SH III or SH IV?

[nappy]

heh, as much as id like to, my computer time is somewhat limited, being a family mand and all, so im afraid im going to have to stick to one.. im also one of those guys that focus strictly on game at a time. having 2 careers in 2 different games would somewhat ruin my
immersion factor

Realism is important for me so it seems SH III is the way to go

nappy

Originally Posted by sharkbit

Ummmmm....both?
There's no rule that you have to have only on SH game installed.

Install 'em both and play which ever one you're in the mood for.

[Rockin Robbins]

SHIII without wolfpacks is as real as SH4 without water. Realism is no reason to choose between the games because neither can claim much at all. The only thing to choose between them is gameplay quality and they are both about equal.

So it really comes down to whether you are interested in playing U-Boats in the Atlantic only or whether you are interested in playing both in the same game. Frankly, I have both of them and say that unless you do you're missing something important. The price is right!

With SH5 you are at the mercy of a company that requires you to be online with one if their miserly three servers for the entire world. The game won't operate unless you're logged on, which means that when they disconnect those servers, guess what? Your game has been pirated! Other game companies have blazed the trail, forcing upgrades and just abandoning customers who purchased games in good faith after periods as short as a year. Ubi is just imitating success. Don't be a fool. Give SH5 a pass.

[nappy]

quick reply before i leave work. As much as i admire and understand the battle
against softwar pirates, i will not buy a piece of software which requires me to be online when playing a single player game. It is a decision i have made, and will stand by it regardless

nappy

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

Don't be a fool. Give SH5 a pass.

[Bilge_Rat]

SH3 and SH4, modded, are equal in terms of realism and gameplay. Although the graphics are nicer in SH4.

SH5 will eventually surpass both of them, but it still requires work.

I have a campaign going on in SH4 now with RFB/RSRDC and it is very sweet..

It really comes out to whether you want to play as U.S. or German sub commander (Sh4) or a just a German sub commander (SH3).

SH III with GWX 3.0 supermod installed, this is my suggestion.

Funny, I came here to ask the same question, although my situation is a bit different in the fact that I've never played SH4. Used to have SH3 GWX installed on my old computer several years ago, so I know what to expect from that at least.

Currently I'm giving up on SH5 until a supermod comes out.

I'm favoring just buying a cheap version of SH4, did not know there was an ATO mod, that pretty much seals my decision. Perhaps this is a question for the SH4 modding forum, but can someone briefly give the pros and cons of each SH4 supermod? Or is there one consensus pick, like GWX is with SH3.

[Sailor Steve]

SH3: Five years of modding. Any of the supermods gives an amazing experience. I stick with it mainly because SH3 Commander adds so much to the experience, on top of GWX's looks, feel and play.

SH4: Improved graphics and crew management, including the 'Battle Station' function, which really does make a difference in the way it feels. Many more improved items, including better TC and the way the radio messages are displayed. Three years of modding has vastly improved the game, though there are still some bugs which can't be fixed.

I play both, for the good that is in both of them.

[BillBam]

Originally Posted by trotter

Funny, I came here to ask the same question, although my situation is a bit different in the fact that I've never played SH4. Used to have SH3 GWX installed on my old computer several years ago, so I know what to expect from that at least.

Currently I'm giving up on SH5 until a supermod comes out.

I'm favoring just buying a cheap version of SH4, did not know there was an ATO mod, that pretty much seals my decision. Perhaps this is a question for the SH4 modding forum, but can someone briefly give the pros and cons of each SH4 supermod? Or is there one consensus pick, like GWX is with SH3.

Be sure to get the Gold Edition so your will be sure to have v1.5, the guarantees most mods will work with it.

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

SHIII without wolfpacks is as real as SH4 without water.

Nah, given that most U-boat engagements were executed in the absence of other assisting boats, it isn't much of a loss in the grand scheme of things. We've just had to settle for an imperfect arrangement.

I don't have anything good to say about SH5/Ubisoft's DRM... so I won't comment about that.

My thoughts are, that as long as its got diesel and electric engines/mostors... as a player, you are well taken care of whatever your taste is, be it ATO or PTO regardless of SH5's current state or existence.

