Call me a heretic - should I buy SH4?

[Lmandrake]

Ok, please be gentle.

I started with AOD. I LOVED it.

Played SH3 - Liked it but went crazy with boredom searching for targets.

Want to by SH4 - BUT, not if I end up doing what I did in SH3, which was suffer intense butt fatigue with my finger poised over the time compression key.

So, did I miss something basic in SH3. Was my strategy vis a vis gameplay and finding targets totally off. Certainly I did not spend all my time in my assigned grid square, but even then I eventually stopped playing.

So, those of you who are more experienced/addicted - what say you.

BTW, my system is powerful but my 6600GT video card may not be.

Thanks and good hunting.

[Iron Budokan]

Well, if you didn't like what waiting there was in stock Sh3 then you're probably not going to like Sh4. Maybe sub sims aren't your cup of tea? Dunno.

I still urge you to buy it, though, but only once the 1.3 patch comes out. We had word on May 24 a patch was coming....we'll see, I guess.

[Dowly]

If you was bored with SHIII, you will most likely be bored with SH4 too. The idea is the same in both games, you patrol around and find something to sink. SH4 does have other missions than just patrolling. Like for example the harbor photo recon missions (easy tonnage by the way, had to photograph two Japanese carriers. Well, I did that, just few seconds before my torpedos sank them. ;)), then there's the rescue downed pilot missions where you go to a certain area, find the pilot floating in the sea, point your binocs at him and press the rescue button. Oh and there's also agent/troop insertion missions where you go the pointed shore to drop your cargo.

But all in all, the idea is the same. Find target, sink it and escape. :yep:

[Binky1st]

Sounds to me like you dont like to spend much time playing a game in which case SH3/4 is not for you.

[ReallyDedPoet]

Sounds to me like you dont like to spend much time playing a game in which case SH3/4 is not for you.

But you can customize to an extent to help out with the above. Because of RL stuff, I don't play as much, so my settings follow my style of play. Lots of TC, automatic targetting, etc, etc.

As far as games, GWX for SH3, currently I am playing SH4 more now, but like both theatres, nice to switch back and forth.

Welcome by the way:up:


RDP

[SteamWake]

So, those of you who are more experienced/addicted - what say you.

"Your a Heritic"...

There had to get that out of the way.

ps your system will be fine. You may have to tone down some of the eye candy.

[sakko]

I would say SH4 is more-so a waiting game than 3, since in 4 you spend a looooong time going from Pearl Harbor to Japan and there is little in between until you arrive in Rising Sun land.

At which point you get plenty of AA trigger time being bombarded by planes every hour or so. This getting patched out in 1.3 I hope?

[Reece]

If it were me I would wait for the new patch 1.3 to be released, then review again.:yep:
I prepaid & ordered my collectors edition before it was released, paid over $100 for it & if I could have gotten my money back I would, I just hope now that the patch is a good one, I might actually re-install it!;)

[Saintaw]

This one is prettier, but there's more waiting (longer distances) than the previous issue. Just sayin'...

[Fearless]

Well most of the time I run at 1X TC so the waiting or long distance travel doesn't bother me. I enjoy the realism of it.

[Saintaw]

Edit: I can be an arse when i wake up in a bad mood, my appologies.

[EAF274 Johan]

In SH4 you can use higher levels of time compression than in SH3, so the longer distances are not so much of an issue, I think. Also, interaction with HQ has improved a lot in SH4 so you will get extra missions during a patrol (more than in AOD).

In the default game (without mods) it shouldn't be too hard to find targets.

[ReallyDedPoet]

In SH4 you can use higher levels of time compression than in SH3,

True, I can get close to 5000 TC with no real stuttering, with SH3 about 1000 TC no stuttering.


RDP

[Rockin Robbins]

I think the SH3 box says it best: "Hunt. Hide. Kill." The game consists of one-third of each. If you don't enjoy hunting and hiding (running away sometimes) a sub simulation isn't for you. This is not Ratchet and Clank where you just blast everything with weapons from hell as you jump back and forth doing flips like a Mexican jumping bean. Submarines are devices that reward patience and planning and penalize impulsiveness. Stealth is more important than hand-eye coordination.

Frustration is a vital part of any good simulation. If you do not handle frustration well, give up simulations and buy some video games. For me, nothing brings more satisfaction than a well-setup approach and kill with manual settings. Often this takes a couple hours at 1x compression.

I've stalked a convoy all day today where the destroyers have driven me away three times. I never let them know for sure I was out here, just attracted the charge and vanished before they got here, lost ground on the convoy and set up for another approach. That's what makes SH3 and SH4 great simulations in my book. They are both marvelous and I highly recommend both as they are today. Updates would be great, but the games are amazing as they are.

If you want more action and more of a video game feel, download the Killer Sub mod for SH4. You can be nearly invincible as you deal death in all directions with weapons of sure death. I understand you don't even have to aim.

[CaptainHaplo]

Well, you basically said "A penny for your thoughts" - so here is my 2 cents (and yes - that means I am deeper in debt by a copper). SH4 has more realistic traffic patterns in some ways, but the days of many a lone merchant as in SH3 are gone. Your not going to spend alot of time motoring at full speed toward a reported contact just to see its a small freighter. Waste of fuel that was. Single ships are rare - and the odd fishing boat/junk groups are 2 ships and bloody slow - so the speed of a target will help you determine what it is. The key is that stock - your going to get alot of reports of convoys that are either way far away - or close enough to intercept if you burn alot of gas... Almost all of your attacks are going to be against convoys.

However - the key here is that in SH4 - you are not given a "Go here and patrol" for every mission. That being the case - if you complete an assignment you can radio in for another and have a successful patrol by only doing recon's and rescues if it just works that way. "Patrol" orders only are for you to sit in the area for 72 hours - whether you sink something or not is not the issue. Often however you will be given an objective at a choke point - like go here and sink 10k worth of enemy merchants. Be assured - they may not be there right when you get there - but some merchants WILL show up - usually in a convoy headed right through your area.

Yes - you will use TC alot in SH4 - but if you have the rig to run the game well, this isnt an issue as it goes way higher than it did in SH3. I can go from pearl to the sagami-nada in about 2 minutes - or under 1 if using a nuke boat. That is of course barring a radio msg or radar contact that drops tc back down.

Are you a heretic - aren't we all in some ways? :o Whether you are or not - I dont care - welcome aboard to SH4 and enjoy it if ya choose to. I would suggest you look to some of the mods if you do get it - there are a number of bug fixes that are out there that help the game tremendously.:up:

[u-168]

I just ordered sh4 so lets see how it works out for me.:up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up: :up:

[Redwine]

Ok, please be gentle.

I started with AOD. I LOVED it.

Played SH3 - Liked it but went crazy with boredom searching for targets.

Want to by SH4 - BUT, not if I end up doing what I did in SH3, which was suffer intense butt fatigue with my finger poised over the time compression key.

So, did I miss something basic in SH3. Was my strategy vis a vis gameplay and finding targets totally off. Certainly I did not spend all my time in my assigned grid square, but even then I eventually stopped playing.

So, those of you who are more experienced/addicted - what say you.

BTW, my system is powerful but my 6600GT video card may not be.

Thanks and good hunting.
Come on man... SH IV is very nice !

May be many people are not agree, but SH IV had many few bugs when released as SH III when it was released, and take a look to SH III today, it is great.

Even without the last patch, the v1.3, almost in my present installation, it is so good, and most of the troubles was fixed or solved with some minimal impefections.

Just go into SH IV do not worry, it is nice !

:up::up::up:

About the target search, normally i do not follow the mission instaructions, any way, if you do and stay on the grid for one or two days, always some ship appears. But just sail and look for targets, do not be worry about the mission renown points .... they are so few and introduce limitations into your hunt.

About your system, i cant say, but almost for me, SH IV runs more smooth than SH III in same machine, but may be due to the extensive port traphic, masive convoys and masive use of uncompressed textures into my SH III installation, the matter is, SH IV runs more smooth for me than SH III.

:up::up::up:

[CaptainHaplo]

Well 1.3 is out - and a number of bugs are fixed. Its not perfect - unfortunately - but its VERY good - it actually rates the 9+ scores some reviews gave it pre 1.3!

[Rattail]

Here's my 2c worth (hopefully it will assist in producing mods, or a new patch, etc): I don't enjoy the gameplay as much as I did in SH3.

The increased time compression is great but for the millions of plane attacks which make it very tedious going back to Pearl H.

If you look at the map and area covered by Jap aircraft, it's very frustrating to be limping back to base, thinking you're safe because you are out of Jap aircraft range, only to be attacked again and again by them!

The manual targeting is MUCH harder in SH4 than it was in 3.

The crew management was easier in SH4.

The graphics are great.

I am using patch 1.3.

cheers!

[Swat]

You MUST enjoy every aspect of the game.So you must find some kind of fun in waiting,looking for targets,you MUST love every leaving/approaching the base,playing the gramophone and radio with the proper - athmospheric songs.Looking for a targets is very enjoyable especially with radar - you see it on radar in 30k,you adjust the speed and change the course and suddenly - "Ship spotted" report from your watch on the bridge.....And best way how to fall in love with this sim is to be interested in WW2 particularly in the subs....