Silent Hunter 3, 4 or 5

[DJRenegade]

KK after playing SH5 on my mates PC i wouldnt mind getting it, however its a very buggy game and Ubi say they arent planning on releasing anymore patches.

So i am wondering whether i should get one of the others, 3 or 4 seem the best choices.

I aint too bothered about arcady style games but would like around the same gameplay as SH5, massive open waters, free to plan attacks, realistic(ish?) etc. I also like the manual aiming (however i still need lots of practise)

I am however a graphics freak so it needs to look good!!

Not bothered about price, however i would be buying from steam, so SH 4 & 5 are £15 and 3 is £5 - is 3 a bargin or is 4 overpriced?

Any help would be appreciated, i have never played a subsim until i played at my mates and im in love with the game already!!!

Fast replies may mean i buy tonight :D

Thanks

DJRenegade

[Spike88]

KK after playing SH5 on my mates PC i wouldnt mind getting it, however its a very buggy game and Ubi say they arent planning on releasing anymore patches.

So i am wondering whether i should get one of the others, 3 or 4 seem the best choices.

I aint too bothered about arcady style games but would like around the same gameplay as SH5, massive open waters, free to plan attacks, realistic(ish?) etc. I also like the manual aiming (however i still need lots of practise)

I am however a graphics freak so it needs to look good!!

Not bothered about price, however i would be buying from steam, so SH 4 & 5 are £15 and 3 is £5 - is 3 a bargin or is 4 overpriced?

Any help would be appreciated, i have never played a subsim until i played at my mates and im in love with the game already!!!

Fast replies may mean i buy tonight :D

Thanks

DJRenegade


3 and 4 are both great games, especially after super mods.

For 3, the main super mod is GWX, definitely makes the game a lot better.
For 4, the main super mods are TMO(which I prefer) and RFB, there is also a historical campaign mod(RSRD).

Honestly, I'd go for SH4, because there are mods that allow you to play in the Atlantic, and the graphics are better. Plus it supports widescreen(there is a mod for SH3 and Widescreen, but I had troubles getting it to work and gave up.)

[Ducimus]

I am however a graphics freak so it needs to look good!!

If this is a huge, deal maker or breaker issue for you, then SH4.

[CCIP]

You can also have a full-on German campaign in SH4 with the OM (Operation Monsun) mod!

I think at this stage, especially if you're looking for a balance between features and graphics, SH4 is definitely your best all-in choice. SHIII with supermods does have a few edges, most having to do with the fact that a large community has had an extra 2 years to pick at it and add some cool details. However if you're just starting out, these are not major details, and you'll have weeks of enjoyment ahead. With far superior (at least to my eye) graphics.

You can also always just get both, since they're extremely cheap nowadays.

[DJRenegade]

well as SH4 is better graphics wise, how much worse is SH3 - in comparison to SH4 and 5.

Im guessing SH3 is the better game, but SH4 looks nicest?

[bookworm_020]

well as SH4 is better graphics wise, how much worse is SH3 - in comparison to SH4 and 5.

Im guessing SH3 is the better game, but SH4 looks nicest?

SH3 isn't that bad, especially with the GWX supermod. You just have to remember it is a previous generation before SH4. There are other mods to improve the appearance, but there are trade offs and hard limits you have to accept.

[DJRenegade]

OK i bought 3 :D cant wait to play!!

Taking a lot of advice from This Thread (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=96026) but which of the 2 supermods do i get? I was gonna pick GWX.

The other mods i was gonna pick are;
SH3 Commander
Random Weather

Any others i should use??

I want to MOD this game before i turn it on, so i dont confuse myself ;)

[Falkirion]

Pretty much mate.

SH3 with GWX is the ultimate Atlantic subsim, there's no real peer for me.
SH4 with TMO/RFB and RSRD makes for a great pacific subsim.

[CCIP]

Give IV a chance as well when you have time; even Operation Monsun with its German campaign has a few perks that GWX doesn't (and vice versa, GWX has a lot that OM doesn't). Both have a lot going for them, to be honest, and neither is really 'complete' but you're guaranteed to have an excellent time with both.

3 and GWX are a great place to start though, and comes with superb documentation to get you going! Enjoy!

[DJRenegade]

im gonna get 4 eventually, just paid bills so i have £5 spare ;)

ill probs by 5 too at some point, just so i have them all :)


Is there any good graphical mods, that improve graphics or does GWX have some?

[Ducimus]

Just load and go. Supermods like GWX have most everything already included.

[CCIP]

Just load and go. Supermods like GWX have most everything already included.

Yup. My suggestion is also not overdoing it with the mods until you played the game a bit and know exactly what you like/don't like and want to change. Throwing too many mods into the mix without knowing the game closely enough can cause conflicts and instability. Sticking with one big supermod, on the other hand, pretty much guarantees that you'll have a well-tested and stable game on your hands. And as Ducimius said, that's the beauty of supermods like GWX - they are all-in packages and have pretty well everything a starting player needs.

[DJRenegade]

yea i got GWX 3 gold - gonna start playing later today :D

[Sailor Steve]

Too bad I hardly ever read this forum. I was going to suggest looking at the 'Screenshots' threads in each forum, which would tell you more about the graphics of each game, but obviously I got here too late.

You've already seen SH5, and most of the actual bugs have been fixed to the point that a great many people enjoy it.

SH4 is the best compromise between graphics and gameplay, lacking on dedicated "small" modwork - all the fun little additions that add up to make a big difference.

But you've made a good choice with SH3. The simple fact that so many of us still play it almost six years after its release speaks volumes to its quality and playability. You won't be bored anytime soon.

Oh, and WELCOME ABOARD! :sunny:

[Castout]

Buy both 3 and 4! After all 3 is only 5 quid right?

