How much do you value difficulty?

[karamazovnew]

With the recent scare about the SH5 interface, I fear that speculation might do more damage than good in the following months. From what we have seen so far, SH5 seems to already offer a great deal for gamers. Realism freaks will likely continue to cry fault and will rely on mods in the years to come, as they have done with both SH3 and SH4. Realism means difficulty. Sometimes realism can make a game so difficult that players respect it, but find it prohibitive. Falcon 4 and Black Shark are good examples of sims that I value and cherish, but I've never been good at them. Also realism can provide a bit of Role-Play. Having many options and many things to do can be immersive. But doing them all is difficult.

So I'd like to open a poll regarding your difficulty needs in relation to how you are currently playing SH3 or SH4. This isn't about what you want to see in SH5, or even how you would like to play it in the future. We all have our reasons for playing the game, vanilla or modded (love the navy, love WW2, bored of XBOX games, etc). But this isn't about that. I want for you to think clearly and pick your current style of play.

1. Minimum Difficulty (for me, SH is a game):
I view SH as an exotic shooter. I don't like to mess around with plots or tactics. I want to sink everything in sight, the bigger the better. If I get sunk, I load up the last save and keep on going. But I usually never get sunk :hmmm:

2. Moderate Difficulty (for me SH is a challenging sim):
Plotting, manual targeting, tactics are still a bit of mystery to me, but I keep on trying. I try to follow orders, plan my attacks with plotting. I like to know what's going on in the game. I like realism but I don't want it to get to the point of frustrating me. I know that the game can offer more, but this is all I can give it.

3. Normal Difficulty (for me SH is reason enough to join the Navy, if it weren't so boring!!!):
I love a challenge. I want as many realistic options as possible, which I can toggle off while I learn the art of this sim.

4. Real deal (for me SH fills that gap I never knew I had):
This is my sub. There are many other like it, but this one is mine. If it goes down, I go with it. I care about my crew and I respect my enemy. I learn from them and from my mistakes, to be able to give this job 100%, with or without manual targeting. If I bring down a few ships and then get my crew home, it means I've done my duty.


I'd like to point out that for 3 years after SH3 came out, I was a perfect example of Option 1 and I still respect it. Please don't try to boast as it would defeat the purpose of such a poll. Which is to remind Ubi who we are and what we expect from them in the future.

[GoldenRivet]

Had to vote Real Deal

it describes the way I view it to a greater extent than the rest.

I have a Persona or Character that I play SH3 as... if he dies, thats it, no coming back.

When SH5 comes out... for the first couple of weeks i will play moderate realism as i slip into the game

however, once versed in the ways of SH5 - i'll go full on real placing my character into the Sh5 world and Playing out his campaign in Ultra low time compression if i use any at all.

of course i will have another low realism setting character for when i only have a short time and want to get a quick fix with a quick mission.

[Sailor Steve]

I voted 3) Normal Difficulty. Actually 4 kind of describes my attitude, but I've never been able to master manual targeting or wean myself from the external views, especially when I'm in port.

I almost never wander from my assigned grid (in SH3 - SH4 lets you request a new zone and sometimes lets you run free), even if it means getting zero tonnage for the patrol.

While I use the Weapons Officer / Auto Targeting I always take several periscope observations, which doesn't change my chances of hitting but does increase the chance of my being spotted.

I never man the deck or flak guns myself. I keep Auto Reload turned off, and never reload the torpedoes while I'm escaping (a steep dive angle could make one of those one-ton suckers break lose and go right through the hull), or while surfaced if the wind speed is more than 6. I never reload externals except at a dead stop in a dead calm sea.

I always return all the way to port and dock the boat myself.

I use SH3 Commander, and set if for 'Realistic Career Length'. I don't expect to ever go all the way through the war - I'll get promoted to a desk job long before that happens (assuming I survive that long).

And of course Dead Is Dead.

[karamazovnew]

Steve you should've gone for 4. You're a perfect personification of that option. By difficulty I didn't mean at which percentage you play the game. As I've stated, it's about immersion, and realism expectation which both lead to a particular style of play (a sort of INNER difficulty). Let me give another example:

GUITAR HERO 3... don't laugh please...

Option 1: Love the game at parties or for a quick fix.
Option 2: Cool game, I've beaten it on Hard but some songs on Expert are torture... _uck this.
Option 3: I'm one of the only 3 guys that beat Through Fire and Flames 100% on Expert in the world. Ok, not yet... but next time!!!
Option 4: When I get drunk, I play this game and I'm ON THE STAGE!

