SHIV just simply ROCKS!

[TCD]

I've started playing SHIV last week, and YES it does!

It's just amazing: I remember when I started playing sub sims such as Silent Service or AOD, I often though it would be cool to have this and that, like enemy airplanes (and its counterpart my AA guns), precise tuning of my sub, moving around in it, crew management, finer and more detailed graphics and so on...

So you can imagine my contentment when I loaded SH4 on my new powerfull computer.
With full graphic's options on, it's just too cool and beautifully magnificent! And so detailed!

What are you saying?

For example, I shot down a japs recon airplane, and loved seeing the crew bail out with their chutes (listening 10/10, I imagine, "Shot down in flames")! I've plotted the position of the three japs crewmen, check and plotted for two hours their drift, hopping meanwhile a japs amphibian rescue plane will come get them... = "surface the boat" + "man the AA gun"!.

So in a couple of days I'll go back and see what happened to them. Unfortunately, even if after about an hour they turned red on the map (been grey before that) as "survivors", I was unable to lock on them and therefore take a photo with my onboard camera (another really cool stuff of SHIV). And I couldn't find how to screen capture my three japs swimmers (my "print screen" key apparently didn't work on my Win8?).

Anyway, the practice of swimming is good for health. So I hope the imperial japanese healthcare minister will award me .

SHIV really looks cool to me, and even if this simulation was released years ago (= so much has been comment on it), I hope they are here SHIV fans like me which will like to exchange on that as far as I know excellent and well-off game.

[merc4ulfate]

I'm curious what game version are you running and have you checked out the mods that brings a great deal of realism to the boat physics and historic traffic?

To run the best mods you need to be running game version 1.5. That is the one with the U-Boat add on. It is hugely well worth the time and effort of having it.



Generic Mod Enabler - v2.6.0.157

1_TriggerMaru_Overhaul_2-5
1_TMO_25_small_patch
RSRDC_TMO_V502
RSRDC_V5xx_Patch1
Improved Ship Physics 2.6_TMO_RSRDC
FTMO_Visuals_for_RSRDC
GFJB_Navigation_Maps
HFJB Color Navigation Map
IGyoraitei
J11 New Ships + Yamato AA Fix by Miner1436
KShip pack 1
LSMALLER SEA PLANTS SMALL
MSMALLER SEABED ROCKS
N#5 Depthcharge Sound
O#2 Other Clouds
QAircraft_reflections
RHull_Numbers
STMO Smoke Mod
TTMO+RSRDC missions pack
UTABLE MAP 1,3
VClasse_Balao_CamoTri

[TorpX]

SHIV just simply ROCKS!

No argument here.

You'll like it even better with some choice mods.

[TCD]

Hi, I am running my original PC DVD-ROM boxe game SHIV that I have bought in 2008 (v1.0).

It came, along the DVD, with a paper SHIV guide (with a online keycode written at the botom of the front page) and a very cool and handy paper map named "The second world war theater, the pacific theater 1941-1945".
With on it usefulls informations like US Sub bases, japanese traffic lanes, japanese air cover (1941-1945 and 1941-1944), japanese minefields (1942-1945, 1943-1945, 1944-1945).

After, looking recently a little around on internet, I have upgraded it with the v1.4 patch.

Even though I bought it a long time ago, I didn't really play it until now. My single core CPU 2002 computer was really too slow (even if I upgraded it with a new motherboard, a more powerfull CPU, RAM memory and graffic card) to run it on a decent way (so slow to load the game as saves, bugged all the time etc...).

Now I have a modern dual-core CPU computer, so I can fully run SHIV in a optimal way (graphics settings set +++, fast loading etc...) with no bugs!

And I do think SHIV, as a subsim, rocks!

Having been here on this excellent subsims forum and website in 2004 at the time of SHII (posting stuff about the later, and call out about, at that time, the futur SHIII), I know they're a lot of mods and improvements that has been made and discussed here on SHIV.

So I thank you for your up to date 2015' handy list of SHIV improvements feasibilities.

[TCD]

Originally Posted by TorpX

No argument here.

You'll like it even better with some choice mods.

I have no doubt about the fact that all your SHIV mods are so greats.
For the moment just let me enjoy my new SHIV v1.4.

And I remind you that the enthusiasm of SHIV newbie like me is also one of the engine of this website.

So, to cut a long story short, it was just some "SHIV's which don't bug all the time" newbie words (and some arguments where however there) .

[TCD]

After looking around on this SH IV forum (+ SHIV mods sub-forum), impressive by the tons of materials I could find, and trying to understand what evolutions have been made for SHIV since it's release in 2007, I know better understand your point of view about the necessity of getting to SHIV 1.5 (ie "Gold edition").

Which one as I understood is a basis so as to go to cool moding SHIV stuff.

While I'm waiting for my now ordered SHIV Gold edition, I'm thinking and finding how to do the best 2015 SHIV newbie mods at first.

So thanks for your advices.

As well, thanks to "Simple Sailor". For his recent very pedagogical answer to an another SHIV newbie thread with, among other things, the multiple acronims mods explanation like GFO, RSRDC etc...! At first sight, those looked to me so much as Martian language that for a moment (for a moment only) I wondered if Orson Wells 1950's invasion radio scenario didn't come thrue!

Edit: It's not "Simple Sailor" but "Sailor Steeve" that I was ^talking about. Sorry to you Sailor Steeve, it wasn't intentional to be wrong to that! .

[Rockin Robbins]

I always recommend that you get to know the stock 1.5 game first. Then you'll know what improved when you load up mods. Without appreciation for what's changed, how can you decide what's best?

[Tshark]

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

I always recommend that you get to know the stock 1.5 game first. Then you'll know what improved when you load up mods. Without appreciation for what's changed, how can you decide what's best?

Interesting point. I just installed SHIV and had planned on installing Webster's GFO fix mod prior to first play through.

[ColonelSandersLite]

Should a mans first drink be toilet wine or jack daniels? That's all I have to say about that.

[Rockin Robbins]

Even with GFO I'd recommend spending some time with the stock game first so you know what was changed and can notice the difference. How do you know if you like something better if you don't know a thing about what it's supposed to be better than? It just can't happen and you'd never know.

The toilet wine/Jack Daniels thing just is inapplicable to the situation. But I'd say if you were seeking what you like in wine, a good start would be readily available cheap wines. Then trying the higher class ones you would be aware of what you are buying and why the increased price may or may not be worth it to you.

Price is an unreliable indicator of quality, you know. Whether a mod is highly regarded is more reliable, however, you want to be able to judge quality for yourself. To do that you must compare things. That means experience with all aspects you seek to compare. Comparing in ignorance is not only not very smart, it just is not possible.

[Harmsway!]

TCD, it takes a different type of gamer to love sims. Without a doubt you are one them. There is nothing in my experience that pulls you out of reality and immerses you into WWII like the Silent Hunter series.

I recently did a video of SHIV you might enjoy.


It has some tips on crew management.

[Rockin Robbins]

And the answer to which Silent Hunter game is best is "Buy them all, play them all and you tell me what you think."

I have elected to skip SH5, but I couldn't pick between SH3 and 4. Each has a separate lesson to teach, a completely different experience. If you miss either you have missed a lot.

[TCD]

I understand your "point de vue".

Your right about testing by our own (ie 2015 SH4 newbies) the previous versions before upgrading it with mods, so as the variances.

For me it is for now v1.0 patched to v1.4. (waiting for my ordered v1.5)

Now, I understood that "GFO" stands for "Game Fixes Only" (not an new kind of UFO stuff). But its looks just great to me, as I read his author gamefixes list. So, a priori, looks good to me (must try howewer).

But OK, as soon as my last week ordered SH4 Gold version will come in my boxmail, I will take time to see what is different between all them.

By the way, I have liked your analogy with wine. Sure it's pertinent and quite true.

[Rockin Robbins]

Actually I'm playing my first GFO/RSRDC campaign and I'm loving it! Webster was always bashful about calling GFO a supermod but believe me it deserves the name. No it's not as difficult as TMO. But it is a complete experience.

I have some plug-ins to make it a little more like TMO without ramping up the enemy artificial intelligence to TMO's superman level. TMOKeys just modifies the keyboard to use the TMO keyboard layout, with the semicolon as radar depth and shift-i for "Hey exec, can you ID that target for me?"

Then I have TMOPlot, which kills the ship silhouettes, velocity vectors, explanatory text (I'm sure there is something I'm forgetting) and replaces ship positions with a position dot. Gets rid of all the nav map stuff you couldn't have in real life. I don't recommend you start out as a newer player using it. You need to wrap your brain around basic concepts or how submarine targeting works. The stock plotting system gets you up to speed in a hurry.

I am using TMOKeys but not TMOplot in my present campaign. Getting reacquainted with the game you know. But if you're ready you can install both mods without even having to return to port first like you have to for most mods. They don't change a bit of gameplay.

[TCD]

SH4 v1.4 1941. Sargo class. Manila than Surabaya based.

Hi Gene.

Thanks for your concerns and answer, and thanks for your interesting video link.

I like the nice and handy crew management in SH4 well organised in three watches (I, II and III), compared to SH3's one. It limits at most the Captain needed micro-management of his crew.

About "crew management" panel in SH4, I'm trying a lot of things to see how its works (at differents TC time compression), so as to get as well the best efficiency from my crew then their best sleeping and recuperation time when they are off duty.

This matter, really, as the "max efficiency" of a crewman depends on his "fatigue" level.

I've also tested having 4 extra crew members in adition to my Sargo class 3x22 I II III's regular crew watches. Settled in extra slots as "Damage Control Team" (DCT, 10 available max), "Deck Gun" (2 max) or "AA Gun" (1max).

And the "regular crewmen" does not have the same going to sleep time (around 30/100 fatigue), then the "extra crewmen (around 50/100 fatigue).

So, based on what I've put to a test, I'm working on basic rules about crew management in SH4. For those Captain who cares, of course, about their crewmen.

Like on normal patrol time, the first one could be:
1) "If they sleep, let them sleep".

Added:

2) "If they don't sleep while they should, force them to sleep"