A Complete Beginner, What Should I do In SH4?
 

First of all, hello everyone! I hope everyone is having a safe and cozy day.

So, some days ago I started to watch a streamer playing SH3, and this way I discovered the serie itself. Now, when I asked the streamer how should I start SH3, he told me to "never play without GFX installed."

I installed SH4 today, and I don't know if I need to directly jump into it. I have never played Silent Hunter games myself. Are there any "Don't go into game before installing this" mods for this game? Are there any mods that drastically improve my gaming quality?
Thank you.

I have a friend I just got into SH 4, he is on his first patrol, I will tell you what I told him lol. Make sure you have Version 1.5 . Second, definitely play few war patrols (career) in the "stock" game, familiarize yourself with the basics of the sim...operating boat, etc and so you will notice the amazing changes mods bring to this sim. Read some books about US submarines operations in WW II (can suggest if need to) as well. Once have done that, you are in luck, this is an amazing community and seemingly infinite information here, will help you get mods loaded up and really enjoying things.

There are hundreds if not thousands of mods, many which have been incorporated into the super mods, which are:

Fall of the Rising Sun (FOTRS) is excellent and the flagship mod for SH 4, it is the present and future.

Real Fleet Boat is a excellent, focuses on the submarines themselves more than anything far as modifications but seems the developers are no longer active or moved on. In conjunction with Run Silent Run Deep(se below) it was a great experience .

Trigger Maru Overhauled (TMO) is my personal favorite, as it saved the sim for me years back when I had grown bored with it. However, it is at its core a difficulty mod, so would at minimum wait until are familiar with things. Ducmius, the creator/developer is sadly no long active in the community. I have an upgrade for TMO coming out in near future, to give the old gal a much needed facelift and keep it relevant.

Run Silent Run Deep is a modification that mainly focuses on the traffic. As will see, the way the stock game places convoys, task forces, etc in the game is void of reality, RSRD corrects this while adding numerous ships. RSRD has versions for stock, TMO, and RFB. Excellent mod that played for a long time. Main issue is the developer is no longer active, so has not been updated for some time and is touchy to being edited or it messes things up.




You are joining the community at a great time, exciting things are happening. One of my favorites is thanks to Vicker's excellent work, we will have more compartments in each boat besides the conning tower and control room. Already have officers quarters for some in FOTRS, working on torpedo rooms etc. TMO eventually will have them. We have things thought would never see when I started running the sim in 2009. All thr additional ships, planes. The interior compartments, AI Destroyers, Cruisers, submarines firing torpedoes. Graphics, sound....really is impressive.


Anyways, welcome aboard and lets us know if have any questions.

Re: Getting into SH4... helpful hints & such..
 

Ahoy, froinchi... :Kaleun_Cheers:

To begin with, sorry about this being lengthy, but there is a good bit of info to make sure you know about.. so you can decide how to best proceed... :shucks:

Best advice, 1st & foremost, is to ensure where you have your copy of SH4 set up at... is to make sure to NOT have it in either:

C:\Program files

or C:\Program files (x86)

(This also applies, with Steam, should your SH4 source be from there, as I understand it, as well... :hmmm:)

As is, the UAC, & windows.. does NOT like having files tampered with, while it is under its direct control.. & using mods, is by that definition, well.. tampering about with files & such, even though it is what you want to do, to mod out a game to what you think it should be set up to do.. :yep: It don't like it & any mods you set up, will be scrapped & Win will set things back to stock.. with extreme prejudice.. with post haste.

That would be the 1st thing to do... :yep: Is a simple process of right clicking & setting up a folder for games, tagged as Games, so your directory looks something like this:

C:\Games

After making sure it is set up, the next step would be to decide.. do I want to run multiple different mod versions of SH4 or just settling for 1 particular 1. here are numerous mega mods & will probably want to sample them all, at some point or other. Best suggestion, use this time with getting the initial install set up & know it is working, & then.. use it as a source for making copies of it, to then mod. Consider it your gold standard non modded go to & leave be standard.

