SH3 on sale on Steam

[sshellokitty]

Hey there, first time posting in this forum because I have only played SH5. However, SH3 has gone on sale on Steam. I wanted to ask if there are any issues with modding the Steam version of the game because if I bought it I would eventually want to do so. Thanks!

[Damo]

Welcome, linked a post below that will outline key issues, the most important one being the .exe file, as there are patches available here that can fix some (major) bugs in the game but the Steam .exe may block you from doing that.

Originally Posted by BL!TZKR!EG

STEAM

The socalled STEAM-Version has its flaws, but certainly its PROs, too, which I am trying to summarize briefly here:

PRO:
+ works with Win8 out of the box
+ easy to install
+ you can circumvent all the CONs by use of parallel installs and only or add mods to those backups after running the STEAM-FiX.

CON:
- you will run into problems with patches such as S3H, S3S and others
- STEAM does not allow modifications of the SH3.exe (you would require full write permissions to the steam folder)
- you are tied to STEAM's DRM
- STEAM must be running in the background when playing
- STEAM games are installed to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common

SOLUTIONS/WORKAROUNDS:
By all means change that to something OUTSIDE C:\Program Files (x86) as it brings up UAC-issues that you do not want.
Solution: Use S3F or SteamMover.
- setup your mods OUTSIDE Steam's folders.
- if you remain in the Steam-folder-structure, DO DISABLE the "Verify game cache integrity" option, which is available for all games you buy from them. This option checks all game files in about 5 minutes, and will replace any missing or corrupted ones it finds. The drawback is that if this option is ON, it will always remove mods so you got the "original STEAM-version".



Known Errors:
- "Failed to start game (app already running)"
- [HELP] steam's sh3.exe won't start anymore!
- STEAM and SH3 issues
- SH3 Commander and STEAM

Is there anything that I have missed or left out?

If you can get the DVD version, it's probably worth your while, and maybe the extra pennies, but I'm sure there are people who play the Steam version and have no complaints. No doubt more people will pipe in with some more info.

[sshellokitty]

Thanks a bunch for the info. I recently started up SH5 again to see how much better TWOS has made the game. I noticed the sale and thought of all the stuff I've seen over the years about SH3 and 4 being more enjoyable. I prolly wont go through the extra effort to get them on DVD but I might just get them on Steam and see if I can't work out any of the issues before the 2 hour Steam refund time limit.

Thanks again!

[Damo]

Originally Posted by sshellokitty

Thanks a bunch for the info. I recently started up SH5 again to see how much better TWOS has made the game. I noticed the sale and thought of all the stuff I've seen over the years about SH3 and 4 being more enjoyable. I prolly wont go through the extra effort to get them on DVD but I might just get them on Steam and see if I can't work out any of the issues before the 2 hour Steam refund time limit.

Thanks again!

I started out with SH3 and GWX, and when I first got SH5 it was a fair time after the release as I read all the horror stories about it on here. I loved the graphics over SH3 but that was the only real draw for me, otherwise the game felt empty and it didn't grab me like SH3. However, I went off to other games and didn't touch either SH games for about a year and a half but then I sat down and watched Das Boot for about the 6th time and as always, it drew me back to SH3. Coming here once again to grab mods, updates to mods and sparkly new mods I ventured into the SH5 forum and was pleasantly surprised by the progress that had been made on SH5. So I made a mod soup for that too and would alternate between the two versions but again, SH3 felt richer despite the dated graphics.

Now though, after another break from subsims I'm back playing again and this time with TWoS and I have to say I'm quite content. I still miss the depth that SH3 combined with SH3Commander gave but all in all SH5 is extremely playable now and when I do venture into SH3 I find myself missing elements of SH5 which is a turnaround from a few years back. Honestly, if you like the SH series you have to experience SH3 with SH3Commander as it makes you feel an affinity with your crew that SH5 can't offer right now to that level, but SH3 took a long time to reach the depth it's at right now and you have to remember that SH5 is it's younger sibling, so I'm sure there are many breakthroughs yet to come. I fear SH5Commander will not be one of them though which is a real shame but as the crew system is completely different I doubt it's even possible unless that system can be completely overhauled.

SH4 is also worth a look, I've played it with the Uboat addon and Ops Monsun mods but I don't think I gave it a fair chance before going back to SH3, it didn't grab me so much, and it didn't get as much modding love either compared to SH3 and now SH5.

Anyway, my two cents worth, I'm sure you will not need to use the refund system as it's worth having in your collection and it stands as the best example of sub simming to date (in my opinion), why Ubisoft didn't just stick with that formula and upgrade it to modern standards I will never know, they only had to come to these very forums to see what people wanted, instead they alienated all of us with a dumbed down crappy console port saved only by those modders at subsim that took it in when Ubi abandoned it.

Any issues you have, there'll be an answer or workaround right here waiting for you. Always been the case for me.

[siege00]

Originally Posted by Damo

I started out with SH3 and GWX, and when I first got SH5 it was a fair time after the release as I read all the horror stories about it on here. I loved the graphics over SH3 but that was the only real draw for me, otherwise the game felt empty and it didn't grab me like SH3. However, I went off to other games and didn't touch either SH games for about a year and a half but then I sat down and watched Das Boot for about the 6th time and as always, it drew me back to SH3. Coming here once again to grab mods, updates to mods and sparkly new mods I ventured into the SH5 forum and was pleasantly surprised by the progress that had been made on SH5. So I made a mod soup for that too and would alternate between the two versions but again, SH3 felt richer despite the dated graphics.

Now though, after another break from subsims I'm back playing again and this time with TWoS and I have to say I'm quite content. I still miss the depth that SH3 combined with SH3Commander gave but all in all SH5 is extremely playable now and when I do venture into SH3 I find myself missing elements of SH5 which is a turnaround from a few years back. Honestly, if you like the SH series you have to experience SH3 with SH3Commander as it makes you feel an affinity with your crew that SH5 can't offer right now to that level, but SH3 took a long time to reach the depth it's at right now and you have to remember that SH5 is it's younger sibling, so I'm sure there are many breakthroughs yet to come. I fear SH5Commander will not be one of them though which is a real shame but as the crew system is completely different I doubt it's even possible unless that system can be completely overhauled.

SH4 is also worth a look, I've played it with the Uboat addon and Ops Monsun mods but I don't think I gave it a fair chance before going back to SH3, it didn't grab me so much, and it didn't get as much modding love either compared to SH3 and now SH5.

Anyway, my two cents worth, I'm sure you will not need to use the refund system as it's worth having in your collection and it stands as the best example of sub simming to date (in my opinion), why Ubisoft didn't just stick with that formula and upgrade it to modern standards I will never know, they only had to come to these very forums to see what people wanted, instead they alienated all of us with a dumbed down crappy console port saved only by those modders at subsim that took it in when Ubi abandoned it.

Any issues you have, there'll be an answer or workaround right here waiting for you. Always been the case for me.

I was in love with SH3, once SH5 was modded properly, I really enjoyed the visuals of it, but as Damo stated, it felt a little empty. I don't know what it is about SH3, maybe nostalgia related, but SH3 just feels grittier which actually makes it feel a bit more periodic than SH5. I have both, and I'm recently back in SH3 after a long pause. I'll probably cycle SH5 back into the rotation at some point too. lol. I really dislike the view of distant ships in SH5, how they appear to be chopped off on the horizon.

[GT182]

Steam is ok for those games and simulations that only run when loaded and activated with Steam. But for those that don't need Steam, I say you're better off not having to use it. As for SH3, spend the extra money, if you have too, and get the DVD. Look on Amazon.com. Bought thru there helps SubSim too.

The only One good thing about Steam is once the game is installed via Steam, you can delete it from your computer, but it's always available on Steam to reload it when you want to play it again. My Steam account shows games I have played in years but I can reinstall via Steam and they will work again... no keycode needed.

[siege00]

Great point about Steam always being there to reload a game.

I'm not sure what happened or how, but somewhere during my mod soup I ended up with SH3 being patched to a point that it'll now run without Steam, as a standalone app. Again I'm not sure how it happened, so maybe someone else here can elaborate on that. Now I just copy the directory around and mod until my heart's content.