Crew management help please

[hellR1de]

Hey everyone. New skipper here. Well, at least to SH3, because I've had all the Silent Hunter games for quite a while and it's not until recently that I started playing them, from the first one and making my way up.

So far, SH3 is pretty exciting but I've found the user manual to be lacking a lot of information regarding crew management.

For instance, I don't know for sure what does an exclamation mark on a crewman means, except that I suppose it' because he needs to rest. Is that just it? Does anyone have hints as to how to maximize crew experience gain? As I said, nothing regarding that in the user manual.

Finally, I find boat hunting to be harder than in previous installments, because once you found one it always seems to be pretty elusive, sometimes, suddenly disapearing, even though the sonar man kept reporting contact as "closing" during the last few minutes. Very strange. :06: Any hints on that would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any reply! :DL

[Laufen zum Ziel]

Welcome aboard.

Are you using GWX Gold (3)? If not load it it is great. On crew management many players turn it off by Commander because it is a pain in the stern.

Downloads for both can be found in this forum along with many other great mods..

[Betonov]

About the dissapearing ships, maybe you were sailing in the bermuda triangle. Could be a bug, I never noticed that.

About the crew, the red exclamation mark means the crewman is tired. I suggest you follow Laufen zum Ziels advice. GWX and SH3 commander does wonders

[hellR1de]

Thanks, but I actually enjoy this feature and I'd like to make better use of it :)

[Jimbuna]

The boats disappearing can be down to the fact that they suddenly change direction and therefore go beyond your detection range, or they are sunk by a mine, aircraft, weather etc. or are scripted to do so when they reach their last waypoint.

[Torplexed]

As crew members get a few patrols under their belts, you'll find their endurance increases and they don't fatigue as quickly. When I start with a new boat and crew I usually try the keep the patrols a little short. The Type IIs are good for this as they don't have many torpedoes and are short-ranged boats, so the patrols in them tend to be limited anyway.

[RoaldLarsen]

A ship might disappear from hydrophones if it enters an area where your hydrophones don't cover. The early model couldn't see directly in front. None can see directly behind when your motors are running.

[sharkbit]

Thanks, but I actually enjoy this feature and I'd like to make better use of it :)

You'll get tired of babysitting your crew pretty quick!
:D

Welcome aboard!
:DL

[hellR1de]

You'll get tired of babysitting your crew pretty quick!
:D

What does GWX do? Any interesting features, that could convince me to download it? Convince me... :O:

[sharkbit]

Others can probably "sell" it better than me, but:

GWX won't fix the crew management portion. SH3Commander does that. Commander is a add on that adds many enhancements to your careers and patrols. Besides some crew management options, you can start patrols at sea, enable malfunctions and/or sabotage, realistic career lengths(no more 30 patrol careers), randomize crush depth of your submarine so you never quite know how deep you're able to go, plus many others.

GWX...where do I start?

Better graphics.
16km atmosphere.
Many mods that come with it that you may enable.
More ships and aircraft.
Better AI.
Campaign enhancements.
The list can go on. It is definitely a huge improvement over stock.
There are other "uber" mods out there that are very good as well-NYGM, WAC 4.0.

Check out the GWX website:
http://www.thegreywolves.com/

Play stock for a little bit to get used to it. That is what I did and I found that I got bored with it pretty quick and upgraded to GWX2.1 pretty quickly.
:)

[hellR1de]

Thanks a bunch! Wiiiiilll do! :salute:

[andym]

What does GWX do? Any interesting features, that could convince me to download it? Convince me... :O:



Ok,imagine a Black and white TV......thats vanilla SH3


Now imagine a LCD HD TV.....................thats the difference between Vanilla and GWX!

[Murr44]

Welcome.:) Yes the manual is nearly useless as a game aid. Check the Tips & Tricks thread near the top of this section. You'll find a lot of useful information posted there.

I just wanted to add that, whatever you do, don't click on those shortcut buttons (ie. surface attack, etc.) that you see in the crew management screen. If you do the game will very likely ctd (crash to desktop). This is a well known bug that exists in both stock & modded versions of the game. Unfortunately nobody has been able to fix it so move your crew around manually to avoid this problem.

Like Sharkbit said, play around with stock until you're used to it then prepare to be blown away by GWX & SH3 Commander.

[hellR1de]

I just wanted to add that, whatever you do, don't click on those shortcut buttons (ie. surface attack, etc.) that you see in the crew management screen. If you do the game will very likely ctd (crash to desktop). This is a well known bug that exists in both stock & modded versions of the game. Unfortunately nobody has been able to fix it so move your crew around manually to avoid this problem.
Seriously?? I've been using them a lot since the beginning, without any problem. Knock on wood then.... :hmmm:

[TarJak]

Some people have problems with them others don't . I'm in the 2nd group. I have wondered whether the same group has the problem when saving submerged. Again some people suffer CTD's when the open a game saved submerged others don't. Just lucky I guess not to fall into either camp.

If you want to take a look at GWX go to the site linked off my sig.

:salute:

http://www.thegreywolves.com/gwx3/legacy.php

http://www.thegreywolves.com/gwx3/

[Leandros]

Hey everyone. New skipper here. Well, at least to SH3, because I've had all the Silent Hunter games for quite a while and it's not until recently that I started playing them, from the first one and making my way up.

Finally, I find boat hunting to be harder than in previous installments, because once you found one it always seems to be pretty elusive, sometimes, suddenly disapearing, even though the sonar man kept reporting contact as "closing" during the last few minutes. Very strange. :06: Any hints on that would also be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any reply! :DL
If your sonar guys are really tired they hear less. Switch them for fresh people. I usually give priority to sonar people for promotions and awards. This increase their efficiency and endurance. Also have more than minimum number of sonar people. The other category I prioritize is the torpedo people as their performance relates to the time of reloading. Which can be crucial when you are working with fat targets - convoys....

[hellR1de]

If your sonar guys are really tired they hear less. Switch them for fresh people. I usually give priority to sonar people for promotions and awards. This increase their efficiency and endurance. Also have more than minimum number of sonar people. The other category I prioritize is the torpedo people as their performance relates to the time of reloading. Which can be crucial when you are working with fat targets - convoys....

Thanks for the tip! So far, I prioritized the mechanics, because I found being outrun by boats (caused by inefficient and tired crewmen) very annoying. :DL