What is the essence of SHIII that you enjoy most ?

[Uber Gruber]

Maybe the word 'essence' is a bit 'dramatic' but I've been trying to write down what it is about SHIII that I like the most, the bit that drags me back for more ?


Is it the plotting ? The constant manual calculation and ploting of speed and bearing of target ships ?

Or is it the reward of accurately navigating to a perfect firing position without being spotted ? The just reward for my target plotting efforts.

And what about the moment of reckoning. That heart pumping moment you decide everything is ready and then press the red button...then wait. Watching the torpedoes wake slowly disapear through the periscope. !5 Seconds. Will i have time to fire another if they miss ? 10 Seconds. All I can hear is the creaking of the sub. 5 Seconds. 4 3. 2. 1.... nothing ...Duds?!!! Both of them ? No Surely not! Did I miss ?.......how the hell could I have missed ?

BOOM!
.....BOOM!....hurrah etc..

And then there's the escape. All four tubes fired. Dive to 50. New course 180 degrees. Lets get the feck out of here!...Ping....Ping

So whats yours ? Whats the bit in the game that rings your bell ?

Answers on a postcard please.

[wetwarev7]

Maybe the word 'essence' is a bit 'dramatic' but I've been trying to write down what it is about SHIII that I like the most, the bit that drags me back for more ?


Is it the plotting ? The constant manual calculation and ploting of speed and bearing of target ships ?

Or is it the reward of accurately navigating to a perfect firing position without being spotted ? The just reward for my target plotting efforts.

And what about the moment of reckoning. That heart pumping moment you decide everything is ready and then press the red button...then wait. Watching the torpedoes wake slowly disapear through the periscope. !5 Seconds. Will i have time to fire another if they miss ? 10 Seconds. All I can hear is the creaking of the sub. 5 Seconds. 4 3. 2. 1.... nothing ...Duds?!!! Both of them ? No Surely not! Did I miss ?.......how the hell could I have missed ?

BOOM!
.....BOOM!....hurrah etc..

And then there's the escape. All four tubes fired. Dive to 50. New course 180 degrees. Lets get the feck out of here!...Ping....Ping

So whats yours ? Whats the bit in the game that rings your bell ?

Answers on a postcard please.

What do I enjoy most?
Same here.....EVERYTHING!!! :yep:

[Marhkimov]

So whats yours ? Whats the bit in the game that rings your bell ?

Meticulously plotting a path straight to the enemy ship... Making sure I stay stealthy and undetected... Taking final measurements... Issuing the order to FIRE torpedoes! ... Waiting ... Waiting ... Waiting ... BOOOOOM!!!!... Watching the enemy sink... Then finally, slyly outrunning any suspicious units that move to investigate.

Yes, for sure that gets the adranaline pumping. :)



Not to mention that SH3 is modding heaven! Compared to CFS3, SH3 is definately built for simplicity (which is a good thing!).

[Ducimus]

Whats the bit in the game that rings your bell ?



When things go wrong and im forced to adapt to a quickly changing situation if i am to survive. A 60% realsim patrol, or 100% realism patrol, is equally fun, or equally boring no matter how much or how little i sink if im the excrement never hits the fan.

A couple examples:

Being DC'ed, and forced to go REAL deep. Boat is dropping slowly and i couldnt maintain depth, and im about 10 meters from being crushed. After an attack i ordered to suface (to put air in the Ballast tanks), secured from silent running, and went to flank. I lifted my boat to 150 meters, and went back to silent running/slow speed. Boat dropped again to 230 meters, but hovered there this time, at a 30 degree incline. Bow up, stern down, hanging on a thread. As long as i didnt manuver the boat would maintain depth, any evasive turning and i lost a couple meters depth and coudlnt recover it. I survived, but damn that was hairy.

Recently:
Saw Planes approaching in periscope just as im about to fire. Grid DB98, heavy sea's, so im scopes about 2/3 meters above the surface to compensate for the waves. So i know those planes ahve me on radar, and im shooting steamers, so they'll know for sure once i fire. I decided the solution was "good enough", fired, and immediatly crashed dive. 10 seconds later bombs are dropping above me (im at 40 meters). 20 seconds after that torpedo impacts. Tanker goes down and im close nough to hear hes death rattle (barely). 10 mins later, sound has a incoming DD, fast approaching. I went to 150 meters, silent speed and crept away without further incident.

[Deimos01]

I have to agree with Decimus. I kinda like when the ****e hits the fan. THe best fun is creeping in on a big fat convoy. Succesfully evading the escorts on the way in. Let loose the destruction. Then try to to get some tubes reloaded for some more shots while the escorts hunt and before the convoy can get away.

Had a nice one the other day. Was trying to line up one last shot on a t3 tanker. Lookout is screaming in my ear about an escort bearing down on us, 500m and closing fast. Snap off the shot and crash dive. Escort drops a load of dcs on my head but we survive. Then the satisfying sound of a torpedo impact.

Im still in the process of trying to slip the escort.

[Sailor Steve]

For me it's the overall feel. Looking at a ship or sub close up in external view, I feel they've managed to capture the size of the things. As opposed to SHII, which was very pretty, when I look at a type VII rolling with the waves it looks to me like it actually weighs 700 tons. It just feels right to me, and I don't mean just the visual physics; I like the interiors, I even like the crew.

