New to the forums

[Gaz360GT]

Hi all :salute:

I am new to Silent Hunter III, having only heard of the game last week and purchasing it on Friday. I was a little worried whether the game would run on my laptop or not, as I have read lots of different reports with vista problems and starforce etc. However I was plesently suprised that the game installed and ran on my low spec vista machine without a hitch and I wasn't asked for a key code for starforce or anythng, so I can only assume that starforce isn't part of the version I purchased. For anyones information I purchased the Focus Essential Silent Hunter III disk from Amazon.co.uk, Just thought I would share that as I have read lots of people seem to have problems getting the game to work on vista.
So far I am really enjoying the game and I am currently working through the tutorials. I did find the first tutorial extremely hard to begin with mainly due to the lack of help (or handholding) that you generally get with other games. But the penny has dropped now and i'm starting to find my feet in this game, I suppose the real test will be when I get into open water in career mode!

[Wreford-Brown]

Welcome Gaz.
You'll find us a friendly bunch, and if you have any questions please ask.

[Torplexed]

SHIII is a classic. Welcome aboard. :salute:

[Gaz360GT]

Ok, I am a little stuck on the tutorials. I am doing the convoy attack tutorial but am struggling a bit. I am only getting enough time to launch torpedoes once because I head towards the convoy at slow speed (so as not to be heard) launch some torps, then have to dive down because the destroyer turns his attention to me.
My problem is not losing the destroyer because I can keep quite enoungh so that he loses my position but I then lose the convoy because at ahead slow while submerged I am only doing 3knots, but the convoy is travelling at 5knots. If I up my speed the destroyer hears me and starts looking for me again.
Can anyone give me some pointers on how to deal with this situation? Thanks in advance.

Gaz

[sharkbit]

It is just like when you attack a convoy during a career. If you're submerged, you are too slow to keep up with the convoy. Normally, you have to wait until the escort(s) lose contact and head back to the convoy. By the time the escort leaves, the convoy is far away.
You need to surface and work your way ahead of the convoy to attack again. This is time consuming, takes patience, and some planning.

If an opportunity presents itself to take out the escort though, take it. You will still have to end around the convoy if you're sucessful on taking out the escort. The convoy will be well ahead of you by then.

Good luck and welcome aboard. :salute:

:)

[Brag]

Welcome aboard, Gaz! :salute:

Maybe you should get closer to the convoy before attacking. I seem to remeember it worked for me after about the third try,

[Gaz360GT]

Thanks guys,

I will try to get closer before launching torpedoes, I was launching at just over 1000m, what would be a good range for firing? also If I am to surface and overtake the convoy for a second attack what sort of range do I need between me and the convoy for them not to see me?
Also one other thing, I keep finding myself using the exterior view when submerged to find out where the ships are in relation to my sub (which takes away some of the realism of the game for me), what is the best way to get their location without giving away my position as I believe the radar and hydrophone(misspelt?) give my location away, is this true?
I am finding this tutorial so much harder than the others as the ships are attacking me and dodging my shots unlike the others!

Thanks again

[sharkbit]

If I am to surface and overtake the convoy for a second attack what sort of range do I need between me and the convoy for them not to see me?


If you look on your map, any time a vessel shows up, there are dashed circles around the ship when you click on it. These show the detection ranges. The big circle is the visual range. (The circle with the piece of pie missing is the ASDIC detection range) These ranges are in ideal conditions.

I usually end around at about 8-10km, depending on conditions.

what is the best way to get their location without giving away my position as I believe the radar and hydrophone(misspelt?) give my location away, is this true?


Hydrophone is a passive sensor and won't give your position away. If you have radar or sonar(late war), the enemy can(and will:damn:) detect you.
Hydrophone can give you direction and an idea of distance but can get confusing with a lot of ships like a convoy. Visual observation will give you exact locations, but if you're deep and evading depth charges, perisope observations are not an option. You have to rely on hydrophones to get a general idea.

Nothing wrong with peeking on the surface using external camera when learning the game.

:)

[sharkbit]

I am finding this tutorial so much harder than the others as the ships are attacking me and dodging my shots unlike the others!


One more thing:
Keep with it. With all the helpful people on this forum, you will have it figured out soon and be ready to terrorize the high seas soon, get bored with stock, and upgrade to one of the many "super" mods out there which will change the experience greatly.

:)

[Gaz360GT]

Thanks for the help sharkbit, i didn't realise the ships were click able on the map! i'm off to give it another go.

Thanks again

[sharkbit]

Thanks for the help sharkbit, i didn't realise the ships were click able on the map! i'm off to give it another go.

Thanks again

You're welcome.:DL
As has been said many times on this forum, the manual that came with the game is best used to fix a wobbly table or line the bottom of a bird cage.

:)

[Sailor Steve]

WELCOME ABOARD!:sunny:

Sharkbit's initial post reflects perfectly what the real guys had to go through to set up a proper attack. At least we have the luxury of being able to mess it up and try again (and even die and try again). Use the external views until you understand what's going where, take your time and it'll come to you.

I usually try to get in front of the convoy and lie low until I can fire from 500 metres or less. That way my bad shooting doesn't bite me as often.

[Jimbuna]

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

[Gaz360GT]

OK, I have completed the tutorial, I managed to sink a ship and cripple one on the 1st attack run, lied low for a while, sank the crippled ship with the aft torp (i was so proud of myself for that shot!) whilst catching up with the convoy again to sink another ship.
I used the hydrophone whilst deep and found it to be an excellent tool for obtaining the bearing of other ships, but is there a way of getting their range whilst below periscope depth without giving away my position?

[Red Heat]

Hi all :salute:

I am new to Silent Hunter III, having only heard of the game last week and purchasing it on Friday. I was a little worried whether the game would run on my laptop or not, as I have read lots of different reports with vista problems and starforce etc. However I was plesently suprised that the game installed and ran on my low spec vista machine without a hitch and I wasn't asked for a key code for starforce or anythng, so I can only assume that starforce isn't part of the version I purchased. For anyones information I purchased the Focus Essential Silent Hunter III disk from Amazon.co.uk, Just thought I would share that as I have read lots of people seem to have problems getting the game to work on vista.
So far I am really enjoying the game and I am currently working through the tutorials. I did find the first tutorial extremely hard to begin with mainly due to the lack of help (or handholding) that you generally get with other games. But the penny has dropped now and i'm starting to find my feet in this game, I suppose the real test will be when I get into open water in career mode!


Welcome to the "wolfpack" sailor! :D
Get yourself ready to the NEXT war...Silent Hunter 5 is coming... :yeah:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/forumdisplay.php?f=244

[Sailor Steve]

Almost forgot:
...and I wasn't asked for a key code for starforce or anythng, so I can only assume that starforce isn't part of the version I purchased.
Absolutely correct. The new versions come without Starforce. Also the new versions don't require having the disc in the drive to run the game. I recently purchased the SH2/SH3 combo for $10, and it doesn't have either of those.

[mookiemookie]

I used the hydrophone whilst deep and found it to be an excellent tool for obtaining the bearing of other ships, but is there a way of getting their range whilst below periscope depth without giving away my position?

Its hard to get an exact range, but you can get a rough estimate. Your hydrophone operator will tell you if the contact he's currently hearing is near, medium or far range, but the best way to see this is to go to your nav map (F5 key). You'll see your sub in the middle and a bunch of lines radiating out from it. These lines represent the hydrophone contacts around your sub. The longer the line, the farther away the contact is.

Welcome aboard! Once you get your feet under you and you feel you've mastered the stock game, give some mods a shot. Our modders have done some amazing work in the past few years. Last year we had a Subsim meetup here in Houston where SH3/SH4 lead designer Dan Dimetrescu was in attendance...he said that even the game's design team had no idea how some of the modders have done the things they've done to the game.

[Snestorm]

Welcome aboard, Gaz.

Sounds like you're doing just fine.

Warning: Silent Hunter and SubSim are highly addictive. Enjoy!

[Ping Panther]

Welcome aboard Gaz :salute:

Keep in mind that not only do the escorts wish to do damage to you, or at least keep you down and under, they do just fine stalling your progress to chase after the convoy that they are assigned to defend. Either way, it is up to you to learn your own particular way along each attack.

This forum is super active and always a great help.

Good hunting!

[sharkbit]

I used the hydrophone whilst deep and found it to be an excellent tool for obtaining the bearing of other ships, but is there a way of getting their range whilst below periscope depth without giving away my position?

Without active sonar-no. With active sonar-yes. But then you are going to probably have an escort heading your way since they will probably hear you pinging.

Like mookie said above, the lines will give you a rough idea. In fact they may be a little too accurate. You can plot a real general course over time using the lines which I don't think is very realistic. Not accurate enough for a solution, but it gives enough information to get a feel for the course of a ship.

With map contacts turned off(No God's eye view), I believe the lines are no longer there(don't know for sure-I play with map contacts turned on).

I'm currently playing around with SH4 and the RFB super mod makes the hydrophone contact lines dashes. That works a lot better realistically IMO. You can still see the direction on the map, but guesstimating range is a lot harder. The hydrophone operator still gives you his range estimates.

:)

[Gaz360GT]

Thanks for all the advise guys.
So far I have started my career and completed two patrols, nothin' sunk during 1st patrol and a lone coastal merchant on the 2nd. Now my next question is; is it as simple as attacking only red contacts that appear on the contact map, as at present this seems to be the only way for me to know who to torpedo?
Also where do my men get these lone ships positions from? I have no hydrophone or sonar and my sonar operator occasionally gives me a bearing, speed and heading for a target that is 30km+ away. To try to intercept these vessels I use the ruler tool on the map and draw a line through the contacts path in the direction he is heading and try to intercept him along that line (hasn't worked yet, the contact seems to disappear!) Is this a good way to try and intercept him?
Oh and my last question is should I upgrade to a Type II-D sub or shall I wait a little while, save up some renown and upgrade to the Type VII-B sub? as i'm finding that in the Type II-A sub I am returning to port after a patrol with just over empty fuel!

[sharkbit]

So many questions young grasshopper!:D

is it as simple as attacking only red contacts that appear on the contact map, as at present this seems to be the only way for me to know who to torpedo?

With stock-yes. Red contacts=enemy ships; green contacts=neutral ships; blue contacts=friendly(don't sink these :oops:).
GWX takes the color coding out and you need to identify your targets by their flags before shooting. That can be difficult at night and embarrasing at times.

Also where do my men get these lone ships positions from?
Radio reports from Bdu. They are not always accurate but if close, worth intercepting.
Here is a link to an interception tutorial:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=88961

Well worth learning. It becomes second nature pretty quick. You're interception success will improve with this.

Oh and my last question is should I upgrade to a Type II-D sub or shall I wait a little while, save up some renown and upgrade to the Type VII-B sub?

Personal opinion, but the Type II gets old when you are starting out in the game. 5 eels and no deck gun. Upgrade to a VIIB as quick as possible or start a new career out of Wilhelmshaven with a shiny new VIIB.

I do know some people love the Type II. I'm running a Black Sea career in a IID and they are kinda fun in that limited theater.

:)

[Gaz360GT]

Thanks alot, this forum is extremely helpful.
That interception tutorial looks complicated, I have printed it so i'm going to go get some practice. I did intend to have manual targeting learnt by now but didn't realise how involved this game can be, once I have my hunting techniques sorted I will learn to manually fire torps (currently using the lock on and fire method).

Thanks for the help (again!:DL)

[sharkbit]

Read through the tutorial a couple of times and practice. Like I said, it's not too bad once you get the hang of it.

:)

[Captain Nemo]

Thanks alot, this forum is extremely helpful.
That interception tutorial looks complicated, I have printed it so i'm going to go get some practice. I did intend to have manual targeting learnt by now but didn't realise how involved this game can be, once I have my hunting techniques sorted I will learn to manually fire torps (currently using the lock on and fire method).

Thanks for the help (again!:DL)

I find the interception tutorial described in the link a bit cumbersome for my needs. Although it works well, the method I use in my opinion is much easier. If you receive a contact report draw a line with the ruler in the direction it is heading. Then ask your navigation officer to plot a course that intercepts that line by putting the waypoint somewhere on that line. Where the waypoint intercepts the course of the contact it will give a time it wil take for your u-boat to get there, lets say at full speed it will take two hours. If the contact is reported as slow this is approximately six knots. Then work out how far the contact would have travelled in two hours, I have chart that converts knots to kilometres and distanced travelled in hours for quick reference. If it works out that you will get to the interception point just ahead of the contact then fine, if not then re-adjust your waypoint and recalculate. With convoy contact reports it gives the speed of the convoy which makes it slightly easier to intercept. With this method I'm on my way to intercept a contact within a minute or so sometimes less. At the end of the day it's what works best for you.

Nemo

[mookiemookie]

but didn't realise how involved this game can be

That's the beauty of the game: you can make it as involved as you want. You'll find yourself getting more and more hardcore as you learn about the game and the U-boat war in general.

SH3 got me very involved in learning all I could about the Battle of the Atlantic. My bookshelves are full of books on it now!

[subvers4]

Welcome aboard GAZ360GT, yes it can get very involved and addictive, but you're in the right place here, ask as many questions as you like, there will always be someone able to help you out, we all started out the same way. :salute: