What is it about SH4??

[reignofdeath]

Im not trying to start a war, I'd just simply like to know, what all it is about SH4 that gets you guys to just want to play it again and again?

I mean, the graphics look great, but compared to SH3, to me it just cant match up (Although Im still running stock version completely) theres just something about it that I dont like (mainly the interface, I like SH3 w GWX 3.0's interface)

[Ducimus]

what all it is about SH4 that gets you guys to just want to play it again and again?

If your playing the stock game as you said, I'm going to hazard a guess that it's the mods that your not running. :O: A stock SH game, (3, 4, or 5) always leaves something to be desired.

[ETR3(SS)]

A few reasons for me. One I'm American and like playing as the Americans. Two I'm a subvet so I have more of a connection to the subject matter.

I see you have GWX syndrome though. Basically in my words GWX syndrome is having played SH3 with GWX and then trying to play SH4 stock and being shocked at how horrible it is in comparison. I'm going to prescribe you a dose of TMO or RFB, take either with RSRDC.:up:

[Bothersome]

If you like GWX, you should take a look at Operation Monsoon for SH4. It'll shake you loose from GWX.

One thing I did like about GWX that I wish OM had is that glass/dishes rattling sound when depth charges came a bit close. That was just so cool.

[reignofdeath]

Every time I try to download OM or I end uopp cancelling it because It says its gonna take like 5 hours :P and I dont feel like waiting that long! haha

[Armistead]

Geesh, what kind of connection do you have. Even the largest mods shouldn't take more than 30mins on basic cable.

I agree with most, comparing stock to SH3 with mods...no camparison. You think stock has decent graphics...wait until you load a supermod, all have enviroment mods that improve graphics 100%. A mod like TMO changes the game 100%, then the other great mods. A recent mod just came out that gives us a working radar and TDC.

I played SH4 stock for a week or so and shelfed it. About another month came to the forum and found mods. I've played it nonstop since.

Haven't played UBoat additions in months, but OM is a great mod and many others..It's fun sinking those big US ships.
http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu235/Armistead1424/SH4Img2010-07-04_212159_906.jpg

[tomoose]

....is essentially comparing apples to oranges. I have SH3 w/GWX and I love it. I have SH4 with TMO and RSRD and I love it, particularly with SH4 Speech. Two different theatres, two different game experiences. I would admit that the tension of a depth charge attack is better represented in SH3 but lets face it the U-boat crews ended up getting way too much experience with depth charge attacks compared to their U.S. counterparts in the Pacific.:03:

[Sailor Steve]

I play SH3 with GWX. I play SH4 with RFB. I play SH4 U-boats with OM.

Why do I like SH4? The much more realistic crew management is one reason, and that actually came with the stock game. The detailed KM grid map that works right down to the correct 4-digit locations is another, and that also came with the stock game. The 'Battle Stations' function that puts extra men in the control room. Also came with the stock game.

As said, the stock game has many problems which need fixing, and there are some that still haven't been fixed, and may never be. But that's also true of SH3. There are some things that worked better in SH3. Maybe they can be fixed, and maybe not.

But SH4 has a lot to recommend it, including a better engine, better stability and the things I mentioned earlier, so I play it even though I wish there was more modding going on for it.

[Forensicman101]

SH3+GWX is fine, & I agree that fancy graphics come second place to game play and historical accuracy, but my main reason for sticking to SH4 is that SH3 is temperamental on my Windows 7 PC. Too many crashes to desktop. SH4 loads up more quickly & is more reliable when it's running.

[CCIP]

That is indeed a silly comparison. Compare stock SHIII to stock SHIV, and you'll easily see what already makes it a much better starting platform. That platform may not have ended up being used as thoroughly as SHIII with its mods (and honestly a big reason for that is that SHIII came out after a looooong drought of sub sims and instantly gathered the love and patience of a hungry hardcore community, and by the time SH4 came around many in that community had already sunk a lot of that energy into SHIII), but honestly, blow-for-blow... SH4+OM and SH3+GWX both have so much good to offer, that in the end comparison comes down not to objective features sets but pure personal preference. Both are equally easy to love, and both have things on each other that the other does not.

