Almost forgot:
Absolutely correct. The new versions come without Starforce. Also the new versions don't require having the disc in the drive to run the game. I recently purchased the SH2/SH3 combo for $10, and it doesn't have either of those.

Its hard to get an exact range, but you can get a rough estimate. Your hydrophone operator will tell you if the contact he's currently hearing is near, medium or far range, but the best way to see this is to go to your nav map (F5 key). You'll see your sub in the middle and a bunch of lines radiating out from it. These lines represent the hydrophone contacts around your sub. The longer the line, the farther away the contact is.

Welcome aboard! Once you get your feet under you and you feel you've mastered the stock game, give some mods a shot. Our modders have done some amazing work in the past few years. Last year we had a Subsim meetup here in Houston where SH3/SH4 lead designer Dan Dimetrescu was in attendance...he said that even the game's design team had no idea how some of the modders have done the things they've done to the game.

Welcome aboard, Gaz.

Sounds like you're doing just fine.

Warning: Silent Hunter and SubSim are highly addictive. Enjoy!

Welcome aboard Gaz :salute:

Keep in mind that not only do the escorts wish to do damage to you, or at least keep you down and under, they do just fine stalling your progress to chase after the convoy that they are assigned to defend. Either way, it is up to you to learn your own particular way along each attack.

This forum is super active and always a great help.

Good hunting!

Without active sonar-no. With active sonar-yes. But then you are going to probably have an escort heading your way since they will probably hear you pinging.

Like mookie said above, the lines will give you a rough idea. In fact they may be a little too accurate. You can plot a real general course over time using the lines which I don't think is very realistic. Not accurate enough for a solution, but it gives enough information to get a feel for the course of a ship.

With map contacts turned off(No God's eye view), I believe the lines are no longer there(don't know for sure-I play with map contacts turned on).

I'm currently playing around with SH4 and the RFB super mod makes the hydrophone contact lines dashes. That works a lot better realistically IMO. You can still see the direction on the map, but guesstimating range is a lot harder. The hydrophone operator still gives you his range estimates.

:)

Thanks for all the advise guys.
So far I have started my career and completed two patrols, nothin' sunk during 1st patrol and a lone coastal merchant on the 2nd. Now my next question is; is it as simple as attacking only red contacts that appear on the contact map, as at present this seems to be the only way for me to know who to torpedo?
Also where do my men get these lone ships positions from? I have no hydrophone or sonar and my sonar operator occasionally gives me a bearing, speed and heading for a target that is 30km+ away. To try to intercept these vessels I use the ruler tool on the map and draw a line through the contacts path in the direction he is heading and try to intercept him along that line (hasn't worked yet, the contact seems to disappear!) Is this a good way to try and intercept him?
Oh and my last question is should I upgrade to a Type II-D sub or shall I wait a little while, save up some renown and upgrade to the Type VII-B sub? as i'm finding that in the Type II-A sub I am returning to port after a patrol with just over empty fuel!

So many questions young grasshopper!:D

With stock-yes. Red contacts=enemy ships; green contacts=neutral ships; blue contacts=friendly(don't sink these :oops:).
GWX takes the color coding out and you need to identify your targets by their flags before shooting. That can be difficult at night and embarrasing at times.

Radio reports from Bdu. They are not always accurate but if close, worth intercepting.
Here is a link to an interception tutorial:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=88961

Well worth learning. It becomes second nature pretty quick. You're interception success will improve with this.

Personal opinion, but the Type II gets old when you are starting out in the game. 5 eels and no deck gun. Upgrade to a VIIB as quick as possible or start a new career out of Wilhelmshaven with a shiny new VIIB.

I do know some people love the Type II. I'm running a Black Sea career in a IID and they are kinda fun in that limited theater.

:)

Thanks alot, this forum is extremely helpful.
That interception tutorial looks complicated, I have printed it so i'm going to go get some practice. I did intend to have manual targeting learnt by now but didn't realise how involved this game can be, once I have my hunting techniques sorted I will learn to manually fire torps (currently using the lock on and fire method).

Thanks for the help (again!:DL)

Read through the tutorial a couple of times and practice. Like I said, it's not too bad once you get the hang of it.

:)

I find the interception tutorial described in the link a bit cumbersome for my needs. Although it works well, the method I use in my opinion is much easier. If you receive a contact report draw a line with the ruler in the direction it is heading. Then ask your navigation officer to plot a course that intercepts that line by putting the waypoint somewhere on that line. Where the waypoint intercepts the course of the contact it will give a time it wil take for your u-boat to get there, lets say at full speed it will take two hours. If the contact is reported as slow this is approximately six knots. Then work out how far the contact would have travelled in two hours, I have chart that converts knots to kilometres and distanced travelled in hours for quick reference. If it works out that you will get to the interception point just ahead of the contact then fine, if not then re-adjust your waypoint and recalculate. With convoy contact reports it gives the speed of the convoy which makes it slightly easier to intercept. With this method I'm on my way to intercept a contact within a minute or so sometimes less. At the end of the day it's what works best for you.

Nemo

That's the beauty of the game: you can make it as involved as you want. You'll find yourself getting more and more hardcore as you learn about the game and the U-boat war in general.

SH3 got me very involved in learning all I could about the Battle of the Atlantic. My bookshelves are full of books on it now!

Welcome aboard GAZ360GT, yes it can get very involved and addictive, but you're in the right place here, ask as many questions as you like, there will always be someone able to help you out, we all started out the same way. :salute: