New to SH5

[Sailor Steve]

WELCOME ABOARD!

Originally Posted by Katana1000S

Heard its lost the annoying DRM too?

A long time ago.

Couple of questions, does it come with a paper manual, even one like the basic one in SHIII I'd find helpful.

No, but there is a PDF file in the game folder that you can read or print out. The truth is that Subsim.com is the best manual you could hope for. Hundreds of members who will be glad to answer any questions and help with any problems.

Obviously I'll add any official patch's once it arrives...

You won't have to. It does it automatically the first time you run the game.

Does it have an academy tutorial like SH III, if so would it be best to play the lessons without mods and adding mods later when they are finished or mod from the outset?

After a fashion. It has a first mission in which you are the 1WO and the captain guides you through everything. I would run that mission before adding anything.

Is their a list of essential mods here?

Oh yes. Check out the SH5 Mods forum.