Sh5 Re-Review

[0rpheus]

Poor old 5 got a hammering at release, and rightly so. But seeing the work of the modders, and how much they've improved the game, I felt it deserved a re-review, incorporating the mod changes so people can see how it has progressed.

Hard to get the level of detail you need for something like this, but I had a bash anyway: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/review-silent-hunter-5-1388441

Opinions welcome... the story hook is mostly accurate ;)

:salute:

[TheDarkWraith]

The tutorial feature of my UIs mod makes it easy to learn SH5. There are tutorials written and new ones can be written by individuals very easily. Thus I don't agree with your review that SH5 is still lacking tutorials.

[0rpheus]

The tutorial feature of my UIs mod makes it easy to learn SH5. There are tutorials written and new ones can be written by individuals very easily. Thus I don't agree with your review that SH5 is still lacking tutorials.

Ah, I wasn't aware of those at the time of writing. But the review really refers to the in-game tutorial in that respect, in that it is quite limited. :O:

[stoianm]

Ah, I wasn't aware of those at the time of writing. But the review really refers to the in-game tutorial in that respect, in that it is quite limited. :O:
there are some in game tutorials... tdw and trevally made some long time ago;)

[0rpheus]

Shame there's no way to edit it now it's up, or I could include them :(

[horsa]

Thank you, Orpheus, for a very welcome and well written reassessment of SH5.
:yeah:

[Trevally.]

Thank you, Orpheus, for a very welcome and well written reassessment of SH5.
:yeah:

:sign_yeah:

[FIREWALL]

I take the time to read the SH5 Forum and easily keep up with the Giant leaps in improvements and fixes our modders have done to SH5 since it's Poor release condition.

:salute: and :up: to our Modders for all their Hard and Endless Work. :yep:

[bamzors]

Hey Orpheus,
even taken purely as a piece of writing, that updated review really is a very nice piece of work. Congratulations. I think your assessment of the difference between the offering at launch and the modded SH5 today is fair too. I have had a similar experience that the graphics, UI, and performance mods have tipped the game from a flawed product that hints at excellence to an experience that rarely fails to impress.

Thanks for writing the review and helping correct misapprehensions that buyers might have of the original SH5...

Bamzors

[0rpheus]

Cheers, glad you liked it fellas :yeah:

[voxosoxo]

Hull integrity is a hair-whitening 32% and the pumps are struggling to contain the flooding. I hold my breath and give the order to surface....brilliant review ..........:arrgh!: hope it was beer all round ...

[Cold_Gambler]

Great read... This re-review has convinced me to take the SH5 plunge. :)

[jerryb]

Hi, great review Orpheus, new to this so would like to ask where all the mods you use are located, I've found a few but not all the ones you have listed. PS does SH5 not like Windows 7? I'm getting a lot of CTD's.

[BigBANGtheory]

new to this so would like to ask where all the mods you use are located, I've found a few but not all the ones you have listed. PS does SH5 not like Windows 7? I'm getting a lot of CTD's.

Gathering and installing lots of mods is tricky at first but once you've done it you'll realise it was ok.

The first thing you should do as you are using Win7 is install SH5 to a folder off the root of your hard disk and not to the Program Files folder(s), then start it to get the official v1.2 patch.

When you run SH5 right click on the icon and select Run as Administrator option as opposed to double clicking on the icon.

To find the mods you basically have to search either the SH5 Mod sub forum or the downloads section on SubSim, not all mods are hosted by SubSim so thats why you need to find the topic thread to get the link.

Some mods are contained within mods e.g. the TDW New UI mod actually contains about 6 mods in addition to the UI mod itself.

You also need to keep in mind that Mod lists do not always tell the full story e.g. people may have patched mods prior to loading them but it isnt obvious they have done that purely by looking at the list. Additionally you are supposed to have your career saved in port for the application of some mods.

Its a bloody nightmare for non-modders to get right, but have a go people will help ;)

The only easy way around these points really is to wait patiently for Magnum Opus v0.0.5.

btw your review was a good read Orpheus and well written. Given your experience with trying out many mods and passion for the game it would be great if you could re-install it and explain step by step the process of getting it modded up.

[0rpheus]

@ JerryB - let me know which ones you're having trouble finding and I'll find you some links. As BigBangTheory says, some of them are optional add-on mods contained within larger modpacks - for example Dynamic Environment 'Realistic Waves' is part of the main Dynamic Environment mod and can be found in DE's 'optional mods' folder.

BBT is also right to say the modlist doesn't always tell the full story - my version of Stormy's DBSM is blended with bits of Capthelm's Audio Mod, for example, and my Grossdeucher Rundfunk also has other radio stations from another mod manually coded in. This kinda stuff can wait though - it's only by playing around with the files that simple edits like this become possible, so start with the easy stuff first.

Re: the CTDs... well to be honest, I get them too on occasion. There's speculation that some of the new ships in Open Horizons II are causing CTDs and I'm sure Trevally is working on a fix. Sober also posted that deleting the contents of your Ubi Launcher cache can solve some CTDs as well:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=186989

If you're really getting a LOT of CTDs then it could be a problem with your mod-install order - some files conflict, some overwrite and it can become a mess very quickly. Attempting to install lots of mods at once can also cause trouble - if, at any point during the installation JSGME freezes and says 'not responding' at the top, let it finish, then remove the mod and add it again until that message doesn't appear. The vast majority of mods should only be enabled in Port, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Post your exact list from JSGME (go tasks/export to clipboard) and we can have a look and see if there's anything glaringly obvious. There's also a debug viewer included in Magnum Opus (at least I think its MO, TDW will correct me if I'm wrong) that you can run in the background - then you can post the log of the crash and see if one of the more technical chaps can help. :salute:


@ BBT - the thought of another reinstall gives me the shudders, as it took me a fair while to get my modsoup tasting right. :03: I could probably write up a Win 7 install & mod instruction from memory and if I miss bits or get it wrong the Kaleuns here could correct me... It would have to be fairly basic, as mods change so frequently that making specific references to any one mod would end up out of date quite fast, so it'd just be a game-install and JSGME install/instructions for use. Would that still be useful? :salute:

Edit: Oh, and cheers for the kind words re the review to you both! :D

[BigBANGtheory]

Actually what would make most sense is you zipping up your MODS folder (minus MO as that is so large) as the Orpheus Mod soup mix. That way you avoid having to explain the details...

Some players like the fexlibility and options to pick and choose, others are happy to be guided by people that know the game well.

[0rpheus]

Actually what would make most sense is you zipping up your MODS folder (minus MO as that is so large) as the Orpheus Mod soup mix. That way you avoid having to explain the details...

Some players like the fexlibility and options to pick and choose, others are happy to be guided by people that know the game well.

Hmm.. I think the main problem with that idea is that the mods change so frequently I'd struggle to keep it up to date with the latest versions, and the modders themselves might not like me 'hosting' them all in one place. Once Magnum Opus is fully realised this will be less of a concern as it will be the 'one stop shop' as it were.

I also can't guarantee the same mods will work for everyone. As an example, tonight I've spent several hours wiping Magnum Opus and reinstalling its component mods individually to try and locate the cause of general CTDs and the current hydrophone issues with the imported ships in OHII. :doh: Not everyone seems to get these but I'm convinced its not an out of memory issue.. so I'm hacking my modlist to bits to see if I can sort it. Due to the ever-evolving nature of mods this is a process everyone will likely have to go through at some point, until things stabilise... but between Sober's list and my own testing it would probably be possible to create an install order that would work on most systems.


And finally, I'm also a bit wary of stepping on the toes of chaps like Sober & Stoianm, both of whom have contributed excellent tutorials on much of these subjects already. ;) I'm really quite new here and nowhere near as experienced a Kaluen as these chaps, so I'll defer to their wishes and superior knowledge if they'd rather I didn't.


However - what I could do is create a big post that goes through all the startup instructions and JSGME installation etc (could integrate Sober's excellent post on how to get through the tutorial maybe, if it's ok with him), and then list links for the main threads for each mod I use so people can find them easily (though there is a slightly out of date list stickied in the mods forum already). As long as the more experienced members don't mind. :)

Howzat? :D

[mia389]

If need links you can look at my sig. I have links to all my mods I run. It took some time to do but I'm sure will help guys.

[0rpheus]

Holy cow, hold the boat fellas! I won a prize! :D:yeah:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-10-17-reader-review-of-the-months-aug-sep-blog-entry

[kylania]

Congrats!

Btw, how do you switch to the chalkboard counter again, Shift-B gets me the weather but can't remember the counting thing :)

[0rpheus]

Congrats!

Btw, how do you switch to the chalkboard counter again, Shift-B gets me the weather but can't remember the counting thing :)

Hmm, still Shift-B for me, and Shift I (I think) to add a mark. Pretty sure you can edit the hotkey for it in TDW's useroptions... or somewhere... I'll check and get back to you ;)

EDIT: Yup, it's in the TDWuseroptions.py. CTRL-F and find 'Chalkboard' and you'll skip straight to it. :D

[TheDarkWraith]

Congrats!

Btw, how do you switch to the chalkboard counter again, Shift-B gets me the weather but can't remember the counting thing :)

If you use the options editor viewer you can find it's keys under chalkboard :up: