Your Silent Hunter Experience

[Missing Name]

69% realism. I still have have external cam on, auto torpedoes, WO help and stabilize view. That last one is necessary, because my computer lags like hell in periscope view. External view is for the pretty stuff. The other two will be disabled eventually.

Using SH3 Commander, I turned off fatigue but turned on malfunctions.

I have increased deck gun ammo (110 increased to 200), to coincide with my unrealistic surface strategy.

And DiD. However, I also save often because my computer is cranky...

[Sailor Steve]

We had a thread on this not too long ago, and I made huge long replies I was going to point to in order not to have to do it again.

I'll be hung-and-dried if I can find it now.

[Tessa]

Right now play with either 84 or 87% realism (haven't started a new patrol in quite awhile) and firmly believe the main point of the game is to have fun; what fun constitutes for some people can harshly oppose other people's style. Long as you play by the rules/realism you have set (and potentially other self inforced penalties/game play methods) and play fair and square, if you enjoy the game and are having fun its done it job.

As someone pointed out several weeks ago, the only way to get real 100% realism would be to stop showering completely, hang up all your food randomly about your house/condo/etc and then sleep in your bed (which you haven't washed any of the sheets for at least 6 months or more) to get a genuine 100% realism.

My style of play (hunting warships/task forces and harbor raids when they're juicy targets inside) generally conflicts with a lot of people's preferred way; while I do enjoy it uses a completely 180 stategy of the tactics that were generally applied. My thinking has always been to destroy all the warships/escorts in order to deplete the fleet such that in due time convoys will have no option but to start going unescorted or maybe can only afford 1 escort (had this been the real tactics and outcome).

On a different note......was up at my (now departed) grandmother's place up in Los Angeles with my dad (tagged along so we could both go Japan town after he took care of business with the realator) and found an old skool ice cream man driving around the neighborhood in a van playing the same song they all play. By no means was it a hot day, but buying something from the ice cream man isn't something I've been able to do since I was in elementary school; since then they've all disapeared. Was quite fun for a nostalgic moment

[B.N.R.T.]

Originally Posted by Tessa

As someone pointed out several weeks ago, the only way to get real 100% realism would be to stop showering completely, hang up all your food randomly about your house/condo/etc and then sleep in your bed (which you haven't washed any of the sheets for at least 6 months or more) to get a genuine 100% realism.

That is utter nonsense.

You do not hang up your food randomly, you make sure you can get to everything when you need it and that it does not mess up the trim of your boat (or house).

[Tessa]

Originally Posted by B.N.R.T.

That is utter nonsense.

You do not hang up your food randomly, you make sure you can get to everything when you need it and that it does not mess up the trim of your boat (or house).

Having personally been inside a few u-boats they is no exaggeration about the lack of space, then having to take rations for 30-40 days worth that's a lot of food (and no freezer/fridge) to store. While there may be an underlying organization to the entire food supply, you can still end up with all your fruit in the stern compartment depending on the size of your crew at the time.

One of the sports I like to do is deep sea fishing (yea a very very odd one for a girl to enjoy) while on long trips (several days) you start to get ripe pretty fast, then crawling back into your same bunk/stateroom bed being unable to shower just perputuates the stench (granted since everyone is in the same position you get used to it much faster) every day the boat remains out at sea. Even though you get used to/accustomed to the funk that everyone else has towards the end of the trip it can get downright nasty, I couldn't imagine spending an additional 2 weeks on the same boat with some other fisherman that were onboard.

[Schwieger]

Originally Posted by Tessa

Right now play with either 84 or 87% realism (haven't started a new patrol in quite awhile) and firmly believe the main point of the game is to have fun; what fun constitutes for some people can harshly oppose other people's style. Long as you play by the rules/realism you have set (and potentially other self inforced penalties/game play methods) and play fair and square, if you enjoy the game and are having fun its done it job.

As someone pointed out several weeks ago, the only way to get real 100% realism would be to stop showering completely, hang up all your food randomly about your house/condo/etc and then sleep in your bed (which you haven't washed any of the sheets for at least 6 months or more) to get a genuine 100% realism.

