[XenonSurf]

I echo here that TWoS is a must-have to play according to what you want. With some savant modding you can also play the stock game 1.2.0, but you lose a lot of features, instead the gameplay will be much easier (ask here if interested).


It's 'Yes' to almost all your points, but...


1) You need to send crew to their stations first, the procedure is somewhat complex for the deck gun, but still the answer is: yes.

2) Yes, and even the enemy is capable to detect you with sonar if you are on the surface, if he is close.

3) yes; exception: in rare cases an enemy unit will always follow you without attacking, this is a bug and impossible to fix AFAIK. You must save/reload.

4) No, not anymore with TWoS, except maybe destroying the leader of a convoy that may lead to CTD in certain conditions or ships burning or exploding in ports as a result of spawning in too shallow waters, but all this is RARE. The first one has been mostly solved by re-writing the convoys, the second one is unfixable AFAIK without removing port ships completly.

5) Yes, see the TWoS main thread > changelog (click on Spoiler).
The main changes are a) the campaign roaming, All traffic is date-controlled. Included is Open Horizons II which expands the campaign with a lot of content. b) NewUIs from TheDarkWraith (7.5.0 if I'm not wrong) which will enhance sub interiors and instrument/map handling with realistic tools + 'Real Navigation' adding best possible realism + 'Automation' features from Trevally like autopilot through chanels and ports, and scripts for evasions/attack.
With all these changes SH5 doesn't look like the stock game anymore...and easily beats SH3/SH4, but the learning curve is HIGH.

6) It's fair to say that there will *always* be unfixed things, that's not only a trait of SH5...Also read 4)

7) There is little to Crew Skill or crew managment compared to SH3 or SH4, but yes, you get points to distribute skills to your crew if you succeed with missions.