Hi, I´m new!

Andrew82 · 01-02-10, 01:43 PM

Hello all, my name is Andrew, I'm from The Neterlands and I´m new to subsim. Last week I was cleaning out one of my closets and there I found a copy of Silent HunterIV I purchased some time ago. I couldn't remember playing it (no playtime longer than a hour though..) so I installed it and spent some good hours playing!

I'm a total noob to Sub simulators so I went to search for some info on internet and ran into subsim.com, lots of info here!

Today I installed the Trigger Maru 1.7.6 mod, the PE4 mod and the RSRDC_TMOv14_V370 mod (1.4 patch only). I must say the graphics are 100% better with these mods! I also noticed the gameplay changed; now I have to watch my fuel consumption and the trajectory of ships on the map are harder to plot etc. (Remember, I'm just a noob....)

For now I'm playing with auto-targeting, I'd like to learn to manually target my potential victims but first things first.
So here are my first questions for you, the experienced captains;

1: Am I missing some "must have" mods? (I've seen some of your screenshots and they still are a lot better than mine..)
2: Witch mission(s) is/are best to play first as a complete noob?

Well, that's all for now, please forgive me if I made any mistakes with my English and do correct me so I can learn from my mistakes!

Greets and a happy new year,
Andrew

Steiger · 01-02-10, 01:48 PM

The best thing to do as a complete noob is a few torpedo practices until you get the plotting and firing basics down, then go straight to the campaign at the start of the war. That way you get into your first patrol without a lot of experience and have to learn everything the hard way - just like the real sub commanders did.

DarkFish · 01-02-10, 01:55 PM

Usually we welcome new people at subsim with "Welcome Aboard", but to a fellow Dutchman I'd rather say:
Welkom aan boord

As for your questions:

Quote:

1: Am I missing some "must have" mods? (I've seen some of your screenshots and they still are a lot better than mine..)

Not that I know of, TMO already includes some graphics mods. There are other supermods out there though, some of which include graphic mods that may be more to your liking.

Quote:

2: Witch mission(s) is/are best to play first as a complete noob?

I'd say campaign. The missions are all hard for a complete noob i guess, they all include some huge, heavily escorted convoy or taskforce, you won't find lone shipping in the single missions.

limkol · 01-02-10, 02:13 PM

Welcome aboard, Andrew.

It's been a while since I played the American side, so I am not the best man to help you out.

There are definitely a lot of things to think about when you first start out as Captain of a sub! Leave it on auto-targeting and unlimited fuel until you get more experience and so can concentrate on other things. You can always change the settings after you have got used to handling the boat. The most important thing is to have fun!

Good luck and happy hunting

Munchausen · 01-02-10, 02:34 PM

Quote:

(I've seen some of your screenshots and they still are a lot better than mine..)

Many of the screen shots are taken from the "upgraded" U-Boat add-on to the game ... it makes some changes to the graphics and most of the current mods are built specifically for the upgrade (also known as the 1.5 patch ... 'though it isn't really a patch).

VirtualVikingX · 01-02-10, 03:20 PM

Welcome aboard! Hope you will stay for SH5!

sergei · 01-02-10, 03:25 PM

Welcome

Andrew82 · 01-02-10, 04:36 PM

Thanks so far on a warm welcome!

Nice too see there's a fellow Dutchmen among us!

@ Munchausen & VirtualVikingX: I've been looking for the SH IV gold edition in Holland but so far no success, so I guess I'll stay on v1.4 until SH 5 is available.

Armistead · 01-02-10, 04:53 PM

The mod set up you have is about as good as you can get with 1.4. There may be some smaller mods you can add, just check the mods page and make sure they work with 1.4. They're several smaller eye candy mods that work with 1.4

You could also load some skins to dress up your sub. Don't forget the radio station mods if you're into news and music of that era.

jerm138 · 01-02-10, 09:58 PM

You may want to also look into using the mission editor to create your own training setups.

I learned how to manually target by making my own easy setups, and gradually making them more difficult. My first one was a ship dead in the water, 700 yards straight ahead of me. Simple as can be. Next, I made him move a few knots, then I moved him away further... I just kept on it until I felt comfortable manually targeting.

I'm still a noob myself, but setting up your own training missions helps you a lot because you can gradually work your way up to the difficult stuff at your own pace.

seaniam81 · 01-03-10, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew82

@ Munchausen & VirtualVikingX: I've been looking for the SH IV gold edition in Holland but so far no success, so I guess I'll stay on v1.4 until SH 5 is available.

Direct2drive has UBM or patch 1.5 for 10 bucks. But you could spend an extra 7 and get the complete pack. That includes SH3, SH4, and UBM/patch 1.5

Andrew82 · 01-03-10, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerm138

You may want to also look into using the mission editor to create your own training setups.

I learned how to manually target by making my own easy setups, and gradually making them more difficult. My first one was a ship dead in the water, 700 yards straight ahead of me. Simple as can be. Next, I made him move a few knots, then I moved him away further... I just kept on it until I felt comfortable manually targeting.

I'm still a noob myself, but setting up your own training missions helps you a lot because you can gradually work your way up to the difficult stuff at your own pace.

That's a really nice tip, haven't thought of that myself yet, thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by seaniam81

Direct2drive has UBM or patch 1.5 for 10 bucks. But you could spend an extra 7 and get the complete pack. That includes SH3, SH4, and UBM/patch 1.5

Thnx, but I'd like to have the complete pack, I'm sure it has to be out there somewhere!

