Silent Hunter question
 

Hi all, Im new to these forums and have decided to join after making the decision to buy a good submarine sim. Thus I have chosen the Silent Hunter series of games :)

However my question is this, should I buy 4 or 5 based on my prediciment which is as follows;

-As much crap as i see about 5 being buggy, It seems that many people are quite happy with it after they download mods, which is acceptable for me
- I also really want 5, since it deals with the atlantic side of things which I am more interested in since I for some reason hate US subs of WWII(Something about the look of each one just irks my nerves ;))

-However, from what I have seen, the graphics seem very computer intensive and from what Ive seen on some peoples sigs, I assume Id need a beastly computer to run this game, which I dont have, what I do have is a computer that runs flight simulator x just fine with medium to medium high for all the graphics settings.

-Thus I come to the prediciment wether it would be better suited for me to get Silent Hunter 4 instead? seeing as how it is older and may run at higher graphics easier??

Thanks for any and all answers have a great day:)

Casey Smith US Navy

Hey Casey,

I came up in the SH things with a SH-III i've found for 9 bucks. Then i've found SH-IV for twice the price of volume III =)

Then finally i've bought SH5 brand new and expensive.

My 1st feeling with SH5 was litterally that one; i'll get this game back at the store (having so much fun with the other two, but that one out of the box is just really really poor, on top of that in V1.0 which was rather a 0.5).

So as of now, i really enjoy SH5 with some mods you'll find right here in the download section; TheDarkWraith NewUI-TDC which i think is in version 4.2.0 right now is just hammering everything. Only with this the game is already 10 times better.

I've also added another one which is called Command Keys 1.03 which i guess the name is self explanatory enough.

Concerning Hardware matters on your system, just ask questions in the Hardware sub forum around here

So for me, SH5 + TDW NUITDC + CMDKYES = great fun.
Hope that helps
cheers,
m.

I would recommend SH3 + GWX (or any other super mod), it's dirt cheap and very playable.

SH4 I bought at the same time, and I know it will be brilliant when I get round to installing it, again with decent mods like RUB and Monsun.

SHV I've never bought, but probably will once I'm finished with SH3/4 - which isn't looking likely. I've heard good and I've heard not so good - but then both SH3/4 have their fair share of faults too.

On this forum you will read good and bad about all three games, and everybodys' point of view is just and valid - only you can decide if a game is for you.

Whichever game(s) you plump for, use the Amazon link at the top to purchase and this site gets some cash to help keep it running. :yep:

Edit: whichever game, all enhanced by mods, don't play stock!

Okay thank you very much for the reply. As far as the pricing goes im not too concerned with that, I just want to pic a game that Im going to enjoy visually as well, and about the mods, I was planning on getting TDWs ship and plane AI mod for sure, from what Ive read/seen its a B.A. mod that needs to be a must have from the looks of it.

Hey there! Welcome! This is a great board and you've come to the right place for info on Silent Hunter. To answer your question, Silent Hunter 3,4 & 5 are your best bets. Sh3 will run on a broad range of computer configurations and the GWX mods have really punched it up! SH4 and SH5 tend to require fast cpu's and high end video cards (check out the system requirements). The graphics are great in 4 and 5 and the general concensus around here is to buy the best video card you can afford.....I have both but I do like the fleet boats better....To each his own! I recommend you try SH5 and use JSGME to add TheDarkWraith's New UI for SH5 v0.2.0mod. Keep in mind that many computers come with a chipset type video display and that just will not work for SH4 and SH5. I'm running it on a HP core duo laptop with a GeForce 9600m GT video display I've had for a year or so. You will probably have to upgrade the power supply when you add the video card. By the way the Radeon Video cards work quite well too I've heard. Good luck!!:|\\

WELCOME ABOARD! :sunny:

This really is a matter of personal choice at this stage of the game. I'll give my rundown of the current differences, but you should know that all three can be graphics intensive. I'm actually having more trouble with SH3 on my five-year-old setup than I am with SH4. That said, it is my understanding that SH5 does require a dual-core setup that the earlierversions don't. If that's correct and, like me, you don't have that yet, then you will need an upgrade.

SH3 is the oldest title of the series that is still available. On the plus side it is complete, or as complete as it's ever going to get. More modern gamers point out the old-looking graphics. Those of us who played it from the start are used to them. There are many more mod possibilities available for it than the two later releases combined. You can play from the month before the war started right through to the end of the war. There are also a great many things that are not, and may never be fixed with mods. That said, it is a great and fulfilling experience, and has more people talking about their campaign experiences that the later two as well.

SH4 is a great improvement in graphics and crew management, but lacks the mods development that has benefitted SH3. It has many things to recommend it, not the least of which is the fact that it actually runs better on a medium rig computer than SH3 does. Don't be fooled by the claims that SH4 is for the Pacific Ocean only. The U-Boat Missions add-on (included when you buy the Gold version) is a good start, and the Operation Monsun campaign lets you play the entire war in the Atlantic, so there's a very real choice there. Where SH4 suffers is the lack of small mods, which have so greatly expanded SH3.

SH5 has even better graphics, and as you can see from the screenshots looks amazingly lifelike. New additions include the realistic harbors and the ability to walk through the entire boat and interact more closely with the crew. The bad news is that the interaction is more in the RPG vein and is extremely limited. The worst part is that they (necessarily) had to limit it to the Type VII u-boats, and had to limit the campaign to the early (1939-1943) part of the war. This has drawn complaints from the completists among us, but the players who love the good parts of the game are willing to ignore it, just as SH3 players are willing to overlook the dated graphics of that game for the completeness.

Price of the game itself is no longer a factor, since you can now buy SH5 from Amazon for $16. Whatever your choice is, if you do buy from Amazon be sure to use the link at the upper right corner of this page to get there, so Subsim gets a cut.

I've tried to be fair in my assessment of all three, because as I said there is a very real choice that can be made. I play SH3 and SH4 because of the experience they give me, and as soon as the DRM is removed I will buy SH5 and play it for all it's worth.

I'll echo what Steve has written but add one small piece....the price of buying all three is not that high especially when you look at the asking price for some of the latest PC games, so if your budget allows, I'd recommend you purchase all three (via the SubSim Amazon link) and prepare yourself for a long and fruitful gameing experience.

http://www.psionguild.org/forums/ima...es/welcome.gif

Thank you very much for the welcome and the information steve. Like I said. graphics to somewhat matter to me and at this point I doubt my computer could run SH5 on high without having a ton of problems.

(however lucky me I know a friend that builds computers for a living and can build me a gaming computer built to run anything and everything smoothly, maybe Crysus (sp?) being the only one to run not completely smooth, for around 600$ :yeah:)

So if SH4 does look better than SH3 and can actually run easier, I might just take a gander at getting that. Or as jimbuna said I may just get all 3 if theyre that cheap!

Secondly, the DRM for 5 seems like a PITA, are they hinting towards removing it or is it just speculation that they will eventually?

And thirdly, Ive seen people talk about mods that make a status report for them to send in and such and such, which what I took away from that is that there are clans or wolfpacks that compete over how much tonnage they can sink in a career or a given month??

And fourth and finally, I know there is multiplayer, but is it just like they drop you in an ocean with X number of subs and you just get to hunt? or is it more campaign intervened? as in if your having trouble with a mission, you can join a server with other people on it and form wolfpacks to help you complete missions or anything?

The way im invisioning the multiplayer is its like an open campaign mode, so many people join a dedicated server and play their campaign, the only difference is that there are other skippers out there as well??

And Im under the impression that the game is kind of sandbox style? as no different levels but you get a mission which is at X Y and you travel there from your pen complete the patrol and return??

Sorry for all the questions but yeah :|\\

Oh and when I do get it I would like to join a wolfpack or a clan. and if possible as i can tell from posts, Id probably need someone to show me the ropes since the manuals obviously dont explain much, preferably once I get the good computer to run SH5 id like to be able to play it in as close to 100% realism as possible.

Welcome Aboard!
 

:salute:

Thank you all for the warm welcomes :yeah: Just so happens that I might actually serve on a Sub in the Navy as a Nuke :P but any ways can anybody answer my questions about the wolfpack/clan stuff like two posts down ?? If I get these games Im definately looking for a group of people I can have fun sending ships to Davey Jones's locker with

EDIT: I had a question posted in another forum and he redirected me here. but here are my specs

Model: Dell Inspiron 560S
Processor: Pentium Dual-Core CPU @ 2.7 GHZ
RAM: 4.00 GB
System Type: 64-Bit
Graphics Card: Intel G45/G53 Express Chipset

I know the GFX might be a problem, so one what cards would you guys reccomend that work beautifully with the game? and 2 is everything else in check as far as beeing either what i need or more than enough? If not I can have my friend build me a really good gaming computer for like 5 or 600 bucks.

I'm not sure if that chipset will work very well with SH4 and SH5. Perhaps you should check out this website:

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com

Should tell you what games you can run on your system. I did notice that Mozilla Firefox did not interface well and I had to use Internet Explorer to get the analyzer to download. My Processors just make the cut but I can run everything just fine!

Sh3 is a great game and you'll enjoy playing it!

I know the feeling. I appreciate a certain amount of realistic gameplay, but I appreciate the graphics as well. It's a tough balancing act at present, but we hope that SH5 will eventually turn out to give the best of both.

They really are that cheap now.

A handful of people have reported problems, but most are enjoying the game with no trouble at all. I'm one of a group who have refused to buy it on principle. I will buy it as soon as it's gone. There is no hint of removal on the horizon at present, but they have said that when they officially abandon support for the game they will remove it.

Multi-player is strictly one-off in all these games. You set up a game and play it. No campaign-type structure at all.

Campaigns in the Silent Hunter series are a combination of patrol orders and special assignments, with the exception of SH3, which was the first of the current crop.

In SH3 you are ordered to patrol a specific area for 24 hours, which is a holdover from SH2 which only had scripted missions.

In SH4 you are ordered to patrol an area for three days or so, then you recieve new orders, which might be for a new area or might be to just go hunting. Occasionally you will get orders to drop off a spy or pick one up, or to photograph a certain area.

There are several online campaigns in progress. The biggest of these is Wolves At War, in which you are assigned a mission, which you then play by yourself. At the end of the patrol you report in just as a real sub skipper would.

As for help, Subsim.com is the best manual you'll find anywhere. There are dozens here who are glad to help with anything from sending discs full of mods to people who have download troubles to walking you step-by-step through the simplest routine operations. You've come to the right place.

After running the test is says I need to upgrade the CPU and Graphics Card to run the game. However, just got S.A.G. I saw if I could run Flight Sim X and it again said I couldnt, saying only my graphics card didnt meet the specifications. However. Flight Sim X runs extremely smoothly on my computer at mostly medium high specifications for the graphics. so Im wondering if this could be wrong about SH5 too? the only reason Im using SH5 as an example is because it is the prettiest looking game Ive ever seen apart from Crysis. and SH5 of course:)

Addressing what is in Bold. what do you mean by one off? I guess my real question is, when you set up the game, are you allowed a sort of free roam? as in you have the whole atlantic and can say set the ship traffic to high and such? and then go out to see with other skippers, sink some ships come back to port and refuel and keep on going until the hearts content??

And from what Id seen and read, you aquire new missions by getting new orders and going to new ports and such. in which case I most definately and probably wrong. lol

When it comes to questions about graphics cards, I have an ATI Radeon 4600 series(1GB), and the game runs just fine.