I've Been Called Back To Duty.

[Bent Periscope]

I originally bought this game back in early 2005 so I know I have the 1.0 Version. I've run it on my Year 2004 Acer computer - it worked fine then and I've just checked and it still seems to work OK.

Anyway, I stopped playing probably in mid-2005 after @ 13 patrols. Had to stop because my family was growing and I had to spend some time with them - my wife called it shore-leave.

We, I've dusted off my original USA DVD box, and started playing again with my stock SHIII 1.0 Version and still on my 5-year old Acer computer. I was pulled back after discovering Subsim.com and reading all these posts. Now I plan to get back on patrol (wife and kids are leaving to grandma's for a couple of weeks:woot:)

I've seen a lot of talk about patches and mods so I'm wondering if I should include them.

Patch 1.4b:
- Do you think that it would be too much for my computer to make any changes? Should
- Should I patch up to 1.4b? I'm at 48% realism and considering how little I get to play (1-hours spurts every few days) would the patch take away from the fun?
- What would I gain from 1.4b?

MODS, (JSGME, GWX Gold, SH Commander)
- Do I need these, I'm not going for 100% realism play plus I'm concerned that all the cosmetic upgrades might be too much for the computer.
- Do I need JSGME? I'm not sure if I need it unless it is an easy way to go back to stock SHIII of the other mods are too strong.
- Should I include GWX Gold? What are the basic benefits of this mod? Will the game still be "fun"?
- Should I add in SH Commander? What are the benefits?

Actual Patch & Mod Installation:
- How do you recommend I do this? I can move around on the computer but I'm no expert. I'd like to protect the campaign I currently have, can I put it into an external drive? I believe that to add in GWX and other mods will require that I restart the campaign.

- Let me know if these is anything else you might think I need to know?

I'm free starting tomorrow so I'm hoping to patch and mod by then.

Thanks for your help and remember, "Seien Sie konkurrenzfähiger"

MA

[FIREWALL]

Welcome Aboard BP :salute:

The patch is a for sure and won't effect performance.

Probably will improve it.

The mod choice is excellent but, that depends on your computer specs.

Hope this was of some help.

btw It's nice to see a new member from my neck of the woods. :DL

[Dowly]

Welcome to SubSim! :salute:

[Madox58]

I'd recommend patching to 1.4 just to fix many Stock Bugs.

Use JSGME to add any mods.
It's easy to roll back then if they prove to demanding on your system.

GWX Gold is most likely to much for that era system.
It also uses a Custom installer.
Once installed,
you must do a clean install of SH3 if you don't want it.

Oh, and Welcome!

[Bent Periscope]

Thanks, I'll at least add the 1.4b Patch and play around with it that way. That's good since I don't want to yet lose my campaign.

I had a few more questions; hopefully someone will take a crack at answering them or lead me to some other spots for info.

Thanks again,

MA

[Madox58]

If you could list your system specs for us?
You will get better answers as to what Mods to look for.

JSGME comes with info on how to use it.
It's VERY easy to use once you get started with it.

And if all else fails?
Your in the right place for help.
:yeah:

[Bent Periscope]

I'll include the specs when I get home tonight.

BTW should most new computes be able to handle it with the mods? My computer is 5 years old though it honestly works fine for what I need it and for my kids' use. It is hard to justify a new computer considering today's economy and to play a game. However, if I could, I really only need the computer since I'm fine with my monitor.

Also, what about a portable computer? Could these handle the system and mods? Maybe my wife would be happy if I played next to her at night while she watched TV - that counts as quality time, right?. She loves those Spanish novelas; I just watch because of the eye-candy!:o

Alright, I'll post specs tonight.

[Oneshot/Onekill]

All of the above is great advice, I would only add that your system should be able to handle SH3Commander3.2 . Even if you don't go with GWX3.0Gold you can still use SH3Cmdr, it is a must have.:up:

Welcome to SUBSIM. I hope you enjoy your stay.

[ReallyDedPoet]

Welcome to SUBSIM :yep::up:

[Hartmann]

welcome again on board commander

go for GWX if your system can handle it, i run GWX in a 2400+ single core 2 gig of ram and a ati 2600XT agp card.

:yep:

[Sailor Steve]

Definitely patch to 1.4b. The benefits are too many to ignore.

JSGME is wonderful when you start installing small mods. It lets you try new mods out and remove them if you don't like them. It also works with any game you can think of.

GWX: a little graphics intensive. My computer is from early 2005 (I bought it just for this game). I used to run it with 512MB RAM, now 2GB. My graphics card is still 512, and it crashes if I use any of the damage enhancement mods. Other than that GWX works great. It adds many cool things to the game visually, such as harbors filled with ships, and improves gameplay. If your specs are anywhere near mine you should be fine.

SH3 Commander is an external tool that doesn't affect the game's performance at all. Check out the readme I posted for it in the new Downloads section. It's at the bottom of the SH3 main page.

Installation: JSGME, GWX and Commander will all install themselves, so there are no headaches there. You can install them in any order, as they don't really affect each other. JSGME is only necessary when it comes time to install other, smaller mods on top of a supermod.

Have fun.

[TheDudTorpedo]

Welcome Periscope :cool:

My computer is a late 2004 model Dell, and I run SH3 1.4b + GWX3 + SH3 Commander 3.2 + some mods, and everything works quite nicely for me.

To give you an idea of my system:
Dell Inspiron Pentium 4 2.8Ghz, 125MB RAM, ASUS X800XL 256MB RAM graphics card, XP OS.

[Bent Periscope]

OK, Here are the specs.

I actually have an HP computer, it shows:

3200+ AMD Athion XP Processor
512 MB PC2700
DDR SDRAM Memory
200 GB 7200RPM
Intergrated Graphics with 64MB shared video memory
2.20GHzProcessor Speed
512KB L2 cache

So what do you think I can run?

Also, as mentioned, I don't ave that much time and want to make it enjoyable so what are the amin benefits of the Grey Wolk mod, SH Com. or other mod you recommend?

Thanks & Good Hunting!

[Jimbuna]

Welcome aboard BP http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/welcome.gif

Your processor is the same I'm currently using for GWX3.0

Your RAM should be at least 1GB and ideally 2GB

Your graphics provision is an even weaker link in the chain.

I'd get some more RAM (currently at it's cheapest in a good while right now) and possibly upgrade to a better graphics card (I suspect in your case an AGP) and again not terribly expensive.

Cheaper than a full new system anyway http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/thumbsup.gif

[Oneshot/Onekill]

I agree with jimbuna. your graphics card won't be able to handle GWX without some serious stuttering and very low FPS. Currently I own a computer from 2005 but at the time it was one of the fastest out there. Not anymore, it's a dinosaur now but it handles GWX and some the enhancement mods with no problem.

Gateway 9310XL
3.4Ghz single core proccessor
2GB DDR ram
256mb NVidia Geforce 6800FX
FPD1960 TFT LCD 1280x1024 60Mhz

[Bent Periscope]

It looks like I'm off to Best Buy for some RAM and a Graphics card. I'm justifying these upgrades by saying that the RAM increase from 512MB to 2GB and the possible Video Card increase from 64MB to 512MB should prolong the need to buy a new computer for another 2 years. I really don't do much high end tech stuff on my computer.

Best Buy online shows a HD2400 Pro 512MB DDR2 AGP, is this enough? Sailer Steve mentioned that he still crashes with a 512 Graphics Card so I'm not sure if the new one will be adequate.

Also, I do have an External Drive that gives me another 750GB so hopefully that handles whatever storage issues I might have.

Thanks again for your help.

MA

[Sailor Steve]

Best Buy online shows a HD2400 Pro 512MB DDR2 AGP, is this enough? Sailer Steve mentioned that he still crashes with a 512 Graphics Card so I'm not sure if the new one will be adequate.
Yes it should be. I didn't realize until I read this that I totally miswrote. My old card was 128 and the new one is 256, both AGP. I haven't upgraded since because my card is DDR, not DDR2. They aren't compatible and DDR is much more expensive these days. Also mine only crashes if I try to run the biggest baddest smoke and damage mods.

You should be fine with a 512 DDR2 card.

[Oneshot/Onekill]

I was just about to ask you about that Steve myself. Hehe. Yes as Steve said a 512mbDDR2 AGP is more than enough to run anything SH3. Heck it's probably enough to run alot of the effects in SH4.:up:

[Oneshot/Onekill]

I would lastly add one more thing. If your going to upgrade your RAM to 2GB, you might as well go for 4GB. I understand not everyone has much to spend these days, me included,LOL, but for an aditional 2GB, your only talking around $15-$20 extra.:yep:

[RoaldLarsen]

I would lastly add one more thing. If your going to upgrade your RAM to 2GB, you might as well go for 4GB. I understand not everyone has much to spend these days, me included,LOL, but for an aditional 2GB, your only talking around $15-$20 extra.:yep:
If you are running Windows XP, as most circa 2005 machines are, or in fact, any 32-bit O/S on a 32-bit computer, don't waste money installing more than 3GB of RAM. Your system can't use much more RAM than that. XP is a 32-bit operaing sytem, which can only address a total range of 4GB. But part of that address range is reserved for memory mapped devices, like, say, your graphics card, BIOS, DMI access devices, etc. These days, these devices typically use up more than half a GB. With a 512MB graphics card you won't have much headroom above 3GB.

Buy and install no more than 3GB.

[Bent Periscope]

I finally set everything up last night.
I increased the DDR RAM from 512MB to 2GB. My computer could go to 3GB but I couldn't find a solo 2GB DDR card. I didn't want to wait if I had to order one besides I figured there would not be that much of a difference from 2GB. I could be wrong but considering I only had 512MB, the 2GB looks fast.
I installed a 512MB(I think) PCI card & driver.
Then I turned on the computer. it started a short intro movie that I never knew about.
Then I started up my career and couldn't believe how everything looked. All I can say is that I wished that I had done this years ago.
Tonight I'll do the 1.4b patch and play that that a few time. Then I'll have to really think if I want to install GWX. I'm far from any computer expert so I always get worried when something happens to my computer. Luckily I just found out that my nephew is a computer whiz, he guided me through the installation fo the RAM and Video card.
BTW, if you were like me with an old computer and stock RAM & Video Card, do consider the upgrade. Honestly, it is easy to install both and it looks so much better. I could not believe how beautiful my VIIC looked. I eyes teared.
Thanks for the advise!

[Oneshot/Onekill]

I only know a little about the basic's myself. Glad we could help, you'll be screaming for more mods in no time. Good hunting!:salute:

[Jimbuna]

Good hunting BP http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/thumbsup.gif

SINK EM ALL!! http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/pirate.gif