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Old 10-23-14, 05:49 AM   #1
Tindahbawx
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Default SH4 RFB + RSRD Query

Hi guys,

I've only ever played SH5, and I'm used to having a long and temperamental JSGME mod list to fiddle around with to get the game "just right".

But I thought I'd give SH4 a go, I've never played it before, the Pacific campaign would be nice. So I'm looking on the SH4 mods sub-forum, and have elected to go with one of the big mods, RFB along with RSRD.

To me though this seems to be a ridiculously short mod load order in JSGME, and before I start a game, and potentially don't have the ability to change mods mid camapaign (I just know SH5 is tempermental in this regard) is there any other mods I should be adding to the mod before I start?

As an example, in SH5 I'm running Sobers Mega Mod, plus extra mods on top, at around 95 entries in my JSGME load order, having such a short load order is just making me nervous, like I'm missing something?

So aside from RFB and RSRD, is there anything else I should be adding to the game? Any graphical mods to make those waves and clouds look extra pretty?

Sorry if this seems a little odd and is just down to SH5 being a broken piece of crap, requiring many mods to fix?

Thanks in advance guys!
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Old 10-23-14, 06:41 AM   #2
BigWalleye
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tindahbawx View Post
Hi guys,

I've only ever played SH5, and I'm used to having a long and temperamental JSGME mod list to fiddle around with to get the game "just right".

But I thought I'd give SH4 a go, I've never played it before, the Pacific campaign would be nice. So I'm looking on the SH4 mods sub-forum, and have elected to go with one of the big mods, RFB along with RSRD.

To me though this seems to be a ridiculously short mod load order in JSGME, and before I start a game, and potentially don't have the ability to change mods mid camapaign (I just know SH5 is tempermental in this regard) is there any other mods I should be adding to the mod before I start?

As an example, in SH5 I'm running Sobers Mega Mod, plus extra mods on top, at around 95 entries in my JSGME load order, having such a short load order is just making me nervous, like I'm missing something?

So aside from RFB and RSRD, is there anything else I should be adding to the game? Any graphical mods to make those waves and clouds look extra pretty?

Sorry if this seems a little odd and is just down to SH5 being a broken piece of crap, requiring many mods to fix?

Thanks in advance guys!
Ahoy, TB!

There are several reasons for the shorter mod lists for SH4. One is that the megamods - RFB, TMO, GFO, FOTRS, and OM) all incorporate a lot of the essential game fixes. SH4 has had a couple more years for modders to consolidate the mods needed to make the game stable. Another is that there is frankly less interest in SH4 among the modding community. The game lacks much of the high-tech appeal of SH5. And let's face it, few gamers outside the US know or care about the history of the Silent Service. Interest and support for SH3 and SH5 is world-wide.

Beyond the supermods, most mods for SH4 are small and cosmetic, graphics or sound changes. AFAIK, the only SH4 mod that affects gameplay is Cap'n Scurvy's Optical Targeting Correction. (I hope I haven't overlooked anybody's handiwork. I haven't followed SH4 closely for a while.) OTC is a must-have. But it only works for stock and TMO (with and without RSRDC). There is no version for RFB 2.0.

Anyway, here is my mod list:

Generic Mod Enabler - v2.6.0.157
[C:\SH4-RFB\MODS]
RFB_2.0
RFB_2.0_Patch_23April2010
RSRDC_RFB_V575
RSRDC_V5xx_Patch1
TMOPlot Final
Sub Class Info - RFB
Sub Class Info - RSRDC - RFB
Improved Stock Environment_v3_TMO&RFB
Speech Overhaul
Strategic Map Symbols
Radio RAK-7 (CND-46155)
Webster's Torpedo Test Missions for v1.5
Bigger Better Protractors
USHO Chart Color Scheme
3000 Yard Bearing Tool (1920x)
High Realism Mission
Custom Keyboard
EAXsoundsim_without_WebstersManeuver_RFB2
Office Images
Office Window - Palm Trees 4
Patchman's Über Navigation Charts
SofuGan for RSRDC V575
Range Dial for RFB v2.0

Caveat: A couple of them are homebrews that you won't find online:

USHO Chart Color Scheme
Custom Keyboard
SofuGan for RSRDC V575
Range Dial for RFB v2.0

Of these, only the range dial affects game play. I shamelessly copied that from Cap'n Scurvy's OTC.

I'd also recommend using Eric Knepfler's SHSpeech. It allows voice command instead of keyboard-and-mouse. It's a great addition to any of the SH games. As downloaded, some of the files require tweaking for best performance, but if you are interested, I can send you the tweaked files.

Godspeed!
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Old 10-23-14, 02:45 PM   #3
Tindahbawx
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Whoa thanks man! Clears that right up.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BigWalleye View Post
And let's face it, few gamers outside the US know or care about the history of the Silent Service. Interest and support for SH3 and SH5 is world-wide.
That's a shame really, they both done very well for their theatre of operations. I can't imagine the thought of having to operate in the Pacific, its just so damned vast!

