-Bow recognition trainer" for practicing estimates of ship angles For the full version, I fleshed out a full campaign with radio intelligence, patrol zones, and lots of historical events impacting things like which naval bases still exist, which types of missions are given, and how reliable your torpedoes are. (And just for fun, I added a full cribbage mini-game as well!) Now, just minutes ago - almost exactly six months after I started development - I fully released Silent Shark on Steam (Windows, macOS, and Linux) and can't wait to see where things go from here. I have lots of ideas that could work well with this more map-centered approach. The Steam page is here => https://store.steampowered.com/app/4705650 https://store.steampowered.com/app/4705650 The landing page is here => https://silentshark.app https://silentshark.app I'd be really interested in whether you think the onboarding is clear enough now, and if you have related game ideas that might benefit from a more map-based UI.

serious_angel 2mo ago
[flagged]
- Neekerer 2mo ago
  >This is not art. Correct, this is a sim game, a genre of game that typically puts data at the forefront and art on the burners.
kelsolaar 2mo ago
I did the tutorial, it was good, I think that what would help is maybe have the arrows where people need to look at have some animation, e.g., pulsating scale or colour, something elegant but hard to miss, took a little bit at times to find them.
- epaga 2mo ago
  Thanks for trying it out and for the feedback! I used to have the red arrows be pulsating and got feedback that it felt "too much" and kind of out of place in the game... probably need to find a middle ground.
magistr4te 2mo ago
The game has quite the AI smell, which I think does it a disservice. The website feels AI designed, the game (transparently) uses AI graphics; it's hard to tell where the line between handcrafted and generated lies. Immediate question that shoots in my mind is: "How much of the game design is just LLM hallucinations?" As someone who's played around with using AI for games too, this makes me not even want to give the game a chance. Which is a shame, because I think the concept is really cool. Its just tainted by something that subconciously signals me that you dont really care much about your creation.
- colinb 2mo ago
  Can you explain more please? I recognise some Claude-isms when reading text, and I recall image generators that added more fingers than are usual, but I don’t know what the 2-d graphics on the app home page signify in this respect.
  - budsniffer952 2mo ago
    [flagged]
    - llm_nerd 2mo ago
      Not to do the <- this, thing, but <- this. It is astonishing how many submissions on HN now have a top comment doing the AI sniff test bullshit, usually based upon literally nothing. Aside from being angry gatekeeping assholes, these people really want to show how super advanced their AI-dar is, but it's just a gigantic waste of time for everyone else and just false positive matches everything: Every comment, image, website, game or app, book, and so on, it's all AI to these people. Many haven't yet caught on that these people think everything is AI now -- that they desperately want everyone to know that they haven't been "had" -- so people still sincerely ask "why?" like some secret tell will be revealed, when really it's just worthless nonsense.
      - speerer 2mo ago
        I think normally it's just that someone has the thought and shares it for discussion. Not every comment is performative.
marvinblum 2mo ago
I bought it a few days ago. Thank you for including native Linux support <3 So far, it's really fun and the tutorial is great! A few things that could potentially be added to the game: - Crew management (nothing fancy, just a bit, like food management) - Different kinds of torpedoes (if the US had that, I only know about German submarines) - Countermeasures (like noise makers) - Seeing resources (number of torpedoes) on the campaign map - A better indication whether a ship is sunk or will stay afloat (I resolve and don't know if the ship has been sunk or not) - And German submarines + campaign of course
- epaga 2mo ago
  Thanks so much! A few of those are on my (very long) list already. It's been so great getting so much positive feedback and ideas coming in.
  - marvinblum 2mo ago
    Love it! I'm looking forward to every update :) Btw. I found the game by watching Wolfpack345's video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7c9LfWvTt8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7c9LfWvTt8
- programd 2mo ago
  If you add all that you will have recreated “Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific” https://store.steampowered.com/app/15200/Silent_Hunter_Wolves_of_the_Pacific/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/15200/Silent_Hunter_Wolve...
  - marvinblum 2mo ago
    I played Silent Hunter III with the One Onix (or something like that) mod, which is probably the best SH we have today.
ahmedxuhri 2mo ago
This is pretty cool and very detailed , I tried the web browser version and its way more advanced . I think it needs beginners level or (pre-pilot simulation training)
- epaga 2mo ago
  Thanks! The "pre-pilot training" this is pretty much what the Basic Tutorial is all about, have you tried it?
  - ahmedxuhri 2mo ago
    [dead]
deleted 2mo ago
[deleted]
iroddis 2mo ago
I just bought it, and can’t wait to try it. Red Storm Rising[1] was easily one of my favourite games growing up. The combination of strategy on the war map and tactics during the encounters, weighing the pro/con of using sonar, and weaving around the thermocline was my happy place. Submarine sim games are truly a special niche, and I’m so excited to try this one out! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Storm_Rising_(video_game)?wprov=sfti1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Storm_Rising_(video_game)?...
- epaga 2mo ago
  That looks really cool, hadn't heard about that. But I did grow up with Silent Service II. And it turns out, the subsim niche is bigger than I had thought. Very fun!
zameermfm 2mo ago
Love this!
thataccount 2mo ago
I don't buy games anymore, but this one looks like the kind I might have bought had it been around when I did. Was a big fan of Sea Wolf and Silent Service.
kai_mac 2mo ago
Games should not be made with ai
terranivium 2mo ago
just watched Das Boot the other day, perfect timing!

79 points by epaga 2mo ago

serious_angel 2mo ago

[flagged]

Neekerer 2mo ago
>This is not art. Correct, this is a sim game, a genre of game that typically puts data at the forefront and art on the burners.

kelsolaar 2mo ago

I did the tutorial, it was good, I think that what would help is maybe have the arrows where people need to look at have some animation, e.g., pulsating scale or colour, something elegant but hard to miss, took a little bit at times to find them.

epaga 2mo ago
Thanks for trying it out and for the feedback! I used to have the red arrows be pulsating and got feedback that it felt "too much" and kind of out of place in the game... probably need to find a middle ground.

magistr4te 2mo ago

The game has quite the AI smell, which I think does it a disservice. The website feels AI designed, the game (transparently) uses AI graphics; it's hard to tell where the line between handcrafted and generated lies. Immediate question that shoots in my mind is: "How much of the game design is just LLM hallucinations?" As someone who's played around with using AI for games too, this makes me not even want to give the game a chance. Which is a shame, because I think the concept is really cool. Its just tainted by something that subconciously signals me that you dont really care much about your creation.

colinb 2mo ago
Can you explain more please? I recognise some Claude-isms when reading text, and I recall image generators that added more fingers than are usual, but I don’t know what the 2-d graphics on the app home page signify in this respect.
- budsniffer952 2mo ago
  [flagged]
  - llm_nerd 2mo ago
    Not to do the <- this, thing, but <- this. It is astonishing how many submissions on HN now have a top comment doing the AI sniff test bullshit, usually based upon literally nothing. Aside from being angry gatekeeping assholes, these people really want to show how super advanced their AI-dar is, but it's just a gigantic waste of time for everyone else and just false positive matches everything: Every comment, image, website, game or app, book, and so on, it's all AI to these people. Many haven't yet caught on that these people think everything is AI now -- that they desperately want everyone to know that they haven't been "had" -- so people still sincerely ask "why?" like some secret tell will be revealed, when really it's just worthless nonsense.
    - speerer 2mo ago
      I think normally it's just that someone has the thought and shares it for discussion. Not every comment is performative.

marvinblum 2mo ago

I bought it a few days ago. Thank you for including native Linux support <3 So far, it's really fun and the tutorial is great! A few things that could potentially be added to the game: - Crew management (nothing fancy, just a bit, like food management) - Different kinds of torpedoes (if the US had that, I only know about German submarines) - Countermeasures (like noise makers) - Seeing resources (number of torpedoes) on the campaign map - A better indication whether a ship is sunk or will stay afloat (I resolve and don't know if the ship has been sunk or not) - And German submarines + campaign of course

epaga 2mo ago
Thanks so much! A few of those are on my (very long) list already. It's been so great getting so much positive feedback and ideas coming in.
- marvinblum 2mo ago
  Love it! I'm looking forward to every update :) Btw. I found the game by watching Wolfpack345's video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7c9LfWvTt8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7c9LfWvTt8
programd 2mo ago
If you add all that you will have recreated “Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific” https://store.steampowered.com/app/15200/Silent_Hunter_Wolves_of_the_Pacific/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/15200/Silent_Hunter_Wolve...
- marvinblum 2mo ago
  I played Silent Hunter III with the One Onix (or something like that) mod, which is probably the best SH we have today.

ahmedxuhri 2mo ago

This is pretty cool and very detailed , I tried the web browser version and its way more advanced . I think it needs beginners level or (pre-pilot simulation training)

epaga 2mo ago
Thanks! The "pre-pilot training" this is pretty much what the Basic Tutorial is all about, have you tried it?
- ahmedxuhri 2mo ago
  [dead]

deleted 2mo ago

[deleted]

iroddis 2mo ago

I just bought it, and can’t wait to try it. Red Storm Rising[1] was easily one of my favourite games growing up. The combination of strategy on the war map and tactics during the encounters, weighing the pro/con of using sonar, and weaving around the thermocline was my happy place. Submarine sim games are truly a special niche, and I’m so excited to try this one out! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Storm_Rising_(video_game)?wprov=sfti1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Storm_Rising_(video_game)?...

epaga 2mo ago
That looks really cool, hadn't heard about that. But I did grow up with Silent Service II. And it turns out, the subsim niche is bigger than I had thought. Very fun!

zameermfm 2mo ago

Love this!

thataccount 2mo ago

I don't buy games anymore, but this one looks like the kind I might have bought had it been around when I did. Was a big fan of Sea Wolf and Silent Service.

kai_mac 2mo ago

Games should not be made with ai

terranivium 2mo ago

just watched Das Boot the other day, perfect timing!