And then you have the whole pacific side, which SH3 certainly does not. And then there is already some other upstarts, including working versions of British and Russian submarines, with a Japanese campaign and WWI on the horizon. SHIV is a fantastic, flexible platform, and it's my hope that it keeps being built on. SHV also has promise, but I fear that the early dropping of patch support will make it very difficult for modders to flesh it out and shine it up...

And the 5-hour download is a silly excuse. OM/OMEGU is a measly quarter of the size of GWX, and you don't seem to have complaints about getting that ginormous mod, cause you know it's worth it :88)

[WarlordATF]

SH4 is the game i have been waiting for since SH1. I play around with the U-Boats, but i want to command a US Fleetboat. The mods have taken this game from ok to incredible. Really, i can't say enough about the SH4 modding community. They are the people i wish were making games instead of Ubisoft, they do the research and sometimes struggle for weeks just to make something work like it should. Its an huge undertaking and these people do it for free in their spare time. They finish the half completed games that are dumped on us and without them these games would end up in the garbage.

So for me its, FLEETBOATS,PACIFIC and MODS.

[SkyBaron]

I like playing with the winners for a change. :DL

[TheBrauerHour]

I have always loved the lore of the fleet boats. I like SH3, and I like SH4. Depends on the mood I am in at the time.

[sharkbit]

I like them both. I play both(SH3 w/GWX and SH4 w/RFB(occasionally TMO-I switch back and forth) and RSRD) as the mood suits me. Both have their good and bad points.
Like others have said-you can't compare SH3 modded to SH4 unmodded.

When I got SH4 over a year ago, I didn't even try stock. I loaded a supermod immediately. I knew it would be a waste of time trying to play stock SH4. I was bored with stock SH3 in less than a week after getting the game and I knew the same would be true with SH4.

:)

[Freiwillige]

Another point here, People tend to play what they understand. Allot is said about the u-boat war but few things about the Pacific submarine war. I myself had the mentality of Pacific=boring. But once I researched and understood the fleet boats war better, the tactics and reasons I became more fascinated and began to sim it more.

Its truly an exciting thing to study. U-boats get the glory but failed, Fleetboats get the cold shoulder but exceeded better than even I could comprehend.

My advice is study the history and the sim will come alive.:rock:

[Fishie]

Every time I try to download OM or I end uopp cancelling it because It says its gonna take like 5 hours :P and I dont feel like waiting that long! haha


Would you wait that long for GWX? :)

Seriously. Until you mod it, the comparison really can't be offered.

Im not trying to start a war, I'd just simply like to know, what all it is about SH4 that gets you guys to just want to play it again and again?

I mean, the graphics look great, but compared to SH3, to me it just cant match up (Although Im still running stock version completely) theres just something about it that I dont like (mainly the interface, I like SH3 w GWX 3.0's interface)

Stock SH4- to be honest, I've never played. I took the misery of others as a very big warning, and jumped right into Trigger Maru, and then made the switch to Real Fleet Boat, and with the RSRD campaign.

I also played SH3 w/GWX and I have to say that SH4 with the RFB and RSRD is the better looking, better playing, and more entertaining venue.

That's not to say that GWX was bad- I still have it on my machine and can be seen pulling into Brest about 3 times a year :)

But take SH4, give me my fave command- SS-215, the Growler, toss in RFB 2.0, and RSRD, I'm in high hog heaven.

One thing I should add- the thing I REALLY like about SH4 is the options you get from having 5 additional torpedo tubes, a veritable warehouse of ordinance, and a much bigger theater to work in gets you. Getting skunked outside Hiroshima? No worries, hit Palau on the way back. Just cuz you can :)