Getting Started with SH4

Aoogahman · 07-20-18, 10:08 AM

Hello Folks,

I'm new to the Subsim forum and just wanted to say hello, which I guess I already did.

Anyway, I installed SH4 Gold a few weeks ago and have been totally immersed in the manual and the American Submarine School since. I made up a strip with the F-key commands and taped it just above the keys in case of memory lapses, which I consider highly likely to occur.

Most of my time was spent in the navigation tutorial; that's where I tried out all of the assorted commands to get a general feel for how things work. It took me three or four tries before I could comfortably (i.e. very little panic) plot my course to the flag pole, crank up the time compression, and complete the mission.

Artillery training went well after a few tries (6-7). Same with the torpedo mission.

It wasn't until I got to the CONVOY ATTACK that I ran into serious difficulty. And that was mostly because I didn't pay enough attention to the mission statement (I later noted that it was full of good clues - like "Use the submarine capabilities at maximum"). My first try was a totally frustrating experience - nothing made any sense! Then I read online that others were unable to finish it and that there was something wrong with the tutorial, they couldn't get past the destroyer screen. Well, at least they found the destroyer screen.

On my second attempt, after a few nights of not sleeping well while mulling this over and planning it out in my subconscious mind, or maybe it was my conscious mind if I was awake, I found the screen, they found me (double pings), and I had to do something. So I went deep, then deeper, until I heard the report about passing through a thermal layer - Perfect! So I kept going till I couldn't here any pinging, went to AA Standard for a while and passed under the screen. When I came to periscope depth the whole convey was right in front of me; the closest were two large tankers. I was able to put one torpedo in the first one, and three in the trailing one and got my 10,000 tons. Cool! I felt great, had a party, and slept like a log that night.

So finally, I'm happy to be with the crew on Subsim, and look forward to heading off on the Midway mission, I think.

07-20-18, 10:08 AM	#1
Aoogahman Seaman Join Date: Jul 2018 Location: Florida Posts: 31 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	Getting Started with SH4 Hello Folks, I'm new to the Subsim forum and just wanted to say hello, which I guess I already did. Anyway, I installed SH4 Gold a few weeks ago and have been totally immersed in the manual and the American Submarine School since. I made up a strip with the F-key commands and taped it just above the keys in case of memory lapses, which I consider highly likely to occur. Most of my time was spent in the navigation tutorial; that's where I tried out all of the assorted commands to get a general feel for how things work. It took me three or four tries before I could comfortably (i.e. very little panic) plot my course to the flag pole, crank up the time compression, and complete the mission. Artillery training went well after a few tries (6-7). Same with the torpedo mission. It wasn't until I got to the CONVOY ATTACK that I ran into serious difficulty. And that was mostly because I didn't pay enough attention to the mission statement (I later noted that it was full of good clues - like "Use the submarine capabilities at maximum"). My first try was a totally frustrating experience - nothing made any sense! Then I read online that others were unable to finish it and that there was something wrong with the tutorial, they couldn't get past the destroyer screen. Well, at least they found the destroyer screen. On my second attempt, after a few nights of not sleeping well while mulling this over and planning it out in my subconscious mind, or maybe it was my conscious mind if I was awake, I found the screen, they found me (double pings), and I had to do something. So I went deep, then deeper, until I heard the report about passing through a thermal layer - Perfect! So I kept going till I couldn't here any pinging, went to AA Standard for a while and passed under the screen. When I came to periscope depth the whole convey was right in front of me; the closest were two large tankers. I was able to put one torpedo in the first one, and three in the trailing one and got my 10,000 tons. Cool! I felt great, had a party, and slept like a log that night. So finally, I'm happy to be with the crew on Subsim, and look forward to heading off on the Midway mission, I think.