Modsadvice for newer players

[jlmurc]

Good evening gentlemen,

This afternoon a friend of mine asked if I could assist his son with SH4, particularly with respect to the many Mods that are available. He received SH4 and the U-Boat add-on for his Birthday quite recently and I pointed him in the direction of SubSim as somewhere to find the best Mods and advice. However the question arose in which of the great number, he should download and install. I pointed him in the direction of Jonesoft and the thread that discusses, the merits and companionship of the Mods. His father said that he was unable to understand from all of the varied threads as what was safe to install alongside each other. I know this raises its head all of the time and people are directed to read a particular thread, but with a subject that has been ongoing for some time, with new and updated Mods on offer, it can become a little confusing, especially when the last list was dated March 2008. No problem was my report, because I had recently had to re-install my PC, after a nasty, naughty virus appeared from something/somewhere and did strange things to some of my folders. So I I immediately sat down on my arrival home and proceeded to install SH4 and its expansion. Then came the time to go into my SH4 Mods folder and even I have become confused, as there are original, updates, later updates ad infinitum and I am now in a complete flat spin as to what to add to my SH4 installation. Trigger Maru is easy, but others............................................ ..........

Would it be possible for an experienced Skipper to produce a list that can be downloaded as a text file, that is kept up to date, with regard to the speed of improved Mods that are unleashed to improve the experience, to assist the newbies and those that might have 'senior moments' and lose track of what goes with what and when.

This is not a critism in any way as I for one am grateful for all of the efforts that people make, to enhance the experience, easier to understand. Of course I have to admit with the release of the latest Gray Wolves, I deserted back to the Atlantic War.

I would be grateful for any help.

Ahoy there,

John:arrgh!:

[FIREWALL]

Thanks John for a fine post. :up:

Inever could put into type\words to make the sense you did.

Alot of us have beenaround along time and have the same probs and questions with mods too. :yep:

These mods and updates come up faster than some of can keep up with them.

Thx again for your post.:D

[Fish40]

I'll try to help you out. Firstly, it all depends on what you or your friends son are looking for . Do you want a totally realistic experience, or just some enhancements to gameplay. Basicly the major mods for the game are: Real Fleet Boat (RFB), which offers the most realistic experience. Trigger Maru Overhaul (TMO) which is not as hardcore as RFB, but still a challenge. Pacific Environment 3 (v4 is in the works) and Environment Effects adds a whole new dimension to the sea, sky, and surroundings.

For campaign gameplay there is Run Silent Run Deep (RSRD) for Fleet Boat operations, and Operation Monsoon (OM) for U Boats. These are a major overhaul to the campaigns that adds a more realistic touch. If you read the "stickies" for each mod, it gives a full explanation of each, as well as install order and compatability issues. These are the bigger mods. There are a whole host of smaller ones available, too numerous to list here. Hope this helps you out alittle.

[Petur]

I am a newbie and have never used any mod. Could anyone explane how to put the mods in the game? or do they go there "automacly"?

[keltos01]

most of the mods are jsgme ready, it's a small applet that allows you to install mods and deinstall them at your leisure.

download it, run it and place the mods inside the mod folder, then run jsgme and install the mod you want, start the game and that's it !

[Webster]

i just use stand alone mods so i dont have much issues with compatability.

all my mods are small and simple so they should work with most other mods.

i would suggest he play the game as stock and add small single mods that he likes one at a time to get a feel for what they do and how they work, then try them all together to see how he likes it. after that he will have enough time with the game to be able to notice and apreciate what the larger mods do to the game.

this way he can customize the game to his style he likes to play because we all have different tastes when it comes to realism and difficulty settings. he will have the ability to compare the stock version to the stock version with all the small mods he likes, as well as comparing both of them to what the large mods do.

[keltos01]

here's a tutorial by Reallydedpoet (moderator) on how to use jsgme

http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2881085392/m/3031058373?r=3031058373

[ReallyDedPoet]

here's a tutorial by Reallydedpoet (moderator) on how to use jsgme

http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2881085392/m/3031058373?r=3031058373
Thanks keltos01, it is a nice guide :yep:, the tutorial was actually done by
at lad at UBI: Kaleun1961 :)

Some more info below from the SH3 Mods Thread.

To unzip RAR or 7z files:
Just go here http://www.rarlab.com/ (http://www.rarlab.com/) and download the file of your choice (English if that is your preference). It´s like Winzip...

Don´t know how to install a mod? Look here (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=476585&postcount=48).
( taken from SH4 ^^^, but the same principles apply )


RDP

[Steinhausenn]

Hi all,

I'm a long time player of the SH games (and those berfore it) and just picked up IV. I've always believed mods have increased the entertainment and experience, and I look foward to adding them to IV as I have with III.

I've read over the details regarding the various mods but with all the updates, compatibility issues and now v1.5 being out, I want to make sure I'm taking the right steps to build the kind of simulation I'm interested in.

Therefore, I have a few questions I hope you can answer. I'm running v1.4 with JSGME:

1.) I would like to use RFB along with RSRD. Are the two compatible?

2.) Can I use both PE3.3 and Environmental 4.4, or do I need to chose?

3.) Is there a certain install order with JSGME I would need to follow with RFB, RSRD and PE3.3 and/or E4.4?

If anyone has other smaller mod recommendations that would be compatible with the set up above, please feel free to offer them.

Thanks much and good hunting out there!

[Webster]

Hi all,

I'm a long time player of the SH games (and those berfore it) and just picked up IV. I've always believed mods have increased the entertainment and experience, and I look foward to adding them to IV as I have with III.

I've read over the details regarding the various mods but with all the updates, compatibility issues and now v1.5 being out, I want to make sure I'm taking the right steps to build the kind of simulation I'm interested in.

Therefore, I have a few questions I hope you can answer. I'm running v1.4 with JSGME:

1.) I would like to use RFB along with RSRD. Are the two compatible?

2.) Can I use both PE3.3 and Environmental 4.4, or do I need to chose?

3.) Is there a certain install order with JSGME I would need to follow with RFB, RSRD and PE3.3 and/or E4.4?

If anyone has other smaller mod recommendations that would be compatible with the set up above, please feel free to offer them.

Thanks much and good hunting out there!

1 - yes they are compatible
2 - only use one or the other because they use mostly all the same files
3 - last i checked rsrdc had to be the last thing installed and a rfb rsrdc patch installed after it. the same goes for tmo, rsrdc has to be installed last and then the tmo rsrdc patch for rsrdc. these are rsrdc patches and you can find them in the rsrdc thread.

[Seminole]

a friend of mine asked if I could assist his son with SH4, particularly with respect to the many Mods

....some advice about the mods...let the lad play vanilla first to learn the game before you go adding super mods. These can be brutaly frustrating to inexperienced players.(even experienced ones come to think about it) ;) :lol:

I doubt if he is a barnacled encrusted, WWII sub grognard, old salt at this stage. With experience will come the appreciation for the big mods.

There are graphic enhancing and game play enhancing mods though that will dress up the game for the boy. By all means use these. A good sampling of these can be found at Subsim Review downloads:

http://www.subsim.com/subsim_files/patches2005.html#sh4