SH career - how long in real time?

[kapuhy]

I've bought the game 5 months ago and I'm currently still in July 1940 in the first career I started. I don't play too often, but given real life obligations I don't see how (short of extreme measures like dumping my girlfriend, losing friends or leaving job) I could spend more time playing, even if I wanted to. With this speed I would be retiring my first captain (unless a depth charge retires him first) in two years or more.

This got me thinking because I often see people posting things like "in my last career" "last two careers I've played" etc. - I'm curious, how long does it take you, on avarage, to finish SH3 campaign, from 1939 to 1945?

[STEED]

Stock no problem but GWX no chance what so ever.

In the real events I think it was nine patrols during WW2.

[sharkbit]

I've been playing on and off since 2008 and I'm around October 1943 with my latest career.

Early on, I only played one career and things were moving along but for some insane reason I decided to play multiple careers in different flotillas. Now I have one in the Med, a Black Sea career, and a couple out of France, and one out of Norway at various times during the war. I wanted to experience the different feel for the various flotillas.
I play one flotilla until I die/retire or am just in the mood to go to one of my other flotilla careers.
On all my careers, when I die/retire, I start a new career at about the same timeframe. I don't go back to 1939. I'd never see the end. I want to experience the whole war.

So, at this rate I may see 1945 about the time I'm retired and my brain is too addled to even play. ;)

I also have been playing SH4 as the mood strikes. That throws a wrench into the whole works. :88)

:)

[Tessa]

This is one of those there is no right or wrong answer to, just everyone's personal experience. In a perfect world, taking into account what others have said over the years; if they had no interruptions and no real life obligations that could barge in on them at any moment a single patrol takes anywhere from 4 to 6 hours with a type VII, 8 to 10 with a IX. Of course if you have a long dry spell the patrol could take several hours longer, of you could run into a tanker convoy in the first hour and be back home in 3 hours with 80,000 tons under your belt.

As the game enters its later time period (mid 42' onwards) and planes start to become a major hassle they can add anywhere from a hour to several extra hours to your patrol time. The later you go the more time you spend underwater at slow speed, or going up and down ducking away from planes which can really start to suck up your time.

[timmy41]

Some people run multiple careers, and some people start off later in the war.
Some people are crazy enough to play the game at a time ratio of 1 for 1!
Play as you play, many peoples settings and difficulty are different, so there are many different results. In low realism even with GWX, its easy to intercept and quickly take down a few ships, and the only part one might spend sitting there 1 for 1 other than the attack is escaping. while in high realism one would need that time to setup, spot, plot, calculate, and so on, and it could easily take a whole session for a single attack that may not even take place.
When I first got this game, I played for hours on end, then I graduated high school and now all my time and money is sucked up by college and other not so fun things :/ havent touched the game in months.

[maillemaker]

I've been playing this game for years. I have made it to the end of the war once, but only by reloading my last save and keeping going.

I have tried perhaps 6 or so careers of "dead is dead", always starting in 1939. I have never made it to the end.

I'm currently in 1942 with a jam-up crew an a Type IXB, out of Lorient. I'm hoping to survive until the Type XXI at least! :)

Steve