Why SH IIi?

[pdiddy]

I started playing SH4 in 2011 with TMO and have recently downloaded Op Monsun for SH4 as well as starting to play SH5 (with WOS) I've never really considered SH3, but I know it has become almost a cult classic if that is a good way to put it. I'm not trying to start controversy, by any means, but as someone who knows very little about SH3, what makes it so great?

[U-15]

Hello Pdiddy,

The only way I can answer is to compare your question with when someone asks me which is the best single malt.

You have to taste them all to appreciate their differences, and to find one you really like, as they are all good.
Just like SH1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 are all good to their respective devotees.

To me SH3 is like a good glass of Laphroaig, once tasted never put down.
It is really a matter of choice and taste.

Give it a go with both SH3 and the Laphroaig

[Sailor Steve]

SH3 is not without its flaws, but I'll try to give you a rundown.

SH3 was the first subsim to have a 3D crew. SH4 and 5 do that better, but ten years ago it was a true wonder, and despite comments on how dated they look that wonder still hasn't worn off for most of us.

SH3 was the first subsim to feature crew management. Most of us turn that off, as the way it was done was unrealistic and SH4 does it much better. But that's a negative, and you didn't ask for that.

SH3 was the first subsim to allow the player to sail through the harbors. It's another thing that SH4 could do better, but what makes it great is the improvement brought by various mods, and SH4 has none of those.

That brings me to may main point. What's best about SH3 is the way it's been modded. SH4 could have received the same treatment and ended up being much better, but it came to soon on the heels of its older brother and the modders who could have made a difference didn't want to touch it. They also were less interested in an American Fleet Boat game, and by the time the U-Boats Add-On was out a year later they were even less interested.

SH3 (modded) is the only subsim that gives the player more than 100 different merchant types to look at and shoot at.

SH3 with SH3 Commander is the only subsim that tells you the name of the ship you sank plus the cargo and crew numbers involved.

I'll be honest. If there had been a GWX and a Commander for SH4 I wouldn't bother looking at SH3 again. SH4 is, in theory, that much better. But there aren't, and that leaves the better base game without any of the extra added attractions that make SH3 perhaps not as good as SH4, but much greater in the end.

I continue to play both, for the above-listed reasons.

[sharkbit]

Great post Steve.

[Halgarre]

For me, SH3 is an old friend. I've spent 60-80 dollars on sims or games only to find myself dusting of my cd case and prowling the Atlantic. Everything that Steve said I agree with. I've played it modded and unmodded and to me it's like night and day. The community here is also a big plus and brings me back just to read their After Action Reports or the crumpled log inside a message bottle that gets caught up in a fishing net that tells the final days of the U-Boat.

[CCIP]

Totally in agreement with Steve

To add to that: out of the box, SHIII doesn't offer anything that SHIV and SHV don't do as well or better - except for a couple of additional U-boat types and a longer, more comprehensive campaign. Otherwise, IV and V are better than stock SHIII in virtually every way.

However, with modding, that picture changes rather drastically. SHIII has been expanded and added onto so much by mods that it's by far the most fully-featured of the bunch. From improvements to sensors and evasion, to Type XXIIIs, to working wolfpacks and virtually all previously-missing ships, aircraft and weapons, to SHIII commander, it has by far the most complete package and a lot of options to boot.

That said, TMO, RSRD and Op Monsun? Fantastic mods which offer some things which SH3 can't have! Even on the Uboat side, Op Monsun for example has by far the best (most historically accurate) campaign traffic and mission structure.

Like Steve, I wish we could have had more work done on SHIV. But on the bright side, that leaves lots of great things in SHIII that are very worth exploring on their own merits.

[THEBERBSTER]

I play SH3-4-5 and rotate one of them each evening.

SH3 + GWX3.0 + SH3Commander + Cfg patch for commander + Ahnenerbe WideGui 1920 x 1080 Final mod = A high level of very enjoyable game play.

If only SH5 could be as good as this.

[U-15]

Sailor Steve's post at #3, should be a sticky.
It is the best description of the SH variants that I have ever seen.

Well put Sir, an extra ration of rum for you

[pdiddy]

Thanks for the feedback. Cases well made (and I do like Laphroaig!)

[U-15]

Originally Posted by pdiddy

Thanks for the feedback. Cases well made (and I do like Laphroaig!)

There's a few on here who have a liking for the Laphroaig.
The perfect antidote for when your torps miss.

[fitzcarraldo]

SH3 with mods and all the nice stuff provided by all the community, is a lot better than SH4 with mods. I don´t play SH5.

SH3 has a level of immersity not got by SH4. SH4 lacks of candy eyes mods (harbours, islands, people, etc.). Depart from a german base in SH3 and you will have band, nurses, flowers...atmosphere. Departing from Pearl Harbour, with the best mods, is really boring.

In SH3 you can have a lot of ships and you can add more and more, for diverse countries. Also in SH4, but the process is more difficult because the structure of layers of the campaign files (and it is a frequent cause of CTDs).

Never SH4 had a GUI as OLC, MaGUI or Anhenerbe GUI. The Monsun GUI for SH4 is a nice work but when you see and play with some of the great GUIs for SH3, you can become depressed.

Respect the campaign in Op. Monsun, Lurker declared in the manual the convoys lack of all the ships needed because of the limitations of the engine. That is: the convoys haven´t the historic quantity of ships. Not good for me.

Regards.

Fitzcarraldo

[silla]

sorry for bad english SH3 for me is the best submarine simulator of all time. Perfectly able to insert yourself in that era of war and stimulates you to do better, to try to get new submarines and new technical updates. The part of the personnel management, I think it is the best of the series.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

SH3 with SH3 Commander is the only subsim that tells you the name of the ship you sank plus the cargo and crew numbers involved.

When I am in SH3 and I view past patrol logs, I don't get any of those details for some reason. I thought that maybe there was a category or two missing and that I had to activate them, but I can't figure it out. All I get is the ship type and tonnage, location, time it sank. No name, crew figures. Any tips on how to make the other info appear?

Oh, and "Laphroaig!"

[BigWalleye]

Originally Posted by Foggy

When I am in SH3 and I view past patrol logs, I don't get any of those details for some reason. I thought that maybe there was a category or two missing and that I had to activate them, but I can't figure it out. All I get is the ship type and tonnage, location, time it sank. No name, crew figures. Any tips on how to make the other info appear?

Oh, and "Laphroaig!"

That information is only added by SH3 Commander, when the "Use Real Ship Names" option is checked. Default gets you everything, ship names can be used without the cargo and casualty information by a bit of editing of the SH3C file Cfg\Ship_names.cfg. FMI, check the readme for SH3 Log http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/down...o=file&id=4107.

[Foggy]

I definitely have "Use Real Ship Names" checked, that's why I can't figure out why it's not doing it.