2 easy Silent Hunter 3 questions...

1) Does the camouflage on my sub actually make a difference? Or could I paint it bright red with no difference..?

2) When I'm running in silent, close to a warship, will playing the gramophone
give me away? Or can i blast out some rammstein and remain unheard ..?

 

1. Not a jot...eye candy only.

2. I suspect no...but I never done it. :lol:

If your running stock and your getting bored time to beef up the game and go GWX 3.0 Gold. And set sail for realism.

 

My idea of Siilent Hunter is version 4....with a mod from the website(v1.3)...

SH 4 is a superior product once all the bugs have been ironed out. You can and should play 100% realism, with only 500 renown to start off with. If you are good enough, you can take your sub from Pearl Harbour to VJ day by following a few simple rules of the thumb.
1/ You exist to kill MERCHANT VESSELS....Warships should be considered secondary targets. The best way to kill ships of any kind is IN PORT, torpedoing stationary targets is easier.
2/ ALWAYS USE CONTACT DETONATORS. Never use the magnetic version.
3/ Never use the target computer. Always set your torpedos to fire straight and true from the tubes, and estimate the distance required to lead your target by eye alone. Never fire long range shots unless the target is not moving or you are truly desperate.
4/ The best way to rid yourself of escort surface vessels is "down the throat". To this end, the escort should be aware of your presense so that it can move towards your sub to allow this shot to be attempted.
5/ do not surface for a gun duel unless your target is no bigger than a gunboat. Even merchant deck guns can be deadly. Beware the Medium European Composite Freighter! Bow mounted merchant guns can be handled by criss-crossing behind the ship you are targeting. Always put your own submarine deck gun to the REAR; front mounted guns cannot be depressed to waterline level under 200 yards from target, at it is handy indeed to surface quickly to fire a few quick rounds at a pursueing escort vessel, before diving again. You can only do this with a rear mounted gun.
6/ Forget trying to break a ship apart with a keel shot. Make sure every torpedo that does make it to it's target hits the ship. Escorts need shallow runners most of the time, and some escorts will be so shallow as to be un-hitable...GUNBOATS are a royal pain in the arse for this reason alone.

I have other tips, but I would'nt want to make it TOO EASY...all these tips work on 100% realism; get used to fighting with only your periscope to let you know the situation on the surface. Reliance on the "gamey" cameras and outside views will blunt your skills. Don't be afraid of making noise! A sub that creeps along at 2.5 knots running "silent" is a dead duck if found, but a sub moving at full submerged speed can turn away from most trouble and avoid depth charges easily!

 

I have bought but haven't really played Silent Hunter IV very much.

I would prefer playing Silent Hunter IV over Silent Hunter III GWX 3.0 for one big reason only. As far as I know you can not play in widescreen in Silent Hunter III. Silent Hunter seems to be a game that you would want the immersion factor. SH IV allows Widescreen and also has better graphics.

The thing slowing me down is that I've heard the campaign in Silent Hunter IV isn't near as good as the painstakingly detailed GWX 3.0 Mod. Is there a definitive best way to play Silent Hunter IV? I've wanted to ask this in the Subsim community but wasn't quite sure which sub-forum to ask it in.

 

Not sure of a "definative best way" to play SH4. The campaign mirrors reality in that most American submarines in the Pacific operated as lone wolves, rather than using radio to gather together a hunting 'pack'. This dovetails perfectly with the style of play. You can even get results from old 'S' class subs if you are careful enough.

You should up-date your SH4 with a module called "Trigger Maru", a product of an SH4 moderator called Ducimus Repax. "Duce" and othes on the site are dedicated to making SH4 the ultimate in submarine simulators of the period, but I do feel their style of play seems to be rooted more in use of the target computer system to achieve hits from long range. I find the best results are to close in to UNDER 800 YARDS before firing. It brings to mind Otto Kretchmer's old habit of getting into the middle of convoys and (in his own words), "...wander up a down zee lanes..." to pick the best targets. The best targets are the Small Convoys. A little look at the number of escorts/deck guns will give you the initial targets you must destroy first, then you can surface and chase the unarmed merchants down in grand old style. By doing this, you can and will eliminate entire convoys of 6 or 7 vessels.

 

Volga Boatman

Thank you for your recommendations. It is very good to get feedback from someone who has logged many hours with this game. Trigger Maru does appear to be a good mod for balancing out gameplay.

 

SH4 graphics are better than SH3 which it should be as it came out two to three years after SH3. Just a shame there is no super mod for this game, I know there are mods out there. SH5 will be out next year and no doubt the graphics on the new installment of the SH series will surpass SH4.

 

I would of replied sooner, but i did as Richard suggested and am now running GWX 3.0 Gold, after running a very mildly modded v1.4 sH3.

WOW!!

In fact I'm going to log out now and lap up the polished graphics and game play... and what about the new sound effects, nice touch with the "Das Boot" too