My style of play (hunting warships/task forces and harbor raids when they're juicy targets inside) generally conflicts with a lot of people's preferred way; while I do enjoy it uses a completely 180 stategy of the tactics that were generally applied. My thinking has always been to destroy all the warships/escorts in order to deplete the fleet such that in due time convoys will have no option but to start going unescorted or maybe can only afford 1 escort (had this been the real tactics and outcome).

On a different note......was up at my (now departed) grandmother's place up in Los Angeles with my dad (tagged along so we could both go Japan town after he took care of business with the realator) and found an old skool ice cream man driving around the neighborhood in a van playing the same song they all play. By no means was it a hot day, but buying something from the ice cream man isn't something I've been able to do since I was in elementary school; since then they've all disapeared. Was quite fun for a nostalgic moment

You forgot to mention never putting the TC above x1

[Tessa]

Originally Posted by Schwieger

You forgot to mention never putting the TC above x1

DOH! Caught me on that one Also too you get no TV at all, only the books/crossword puzzles/comic you bring along with you to pass the time and whatever your radioman is able to tune in (which in the no air coverage areas is usually nothing), and to be nice since most people don't have turntables (for that matter I belt most don't know that one is these days) you get a mp3 player but only get to load 25 or so songs regardless of the capacity of the device (records took up a large space, having a large musical library onboard was a major luxuary).

[Jimbuna]

It is possible to go into the gameplay settings and change the realism settings to hike up your renown amounts without suffering the loss of gameplay functionality

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

It is possible to go into the gameplay settings and change the realism settings to hike up your renown amounts without suffering the loss of gameplay functionality

And that, my friends, is how I manage to play at 99% realism.

[redsocialist]

Didn't think i'd get so many posts on this thread Going to go do some things then come back and share my little 9 hour adventure (real time) on U-47

[desirableroasted]

For careers I care about:

• Dead is dead.
• Load externals only in good weather, one at a time, and always at a dead stop. If attacked during loading, give 60 seconds before getting underway, and "jettison" the torpedo (i.e. count that torpedo as "lost.")
• Attack only merchants unless forced otherwise by orders (Narvik, for example) or tactical situation. Zero renown credit for escorts: destroyers, ASW trawlers, etc (corrected later in career files) under any circumstances.
• Any engine speed over 200 rpms must be justified by a reported target or immediate tactical situation.
• Airplanes never engaged except where tactically required (harbor, loading externals, etc). No credit, ever, for planes (corrected later in career files).
• Realistic loadout of torpedoes. I look at what the game "offers" and use dice to determine.
• At least one week on assigned station. Boat can "go after" nearby contacts in other sectors, but must do one week on station.
• After one week on station, die are thrown every week. A "1" the first week means go home; all else is my option. The next week, "2" also means "go home." I would like to hear your views on this, as it is obviously random.
• Crew manages itself.
• Up to 50% of officers, POs and crew dismissed at end of patrol in home base (determined by coin toss or rolling die, 25% chance of losing any given person). Only "0" renown new personnel recruited.
• All POs have a qualification, and officers have at least one. No helmsman or medic qualifications issued & radio only to POs.
• Officer support in target solutions (though I am slowly learning manual targeting.
• No music or broadcasts after 1945, thought I am not time sensitive (i.e. I might listen to an FDR or Churchill speech before or after its original date, or a song in 1939 that was first released in 1942).

I also always have some throwaway careers -- training careers -- going on, in which I run the same scenario over and over. I treat these as "missions." At some point, of course, these start to CTD & are discarded.

100% "realism".
No external reloads carried.
Manual targetting & no contact map.
Each of my boats, not the commanders, get their own carreer.
Early war VII(A) and IX(A) have non-reloadable stern tubes.
No submerged attacks on dark nights.
Torpedoes are reloaded while submerged, and not engaged.
Hydrophones are manned by a qualified crew member, not me.
(However, I reserve the right to count warships).

