Thinking of buying SHIII again

[TDK1044]

So, I've been a member here since 2005. I went from SHIII to SHIV, then got the U Boat add on for SHIV, and had high hopes for SH5.

In the end, I refused to buy SH5 because of the DRM, and the fact that it looked like a cheap, unfinished game to me.

I know that SH5 is now DRM free, but if truth be told, the game I most enjoyed playing was SHIII. So now I'm seriously considering buying Silent Hunter III again.

I would be running it on a Windows7 laptop with a decent video card. I don't want to add a whole list of mods which may end up conflicting with each other, so, looking at the Mods Workshop, I'm guessing that GWX3 Gold is the way to go. I'll just have to make sure that the version of SHIII I buy is patched to 1.4. If it isn't, I'm hoping that 1.4 is still out there somewhere.

[CCIP]

I'm sure you'll have no trouble. There's plenty of physical copies floating around, and if you don't mind digital - as far as I know, everywhere that it is digitally available it comes with 1.4 and no Starforce.

Make sure that you get a new, rather than used, copy if you can, since that'll guarantee that you're getting a Starforce-free version. I suggest trying at Amazon via one of the Subsim banner links (great for the site )

No issues with it on Win 7 afaik. I've only tried it on here briefly, but I hear everyone else is just fine. You can also give SH4 with Operation Monsun a try (it models the entire Atlantic, Med, Black Sea, Indian Ocean campaigns for U-boats), since SH4 is a little less finicky with stuff like higher resolutions, performance and compatibility. Actually at this point all three recent titles are worth owning for the mods.

[Herr-Berbunch]

Works well with Win7, just follow the stickied guide hereabouts. That even worked for my StarForce-riddled old disc.

Have fun

[TDK1044]

Any advantage or disadvantage to digital download versus DVD?

[CCIP]

There isn't any functional difference really, but people often like their physical copies. Depends on where you get a digital version from, also, since that may or may not come with its own DRM (which again doesn't bother me, but some people really hate Steam for example). AFAIK as long as it's patched to 1.4 you will have no problem running mods etc. with it.

[Herr-Berbunch]

Not that I'm aware, I think you can still mod the downloaded one so all should be well in the SH3 world.

[Jimbuna]

TBH I prefer to have the physical disc so I can install it in whichever machine I choose but that is just me.

[TDK1044]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

TBH I prefer to have the physical disc so I can install it in whichever machine I choose but that is just me.

I'll get it from Amazon via Subsim. Will that guarantee me a starforce free version patched to 1.4 , Jim?

Also, because I'm not very tech savvy, if the only mod I want for this game is GWX3 Gold, I can download it here http://www.thegreywolves.com/downloads/ without having to install JSGME?

[Dbledip]

I am running SHIII on a ASUS G51vx with a Nvidia gtx260m, Win 7 64bit and she runs fine with GWX.

[TDK1044]

Originally Posted by Dbledip

I am running SHIII on a ASUS G51vx with a Nvidia gtx260m, Win 7 64bit and she runs fine with GWX.

[jaxa]

SH3&GWX pack is like first love, always in your mind

You can play using Windows 7 with no fear, but the one big problem for me is resolution. There is no good mods for widescreen LCDs and full resolution. I use 22" Dell LCD with native res 1680x1050 for MaGUI 3.4 with widescreen patch, but this patch is set for lower resolution than mine. Looks better than original, but not perfect.

[Castout]

Originally Posted by TDK1044

So, I've been a member here since 2005. I went from SHIII to SHIV, then got the U Boat add on for SHIV, and had high hopes for SH5.

In the end, I refused to buy SH5 because of the DRM, and the fact that it looked like a cheap, unfinished game to me.

I know that SH5 is now DRM free, but if truth be told, the game I most enjoyed playing was SHIII. So now I'm seriously considering buying Silent Hunter III again.

I would be running it on a Windows7 laptop with a decent video card. I don't want to add a whole list of mods which may end up conflicting with each other, so, looking at the Mods Workshop, I'm guessing that GWX3 Gold is the way to go. I'll just have to make sure that the version of SHIII I buy is patched to 1.4. If it isn't, I'm hoping that 1.4 is still out there somewhere.

I haven't read the whole thread but I bought SH3 again but this time from steam(I just realized you can make backup to your steam games instead redownloading them if your pc crashed, doh). I have not been playing SH3 for a long time due to Starforce.

GWX 3.0 may be good but unfortunately it is not enough.
Within a week I have added a list of other mods compatible with GWX 3.0 simply because they ADD SO MUCH to the gameplay and feel of the game.
But do take your time and only add mod which you really like and ensure they do not conflict with each other or if they do conflict they are not critical at all or merely made the overall looks a combination rather than a dysfucntional merge.

I don't use high resolution and widescreen mod because the conflcit to some of the other mods I consider critical to my SH3 experience. But I don't mind that I can live with black bars on the edges of my screen.

..and SH3 still rocks!