New to SH3, and some nitpicks

[WH4K]

I bought Silent Hunter III in a Steam sale last week. I also found out about & installed the Grey Wolves eXpansion 3.0 soon thereafter.

So far, I'm very impressed! I just completed the first of the "Naval Academy" missions, and extended my cruise a bit to watch the sun set. Not a bad sunset for a computer game!

I was wondering about a few things though:

1) Why is it that the observation & attack periscope heads always face forward? Even if I leave them pointed towards the stern, then go back to the bridge view when on the surface, they look like they're facing forward.

2) Similar question about the UZO. Shouldn't the attack periscope housing be in the way when I look directly astern?

[GoldenRivet]

on both points, the periscopes are not animated to rotate.

I have ALWAYS wondered this but never said anything.

[Herr-Berbunch]

Nitpicking in 3, you wait till you try the others!!!

Welcome aboard :salute:

Enjoy your cruising enjoying the sunsets as hours of real life pass you by, it's that good. :D

[Madox58]

As soon as you click or press a key to go to them?
You get the same settings.
So if a Camera is programmed to look straight ahead of your U-Boot?
That's what you'll get.
As soon as you leave that area?
It defaults to programmed settings.
Easy to understand.

[Arnold]

Greetings from a fellow noob! What I like about SHIII is the realism regarding the ocean waves. I'm on my 2nd patrol out of Kiel. On my 1st patrol I was impressed upon my return to Keil to be welcomed at night by two blinking lighthouses! Good hunting!

[K-61]

One that's always bothered me is the way light shines through solid objects. It's not a deal breaker, but it does annoy me. It was either through laziness or lack of time to correct it before release to public. Great game that could've been perfect if given enough time to work out a few broken things.

[desirableroasted]

I bought Silent Hunter III in a Steam sale last week. I also found out about & installed the Grey Wolves eXpansion 3.0 soon thereafter.

So far, I'm very impressed! I just completed the first of the "Naval Academy" missions, and extended my cruise a bit to watch the sun set. Not a bad sunset for a computer game!

I was wondering about a few things though:

1) Why is it that the observation & attack periscope heads always face forward? Even if I leave them pointed towards the stern, then go back to the bridge view when on the surface, they look like they're facing forward.

2) Similar question about the UZO. Shouldn't the attack periscope housing be in the way when I look directly astern?

And shouldn't that cold spray actually sting my face? And shouldn't Hans get washed overboard? Why don't those swinging sausages actually stink up the control room?

:)

It's always irked me, somewhere deep, that the watch crew is never in the way when I do a binoculars/UZO sweep.

Welcome aboard U-000, where it is never immersive enough!

[WH4K]

Another, much bigger problem: Is there any way at all that I can get SH3 to minimize to the taskbar?

So far, I can't. At best, I get flickers of the taskbar, but can't actually switch to any other app.

This is really annoying. Sometimes I need to go look something up on a website. It takes a while to quit SH3 completely, then re-load it. Kind of a hassle.

[krashkart]

And shouldn't that cold spray actually sting my face?

Have the wife/girlfriend hose you down with a 2-1/2 inch fire hose every couple of minutes. Might want to waterproof the computer beforehand, though. :shucks:

And shouldn't Hans get washed overboard?Buy one of those kiddie pools, set it up in your gaming room and fill with water. Then have a friend or co-worker jump in once or twice per patrol. :salute:

Why don't those swinging sausages actually stink up the control room?Simple. Hang some sausages up in your gaming area and leave them there for a few weeks. Helps to leave dirty socks and spent underpants lying around, too. :yeah:



And above all, don't forget to forget to shower. :D



Oh, and welcome aboard WH4K! :arrgh!:

[GoldenRivet]

As soon as you click or press a key to go to them?
You get the same settings.
So if a Camera is programmed to look straight ahead of your U-Boot?
That's what you'll get.
As soon as you leave that area?
It defaults to programmed settings.
Easy to understand.


I think he means that - as he rotates the scopes - the 3D models of the scopes in external view remain pointed straight ahead.

[FIREWALL]

Another, much bigger problem: Is there any way at all that I can get SH3 to minimize to the taskbar?

So far, I can't. At best, I get flickers of the taskbar, but can't actually switch to any other app.

This is really annoying. Sometimes I need to go look something up on a website. It takes a while to quit SH3 completely, then re-load it. Kind of a hassle.

Alt - Tab at same time. Sometimes it takes 2-3 times

[WH4K]

I think he means that - as he rotates the scopes - the 3D models of the scopes in external view remain pointed straight ahead.

This. When I go back to the periscope, it's just where I left it, even though it doesn't look that way from the bridge.

SH3 is the first sub sim I've encountered that even acknowledges most subs had 2 periscopes. That they're present at all, and able to be used separately, is impressive.

[Gerald]

Good luck,:salute:

[Sailor Steve]

First of all, WELCOME ABOARD! :sunny:

As to the periscopes, it's probably just something they didn't think of (or didn't have time for, or were too lazy). This is also the case for the observation 'scope in the control room. It always points forward. It's either FM's New Interiors mod or the Open Hatch Conning Tower mod that makes it work, but you can have it be pointed the way you left it - at least when you're inside.

Attack periscope housing in the way? I think the UZO is higher, but I also don't think they could point it aft. Not enough room.

And speaking of the UZO, why is it there at all? The only time they brought the thing to the bridge was when they were actually conducting a surface attack.

It's always irked me, somewhere deep, that the watch crew is never in the way when I do a binoculars/UZO sweep.
Sergbuto made a freecam mod that made you move around the bridge because the watch crew were in the way. Unfortunately it's no longer available, and I can't find it in my collection even though I know I used to use it.

There is an adaptation of it, but I don't remember if this version had the crew in the way, but here is the link:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/downloads.php?do=file&id=1953

Another, much bigger problem: Is there any way at all that I can get SH3 to minimize to the taskbar?
As said, Alt+Tab works. I've always used the Windows key without any trouble.

[Tessa]

Welcome aboard and enjoy the ride :arrgh!:

Alt+Tab has always worked for me in the past to move between desktop and game, be sure to pause the game before you move out otherwise the game will continue to run at whatever TC setting you were using.

For a more enhanced bridge you might want to check out this mod (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=173888&highlight=mg34). While SH3 does have its little annoyances or lack of nuances, don't loose site that the game is 6 years old! The GWX team and moders have done a tremendous job in reproducing the historical accuracy and increasing the quality level of the graphics over the years, more work has been done on this game than any other I've played (and is continually being moded).

If you've only installed GWX you have only just opened pandora's box; there is a plethora of great mods to add on to enhance graphics, add more/new ships, and much much more. All add to the realism and make it even better.

[Gargamel]

If you play it in a windowed mode like I do, you can minimize it by right clicking the taskbar and selecting minimize. Whatever the shortcut key is would probably work too.

EDIT: Ok now as I try it, I cnat get the menu to pop-up.... hmmmm...

[Gerald]

If you play it in a windowed mode like I do, you can minimize it by right clicking the taskbar and selecting minimize. Whatever the shortcut key is would probably work too.

EDIT: Ok now as I try it, I cnat get the menu to pop-up.... hmmmm... We eagerly await your results, the whole world looks at you, :|\\

[WH4K]

Speaking of the UZO, yeah, I can't see that thing being left on the bridge when a dive happens.

It must have been a high-quality, very expensive set of binoculars. Even if that's basically all it was.

I don't see how one could use the UZO to eyeball targets much past 90° to either side. Where would you stand? I imagine the U-boat commanders painted hash marks on the bridge coaming or something, for engaging astern targets. Or just used one of the periscopes.

[WH4K]

If you play it in a windowed mode like I do, you can minimize it by right clicking the taskbar and selecting minimize. Whatever the shortcut key is would probably work too.

EDIT: Ok now as I try it, I cnat get the menu to pop-up.... hmmmm...

I'm playing in a window right now. The problem is that the game defaulted to 1024x768 resolution, which is small and kinda ugly. I have a huge monitor (21" CRT) so I'd rather run it at something like 1280x1024.

Any way to do that in a window? I downloaded & installed the patch to get 1600x1200 res when fullscreen, but it doesn't seem to affect running in a window.

[K-61]

Speaking of the UZO, yeah, I can't see that thing being left on the bridge when a dive happens.

It must have been a high-quality, very expensive set of binoculars. Even if that's basically all it was.

I don't see how one could use the UZO to eyeball targets much past 90° to either side. Where would you stand? I imagine the U-boat commanders painted hash marks on the bridge coaming or something, for engaging astern targets. Or just used one of the periscopes.

Ever seen the film "Das Boot?" There's a scene in there where the Kaleun orders the UZO to the bridge and you see one of the officers clamp it to its pedestal in preparation for surfaced firing of torpedoes. You'd definitely not want to leave such a precision optical device clamped on, seeing as how it would be subject to pressure from deep diving and blasts from depth charges.

[TarJak]

I'm playing in a window right now. The problem is that the game defaulted to 1024x768 resolution, which is small and kinda ugly. I have a huge monitor (21" CRT) so I'd rather run it at something like 1280x1024.

Any way to do that in a window? I downloaded & installed the patch to get 1600x1200 res when fullscreen, but it doesn't seem to affect running in a window.
Nope. Windowed mode only has one resolution to my knowledge.

[Madox58]

So do some animation work, connect the UZO to an extra torpedo tube.
Use part of the animation for opening tube doors to make the UZO appear.
Close that door, it disappears.
Done right? I'd bet you could get a fairly neat view of a guy coming out of the hatch and placeing it.
Blend a Mesh Animation of the Guy to the Key Animation of outter door opening.
The UZO is tied to the Inner Door Key Animation.

I can see it being possible.
:yep:

[Axeman3d]

I can see it being a relatively huge piece of work for such a small gain, particularly in relation to some of the much larger issues the game has. Would you rather have a guy who puts the UZO on or lights that dont shine right through things, for instance?

[Tessa]

An original UZO still in good condition:

http://www.collect-vintage.com/foto_binoculars/u-boat_UDF_7x50.JPG

The front lenses are considerably larger than those used by the crew. The lenses being larger was as important as its magnification/precision. The larger the lens is lets in more light so you can see better at night compared to a regular set of bincoularsl. Zeiss made high quality optics to begin with, any UZO was special in that they were designed specifically for the u-boat per the above reasons. The UZO would have been the most precise optics (excluding periscopes) set on the boat, and were only taken out when for use when attacking.

Edit: From the sound of thins it doesn't seem like you've seen Das Boot. If that is indeed the case you should get it as soon as you can get your hands one (rental, Amazon or whatever) and watch it immediately. It's the most realistic and historically correct u-boat movie ever made, you can learn a lot from watching it if it's your first time.

[Herr-Berbunch]

Alt-Tab works fine for me now, but on my old system - P4, 2.66GHz, ATI X800XL, 1.5 Gig RAM - it used to CDT :cry:

[Jimbuna]

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

Enjoy your GWXperience http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/pirate.gif

[WH4K]

Nope, Alt+Tab doesn't minimize SH3. I can see a brief flicker of the system menu bar, and the mouse & keyboard focus is taken away (e.g. mouse clicks don't do anything in SH3) but SH3 still takes up my display.

Wonder if it's because I am running dual displays?

[Tessa]

Wonder if it's because I am running dual displays?

That is likely the culprit. Alt+tab out of a fullscreen game with 2 monitors can be unpredictable. If you leave your 2nd monitor off while you play it should work fine, if it doesn't that makes this problem a lot harder to figure out.

[Gargamel]

Run in windowed mode. That way you can suirf the net and such while your runningyour patrol, helps with the boredom. Dual screens means you can keep an eye on the game.

[WH4K]

Windowed mode is no good because the only possible resolution (1024x768) makes everything too small. I think I'll stick with having my Web browser, GWX 3.0 .pdf manual, etc. open on the second screen before I start SH3. That's why I have a second monitor, I guess.

Another nitpick: The periscopes don't move on the inside views. As I noted above, they don't rotate on the external view, no matter how you have them pointed, but recently I've realized that they are completely static on the interior views. That's a little disappointing. Does any fix exist, or is one being worked on?

Considering the huge number of doohickeys in the command room that DO move realistically, it's a bit hard to understand why the devs made the periscopes always stay down. Perhaps, as with many other features, they simply ran out of time.

Poking around in the conning tower, I noticed that the UZO is in a cabinet there, even while you're surfaced. Must be the "backup" UZO. Heh.