actually its quite brilliant - with all the mods

[tonyj]

Couple of days ago i posted a negative thread about how bad this game was so I thought i'd give it another chance as I had a couple of days to spare.

Well i've installed all the mods, hooked it up to 40" tv and spent 2 days on it and even though i can't exit my current patrol due to a bug, which i'm really annoyed at, i'm completely hooked on this game.

At one point i had about 6 destroyers around me while i was sneaking in to attack shipping in an enemy harbour, I was on the surface, at night and listening to the hushed voices of my crew reporting the positions of the escorts, and background music playing, it was just like das boot during the surface attack. stonkingly brilliant! it was my greatest SH moment without doubt.

I think having to get alot closer to the targets (about 800m), not having a fire and forget auto targeting button has changed the whole dynamic of the SH games. i really have to work the targets now.

Interestingly, watching how the escorts react to my periscope, engines and orientation on the map is really cool, something that i didn't appreciate at first. Its also an excellent learning tool as well.

I also think the graphics that work are quite brililant, even my wife said 'that looks real' looking at the external view of the sub on the surface.

And another thing, i noticed when an escort turns at high speed, the ripples coming away from the back of the ship are a beautifully subtle effect. the foam is fantastic too and adds huge amounts.

There's something quite magical about this game deep down and with the rough edges taken off, with patches and mods, its going to be rather wonderful. I urge anyone who's fed up with it, to install all the mods you can and try it again because they made all the difference for me.

RIP SH? No. I take it back, i'm glad i was wrong about this game.

now how the hell am i going to end my patrol? hmmm..... :DL

cheers
Tony

[Jeevz]

Some people were reporting being unable to exit patrols because their base got changed while they were out. Is there still a little blue diamond with a sub in it next to Kiel (assuming that's where you started)? If not look for the icon at a different base.

[Sailor Steve]

Nice post, tonyj!

I also think the graphics that work are quite brililant, even my wife said 'that looks real' looking at the external view of the sub on the surface.

And another thing, i noticed when an escort turns at high speed, the ripples coming away from the back of the ship are a beautifully subtle effect. the foam is fantastic too and adds huge amounts.
I sway back and forth between absolute realism and eye candy. I want my sims to play right, since I don't play any other games, but I also spend time looking at the ships in SH3 as I leave my home port. I can't wait until I can play SH5, because the layouts of the harbors seem to be correct this time.

There's something quite magical about this game deep down...
And that's the undifinable 'something' that keeps a good sim (or any game, for that matter) going long after its life should be ended.

Thanks for the report.:salute:

[BlackSpot]

Easy tiger. You'll be telling us next that's it's good value for money :O:
Joking apart ... I agree. It's certainly not "unplayable" :DL

[tonyj]

thx for the tip. i'll have a look, sure thats it.

lol, value for money? its definately far from finished and there are alot of bugs but you have to stick with it.

[Biscuit]

I did not like it at first but after i installed a mod that gave me my old style controls and a compass back it has grown on me.

[EAF274 Johan]

Some people were reporting being unable to exit patrols because their base got changed while they were out. Is there still a little blue diamond with a sub in it next to Kiel (assuming that's where you started)? If not look for the icon at a different base.
You just solved my problem, thanks! :up:

On topic: I wouldn't call SH5 brilliant, but I agree that now the first mods are starting to appear (especially the interface mod), its potential is starting to show. That should be no excuse for the state SH5 was released in, though. Also, some of the reported problems might have been avoided if the game documentation and in-game information had been better. I'm hopeful now that once the most glaring issues are resolved, modders will be able to turn their attention to increasing the realism and then... the game may still shine.

[Highbury]

Some people were reporting being unable to exit patrols because their base got changed while they were out. Is there still a little blue diamond with a sub in it next to Kiel (assuming that's where you started)? If not look for the icon at a different base.

I missed it at first, went all the way to Kiel before I figured it out. I had been looking at all of the bases and thinking "WTH.. they ALL have a tilted anchor!". Luckily I was called away while playing and had saved as I was passing Heligoland. :up:

I agree though. Still buggy as hell and a few "features" that were bad decisions IMO are still there, but the latest mods do show a gem of a game underneath.

[CCIP]

It has its moments now :)

I am very optimistic. But huge credit goes to several modders here, without whom the game would absolutely not be playable for longer than just quick MP sessions right now. At least now it's giving a good glimpse of things to come.

[Barso]

Same here, I know I may not be a veteran of subsims but I have always been obsessed with them since a child so I may be looking at the game with rose tinted glasses.
But I am really enjoying it.
I hope the dev team is given the time,money and resources to patch it up and get rid of the bugs and glitches.

[Gammelpreusse]

I have to add here. There are many things getting onto my nerves in this game, occassional hicups due to a wobbly internet connection the most annoying one, shortly followed by the darn internet saves. This whole business adds a certain stress level to the game thats really not nessaccary and I can only hope UBI gets rid of this sooner or later. There are more creative ways to protect against piracy not making the honest customer the victim. I also encountered a couple bugs that were bothersome, but no potential game killers.

However, and after installing the old key commands, I have to agree, there is a lot of cool stuff under the hood. I actually like the new GUI, not it's design, which is a tad too modern, but the basic function indeed borders on brilliance. Instead of entering all data per hand the new menu actually feels like you are interacting with your crew in a weird way, if that makes any sense. The new GUI in general has several strokes of genius, the compact torpedo menu beeing the best one. More compact yet easily useable is hardly possible, there went a lot of thinking into it. The only function I miss is spread angle for salvoes, though that may just be hidden somehwere. All it needs is a design overhaul more fitting to WW2.

Beeing forced to move within the submarine at first was akward and time consuming. By now this need gave me a sense of immersion I would not have thought possible. You "have" to interact with your crew, and though I wished some communication could be done over speakers, all in all I love to expirience the game in such a way. It's the end of the "can decide everything at the same time god mode" and actually more into "simulation". Though at least in this department lots of improvements are a real requirement. Movement kinda sucks, when used to the movement in modern 3D shooters the one in SHV is way to edgy(?); dunno, moving does not work as smooth as it should/could, imho. (or maybe it is just an FPS problem, will have to check)

I also really like the new interactive map, the whole layout is helpful and atmopheric at the same time. The whole game has "immersion" written over it and with a bit of work it has huge potential me thinks.

Maybe, due to all of the bad reviews and thus low expectations before firing up SH V (and many expiriences just as described in these) the positive parts shine the more.

[Will-Rommel]

Mods ftw ! :up: