Veteran returning to GWX seeks mod advice

[K-61]

I've been gone from the game for about a year. I suffer from chronic back pain from a workplace injury suffered eight years ago. It knocked the stuffing out of me and curtailed my interest in many of my activities, including playing SH3. That tells you how bad it was.

Anyhow, I've acquired a rather spiffy gaming notebook, an ASUS G73Jh, which seems more than capable of handling SH3. I've just installed GWX Gold and would appreciate any advice concerning the latest mods you like to install, in addition to the ones that are already included in the GWX Gold installation routine.

Thanks, crew!

[Gerald]

and I hope that you do are in good shape!

[K-61]

In good enough shape to ship to sea again!

I forgot to mention in my previous post that this notebook features a 17.3 inch widescreen at 1920 x 1080. Loading the game on this system I get cutoffs on both sides, with the game being a square in the middle. It's still good enough to play, but I'd like to be able to get it to fill out the screen. I know there has been a screen res utility available for some time, but I don't have it or know how to use it. I'm fairly adept technically, so instructions would be easy enough for me to follow. If there is a recent utility that would work for the above resolution, I'd be appreciative for a pointer to it.

Thanks in advance.

[smilinicon]

hello, best wishes to you. I was laid up for 9 months with pain so I know where you are coming from.

GWX has been a pretty complete package for me and about the only other mod I've added is a reduced radio message mod. the high res mod is easy to use and a great addition to SH3.

[frau kaleun]

Hi and welcome back!

I think the "res fix" mod you're referring to is this one:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/down...o=file&id=1092

For best results, copy and paste the instructions in the Description at that link into a temporary txt file for quick reference after you download it. I don't think a full version of them is included in the readme file that comes with the download (at least I had to refer back to the mod's page here to work it all out when I first installed it).

IIRC from my own experience I was able to get the game to run in a widescreen res with this mod, but because the graphics in some screens are not formatted for that, it caused certain things to be stretched out (particularly circular objects like the compass) in a way that I didn't like so I use it to run the game the way you describe, in a 4X3 aspect ratio with narrow black bars on each side... just at a higher res than the game's native one.

Two other notes on this mod: when you run it, it will change the way you take screenshots - you will need to use the PrintScreen key on your keyboard instead of whatever way stock/GWX does it. Also, many people have found that trying to take a screenshot when running this mod causes the game to crash and AFAIK no one's yet figured out why or found a solution. It's not a problem I've had but it seems pretty common so if you use it you might want to load up a single mission first and try a screenshot to see what happens rather than have the game crash on you during a critical moment in a career patrol.

Also if you like to fiddle with things in the mission editor, this mod will bork that up because of the resolution changes. The "fix" is to temporarily rename the file d3d9.dll that the mod will have you copy to your game folder. Then the mission editor will work and look fine... just remember to change the file name back before you load the game again!

There are also some widescreen mods out there, where people have reformatted the graphics to fit a WS aspect ratio with no stretching and no loss of available screen space. I think there are two, with threads on both of them in the Mods Workshop forum. Don't know if they are still considered "works in progress" or if final versions have been released. The only catch is that (last I checked) each one was designed for a particular WS res and might not work (or work as well) for anyone using a different res. This may have changed as I have not been following those discussions for a while now - but check it out if you're interested. A search for "widescreen" in that forum should turn up the relevant threads.

One of the most exciting and relatively new mods out there is FM_New_Interiors, which adds significant "playable" area to the inside of your u-boat if you are playing a Type VII, including an officer's mess and everything from the control room back to the diesels. The relevant thread is stickied at the top of the Mods Workshop forum. I tried it out and it was awesome, but I removed it while troubleshooting some other problems... I hope to get it back working again for my next career.

Anyway FWIW here's a list of the mods I'm using right now... others may chime in with their current selections, but what you like in a mod depends on what things you want to add or enhance to enjoy the game more, and that's completely subjective so everybody has a different set of "must haves." If you have any questions about a particular mod give a shout and its devoted users will probably pipe up with info about it and why they like it.

GWX 3 St Naz and Schluese and other units V4
WB's GWX campaign with VonDos' ships v2.7
TMT v2 + ThomsensShips V4.2
WB - TMT fix
WB - add Q ship
GWX - Alternate Loadscreen - Full Circle
GWX3.0 Contact Color
Waterstream+Exhaust Combi V2.3 for GWX3
Waterstream+Exhaust Combi - Single Exhaust for TypeII
WBNN Mission Orders Lite
Rapt0r's Unis V2.0 Grey [All Leather No Medals] Modified
FK's Valkyrie Cap Emblem
SH-5 Water for GWX 3.0 V0.9 Atlantic campaign (default)
Sobers 3D waves
Foam
LifeBoats&Debris_v4
DD_OH_V3.09_with_GWX_Integrated_Orders
DD_OH_V3.09_ConningDeckCam_Fix_20091210230737
Grey Brown Cloth Map
FK's Sound Mod
Scirè-Tikigod- repeated order
OLC's Modified Searchlight Beams for GWX3
GWX - Enhanced Damage Effects
GWX - Captain America's Officer Icons
Pascal_Port_People
b25_SF@Grass_1024_V2
sobers real smoke darker and a brown tint1.1
Flags_enlighten
Torpedo damage Final
electric torpedo trail fix
Turm 7B Your Way
Black Boat - VII - NZ

JSGME (the Generic Mod Enabler) is by far the easiest way to install and uninstall most mods, it will have been included with your GWX install but I recommend downloading the latest version of it.

Also if you don't already use SH3 Commander, I recommend that as well - it will let you tweak many aspects of the game, give you some cool options that you wouldn't otherwise have, and let you manage your crew and career in ways that far surpass what you can do in-game.

Both JSGME and Commander have dedicated threads that are stickied at the top of the Mods Workshop forum.

Happy hunting!

[conus00]

If you are ok with running "just" SH3+GWX3.0 try this link:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=170191

Oh, and welcome back!

[arnahud2]

Welcome back, , K-61, let the "fresh" crew of SH3 brings you some knowledges from mods and experiences !!

See you soon.

[K-61]

Thanks for the replies, all, especially Frau Kaleun. That's quite a list!

I've got a test career going, but I have encountered the "black sky" bug. I saw it years ago and I have a vague recollection that it is something to do with a certain environmental file or other.

[frau kaleun]

You're more than welcome.

Re the black sky problem I've not experienced it but if you are already using SH3 Commander, try setting it to "automatic rollback" in the options screen per this thread:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...ky#post1368346

[K-61]

Thanks for the help. I examined my enable mods, removed them all, then reactivated them in careful order, all via JSGME. I found a conflict between two mods that worked with environmental settings. All is fine now. Once again, thanks to all for your help.

Right now I am rounding the top of Scotland in early Sept. 1939, in a rollicking gale. Making dives every so many hours to conduct hydrophone checks, but not a sniff of action yet.

[Melonfish]

Good hunting!!!

i recently got back into SH3 myself and i'm having way to much fun

[K-61]

It's now early in the second week of October, 1939. I've encountered and sunk four singles and made one dash to intercept a convoy, but no luck yet with a convoy. I've got a mod installed which makes the ships ride lower in the water. I love the effect. I'm also encountering "uneven" sinking effects from torpedoes, which is a GWX intention. You can never be quite certain how many torpedoes to use, which adds to the effect of realism. I sunk one larger ship with one torpedo, and had to use three on a smaller vessel. The uncertainty makes for a more interesting game, and more realistic tonnage scores. I am about to head for home due to low fuel. The game is running smooth as silk on this new gaming laptop. I'm used to the black bars at both sides of the screen and don't really notice them anymore. I've read some posts about screen res mods and I'm not going to tinker with something that ain't broke. Besides, on my desktop, the game runs in full screen on my other large LCD, albeit at original resolution. For a nearsighted guy like me it's not a deal breaker.

There's only one annoying thing, all of those extraneous radio messages that add "immersion" to the game but are simply ear candy. I'd really like to disable them. Any advice on how to do so? I could really do without any messages except for those that are in-game, such as convoy sightings or orders to change base. I'm getting awfully sick of having my TC knocked back to 1x every time an irrelevant message comes in.

Thx.

[sergei]

Try Wreford Brown's Mission Orders Lite
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/down...o=file&id=1385

[frau kaleun]

Look for the WB'S Mod Page thread in the Mods Workshop forum (may be back a page or two now, but it's there).

Or just go to the Downloads section and do search for a mod called Mission Orders Lite.

It's WB's mod for reducing the radio messages received in the game - should also be a link to it in the first post of his Mod Page thread IIRC.

It will remove all the messages that do not actually give you important information or orders related to your career and gameplay.

[K-61]

Thank you, both, for your swift reply. Wow, this forum is fast! I've been a longtime member on the official SH3 forum, but it has nearly died, with only a very few old hands still around. A question can linger there for days and die a lonely death. Here? I make a post, read it and go back to edit it, only to find one or two posts have been added in that short interval. I am definitely going to be spending more time here.