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In my opinion, Dangerous Waters is more a naval sim while NW:AC is more willing to sacrifice realism for gameplay's sake. So I would say they're different games to a point and you're better off deciding which approach suits you.
Doesn't dangerous water has a first person point of view ?
I know you can only have 1 destroyer, 4 submarine types and two plane types that you can control, compared to the entire unit list presented here.
Did some searches on good naval games, but they hardly exist.
I know you can only have 1 destroyer, 4 submarine types and two plane types that you can control, compared to the entire unit list presented here.
Did some searches on good naval games, but they hardly exist.
Dangerous Waters with RA mod is awesome(link http://ra-dwx.narod.ru/download.htm). Dangerous Waters is highly realistic and it is a sim though not a study sim like Blackshark or DCS-A10 (understandably). This may be a plus or a downside to a person.
NWAC is a wargame, a naval wargame to be exact but one which is less realistic(rather casual) but in no way not realistic at all. In another words NWAC is a casual wargame. You can relax a bit compared to Dangerous waters in hectic scenarios or in multiple engagement.
NWAC is a wargame, a naval wargame to be exact but one which is less realistic(rather casual) but in no way not realistic at all. In another words NWAC is a casual wargame. You can relax a bit compared to Dangerous waters in hectic scenarios or in multiple engagement.
I have not ran into any issues where the game is unstable. I have both Dangeous Waters and NWAC, as others said, DW is more of a simulator and it is a lot harder to learn, NWAC is less of a sim and more of a strategic scale naval wargame. It all depends on what you feel like playing really.
Dangerous Waters is not a sim in the sense that it recreates a platform the way many flight sims do. The P-3 and MH-60R avionics, for instance, are very simplified, as is some of the tactical aspects like TMA. I'd say it's more of a tactical simulation in that it presents enough information and problems for the player that they have to analyze it and make decisions in a way that is similar to that of a aircraft commander or ship/sub captain. You can order heading changes and let the "auto-crew" make the necessary control adjustments to navigate the platform, or you can manually fly/drive the platform yourself. However, the instruments and controls are an approximation rather than a simulation of the real thing when it comes to driving the platform.
Moreover, Dangerous Waters gameplay is limited to control of one platform. You navigate and operate sensors for either the P-3, MH-60R, Oliver Hazard Perry frigate or one of several classes of submarines. Interaction with other units is limited to receiving tactical information from them via link and doing what you can to protect them from enemy units.
This is in contrast to NWAC, which not only has a slightly lesser level of tactical realism but also elevates the gameplay from the tactical level to the area level. I'm not sure how realistic the sensor model is, but based on discussions here, I suspect the electromagnetic/radar model is good, but the acoustic model seems pretty simplified compared to DW. You don't control platform sensors at the same level of detail or realism as you would in Dangerous Waters; probably because in NWAC you're controlling many different platforms as an admiral would, rather than as a aircraft commander or ship captain.
There are other small differences that highlight the different approaches these games take. DW, for instance, provides a number of tools in game that aid in decision making. You can look up platform specifics in a reference library, draw range circles and plot datum points. DW also provides a coordinate readout so that you know to the minute where your cursor is pointed. One other interesting thing about DW is that the 3d view represents the player's contact detections and classifications, rather than actual units, which is essentially how DW represents the fog of war. NWAC has more updated graphics and its gameplay is a lot more straightforward than DW. In summary, I think NWAC is geared more toward a casual naval war game player.
As for stability, I'm inclined to say DW is much more stable than NWAC. Not that DW didn't have its problems, but NWAC is well known to slow down as number of units increase. On a modern system, DW won't slow noticeably, except maybe during playback mode with fast forward on.
Moreover, Dangerous Waters gameplay is limited to control of one platform. You navigate and operate sensors for either the P-3, MH-60R, Oliver Hazard Perry frigate or one of several classes of submarines. Interaction with other units is limited to receiving tactical information from them via link and doing what you can to protect them from enemy units.
This is in contrast to NWAC, which not only has a slightly lesser level of tactical realism but also elevates the gameplay from the tactical level to the area level. I'm not sure how realistic the sensor model is, but based on discussions here, I suspect the electromagnetic/radar model is good, but the acoustic model seems pretty simplified compared to DW. You don't control platform sensors at the same level of detail or realism as you would in Dangerous Waters; probably because in NWAC you're controlling many different platforms as an admiral would, rather than as a aircraft commander or ship captain.
There are other small differences that highlight the different approaches these games take. DW, for instance, provides a number of tools in game that aid in decision making. You can look up platform specifics in a reference library, draw range circles and plot datum points. DW also provides a coordinate readout so that you know to the minute where your cursor is pointed. One other interesting thing about DW is that the 3d view represents the player's contact detections and classifications, rather than actual units, which is essentially how DW represents the fog of war. NWAC has more updated graphics and its gameplay is a lot more straightforward than DW. In summary, I think NWAC is geared more toward a casual naval war game player.
As for stability, I'm inclined to say DW is much more stable than NWAC. Not that DW didn't have its problems, but NWAC is well known to slow down as number of units increase. On a modern system, DW won't slow noticeably, except maybe during playback mode with fast forward on.
In my opinion the games are very different. If you are in doubt download the demo of Dangerous Waters (http://www.sonalystscombatsims.com/dangerous_waters/demo.html) and test it. Then test the NWAC. Both games are on sale on steam now.
You should do this in any case to make sure that the games run on your computer.
You should do this in any case to make sure that the games run on your computer.
@Crazy bait: Dangerous Waters IS a sim but yeah you're right it is a functionality sim. It may not be a typical sim that most of us are accustomed to but it is a sim. It tries to simulate the many working sensor systems in the many platforms in it.
Dangerous Waters is certainly not for the faint hearted though it is not a study sim like BMS(Falcon 4.0 fan based update) or A-10 or Blackshark.
Dangerous Waters is certainly not for the faint hearted though it is not a study sim like BMS(Falcon 4.0 fan based update) or A-10 or Blackshark.
It depends. If you able to appreciate rather hardcore sensor systems with you being the operator then you may like Dangerous Waters but if you just like to command and chill then NWAC is probably going to be more fun to you.
In my opinion NWAC is the easier of the two. Dangerous Waters could feel like work sometimes especially with most things on manual.
Just trying to track 3 or more contacts with multiple passive sonars will occupy you like nuts even more for more contacts. Approach, detect, classify, track then engage. It feels like doing chores at times with things at manual. It's fun if you can appreciate all of it and surely quite immersive and I like it A LOT but most people won't I think.
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Yes, you can play cooperative and head to head in DW. I've never done it, but heard it's fun. DW is relatively old by now, so not many people probably play it multiplayer, but if you go to the subsim.com forum, you might be able to find someone there to play with.
As for which is more fun, personally I enjoy DW more. When I first tried the demo several years ago, I got a bad first impression and thought it was boring. But after putting some time into it and reading more about ASW, I grew to enjoy the work that one has to put into it and the feeling of satisfaction you get when you've nailed down the position, course and speed of your target. I guess you have to be a bit of a nerd for this sort of thing. The nice thing about a game like DW is you get to play around with some naval tactics without the pressure of screwing up and consequently making your country look bad or getting someone killed. This is unlike the real Navy, where the work can be interesting, but the consequences for your decisions are dead serious.
I've enjoyed NWAC at times too, but just don't find as much depth and the game's design and stability issues frustrate me.
Is it true what I have heard that there can be multiple ppl commanding same ship for example. Like one uses radar one uses sonar and so on.
And then bit off topic any other good naval/sub sims/games
Yes it's true though I haven't had the opportunity to try that feature ever.
That feature sound really interesting but if no one plays DW online anymore it useless
The game has a small faithful following but you need to join their community. I know of the Polish and French community that played DW online from time to time.
If not you may need to play with a friend.
Check the mod I gave in my first reply. Those community play with them too now. It's a must have. It adds so much.
But it is better not to buy DW for its multiplayer. It has no lobby to connect players just connecting through direct ip input.
I have played all the naval sims, i use to be on the NWS mod team for janes fleet command and i was in a few virtual navies. The 3 games mentioned are not comparable, well FC and NWAC are close. As mentioned above NWAC is still in its early stages so give it some time to work out all the bugs. Two games not mention here are GCB2 and a game still being developed called Command, i read that it was called red pill but name changed. As far as multi player, i have played all these games in multi player. FC turns into guns battles in multi player, NWAC is ok as is GCB2 but they are both still being developed but still fun. My all time fav multi player is DW, but DW is not easy to learn. I know for a fact that at least 1 foreign(not USA) uses DW as a training tool. When i played with virtual navies we had some awesome DW battles, but most virtual navies are dead now or play more flight and shooter games than naval sims. There are 2 groups that still play DW a polish and an Italian group. There is a french group but if you sign into their web site everything is in french and after a few days you get deleted if you cant answer their login e-mail i dont speak french oh well. It a tough call to say which game is best. I still play them all due to the fact that they have all different qualities. As far as the mods DW and FC have some very intense mods out there that bring them to a different level. My biggest complaint is the AI, it is lame in all the games, there is no subsitute for a human opponent. If you want any info or would like to try some multi player matchs feel free to contact me. I live in europe, but am home from work at the present time due to a back operation so i have plenty of time to play and explain how to install mods.