LSH15 or GWX?

[ChaosDuck7]

So ive always been a gwx player but lSH interests me mostlyl for the sake of trying something new. What are the main differences though? There isnt a good comprehensive list of feature for LSH it seems, just vague descriptions and general feature list. Thanks

[K-61]

I am an old GWX veteran who hadn't played for several years and just recently got back into the game. I am using LSH2015 and enjoying it very much.

There is much more "eye candy" [that will hit your frame rates for sure if you are using old equipment] not just in harbours, but also at sea. For example, on a recent patrol I saw French patrol planes flying over the North Sea, or perhaps Dutch, but the point is, new plane and ship types. Also, an LSH-specific version of SH3 Commander.

This super-mod does have higher system requirements. Be very careful to read these. I am running on a three year old gaming notebook that has 8 GB of RAM and a high-end [at the date of manufacture] dedicated graphics processor with 1 GB of RAM, but it recommends 2 GB. I have done okay so far, no drastic hits to frame rates, but I have not enabled the highest possible memory-demanding damage models with super-duper explosions, etc. Still, the game looks sweet enough to me with what I would call "medium" settings. I still get to see the miserable looks on the faces of the lifeboat users after I evict them at sea, taking away their home away from home. There's one thing I notice, more debris in the water and pieces flying off of ships as I hit them with the AA and deck guns... even individual men in the water wearing flotation rings. If you free-view close enough or come close enough with your sub you will also hear them shouting for help.

Graphic mods that make the game play in wide screen format [I was never able to get GWX to display wide screen due to the amount of "farting about" with files and key changes that I was reluctant to undertake], several GUIs, realism tweaks, such as making the player endure the misery the real life U-boat men had with their unreliable torpedoes early in the way. It is no longer a slaughter festival where you can rack up really high tonnage scores with uber-reliable fish. Now, you have to worry if your fish will work in rough weather [I have had miserable experiences if you read some of my posts.] But I don't mind, that's what happened; now you can't simply set your torpedoes shallow with impact pistols and expect almost every hit to go boom.

Changes to the air war... your radio will get you killed eventually, or at least cause you to bring extra skivvies to sea. And one feature I haven't had yet, since I am still early war... wolf packs. I have not yet witnessed it, but BdU will give you orders to shadow convoys and a pack is likely or possible to form.

As well, there is a "proving flotilla" which you have to transfer into in order to get your next U-boat command. Flotilla changes have been made, changes to the renown system... too many for me to even think of remembering them all. Ah, yes, one more before I close this post... you have to be careful now how long you are under water; oxygen is now a very critical component in the game system and you will have to keep an eye on it. Basically, you have free-air oxygen that is replenished indefinitely at sea, but a limited supply in tanks that gets drawn upon if you are down for prolonged periods. This does not get replenished at sea [but I think it may be if you dock at a milk cow, if I am correct in my assumption. Again, haven't used a milk cow yet] so you have to think more strategically; if you use up a lot of your supply, you have to be very careful in any further engagements as your ability to stay down for a long time will be hampered and may cause you to think about an earlier return to base. It hasn't affected my career yet, as I have not been put under and kept there for a long time yet [my career is still early war] but I imagine later in the war, with Support Groups and more numerous and capable ASW by the Allies, the game will get interesting.

I say, give it a go, but you may wish to keep multiple clean installs of the game in separate directories. And there is a new program to help with that, too, but I have not yet used it.

Very important: if you want to install LSH2015, make sure you read and follow to the letter the installation instructions or it is just about guaranteed you will not have a joyous experience. I used to be very good at installing and modding a few years ago, but LSH is not like your usual mod. It has very particular requirements for downloading and installing. I have a few posts wherein I recount my experience, but eventual success, with the generous help of forum members. If you decide to try it, do not give up if you have difficulty. Just ask for help and read the sticky threads.

Good luck and good hunting, kamerad.

[CaptBones]

Except for the "proving flotilla", most of what K-61 discussed is actually not exclusively from LSH15. The game-play improvements are mostly from h.sie's hard-code fixes and were made to be "easily" applied to stock SH3, or any/some/most of the earlier "Super-Mods", including GWX (provided the user Reads The Freaking Manual, of course).

But, why not use multi-SH3 and use both GWX and LSH15 "super-Mods"? You could decide which you prefer or you might like them both equally and play a career in each one separately. Besides that, using multi-SH3 permits you to maintain a clean and unmodified/unused copy of the stock game installed on the machine for back-up purposes...which comes in very handy at the least expected times.

[THEBERBSTER]

Hi Guys

K-61 explains eloquently the virtues of LSH3-2015 and I am in agreement with his views.
I am now about to start my 12th patrol from Vigo in Spain and I am highly enjoying the game play experience.

GWX is very well established and the manual is to a very high standard
Apart from very good installation instructions LSH3-2015 does not have a dedicated manual.
There are some aspects that can be picked up from the earlier version manual but this latest version really does need its own dedicated manual.
It would also be useful to have a FAQ section as there are aspects that are not known to the gamer when playing.
For example, radio messages tell you that there are various new bases available.
However, you are not supposed to dock in one of these until you receive a pop up.

We should applaud that modders are prepared to take a 10 year old game and bring to 2015 that will give SH3 newcomers a new gaming experience.

Peter

[K-61]

Originally Posted by CaptBones

Except for the "proving flotilla", most of what K-61 discussed is actually not exclusively from LSH15. The game-play improvements are mostly from h.sie's hard-code fixes and were made to be "easily" applied to stock SH3, or any/some/most of the earlier "Super-Mods", including GWX (provided the user Reads The Freaking Manual, of course).

But, why not use multi-SH3 and use both GWX and LSH15 "super-Mods"? You could decide which you prefer or you might like them both equally and play a career in each one separately. Besides that, using multi-SH3 permits you to maintain a clean and unmodified/unused copy of the stock game installed on the machine for back-up purposes...which comes in very handy at the least expected times.

Thanks for the info. I have been away from the game for a long time, so I lost track of various mods and their history. The h.sie stuff is fantastic and I recommend it whichever mod people choose.

If I ever win a big lottery, I will make an offer to Ubi for the original game code and then donate it to the modding community. After getting a new Challenger Hellcat. That thing makes my '14 Challenger R/T seem like a Corolla. Not that I am knocking the R/T, or Corollas, but oh, man, wouldn't every guy want just once in his life to buy a dream car, money no object?

[ratatoeskr76]

For me the LSH gui is much too modern and colourful. I need the gwx gui for real old uboot feeling...

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by K-61

If I ever win a big lottery, I will make an offer to Ubi for the original game code and then donate it to the modding community.

If I had that much money I'd put a team together and create and create the sub sim I want to see.

Of course it probably wouldn't be what anybody else wanted...

[K-61]

Originally Posted by ratatoeskr76

For me the LSH gui is much too modern and colourful. I need the gwx gui for real old uboot feeling...

I think your sentiments are reflected in your avatar. Good old Thomsen, drunken, battered, cynical and disillusioned, but still puts to sea.

[GT182]

Originally Posted by K-61

If I ever win a big lottery, I will make an offer to Ubi for the original game code and then donate it to the modding community.

It had better be a really big lottery win. UBI won't sell any game codes. I believe it was tried to get SH3 at one time. Some of us from the Bombs-Away forums even tried to get B-17 Flying Fortress "The Mighty 8th" from Hasbro/Atari and they wouldn't sell either. I guess it's an "It's mine and you can't have it!" kind of thing with these people.