VirtualVikingX · 01-03-10, 08:26 AM

Try ebay. I bough mine SH4 + UBM from a german seller there.

Andrew82 · 01-03-10, 05:39 PM

Had some practice with manual targeting today and after watching and reading different tutorials I found here (thanks for that!) over and over again, I had my first kill using the aspect ratio method jeej!

(Being a huge noob I used the mission editor to set up an easy target, but nevertheless...)

Still had some problems calculating the target speed (even though I knew I set the speed to 3 knots) and the firing solution wasn't spot-on too, but I guess practice makes perfect.

Munchausen · 01-03-10, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew82

Still had some problems calculating the target speed (even though I knew I set the speed to 3 knots)....

Did you use the 3-minute rule (3 min. 15 seconds if working with meters instead of yards)?

01-02-10, 01:43 PM	#1
Andrew82 Torpedoman Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 113 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	Hi, I´m new! Hello all, my name is Andrew, I'm from The Neterlands and I´m new to subsim. Last week I was cleaning out one of my closets and there I found a copy of Silent HunterIV I purchased some time ago. I couldn't remember playing it (no playtime longer than a hour though..) so I installed it and spent some good hours playing! I'm a total noob to Sub simulators so I went to search for some info on internet and ran into subsim.com, lots of info here! Today I installed the Trigger Maru 1.7.6 mod, the PE4 mod and the RSRDC_TMOv14_V370 mod (1.4 patch only). I must say the graphics are 100% better with these mods! I also noticed the gameplay changed; now I have to watch my fuel consumption and the trajectory of ships on the map are harder to plot etc. (Remember, I'm just a noob....) For now I'm playing with auto-targeting, I'd like to learn to manually target my potential victims but first things first. So here are my first questions for you, the experienced captains; 1: Am I missing some "must have" mods? (I've seen some of your screenshots and they still are a lot better than mine..) 2: Witch mission(s) is/are best to play first as a complete noob? Well, that's all for now, please forgive me if I made any mistakes with my English and do correct me so I can learn from my mistakes! Greets and a happy new year, Andrew __________________ TMO 2.2

01-02-10, 01:48 PM	#2
Steiger Planesman Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 187 Downloads: 20 Uploads: 0	The best thing to do as a complete noob is a few torpedo practices until you get the plotting and firing basics down, then go straight to the campaign at the start of the war. That way you get into your first patrol without a lot of experience and have to learn everything the hard way - just like the real sub commanders did. __________________

01-02-10, 04:36 PM	#8
Andrew82 Torpedoman Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 113 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	Thanks so far on a warm welcome! Nice too see there's a fellow Dutchmen among us! @ Munchausen & VirtualVikingX: I've been looking for the SH IV gold edition in Holland but so far no success, so I guess I'll stay on v1.4 until SH 5 is available. __________________ TMO 2.2

01-02-10, 09:58 PM	#10
jerm138 Watch Officer Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 332 Downloads: 35 Uploads: 0	You may want to also look into using the mission editor to create your own training setups. I learned how to manually target by making my own easy setups, and gradually making them more difficult. My first one was a ship dead in the water, 700 yards straight ahead of me. Simple as can be. Next, I made him move a few knots, then I moved him away further... I just kept on it until I felt comfortable manually targeting. I'm still a noob myself, but setting up your own training missions helps you a lot because you can gradually work your way up to the difficult stuff at your own pace. __________________

01-03-10, 05:39 PM	#14
Andrew82 Torpedoman Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 113 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	Had some practice with manual targeting today and after watching and reading different tutorials I found here (thanks for that!) over and over again, I had my first kill using the aspect ratio method jeej! (Being a huge noob I used the mission editor to set up an easy target, but nevertheless...) Still had some problems calculating the target speed (even though I knew I set the speed to 3 knots) and the firing solution wasn't spot-on too, but I guess practice makes perfect. __________________ TMO 2.2

01-02-10, 02:13 PM	#4
limkol XO Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: looking in the bilge for a bottle opener Posts: 416 Downloads: 210 Uploads: 0	Welcome aboard, Andrew. It's been a while since I played the American side, so I am not the best man to help you out. There are definitely a lot of things to think about when you first start out as Captain of a sub! Leave it on auto-targeting and unlimited fuel until you get more experience and so can concentrate on other things. You can always change the settings after you have got used to handling the boat. The most important thing is to have fun! Good luck and happy hunting

01-02-10, 03:20 PM	#6
VirtualVikingX Captain Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 262 Downloads: 40 Uploads: 0	Welcome aboard! Hope you will stay for SH5!

01-02-10, 03:25 PM	#7
sergei Sea Lord Join Date: May 2008 Location: London UK Posts: 1,788 Downloads: 405 Uploads: 29	Welcome

01-02-10, 04:53 PM	#9
Armistead Rear Admiral Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: on the Dan Posts: 10,880 Downloads: 364 Uploads: 0	The mod set up you have is about as good as you can get with 1.4. There may be some smaller mods you can add, just check the mods page and make sure they work with 1.4. They're several smaller eye candy mods that work with 1.4 You could also load some skins to dress up your sub. Don't forget the radio station mods if you're into news and music of that era.

01-03-10, 08:26 AM	#13
VirtualVikingX Captain Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Bergen, Norway Posts: 262 Downloads: 40 Uploads: 0	Try ebay. I bough mine SH4 + UBM from a german seller there.