[Linavitch]

Originally Posted by Inajira

Hi fellow sub captains!

Just bought SH4 after having enjoyed SH3 for some time. I'm pretty impressed with the game, although its not a HUGE improvement over SH3 IMHO. I've only run one career mission, so I'm looking for any general tips on "what to watch out for", as in things that have been changed from SH3. I have patch 1.4 which I installed straight away (219Mb omg!). I read a hint about the "patrol an area" mission type has been changed, no longer 24 hours but how does it work then? Anything else of that nature to look out for? 'Patrol' objectives require you to stay within 100nm of the star for 48 hours. 'Deploy' missions mean you must goto the star but are then free to cruise off were you please. Once a mission is completed (star goes grey) you can radio in and receive new orders. More info in the stickies.

Also I installed an SD radar after my first patrol. This is an air search (?) radar but I see it doesn't have a separate radar display. Does it work like the radar warning receivers in SH3? Do I get an alarm or something when it detects approaching aircraft, and does it do that in time to turn off time compression and dive? An air radar contact will drop your TC to 1, ship radar contact will drop it to 8.

Also I see there is a captain's log type of thing but am I able to add in my own notes/log entries? This was always something people missed in SH3. Was suggested that you could make notes on the map/log in the pre-release literature but never materialised.

Can I rename my ship and/or add a decal to her hull? By modding. Check the Mod forum.

I cannot find a button in the interface that allows me to take a sounding of the depth, is there one? Do I get weather reports? The sea seemed awfully calm and the weather mostly sunny during the 20-odd days of my first campaign... I hope I get more interesting weather next one! Depth to Keel is on the Command Room orders bar. Fourth from the left. I use CTRL W for weather but I think that is enabled by TM mod. I think there is a problem with weather changing if you TC over 256. Someone else may be able to expand on this.

I cannot seem to get any stats for the submarines using the Museum object-viewer. Obviously I need to have data on my sub like crush depth, etc. and the manual doesn't have it. You could look it up, search on here or the internet. Or for a bit more fun do a test dive. Dive to test depth then position yourself in the conning room and dive slowly. When your lights start to flicker your getting close to crush depth, how big are your balls boy!

Is see the depth gauge has a red needle and a white one. White is obviously current ordered depth. The red? Test Depth

I see there is no salvo setting for torpedoes in SH4, and the manual seems to indicate that launching torps one after the other is considered a 'salvo'. Bearing this in mind, if I set a spread angle of X, does the first torp fire straight, the second x dergrees to the (eg.) right, and the third x degrees to the left? Or do I have to manually change the spread angle after each torp launch to get a fan of torpedoes? Up in the stickies you'll find tutorials and videos for the TDC.

What's the arming distance on torpedoes? 300 Yards

Any must-have mods out there? Yes. What is 'must have' is down to personal choice. I Use TM, ROW and NSM plus some Hi Res skins. Play stock, get a feel for the game and then decide what you'ld like changed.

Thanks for all the help!

Good hunting.