SH3 Help!

[GulfCoastTiger]

Hello all, this is my first post on this forum and from browsing around it seems like a great community!

I'd like to start off saying I'm truly not a sim fan. Well, especially of Flight Simulator. Growing up watching my dad play that game... sitting in that cockpit... just coasting for hours seemed like the prime example of sheer boredom. I'm a huge fan of FPS, RPG, and RTS games. Anyway, last week I was scrounging around the Steam store and ran across SH3. Just $9.99 and had a metacritic score of 90?? I had to investigate! Review sites were just raving and raving about the game and I thought to myself.. "Well, I really don't enjoy simulation games... but this seems actually really interesting and i've always loved Sub movies!" With that said I decided to do it.

Hands down best $10 I could ever imagine spending. The atmosphere. The gameplay. The realism. Such a rewarding experience! Okay, enough wasting your time (im just on cloud 9 with this game lol) and on with my probably ignorant questions.

1.) Renown. So I start in 1939 as my starting point (no mods installed) and I do my patrols. Now, my question is... what all effects the amount of renown you gain from your mission? I've sunk 1 enemy cargo ship and 2 neutral cargo ships in 5 patrols. But I almost believe that I got more renown, or just as much, finishing a round with no ship sunk compared to one where I sunk a neutral cargo ship. If someone could explain the renown system i'd really appreciate it.

2.) I'm starting to get better at intercepting boats and getting myself in great position to hunt down ships. My question here is on what do I base how much lead I need to give my torpedo? Can anyone give me a general way of finding how much I need to lead my shots to be more precise? I know im supposed to try to fire between the bearing 350-10'ish. I feel like im just kinda guessing when it comes to leading my shots.... which of course it'd feel better if i KNEW what I was doing then just saying "Hmm okay this seems like enough lead.... FIRE!:rock:".

3.) Me being a beginner, is GWX really worth it? It seems like, from what i've read, that GWX is just an all-praised piece of modding work in all it's glory. Would you suggest I install GWX no matter my experience? Also does it change the campaign?

That's all the questions I have now guys, I realize this post is obnoxiously long but it'd appreciate it if someone could lend me some advice. Even if you just want to pick at one of the 3 questions it'd help me enjoy the experience that much more. Thanks so much SubSim community! :salute:

[von hally]

:up: welcome aboard mate

yes...the best 10 dollars you'l ever spend.

well

1-reknown gives you points to upgrade your boat after a patrol....new batteries,hydro equipment etc. neutral ships are a no-no!!! negative reknown

2-search here on the forum.....targeting ships has been covered many times...by the way..pressing "L" on the target locks it in and gives a pretty accurate firing solution.

3- GWX will blow you away...cant say enough on this....just search the forum.

play stock a while...just to understand the impact of gwx. gwx can be played at beginner too...same options as stock!!

then with JSGME mod enabler and SH3 COMMANDER you will have no life!!!

seriously...if you love the stock game...then...man....your in for a treat!!!

again welcomme aboard, everyone here will try help you as much as they can

[GulfCoastTiger]

Thank you for your response and the warm welcome!


then with JSGME mod enabler and SH3 COMMANDER you will have no life!!!


Can you, in a short description, explain what each of these mods do? I have heard of SH3 commander but I have no clue what it is. While JSGME i've never heard about.

Also do these two mods work with GWX?

Thanks again!

[von hally]

hi mate

i know everything is a little overwhelming just now,...i was you a couple of years ago!!!

look here

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=96026


it should give you plenty of info

dont worry , the more others that read this post, the more help you will get.

take one thing at a time, and your sh3 game will look like nothing you could imagine!!!.

don't go d/l every mod just now...as a lot are already in gwx3.0 (gold)

familiarise yourself first!!!

jsgme and commander info is in the thread above:up:

[YukonJack_AK]

Welcome aboard!:D

First of all - definately get GWX... you'll never believe you enjoyed Stock SH3 once you get your feet wet in a GWX career. Just the new ships (there's gotta be about 50+ new ships) alone is worth it. GWX does not adjust the career so to speak, it just adds alot to the game like harbor traffic, bigger convoys, better escorts, more realistic weather, etc, etc :up: To go with your GWX, you really should get SH3Commander. It doesn't directly effect the game, but allows you great control over your career. Think of it kinda like SH3 the RPG...;) but it also gives you options to tweak your career like adjusting the fatigue of your crew, water clarity, and others. JSGME is a program that will auto-install when you install GWX. It is simply a MOD Enabler/disabler - but it will make you're life immensly easier as you decide to get sub-skins, other MODS and turn on/off GWX's various optional MODs (16KM Atmosphere, Enhanced Damage, Type VIIc/41 playable, etc).

It sounds like a lot at first but really it starts to make sense as you get it all installed. That and there's a whole bunch of guys here that'll help you get sorted out! :yep: Just a word of caution... make absolutly sure you follow the installation instructions for GWX - or you'll have a TON of headaches! :damn:

Good Luck & Happy Hunting!

[GulfCoastTiger]

Thanks for the greeting YukonJack! Also, thank you for summing up the mods for me. I went to the link that von halley provided me and it contained mainly a ton of fixes and 90% were over my head haha. I really appreciate the support guys! Im downloading GWX3.0 via torrent right now.


So I suppose you guys have been playin SH3 for years huh? Does it really keep your interest that long? I've been looking for a game that has THAT kind of pull on me :DL

[Jimbuna]

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

[von hally]

So I suppose you guys have been playin SH3 for years huh? Does it really keep your interest that long? I've been looking for a game that has THAT kind of pull on me :DL


cant speak for anyone else Gulf, but ive been with sh3 for 4 years.

i've never stuck a game/sim so long...and i cant quite explain why?

in essence...its a u-boat patroling in an open theatre of operations...doing the same thing again and again and again...it shoud get pretty boring pretty quickly...but there's that certain "something" here i cant quite explain.
i still sail along at time compression 1 (real time) looking at my boat in that incredibly realistic sea and am still in awe. the fact that in theory i could load the patrol in the morning and set a course....go to work...and eight hours later...come home and my boat would be accurately at some point in the atlantic(or wherever) still plodding away amazes me.

of course i'm assuming no enemy aircraft or ships would have been sited.!!!

some players have taken to having baby monitors at their p.c's...so they can tinker about the house and still react to in game situations...incredible.!!!!!

all this for a tenner?....this is truly greater than the sum of its parts:rock:

[GulfCoastTiger]

Thanks Jimbuna. This is a pretty nice community here. You'd be surprised how many gaming boards... or just any forum boards in general have so many uptight/edgy people. :dead:

[GulfCoastTiger]

cant speak for anyone else Gulf, but ive been with sh3 for 4 years.


That's incredible! I mean, I know i've come across games that gave me the feeling that "Ah man, I can't see myself playing anything but this for the rest of my days..." but this game really does seem so rewarding and also for a dated game... quite beautiful. And I hear GWX actually makes the game's graphics slightly enhanced and I haven't even touched that yet.

I bet the game's difficulty really ramps up in later years. Right now im still chugging away through December in 1939. Not too much activity, but I get the occasional plane patrols trying to end my fun and a destroyer here and there.

[von hally]

I bet the game's difficulty really ramps up in later years. Right now im still chugging away through December in 1939. Not too much activity, but I get the occasional plane patrols trying to end my fun and a destroyer here and there.

dont know if youve read my post on this forum

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=155511

this should give you an idea of how i still feel after all this time




ha!
enjoy sinking those lone merchants or convoys now mate....cose later on its all escorts,destroyers, aircraft, mines,sabotage,radar...........

p.s do not try and engage aircraft when you install gwx.....dive and evade....but give it a wee go in stock...you might get lucky:salute:

[GulfCoastTiger]

That was an awesome read! That sounds intense, and my scarriest moment was a pesky bomb run on me by 2 planes haha!

I really really am amazed at how real this game is... and how real the AI behaves. You literally have to factor in anything and everything in this game as if this was the real deal. Incredible. :D

[von hally]

That was an awesome read! That sounds intense, and my scarriest moment was a pesky bomb run on me by 2 planes haha!

I really really am amazed at how real this game is... and how real the AI behaves. You literally have to factor in anything and everything in this game as if this was the real deal. Incredible. :D


remember the longer into the war...the deeper you have to dive.....180m?

oh, and rig for silent running if you wan to live:salute:

[irish1958]

Welcome aboard and have fun with SH3GWX. I would suggest you play SH3 vanilla for several weeks or so to get a feel for the game. Then you will be amazed at the mods and really see what they do.
Do the naval academy in the vanilla game as it is impossible to do in GWX.
You have to have SH3Commander. The game is really incomplete without it. Read the CMDR manual twice before you do anything with it. JScones gets a bit testy if you post a question that is covered in it.
Also, read the JSGME manual; JScones really gets testy if you don't.:wah:
Finally read the GWX 3.0 manual. It's only a few pages long :arrgh!: but it is the best game manual ever written.

[GulfCoastTiger]

Thanks Irish, sure will do! That's pretty cool that SH3Commander adds a lot to the campaign. Even though im not too sure what all it adds, but like YukonJack stated... kinda some RPG like elements? That would make this game amazing!

[Brag]

Welcome aboard! :salute:

You may find my webbie useful.

[Jimbuna]

Finally read the GWX 3.0 manual. It's only a few pages long :arrgh!: but it is the best game manual ever written.

Sound advice :DL


http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/3465/rtfmnd3.jpg (http://img188.imageshack.us/i/rtfmnd3.jpg/)

[maxextz]

http://www.sprinter-source.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=16221&stc=1&d=1250807942
(http://www.sprinter-source.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=16221&stc=1&d=1250807942)

[KeybdFlyer]

Just about everything that needed to be said, has been said in the posts above. Despite it's age, SH3 is still one of the best strategy-type games around, partially because the concept was good to begin with and latterly thanks to the team of modders who have built upon the original game so that it is now almost a new game in itself. Yes, DO play the straight SH3 to start with - you'll love it - but then you'll install something like GWX and maybe a few ship mods and skins... just wait 'til you load the game up after that! "Blown away" won't begin to describe it. The improved graphics, improved tactics, extra ship types, etc etc are a tribute to the skills of the modding team. Like van Holly, I've been playing SH3 for a good 4 years, it pulls you back time after time (and keeps you up 'til dawn more times than I'd care to admit!) You're in for a treat! Finally, you're right about the SubSim forum. One of the best around no matter if you need help, advice, humour or just a chat. WELCOME ABOARD!!

[Red Heat]

Welcome to the "Wolfpack", GulfCoastTiger... :up:

[Spike88]

Welcome Aboard.

To get the most out of SH3 I, like everyone else, recommend GWX3, SH3Commander, JGSME, and a good book.

[GulfCoastTiger]

Thanks guys, your welcomes are really appreciated! For a game that can be extremely daunting to someone with very limited nautical/naval knowledge and layers and layers of challenge it's nice to find such a helpful community. This game is amazing, absolutely love it.