SH III or SH IV?

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.

BillBam, couldn't I just buy the regular version and patch to 1.5?

[Bilge_Rat]

Originally Posted by trotter

BillBam, couldn't I just buy the regular version and patch to 1.5?

unfortunately, the last free patch for the regular game is 1.4. To get the 1.5 patch, you have to buy sh4 + the U-Boat addon. With SH4 Gold, you get both.

regarding the supermods, the two main ones (for U.S. Subs) are TMO and RFB. Both are good, I prefer RFB since it is still being worked on by modders.

to that, you can add RSRDC ("Run Silent, Run Deep") which overhauls the entire U.S. Pacific campaign in 41-45 to be more realistic.

There are also supermods for the German U-Boats in SH4, but I am not familiar with those.

Thanks for the info Bilge.

I came across this thread here:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=157853

that has a list of supermods compatible with 1.4. Recent updates nonwithstanding (as I imagine there is no more support for any 1.4 supermods), are these mods considerably worse than their 1.5 counterparts?

For example, since there is no more support for TMO, I'd imagine the 1.4 compatible TMO and the 1.5 compatible TMO are pretty much identical. Same for RSRD..would those be correct assumptions?

[Bilge_Rat]

I dont remember what the 1.5 patch fixed, but you can probably track down a changelog.

I believe RSRDC should run more or less the same, RFB would have less content. You could also look at Webster's "Game only fixes" mod or TMO if you will stick with 1.4.

searching the SH4 mod forum should provide more info.

[BillBam]

Actually Ducimus is still working on TMO and will be releasing a final 2.0 version in the coming weeks. Since he is one man working on a huge super mod it gets less updates but he has done a great job.