Returning SH3/4 player, what's the SH5 status?
 

So I used to play SH3 and 4, and had a darned good time at it. My only complaints I can remember these days were the fatigue system in 3 and the silent running bug in 4 (where I would lose the ability to run silent, and promptly end up on the bottom of the ocean when a warship found me).

Then SH5 came out, and I avoided it at the time because I was turned off by Ubisoft's DRM (a fresh issue at the time) and reports of extreme general bugginess.

It's been almost a year since SH5's release, so I'm assuming Ubisoft has released all the patches they intend to release at this point, and there are probably some decent mods out by now (maybe even a nice supermod or two).

Without starting a flamewar (please), I'm wondering, has SH5 (with the best mods) surpassed its predecessors (with their best mods) yet? What improvements does it bring, and where might it be lacking by comparison? How is it in terms of crashing and other weird bugs?

With all of the patches, SH3 and SH4 are playable in stock/vanilla. As it stands right now, SH5 requires mods. The general opinion is that SH5 still has the capabilities of surpassing 3 and 4. However, there is still much work from the mod community to be done. The biggest issues I have seen are the morale/fatigue model and the ludicrously broken skills. Some mods address these issues, but most require starting a new career to get them to kick in. Ubisoft put out its last official patch almost two years ago and axed official support last year. The only support you will get for SH5 are from the folks here.

If you can find it on the cheap, I say go for it. The stock game should have never been released. It was incomplete and was too "arcade" for the veteran subsim crowd. With the mods SH5 has grown on me. I am beginning to enjoy it.

Heck, you're right, it's been almost two years since SH5's release. I'm not used to it being 2012 yet. ;)

LOL

As rough as last year was, I am the opposite. I am glad it is here. Last year felt like the last hour of Das Boot.

Yeah with the numerous mods (40) I have for SH5 it starting to surpass the other SH games. Silent Hunter 3 - GWX w/SHCommander was by far my favorite, only needed the main mod to run and maybe a few more.

Out of the box your not going to like SH5, besides the visuals. Give the game a try, it will grow on you and will soon love it.

i still prefer SHIII with GWX , but im finding SH5 more playable these days ... just cant hit nothing :)

Do you have the torpedo speed fix mod?

Welcome in Wisq,
As you can see, even though the opinions differ a bit, they all point to the plus side of SH5. I like you and many others, delayed even coming to this game because of the DRM. Now, after getting the mods that I think are the "Go-To", this game has become my favorite. I have no problem hitting targets, and as far as immersion goes, this game is on top. Do I still love 3&4? Absolutely!
For the current price, (if you love the series) you've gotta' at least mod this one up and try it. Get past that tutorial mission, put your best mods in and it's 1939!!
D40 :salute:

I'm in the same boat (pun intended) SH3 with GWX player wanting to give SH5 a go. What are the recommended mods to get the best from the game?
I was waiting for a GWX style super mod to come out but I guess it isn't going to happen.

I just ordered my copy off amazon today for 10 bucks :cool:

Looking forward to getting into it!

I too am curious about a nice mod load out for the game

I've lurked here on the forum for many years checking out what the fine people do with mods and game updates.

Hopefully SH5 can attain the level III has someday :up:

Since DRM is gone and the price fell to a very fair 10 €, i was back in the game too. I don't regret it at all. As soon as you get up to speed with the changes from SH3/SH4 to SH5, you'll enjoy it. If you play with the torpedo-solution-line + round numbers then hitting the ships is a walk in the park.
But you'll need a time to get into SH5...

Many ask for a short list of must-have-mods: The campaigne ending 42 (43?) was inacceptable for me, so adding "Open Horizon" was the first must. TDW's new GUI was my second must. You really don't need more for starting.

If you like, install these mods in this order and you are good to go:

Magnum Opus Version 0.0.1
MO-Patch2
NewUIs_TDC_6_9_0
Open Horizons II v1.6
DeutschMod 1.0.2 (for us germans or for realism)

Also have a look at this thread:

SH5 Mod Guide for Beginners: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=190656