Hello + the fateful question: which one is the most realistic?
 

Hello community, I'm Marco from Italy.

My subsim experience is limited to playing some Sub Command and some Aces Of The Deep, both 20 years ago or so.

I was thinking about getting a WW2 subsim, and I'm looking to use the most realistic one there is.

Now, I'm aware that "realistic" might mean different things depending on subjective priorities, and I'm also aware that different products excel in different features while lacking in others. So, the two aspects of realism I'm interested in, in descending order, are:

1) Battle tactics: the sim should almost "force" the player to use real world tactics as used in WW2, while making life hard if using instead unrealistic tactics.
This entails:

details like time of day, sun and moon position, sea state, weather conditions, the amount of time the periscope is raised, etc. should influence the probability of the sub being spotted;

there should be realistic use of appropriate sensors and countermeasures by the enemy, maybe depending on the phase of the war;

There should be realistic failures, duds, etc.


2) Having the possibility of using manual settings for things like navigation, target localization and tracking, fire solutions, etc. So, for example, no contacts shown on the map until the player manually localizes them, manual use of TDC, etc.

HOWEVER: point 1 (battle tactics) is more important than point 2, so if there's a sim which forces the use of realistic tactics, but uses simplified/automated methods for contact tracking and fire solutions, that would be preferable to the opposite case.


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So, as far as I understand, the possibilities (from oldest to newest) are:

Aces Of The Deep: surprisingly, some people consider this product still better than all of the others, in some specific aspects. I'm not interested in visuals for now, and if this product forces me to use real world tactics better than the others, so be it!

SH3+mods: I reckon many people consider this the most realistic option; but I read it has some limitations, and allows the use of unrealistic tactics (in game, the sub is not as easily spotted as it was in the real world?)

SH5+mods: A favorite of some other people; mods allow extensive manual operations, but somehow not considered as realistic as a modded SH3 in some aspects?

UBOAT+mods: I read contrasting opinions on this one: a different, new gen product that some consider it already superior to the other sims; while others still consider it limited in realism and for some reason arcade-ish?

Wolfpack: I reckon this product is somewhat connected to subsim.com, and still in a very early phase; is it more hard-core focused (i.e. realistic) compared to the other ones?

Welcome aboard!
 

Welcome Aboard!

I have tried all of them.

right now, I would say WOLFPACK is hands down the most realistic: manual targeting, TDC, Hydrophone, rec manual, number of ships, diving and depth keeping modelling, systems modelling, wave and ocean modelling is miles ahead of other subsims.

re: SH5. I bought it when it came out and have played with most mods, but it was an aberration from the start. Ubisoft tried to create a subsim that would appeal to casual players and it never properly worked. Modders have managed to make it more palatable, but it is still simpler at all levels than WOLFPACK.

p.s. - I see you did not include SH4 in your poll. IMHO, it is the best of the SH series. It improved on SH3 and it was not dumbed down like SH5.

Thank you all, and thank you Bilge Rat for the comprehensive assessment.

I didn't mention SH4 because I'm a lot less fascinated by US WW2 subs and the Pacific Theatre.

Anyway, at the moment I'm dabbling with Aces Of The Deep, reading its manual, etc. I like the atmosphere it creates. I'm not bothered by the old visuals, nor the lack of external views.

I want to find out if I really like sub sims when playing them seriously, before possibly investing more time in them.

If that'll be the case, I could try SH4 (for a change from U-Boots) and then Wolfpack, which seems a very interesting product.

No need to "dabble :D " https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/sho...d.php?t=251370 :Kaleun_Salute:

Welcome to SubSim Murmur79 :Kaleun_Salute:

Welcome aboard! :Kaleun_Cheers:

As real as gets: SH3 GWX or NYGM, SH4 FOTRSU and TMO BH, SH5 with TWoS, Wolfpack, Dangerous Waters with Reinforce Alert mod.

If you have a Facebook account, you can join us

https://www.facebook.com/groups/25990473292/

Fitzcarraldo :Kaleun_Salute:

SH4 has a Nice U-Boot side with Mods that helps.

Hi Murmur79 welcome to Subsim if possible i would try them all for the best judge of which Uboat/Submarine Sim is the best is you Sir.
One mans meat is another mans poison so to speak.

Thank you @blackswan40!

Update:

I used Aces Of The Deep for some weeks and enjoyed it. It really is a great subsim for its times, has a great atmosphere and I enjoyed a lot the video interviews with Uboat commanders provided in the online manual. The main limitation, in my view, is that its auto targeting makes it too easy to hit enemy ships, compared to RL.

Several weeks ago I installed SH3 modded with GWX, h.sie patch, and the GUI by Hitman. That is really a masterpiece of a sim! I understand why it's so much loved and still played by so many people. It can be frustrating to learn to hit enemy ships with manual targeting, but very rewarding when you have success. I've yet to improve a lot with practice. I didn't find it too easy at all as some people here were suggesting, on the other hand, I find it realistically hard in all aspects of hitting ships and avoiding escorts, if played with the options at max realism.

At the moment, I'm using a modern subsim, Sub Command, and enjoying it. Totally different but entertaining as well.

I think I'm gonna alternate between Sub Command and single missions in SH3. I have not the willingness to do a career path in SH3, because I tend to lose interest after I learn things, and in a career I would probably lose interest after a while, even if I recognize that it must provide incredible immersion for those who do it.

In the future, if my interest holds, I might try SH5 with mods and Dangerous Waters.

Welcome to Subsim Commander !
:Kaleun_Salute: