Thinking of buying SHIII again [Archive] - SUBSIM Radio Room Forums

TDK1044

01-06-12, 10:33 AM

CCIP

01-06-12, 10:39 AM

I'm sure you'll have no trouble. There's plenty of physical copies floating around, and if you don't mind digital - as far as I know, everywhere that it is digitally available it comes with 1.4 and no Starforce.

Make sure that you get a new, rather than used, copy if you can, since that'll guarantee that you're getting a Starforce-free version. I suggest trying at Amazon via one of the Subsim banner links (great for the site :yep: )

No issues with it on Win 7 afaik. I've only tried it on here briefly, but I hear everyone else is just fine. You can also give SH4 with Operation Monsun a try (it models the entire Atlantic, Med, Black Sea, Indian Ocean campaigns for U-boats), since SH4 is a little less finicky with stuff like higher resolutions, performance and compatibility. Actually at this point all three recent titles are worth owning for the mods.

Herr-Berbunch

01-06-12, 10:44 AM

Works well with Win7, just follow the stickied guide hereabouts. That even worked for my StarForce-riddled old disc.

Have fun :up:

TDK1044

01-06-12, 11:58 AM

Any advantage or disadvantage to digital download versus DVD? :)

CCIP

01-06-12, 12:01 PM

There isn't any functional difference really, but people often like their physical copies. Depends on where you get a digital version from, also, since that may or may not come with its own DRM (which again doesn't bother me, but some people really hate Steam for example). AFAIK as long as it's patched to 1.4 you will have no problem running mods etc. with it.

Herr-Berbunch

01-06-12, 12:02 PM

Not that I'm aware, I think you can still mod the downloaded one so all should be well in the SH3 world.

Jimbuna

01-06-12, 12:03 PM

TBH I prefer to have the physical disc so I can install it in whichever machine I choose but that is just me.

TDK1044

01-06-12, 12:42 PM

TBH I prefer to have the physical disc so I can install it in whichever machine I choose but that is just me.

I'll get it from Amazon via Subsim. Will that guarantee me a starforce free version patched to 1.4 , Jim?

Also, because I'm not very tech savvy, if the only mod I want for this game is GWX3 Gold, I can download it here http://www.thegreywolves.com/downloads/ without having to install JSGME? :)

Sailor Steve

01-06-12, 01:29 PM

Since you're in the US the best one available is also the cheapest.
http://www.amazon.com/Encore-16560-Silent-Hunter-2/dp/B0017HIH6O/ref=sr_1_2?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1325874401&sr=1-2
Starforce-free, patched to 1.4, and it comes with an absolutely useless copy of SH2! Doesn't say it, but it should work fine with Win7.

And, as you said, ignore my link and go back through the Subsim link. :sunny:

Jimbuna

01-06-12, 03:22 PM

I'll get it from Amazon via Subsim. Will that guarantee me a starforce free version patched to 1.4 , Jim?

Also, because I'm not very tech savvy, if the only mod I want for this game is GWX3 Gold, I can download it here http://www.thegreywolves.com/downloads/ without having to install JSGME? :)

Yes to the first part of the question....for the second part, download from the link above my sig for a definite troublefree copy (there have been a few problems in recent times with files downloaded from our official website and whilst I believe them to be sorted, I can't say that definitely).

Madox58

01-06-12, 03:33 PM

The link on the website for you does go to your page in your sig.
I've not downloaded Kpts. files to check.

Jimbuna

01-06-12, 03:57 PM

The link on the website for you does go to your page in your sig.
I've not downloaded Kpts. files to check.

No need...he updated his files from mine :03:

TDK1044

01-06-12, 04:02 PM

Great. Thanks. :)

Madox58

01-06-12, 04:04 PM

I'm testing an upload of the complete single install version now.
Once it goes up I'll down load it and verify before posting any links.
:yep:

TDK1044

01-06-12, 04:11 PM

I'm testing an upload of the complete single install version now.
Once it goes up I'll down load it and verify before posting any links.
:yep:

LOVE the sound of that! :)

TDK1044

01-06-12, 04:22 PM

GWX3 Gold swung it for me. I just ordered SH3 via Subsim/Amazon. Really looking forward to it. Thanks Jimbuna and fellow modders. :)

TDK1044

01-06-12, 05:06 PM

Am I correct in saying that as the game will be Starforce free and patched to 1.4, that once I have installed it, I won't need the DVD in the drive to play the game?

Jimbuna

01-06-12, 05:16 PM

That should be the case http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/pirate.gif

TDK1044

01-06-12, 05:22 PM

I'm really looking forward to GWX3, Jim. I never ran a version of GWX when I initially played SH3. I can't imagine the amount of work that has gone into it. Many thanks to all of you guys. :)

Jimbuna

01-06-12, 05:29 PM

I'm really looking forward to GWX3, Jim. I never ran a version of GWX when I initially played SH3. I can't imagine the amount of work that has gone into it. Many thanks to all of you guys. :)

]Simply go to the Gamefront site (link above my sig) and you'll find all the download links are good (including the single install version) http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/pirate.gif

TDK1044

01-06-12, 06:26 PM

Excellent. I'll download the single install version plus the GWX3.EXE file and wait for the game to arrive. :)

Sailor Steve

01-06-12, 07:39 PM

Am I correct in saying that as the game will be Starforce free and patched to 1.4, that once I have installed it, I won't need the DVD in the drive to play the game?
That's the exact setup I've been using for more than two years now. The only time I put the disc in is when I mess things up and need to reinstall the whole game. :oops:

TDK1044

01-06-12, 08:50 PM

Ha, cant log into Jim's site. Some kind of password problem. I've reset it but still can't get in. I'll try again over the weekend. :)

ReallyDedPoet

01-06-12, 08:51 PM

Ha, cant log into Jim's site. Some kind of password problem. I've reset it but still can't get in. I'll try again over the weekend. :)

Strange, just tried it and it seems fine :yep:

TDK1044

01-06-12, 09:00 PM

Seems to be working now. Downloading the first file.:)

Sailor Steve

01-06-12, 09:24 PM

Well alrighty then! :yeah:

Jimbuna

01-07-12, 08:13 AM

Excellent. I'll download the single install version plus the GWX3.EXE file and wait for the game to arrive. :)

You only need the EXE file if you are downloading the seven Bin files.

The single install version is a torrent link and already contains the EXE file.

TDK1044

01-07-12, 08:47 AM

You only need the EXE file if you are downloading the seven Bin files.

The single install version is a torrent link and already contains the EXE file.

I'll get the remaining six Bin files and the EXE file downloaded today. The game should arrive on Tuesday. As I'm off work on Wednesday.....guess what I'll be doing!! :DL

Jimbuna

01-07-12, 11:13 AM

I'll get the remaining six Bin files and the EXE file downloaded today. The game should arrive on Tuesday. As I'm off work on Wednesday.....guess what I'll be doing!! :DL

The wifes ironing? :hmmm:

:03:

Randomizer

01-07-12, 11:19 AM

I'll get the remaining six Bin files and the EXE file downloaded today. The game should arrive on Tuesday. As I'm off work on Wednesday.....guess what I'll be doing!! :DL
Spend some time reading the superb GWX manual; it's well worth it. Good Hunting!

TDK1044

01-07-12, 11:27 AM

The wifes ironing? :hmmm:

:03:

If she's on a British ship, I'll blow her ass out of the water!:)

Jimbuna

01-07-12, 11:33 AM

If she's on a British ship, I'll blow her ass out of the water!:)

SINK EM ALL!! http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/pirate.gif

TDK1044

01-07-12, 12:53 PM

All 8 files downloaded.....just waiting for the game now. :DL

Jimbuna

01-07-12, 03:46 PM

All 8 files downloaded.....just waiting for the game now. :DL

You'll be fine :sunny:

TDK1044

01-07-12, 04:10 PM

I was reading the Windows 7 compatibility thread. I have a Windows 7 Laptop (Home Premium) with an Ati HD4670 video card.

I tend to run the Laptop at 1280 X 720. Any idea what display settings within the Silent Hunter 3 settings menu is likely to offer the best results? As I posted in that thread, I guess I could always set my screen resolution to 1024 X 768 before running the game if need be.

Time will tell :):):)

Jimbuna

01-08-12, 06:19 AM

Personally, I'd set the screen to 1024 X 768 but you'll see what suits you best when everything is installed.

TDK1044

01-08-12, 07:52 AM

Do I need to run the game once before I add GWX3, Jim, or can I install the game and then Install GWX?

Seeadler

01-08-12, 08:08 AM

I tend to run the Laptop at 1280 X 720. Any idea what display settings within the Silent Hunter 3 settings menu is likely to offer the best results?
Out of the box SH3 only supports 1024x800(768)!

The only way to go higher are Kegety's HighRes DLL or my own created d3d9.dll included in the the widescreen mods. But with Kegety's and my DLL implementaion I encounter problems with the latest nVidia driver for Windows7 64bit, both don't work anymore, now they throw anytime the error "Cannot initialized 3D Engine", ...until nVidia v266.58 they work fine. I don't know if there are also problems with the current ATI driver.

Jimbuna

01-08-12, 12:39 PM

Do I need to run the game once before I add GWX3, Jim, or can I install the game and then Install GWX?

I add GWX before running the game...it is at this point that the SH3 folder in MyDocs is created.

TDK1044

01-08-12, 01:09 PM

I add GWX before running the game...it is at this point that the SH3 folder in MyDocs is created.

Thanks. :)

TDK1044

01-08-12, 03:20 PM

Out of the box SH3 only supports 1024x800(768)!

The only way to go higher are Kegety's HighRes DLL or my own created d3d9.dll included in the the widescreen mods. But with Kegety's and my DLL implementaion I encounter problems with the latest nVidia driver for Windows7 64bit, both don't work anymore, now they throw anytime the error "Cannot initialized 3D Engine", ...until nVidia v266.58 they work fine. I don't know if there are also problems with the current ATI driver.

I found a way to run 1024 X 768 full screen on my Laptop. I had found that selecting the 1024 X 768 resolution produced the expected black bars left and right. So, after a lot of hunting around, I found a way to stretch the 1024 X 768 to full screen on my Ati 4670 video card.

1) Change your resolution to 1024 x 768 and open the Catalyst Control Center

2) Use the drop down box at the top to click on 'Desktops and Displays'

3) At the very bottom where your monitors are displayed, click on the little black down arrow and click 'Configure'.

4) This will bring up the 'Properties' menu for that display. Choose "Full Screen" and click 'Apply'.

Yes, this is stretch o vision, but it's certainly an option for those wanting to run the game full screen on a Windows 7 Laptop without getting into using a Hi Res mod. I just watched some SHIII You Tube videos full screen using these settings, and it's fine for me.:)

Jimbuna

01-08-12, 04:50 PM

You could have also set your monitor display parameters to 'auto' if you have the option.

TDK1044

01-08-12, 04:59 PM

You could have also set your monitor display parameters to 'auto' if you have the option.

Not an option on this Laptop, Jim. My options were centered, aspect ratio, or full screen. The fist two leave you with black bars left and right at 1024 X 768. :)

Jimbuna

01-08-12, 05:05 PM

Rgr that :yep:

TDK1044

01-08-12, 05:23 PM

Sailor Steve

01-08-12, 06:28 PM

I have a 28" monitor set to 1440 x 900. It may be a little stretched, but it looks fine to me. No resolution mods. No tricks. No games. No crap.

I hope somebody gets that last reference, so they don't think I'm just being a jerk.

TDK1044

01-08-12, 06:55 PM

I'm with you, Steve. The simpler the better for me. :) I do pretty much all of my online activity on my I-pad. I just use the Laptop for the occasional work at home day. Now, its primary function can be running SH3. It can stay at 1024 x 768 in full screen mode.

It's amazing how far things have come since 2007 since I last ran this game. This Laptop is only a mid range system, but it has a quad core processor, 4 Gigs of Ram, and a video card with 1 Gig of Ram. :)

Jimbuna

01-09-12, 06:37 AM

I ran a couple of the GWX you tube videos at full screen mode, and although the dials are a little distorted, the picture as a whole is very watchable. The hard core simmers would disagree, but it's in the eye of the beholder. Fine for me, and the game should run with no problems. :)

Precisely...play the game the way that suits you best http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/thumbsup.gif

Dbledip

01-09-12, 08:29 AM

I am running SHIII on a ASUS G51vx with a Nvidia gtx260m, Win 7 64bit and she runs fine with GWX.

TDK1044

01-09-12, 09:03 AM

I am running SHIII on a ASUS G51vx with a Nvidia gtx260m, Win 7 64bit and she runs fine with GWX.

:yeah:

jaxa

01-09-12, 01:05 PM

SH3&GWX pack is like first love, always in your mind :DL

You can play using Windows 7 with no fear, but the one big problem for me is resolution. There is no good mods for widescreen LCDs and full resolution. I use 22" Dell LCD with native res 1680x1050 for MaGUI 3.4 with widescreen patch, but this patch is set for lower resolution than mine. Looks better than original, but not perfect.

TDK1044

01-10-12, 05:25 PM

Wow...how amazing is this game with GWX3 Gold!

Where to start....I knew things were going to go well when I saw that the version of the game I got said WindowsXP and Windows Vista. That meant a new version with no Starforce and patched to 1.4.

I installed the game to C:\Ubisoft\silenthunter111\. Having installed it, the first thing I noticed was that I didn't need my screen resolution set to 1024 X 768. The game upscales perfectly. I ran it full screen up to 16:9 with no issues.

Next I installed GWX3 Gold. Then I ran a single mission just to get used to SHIII again. This game loves this Laptop. On my old Desktop back in 2007, being in the control room, map room etc would run the game at about 90 to 120 fps. Being on the surface in a very busy environment with a convoy shooting at me generated about 35 fps.

Things have changed. On this Laptop, I get a reading of about 300 fps in the control room, and about 150 in the middle of a convoy fight. Everything perfectly smooth. Amazing.

The performance of the Laptop and the game is way beyond my expectations.

So, tomorrow I will re-learn how to play this game. Huge thanks to Jimbuna and the entire GWX team. Man, you guys are good! :)

Jimbuna

01-10-12, 05:54 PM

SINK EM ALL!! http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/pirate.gif

TDK1044

01-10-12, 07:14 PM

I didn't install the Windows 9 Media codecs or Game Shadow. :)

Jimbuna

01-11-12, 09:00 AM

Nope, no need...especially on a modern system.

Madox58

01-11-12, 12:12 PM

When GW through GWX 3 were developed everyone was on systems of the day. So great pains were taken to stay with in SH3 system requirements.
Now that most people are on more modern systems?
Those pains are really showing GWX off with room to grow useing newer mods on top.
:yep:

The release of SH3 without Starforce was great in my eyes!
It runs so much better for me and everyone that I have ever talked to about it.
:up:

Castout

01-11-12, 09:12 PM

So, I've been a member here since 2005. I went from SHIII to SHIV, then got the U Boat add on for SHIV, and had high hopes for SH5.

In the end, I refused to buy SH5 because of the DRM, and the fact that it looked like a cheap, unfinished game to me.

I know that SH5 is now DRM free, but if truth be told, the game I most enjoyed playing was SHIII. So now I'm seriously considering buying Silent Hunter III again.

I would be running it on a Windows7 laptop with a decent video card. I don't want to add a whole list of mods which may end up conflicting with each other, so, looking at the Mods Workshop, I'm guessing that GWX3 Gold is the way to go. I'll just have to make sure that the version of SHIII I buy is patched to 1.4. If it isn't, I'm hoping that 1.4 is still out there somewhere. :)

I haven't read the whole thread but I bought SH3 again but this time from steam(I just realized you can make backup to your steam games instead redownloading them if your pc crashed, doh). I have not been playing SH3 for a long time due to Starforce.

GWX 3.0 may be good but unfortunately it is not enough.
Within a week I have added a list of other mods compatible with GWX 3.0 simply because they ADD SO MUCH to the gameplay and feel of the game.
But do take your time and only add mod which you really like and ensure they do not conflict with each other or if they do conflict they are not critical at all or merely made the overall looks a combination rather than a dysfucntional merge.

I don't use high resolution and widescreen mod because the conflcit to some of the other mods I consider critical to my SH3 experience. But I don't mind that I can live with black bars on the edges of my screen.

..and SH3 still rocks!

Dbledip

01-16-12, 10:38 AM

I initially bought the steam version of SHIII but have been having a few small quirks with it and SH3C 3.2. Such as when starting a new patrol I do not start at sea and the crew fatigues quickly (I enable both of these through SH3C). Also my ships names have stopped working (using the latest Apr 11), Lite Harbor Traffic does not work, & the 4g patch will not work. I had wanted to try MFM. Are these issues with the steam version? I notice most mods do not work after I have made a save at sea to continue later and then sometimes work or not when starting a new patrol.

Here are my active mods
Generic Mod Enabler - v2.6.0.157
[E:\Steam\steamapps\common\Silent Hunter 3\MODS]

ThomsenSoundPackV3.2cg
Torpedo_damage_Final_ver2
WB's Renown Replacement
GWX - Contact Color
GWX - Captain America's Officer Icons
GWX - Enhanced Damage Effects
GWX - Integrated Orders
GWX3.0_All_Weather_Guns
GWX3.0 SpySat
GWX - 16km Atmosphere
GWX - Lite Harbor Traffic

1/17/12 I just bought II, III, IV & V DVD from Amazon through Subsim store and will let you know if it I still have these issues.