Retired Submariner

[fyldeman]

Well, I'm a retired civil servant actually. A few years back I really enjoyed SH3 with the Grey Wolves mod and the Commander addon. Then a computer catastrophe cut short my career. I tried again a couple of years later but by then I had a widescreen and just couldn't put up with the stretched (or is it squashed?) image. SH4 - being an American in the Pacific didn't spark my imagination in the same way as being a U-Boat kapitan. I tried SH5 (vanilla) but never really got started. Now I've retired I thought I might dip my toe in the water again and where better to start than Subsim?

My big question is SH3, SH4, or SH5? Being truthful my favourite activity in SH3 wasn't sinking ships but just scudding along on the surface with Lili Marlene on the gramaphone! So any suggestions as to which incarnation of Silent Hunter and with which starting mods I should invest my time would be very welcome. Can SH5 really be as good as SH3 / Grey Wolves?

[Sailor Steve]

WELCOME ABOARD! :sunny:

All three are so cheap these days there's really no reason not to try all three.

SH3: Still offers the most rounded experience, from the very beginning of the war through the bitter end, with supermods and hundreds of add-ons offering a huge variety of choices involving realism, gameplay and just plain fun.

SH4: Better graphics and routines, and with the Operation Monsun supermod you don't have to give up your u-boat fetish. It lacks some of the finesse mods that SH3 offers, but it's still a lot of fun.

SH5: Is much more playable now with the great mod work that's been done, but is still more limited in scope than the previous two incarnations. Still, a lot of people love it.

As for just cruising, my favorite part is leaving and returning to the harbors, especially with the Wilhelmshaven/St. Nazaire mod installed, which means you have to stop and wait for lock gates to open before you can proceed. Silly, but my kind of silly.

[Herr-Berbunch]

Welcome aboard :salute:

My stock answer is usually get all three, as Steve said, they're so cheap nowadays.

That said, I tried all three but never felt the same about 4 as I did about 3, and nor did 5. I daresay that the current crop of mods will work wonders though, it's easily over a year since I tried it, maybe two. :hmmm:

[u crank]

Welcome to SubSim fyldeman. :salute:

[HW3]

Welcome Aboard!

[Cybermat47]

Silent Hunter 5 is very good now, with a full war from August 28th 1939 - May 7th 1945.

[Red October1984]

Hello...and Welcome back to the life of a Kaleun :salute:

Also....SH4 has a German conversion mod....so if German U-boats is what you want, there really isn't a reason to not get all three.

[von Kinderei]

Wel-come aboard Kaleun ... :rock:

[Aktungbby]

Welcome Herr Fyldeman: Go with Sailor Steve 'on all three'; SHIII with at least GWX: SH IV with Monsun: and SHV with Fifi or Sober's mod list to start! Happy retirement!:salute:

[Father Goose]

So any suggestions as to which incarnation of Silent Hunter and with which starting mods I should invest my time would be very welcome. Can SH5 really be as good as SH3 / Grey Wolves?

SH3: Still offers the most rounded experience, from the very beginning of the war through the bitter end, with supermods and hundreds of add-ons offering a huge variety of choices involving realism, gameplay and just plain fun.

Start with SH3 since that's what it sounds like you enjoyed the most.
Agree with what others have said, experience SH4 and SH5 too.
Happy hunting! :lurk:

[desertstriker]

Welcome to subsim herr kaleun:salute:

[Valentino]

Welcome fyldeman:Kaleun_Salute:

[fyldeman]

What a freindly place! Many thanks for the welcome and the advice everyone. I think I'll start by seeing how well I can get SH3 going and then move on from there. I have SH3, SH4 and SH5 all on disc so I can start there and patch them up to date before I start with Mods etc.

And yes Steve, having to negotiate lock gates soiunds like my kind of silly as well.

Thanks again for the great welcome!

[Jimbuna]

Welcome Aboard Matey...always good to see another Brit on here http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/9628/rlw.gif (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/9/rlw.gif/)