SH3 to SH4

[Captain Birdseye]

Hi guys,

Well I am finally to make the leap from SHII to SHIIII now funds allow me to.
What can SH4 offer me? is the campaign much different from SH3?

I live in the UK, so can anyone tell me the cheapest way of getting SH4 and the U-Boat missions?

Also, are there any must have mod's that I need to download? Which are the best?

[Torplexed]

Alas...I can't give you any information on the cheapest way to get SH4 as I live in the US.

The only mods I have experience with is TMO, RFB, and RSRD. All cut down the Japanese ship and aerial traffic from the unrealistically high level in the stock game. TMO makes some of the Japanese escorts more elite.

The campaign is a lot different. The geographical distances are greater for one. A lot of newbies tend to run out of fuel, especially when they accept a mission and then try to return to a base that has been overrun by the Japanese. At that point they don't have enough fuel to reach Australia if their old base was say, Surabaya. You do have to watch the fuel gauge as the game is unforgiving on this matter and there are no milchcows. If you chose Pearl Harbour as your base the trip to Empire waters is a looonng one too. Imagine crossing the Atlantic all the way to North America, before seeing any enemy ships in your U-Boat... that's close to the same distance from the lonely US outpost of Midway island to Japan. That's why I usually pick Australian bases. :cool:

There are also many tiny little islands scattered throughout the western Pacific and Indonesia. Be careful when plotting your course zoomed out. It's easy to run aground and embed your boat in a beach if you get careless.

The Japanese are different too. They're not the British. They tend to sail a lot of single merchantmen well into the war and even when convoyed the escorts don't have radar for the most part. You do have decent radars sets to chose almost from the beginning of the war, so it's a case of the shoe being on the other foot compared to the war in the Atlantic. Obviously, aircraft are less of threat due to having decent air search radar and the fact that historically the Japanese never caught on to the use of aircraft as effective ASW platforms until far too late.

Your worst enemy, is many respects is the Mark 14 torpedo, the most common torpedo US subs are supplied with. I don't think the game nearly reflects how poorly they operated in history, but they do let you down a lot. Some Japanese merchants are armed from the beginning, so be careful with using the deck gun. Sampans and junks are easy prey though especially for the 20mm and 40mm guns.

You get more mission types than in SH3. Special ops like inserting agents into enemy territory, photo-recon of his harbours, etc.

[tomoose]

I'll second Torplexed's comments. If you are familiar with SHIII and GWX then SHIV will definietly be different but in a good way. I think it fair to say that SHIII due to the very nature of the Uboat campaign puts the pressure on the defensive side as time passes(i.e. the evolving sonar/depth charge/hedgehog technology etc). SHIV, again due to the Pacific campaign, is more offensive in that (as Torplexed mentioned) the Japanese didn't utilize the convoy system as much and the anti-submarine practices were not to the standard of the Allies in the Atlantic. The US eventually held the upper hand in the Pacific but life was still dangerous on a Fleet boat.
Depending on how authentic you want the game to be you'll find it has it's own challenges. Just keep in mind that SHIV is not SHIII but they are (thanks so much to the modding community) great representations of their respective theatres of war.:salute:

[Captain Birdseye]

Interesting... thank you. I look forward to some easier going merchie hunting :D

Well SH4 should be here sometime this week, as for the U-Boat missions, who knows, they're coming from Thailand :doh:.

Are the U-Boat missions worth purchasing? the graphics in the screen shots look amazing.

[Torplexed]

Are the U-Boat missions worth purchasing? the graphics in the screen shots look amazing.

My biggest gripe about the stock U-Boats in SH4 is that in your first mission you always seem to get assigned to deliver supplies to some bizarre location like Manila, or Bangkok. Apparently, the German consulates there are short on sausages or something. Always seemed to me some lowly sampan would be the better candidate for the job . Even the funny tropical shorts some of the crew are wearing don't bother me as much. The graphics are nice though. Being able to see the shadowy image of your boat underwater at periscope depth in external view is a nice touch.

In addition, having SH4 does give you the option to try the Operation Monsun mod. Basically, Atlantic U-Boats with SH4 graphics. :cool:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=134922

[Frame57]

I guess it depends on what version of the stock game you are getting. I bought mine a couple of years back and it was very buggy. When I added the U boat expansion pack that took care of the bugs, so for that alone it was well worth it. For whatever reason in the war campaign and quick mission part of the game they have a "switch side" selection. I guess so you can play the U boats in those campaigns and missions but it does not work. It only works in the Career section.

[Wicked Popsicle]

All I am going to say is welcome to the fleet

[tomoose]

Fair warning. Even the 1.5 version still has the odd bug in it. Don't be put off by that. Get to know the stock game, warts and all then I highly recommend either the Trigger Maru Overhaul Mod or the Real Fleet Boat Mod combined with the Run Silent Run Deep campaign mod. A combo of those will give you much more historical authenticity wrt shipping lanes, aircraft intercepts etc and make the game more challenging.
Welcome and enjoy.:salute:

[Armistead]

Yes you want the U-boat additions. It is version 1.5 and all the current mods work only off 1.5. You can find some mods for 1.4, but trust me, you'll want the current stuff, so get the U-boat addition.

[Captain Birdseye]

Thanks chaps. Both SH4 and U-Boat are on their way. I guess U-Boat will update me to 1.5?

U-Boat will arrive long after SH4, so I guess I can play around with the stock til I beef the game up.

[captgeo]

Good luck and welcome aboard, any questions , you will have no prob getting answered on this or other fourm's.

captgeo

[Captain Birdseye]

Thanks very much, this is definitley the most helpful forum I have ever visited. :DL

[Sailor Steve]

My biggest gripe about the stock U-Boats in SH4 is that in your first mission you always seem to get assigned to deliver supplies to some bizarre location like Manila, or Bangkok. Apparently, the German consulates there are short on sausages or something. Always seemed to me some lowly sampan would be the better candidate for the job
What I noticed was that when I had to deliver supplies to a port I couldn't tie up at the dock and unload them. I had to anchor out in the harbor and ferry them ashore in rubber boats. Maybe they thought we u-boatmen smelled too bad.

[Captain Birdseye]

Well I am due to get SHIV tomorrow, does anyone know any super mods that work with the stock game without the u-boat missions?

Cheers.