Now, of extreme importance, is knowing exactly which SH4 you have.. as all the rest of this, hinges on having the right SH4 version, which a lot of mega mods now, still being actively supported, call for having SH4 v1.5, which translates into being :

Silent Hunter IV: Wolves of the Pacific+ Uboat Missions

Hopefully, this is the 1 you have, or else all of what I am laying out, will be useless.. until you obtain that version. :yep:

Though, another I am sure, can outline for you what you can do if you do have an earlier on version of SH4 if you should chose to want to keep that 1.. totally up to you, just letting you know ahead of time, so you don't feel that you were mislead... :up:

To do so, simply make another folder, inside \Games & tag it SH4-megas, then inside that folder, create another folder named to the mod you wish to go with.. for example... Fall of the Rising Sun or simply FotRS. Your folder set would look like:

C:\Games\SH4-megas\FotRS

After that, then open up your go to gold standard, copy the guts then paste them into the \FotRS folder & done.

Next comes dropping into that folder, the following, which will be needed to then mod out SH4 in that folder:

MultiSH4
JSGME

MultiSH4 to set up a complete new game save folder, for just that mod set up. (With each different mod set up, you WILL need to ensure you have this in that folder for that particular set up.. so as to keep their game saves away from all the others... extremely important.. :yep:)

After that, is running JSGME, doing so, then sets up a mods folder in there, so you can then drag & drop the mods you'll be using & can.. if needs be, remove or remove & replace as the mod gets updated by the mod maker/s... as the case may be. Of importance, is paying attention if a mod does get updated, of if it is backward compatible or not.. if not, this will mean of having to delete the game save folder in that case. A must do, if you dump out a mod.. as not doing so, can & will likely cause a CTD (crash to desktop) which you don't really want... :yep:

Now, that you have the mods folder & have dropped in the mods you need & want.. comes time to do an important process... right clicking on the SH4.exe & going into its properties... on opening up that menu, look for & uncheck 'read only'.. this allows for the .exe to be modified by the mods as needed., Next going into the compatibility tab & check marking 'Run as Admin' (Some say, while in properties, to also change the DPI, but.. unless I am mistaken, you shouldn't unless you run into issues that controls.. am sure another more knowledgeable about that, can chime in with more on that subject.. :yep: :up:), after that, at each step there... click accept.. after the last step is done, then click ok to close out properties.

Now.. you're ready for the big next exciting step.. activation of the mods. Most have a precise time tested line up of what mods to activate & in which order, some don't.. sometimes, is a process of trial & error.. best advice, just run with the main mod (which in this case if FotRS...:yep:) which is simple of doing after you have it downloaded to where you know where it was, unzipping it then carefully copy pasting or drag & dropping it into the mod folder... after that, is simple of finding it in the JSGME app & clicking it then clicking on the right pointing arrow to activate it & wait, accepting the pop up that says this will overwrite the laundry list of files & such that is the stock unmodded SH4 at that time. wait until it finishes & your done.

After that is done, close out JSGME & you're pretty much ready for the last, final & equally important task... setting up the game to use more than 2 GB's of RAM.

There is a 4GB patch kit.. & then there is a simple to use (in My opine) usage of Large Address Aware.. for this, I shall outline the use of LAA, as most refer to it by...

After downloading it, run it, then:

1. Point it to where your modded SH4.exe is located (C:\Games\SH4-megas\FotRS\SH4.exe) then after doing so, & clicking on the SH4.exe, then move on to step 2.

2. Check the box allowing it to use more than 2 GB... (if it didn't auto check that box, after clicking on the SH4.exe) then proceeding to the final step, step 3...

3. Click accept/OK.. &... Done.

Ezy peazy, Mac & cheezy... so simple, a cave man could do it, heck, even a blind 1/2 drunk chimpanzee... well.. *clears throat* you get the picture... :D

After that, you should by all rights, be set to go... (if I missed any info, any other subsim guru.. feel free to enlighten Me.. thanks.. am pretty confident I did outline it correctly, but.. not ashamed to acknowledge when I've erred.. :yep: :up:)

Again, sorry for the lengthiness of this.. & hopefully this helps.. and... hopefully didn't put you to sleep or leave you befuddled... during it's explanation... :yep: :up:

M. M.

Welcome aboard!
 

