Is SH4 merely a rehash of SH3?

[Beery]

...or is it just me?

I was playing the game this afternoon and I suddenly got a strong sense that I was just playing a graphical update to SH3. Everything seems so similar, only this time it doesn't play as smoothly and there are bugs galore - plus for some reason the SH4 graphics actually look worse than SH3 on my graphics card. I realise this won't matter to players who have been waiting for a US sub sim in particular, but personally I don't care if my sub is American or German.

So now I'm trying to figure out whether to put time and effort into this game, or whether to just roll out SH3 again, load up all the good mods and take to the seas for Germany. After all, with RUb (or one of the other major mods) and SH3 Commander SH3 has more features and (in my opinion) is still better than SH4.

What do others think? Is anyone getting the same feeling?

[Jimbuna]

I agree with you matey.....I suppose it's the usual wait for a patch for the second 'half baked potato' :hmm:

[ParaB]

Well, both games cover submarine operations in WW2, it's not as if SH4 is something completely different fromn SH3. I, so far, tremendously enjoy the change from the Atlantic to the Pacific theatre of war.

SH4 on my system looks great (despite the lack of FSAA), the campaign is much improved with more diverse missions and greatly improved briefings, we get animated crews on the ships an survivors, improved underwater scenery, and interesting new features like the radio (although not fully implemented yet).

For me the main reason to buy SH4 were not distinctive improvements compared to SH3 but mainly the switch to a theater I've not visited since Silent Service 2.

[sandbag69]

Originally Posted by Beery

...or is it just me?

I was playing the game this afternoon and I suddenly got a strong sense that I was just playing a graphical update to SH3. Everything seems so similar, only this time it doesn't play as smoothly and there are bugs galore - plus for some reason the SH4 graphics actually look worse than SH3 on my graphics card. I realise this won't matter to players who have been waiting for a US sub sim in particular, but personally I don't care if my sub is American or German.

So now I'm trying to figure out whether to put time and effort into this game, or whether to just roll out SH3 again, load up all the good mods and take to the seas for Germany. After all, with RUb (or one of the other major mods) and SH3 Commander SH3 has more features and (in my opinion) is still better than SH4.

What do others think? Is anyone getting the same feeling?

of course its an upgraded SH3 set in the Pacific. What did u expect Sh4 to be Nuke powered subs firing Trident missiles.

[John Channing]

I think it is fantastic, some teething troubles, but a worthy successor to Silent Hunter 3.

JCC

[CCIP]

It's the same engine, thus that feeling.

For me, a whole slew of new features make it entirely worthwhile. While SHIII with mods is still a far more polished experience, SHIV already stands out thanks to a whole set of crucial improvements, and it has a far better potential than SHIII in the long run.

All in all, it's a much better game and a much better platform to improve on than stock SHIII.

[AirborneTD]

Originally Posted by CCIP

All in all, it's a much better game and a much better platform to improve on than stock SHIII.

Agree completely. I'm having a blast with this sim. Great to be back in the Pacific.

[ReM]

I have the same feeling Beery.

After playing a lot of SH IV last night and having had enough of it, I started another patrol in my trusted U-100. I just love the GWX epansion SH III. What a great game that is!
But:
SH IV is a very nice sim actually, albeit in half finished state, but SH III was just like that (maybe even worse!) There is indeed a lot of work to be done for this baby to equal its predecessor. It does have potential however; I'm sure that in a couple of months this baby will be so heavily modded/patched that it will rock...then you have the luxury of having the freedom of choosing your own theatre....Pacific or Atlantic tonight? What a luxury problem..

Although I will be playing a lot of SH IV the coming weeks/months, I doubt the game will capture me the way SH III did; few if any game ever will.

[1mPHUNit0]

I have the same feeling Beery.

3 missions consecutive....3 time the same patrol zone.
Then i think no dynamic campain

Implosion of the boat at 40m then no simulation at all

Sonar done ......all we know
Periscope and dials.....all we know
Crew managemant.....all we know
Map and officials....all we know

Were it's better than sh3?
Were it's more playabile?

[Immacolata]

I find it similiar and perhaps that is mostly due to the sound recycling. New diesel and electro sounds would REALLY have cut the mustard. You listen to that all day long.

Apart from that I find the change of scenery and scope of the conflict very entertaining. The whole theatre is just more interesting. To me, it became rather dull to sink cargo tin cans in the atlantic. IT was a brave struggle, but in the end you knew what happened

The variety in SH4 is bigger and I enjoy the mix of missions and "tonnage war". Im also VERY impressed by the ship models this time. And I love the waves. They are beautiful.

In the end, you move submarines around to sink world war 2 ships. There _IS_ a limit to the variation you can do. Perhaps too much SH3 make you feel that SH4 is already too much

[Beery]

Originally Posted by ParaB

SH4 on my system looks great (despite the lack of FSAA), the campaign is much improved with more diverse missions and greatly improved briefings, we get animated crews on the ships an survivors, improved underwater scenery, and interesting new features like the radio (although not fully implemented yet)...

But the major mods to SH3 brought us more diverse missions, even more improved briefings, more realistic underwater scenery and a better radio mod, not to mention ultra-realistic flotillas, complete freedom to start on any date from 1939 to 1945 (which SH4 doesn't have), monthly news reports (which SH4 doesn't have), and all the other extra features that SH3 Commander brought to the game - few of which SH4 has.

Without all the mods that were part of SH3 I'm just getting the feeling that I'm playing the same sim, but somehow less satisfying.

ReM is right though - after the devs finish patching it and after the community has modded it I'm sure it will be a worthy successor to SH3. I just hope something turns up to really make it shine like Jaesen Jones' SH3 Commander did for SH3.

[CCIP]

I don't think you've dug quite deep enough yet. SH4 DOES have a lot of features that SHIII could only dream of - it's to the credit of the modders that creative workarounds were made for SHIII to make up for the lack of some of the features. SHIV, by comparison, is 'the real deal' - there is a lot more flexibility here, just that not all of it is being used optimally.

I say just play it as its own game. Up to you, really. I think you'll agree that I'm not the least knowledgeable SH3 player around - and it's my humble view that SHIV is a step forward - not a full step, but a step nonetheless.

What is a bit of a shame is that not all of the improvements in SHIV have really been used to the devs to their full potential and that dulls the good feel of it somewhat, along with noted bugs.

[Rykaird]

So I've been fairly critical of SHIV and in particular the almost total removal of interaction with the equipment and crew, forcing complete reliance on the interface.

I have a high end system so I can run everything maxed, and in SHIV's defence I must say that this thing is beautiful. The ocean is just fantastic looking, and the various light effects are stunning. For example, the way the fire from a sinking ship plays off the waves at night is magic.

Despite its beauty, I've parked the game and gone back to the Atlantic. I just have too many crashes and weird bugs, and the frustration isn't worth it. Once its stable I'll come back.

This game may turn out to be great - I think its too early to call right now. In the meantime, Fat Boy Winston and I have some unfinished business.

[P_Funk]

You can't take my remarks here terribly serious since I haven't played SH4 yet (and won't be til I get a better system) but it looks to me as if SH4 hasn't added anything to the game engine, graphics aside, that couldn't have been done by a dedicated modding team with an SH3 SDK.

Most of the things that sound really refreshing were mod ideas from the early days of SH3 before we figured out that we couldn't change the hard code. Automated crew management, more intersting dynamic campaign, etc. So far the non-Pacific related changes seem as though they are lost patches for SH3. Then theres the fact that theres alot of stock SH3 features actually missing.

Its all a bit weird and confusing.

[Beery]

Originally Posted by Rykaird

So I've been fairly critical of SHIV and in particular the almost total removal of interaction with the equipment and crew, forcing complete reliance on the interface...

When playing during the last 24 hours I missed being able to interact purely via the mouse in 3D. I was hoping that I just hadn't found the way to do it yet. If we have to interact purely via interface buttons I'm going to be really disappointed.