Quote:
Originally Posted by BigWalleye View Post
Beyond the supermods, most mods for SH4 are small and cosmetic, graphics or sound changes. AFAIK, the only SH4 mod that affects gameplay is Cap'n Scurvy's Optical Targeting Correction. (I hope I haven't overlooked anybody's handiwork. I haven't followed SH4 closely for a while.) OTC is a must-have. But it only works for stock and TMO (with and without RSRDC). There is no version for RFB 2.0.

Anyway, here is my mod list:
Much obliged, I'll give that list a go, minus the homebrewed ones.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BigWalleye View Post
I'd also recommend using Eric Knepfler's SHSpeech. It allows voice command instead of keyboard-and-mouse. It's a great addition to any of the SH games. As downloaded, some of the files require tweaking for best performance, but if you are interested, I can send you the tweaked files.
I'll probably pass on that, I'm from Northern Ireland and our accent just does not play well with speech programs at all!
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Old 10-23-14, 09:58 PM   #4
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I have to agree in part. The mega mods incorporate a great deal of material so there is little need to have a mods list more than 10 items long for the most part. If I had to add 95 mods to a game in order to feel I was having a good time with it I find another game.

You'll find many of these mods historically accurate to a greater degree with things such as traffic both Capital ships and merchants as well as ship movement physics being much more in tune with what a real submarine could do.

TMO, RSRD, GFO, FOTRS, WOTK, Travellers and OM & OMEGU are wonderful mods. There are also mods that allow you to play as a British submarine like We Dive at Dawn. Torpx has created the Improved Ship Physics that recreates a much better movement model for ships and submarines. With some mods there is a jack rabbit start and stop with some vessels and ISP helps to make this a more realistic venture.

There is a host of game play mods in the download section. Various environmental mods(some are incorporated in the mega mods). Extra missions like Battle of the Sibuyan Sea for SH4 Uboat Missions V, Rockin Robbins' Convoy from Hell, tambor198's TMO+RSRDC missions pack, and PalauGauntlet1_5 make playing single missions a nice side avenue from our normal campaigns.

Some play and save their games so when they die they can keep going. Some play Dead is Dead which means if your fool hardy enough to lose your boat and crew to a DD you have to start all the way over at the beginning of the war. The object here being ... can you survive like some did ... or accept the fate of so many who fought and die by drowning in the cold dark depths of the Atlantic or Pacific oceans?

What ever list you use make sure you read the documentation very carefully. Not all mods are compatible with each other. The biggest mistake for many issues that occur is simply not reading the documentation carefully.

Generic Mod Enabler - v2.6.0.157
[Z:\Silent Hunter\MODS]
RFB_2.0
RFB_2.0_Patch_23April2010
RSRDC_RFB_V575
RSRDC_V5xx_Patch1
Improved Ship Physics_1.1
EAXsoundsim_without_WebstersManeuver_STOCK_GFO_OM
Classe_Balao_CamoTri
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Last edited by merc4ulfate; 10-23-14 at 10:12 PM.
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Old 10-24-14, 02:37 AM   #5
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Just to add a little to what others have said: While SH4 has indeed had more time to develop than SH5, it also had an advantage in the first place. SH4 is basically an improved SH3. Some problems were fixed, along with overall improvements. SH5 was a complete rewrite, still based on the older engine but employing new ideas that unfortunately broke some of the previous programming.

Most mods for SH5 had had to fix what was broken. There was a bit of that in SH4 and even in SH3, but for the most part it could be quickly dealt with and new goodies formulated. On the other hand SH4 suffered from coming just two years after SH3, which left a lot of modders tired from having just done so much for the first game. And, as mentioned, there was that whole "U-Boats vs Fleet Boats" thing. Some people just weren't turned on by the Pacific War. This is attested to by the fact that people are still making new mods for SH3, and it's going on ten years old.

The GWX team was preparing to make a version for SH4, but they wanted to fix some of the problems with GWX 2.1 before they started, so GWX4 was put off until SH5 was approaching release, and it looked to be real good at that point, and their team was pretty wiped out from the work they had been doing for the past several years, so that never happened.

Take a look at the SH4 section of Subsim Downloads. There is still quite a bit there to choose from.
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Old 10-28-14, 05:16 AM   #6
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[Quote] The GWX team was preparing to make a version for SH4


I was really looking forwards to that!
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Old 10-28-14, 07:11 AM   #7
BigWalleye
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tindahbawx View Post
I'll probably pass on that, I'm from Northern Ireland and our accent just does not play well with speech programs at all!
Because Knepfler's speech engine uses fixed phrases rather than open-ended speech interpretation, it only has a few hundred possible patterns to recognise. As a result, the accuracy is very high. Usually, I see about one "failed to recognise" in a game session of several hours (Usually, I was gargling at the time!), and almost never a misrecognition. Admittedly, I have a standard Midwest American accent, but I'd think that it would only take one or two training sessions (about 15 minutes each) to get to a very high level of reliability regardless of accent.

IMO, voice command, the ability to control your submarine by giving orders to the crew, adds greatly to the immersion factor of all three of the SH games. Of course, you do not lose the ability to use keypress or mouseclick when you enable voice command. And once you give the order "Take "er down!" you're hooked!
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