Sh5 Re-Review

0rpheus · 08-16-11, 08:59 AM

Poor old 5 got a hammering at release, and rightly so. But seeing the work of the modders, and how much they've improved the game, I felt it deserved a re-review, incorporating the mod changes so people can see how it has progressed.

Hard to get the level of detail you need for something like this, but I had a bash anyway: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/re...nter-5-1388441

Opinions welcome... the story hook is mostly accurate

TheDarkWraith · 08-16-11, 09:47 AM

The tutorial feature of my UIs mod makes it easy to learn SH5. There are tutorials written and new ones can be written by individuals very easily. Thus I don't agree with your review that SH5 is still lacking tutorials.

0rpheus · 08-16-11, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheDarkWraith

The tutorial feature of my UIs mod makes it easy to learn SH5. There are tutorials written and new ones can be written by individuals very easily. Thus I don't agree with your review that SH5 is still lacking tutorials.

Ah, I wasn't aware of those at the time of writing. But the review really refers to the in-game tutorial in that respect, in that it is quite limited.

stoianm · 08-16-11, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 0rpheus

Ah, I wasn't aware of those at the time of writing. But the review really refers to the in-game tutorial in that respect, in that it is quite limited.

there are some in game tutorials... tdw and trevally made some long time ago

0rpheus · 08-16-11, 10:17 AM

Shame there's no way to edit it now it's up, or I could include them

horsa · 08-16-11, 12:43 PM

Thank you, Orpheus, for a very welcome and well written reassessment of SH5.

Trevally. · 08-16-11, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by horsa

Thank you, Orpheus, for a very welcome and well written reassessment of SH5.

FIREWALL · 08-16-11, 01:39 PM

I take the time to read the SH5 Forum and easily keep up with the Giant leaps in improvements and fixes our modders have done to SH5 since it's Poor release condition.

and

to our Modders for all their Hard and Endless Work.

bamzors · 08-16-11, 04:38 PM

Hey Orpheus,
even taken purely as a piece of writing, that updated review really is a very nice piece of work. Congratulations. I think your assessment of the difference between the offering at launch and the modded SH5 today is fair too. I have had a similar experience that the graphics, UI, and performance mods have tipped the game from a flawed product that hints at excellence to an experience that rarely fails to impress.

Thanks for writing the review and helping correct misapprehensions that buyers might have of the original SH5...

Bamzors

0rpheus · 08-17-11, 08:01 AM

Cheers, glad you liked it fellas

voxosoxo · 08-18-11, 10:08 AM

Hull integrity is a hair-whitening 32% and the pumps are struggling to contain the flooding. I hold my breath and give the order to surface....brilliant review ..........

hope it was beer all round ...

Cold_Gambler · 08-24-11, 11:48 AM

Great read... This re-review has convinced me to take the SH5 plunge.

jerryb · 08-25-11, 01:03 AM

Hi, great review Orpheus, new to this so would like to ask where all the mods you use are located, I've found a few but not all the ones you have listed. PS does SH5 not like Windows 7? I'm getting a lot of CTD's.

BigBANGtheory · 08-25-11, 11:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerryb

new to this so would like to ask where all the mods you use are located, I've found a few but not all the ones you have listed. PS does SH5 not like Windows 7? I'm getting a lot of CTD's.

Gathering and installing lots of mods is tricky at first but once you've done it you'll realise it was ok.

The first thing you should do as you are using Win7 is install SH5 to a folder off the root of your hard disk and not to the Program Files folder(s), then start it to get the official v1.2 patch.

When you run SH5 right click on the icon and select Run as Administrator option as opposed to double clicking on the icon.

To find the mods you basically have to search either the SH5 Mod sub forum or the downloads section on SubSim, not all mods are hosted by SubSim so thats why you need to find the topic thread to get the link.

Some mods are contained within mods e.g. the TDW New UI mod actually contains about 6 mods in addition to the UI mod itself.

You also need to keep in mind that Mod lists do not always tell the full story e.g. people may have patched mods prior to loading them but it isnt obvious they have done that purely by looking at the list. Additionally you are supposed to have your career saved in port for the application of some mods.

Its a bloody nightmare for non-modders to get right, but have a go people will help

The only easy way around these points really is to wait patiently for Magnum Opus v0.0.5.

btw your review was a good read Orpheus and well written. Given your experience with trying out many mods and passion for the game it would be great if you could re-install it and explain step by step the process of getting it modded up.

0rpheus · 08-25-11, 12:00 PM

@ JerryB - let me know which ones you're having trouble finding and I'll find you some links. As BigBangTheory says, some of them are optional add-on mods contained within larger modpacks - for example Dynamic Environment 'Realistic Waves' is part of the main Dynamic Environment mod and can be found in DE's 'optional mods' folder.

BBT is also right to say the modlist doesn't always tell the full story - my version of Stormy's DBSM is blended with bits of Capthelm's Audio Mod, for example, and my Grossdeucher Rundfunk also has other radio stations from another mod manually coded in. This kinda stuff can wait though - it's only by playing around with the files that simple edits like this become possible, so start with the easy stuff first.

Re: the CTDs... well to be honest, I get them too on occasion. There's speculation that some of the new ships in Open Horizons II are causing CTDs and I'm sure Trevally is working on a fix. Sober also posted that deleting the contents of your Ubi Launcher cache can solve some CTDs as well:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=186989

If you're really getting a LOT of CTDs then it could be a problem with your mod-install order - some files conflict, some overwrite and it can become a mess very quickly. Attempting to install lots of mods at once can also cause trouble - if, at any point during the installation JSGME freezes and says 'not responding' at the top, let it finish, then remove the mod and add it again until that message doesn't appear. The vast majority of mods should only be enabled in Port, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Post your exact list from JSGME (go tasks/export to clipboard) and we can have a look and see if there's anything glaringly obvious. There's also a debug viewer included in Magnum Opus (at least I think its MO, TDW will correct me if I'm wrong) that you can run in the background - then you can post the log of the crash and see if one of the more technical chaps can help.

@ BBT - the thought of another reinstall gives me the shudders, as it took me a fair while to get my modsoup tasting right.

I could probably write up a Win 7 install & mod instruction from memory and if I miss bits or get it wrong the Kaleuns here could correct me... It would have to be fairly basic, as mods change so frequently that making specific references to any one mod would end up out of date quite fast, so it'd just be a game-install and JSGME install/instructions for use. Would that still be useful?

Edit: Oh, and cheers for the kind words re the review to you both!

08-16-11, 08:59 AM	#1
0rpheus Grey Wolf Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: UK Posts: 857 Downloads: 87 Uploads: 3	Sh5 Re-Review Poor old 5 got a hammering at release, and rightly so. But seeing the work of the modders, and how much they've improved the game, I felt it deserved a re-review, incorporating the mod changes so people can see how it has progressed. Hard to get the level of detail you need for something like this, but I had a bash anyway: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/re...nter-5-1388441 Opinions welcome... the story hook is mostly accurate

08-16-11, 12:43 PM	#6
horsa Pacific Aces Dev Team Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Halifax, England Posts: 502 Downloads: 44 Uploads: 3	Thank you, Orpheus, for a very welcome and well written reassessment of SH5. __________________ "You need to put your behind in the past". Kumba

08-16-11, 01:39 PM	#8
FIREWALL Eternal Patrol Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: CATALINA IS. SO . CAL USA Posts: 10,108 Downloads: 511 Uploads: 0	I take the time to read the SH5 Forum and easily keep up with the Giant leaps in improvements and fixes our modders have done to SH5 since it's Poor release condition. and to our Modders for all their Hard and Endless Work. __________________ RIP FIREWALL I Play GWX. Silent Hunter Who ???

08-18-11, 10:08 AM	#11
voxosoxo Swabbie Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 9 Downloads: 12 Uploads: 0	review Hull integrity is a hair-whitening 32% and the pumps are struggling to contain the flooding. I hold my breath and give the order to surface....brilliant review .......... hope it was beer all round ...

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08-16-11, 09:47 AM	#2
TheDarkWraith Black Magic Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 11,962 Downloads: 147 Uploads: 5	The tutorial feature of my UIs mod makes it easy to learn SH5. There are tutorials written and new ones can be written by individuals very easily. Thus I don't agree with your review that SH5 is still lacking tutorials.

08-16-11, 10:17 AM	#5
0rpheus Grey Wolf Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: UK Posts: 857 Downloads: 87 Uploads: 3	Shame there's no way to edit it now it's up, or I could include them

08-16-11, 04:38 PM	#9
bamzors Seaman Join Date: May 2010 Posts: 38 Downloads: 45 Uploads: 0	Hey Orpheus, even taken purely as a piece of writing, that updated review really is a very nice piece of work. Congratulations. I think your assessment of the difference between the offering at launch and the modded SH5 today is fair too. I have had a similar experience that the graphics, UI, and performance mods have tipped the game from a flawed product that hints at excellence to an experience that rarely fails to impress. Thanks for writing the review and helping correct misapprehensions that buyers might have of the original SH5... Bamzors

08-17-11, 08:01 AM	#10
0rpheus Grey Wolf Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: UK Posts: 857 Downloads: 87 Uploads: 3	Cheers, glad you liked it fellas

08-24-11, 11:48 AM	#12
Cold_Gambler Watch Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 30 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	Great read... This re-review has convinced me to take the SH5 plunge.

08-25-11, 01:03 AM	#13
jerryb Seaman Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 32 Downloads: 40 Uploads: 0	Hi, great review Orpheus, new to this so would like to ask where all the mods you use are located, I've found a few but not all the ones you have listed. PS does SH5 not like Windows 7? I'm getting a lot of CTD's.

08-25-11, 12:00 PM	#15
0rpheus Grey Wolf Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: UK Posts: 857 Downloads: 87 Uploads: 3	@ JerryB - let me know which ones you're having trouble finding and I'll find you some links. As BigBangTheory says, some of them are optional add-on mods contained within larger modpacks - for example Dynamic Environment 'Realistic Waves' is part of the main Dynamic Environment mod and can be found in DE's 'optional mods' folder. BBT is also right to say the modlist doesn't always tell the full story - my version of Stormy's DBSM is blended with bits of Capthelm's Audio Mod, for example, and my Grossdeucher Rundfunk also has other radio stations from another mod manually coded in. This kinda stuff can wait though - it's only by playing around with the files that simple edits like this become possible, so start with the easy stuff first. Re: the CTDs... well to be honest, I get them too on occasion. There's speculation that some of the new ships in Open Horizons II are causing CTDs and I'm sure Trevally is working on a fix. Sober also posted that deleting the contents of your Ubi Launcher cache can solve some CTDs as well: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=186989 If you're really getting a LOT of CTDs then it could be a problem with your mod-install order - some files conflict, some overwrite and it can become a mess very quickly. Attempting to install lots of mods at once can also cause trouble - if, at any point during the installation JSGME freezes and says 'not responding' at the top, let it finish, then remove the mod and add it again until that message doesn't appear. The vast majority of mods should only be enabled in Port, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Post your exact list from JSGME (go tasks/export to clipboard) and we can have a look and see if there's anything glaringly obvious. There's also a debug viewer included in Magnum Opus (at least I think its MO, TDW will correct me if I'm wrong) that you can run in the background - then you can post the log of the crash and see if one of the more technical chaps can help. @ BBT - the thought of another reinstall gives me the shudders, as it took me a fair while to get my modsoup tasting right. I could probably write up a Win 7 install & mod instruction from memory and if I miss bits or get it wrong the Kaleuns here could correct me... It would have to be fairly basic, as mods change so frequently that making specific references to any one mod would end up out of date quite fast, so it'd just be a game-install and JSGME install/instructions for use. Would that still be useful? Edit: Oh, and cheers for the kind words re the review to you both!