I'm both Option 2 and Option 4. But the last one is evidently more relevant. It's something that you have, or don't have... and you have it (for SH, I mean) :har:. As you can see, I didn't even talk about type of targeting for that option. Some play it like I do with max time compression, some with minimum (respect Golden :salute:). Some load, some don't. But all of them never shy away from sheer difficulty, but accept as a part of "real life", not even something to beat or master (as option 3 does).

EDIT: there, changed option 3 to make it more relevant :D. Hope it's a bit more clear now. As I said, it's hard to distinguish difficulty options from realism and immersion. Especially for one with a non-english native language.

[Sailor Steve]

Steve you should've gone for 4.
Given what you just said, maybe you're right. I came up 'Hardcore' in the 'What Kind Of Subsim Skipper Are You?' quiz.


GUITAR HERO 3... don't laugh please...

Option 4: When I get drunk, I play this game and I'm ON THE STAGE!
I've never played that game, mainly because I play for real and I'm on the stage fairly regularly. Can't beat the high you get from that.

[karamazovnew]

I've never played that game, mainly because I play for real and I'm on the stage fairly regularly. Can't beat the high you get from that.

Cool, link vids on PM please...
I play a real guitar too, quite good in fact, but not at the point where I can actually ENJOY it. Of course the game is simply silly, but after a few beers it's hypnotic. It's like Rally games (Richard Burns for example), we all drive cars but not all of us can drive THOSE cars. Of course the game isn't real and doesn't even hold a candle to the real thing, but it's still fun.

[Reece]

I voted Normal Difficulty, it is still a game and playing it for example in 1x TC is just not my cup of tea, I play manual TDC but generally prefer quick 90 method just a couple of examples!!:yep:

[kptn_kaiserhof]

my exact thoughts GOLDEN RIVET

[THE_MASK]

I voted 3 . Depending how SH5 turns out it might be 4 .

[Arclight]

Somewhere between 3 and 4; I'll enable any option that makes it more realistic, and conduct my patrol like a real captain would (to the best of my knowledge), but going at real-time the whole patrol is a bit too much.

I'm patient, but I'm just a mortal as well. My time is not infinite. :lol:

(voted 4, think it comes closest)

[jimbob]

Im about 2 I think. I like the visuals a lot.
Manual plotting makes things interesting.

Also, been playing them guitars about 30 years now, actually I have several guitars, some amps etc. It's a hoot !


I don't have Guitar Hero. But i'd like to see this:

http://i.imagehost.org/0818/accirdianhero.jpg

[karamazovnew]

I don't have Guitar Hero. But i'd like to see this:

http://i.imagehost.org/0818/accirdianhero.jpg

Pft... a plastic accordion can't hold a candle to these mean beauties:

http://www.crystalxp.net/galerie/img/img-icons-a-png-guitar-hero-kjtgp1-10613.jpg

Look at the woodwork man! :rock:

[JU_88]

Voted moderate, bascially I dont really care about stuff that can be tweaked later.
Im a more worried about other core features and mechanics such as AI routines etc, (things that cannot be modded easily later on)

Difficuty is effected by a zillion different factors anyway, so long as I can remove any heath-meters-above-enemy-units I will be happy.

[karamazovnew]

Uhmm.. This isn't about what you want to see in SH5, or even how you would like to play it in the future. I want for you to think clearly and pick your current style of play.

Not that I condone the choice, if it still applies. :03:

[Kapt Z]

"Real Deal".

Played that way ever since the original SH.

Use 'manual' tdc, but with the aid of weapons officer so it comes out to 94%. Do miss the external view from time to time, but have learned to live without it.

Realism wins out against high tonnage every time.:up:

[finchOU]

When i was growning up I would be a 3 (normal) type of simer. Now with some experience I am a 4. Its the only way to keep the immersion there to keep me coming back. I think its a must to have all levels as its like discovering a new game once you up the difficulty. No one likes a game you cant win.....but no one plays a game you can win everytime.

[Webster]

well im a "game" player and a "sim" player

it depends how im feeling at the time and how much time i have to play so i do straight "game" play then i can do true "sim" play too so i do both

i see no real purpose for intermediate level, if im not good enough for true sim then i just die

i cant do "real deal" because i love my exterior cam too much to not use it :oops:

[Subnuts]

It takes me three hours to cross the Atlantic in this game, and I have to keep surfacing every 30 seconds to recharge my batteries.

