Just to introduce myself.

[ReubenJames]

Hello everyone,

I am a newbie to the submarine community. A little bit of my background perhaps, would help to character myself and see if I would be appointed to a sailor role.

Since 1995, I was in the USNF, serving the EA team. I have flew various airplanes in USNF since then. In Jan 1999, I joined the Falcon 4.0 and flew the F-16 for a little less than 4 years before I retired from the F-16 squadron. Since then I had taken up roles in Jane's Fleet Command and later Sub Command. In the last 3 years, I have been serving the infrantry like BF-1942, BF-2 and lately SWAT 4.

I read many review about SH-III and somehow, feel the needs to do something less dynamic. All I know about naval warfare is it takes time to deploy and get into position. Unlike in aerial combat, we can get on stations in a few seconds and taking out targets is just a matter of 4 to 5 seconds. But in naval warefare, I suppose it takes lots of attentions and patience.

Pleas tell me what SH-III is like. And I would like to know if it worths the money to get the simulation. How hard-core it is? One more thing, I fancy submarine warfare is because I have watched too many times "Hunt for the RED October", "Crimsom Tide" and "K-19". That sort of search and destroy is fun. But would it take ages to kill a sub? All I am talking about is multiplayer mode, does SH-III offer Multiplayer Mode? And are they head-to-head online?

I read IGN reviews that the graphics is good and presentation is unique. You have the entire view of the crew rather than just switching between panels. Is that true and how it works in multiplayer mode?

[Sailor Steve]

Welcome to the weirdness. You picked a good nickname.

SHIII, and subsims in general, can be as hardcore or as simple as you want them to be. I play some flight sims, but I usually like to fly out the whole mission rather than leap right into the action, so I'm obviously pretty hardcore with my subsimming as well. SHIII is so pretty that I like to sail in and out of the harbors in real time, just watching the scenery. But you don't have to do that, nor do you have to take days to get on station. The time-compression is fairly high at 1024 x real time, and can be set even higher; or you can play the single missions, all of which start you right in the thick of it.

Take some time and look through the threads here and on the SHIII Mods board. There are plenty of options to choose from, most of which aim to make the sim even more realistic, but some which intentionally do the opposite.

As to whether it's worth spending the money: if you want to experience life in a U-boat it's the only real option these days. Go rent Das Boot if you've never seen it, preferably the 5-hour "Uncut Version", but at the very least the 3 1/5-hour Director's Cut. If that turns you on, SHIII might be the thing for you. If not, well, there are lots of sims and games out there for all of us. SHIII does indeed have interaction with the crew. There is a full watch crew on the bridge, and they talk to you. The control room crew could use a few more men, but they also tell you what's going on, and you can read the guages over their shoulders if you like.

Multi-player is co-op only, no head-to-head. For that reason I've never played SHIII MP myself. Somebody else will have to describe that to you.

Good luck in your quest for your next favorite game. :rock:

[SteamWake]

Hello Ruben and welcome to the community.

These links can tell you volumes about the game.

Enjoy.

Community Manual : http://www.communitymanuals.com/shiii/index.php?title=Main_Page

The FAQ: http://www.subsim.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=28146

Convoy interception : http://www.subsim.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=29992

Wazoo's Charting and Targeting manual : http://www.paulwasserman.net/SHIII/

[Gizzmoe]

Welcome aboard!

[gdogghenrikson]

welcome aboard

[ReubenJames]

What a pity that head-to-head multiplayer is not supported. :(

[Ula Jolly]

Perhaps someone can tell both me and Reuben what SH III multiplayer is all about?? I've always wondered about it... are there wolfpack-missions, for instance, or.. what's it all about?

[Zie Chuckinator]

u can join a "wolf pack" online for scripted and un-scripted missions.

and there are single player missions (Happy Times) where u can do convoy attacks. Happy Times is awesome practice btw.

[ReubenJames]

I just read something about patch 1.4b, it reads like head-to-head game mode is supported just like in Dangerous Waters.

[ReubenJames]

Excuse me, what is a "wolf pack" ?

[Zie Chuckinator]

Excuse me, what is a "wolf pack" ?

a pack of wolves :-j

[Ula Jolly]

A wolf pack was a part of the Deutsche KriegsMarine - the DKM for short - strategy for putting Britain to her knees. By deploying a group of submarines over a shorter distance, so their sensors overlapped each other, they could divert massive firepower to single convoys that were unlucky enough to fall to the wolfpack.

[Zie Chuckinator]

what he said :-j

in SHIII, there are no wolf packs. ur the only sub in the world. i did follow Bismarck and watched it duel with some ships but other than that (and sometimes focke-wolf condors) ur on ur own. but come back to port (susim.com forums) for advice and/or tell stories of ur patrols.

good luck at sea.

[ReubenJames]

Sorry Captains,

My original question was: Can I play head-to-head against you online? Can I drive a U-Boat, and you drive a British Sub?

What I want to know is that apart from Co-Op, there are other MP game modes supported.

[Zie Chuckinator]

no but ive heard stories of keleuns (captains) torpedoing other keleuns if they were running on the surface. :hmm: not sure if they're true or not.

[Catfish]

Hello Reuben, and welcome !
Multi-online play is done in a way that you with your U-boat and others with their U-boats online attack an all AI convoy consisting of merchant ships, destroyers and maybe other enemy warships.
There are no enemy subs, nor can they be manned by other online players - as well as enemy destroyers. You CAN sink an U-boat belonging to your own side, but ...
You could play U-boat against destroyer online with "SH2" and "Destroyer command", but you have to mod it beyond anything to get a halfway decent modelling, the basic sim SH2 is nothing to write home about.
Greetings,
Catfish

[ReubenJames]

Thank you Catfish.

I have my answer. What I originally expected was head-to-head combat neneath the surface, sort of search & destroy. Unfortunately, SH-III is not giving me that. What about patch 1.4b? Does it re-structure the game modes? Anyway, I will go for Dangerous waters then. The game allows you to man any sea vehicles, including submarines and you can play online. There is a small problem that there are less people online. Anyway...I still prefer Dangrous Waters.

[McBeck]

I any event you should play SH3 for the single player campaign - not for online play. Its in the singler player that SH3 really shines :sunny:

[Gizzmoe]

I have my answer. What I originally expected was head-to-head combat neneath the surface, sort of search & destroy.

You can do that as Catfish already said. Two German subs against each other. But WW2 subs were not really made for that, they are mainly ASUW platforms. A hit against a sub-surface target would be like a lottery win. With late-WW2 homing torpedos the chances are of course much higher, they are available in SH3...

[ReubenJames]

I have my answer. What I originally expected was head-to-head combat neneath the surface, sort of search & destroy.

You can do that as Catfish already said. Two German subs against each other. But WW2 subs were not really made for that, they are mainly ASUW platforms. A hit against a sub-surface target would be like a lottery win. With late-WW2 homing torpedos the chances are of course much higher...

I don't trust any game's AI, whatever their genre are. FPS games most noticebly are good examples of crappy AI. They are routine and predictable. What human-to-human online play offers are 1) unpredictable move, 2) alter-able tactics to counter other human adversaries.

Thanks. My knowledge about the Sea, and naval combat is very minimal. I didn't know WWII torpedos were not guided. What similarities I find in naval warfare beneath the waters is that somehow, modern days torpedo is like guided missle in the air. If decoys divert successfully the torpedos, they stray away like missiles in the air, they fly to heavens. The only difference is that torpedo still active find other targets. Anyway, SH-III is not for me.

I think Sub Command, Jane's Fleet Command and now Dangerous Waters are for me. Somehow, I do want to play something slower, so that I can release the tension that BF2 brings to me! :yep:

[Damo1977]

I any event you should play SH3 for the single player campaign - not for online play. Its in the singler player that SH3 really shines :sunny:

bout time there was a decent single player game.......maybe there are more but I havn't found many.
When is this medic avatar going to disappear it is starting to annoy me.

[Gizzmoe]

I don't trust any game's AI, whatever their genre are.

No, I meant that you take one sub and another human player takes the second sub. Then you can kill each other if you like. :) SH3 doesn´t have AI subs.

[Gizzmoe]

When is this medic avatar going to disappear it is starting to annoy me.

IIRC after your 200th post.

[ReubenJames]

I don't trust any game's AI, whatever their genre are.

No, I meant that you take one sub and another human player takes the second sub. Then you can kill each other if you like. :) SH3 doesn´t have AI subs.

The trouble is how many people would like to play SH-III this way. Besides, are torpedo guided? If not, how do I shoot at an enemy sub.

[Gizzmoe]

The trouble is how many people would like to play SH-III this way.

We have a "Multiplayer Matchup" forum, I´m sure that you would find an opponent.

Besides, are torpedo guided? If not, how do I shoot at an enemy sub.

Later torpedos are sound guided. I don´t know if they would follow a sub which dives to 150-200 meters.

[joea]

I don't trust any game's AI, whatever their genre are.

No, I meant that you take one sub and another human player takes the second sub. Then you can kill each other if you like. :) SH3 doesn´t have AI subs.

The trouble is how many people would like to play SH-III this way. Besides, are torpedo guided? If not, how do I shoot at an enemy sub.

Well I think you are misunderstanding WWII technology and the goals of sub combat at this time. Sub vs. sub combat just did not happen in WWII, underwater anyway, except one time by a fluke, IIRC. Mostly it was one sub being caught on the surface by another. WWII subs though were mostly targeting surface ships, warships or most effectively merchants. German subs against allied shipping in the Atlantic and elsewhere, UK subs in the Med, US subs in the Pacific. Stalking convoys was the name of the game. :arrgh!:

If you want sub vs. sub warfare I strongly recommend Dangerous Waters, Sub Command or any one of the modern games. DW has a demo you can download and try out probably more up your alley. Plus they support multiplayer. :rock:

[Nopileo]

And the guided torpedoes will only (mostly) follow targets that move at or above 10 knots, which only the XXI can do in SH3 (submerged).

On another note, I'm actually quite impressed with the AI behaviour in SH3. It has some flaws like with all other games, but all in all it's quite good.

I'm also thinking of getting Dangerous Waters, because I loved the old 688(i), and as I understand it DW is quite similar, only better. But I can highly recommend SH3 for great atmosphere and great graphics. I've never played it online, but the single player mode is excellent.

[kholemann]

Maybe Ubi will release Destroyer Command II and one could then duel head to head like one can do with Destroyer Command and SH II

[SteamWake]

Maybe Ubi will release Destroyer Command II and one could then duel head to head like one can do with Destroyer Command and SH II

Ummm you can already do that :-j I think you meant DC3 :yep:

[Shadow9216]

I think he has it right, SH2 and DC...did I miss DC2?

[joea]

No there have been 3 releases in the Silent Hunter series, I II and now III. Only one DC...which was "paired" with SH2.

[SmokinTep]

Get the game. You won't be disapointed.

[Laughing Swordfish]

There are documented cases of sub duels, and British subs did lay in wait in the Bay of Biscay. But unlike modern subs, the chances of taking out an enemy sub when both of you are submerged, are pretty unrealistic. You might take one out on the surface, if their bridge watch isn't on the ball, but that's about it

[ReubenJames]

Maybe Ubi will release Destroyer Command II and one could then duel head to head like one can do with Destroyer Command and SH II

Yes, that's kind of human Vs human MP games I fancy. It is not necessarily sub Vs sub you know. I suppose one will have to listen to the sonar, pick up the activities in the vincnity and lay depth-charge and things like that.

By the way, I have re-installed Jane's Fleet Command after like almost 2 years since I played it last. The feeling started coming back as I launch SS missiles against unknown targets. It's very real though graphics is not very eye-candy like. I am also excited about the Multiplayer option. It supports Internet connection though I doubt nowadays, how many are still playing this game online. Just don't know how and where to find human players online. But it is a good game. I am now searching all the updates and hopefully will get the game running in Windows 98SE as well as Windows XP. The retail version is not supposed to run under XP.