Since I've started to play I have found that I love SH4, though I do admit it has some... quirks. Things like escorts running around like chickens with their heads cut off and not actually trying to protect their flock allowing me to just stay at periscope depth and pick ships off. Also the utter plethora of aircraft flying around and running into three Task Forces of two to three Hiryu class, a Shokaku, and various escort carriers, cruisers and the like. Hell supposedly I got the MOH on first patrol of one career attempt, though the medal was utterly wrong. All settings except manual TDC and map were clicked so realism was 75 percent.
So I looked at mods available and fell in love with the Idea of Trigger Maru Overhauled and applaud Decimus and all who helped them.
So I am getting used to TMO and I love it though I have a much harder time hitting a target I admit. Last night I managed to get past the escorts and while I never saw the merchies in the pouring rain I did see a Mogami Class Heavy Cruiser. Managed to sink her after using all 8 torps (not proud of that) to do so then went deep. Got a hell of a shellacking and spent the next few real life hours sneaking away. Tonight I have to finish my patrol with no working tubes and just deck gun any single merchies I manage to find. I've managed to get two so far, but still have over a day left of being on station before I should get a complete... then I am heading home without giving a status report. Feel kinda useless as a vulnerable "gunboat".
I do admit I find it funny that I got a radio report of me delivering ammo and getting spare parts, torps, and refugees from Corregidor. Took me a bit to work out that it wasn't new instructions, just a message using a random sub and happened to use the one I was in. I also received a message about all Asiatic boats were to base out of Fremantle, yet I am still showing Surubaya as my base of operations.
...
So for stories, this is more of a memory. When I was young my sire got me hooked on Submarines and the Navy. We had a C128 and Silent Service. He created authentic looking (at least to me)patrol sheets and had manila folders with colored tabs that you could slide paper into. You named your Sub then you did patrols. After each patrol you had to fill out a patrol report.
If you lost your Sub it was "stricken from the record" a new name was slid into the tab and the patrol reports from your sub were put into an "Archive".
Between that and books like, "Wake of the Wahoo", "Silent Victory", "Sink 'em All", "Iron Coffins", and while fictional, "Das Boot", and "Final Harbor". Final Harbor was why I would usually name my Subs U.S.S Mako.
And while Movies like "Run Silent Run Deep" and "Das Boot" were staples of my childhood, I find it funny that when things like Mogami Class Heavy Cruisers are mentioned that I think more of "They were Expendable." Hmm... I wonder if there is a PT Boat Simulator out there.