Help choosing SH3 - 4 or 5

[macjim]

Not sure where to post this.

Which game to play?

I am undecided which game to play.

Priorities;
Immersive - I like to feel like I am in the sub or on the deck. Marulken is great.
Stable - I loaded up SH5 in March 2015 but the crashes removed my enthusiasm.
Realistic navigation - To NOT see where my sub is on a map is great. A big part of the fun is tracking where I am based on my course, speed, the currents and time. Having a magic location icon on the map is not good.
Missions- Atlantic. Like having a large theater to operate in and being able to save the game to return a play later. I'm not fixed on historical accuracy but enjoy the rarity of a sighting rather than a very target rich environment. A campaign would be nice.

Suggestions? Explanations?

Can someone please move this thread if it should be posted in a different location to get more exposure. Thanks.

[THEBERBSTER]

Hi macjim
Highly Recommended SH5 > The Wolves Of Steel Mega Mod
Highly Recommended > LIVING SILENT HUNTER III EDITION 2015 Mega Mod > Full Tutorials And Much More In My Signature

Peter

[macjim]

thanks peter

[raymond6751]

The cost to buy these games now is minimal. Why not get them all and enjoy them all? With mods, they each give you plenty of enjoyment.

If you run Windows 10, you might have difficulties, which I cannot help with. I have Win 7 and won't upgrade.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by macjim

Priorities;
Immersive - I like to feel like I am in the sub or on the deck. Marulken is great.

All the SH series have a great feel for being on the deck. Interiors are best in SH5, though there is a great SH3 mod that lets you walk around the sub interior.

Stable - I loaded up SH5 in March 2015 but the crashes removed my enthusiasm.

The newest supermod, The Wolves of Steel, not only adds a great deal to the game but has been reported to be quite stable.

Realistic navigation - To NOT see where my sub is on a map is great. A big part of the fun is tracking where I am based on my course, speed, the currents and time. Having a magic location icon on the map is not good.

There have been real navigation mods for SH3, but SH5 is probably the best for that.

Missions- Atlantic. Like having a large theater to operate in and being able to save the game to return a play later. I'm not fixed on historical accuracy but enjoy the rarity of a sighting rather than a very target rich environment. A campaign would be nice.

The best overall campaign to my mind is still SH3, but SH5 has had great improvements. Operation Monsun allows for a full Atlantic campaign in SH4 as well.

Can someone please move this thread if it should be posted in a different location to get more exposure. Thanks.

It's fine where it is. The only problem with this kind of question is that different forums will get you different answers, with members of each telling you why their favorite is the best, though that has calmed down a lot since the days when everybody was at everybody else's throats.

For me it's still SH3, but it sounds like SH5 is the one you want. Or, as was suggested, you can try them all and decide which one you like the best.

[macjim]

Originally Posted by raymond6751

The cost to buy these games now is minimal. Why not get them all and enjoy them all? With mods, they each give you plenty of enjoyment.

Good plan. I own them all.

I tried SH5 last year but it crashed too many times. Perhaps I'll try it again. I've not downloaded SH3 or SH4 yet.

[macjim]

Sailor Steve,

I can't imagine having time to play all the games. Appreciate your input.
Why do you prefer SH3. What aspect(s) appeal most?

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by macjim

Sailor Steve,

I can't imagine having time to play all the games. Appreciate your input.
Why do you prefer SH3. What aspect(s) appeal most?

It suits my personal preferences. Back when I played SH1 all the time, I got into the habit of running a career out of each available command at the same time. This meant that I would alternate between patrols in an 'S' Boat and a Salmon/Sargo class, switching to a Gato when the time came.

I didn't discover Aces Of The Deep until later. That game has you start your u-boat career in a Type II, then offers to upgrade you to a Type VII or IX as you progress. I would take the offer, or not, until I had a career going in each type of boat.

With SH3 I do the same. I currently have a career in a Type II, Type VIIa, Type VIIb and Type IX going on at the same time, alternating between types according to the date of each career. I can do that with SH4 and Op Monsun, but SH5 won't let me have a Type II or Type IX. Also, while eye candy isn't my main deciding factor, I do like travelling in and out of the harbors and down the canals, and LSH3 (and thanks to a mod GWX) lets me have the locks on the canals and harbors that had them in real life. SH4 and SH5 won't do that.

As I said, it's all personal reasons and I won't criticize anyone for preferring a different style.

[macjim]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

I do like travelling in and out of the harbors and down the canals, and LSH3 (and thanks to a mod GWX) lets me have the locks on the canals and harbors that had them in real life. SH4 and SH5 won't do that.
.

That's good information, the thought of traveling in and out of the harbor and canal is very appealing. I'm now using SH5 the Wolves Of Steel Mega Mod and hopefully it will remain stable.

[THEBERBSTER]

Hi macjim
LSH3-2015 is not compatible with the Steam download.
Peter

[macjim]

Having some fun with SH5. Using the WOS Mod and things are fairly stable.

Occasionally I am unable to use binos. No bid deal.
Sometimes the Automation buttons do not work. (for Auto Position fix).
Can't find the sextant . Not sure of key bindings.
Can't access map edits or diary info after I reload a saved mission.

Is SH3 more dependable with diary info, saving markups on map and/or using the sextant.

[macjim]

Well its been a year since my last effort to get SH running smoothly on my system. Last July I got SH5 up and running but was unable to use many of the features in game. I spent about 30 hours and installed the game (with mods) more than a dozen times. Not complaining, just describing that I made a moderate effort ... but was unsuccessful.

I'm considering trying again but want to reach out to the Subsim community for some frank input.

My Objectives:
Use SH as a navigation simulator without any auto targeting features. I'm more interested in charting a course and determining my position with a sextant than sinking a bunch of shipping. I would like to engage in warfare just a little bit but hope to determine range manually using the calibrations on the optics and developing firing solutions with pen and paper on my desktop. I liked the graphics of SH5 but would accept less eye candy if the game mechanics offered more serious realism.

Questions:
1) Is SH5 with the WOS mods any more stable than they were a year ago?
2) For the most realistic navigation and range calculations would anyone like to suggest SH4 vs SH5? And explain why as it relates to realistic navigation and calculating range using the scope graduation marks?

Thanks in advance.

[mkiii]

SH5 with TWOS is very stable, I have not had a crash yet. you can auto nav, auto shoot, or real nav and manual target, if you wish the nav map can be blank, no subs, no targets , its up to you. VDR has done a great job of making it play nice together. read the faq and have at it. there is a workaround for the steam issue, which I had to use no problems with that either

[macjim]

Thanks for the response mkii,
I'm glad that SH5 with TWOS is working well for you. Did you load it up recently? I'm wondering if it has become more stable since July 2016.

[mkiii]

Within the last 2 months,