Second thoughts on purchasing SH5

[Quasimodo]

Ahoy fellow submariners.

I rarely post but usually pour over the forums garnering information and advice. However today I thought I'd go to STEAM and purchase SH5. But after reading all the horror stories about bugs, glitches and UbiSoft/UbiPlay letting you play...then asking for a new account, then locking you out I'm thinking of asking for a transfer to a nice, quiet base on shore instead of heading out to sea.

Has UbiSoft corrected any of the problems mentioned here in the forums or will it become something that makes me regret going against my better judgement?
Or can I just download it, play the in game campaign (I don't do multiplayer) and hope for the best? Downloading mods is like trying to read Sanskrit. Although I consider myself computer savvy I am not too confident in messing with the programming. I'd rather take my chances on moving on a convoy surrounded by a large fleet of escorts. The odds are crazy but at least understandable to me.

I do enjoy SH3 although with Windows 7 and a great Alienware Area 51 system I can no longer play it. SH4 runs just peachy but I miss my UBoat. Some much appreciated advice from you old salts would be welcome.

Be safe and happy hunting!

[Quasimodo]

Thank you Blitz......I'll order SH3 from STEAM. I gave my disc copy away after I couldn't get it to run. If I have problems getting it to run I'll come back and check to see how I can work through any issues.

[vdr1981]

Originally Posted by Quasimodo

...SH4 runs just peachy but I miss my UBoat. ...

Never heard for SH4 v1.5 U-Boat missions official addon and "Operation Monsun" megamod?

Originally Posted by THEBERBSTER

Hi BL!TZKRE!G
That statement you have made is now totally unfounded.
sobers mega mod and The Wolves Of Steel are highly reliable.
All SH versions unmodded are bugged as we all know.
Peter

I guess you've misunderstood him...He just express contrition for buying the same game two times without intention to play it at all and he's never mentioned anything about TWoS or Sober's modlist...

[THEBERBSTER]

Hi Vecko
Its an age thing I am afraid, I do not always see what is there but what I think is there.
Its called having a senior moment.
I shall remove it of course and apologize.
Peter

[THEBERBSTER]

My apologies BL!TZKR!EG for misrepresenting what I read in your post.
Peter

[THEBERBSTER]

Hi BL!TZKR!EG
Thank you for that.
Peter

[alboverburn]

If you decide to buy, don't buy it from steam.
I purchased a key from g2a.com for $5.50, put the key into the uplay client and downloaded sh5 from the uplay client.

[vdr1981]

Originally Posted by THEBERBSTER

Hi Vecko
Its an age thing I am afraid, I do not always see what is there but what I think is there.
Its called having a senior moment.
I shall remove it of course and apologize.
Peter

Naaah... It's just that we saw a lot of threads with similar beginning but also with somewhat uglier ending...

A lot of Subsim veterans will always prefer SH3 and being SH3/4 veteran my self , I respect that...
However, You and I know better now. We know that properly modded SH5 can be also very (VERY) rewarding too , maybe even more rewarding than any previous SH title, especially with latest Enigma addon... However, it is not for everyone, that's for sure...It does require certain amount of reading, watching and computer savvy skills

I dont want to create to much fuzz about it, but if SkyBaron succeeded in his latest work, SH5 will officially become the most realistic and geekiest WWII submarine "simulator" (not the game) ever...

[Ashikaga]

That looks so awesome ! Hope he succeeds !

Have 1800 Euro to spend ?

http://www.tarnmilitaria.com/?product=15913

The guy has an IMMENSE collection of KM stuff.

Wish I was RICH.

[THEBERBSTER]

Hi Vecko
I totally agree with you.
SH3 has the heritage and SH5 has the bad boy image.
Those of us fortunately playing TWOS know that it can stand alongside anything that SH3 can through at it.
I play both LSH3-2015 and TWOS on alternative days usually.
The Enigma machine is not difficult to understand once you know what you are doing even for an old fart like me.
I wrote out and printed the PDF instructions so I would know each stage of the operation.
Peter

[gap]

Originally Posted by vdr1981

I dont want to create to much fuzz about it, but if SkyBaron succeeded in his latest work, SH5 will officially become the most realistic and geekiest WWII submarine "simulator" (not the game) ever...

Now WHAT's that?



I know for a fact tha SkyBaron is working on a new secret nazi sensor, and recently he has sent me a PM on german RADARs and RWRs, but the exact nature of his current research is still an ENIGMA to me

[SkyBaron]

Originally Posted by gap

I know for a fact tha SkyBaron is working on a new secret nazi sensor, and recently he has sent me a PM on german RADARs and RWRs, but the exact nature of his current research is still an ENIGMA to me

nothing secret. This will be a RDF simulation based on the real RDF receiver (Peilempfänger) used by Uboats to triangulate convoy communications, and other possible interesting uses later on -- radio navigation for example. More details once it's finished.

That RDF loop antenna will finally have an actual gameplay use in the SH series!

[kevinsue]

Originally Posted by vdr1981

A lot of Subsim veterans will always prefer SH3 and being SH3/4 veteran my self , I respect that...
However, You and I know better now. We know that properly modded SH5 can be also very (VERY) rewarding too , maybe even more rewarding than any previous SH title, especially with latest Enigma addon... However, it is not for everyone, that's for sure...It does require certain amount of reading, watching and computer savvy skills

I dont want to create to much fuzz about it, but if SkyBaron succeeded in his latest work, SH5 will officially become the most realistic and geekiest WWII submarine "simulator" (not the game) ever...

While in a shopping centre one day I found SH3 in one of the bargain bins and never having heard of the game, decided to buy it and try it out. On the same day I found SH4 and then finally SH5 in other game shops and decided that it wasn't worth the effort to return to the other shops to get a refund for the earlier versions. I'm glad I didn't because I after looking on the internet for information, I happened to find Subsim and the community and soon realised that all three versions shined in their own individual light, with each filling different criteria for different people.

After installing SH5 and playing around with the various mod combo's, the Silent Hunter series reminded me of the nautical version of Falcon 4, with the modding community taking an original mediocre game and turning it into something special. I have all three versions on my computer with the most popular mods installed but for me personally, I always gravitate towards SH5 and have not put the time into learning all of the nuances and features that the earlier versions have to offer.

With the latest megamods installed, I think SH5 is fast becoming a submarine "simulator" more so than just a game and look forward to the future, especially if the GR2 exporter becomes a reality. I'm sure that as I have had one version or another of F4 on my HDD for the last 18 years, SH5 will also be there for the foreseeable future. To me it's more than just about sinking ships but more about learning the history, learning about the skills and tactics required of this era and sometimes just enjoying walking around on my boat and taking in the scenery.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by kevinsue

I always gravitate towards SH5 and have not put the time into learning all of the nuances and features that the earlier versions have to offer.

With the latest megamods installed, I think SH5 is fast becoming a submarine "simulator" more so than just a game and look forward to the future, especially if the GR2 exporter becomes a reality. learning about the skills and tactics required of this era and sometimes just enjoying walking around on my boat and taking in the scenery.

NICE! you've inspire'd me to reload SHV after 3 year hiatus (Ubsoft's interval upgrades caused difficulty) and 'tickle the dragon's tail' with a 'mod soup' this time. I might try a real TDC this time around.

[gap]

Originally Posted by vdr1981

More constructive posts...Someone should be banned...

In that case, I am willing to volunteer for an immediate ban

Originally Posted by SkyBaron

I think all the SH5 mod talk in this thread helps to show how SH5's modding is ahead of SH3's in many areas. It might help people who are in doubt whether to give modded SH5 a try, making the discussion related to the original question.

Let's be fair, the SHIII-IV modding community is not as bad as we depict it. I have started visiting their forums on a more regular basis, and so far I have found an overally relaxed, cooperative and stimulating climate there. The times of the opposite SHIII-modding factions, used to fight against each others for whatever reason, no matter how trivial, seem to be finished for good. There are some great mods there too, many of them waiting to be ported to SH5, and modders that we SH5 people could learn a lot from, if only we put an end to the chronic rivalry dividing the fans of the two games.

Originally Posted by SkyBaron

However, it may be better to create a [TEC] thread about radars, with links, ideas and resources. Maybe something will come out of it!

My bad for spreading information all over the subsim forums

Originally Posted by SkyBaron

How would you see this being applied in game? For example, once the player's RWR detects a radar signal what should happen? Would that be based on which radar model the signal comes from? The idea sounds interesting but I'm trying to understand the practical application during gameplay.

Simplifying:

early RADARs only worked on a single frequency or on a short range of frequencies. Later models could switch among two or three different bands. Nowadays, these bands are well documented for most WWII-era RADARs. The higher the frequency that the device was tuned on, the higher its resolution (i.e. the easiest detecting small objects), but at the cost of a shorter detection range (long waves travel further away from their source than short ones).

RWRs on turn could detect a limited range of frequencies, but still wider than the range of frequencies emitted by their co-eve RADARs. If a RADAR was in the range of a RWR, and the frequency it was emitting was comprised within the band of frequencies that the RWR could detect, there were chances of it being actually detected. Early RWRs only gave a sound alarm, but later devices could also provide information on the general direction of the detected signal.

In game we can easily customize range and resolution properties (IIRC, the latter are labelled as "surface factor" in Goblin Editor) of any single radar, but so far there is no way to tell the game which frequencies each RADAR should "emit", and which range of frequencies each RWR should detect. I dont know how complex or how flexible sensor's scripts are; but if we could make the game to read the missing wavelenght properties from an ASCII file, or even from the game name of any individual RADAR/RWR device modelled in game, and to compare them for deciding wether a given RADAR can be detected by a given RWR, I am sure the degree of realism of SH5 would register a sudden peak.

There would still be some shortcomings, like the impossibility to simulate multi-band RADARs or RWRs able to indicate the direction of any detected signals, but those are of secondary importance IMO and, if possible (I have some ideas on this respect), we could try and address them in a second moment...