Aktungbby... :Kaleun_Cheers:

:haha: :har: :D

Even a poor blind 1/2 drunk chimp, manages to score, once in a blue moon... :D

M. M.

:Kaleun_Salute:

Bubblehead1980 + 1 (M.M.)

& Welcome aboard, froinchi... :Kaleun_Cheers:

Thanks!
 

Hello everyone, I am so happy to be aboard with you people! :Kaleun_Cheers:

I have read all the messages, thank you so much for your amazing effort. I also laughed a lot on the chimpanzee case :har:

So, as far as I understand from the messages, I got the true version of the game. First of all I should start with stock game with its RAM usage modified. Then when I am OK with basics I should move into mods, for start, megamods. I'll move to this way then.

One more question: Which is easier to learn: Third game or fourth game? Did I choose the true game to start? Thank you again :salute:

Ahoy, froinchi... :Kaleun_Cheers:

Hey.. I do what I can to add a bit of brevity, wherever possible.. while keeping it as clean as I can, to boot. :haha: :har: :haha: :D :up: :03:

With rolling with SH4 in stock mode.. that, is entirely up to you.

Main thing is.. when 'you' get to where you feel ok, I got the hang of it... then as you said, move on to looking into the mega add in mods.

Of which there are several, to chose from.

German Uboat flavor:
With rolling out in a Uboat, there is either Operation Monsun (the original, done by lurker, the remastered version done by Fifi...(Is a bit rough about the edges, but.. has a SH3 feel, that's been kinda amped up on steroids... with somewhat better improved graphics compared to SH3. Only downside currently, is with upgrading your Uboat or swapping or being promoted to another 1, as is with SH3. Outside of that.. is pretty good.

post edit, add... :timeout:

& last, but definitely NOT least, is where Fifi amped Op. Monsun (His remix version, by the way.. :yep:) & repackaged, 'Op. Monsun: Dark Waters'... almost forgot that 1... bad M. M. :hmmm: wonder if I get keel hauled for that... :o :doh: :03:

As Bubblehead mentioned, there are a good bit of U.S. fleetboat mega's to chose from. Will re cover the 1's that He mentioned & cover what He may have left off the list.

Fall of the Rising Sun (FOTRS) is excellent and the flagship mod for SH 4, it is the present and future.

Real Fleet Boat is a excellent, focuses on the submarines themselves more than anything far as modifications but seems the developers are no longer active or moved on. In conjunction with Run Silent Run Deep(see below) it was a great experience .

Trigger Maru Overhauled (TMO) is my personal favorite, as it saved the sim for me years back when I had grown bored with it. However, it is at its core a difficulty mod, so would at minimum wait until are familiar with things. Dulcimus, the creator/developer is sadly no long active in the community. I have an upgrade for TMO coming out in near future, to give the old gal a much needed facelift and keep it relevant. (am looking forward to that... waiting with bated breath... :oops:)

Run Silent Run Deep is a modification that mainly focuses on the traffic. As will see, the way the stock game places convoys, task forces, etc in the game is void of reality, RSRD corrects this while adding numerous ships. RSRD has versions for stock, TMO, and RFB. Excellent mod that played for a long time. Main issue is the developer is no longer active, so has not been updated for some time and is touchy to being edited or it messes things up.

1 that Bubblehead may, either not known of, or perhaps had slip His mind, is another 1, albeit a shorter 1 is

Subron 50

Basics on this 1, is.. a group of 6 or 7 U.S. fleetboats, based out of jolly ol' England & did serve for a bit, in the Atlantic theater for a time.

I shall warn you, the very 1st mission... is a bear. as you will leave from the U.S. East coast & make your way to your very 1st objective. which is in the Med area. So definitely watch your fuel usage when you head out on it. As refueling/resupplying at Gibraltar... forget about it.. ain't happening.. though you would think that 'Hey, we're all chums here.. I should be able to..', nope.

For some odd reason, resupplying there.. isn't an option. Go figure.

Those are the main mega's...

Now, for a few, 1 offs, that will need a lot of TLC given to them, but.. are still sorta cool to dink about with..

UK SH4 mega:

Named 'We dive at Dawn', this 1 is where you slipper a sub, as a Brit skipper. Of note, this 1, as I mentioned, is rough about the edges, so be warned. I can shoot you a list of the mods I have that give it a bit of spit & polish, but does need some more work to take care of the remaining rough edges.

Of special note this 1 is not in the general free for all downloads section.. it does require a subscript fee.. of which, can't say it enough, if you can swing for the fences & pop for it.. Overlord, will pay for itself. (of special note.. am not a paid spokesperson, just a savvy subscriber when I do subscribe... :yep:)

Movin' on, we come to the next mega, that like Wd@D, also is a bit rough, but still fun

IJN:

This set up is using stock SH4 & adding in 2 mods to allow for skippering IJN subs. Just know, missions are not as extensive as for the other counterparts, such as Op. Monsun or FotRS, this 1, is more in line, closer to Subron 50.

In other words, a short career one. 2-3 years roughly.

Downsides, crew & voices.. is still lacking in both areas, as it is.. hopefully, someone works out a add in that gives it character with crew that is Japanese, along with a sound set that gives correct vocalizations to commands & replies & such.. :yep:

Upside, you get to skipper some IJN subs.. which is a nice change of pace... :shucks: :yep: :D :up: which is always a + in My book.

& finally, for now, at any rate.. unless others come out with an Italian sub mega.. that is.. do know they did have some subs.. just don't hear a lot about that, though. :yep:

At any rate & without further ado...

USSR:

Soviet Waterways.

This 1 is a simple straight forward soviet sub mega, & it like the others mentioned before it.. is still rough about the edges, as well.

Unlike IJN, it does have a moderate crew & vocal sound set.. & there is a text mod set, that will allow for setting up the main menu & base office to where you can understand it enough to be fairly confident of giving orders to skipper the soviet subs from WW2.

Just be warned, their subs were built with simplicity in mind, & did NOT come with a lot of bells & whistles... which makes planning a torp attack, a lot more challenging.. to say the least.. but, still, like I mentioned with the IJN sub set.. makes for a nice change of pace. :up: :yep:

With that, that is the mod sets I know of.. am sure if I missed any thing, 1 of the others.. will be happy to fill in the blanks I may have missed. :yep:

As always, I hope this helps & was found useful.. :yep: :up:

As always, fair winds, smooth seas... & plentiful target rich environs...

M. M.

:Kaleun_Salute:

Again, thank you so much for answers.
So, I thought my plan like this:
I think I am familiar with controls now, I am installing Fall Of The Rising Sun Ultimate, and will finish the US campaign with that.
Then I will switch to Fifi's Operation Monsun. Thank you all for the great answers, I am so glad to be in this community. Cheers to you all! :Kaleun_Cheers:

Have fun, stay safe.

By finish the US campaign you do mean start fresh with FORTSU, don't you?

When upgrading to a mod, it almost always requires A fresh start, from a pristine SH4 program, and a delete of SH4 save-game files (in your documents folder).


Good luck, and welcome aboard.

Ahoy, mikesn9...:Kaleun_Cheers:

That, depends... is possible, if they are in port, before adding in the FotRS set up.. that they may... just maybe, (slight chance) be able to continue the career they started... I believe.

As I understand it, adding in mods, should be doable to continue a career with... & is when you go & rip a mod out, that a career was based off of, is when the rule of needing to circular file a game save folder, comes into play.

The basis for that is, when you remove the mod, even though it was removed.. the save will still retain info that mod used & not finding it, will oft times crash out to desktop. With adding in a mod, file changes should not effect the save... but, if you yank it out after that point of any saves after adding the mod in.. will then swing to required dumping of the save folder... at least as far as I know of... :yep:

Haven't had any CTD's after adding in.. but, until I learned of crap canning the save folder AFTER removing out mods.. had all sorts of times of experiencing CTD's... :yep:

Also, it could be they do know about that, but.. if not, is a good point to bring up so they do know about it... provided they are keeping a weather eye on the thread they started. :up:

M. M.

:Kaleun_Salute: