Top few reasons you all love this game?

[fastfed]

After coming back finally, I must say I have been missing out!

I like to take an hour or so a day (I admit its probably more :) ) to take the load off and play this game.
After the years and playing SH4 and SH5, I have been so deprived, thinking the newest has to be the best, oh I was so wrong.

The few reasons I love this game.

Obviously you get immersed, but the small details that make this game so exciting for me. For one, with SH5, everything seemed so fake, I love how when I say a command (all ahead full, left 5 degrees rudder) it does not happen immediately, just like it would probably be in real life, it takes a few second for the command to actually take place and then a few more for the action to happen.. That right there is huge to me.

Second is the mods, I cannot say enough about these guys! They really should get all the profits that UBI makes, lol, sure SH3 is a good game vanilla, but nothing you could write home about.. These modders made this game absolutely AWESOME! I cannot thank you all enough!

Third, I can finally die, lol, nothing seems more real than heading right into a heavily escorted convoy and knowing there is a slim chance you might make it out alive AND sinking some ships.. I just finished me 5th patrol and into my 6th, its 1943 and I know the DD's have improved with technology and technique.. I decided to go into this convoy head first, getting pinged from about 4 DD's and sitting at 100M until the perfect time to go to Periscope depth.. I finally make it to 12M after doing my best to avoid the Depth Charges, only to find out when I am looking through my scope something is wrong.. I am angled up staring at the sky.. I think to my self, WTF? and realize those depth charges I avoided was a wrong way of thinking.. My aft compartments were flooding fast and causing my ass end to sit deep and my nose stick straight up in the air.. Just enough for the enemy to fire their big guns at.. I quickly crash dive hoping to fix it deep below (I forgot to have my damage team ready) and before I know it I am digging deep into the ocean, thanks to the big gun I am now taking in water in my bow compartment, LOL is what I did, I was able to quickly fix the problems and return to Periscope. I did a great salvo spread towards a small carrier (Balu class or something?) and went back to 100m, only to hear the explosions going off like the 4th of july..

I never got so excited in a game, it gave me goose bumps.
Unfortunately my batteries were so damaged I was barley able to break a knot, this gave them guys shooting practice and I was sunk with all hands.

I don't play dead is dead, so later on I am going to reload my game..

:) Thanks again modders for making this game what it is today..

BTW quick question.. Using commander (I play GWX3 with commander and a few mods) should I check off the roll back to SH3 setting upon exiting? I just recently checked it, from a post I read here that its a good idea to do this?

THANKS AGAIN!

[timmy41]

The main reason: Because it's challenging.

how many games these days are challenging? not many. theyre all catering to the young entitlement crowd that hates making an effort to do anything.
no more winners and losers, everyone gets an award for participating! :nope:

[frau kaleun]

BTW quick question.. Using commander (I play GWX3 with commander and a few mods) should I check off the roll back to SH3 setting upon exiting? I just recently checked it, from a post I read here that its a good idea to do this?

THANKS AGAIN!

I would leave it checked, and have Commander do the auto-rollback on game exit. This means you don't have to remember to go in and do it manually should you decide to add/remove mods or make any other changes to your game files. If you don't remember to do it, it can cause problems; so let Commander remember for you.

[Zedwardson]

I enjoy the fact that it quickly raises the stakes. 1939 and it is a happy season, lot of nice targets unescorted. Even Late 1940 you have to brave convoys with escorts. That and there so much I have yet to see, for example, never seen the air-force attack a convoy, and only recently did I have the chance to take part in the invasion of Norway. :arrgh!:

[frau kaleun]

One thing I've found that I think makes it so enjoyable for me, is the mix of tactics/strategy with the "shoot 'em up" aspects of actually carrying out an attack.

A game that consists of nothing but moving along a mostly predetermined course and trying to destroy the next hostile element that appears is fun for a while, but only for so long.

OTOH, when it comes to the strategic element, I don't want to command an entire army/navy, build an empire, or anything as grand as that. That's too much like work. :O:

SH3 seems to give me the best of both worlds. I get the thrill of encountering and doing battle with an enemy, and I have a lot of discretion when it comes to how I pursue my own personal "campaign" once I'm out at sea. But I'm not bogged down in trying to oversee the entire Battle of the Atlantic, much less "my side" in the conflict as a whole, and compared to a lot of "shooter" games the variations in terms of when and where I'll meet the enemy, who he'll be and how much of a threat he'll pose, seem almost endless.

Plus I love the fact that, unless I want to be, I'm not tied to the computer, my hands wrapped permanently around a controller or poised over the keyboard/mouse, for the duration of a playing session. I can load up the game, pick up my career where I last left off, and once I'm out at sea with a course set and every station manned to my satisfaction, I can relax and read a book or get up and do some chores and come back to the game periodically to check on our progress or respond to a shout out from one of my crew. I don't have to be right there looking over their shoulders every minute, but I do have to remain mindful of our general situation and the fact that I may need to jump into action at any moment. And that, I think, adds to the immersion factor for me.