[Rockin Robbins]

Originally Posted by Kpt. Lehmann

My thoughts are, that as long as its got diesel and electric engines/mostors... as a player, you are well taken care of whatever your taste is, be it ATO or PTO regardless of SH5's current state or existence.

+2 on that one. Let's put it this way. If either SH3 or SH4 were alone in the world, I'd be very happy with either of them. I think computer hardware has to progress to the next level before we're able to properly configure wolfpack attacks or some of the more complex parts of submarine simulation. What is much worse than no wolfpacks? Badly executed wolfpacks.

One of the reasons SH3 and SH4 are so similar is that hardware didn't progress much between the two releases. There was an increase in graphics capability and that is what we got.

Now with SH5 we have a "solution" without a problem. Computers are just about the same as they were with SH4 and there are no awesome new capabilities to exploit. Therefore we get more of what we have plus a heaping helping of badly executed "The Sims" and the Sword of Damocles three servers which can be shut down at any time without notice. This is called progress nowdays I guess.

[WarlordATF]

I keep SH3 and SH4 on my hard drive. There are things about each that i love/hate, but i still enjoy playing both. My SH3 is stock, no mods at all. I play that once in awhile, but most of the time if i want to command a U-Boat i'll just use my Operation Monsun install.

My SH4 is heavily modded, i have spent many long nights tweaking,editing and debugging it and my install is still a long way from being finished. Instead of just downloading a megamod and being happy to play it, i downloaded all the megamods and picked them apart so i could use just the parts i wanted.

I would advise anyone not to do this, you will spend far to much time modding and much less time actually playing the game!

Things i really like about SH3 are the crew member control and detail and since most of my Subsimming has been for the Allies, its kinda edcational for me to see things from the German side.

Now SH4 has many things i like, The Water looks really good (with mods), Its a Fleetboat, so it takes me back to SH1 and i have some knowledge of the history. I really prefer the Pacific theatre, its huge and there are so many cool places to see/visit.

So i have to say that I prefer SH4 over SH3, but i wouldn't say either is better than the other.

[Bilge_Rat]

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

Now with SH5 we have a "solution" without a problem. Computers are just about the same as they were with SH4 and there are no awesome new capabilities to exploit. Therefore we get more of what we have plus a heaping helping of badly executed "The Sims" and the Sword of Damocles three servers which can be shut down at any time without notice. This is called progress nowdays I guess.

RR, we all know your feelings about SH5, but why do you have to drag it into every thread? Aren't tempers already frayed enough here at Subsim? Could we agree to keep discussions about SH5 on the SH5 forum ?

[Diopos]

Originally Posted by Bilge_Rat

RR, we all know your feelings about SH5, but why do you have to drag it into every thread? Aren't tempers already frayed enough here at Subsim? Could we agree to keep discussions about SH5 on the SH5 forum ?

Cmon Bilge,
members are entitled to post whatever they wish within forum rules (obligatory), good manners (optional) and good humor (hopefully). In the SH5 forum, if you "rant"about /critisize the game it is almost certain that another member (fed up with so called "SH5 bashing") will suggest to post elsewhere. Well this suforum is "elsewhere".

[Bilge_Rat]

Originally Posted by Diopos

Cmon Bilge,
members are entitled to post whatever they wish within forum rules (obligatory), good manners (optional) and good humor (hopefully). In the SH5 forum, if you "rant"about /critisize the game it is almost certain that another member (fed up with so called "SH5 bashing") will suggest to post elsewhere. Well this suforum is "elsewhere".

I respect RR, love to hear his thoughts on SH4 and agree with him on many issues. I don't agree with him on SH5, but I respect his opinion. Members are of course able to post where they wish, within the rules and no one is obliged to follow my reccommendantions (no one does anyway ).

However, I think we all see what a zoo the SH5 forum is turning into, (without blaming any side). I like to drop by the SH4 forum to discuss SH4 and get away from the madness. I just think every one will be better served if we keep all the SH5 ranting and raving (again without pointing fingers at one side more than another) on the SH5 forum and not have it spill over in every other forum.