It just feels right.

[JU_88]

I like everything about Sh3 apart from the fact it wasnt properly finnished! theres plenty more things that can be added to it :yep: infact i could thnik of 100% more.

But i thuink overal the best part is the way they have pretty much captured just how the war went (and turned against) the uboats

[gdogghenrikson]

blowing stuff up

[OrlandoM3]

It's the combination of realism and drama I enjoy. Another great aspect is the game isn't always predictable. Every patrol has something different and I'm always finding something new or a different perspective on gameplay.

The ability to play the game as casual or as hardcore realistic as possible (MODS, no MODS, realism settings, etc) is another great feature.

[kiwi_2005]

This is pretty lame, but what i enjoy the most is when under attack and getting depth charge to the extreme, everything is critical damage im at 120 feet depth and unless i head to a safer depth of around 40, my hull is gonna crush. 9/10 times i dont make it. CRITICAL DAMAGE SIR!!!! Sometimes i wish i could knock him out cold.

[RayRay]

It reminds me of hunting, the "stalk". How close can I get, will I be detevted?
I used to hunt with a rifle, then moved to pistol and finally a bow. Now I hunt with a camera. Just as much fun, well almost.

[kiwi_2005]

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

OrlandoM3 nice pic.

[OrlandoM3]

Thanks Kiwi.

[Bluewings]

Whats the bit in the game that rings your bell ?

Being hunted , disapearing , then hunting them ! :stare:

B. Goelf out .

Cheers .

[SmokinTep]

I like it all. The visuals, the hunting, being hunted...........trying to stay alive.

[Sailor Steve]

Nothing!

You don't enjoy a game when your bored out with it completely!

And SH3 has bored me out...

I'm sorry, community!
:roll: :roll: :roll:
No need to be sorry. Different strokes for different folks, as we used to say in the '70s. We all like what we like for our own reasons, and you didn't say you hated it, just that it bored you.

'S cool, mon. :cool:

[DMarkwick]

I only got SH3 today, so I'm really enjoying watching the ships sink & tumble to the sea floor :D

And following torpedoes in free view, obviously.

[The Avon Lady]

The hunting.

The risk.

The challenge.

[Salvadoreno]

The feeling i get in my stomach when im leaving the port on another patrol. Every1 is all happy and cheering and it seems like Germany is on top of the world. I have no idea what to expect or if im even going to make it back!
Then the sad feeling i get when im playing that song from Das Boot with the woman singing. I usually play it on my way back, and i feel bad for the men being at sea for 30 or 40 days. AFter a sucessful patrol im coming home, not knowing if i WILL make it back. But hoping i will.. Taking every precaution. And finally returning to the uboat base with no casualties and a happy crew!

[GOZO]

The whole situation:

The challenge!

Keeping the crew alive while earning renown.

Love the bit when chased by DD:s!!!! Let´s fool them!!!! (doesent always work though :) )

Run silent, use the enviroment and the tactical situation (+ always have a good repaircrew!)

The moment I can dock at homeport/milkcow after a long patrol is fantastic.

My favourite area is between Dover and calais mid 1944. Trying to pass there is a real challenge. Cruising quiet between the minefields and DD:s. :D

[HundertzehnGustav]

The beauty of the DDs
the uglyness of the Cargoes
when a torp blows a BBs ammo bunker
shooting down airplanes

playing with the files :D

[todd293]

I liked it when Iwas being depth charged while I was diving and front dive planes where jammed I was around 200m and about to be crushed but pulled out in nick of time that was intense :up:

[Bublegum]

....hmmmm, well...

By far i enjoy the german language.

Especially when i give a series of gun action command, when on the bridge, and the watchofficer leans over the side and yells the commands to the crew in rapid series, afterwards to look at me for further commands.

Thats what I enjoy...

[Ghetto]

Being so completely new to the game as I am ( 1 week), I have to say that the thing that gave me the chills was such a silly thing as when I was on a late night patrol, after a long submerged escape with dc´s raining over me, finally escaped and came to halt , and put on a good old record on the grammofon and just sat back and enjoyed the beautiful oceanview while my crew looked after the damages and took some much needed rest.

[Uber Gruber]

Great responses lads and ladies, great responses.

It shows that there are many "essences" in this game, a bit for everyone...if you like. And wouldn't it be good if each of these essences were enhanced, thus emersing us more into the "i'm a U-Boat commander" experience.

Thats why I hope SHIV doesn't forget this and ensures that its "game engine" not only caters for the Pacific War at Sea but also offers an Atlantic War at Sea (if not i'm sure the modders will rectify that massive oversight).

All in, there is great potential in this SH series. It offers an emersion closer to "virtual reality" than many other games on the current market.

UBI would be fools to not capitalise on this fact. With good marketing, and good game design, they could greatly increase the number of SH units sold (there's a bit of a sub-commander in a lot more people that we'd perhapps imagine)

And only time will tell. SHIV could be a quickly hacked and tweaked rehash of SHII based on the Pacific War at Sea or it could be the next major step in the development of what has the potential to be a truely brilliant game.......and hence SH series.

We, the jury, await......

[Marhkimov]

Right, the responses here are great! I really hope that the SHIV dev's discover this thread... I think there's more value in these types of responses than in a wishlist thread.

Emotion is always what makes or breaks a videogame... Especially in a submarine simulator.