Req.: training material

[sydney]

Hi at all the captains out there I'm Syd, at my first post here...I've just bought SHIV, as I wanted to feel some more "historical atmosphere" sailing in the wonderful Pacific Ocean and leaving the modern hulls docked at their ports for a while... :D I've read the whole (thiny) manual, and tried a bit the sub school, but I definitely find them too superficial and not exhaustive, at least for a first-comer in the Silent Hunter world...so here's my request...may you point me out to some more specific tutorials/training missions/anything else can make me appreciate better this nice simulation? I'd like to install some mods (Trigger Maru seems making it even more realistic...take the occasion to thank Ducimus for it :) ), but I feel a bit unprepared to face an even greater level of realism with such poor knowledge... Thanks for your help, Syd

[Zero Niner]

Hi sydney
Let me be the first to welcome you to Subsim. I gather from your post that while you're not new to sub simulations this is the first time you're trying a WW2 sim.

My advice is not to worry about the mods for the time being. Patch the game to 1.4 (which is the latest version) and complete the sub school missions to get familiar with how your boat handles, the controls etc. Then try out a few single missions and even a war patrol or two. Don't worry about whether you successfully complete them, take it as a training exercise, or time you spent on another sub as a PCO (Prospective CO). That's what I did.

This will help you get acquainted with patrolling, plotting intercepts, approaching & engaging targets, and finally escaping. These are fundamental skills that are equally applicable no matter which mod you choose to use.

When you feel you're ready, start a campaign!

At any time if you think you have a good feel of what SH4 has to offer, you can start to look at mods. There are only 2 "supermods" which try to inject more realism, correct inaccuracies, improve the game and add new features - Trigger Maru (TM) or Real Fleet Boat (RFB). I also recommend having a look Run Silent Run Deep Campaign (RSRDC) which when installed features historically correct convoys etc for the entire war.

There is also a major mod (Reflections on the Water, or ROW in short) which is a major graphics-only overhaul.

There are also a number of small mods, some of which may have already been incorporated into the game. Don't worry about these, get some hours in the sim first. Then look for mods which addresses whatever you think could be improved.

Finally, grab a copy of JSGME, which is a very useful tool that makes the adding and removal of mods very easy, provided the mod's author saves it in a compatible format (just a matter of file structure, really).

Don't feel shy about asking your questions here. Most posters are willing to help, this is a great forum! :)

[ReallyDedPoet]

Welcome to SUBSIM :up: sydney

Nice info from ZN, as well check out some of the great stickies here:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=108931

Good luck with it :yep:


RDP

[Sailor Steve]

WELCOME ABOARD, Mate!

Don't forget to keep posting!:sunny:

[sydney]

Thanks a lot to Zero Niner, reallydedpoet and Sailor Steve...what a nice welcoming committee :D I'm following your advice and will board for some more practice in a few minutes :) the links RDP gave was really userful, packed with nice links I'll follow when have a cup of free time...thanks again, then...and I'll surely post here some questions when I'll have a doubt, huh? :D bye for now, Syd