First Impressions

yardmaster · 01-28-17, 11:31 AM

Although I have played subsims on and off for about 20 years, I am kind of a “noobie.” I haven’t played in a few years and that was Shells of Fury which is primitive compared to SH3 (but as a WWI buff, I still enjoy it). I must say that I was blown away by SH3.
I particularly enjoy the role play aspects of the game—managing the crew, choosing individual members, promoting and awarding medals to them. Although I downloaded SH3 Commander, which is a great mod, I decided not to turn off the fatigue feature of the game. Many posters have opined that it is too tedious, but I thought it was an interesting feature and I wanted to give it a try. It hasn’t been too onerous. I generally use time compression at 64+, which disables fatigue, except during combat when I use speeds of less than 32. Since this is when fatigue would be most noticeable, it has been a good compromise and for me makes it playable.
The forum is a great source of information, particularly things that are not mentioned in the manual. For example, I found a post that mentioned there was a binocular feature in the game. It didn’t mention how to access it so I thought they might be referring to the UZO until I stumbled onto it by moving the mouse wheel on the bridge. I found another post that mentioned the absence of an anti aircraft gun on the II-A. I learned that you had to “purchase” the gun as an upgrade at no cost.
I am quite impressed with how far these sims have come. By the way, I would appreciate any information on other features of the game that I might be unaware of.

UKönig · 01-29-17, 02:17 PM

Here's one that caught me pleasantly by surprise...
I found my ship and crew in new York harbor in the early morning hours of Feb 9, 1942. (I was taking part in unternehmen paukenschlag) and was checking out targets on the US East coast.
I see a few ships that are likely targets but one in particular grabbed my attention.
It was an ocean liner, tied up. I started my attack preparations (saving the liner for last), when, shortly, a fire broke out on the afferdeck. Shortly after that, the liner was no longer an option to attack. When I checked my history, I realized that it was the French liner "Normandie", interred since the beginning of the war, and yes, was destroyed by fire, from an industrial accident while being converted to a troop ship on February 9, 1942.
This historically accurate rendering on an incident that many may have forgot about, really impressed me about the game and the level of detail built in.
I would say, check your dates when out on patrol, you might find yourself in an historical situation without realizing it.

UKönig · 01-31-17, 12:45 PM

Here's another.
The manual says that you cannot promote sailors to the PO ranks. This is not strictly true. Under some circumstances (where most of the crew is highly trained and advanced in rank), it is possible to promote sailors from one caste to the other. However, I m still pretty sure that you cannot promote the POs to the officer class, just the junior sailors.

01-28-17, 11:31 AM	#1
yardmaster Watch Join Date: Jan 2017 Posts: 18 Downloads: 218 Uploads: 0	First Impressions Although I have played subsims on and off for about 20 years, I am kind of a “noobie.” I haven’t played in a few years and that was Shells of Fury which is primitive compared to SH3 (but as a WWI buff, I still enjoy it). I must say that I was blown away by SH3. I particularly enjoy the role play aspects of the game—managing the crew, choosing individual members, promoting and awarding medals to them. Although I downloaded SH3 Commander, which is a great mod, I decided not to turn off the fatigue feature of the game. Many posters have opined that it is too tedious, but I thought it was an interesting feature and I wanted to give it a try. It hasn’t been too onerous. I generally use time compression at 64+, which disables fatigue, except during combat when I use speeds of less than 32. Since this is when fatigue would be most noticeable, it has been a good compromise and for me makes it playable. The forum is a great source of information, particularly things that are not mentioned in the manual. For example, I found a post that mentioned there was a binocular feature in the game. It didn’t mention how to access it so I thought they might be referring to the UZO until I stumbled onto it by moving the mouse wheel on the bridge. I found another post that mentioned the absence of an anti aircraft gun on the II-A. I learned that you had to “purchase” the gun as an upgrade at no cost. I am quite impressed with how far these sims have come. By the way, I would appreciate any information on other features of the game that I might be unaware of.

01-29-17, 02:17 PM	#2
UKönig Captain Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Posts: 495 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	Here's one that caught me pleasantly by surprise... I found my ship and crew in new York harbor in the early morning hours of Feb 9, 1942. (I was taking part in unternehmen paukenschlag) and was checking out targets on the US East coast. I see a few ships that are likely targets but one in particular grabbed my attention. It was an ocean liner, tied up. I started my attack preparations (saving the liner for last), when, shortly, a fire broke out on the afferdeck. Shortly after that, the liner was no longer an option to attack. When I checked my history, I realized that it was the French liner "Normandie", interred since the beginning of the war, and yes, was destroyed by fire, from an industrial accident while being converted to a troop ship on February 9, 1942. This historically accurate rendering on an incident that many may have forgot about, really impressed me about the game and the level of detail built in. I would say, check your dates when out on patrol, you might find yourself in an historical situation without realizing it. __________________ Because I'm the captain, that's why!

01-31-17, 12:45 PM	#3
UKönig Captain Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Posts: 495 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	Here's another. The manual says that you cannot promote sailors to the PO ranks. This is not strictly true. Under some circumstances (where most of the crew is highly trained and advanced in rank), it is possible to promote sailors from one caste to the other. However, I m still pretty sure that you cannot promote the POs to the officer class, just the junior sailors. __________________ Because I'm the captain, that's why!