Haven't played SH3 in 3 years and would like some Help/info

[Sailor Steve]

Bad idea, at least in my opinion. The apparent details in SH3 Commander are not what they seem. Sure, it lets you adjust a huge amount of parameters manually, but they are all explained, and sooner or later you'll find yourself asking "I don't like this part. How can I change it?" and everyone will say "SH3 Commander!"

It does most of its work behind the scenes - huge variety of crew names, merchants you sink get named in the patrol reports, along with their cargoes and crews. You can adjust your time in port between patrols, or have it automatically randomized. You can have a realistically short career, or not, as you choose. You can have new crew that are already experienced. You can have malfunctions occur at sea, or not, as you choose.

Overall it's the single most important tool you can have, easily as valuable as any mod.