STAY OFF THE ENGLISH CHANNEL!

that's all I got...

Welcome aboard!

Lots of good suggestions on tactics and of course the use of GWX, so I'll chime in on where to hunt. I'm going to give you some very specific advice, and there are of course alternatives, but these suggestions do work.

I recommend you start your campaign at the start of the war (Sept. 1939) and you go with 2nd Flotilla so you start with a VIIB out of Wilhelmshaven. The litte subs are fun but they are a bit harder to excel at, and its best to ease in the difficulty.

I also recommend the first area you patrol is AM52 (assuming GWX). Lots of single ships in that area (it is the intersect point of four convoy routes into Liverpool - Murmansk, Gibraltar, Sierra Leone, and Halifax). Nothing like a target rich environment to get up to speed on how to engage and sink ships.

Remember when transiting to these target rich zones - whether AM52, or the also fine BF13/14, or others - to never, ever transit through the English Channel. Yes, it will take a heck of a long time to head off towards Iceland and around the north coast of Ireland, and it will burn a lot of fuel, but the Channel is an absolute death trap. Go easy on the speed to conserve fuel.

Make sure you layer in the difficulty a little at a time!

Welcome,
Always prepare a 2-pronged attack. That means having both of your scopes ready & poked up on the soft under-belly of an attacking destroyer... the results are ... devestating! ;) :smug: :hmm: :doh: :huh: :dead: :arrgh!: :rotfl:

Kidding on the periscope jousting method. :p

Read to support your SH3 sub-sim experiences.

I am currently reading the first chapters of, "Unrestricted Warfare", by James F. DeRose. A little known book; just newly published, that is turning out to be one of the most informative books of many I have studied. It pivots on the U.S. Submariners of WW2; with a very descriptive respect to the subject (both SH3 & SH4, Atlantic/Pacific), Even better, it often corresponds to U-Boat situations/details/tactic as a contrast to the American boats, so you soon become fully involved with very similar aspects that Silent Hunter offers. (Evolution of the TDC, dealing with duds, periscope elevation/feathering, crash dives, recharge methods, cabin oxygen/crew moral, etc.)

I don't mean to rain on anyones parade but to susgest installing GWX for a newbie to this game is basically going to turn them off to mods in general if not the game in whole .

GWX in my opinion is a mod addition for perhaps advanced users and those of us who have completed several campagins from start to finish . A newbie playing GWX has maybe a 5 % chance of ever seeing the war come to an end .

I personally completed 3 campagins using stock sh3 with a few eye candy mods and had alot of fun playing plus learning from mistakes as I went along .... then it got a bit too easy and loaded GWX and then had more of a challange to stay alive .... sometimes just hiding really deep and letting fat targets get away ....

Anyways , GWX is great for both eye candy and realistic submersion , but its like handing a kid (who don't know what they are doing) a pellet gun and tell him to go out and find that guy with the .44 mag and take him out .

hi ferrante

hope you enjoy sh3 + gwx.

here's my penny.

read DAS BOOT by GUNTHER LOTHAR-BUCHEIM available cheaply at amazon.

watch the full-length T.V VERSION of DAS BOOT, by wolfgang petersen available on dvd from e-bay and amazon.

and don't forget patience, patience, patience.

welcome aboard,

flag4

I'll just give this tip for the sake of things


If destroyers are near you keep the torpedo tubes open it really helps.

Amen on that :arrgh!:

Wow! Thanks for all the great advice, Captains!
 

I must say that I am truly impressed at how many have responded and are willing to help. I am excited about this and will be getting into it this weekend (this has been a busy week for me :( And everyone is so nice, which I truly appreciate. In the past when I have posted to Usenet groups, most were very nasty when I sought help with various things. I know I am going to have fun and have read everyone's post(s) and will be printing all of them. I just hope that when I go out, I don't accidentally torpedo one of your subs! Again, thanks my new friends!

[quote=STEEDSay good bye to your life and welcome to the world of SH3 addiction. :rotfl:[/quote]

Addiction is such a nasty word.

I am new at this also so I can only give you what I did.

Do all of the training exercises. The get you balanced and into just what to do with all the keys.

I stayed away from all mods until I had about 13 patrols in the type IIA/D boat. it is small & very easy to handle. fun as heck also.

I did the 1st flotilla out of Wilhelmshaven & only short patrols into the North Sea along the English east shore area & up by Scapa Flow. The water is very shallow so learn what the Destroyers sound like on the hydraphones & stay away from them..Avoid them at all costs and you will have a good experience learning how to sink merchants.
Oh, by the way, It's o.k. to sink anything French at any time. No penality & good practice...lol..

Go slow & try to master each phase as you go along.

ask bunches of questions.. The guys/gals on this site are just great & you won't get put down...and pardner..I asked some dumb questions..lol


Also...***A MUST*** Under the newby link stuff click on the GWX link and read the manual made for the GWX mod. you don't need the mod yet, but the information in this manual will give you a great understanding on what we are doing in this sub sim. It is a wealth of historical background and will really give u a heads up..

The learning curve is large, but it is worth it

Just don't get in a hurry...This is NOT a hurry sim...for hurry go to IL2 & fly fast...