[Corsair]

Quote :
"As someone pointed out several weeks ago, the only way to get real 100% realism would be to stop showering completely, hang up all your food randomly about your house/condo/etc and then sleep in your bed (which you haven't washed any of the sheets for at least 6 months or more) to get a genuine 100% realism."

I'm sure somebody did... I remember someone posting playing a whole week 24 hours a day at real time...LOL Didn't talk about the bed sheets though..

[Corsair]

@desirableroasted:

quote "After one week on station, die are thrown every week. A "1" the first week means go home; all else is my option. The next week, "2" also means "go home." I would like to hear your views on this, as it is obviously random."

Sounds an interesting idea, might give it a try...

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by desirableroasted

Dead is dead.

Of course. I would make an exception for the "death dive" bug, but any time that has happened it wouldn't let me fix it anyway.

Load externals only in good weather, one at a time, and always at a dead stop. If attacked during loading, give 60 seconds before getting underway, and "jettison" the torpedo (i.e. count that torpedo as "lost.")

Yep. I also don't load internals in bad weather unless I'm 50 meters or more down, and never reload when being chased by escorts. A ton of torpedo hanging from chains is a dangerous toy when you're at 15 degrees down bubble and turning as hard as you can. I fire my load, and that's that until I'm well away from trouble.

Attack only merchants unless forced otherwise by orders (Narvik, for example) or tactical situation. Zero renown credit for escorts: destroyers, ASW trawlers, etc (corrected later in career files) under any circumstances.

I don't worry about renown, as I never use it for anything, but like you I never attack any escort unless I feel I have absolutely no choice.

Any engine speed over 200 rpms must be justified by a reported target or immediate tactical situation.

Good idea. Never waste fuel.

Airplanes never engaged except where tactically required (harbor, loading externals, etc). No credit, ever, for planes (corrected later in career files).

Again our thinking is the same, though again the renown angle doesn't concern me.

Realistic loadout of torpedoes. I look at what the game "offers" and use dice to determine.

I just take what they give me.

At least one week on assigned station. Boat can "go after" nearby contacts in other sectors, but must do one week on station.
After one week on station, die are thrown every week. A "1" the first week means go home; all else is my option. The next week, "2" also means "go home." I would like to hear your views on this, as it is obviously random.

I've used a single six-sided die for years now, but I never go home until fuel or ammunition requires it. After a week on station I throw a die. A '1' means that I've been ordered to move to an adjacent grid, also selected by die. After two weeks I move on a '1' or '2', and so on. This is one of the things I like about SH4 - after an ordered time you might be ordered somewhere else.

Crew manages itself.

That's something I can never quite bring myself to do. Yes, they should take care of themselves, but if they don't move I feel guilty, so I keep with '8-Hour Fatigue', and I keep moving them.

Up to 50% of officers, POs and crew dismissed at end of patrol in home base (determined by coin toss or rolling die, 25% chance of losing any given person). Only "0" renown new personnel recruited.

Even the US navy only rotated 30%, and I don't know what Kriegsmarine policy was, so I let SH3 Commander do what it wants in that respect.

But yes, I too never use renown for 'better' crew.

All POs have a qualification, and officers have at least one. No helmsman or medic qualifications issued & radio only to POs.

I don't hold with that one. Even if those don't do anything it was still a valid qualification. My planesmen are always low-grade enlisted, but the guy standing at the pumps is always a qualified Helmsman.

Officer support in target solutions (though I am slowly learning manual targeting.

I hate manual targetting, and always use WE Assistance. I still manage to miss plenty, so I don't let it bother me much. I also use h.sie's Colored Hull Integrity Indicator, which gives a general idea about the state of the boat without strict numbers.

No music or broadcasts after 1945, thought I am not time sensitive (i.e. I might listen to an FDR or Churchill speech before or after its original date, or a song in 1939 that was first released in 1942).

I don't get that one, but I've never played past 1940, so what would I know?

I also always have some throwaway careers -- training careers -- going on, in which I run the same scenario over and over. I treat these as "missions." At some point, of course, these start to CTD & are discarded.

I figure that's what Single Missions are for.