How much has Silent Hunter REALLY cost you

[DrBeast]

The only games I've been playing the last few months were SH4 and Flight Simulator X, but still I wouldn't say I bought the upgrades for those games only. For the sake of convenience though, let's say I spent 70 Euro on a graphics card to better enjoy Dave's work on ROW in November, and another 345 Euro for an emergency upgrade about a week ago (motherboard, CPU, RAM, graphics card, hard disk). The result so far is a bit disheartening: though the game runs MUCH better in general, I experience a very weird slowdown whenever I hit a ship and I zoom my camera close to it. It's a massive slowdown that persists well until the ship is sunk. And it also seems the old hard drive hates the DVD-ROM's guts; whenever they're both connected (both PATA devices so they share the same cable), I experience random resets.

[swdw]

Originally Posted by DrBeast

The result so far is a bit disheartening: though the game runs MUCH better in general, I experience a very weird slowdown whenever I hit a ship and I zoom my camera close to it. It's a massive slowdown that persists well until the ship is sunk. And it also seems the old hard drive hates the DVD-ROM's guts; whenever they're both connected (both PATA devices so they share the same cable), I experience random resets.

First issue sounds like a sound related one. Between the exploding, screaming, sinking, and underwater explosions there's a continuous string of sounds being played.Try turning down the number of 3D sound channels. Also try turning off the sound delay. Last, see if there's an update for your sound card driver.

Next one on the compatibility. Check the jumper positions. If you're using cable select, go to the master/slave positions- typically HD as master and DVD as slave. Otherwise grab a seperate cable and put the DVD drive on it. You can also try going into the BIOS and manually defining the types to see if it stops the issue.

Had a friends computer where I got rid of his problems by making the DVD the master and the HD the slave as nothing else worked- go figure.

[DrBeast]

Originally Posted by swdw

First issue sounds like a sound related one. Between the exploding, screaming, sinking, and underwater explosions there's a continuous string of sounds being played.Try turning down the number of 3D sound channels. Also try turning off the sound delay. Last, see if there's an update for your sound card driver.

Next one on the compatibility. Check the jumper positions. If you're using cable select, go to the master/slave positions- typically HD as master and DVD as slave. Otherwise grab a seperate cable and put the DVD drive on it. You can also try going into the BIOS and manually defining the types to see if it stops the issue.

Had a friends computer where I got rid of his problems by making the DVD the master and the HD the slave as nothing else worked- go figure.

Hm, turning down 3D sound channels is next on my to-do list. Soundchip drivers are already up to date. I'm also going to try out ATi's newest set of Catalyst drivers, though I have a feeling I'll return to my good old Omega display drivers.

Regarding the resets: I've checked the jumpers, HDD is set as master, DVD as slave. Issue continues. Also tried cable-select, with the same drive configuration and the jumpers set appropriately, no dice. New motherboard only has one E-IDE port, so separate cables is out of the question. But...I asked around yesterday, and a guy told me to use the DVD as master and HDD as slave, as well. It has to do with some motherboards not supporting UDMA 133 but only up to 100, so you essentially "force" the HDD to work on 100, and that solves the problems. My motherboard's manual claims it supports 133, but who knows. It's worth a try!
Cheers for the advice!

[-Pv-]

" * If you use "mouse devices" you're trying to be politicaly correct by avoiding the issue by pluralizing "device" instead.
* If you use mouses, as short for computer mouses, then you can correctly tell the difference between a pesky animal and an elegant and functional pointing device
* If you use mice, your just part of the masses.

Not that it really matters, since using one or the other won't give you more tonnage in SH4"


I use a TOUCH PAD on my PC and do away with the pesky mouse altogether.
It uses 1/4 of the desk space and I never have to pick it up and put it back down. I never have to grip anything. I don't move more than my finger and I can play or work without anyone ever hearing a mouse click. For graphic work it cannot be beat. I just roll my finger on the pad and I can move the pointer pixel by pixel effortlessly without a single error. No moving parts, no dirty mouse pad, no concern about the surface I place under it. I can even set it right on my keyboard and with my pinky finger move the pointer while I type without moving my hand more than an inch.
While watching a movie on my PC, I can set the pad in my lap and relax back on my chair away from the desk.
I've been using it this way for 7 years now and will never go back to a mouse. I know a lot of people hate laptop touch pads, but a lot of that is due to the poor pads built into laptops and the popular misconception they are pressure sensitive when they are not. They are heat sensitive. By pressing harder you are saturating the area with retained heat causing it to be less sensitive, not more. This also makes laptop pads less sensitive because the heat from the laptop heats the pad reducing its sensitivity.
-Pv-

[thefretmaster]

i just spent £650 on my pc to play the game. its about £20 on amazon atm so i will get it soon.
thats about my expendiature on pc's in general. this is my first pc i have bought myself so.


also in the way of the mouse debate:
i have tried using a graphics tablet to play but didnt find it as good just because it has no real continuous scroll efect like on a mouse (for panning around the scene) i do however find it much better in graphics/3d work and general computer use.

[Capn_Sinky]

SH IV Wolves of the Pacific game $29.95

22" Wide screen HD monitor $325

BFG 8500 GT 512mb video card $99



Watching "MY" Gato class submarine slink away under the soft moonlight after sending 30,000 tons of Tojo's housewares, china, guns, bullets and other assorted widgets to the bottom of the sea.....PRICELESS!

[skookum]

SH4 Gold Edition: $34.95

Apple Imac 24" 3.06 Mhz Dual Core with 4 megs of RAM: $3000.00

The sacrifices we make.

[Kloef]

emergency upgrade

I like that one....'Honey i need a emergency upgrade!'

'Ok,we'll buy some food next month':rotfl: