Questions about the mods
 

Hello,
I'm mainly an SH3 player, but I'm planning to get Silent Hunter 4 in the future. I wanted to ask some questions regarding the mods.

1. Which megamod is better (stable, look good etc.), Trigger Maru Overhauled or Fall of The Rising Sun?
2. Can I use the Improved Stock Environment (ISE) mod with TMO or FOTRS?
3. Should I get the Steam version, or the CD version? (compatibility question)
4. From the Wolfpack's latest SH4 series I noticed that the SH4 water looks very jelly-like for me. Is there any mod to make the watter look better?

I will be grateful if someone answers these questions,
Thanks.

this is very personal question and if you ask 10 people for their opinion you will get 11 different answers. it is best if you play them, one at a time and decide for yourself. One note, when you decide to play TMO, d/l the updated version by Bubblehead1980.
you can apply that mod as the first mod but i suspect that either of the two megamods will make changes.
i always buy hard media. when you install, do NOT install it in the default Windows folder. Create a new Ubisoft folder off the root drive (C:, D:, whatever)
this probably depends on your vid card and its capabilities. i, myself, do not see the same thing as you, so it is best if others answer this question.

Marco pretty much covered it, I will just add something.


Would not compare mods, one being better than the other, it is definitely not a competition. I run both, enjoy them both and FOTRS team continue with their impressive work. I recently released TMO's first update in years (the creator, Ducimus, is no longer active in the community) and have another forthcoming after the holidays.

The main difference between the two is inherent in TMO's design, which is to provide more of a challenge even for the veteran skipper... AI is tougher, if you play with map contacts on, they are not as helpful etc. My update added other challenges....can hit mines on the surface now, friendly fire incidents are possible, thanks to FOTRS, enemy submarines can fire torpedoes, so that is a concern in both of them, of course there is much more to both mods.

Both mods are stable, both "look good". FOTRS is has more eye candy, but TMO still looks pretty great.


A major distinguishing factor for TMO Update from all other mods, is player can now perform realistic night surface attacks. Something that has not been possible in nearly all circumstances in SH 4. The nights are darker as they are at sea in reality, depending on moonlight of course, so player can actually approach, attack, and often get away on surface without being shot up every time or detected. Of course, many variables such as moonlight etc but in general can do this and even in later war when Japanese start running larger convoys, can actually get inside the convoy and attack from within. This was a huge omission by the devs of SH 4 to not make this possible from day one since was a major tactic used by US subs starting in Fall 1943 to end of the war, actually became the preferred attack method, as it was with U boats at one point.

I have started preliminary steps to make this possible in FOTRS but it will be some time after holidays as a lot of adjustment and testing to make it possible.



Far as I know, ISE is not compatible with TMO, not sure about FOTRS. Thing about environmental mods is they can affect the sensors, since sensors are adjusted to work with the native environmental in the mods. I know some have tried to use other environmental mods and it had negative consequences. I would try without it, then give it a try with and see how it works, if you must.


The jello water is something on the users end or could be a result of youtube compressing the uploaded file? Meaning appears that way in the video but not when actually running the sim. I have no such issues.


Finally, something I have been stressing. READ the README files with mods thoroughly. I can not stress this enough and will do so even more upon next release.

KaleunMarco

Bubblehead1980

+1

What they said...

:Kaleun_Salute:

M. M.

I really appreciate your answer. To be honest, which mod is more beginner friendly?

jumping back in here....

neither TMO nor FOTRSU are for SH4 beginners.
Beginners should play Stock or Stock/GFO, first.
No offense intended, however one has to get used to things in SH4 before you move to the "fast lane" and TMO/FOTRSU ARE the fast lane.
either way, good luck!
:Kaleun_Salute:

You are welcome.


I agree Kaleun Marco, would not describe either as beginner friendly. I will give you the advice I gave a friend who has recently (forgive the pun) dove into SH 4, but wanted to go to mods right away. Run at minimum three to four patrols in just the stock game, operate in different periods of war, different boats, to get a feel for the sim, its pros, and glaring shortcomings. Then try something like Game Fixes Only (GFO) which corrects some glaring issues. After that, proceed to FOTRS and TMO. For TMO, try the original TMO 2.5, then go for my TMO 2.5 Update and I must emphasize...read the README files.

This way, you see the differences, the change in experiences of gameplay , the graphics, audio, etc. and understand them.

Somewhat time consuming but worth it. I would say that SH 4 with mods remains the best subsim out there today and still so much on the horizon thanks to this community. Interiors of US submarines for example are already present, eventually will be fully modeled interiors from what I understand.