New Old SH4 Recruit

Ahoy!


I used to play SH a lot in the old days,, but have had some health challenges which have essentially reduced me to a Seaman Recruit. I have tried to negotiate the SUBSIM tutorials as best I could to set up SH4 and have had to reinstall more than once. I have followed all the instructions to the letter, AFAIK. I want to just get started with learning how to get from A to B for now with a blank map. I will worry about TDC, AoB targeting solutions, etc. later. If you can help, I would be very grateful. Here is what I am after...
I only have SH4 Steam 1.3.0. with no access to any earlier versions of SH4, AFAICT. I

• I only have SH4 Steam 1.3.0. with no access to any earlier versions of SH4, AFAICT.
• I also have the present Steam versions of SH3 and SH5, but I believe SH4 is the only one which can put me on an American sub. Please correct me if I am wrong.
• I do not want to see any "cheats" on the map, no ships, planes, not even my own submarine. I intend to make all marks and plots manually with the possible exception of a "navigator" mod function.
• My focus is ded reckoning, pilotage (when close to land, and CelNav.
• I want to pilot my sub just like it was done by the mariners of old. Having said that, I don't mind a mod which gives me a navigator who will keep track of fixes for his skipper, but he needs to be "human" if such a mod exists.
• Since I am from the USA for the last sixty-plus years, for now I only want to focus on being in in the US Navy. No offense to any other nationality. I can only think like an American. In the future I would like to expand my experience and join the Kreigsmarine and or the Japanese Imperial Navy, but for now I need to stick with what I know.

I am open to any mega mods, but have no clue to which is best for my intents above. I have tried to explain my intentions, but feel free to ask for any clarification.


Thanks.

[propbeanie]

Welcome back Capt Codetrucker!

First of all, SH4 should not be in the default install directory if you intend to do any modding at all. Windows will frustrate and irritate any modding attempts done with a "legacy" app or game that is in a "Program Files" folder. The User Access Control (UAC) and other "technologies" will rollback any changes done to certain files, such as ini, xml or cfg files, that are altered by any "unauthorized" source, such as you or JSGME (the ubiquitous "mod enabler"). The programs aren't "bad" or "rogue", just older (like certain people) and were not written to the Vista and later Windows versions' UI requirements. Steam will let you add a new "Library" folder, but only if you have a 2nd usable hard drive or primary partition to avoid these issues. Refer to "Moving a Steam Installation and Games for more info on what you might have to do about that. It is almost just as easy to do a new re-install, if you don't have but a few games, and point the new install to a folder you create outside of any of the "Program Files" folders. When I do a new Steam install, I will take the path they "ask" me to confirm, which on my computer would be "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam \SteamApps \common \Silent Hunter Wolves of the Pacific", and I edit the line to remove the "Program Files (x86)\" portion, and replace it with "Games", such that I then have a "C:\Games \Steam \SteamApps \common \Silent Hunter..." install path. My SH3 and SH5 are both in the same Games folder, as well as most other games on the pc.

Whichever of the games you install first into the "Games" - or whatever you want to call your "root" folder - you do have to allow the install of the DirectX v9.0c files and the Windows DirectX Codecs. I do not remember getting a prompt for them the last time, so they might be doing it automatically with the Steam install, or maybe it saw the Windows Registry entries on my computer, I don't know, but pay attention when installing, and if prompted, you need to add those "library" (dll) files to Windows, even if you have the latest / greatest MS has to offer in anything DirectX, else you won't get a 3D render in the game.

Next thing to remember about applying mods to Silent Hunter 4, is that there are very very few mods that will run on v1.3 of the game. Most mods for the last almost 10 years have been for v1.5 only. Some of Websters mods will run in v1.4, but then Steam does not have a v1.4 update, and it will not install the Ubisoft version of the update. There aren't that many more mods available for v1.4 anyway, than there are for v1.3... But, you can only update a Steam game with Steam, so you would need to use their "U-Boat Missions AddOn", which costs the same as the Wolves of the Pacific does, but alas... there will occasionally be a "Sale" at Steam bringing it down in price to about $3.50US... But you will have to purchase it to do most any modding.

Last, but certainly not least, after you mod the v1.5 of the game, be sure you use the correct Steam short-cut to start the game up. You'll want to use the listing for the U-Boat Missions AddOn, and not the Wolves of the Pacific. This is a little quirck of the Steam version. Even if you use a Ubisoft "Gold Edition" of the game, which is an all-inclusive v1.5 of the game, it will still start the Single (Quick) Missions, and Quick Patrols with a menu for the German side, and you have to hit the "Switch Sides" button on the menu screen... - Starting a career is no problem, but you can definitely tell they were thinking "SH5" when they did the v1.5 update...

I'll leave the mods you'd want to someone else. There is a navigation mod for SH4, though it was written back in the v1.4 days, and I am not familiar with it enough to know if it needs updating, or if maybe someone already did an update, or a newer version for v1.5. Most of the other items you mention are "set-able" on the game's Main Menu, and also in the Captain's Office when you do a Career. Each career can have its own set of user config settings.

Happy hunting, and wishing you smooth sailing!

Thank you propbeanie!

I really appreciate your comprehensive post. The instructions were clear.

I have always avoided the notorious "Program Files." I also acquired the "U-Boat Missions" and verified the sh4.exe is 1.5.0.

If I understood you correctly, TWoS mega mod is the only one available for SH4. Is that correct?

Thanks again.

[propbeanie]

TWoS (The Wolves of Steel) is an SH5 mod. I mentioned it only because you mention having SH3 & 5, as well as SH4. All three of the games have short-comings as sold (hence all their updates, except 5), but SH5 is basically a mess in stock trim (Ubisoft abandonware), and TWoS makes SH5 actually playable, though it is a different GUI from SH3 & 4.

For SH4 "mega-mod" choices
Webster built "Game Fixes Only" (GFO), and THEBERBSTER updated and repackaged it with "All In One Beginners Mega Mod, which makes the game mostly stock, with just a few tweaks, and leaves some options for the player to decide about. Then there is Ducimus's "Trigger Maru Overhauled" (TMO) and its derivatives, which TMO is basically a difficulty mod. Then there is "Fall of the Rising Sun" (FotRSU) and its predicessors, for just a few examples. A "Real Navigation" mod for any of those would be something that would need to be added extra.

@propbeanie,
Thanks for the clarification.

@Anyone,
After chasing my tail with mega mods, I have decided I would like to work with the stock SH4 + U-Boat Missions if I could just figure out how to hide my submarine on the map at any zoom. Anyone know how to do this for SH4 1.5?