3 with GWX somehow feels more right than even 4 with a supermod.

4 looks prettier though.

[DJRenegade]

well done my first patrol - i stuck manual aiming straight on. Probs a bad idea, i missed one merchant ship near the beginning of my patrol, BUT i sunk an 8.5 cargo ship using my last 2 bow torps (which injured it) and due to bad weather i couldnt use my deck gun, so i span around and finished her off with my apt torp. Happy Bunny :yeah:
Might change back to assisted aiming tho, i cant work it all out fast enough half the time.

[Castout]

Stick with manual auto is for kids :D

That way you'll get used and get better with manual. There's even more authentic manual provided by mod. Now that's hard. I used to play with it though and it was fun! and not to mention very rewarding!

[Sailor Steve]

3 with GWX somehow feels more right than even 4 with a supermod.
That's because all the people who do all the cool graphics mods for GWX, LSH3 and WAC keep ignoring SH4. Think how 4 would be with those same mods.

Stick with manual auto is for kids :D
Goo goo ga ga. Some of us just don't have the right part of the brain working for that sort of thing.

[Gerald]

Stick with manual auto is for kids :D

That way you'll get used and get better with manual. There's even more authentic manual provided by mod. Now that's hard. I used to play with it though and it was fun! and not to mention very rewarding! The answer to view as a superlative,from Steve!

[Castout]

That's because all the people who do all the cool graphics mods for GWX, LSH3 and WAC keep ignoring SH4. Think how 4 would be with those same mods.


Not really actually....somehow spending 2 hours in the pacific in SHIV isn't as exciting as spending the same amount in the Atlantic in SH3 . . . . .and not to mention all those navigation hurdles the unending string of islands......arrrgh they are a pain to navigate and the #$!$#%$ shallow waters. In SH3 I just take a bit care when going out then I could relax a bit by ordering a straight long waypoint but if you do that in SHIV your boat is going to get stuck on some island :damn:. And it's a pain too to find targets in SHIV.

Well maybe you're right maybe because the supermods aren't good enough in SHIV.


Goo goo ga ga. Some of us just don't have the right part of the brain working for that sort of thing.
What everybody can do it with their eyes closed :O:

[DJRenegade]

:salute: ill stick with Manual - gotta admit, taking down an 8.5tonne cargo ship on my first patrol felt goooooood

Thing is the tutorials confuse me more than working it all out myself:damn: and im still not 100% sure i know if what im doing is correct lol.

[Ducimus]

Not really actually....somehow spending 2 hours in the pacific in SHIV isn't as exciting as spending the same amount in the Atlantic in SH3

I'm guessing that's because your not as familiar with the history of the pacific, then you are with the atlantic. Admitidly, finding "the dirt" on the pacific sub campaign is much harder then the atlantic sub campaign. You really do have to do alot of reading to get an idea of the "spirit" behind it.


. . . . .and not to mention all those navigation hurdles the unending string of islands......arrrgh they are a pain to navigate and the #$!$#%$ shallow waters.

That is something unique to the pacific theater, and in some ways, made the theater much harder for a submarine then in the atlantic. Rocks, shoals, shallow's, and minefields all had to be dealt with. It's not like the mid atlantic where your always out in a deep blue ocean with nothing under your keel except 3,800 meters of water.


In SH3 I just take a bit care when going out then I could relax a bit by ordering a straight long waypoint but if you do that in SHIV your boat is going to get stuck on some island :damn:.

Like this?
http://www.history.navy.mil/pics/sublosses/sublosses_darter3.jpg
(USS Darter in 1944)

(Boat is still stuck there BTW)
http://www.submarinesailor.com/Boats/SS227Darter/DarterWreckage1965.htm

http://en.valka.cz/files/ss_227_uss_darter___1998.jpg
What's left of USS Darter in 1998.

And it's a pain too to find targets in SHIV.
The pacific IS a big ocean. It's all about knowing what ports were used by the japanese (which is no different then knowing about Halifax in the atlantic), and where the choke points are.


Well maybe you're right maybe because the supermods aren't good enough in SHIV.
Ouch. Can you twist that just knife a little bit harder? :haha:

[Castout]

Ouch. Can you twist that just knife a little bit harder? :haha:


:oops:...withthe exception of your mod Ducimus . . . . .. . :oops:

Seen that picture of USS Darter before.

Aye I must admit I'm less informed about the US pacific WWII submarine operation. All I got is the Red Scorpion novel.

One of the thing that most bothers me is that I got the impression that the Japanese govt might be involved in screwing SHIV by making ships much harder to sink(more difficult to avoid detection and takes more torpedo to sink in general). I mean Japanese destroyers seem to have ESP in detecting submarine in their vicinity while history told us that the British had much better ASW capabilities than the Japanese did initially(not to demean US submarine sailors service). But in SHIV it's so ridiculously difficult to approach a Japanese naval fleet without being detected than in Silent Hunter 3. That what really killed the game for me in the end. Even when lying still all of the sudden the Japanese destroyers would somehow able to detect the submerged submarine and started pinging and no periscope was all the way down(retracted) :damn:. I figured Japanese then didn't have much ASW equipment and skills in the early wartime but they certainly had Extra Sensory Perception in game to mitigate the problem of detecting enemy submarines. :nope:.

[kiwi_2005]

Am new to SH5 so of course I'm going to say SH5. It has amazing detail and i'm a sucker for nice graphics. An RPG feel to it but that can be fixed with some mods out I think? I'm stilll playing Stock SH5 just getting used to the commands. Online connection doesn't bother me, no disconnections. Though it took me a while to figure out how to get up the ladder not even my jumping skills from the Quake days could fix it. :haha: