It would be too good if the developers could describe a few of them, because they probably real selling points to the SH community. How can you know the true potential of SHV if the new features remain hidden? Maybe someone should make a sticky thread and list all new features and changes with respect to SHIII (IV)? And maybe the devs could add to that, too?

Also very useful when entering or leaving home port. Does not drop you out of TC whenever you spot a friendly unit, which was mucho annoying in 3 and 4.

As for the depth charge warning: in SH3 when a destroyer close to you dropped charges you would get an audio warning "Wasserbomb", letting you know charges were being dropped close enough to you to potentially damage your sub. Very useful.
This audio warning never made it into SH4, and seems not to be in SH5. Pity, twas a cool and useful feature.

A very good and honest review that should be read by both camps. I've ripped this game (and Ubi), but you pointed out, quite rightly, that there are good things about it as well. Thanks for reminding me of that. :salute:

That is a great feature! :yeah:

A very good review ,the good points are keeping me playing it ,i think the game needs to find a balance beetween moving around the sub and a direct link for the captain even if this a shouted request and answer type .
to all at subsim and moders:salute::salute::salute::salute:

Keeping ya guessing ain't i? What's this, Duci can put aside his own preferences and look at things objectively?! The hell you say! :haha:

Your right. I did not expand on the lack of functionality nowhere NEAR enough. From lack of TDC functions on spread, to being able to toggle off "fire at will" the lack of function access is FUGLY. I didn't harp on it nowhere near as much as it deserves.

I thought i would be too. :rotfl2:

I never pretended to be a journalist, and i put review in quotations. My view comes from having dealt with this series for awhile, so im used to seeing a certain level of buggetry. Only the real crippeling issues, or things that can't be fixed by mod really grab my attention.

Nice review! :yeah:

Doesn't make me want to run out right now and buy it but it sounds like there is still hope for the diamond in the rough to be polished up.

:)

I thought you weren't going to buy it Ducimus? Can't keep your hands out of the cookie jar anymore than I can. :D

Technically speaking i didn't buy it. My Girlfriend did. I am however, guilty of pointing it out on the shelf at best buy. :D

Ah, the horrible truth slowly leaks out.:rotfl2:

Great review. And I'm on board with this line of thinking too. In its current state, it's kind of frustrating for me to get into this game. But I'm going to bet the most egregious stuff (morale, phantom shadowing DDs, suicide ships in ports) gets either patched or modded to the point where it won't bother me anymore. So many people get so outraged over the bugs - and yes, rightly so - but I don't think people are seeing the big, long-term picture. Down the line, I think we're going to have a real charmer on our hands.

Ducimus,

glad you're still here and give a damn even if you are exhausted by the unfinished crap that UBI has been passing off as sub sims since SH3. I just hope you and the other heavy modders aren't too tired to give it a chance on SH5. I liked your review and found it informative. It's too early to tell, I guess, but I'm wondering what your gut feeling is:

SH3+GWX,
SH4+TM(or whatever mod combo - i still haven't embraced SH4)
or SH5 + ???

IYHO, what will be the best overall sim by the standards of hardcore kaleuns?

I shouldn't answer this question, but i'll pull out the crystal ball of conjecture and stick my neck on the chopping block anyway......


It all depends if the DRM issues are squared away, and a decent mod team forms.. :hmmm: If that happens, I want to say that in a couple years, SH3 and GWX will probably only be thought of when some random person is waxing nostalgia, and SH4 + whatever mod of your choice will only be mentioned by PTO fans because it's the only game they have available to them. So i guess that kinda narrows it down to Sh5.

I'm hoping that the same level of TLC that SH 3 received from the GWX team will be bestowed on SH 5 by the modding community.

After a little over a week, seeing the work that has been already done by the Modders, I feel very at ease that most, if not all, of the problems and missing functionality within the game will be resolved in short order...and that like Falcon IV, the game will hit it's stride only after we as a community roll up our sleeves, get up to our digital elbows in code and shape the game in our own image.

Thanks to Ubi for giving us the diesel/electric engines to power our boat...they just gotta get rid of the tether line (that is the DRM) which keeps us from putting to sea. I see that happening too, someday SOON(tm)...

Regards,

Enth

Ok..right on - thanks for the crystal ball work:).

Follow-up Q: tomorrow I'm going to pick up my new ASUS G73JH-A1 laptop. It will be the first upgrade I've had in 5 years so I will be able to play SH3 again, and god willing, SH4 and SH5. I had planned to pick up SH4 + uboat upgrade, plus mod it with the lastest supermod available for SH4 (though I haven't a clue what the 'best' is for sH4).

So question: IYHO, should I grab SH4 + uboat mod first, or should I shuffle into the world of SH5?

proper review, kudos

tilting towards 'buy' now

Thanks for the review! :up:

SH5 would so much be in the collection if not for the DRM thing. Could easily live with the other minute "details", but not that...

Will this purchase really overstretch your budget?? Can only recommend it, btw.

It's a question of time commitment mostly. But given that I haven't upgraded my rig in 5 years (though sadly, I did buy a PS3), you might imagine that it _will_ stretch my budget. Not that my money is 'hard-earned' in the salt-mine sense, but at the same time i don't have a lot of it. Mostly I'm thinking about what will i focus my meager spare time on - a semi-working 'modern' sub sim, or a broken sim that might be seaworthy next year. I've been starved for tonnage, and with this upgrade just hours away, I need to know what is the best boat to board (maxing sea refs here eh).

Since you put it that way, i'd get Sh4 with UBM (or SH4 gold)

- It's already polished (see mods)
- you have more choices available to you (PTO or ATO), almost like having two sims in one.
- no DRM, means you can play it anywhere, you don't need a constant network connection.

Depends on how much your willing to put up with as SH5 goes.

Thanks dude - I want to have the sH4 experience anyway so I'll get it (with uboat addon). I've been interested in SH4, but my sys was ancient - even SH3 challenged it. I have been waiting to get back in the water, so I will certainly try SH4 before reinstalling sH3/gwx. Sometimes I wonder if SH5 was a ploy to get us to buy SH4...maybe UBI will publish an even more questionable SH6 to encourage interest in SH5...it could be weird like that.

This is OT, and I should probably ask in the mod forum, but I know you're the guy to ask and i have your local attention so:

what mod should I install over SH4 + uboat addon? Your enthusiasm for SH4 was large you're taste in sub mods is solid so...

And sorry for the OT guys. Har..latent burn on SH5..:)

KB