Why is there an option for "Dud Torpedoes?" What kind of retard would purposely sabotage themselves? SH5 takes place in the middle of a war, why haven't I seen any massive naval battles yet? All I see are merchant ships going back and forth and a couple of destroyers that aren't worth wasting a torpedo on. And the "limited fuel" option? I turn THAT on, and my boat barely makes it halfway across the Atlantic at flank speed before running out fuel! And the damage model? One depth charge explodes five feet from me, and I'm dead instantly. Didn't the devs ever watch U-571? The U-boat in that movie takes dozens of close depth charges, and the worst damage is to Matthew Mcconaugh...McCouna...McConahe...McConald's composure.

This game sucks.

[Randomizer]

I still maintain that 'realistic gaming' is oxymoronic and that any simulation value comes not from the programmers but entirely from the player.

What is usually taken for realism is really theatre, evidence for this is the vast numbers of members around here who use "Das Boot" (film or book) as the yardstick for "realism".

How anybody uses any of the SH franchise is entirely up to themselves, there are certainly no right or wrong ways as long as one enjoys themselves.

However, if one seeks to use any game as a simulation or even a learning tool to gain some small insights into what actually happened out there on the Atlantic "not so long ago...", I would submit that they need to impose historically reasonable restrictions on what they do in the game. Kudos to those who do so but also to those who admit just wanting the sound and light spectacular.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

[karamazovnew]

Didn't the devs ever watch U-571?

Well, that's easy to explain. U-571 appeared after the game. So the only thing the devs could rely on was that weird german movie "The Boot". I never seen it cause it's in german. Why would anyone release a movie that's not in english? Stupid europeans.

[Takeda Shingen]

"The Boot".

Wait, 'The Boot' is about submarines?!? I always assumed that it was a documentary about the Doc Martens factory.

[karamazovnew]

Wait, 'The Boot' is about submarines?!? I always assumed that it was a documentary about the Doc Martens factory.

I thought that at first too. But apparently it's about 2 guys and a nazi. Here's the trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5onq__TFPPQ. Looks nice, and they finnaly made the english version :yeah:

[Takeda Shingen]

I thought that at first too. But apparently it's about 2 guys and a nazi. Here's the trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5onq__TFPPQ. Looks nice, and they finnaly made the english version :yeah:

I love it. Having the bad guy in his uniform and arm band means that I won't have to think at all. Uniform=Evil.

[Sailor Steve]

@ Subnuts: :rotfl2::rock:

As for Das Boot, need I remind everyone of THIS?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e50APQxDDYw

Or these?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EM4EN5OlxQ&feature=PlayList&p=01F9ED8A6AACD650&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=26
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCftAR3xVd4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8rV1GTQuyM&feature=related

Remember the old curse: "Be careful what you ask for - you just might get it!"

Sorry, just wanted add to the silliness.

[edit]

@ Randomizer: I've played tabletop games for many years, and there was always a debate over 'Realism vs Gameplay', which contended that the more detail the slower the game. I agreed somewhat, but my own slant is that it's not 'Realism', it's 'Feel' - that old immersion thing. It's really not about what's real, obviously, but about what feels real.

Basically I agree with your ideas on the subject, at least as I understand them.

[Jimbuna]

I prefer 'real deal' but TBH I have altered some files to allow the exterior view for screenshot purposes http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/pirate.gif

[V.C. Sniper]

i dun beliueve in anything < 100%

[miner1436]

Everything checked BUT exterior view, love to take screen shots.

[JScones]

Real Deal here...

First thing to go will be the "healthmeter".

[W_clear]

Must 4.And don't save.

[Brag]

I voted Real Deal. though I don't normally use manual targetting. I like taking screenies, so I keep external view on. I must confess that a few times I have used external view for more than screenies. I also use moderate time compression.

At the moment, I am without an adequate rig to play sims. I plan sizeable investment soon to accomodate SH-5. It will be a terrible blow should SH-5 come out a bummer.

[Méo]

Speaking about real deal, I noticed on the latest in-game footage that we could “still” see the bearing in the periscope view.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that a real U-boat captain had to take his eye out of the periscope, look above and notice the bearing.

Personally, I would really like this feature to be introduced so we could have a real periscope view.

[Sailor Steve]

Quote from the opening post:

This isn't about what you want to see in SH5, or even how you would like to play it in the future.

[Méo]

Quote from the opening post:

This isn't about what you want to see in SH5, or even how you would like to play it in the future.

OK it's not about SH5, so why did he started this thread in the SH5 forum???

[karamazovnew]

OK it's not about SH5, so why did he started this thread in the SH5 forum???

Don't worry, you can say anything you want. My only request was to vote independetly of your expectations of SH5.

I've said a loong time ago (here http://subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=151937) that the perfect interface for the periscope should only consist of a viewfinder, the marks and a small dial showing your orientation. To get the real bearing you'd need to zoom back to the 3d periscope camera and look above (just as you said). The 3D periscope object should also house all the buttons and levers required to use it (keybinded of course). A 3d AOBF would also be cool. But all of this requres an intelligent system of cameras, mouse control and focusing objects.

[karamazovnew]

The reason I posted it on the SH5 section, in the same day we saw the gamey interface, was so that we all have a clear picture of how the community plays SH (game, sim, challenge, immersion). As I said, I don't care about difficulty settings or how many mods you use, but about each player's level and type of involvement. Why would this help?

Ubi needs to sell this game. If they make it too tough, it will scare away customers. But viewing some comments on the trailers, I've seen things like "Looks nice and simple but I'm not sure I want to be a submariner yet". The point is, you can't turn a niche game into a mainstream one. You can't make a World of Warcraft or Halo player switch to a forklift simulator. No chance! Some people say "a good and realistic game sells". Oh really? How many still play Richard Burns Rally instead of Dirt? People want chabang and kabong, there's no denying it. Subs are not chabang and will never be... :haha:. But sub games have a special formula that can draw a huge number of people BECAUSE they are different from everything else. BECAUSE they are hard.

To be honest I didn't expect so many people to vote for 3 and 4. I'm really curious how the poll will look like a month from now. Sure, we're a community interested in the game, in realism and mods. But still, the current numbers really took me by surprise. SH3 and SH4 must've done something right if 60% of current voters were able to immerse themselves so well in the game.

Players like these are much more sensible to changes and much more critic. Just look how many people play SH3 instead of SH4. If SH5 is to be a worthy successor, it must retain that special something. Making the game more hardcore and immersive might actually drawn more players than making it more friendly and chabang. So far, the interface points to chabang, and considering how well received some features were (fps camera, crew), it might be a historical blunder to miss the perfect formula. Think about it, the most immersive sim ever, in what is easily the most romantic and challenging type of simulation.
I guess we'll see.

[Apocal]

SH3 and SH4 must've done something right if 60% of current voters were able to immerse themselves so well in the game.

Sample bias. The people who were unable to immerse themselves or only played the game at the most casual level are the least likely to post here.

[Snestorm]

4: Real Deal.

Don't like shoot-em-up games.
I like to be forced to think logicaly. and realisticly.
No instant kills. I have to earn it!
I ignore "give me" targets (F.eks. English merchant off Norge/Norway in 1943)

My computer is not realy set up for games as there were none of interest to me, until I found the SH3 sim. It's the only one on my machine.

I've already ordered SH5, but actual installation will have to wait for me to upgrade my machine. It can barely handle SH3, and I've never used External or Free View. That being said, I'm not much of an Eye Candy fan.

Do you like video games?: No.
Do you like SH3?: No. I love it!

I hope this was helpful, and not too long-winded.

[Méo]

Don't worry, you can say anything you want. My only request was to vote independetly of your expectations of SH5.

I've said a loong time ago (here http://subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=151937) that the perfect interface for the periscope should only consist of a viewfinder, the marks and a small dial showing your orientation. To get the real bearing you'd need to zoom back to the 3d periscope camera and look above (just as you said). The 3D periscope object should also house all the buttons and levers required to use it (keybinded of course). A 3d AOBF would also be cool. But all of this requres an intelligent system of cameras, mouse control and focusing objects.

Interesting, thanks!

[Sniper297]

I didn't vote because I don't see one for "schizoid". :|\\

I have the hardest time with the external view - I sink a carrier I want to watch it, but then it's SO hard not to use the external view to cheat. Play at 100% realism and your situational awareness is limited to sonar and optics at periscope depth and above, sonar only when you're trying to avoid depth charges, it's all too easy to focus on one target and not see or hear the tin can coming from the other direction. No, don't switch to external view and look around that's cheating ahhhhh rats I can't help it.

The damage model itself is problematic, i LIKE a good challenge but hopeless nonsense like losing the rudder or having bulkheads so badly damaged they can't be fixed in time no matter what you do is only good for masochists who like to watch the death scenes. And WHAT is with the pressure model? I'm 50 feet below test depth and everything is okay, but every minute you spend below test depth generates some kind of weird stress damage? Any of the devs ever heard of equilibrium? If the test depth is 250 and i make it down to 400 without any valves busting loose I SHOULD be able to stay there without the STABLE pressure causing damage.

I'm currently playing all real except external view, and I hacked the fuel to increase the range by 25% (they DID use some of the external ballast tanks to hold extra fuel for increased range) and the main trouble with not having the map update is them lubbers on the bridge and sonar watch. SONAR CONTACT SONAR CONTACT SONAR CONTACT SONAR CONTACT SONAR CONTACT huh? No, that's not four new ones, that's the same one you keep trying to time accelerate while doing the end around. SHIP SPOTTED SHIP SPOTTED SHIP SPOTTED SHIP SPOTTED SHIP SPOTTED SHIP SPOTTED would you prefer if it was striped? Where away, scurvy dog, got a bearing? And if it's the same one you keep losing sight of and reporting it as if it were something new each time you see it again I'll replace your binoculars with a toilet brush and make you permanent head cleaner. WE'RE TAKING DAMAGE SIR HULL DESTROYED SIR hold the phone, did I sleep through the part where you reported that the wing escort turned toward us and bent on 38 knots? Don't you think it might be IMPORTANT to report stuff like that after reporting sighting that wing escort for the umpteenth time? If he's still weaving back and forth on his station while we're running ahead that's considered good, if he suddenly turns toward us with a bone in his teeth, I'd prefer to hear about that BEFORE he opens fire.

Didn't mean to go off on a rant, but for me playing ultra realism means I play with a halfway intelligent crew, I can't even get these mutinous dogs to flood down to decks awash without diving to periscope depth then coming back up, and when I tell the lazy lubbers I want 27 feet they say 27, 25, 23, 22 feet, it's all the same. :88)

[magic452]

I voted real deal as defined.
4. Real deal (for me SH fills that gap I never knew I had):
This is my sub. There are many other like it, but this one is mine. If it goes down, I go with it. I care about my crew and I respect my enemy. I learn from them and from my mistakes, to be able to give this job 100%, with or without manual targeting. If I bring down a few ships and then get my crew home, it means I've done my duty.

I'm never going to play a 1X patrol.

I use the cam for the eye candy only never for tactical purposes. It took some time to learn this but that is how I play. Being in the sonar room and nav. map ducking DCs is real. Knowing you have targets but not what they are till you are ready for the attack is real.

Map contacts off, not real you have a plotting crew for that.
Map contacts on, not real, too much information that was not available to the captain, mostly range being right on. I choose on, more realistic for me but I sure wish that there was something in between. There is a good case to be made for contacts off and I do play that way sometimes.
What Sniper says, all that is not realistic. You have a crew to do that.

For me it's captains responsibility to make the tactical decisions and leave the details to his crew. Attack what you can when you can and get the boat home in one piece. How you do that is up to each individual.

Magic

[d@rk51d3]

I'll take REALISM over DIFFICULTY any day. :up:


Voted Real Deal, now just have my fingers crossed.

[Wolfgang42]

Oh, "Real Deal" all the way.

Comes from my background of doing Historical Reenactments and Living History events. The more real the better.

Test Dive on leaving port, drills, alarm drills, more drills, daily trim dive, the right grammaphone tunes, etc...

[Sailor Steve]

@ Sniper and Magic: You guys sound just like me. I said my piece earlier about manual targeting, so I won't again, but your complaints and wishes for the way the Attack Map works are mine as well.

But there may be a solution. In SH3 I use the Assisted Plotting Mod. It makes it so nothing at all in the way of shipping appears on the map. But if you spot something it appears on the map, but only as a small dotted circle and then only when your cursor passes over it, and even then all it says is "Unknown". If you put your UZO or periscope on it and properly ID it, or have the WE do it, clicking on it now shows the information correctly (or incorrectly if you got it wrong). Other ships on the map still show up as "Unknown", as you can only do it one ship at a time.
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/downloads.php?do=file&id=1328

There was one made for SH4 as well, but every time I've tried to use it I get a crash.

Sorry for the diversion, but I wanted to answer these complaints directly.

[CaptainHaplo]

My answer was Option 3 - for the following reason.

Regardless of how I want to play (and I alternate between ridiculously easy and as hard as it gets based on mood) - Option 3 is the only one that mentioned CHOICES of how to play. Its not up to me to say how someone else should play - and I LIKE Options.

[sharkbit]

Voted option 3.

I try to play as realistically as possible and throw in a little role playing but I just don't like the map contacts options and I like eye candy, so I have external views turned on.
:)

[Nimmo55]

Must be the real deal....for me. 100% realism...or as close as I can make it. The first thing I'm doing with SH5 is turning OFF all the assistant stuff...

Nimmo55

[Sniper297]

Just to clear up a possible (and frequent) misunderstanding, it's not an either/or thing - look at the Microsoft Flight Simulator series for the best example. Hardcore can crank the realism up to 100%, where anyone who has never flown a real life helicopter would find it impossible to hover the Bell 206 even if he tried thousands of times. The casual player wants to hover that Bell 206, he just turns the realism sliders down all the way and he can do it easily. Make any simulator as realistic as possible, the interface and physics can easily be "dumbed down" for the casual player, everyone gets what they want, everybody wins nobody loses. You have to START with realistic though, you can always dumb that down but it's impossible to "smarten it up" if you start with simple. A simulator can easily be turned into an arcade game, an arcade game cannot be turned into a simulator.

[THE_MASK]

I think i am gettin it . SH5 may be more realistic with the FPS play and the talkin to the crew and all . We wont talk about the simulation side though .

[LtCmdrMaverick]

I voted for 'normal Difficulty' though most of the time I play...the Real Deal. In whatever mode I never used the free cam and I dont have screenshots to prove it.

Normal i use when I maybe have an hour to play and just want to fire off a few torps, the Real Deal kicks in when I have more time available and I want to become seriously involved in the hunt.

Maverick

[Sailor Steve]

I never used the free cam and I dont have screenshots to prove it.
:rock: :rotfl2:

I love good wordplay.

[Lord Justice]

In whatever mode I never used the free cam and I dont have screenshots to prove it.



Maverick Sir, mock bravado at its best, here here :salute:

[Carotio]

I voted 3 normal.

Using free view, cause I love to look at all the eye candy.
Using auto tdc, cause I'm too lazy to fully study manual tdc, and because the captain asked his officers to do the calculations, so it doesn't hurt my realism comprehension.
Always using the units on the map.
On rare occasions, I have manned the flak gun myself just to try, and depending on the situation, I man the deck gun now and then.
I follow orders to go do what is asked for, and I always return to port at the dock.
I don't order reload of external torpedos in bad weather, meaning storm. Rain is okay.
DID? Well, I have never finished a career in either SH3 or SH4, but I think mods have more to do with that than the DID decision. I use DID, if I'm to be blamed for the death. If it's a game fault, a bad save or similar, it doesn't count in my book.

[codmander]

I voted 3) Normal Difficulty. Actually 4 kind of describes my attitude, but I've never been able to master manual targeting or wean myself from the external views, especially when I'm in port.

I almost never wander from my assigned grid (in SH3 - SH4 lets you request a new zone and sometimes lets you run free), even if it means getting zero tonnage for the patrol.

While I use the Weapons Officer / Auto Targeting I always take several periscope observations, which doesn't change my chances of hitting but does increase the chance of my being spotted.

I never man the deck or flak guns myself. I keep Auto Reload turned off, and never reload the torpedoes while I'm escaping (a steep dive angle could make one of those one-ton suckers break lose and go right through the hull), or while surfaced if the wind speed is more than 6. I never reload externals except at a dead stop in a dead calm sea.

I always return all the way to port and dock the boat myself.

I use SH3 Commander, and set if for 'Realistic Career Length'. I don't expect to ever go all the way through the war - I'll get promoted to a desk job long before that happens (assuming I survive that long).

And of course Dead Is Dead.
Keep praticing MTDC theres nothing better than whackin a ship from 3500 using mtdc I started by just getting in close and just using the bearing to aim as time goes by you'll add angle and range to your settings ..beleive me theres nothing better in sh3 than hitting a ship at a distance with mtdc youll amaze yourself :)

[danasan]

I like the intention of this thread. I would put myself in between 3 and 4 for some reasons:

"In whatever mode I never used the free cam and I dont have screenshots to prove it." Thanks for that wordplay. Hope you don't mind using it.

I can't get used to MTDC in EVERY situation and sometimes there is no second chance... but maybe that IS real life

I never do a savegame. If I go down, I go back to the start and try again. Regardless the careers state.

Let me add something to the realism - thing. Impressing to me, some words from another (wiser) guy than me. Hope, I can translate the sense.

As far as a simulation goes, you can't add two options.

1. The fear of death

2. The causing of human tragedy

Just my two cents

danasan

[sharkbit]

As far a as simulation goes, you can't add two options.

1. The fear of death

2. The causing of human tragedy

Just my two cents

danasan

Nicely put.
I think we all would act a little different if every decision you made meant life and death.

Welcome aboard. :salute:

:)

[THE_MASK]

Does it need to be a pure simulation to feel real ?

[danasan]

I'd put it the other way round: If it feels realistic, the SIM can't be that bad. But that is some kind of philosophy...

[V.C. Sniper]

Real deal = 100% realism no extern cam or map update

[Sailor Steve]

I never do a savegame. If I go down, I go back to the start and try again. Regardless the careers state.
That's interesting. I save all the time, mainly because when SH3 was new it had the habit of crashing every time I sank a ship. I also can't always finish a session before I have to be somewhere.

As for going back to the beginning, I do that every time some new mod comes out that changes the way the harbors look, or sometimes my boat. In AOD and SH1 I got into the habit of running simultaneous careers from each available base or flotilla, and I continue that to this day. If one of my captains dies, I start a new career, but in the same month rather than back at the beginning of the war.

[danasan]

quote:

Originally Posted by danasan http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/smartdark/viewpost.gif (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?p=1228124#post1228124)
I never do a savegame. If I go down, I go back to the start and try again. Regardless the careers state.

/ quote

I've got an older machine running XP / SH3 only. SH runs stable since the first day. I once put LSH3 V 4 on it. It runs stable since the first day. I once put WAC 4.1 on it. That is definitely the limit of graphics of that machine. Sometimes it waits for a week or so in the Taskbar for being reactivated. I did not change or add any other mod. Alter some sounds OK. If I have to shut down the machine, I have to save the game, of course. It is a technical limitation. But I never roll back after a killing... That would be some kind of cheating. Nothing to be honored for, in my opinion.

All the best for the new year. It's on now here...

[karamazovnew]

Hehe, fear of death :03:. My best moment in SH to date had been in my Hell Patrol. I was in 1940 on the east coast of Britain. The patrol was hellish with patrol craft everywhere and planes making life miserable. Even so, I managed to sink about 50k of lone merchants, mostly ore carriers downed with the deck gun. Then I attacked a convoy protected by 2 corvettes and 3 destroyers. Depth under keel about 30 meters. The place was full of mines. I managed to sink 3 ships from 4000m and was making my way slowly back, stern to the convoy. I was looking through my obs scope to spot mines when I heard a Ping. I swear I started sweating (didn't save anytime during the patrol). They didn't spot me. I ran for home like coward with 8 remaining torpedoes. Doenitz didn't mind though.:haha:

[danasan]

Quote

...when I heard a Ping. I swear I started sweating (didn't save anytime during the patrol)...

/Quote

Best moments of all!

danasan

[BigBANGtheory]

I currently play SH4 on minimal difficulty but aspire to the real deal as I have owned it for less than 1 month (as a stop gap game for SH5 & others but thats off topic).

[kapitan_zur_see]

I usually go full realism with the exception of the free camera for eye-candyness and atmosphere purpose, although I usually restrain myself from using it when depth charged mostly to get the tense experience of not knowing where depth charges are going to hit (with the addition of that FPS touch into SH5 it should give it a very dramatic atmosphere!)

[Catfish]

Hello,

also voted real deal, but :

1.
I often also play with external camera on, the graphics are way too beautiful to miss this ahem :D

2.
It should not be more difficult than it was in reality. I mean pressing a button, or not be allowed to move the periscope for not spoiling your target solution after entering data into the TDC, should only be there and present in the sim, if it would also have happened in reality. Same goes for stabilized view of the deck gun, rate of fire etc. There is no need to make it unnecessarily hard, if you know what i mean - just stay to the real thing as close as possible :up:

Greetings,
Catfish