Is this game worth buying at this time?
 

Hey guys...
Unfortunately, I never played SH3, but I thoroughly enjoyed SH4+UBM even without the mods. I was eagerly awaiting SH5, but the almost unanimous horrid reviews and DRM turned me away completely. Now that its been awhile and hopefully patches and mods have done some of their magic, has this game become worth its price?

Also, how's the replay value? In SH4, the dynamic campaign (although retarded at times) played out differently every time. Will SH5's story-driven thingy yield more than one or two playthroughs?

Thanks for any input
Smirnov

I bought the game a couple of weeks ago as it's now down to ten bucks instead of forty, and as there now appear to be plenty of mods. From the perspective of stability and looks, the game is fine once you add a few environmental and AI mods. It looks lovely, the effects are nice and I didn't run into any game killing bugs.

Unfortunately I was a fan of SHIII, and was expecting an improved version of that game. Its not. The addition of the story mission gameplay limits the game when compared to the freedom of SH3s dynamic campaign, and also limits your options elsewhere. You don't get the many different subs to play as you go on, and your game ends midway through the war. Worse still is the interface which is time consuming and clunky, hence the many mods aimed at changing it back to match SH3 and 4. Unfortunately none work completely yet and can cause crashes or are incompatible with each other.

If you have never played SH3 or 4 and can find the game cheap, you should certainly try it out. Add the recommended environment and AI mods and it looks brill too. Unfortunately I was a veteran SHIII guy and it just wound me up with its limitations, and I ended up installing SHIII instead with the Grey Wolves Expansion mod in place. It doesn't match 5 for graphics, but it's not far off and gameplay is much better, IMHO.

I'm pondering the very same question OP is. It is always very enlightening to read SH III vs SH V posts, so thanks for the reply Axeman.
After couple of patches and number of mods, has the damage model (including merchants, war ships,player's sub) seen much improvement?

Improved compared to what? Stock SH5?

I only played the stock game for a few hours, then loaded in the IRAI and Environment 4.5 mods, along with ones to change flags and the interior of the sub. I don't think any of those mess with the damage models, but can't be sure.

In play I sank mainly medium freighters and tankers, and they proved pretty resilient. Only a couple of times was a single torpedo enough to do the job, and I had to use the deck gun or a second torpedo to finish them off. Often I would set tankers and freighters burning fiercely from bow to stern for hours, but it seemed to do nothing and that annoyed me a bit. I always used torps set to magnetic just below the keel, and hoped for more single shot kills. I'm not bothered by the damage model, apart from fire seeming to be pretty ineffectual.

An astute observation.

SH5 does look lovely and i find myself wishing its looks on SH3, but that's about it!

Like Axeman said, the limitations are many, and the lovely graphics won't quench your gamer thirst, especially if you're an SH3 veteran.:stare:

The DRM-forever-online copy protection is an altogether different matter, which each buyer has to make up his own mind about.:zzz:

I still play with the idea of getting it, since its quite cheap now and i have the other titles of the series. Might as well hand some coin to UBI Romania.:shifty:

Cheers

STOCK SH5 (the modders deserves the real credit here) is a pile of crap. In the beginning, and this was a very long time ago, we needed a compass-mod to sort things out. And unless you don´t have one, and you don´t, you´ll find your sub unsailable.

Imagine, that BDU and Karl Doenitz, says to you that you´ll have to sink some Battleships and Aircraft-carriers during your patrol, otherwise you´ll lose your command, and you have SH5.

Thanks for the replies guys! Just a couple other questions:
Is the AI any good (with/without mods). Apparently, something like 75% of the U-Boot force were KIA, so at least after 1941 the game should sort of be a desperate battle for survival. However, for example, SH4 was more of a race to rake up tonnage with "life-threatening" situations few and very far between, even on 100% realism (although, obviously, the US submarine arm didnt have such awful attrition rates). Does SH5 "adress" this at all?

Also, whats the deal with the campaign... is it totally static/story-driven, or is there some dynamism to it to make it replayable?

Thanks
Smirnov

I have bought all the SH games and enjoyed every one of them.
As each new one came out I thought, hmm this is not as good as.....

This one is no different. Started off thinking oh dear:damn:
That was back when it came out March/April.
Its now the end of Nov and I am still loading this game every day:up:

Most of the above problems have been fixed with mods and the others are being fixed. The biggest problem I see here is people not knowing about all the mods out there and which one fixes what.

This will be sorted when TDW uploads his megamod.

Hi smirnov,
The Dark Wraith's IRAI 0029 Mod is simply superb. It will give you plenty off action against the in game enemy be it destroyers or torpedo planes.

The campaign mode of the game leaves a little to be disired in MHO as it seems buggy and not very dynamic. Having said that u get missions all over the globe and a story line that keeps u waiting for the next change in dialog .

Check out that mod it really changes the game for the better.

Hope this helps.:salute:

Having been a big fan of SH3 and a somewhat-less-than-big fan of 4, I purchased SH5 and after two (three?) updates, tossed it in the trash. I refuse to support ANY company that apparently expects unpaid "modders" to do all the grunt work to make their prematurely released product, "play-worthy!" Anyway, after an absence of three months, decided to get back on the Forum and see if any thing, or any attitudes, toward SH5 have changed.

NOPE! Still a piece of detritus - even at less than $10!

In a nutshell, no. The campaign sends you to "x" area with orders to sink "x" amount of tonnage or at times a specific ship.

For ten bucks though, cmon guys, you are harsh. Go to the mods forum and look at all the mods available. The game is gorgeous and easy to customize to your liking.

As comparing SH5 to Sh3 w/ GWX or SH4/UBM/OM is unrealistic.

Compare SH3 stock to Sh5 stock and you'll see the game has much more POTENTIAL. I'm not saying this potential has been reached (no where near it), but what I'm saying is that, given the time and patience, Sh5 will be one of the greatest WW2 U-boat subsims of all time (if not the last :wah:)

Give it time, like you had to with its great predecessors, and you won't be disappointed.

Edit: And for all you people who say you don't support companies who give you unfinished games and leave them to be supported by unpaid modders.. Ahem, isn't buying/paying/supporting/whatever, Sh3 and 4 the EXACT SAME THING, considering they are from the same company, and came out in the same half arsed attempt when they were released?

I don't hate SH5, nor do I hate Ubisoft for releasing poorly made software. The recent Call of Duty release proved they're not the only ones who put accountants in charge of technical projects. We should remember that this is all just opinion and not irrefutable fact. Well, the SH5 engine undoubtedly kicks the ass of previous releases, that's a fact. The rest is opinion.

In most peoples opinion, the interface in SH5 is a pain in the ass. Mods help, but I couldn't find one that did all the fixes on all the screens without problems. Maybe later on when mods are all integrated, but not right now.

can you list what problems you are referring to here?

I doubt it will get any cheaper as far as price.
Until the 'SH3 Series UnObTanium' comes out.

That's the one that gets you Every version ever released.

Watch for it on TV's Paid Commercials Crap.
:haha: