Hey,
Thought I'd add my 2d, since I was in a similar situation to OP. I played a lot of stock Silent Hunter a year or so ago, but I've only just reinstalled it... after reading a bit about GWX I thought I'd give it a go. Having just finished my first patrol I thought I'd add my thoughts for what they're worth.
First off... it's a brilliant mod. Really, really brilliant. Completely transforms the game, and I'm kinda sorry I wasn't using it back in the day. That said (and only personally speaking) I'd still play vanilla SH3 until you get a feel for the game. Do God's Eye map-updates, automatic targeting and fairly low realism until you're confident setting up an attack on a convey, wiping out half the merchants and slinking away without much chance of being sunk. To be honest, I don't think that should take more than a few patrols. I'd say install GWX as soon as it starts to tinge a tiny bit boring.
A few things I really liked... I loved all the extra activity in the harbour, even if it meant not being able to rocket out at high time compression. I loved the band that saw me off, and I especially loved them rocking up at 2320 when I got back. Presumably the pubs had just kicked out...
I also like the random stuff I saw. Not sure if it was part of the game or a bug, but I found a Dutch tugboat and an unflagged freighter with searchlights, completely motionless in the middle of the North sea. Another strange one was merchant ships that seemed to shadow me... couldn't sink them because the war hadn't started, but hopefully the captains will still be that stupid in September.
The weather was also much more believable and the graphics much improved. Really made the whole thing more immersive.
Manual targeting and plotting, while a bit baffling at first, is really not too difficult, if you follow the excellent advice on this forum, and it makes the whole thing a damn sight more interesting.
Anyways. That's what I reckon.
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