Which Mega mods are best and why

[nicae9]

Ok all,

I am a noob at SSH 4 and there are at least 4 mega mods out there (or 5) So I would like for those who have been around for a bit to tell us which and why of course

[Sledgehammer427]

well...I don't know about 4 or 5 but I can think of 3 offhand.
Trigger Maru Overhauled(TMO)
Real Fleet Boat(RFB)
and the Game Fixes Only mod(GFO)

now, it really depends on what you are looking for, there is no "better or worse" case here, it just depends on what you want from the game.

TMO has by far the most challenging AI, the destroyers can basically see underwater and hunt you down mercilessly. If I'm not mistaken, and don't go around saying I said this in case I might be wrong, but TMO's destroyer AI act like allied AI against the U-boats. it may not be horribly realistic, but it's for those looking for a challenge

RFB, as implied, is probably he most realistic. LukeFF and team went a very long way to ensure you get the most realistic experience possible, I use this mod so I can tell you a bit more about it. deck gun loading times are longer, and no longer will enemy ships explode in fantastic fireballs, you have to actually sink them the old fashioned way. I once spent 12 hours game time hounding a merchant because 2 out of 4 torpedoes didn't explode, and it wasn't sinking very quickly. I ended up chasing it until It stopped, then gave it another pair of torpedoes coup-de-grace. The aggravation you feel is the same aggravation a fleet boat captain would have felt and thus, I prefer RFB's take on the Pacific war.

now I haven't looked into GFO, I always counted on patches and supermods to take care of the bugs and shortcomings but my educated guess is if you prefer the stock campaign, stock boat behavior, stock crew behavior and are looking for an entertaining gaming experience and not for ultimate challenges and realism, GFO would be your pick.

OH, you can count in RSRDC and Operation Monsun. almost forgot
Run Silent Run Deep Campaign is a total rewrite of sh4's campaign layers, Lurker did a lot of research into how the battles were fought and was probably tired of running across task forces with 3 Yamato battleships (the japanese only built 2 and the third was converted into a carrier) and unrealistic convoys so he went through and put things in order, realistic task forces and convoys, both of which sail from their respective bases and ports on or around the time they did in real life. Lurker also added in patrol orders that match the campaign, you won't be getting the same patrol orders through all 4 years of the war. it's a must have if you prefer realism
(which I do, so I run RFB+RSRDC)
Operation Monsun is another mod made by Lurker that follows the U-boat campaign from 1939-1945. it has been just as well researched as RSRDC and it is not only the only full U-boat mod for SH4 but also, one of the best.

hope I could be of help

[alexradu89]

Can you tell us what else does RFB include besides realistic shipping lanes, sinking system etc. ? what about the eye candy and stuff that TMO has ? like added submarines and ships, sub systems, interiors, environments and all that stuff

[Sledgehammer427]

Sorry, I was talking about things from a gameplay perspective, I just gave a little summation of the mission of the mods and the idea that created them. The mods mentioned have far too many changes for me to sit here and type out an entire dissertation over what has what and so on.

[sharkbit]

Originally Posted by alexradu89

Can you tell us what else does RFB include besides realistic shipping lanes, sinking system etc. ? what about the eye candy and stuff that TMO has ? like added submarines and ships, sub systems, interiors, environments and all that stuff

Best thing to probably do is load up one of them, do a patrol or two and see what you like/dislike; uninstall, install the other, do a patrol or two and see what you like/dislike and pick the one that you like the most-which is easier said than done.

That's what I've done. I ran a couple of patrols with TMO+RSRD and I currently have RFB+RSRD installed(earlier versions of both-haven't upgraded to newest versions yet).
Both are excellent mods with plusses and minuses. I'm still not sure what I like the best.

Another option is to have multiple installations of SH4 and run all the super mods and play them as the mood suits.

[BillBam]

Go to the [REL] posts in this forum for each MOD and read up on them, it is all pretty much covered in there. RFB also has a very complete PDF manual that covers the game as a seperate download so you do not have to dl the complete mod.

As noted above download and try, you can setup multiple copies of SH4 each with its own setup and you can run single missions or campaigns until you find the one that is right for you.

[alexradu89]

Can't I create more profiles into JSGME thus allowing me to use different mod combinations ? like loading up RSRDC+TMO or RSRDC+RFB... etc.

[Sailor Steve]

Which one is best? All of them!

Why? Different reasons.

The answer? Multi-SH4 and separate installs. Play them all. Have fun.

[BillBam]

Originally Posted by alexradu89

Can't I create more profiles into JSGME thus allowing me to use different mod combinations ? like loading up RSRDC+TMO or RSRDC+RFB... etc.

I don't think JGME makes profiles. You can unload and reload different MOD setups but you have to uninstall one set before installing another. Much easier to just to a Multi SH$ install and have seperate setups. I tried it and it took about 20 min or so to do. The instructions are very easy to following in the mod readme.

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by Sledgehammer427

TMO has by far the most challenging AI, the destroyers can basically see underwater and hunt you down mercilessly. If I'm not mistaken, and don't go around saying I said this in case I might be wrong, but TMO's destroyer AI act like allied AI against the U-boats. it may not be horribly realistic, but it's for those looking for a challenge

The AI in TMO is not THAT bad. It's not like allied ASW in the atlantic, and destroyers cannot see you underwater. Planes can if your shallow enough, but thats about it. Have you even tried the mod?

[nicae9]

Ok, we have a good start here, what about FOTRS mod and OM? I have not seen any comments on those yet. And sice we are at it since some of you have started already, which mod are compatible with which

Cheers

[alexradu89]

Use OM+OMEGU only if you want to play Uboats, else stick with RSRDC+ TMO/RFB.

[nicae9]

ok, thank u about the advice about OM, I am still surprised that pretty much no one commented on FORST even though there is 1.3 version out now for a few months it seems

[Armistead]

TMO all the way here. Usually play RSRD, but Ducimas did some nice work with his updated traffic, but went back to RSRD.

Only thing with RSRD it does effect the AI. The DD's are still mean, but many of the crew levels are toned down, plus those evil TMO airplanes are toned way back down...

[texastc]

Originally Posted by nicae9

ok, thank u about the advice about OM, I am still surprised that pretty much no one commented on FORST even though there is 1.3 version out now for a few months it seems

Ive ran several patrols in FOTRS, I like it, I cant compare to the others. I simply havent tried the others enough, Im switching to TMO 1.9 now, to try it out. I have also DLd OM and RFB but havent played them. Its like having 4 sub games, guess RSRD is next!