[Zedwardson]

I have been known to be sitting in my computer chair, with my kindle reading Nuromancer or Iron Coffins, Listening to my shortwave radio, pressing the time forward key after all the "Message received!" you get with GWX.

[DaveP63]

I like the fact that you can't wade into a convoy or task force like the hand of God and get away with it...:salute:

[Obersteuermann]

For me, it has to be the sheer awesomeness of GWX. I just finished playing the Ice Ice single mission ... nothing beats the thrill of hunting a merchantman while dodging escorts and icebergs. Terrific fun! (for the record, I sank three Flowers after leading them in the most hilarious dance around an iceberg, and bagged a modern tanker - then lost 7 crew while stupidly trying to fight off a Catalina with the flak guns)

That mission had summed it up for me: an amazing game, made even more amazing by the modding community, complete with the immersion that we all love. Best of all, I know I can reload the exact same mission and get a completely different experience to the above. :up:

[Flaxpants]

The challenge, the mounting tension- especially as the stakes continually increase, GWX, the dynamic environment- I can't play linear games anymore. It all adds up to a very exciting experience.

And of course this community with it's multitude of cuddly people.:woot:

[Kapt Z]

Dynamic campaign. Lot's of other great reasons, but that feature alone makes the game for me.

Everytime you go out on patrol you never know what will happen. Even after a thousand patrols you can still see something new.

Keep all the other bells and whistles and have only scripted missions? I would have stopped playing after a month or so.

[nemo7]

Dynamic campaign. Lot's of other great reasons, but that feature alone makes the game for me.

Everytime you go out on patrol you never know what will happen. Even after a thousand patrols you can still see something new.

Keep all the other bells and whistles and have only scripted missions? I would have stopped playing after a month or so.

+1. Plus SH3(+GWX3.0+Mods+SH3Commander) is the GRITTIER U-boat sim ever made...:|\\

[Bosje]

One thing I've found that I think makes it so enjoyable for me, is the mix of tactics/strategy with the "shoot 'em up" aspects of actually carrying out an attack.

A game that consists of nothing but moving along a mostly predetermined course and trying to destroy the next hostile element that appears is fun for a while, but only for so long.

OTOH, when it comes to the strategic element, I don't want to command an entire army/navy, build an empire, or anything as grand as that. That's too much like work. :O:

SH3 seems to give me the best of both worlds. I get the thrill of encountering and doing battle with an enemy, and I have a lot of discretion when it comes to how I pursue my own personal "campaign" once I'm out at sea. But I'm not bogged down in trying to oversee the entire Battle of the Atlantic, much less "my side" in the conflict as a whole, and compared to a lot of "shooter" games the variations in terms of when and where I'll meet the enemy, who he'll be and how much of a threat he'll pose, seem almost endless.

Plus I love the fact that, unless I want to be, I'm not tied to the computer, my hands wrapped permanently around a controller or poised over the keyboard/mouse, for the duration of a playing session. I can load up the game, pick up my career where I last left off, and once I'm out at sea with a course set and every station manned to my satisfaction, I can relax and read a book or get up and do some chores and come back to the game periodically to check on our progress or respond to a shout out from one of my crew. I don't have to be right there looking over their shoulders every minute, but I do have to remain mindful of our general situation and the fact that I may need to jump into action at any moment. And that, I think, adds to the immersion factor for me.

my sentiments exactly!
that and GWX which is the finest balance between fun, history and realism ever created

[Feridun]

Because you can choose your own destiny :)

Free like a fish, swim there where you want...

[HW3]

It is the closest to real you can get. No two patrols are ever alike. There is always something new/different to be discovered each patrol. The greatest mods/modders I have ever come across. They have made this sim a totally new sim from what it was when it came out.

[Brag]

Every patrol is a new adventure. Often it makes one look like a fool. :D

[frau kaleun]

Every patrol is a new adventure. Often it makes one look like a fool. :D

That's not the game, man. It's all the tea cosies. :O:

[OSU]

I love this game because it is made of sheer awesomeness. :rock:

(And making a successful approach, attack, and withdraw from a convoy is just so epic words cannot describe it.)

[timmy41]

I think the greatest part of the game is simply how thrilling it can be. One invests hours of real time in order to make an attack. Math, Charts, Measuring, all must be done multiple times with small windows of opportunity. then you line up where you predict the enemy will be, and wait, and wait, and wait. you doubt yourself, maybe they changed course? maybe they saw me? if so, is there a RAF right above me? should I look? if i look, maybe theyll see the parascope. hydrophones report they hear the convoy, heading right to you, and you feel relieved. to this point your charting has been correct, and now you just double check to make sure the predetermined ships are still in the same spot, make minor corrections, and so on. by now maybe 30 minutes to an hour or more has passed of you waiting. enter info into the TDC, make sure each torp is set correctly, then check again. more waiting. you want to raise the parascope and look but the weather is moderate and by 1943 some of the DD crews have become very good at spotting. every time a DD breaks from the convoy to do its normal procedure of squiggling about, your heart drops, because for a single moment its heading directly towards you...but it returns to its place in the convoy. 10 minutes later your targets are in the scope, quick, is the gyroscope 0? was everything done correctly? will you have enough time to get away? a single mistake will send a torpedo harmlessly passing through the convoy, and several DDs will make every effort possible to kill you. the target enters the crosshairs. do you fire? do you trust your gut?

the amount of effort to 'win' in this game is IMMENSE compared to others. losing is incredibly stressful. just look at WWIIOL, people go bezerk when they lose, because some campaigns for on for months. can you imagine losing after investing months of gametime into something?
but...the satisfaction is that much greater. theres nothing as thrilling as having done your math, hitting several targets within seconds of one another, dodging the escorts, and getting home.

[flag4]

i love the history. i love to read the books about this subject. i love to watch the dvds too.
past reading has been

Wolf: U Boat Commanders in WW11 by Jordan Vause.

Silent Hunters: German U Boat Commanders of WW11 by Theodore P. Savas.

both these books run a similar course with related history on their subjects. the book by Vause is by him alone and the one by Savas is a collection of essays by different writers on commanders not so well known. the one by Eric Topp is very personal on the loss of his friend Engelbert Endrass.

Operation Drumbeat by Micheal Gannon. an absolute classic - i can not shout this loudly enough!! virtually everything you need to know about the operation and running of a u boat is in there.

i have his other one too Black May.........oh god, im dreading reading that one!

i have Clay Blairs first Volume coming soon, Hitlers U Boat War: The Hunters: 1939 - 1942. started reading it years ago but ran out of steam and foolishly took it to a charity shop:damn: ???????

there are so many good books on this subject, and, as i have said before in many threads it is the reading that gives me the immersion into the game.
the game itself is just beautiful! its a shame it can not be updated with new graphics because it is almost perfect as it is. it is the game i have played and enjoyed more than any other and continue to. recently my 10 year old son has taken up the challenge - possibly the youngest commander yet ?

i could continue waving the flag for SH3 because it has given me so much to enjoy and think about. but i will stop now and just take my hat of to the devs and the modders who have made this game the classic that it is and will remain so for a long time.:salute:

(have i been gushing!!?)

[PhantomLord]

Hours of relaxation while travelling. I can do my things like reading a book...
I nearly pissed my pants one day. It was 4am and i left the game 4 hours before in 1x mode. Listening to the interior sounds of my boat i was deep in my dreams... when someone´s shoutin FLUGZEUG GESICHTET! :o:o:o

Hours of excitement and thrill during a convoy attack. The continuously growing tension while planning my attack. There they are! Rohr eins! LOS!
Counting depth charges, hear that pesky ASDIC and the milling of their screws.

Plus the enjoyment of teamwork in multiplayer matches...

Oh man... i love this game! :D

[Foggy]

I probably love sitting behind the desk the most. It's a safe place to be, and I can look at the list of u-boat aces, look at my empty medals box, the picture of my pretty wife. I can also reminisce about valiant, hugely successful missions that I haven't been on, but just might someday if I dump the realism down. I like that the phone never rings, it's fairly quiet, and it doesn't stink of diesel, sweat and rotting food in the office...

[Draka]

Others have said it better - but the main reason I keep coming back to this simulation (NOT really a game!) is the modding community and the outrageous amount of upgrading they have done. The original "game" was pretty good - but the complete re-vamping since has blown all other simulations away - INCLUDING SH4 and SH5 - at least until this same community gets done with them!

In addition, as my computer assets have become better or worse over the years, I can add or subtract realism by way of mods to match my system. Currently I am running on my back-up to my back-up, and I can STILL play - altho not with the same degree of eye-candy or operational additions I became used to!

[Tessa]

i have Clay Blairs first Volume coming soon, Hitlers U Boat War: The Hunters: 1939 - 1942. started reading it years ago but ran out of steam and foolishly took it to a charity shop:damn: ??????

The two Blair books are imo the best single book (though kindly split into two volumes to avoid it looking like a reference book) about the big picture in detail. To just pick it up and start reading it can be difficult as it does read a lot like a history textbook even if it is something of major interest. Reads a lot smoother and faster if you're playing a career (doesn't really matter what time period) at the same time.

If you find your game frustrating after reading about everything that went on during the actual events it really takes the edge of your game and how much worse it was for the actual sailors that went out and indirectly were casualties of politics and had to suffer for so long because of all the beurocratic nonsense.

[flag4]

...is there another thread running like this one - somewhere else?:hmmm:

[Jimbuna]

On the subject of books....I picked these two up just last week and was very impressed with them.

The Golden Horseshoe - the story of Otto Kretschmer by Terence Robertson

U-Boat War Patrol - the hidden photographic diary of U-564 by Lawrence Paterson

[Dowly]

I have to go with "Because it's not on my PC anymore". :O:

[fastfed]

I just picked up "Iron Coffins" from Amazon.. It comes Tuesday.. I hope I like it

[flag4]

...continuing the book lovers club: Attack and Sink by Bernard Edwards.
a snorting good read about the battle for SC42 and the Markgraf Wolf Pack.