Silent Hunter III ships

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

I've installed the game-no glitches as yet and I'm having a blast. I must be one of the lucky ones.

[Hosakawa Tito]

Oh, he's tempting me. The question is, do I feel lucky?

[Spino]

Well I burnt an iso image to DVD with Alcohol 120% tonight and Starforce's drivers didn't make so much as a peep. I've had zero problems with Starforce 3 so far.

[Nelson]

Well Tito I can say that while SH3 does annoy me at times it always starts sooner or later and once it does it is rock solid and GREAT! Hours of play and the only things to crash have been the planes I've shot down.

Well I burnt an iso image to DVD with Alcohol 120% tonight and Starforce's drivers didn't make so much as a peep. I've had zero problems with Starforce 3 so far.

That's good to know.

[frogbeastegg]

If we can steer this away from piracy and back towards the game ...

But do keep on discussing starforce if you wish; given it's reputation I think it's important for anyone considering buying this game to know how starforce is doing at present.

I read a bit about Starforce a while ago (it ended up on a game I had some interest in ... end result was that I didn't even try the demo), and it seems as if the complaints and general dislike of the original starforce system has lead to some changes. Starforce now uninstalls correctly when you remove the game which installs it, instead of lingering on, hidden. The makers claimed that was actually a bug. I think they also tweaked how it reacts to burning programs and so on, but don't quote me on that. I don't remember where I saw the article ... it was about 5 months ago ... maybe on gamespot/spy.

The initial 'issues' with a slightly 'buggy' starforce have led to it getting a very bad reputation, much to the pain of the developers. They were the ones writing half that article ...

[el_slapper]

Copy protection is a huge problem. I recently did buy the silent storm gold pack. Good games, but here is not the topic.

I've had the greatest difficulties to play Silent storm itself. Basically, I had to shut off everything internet related(firewell included) to get it work.

Silent Storm Sentinels was even worse : I've been able to play it only once I patched it. The patch came out 1 week after my purchase.....and I discovered it really randomly, I could have easily missed that one. This is the kind of things that pirates use to justify pirate copies.....

[Sasaki Kojiro]

I don't see how a company putting stringent copy protection on their game is an excuse to pirate it

[Voigtkampf]

Into the breech, my friends, once again!

I can’t get myself away from that game, apparently, and I have accepted to review it.

As I’ve said, some may get lucky, others not; well, this punk is feeling lucky, I guess.


@Kojiro; of course that there is no real excuse for piracy. On the other hand, if regular users are considering pirate copies out of fear that the original will mess up their computers, one might reconsider the benefits of such protection. Dead cold advice from the PC veterans around me was to get the copy, why would I bother with the original? The answer is that I want to play online! I want to - once I have mastered the art of controlling the boats - fight against real opponents, real time.

You should not support piracy and always buy original games. Even if you have acquired a pirated copy of the game, buy the original if you liked the product and support the games creators!

[Red Harvest]

I don't see how a company putting stringent copy protection on their game is an excuse to pirate it

Wrong terminology, this is not simply copy protection. They are putting malware on your PC behind your back, malware that can trash it. Frankly, that provides a very good reason to pirate it (minus the malware) instead of buying it. It is not a money issue, it is an application "fitness for use" issue. I have no problem paying for games, and I don't pirate, but if I find out I can get the game without malware being installed, I'm more likely to go that route than install the malware containing version of the game.

The ethical option that might work for some is downloading the cracked game minus the malware, and buying a legal copy. However, that has a serious problem for me as well...it still rewards the company for instituting a very invasive copy protection scheme. And that is the wrong message to be sending to the industry.

So I'm stuck in an ethical dilemna when even considering SH3--no matter which way I look at. I don't like being placed in that sort of ethical bind, so I'll probably just avoid the game altogether. That path is at least clearly marked.

[Voigtkampf]

Ok, lads with the game, I want a debriefing on the MP quality. How is it? What mods are there? Wolfpack enabled? Is the sea unlimited or do you have sorts of maps? Are there sessions or is it live and kicking, like WoW?


Details, many of them RIGHT NOW! Please!

[Voigtkampf]

Come on, nobody playing MP!?! Throw in few bits, for crying out loud!

[Krypta]

Ok, lads with the game, I want a debriefing on the MP quality. How is it? What mods are there? Wolfpack enabled? Is the sea unlimited or do you have sorts of maps? Are there sessions or is it live and kicking, like WoW?


Details, many of them RIGHT NOW! Please!

IMHO, SH3 is prolly one of the best games ive played in a very long time, not a word of a lie. Except for me not having the latest directx(which caused an initial problem with my vid card and having the game recognise my system as meeting the requirements to play the game-but once I installed directx properly, game booted and everything was fine), I haven't had a problem with Starforce, or anything for that matter. Graphics are top notch, best ive seen on a game, single player has dynamic campaign and single missions("Battle of the Bismark mission" is wicked...nothing like seeing 15 inch guns go off...heh). The Sea is continous with changing weather conditions, which basically means you may cross a patrol area and the day is calm, clear skies and then return to find 15 km/h winds , rain and thunder, so no the game isnt divided up into maps, the campaign map is flowing I guess you could say. As far as MP goes, there is minor connection bug, where the Ready Button isnt at first shown, but appears after a few alt+tabs. With that said, since I tried MP, i've been playing it for a week straight, it is literally awesome. MP can have up to 8 players playing against AI comp with varying degrees of difficulty, with default scenarios, or you can create your own scenarios for online play with the battle editor that comes with the game. And trust me the AI can be really really hard especially when you have upwards of 6 Destroyers protecting the convoy...I had a Mp game last night with like 6 guys and none of us could even surface to fire a single torp cuz the DD's were dropping so many depth charges all around , so we all had to quit, heh. Great game IMO, worth every dollar of the 60$ I spent on it.

[Voigtkampf]

Thank you very much, Krypta, it sounds as much as I have expected it to be.

Can you play vs human opponents, or only versus the AI? I suppose against AI only; the AI controls the ships while the player controls the submarines. It would be nice though if one could play mano a mano too…

[Krypta]

Well I've seen a few games being hosted, where there were Human vs. Human deck gun battles, but I havent played that type of game personally(the joy of putting 4 fish into the side of a 30,000 tonne ship and watching it come apart, is far better then a measily sub), so I guess yeah. The main challenge with MP is to sink the most ships, total warship and merchant tonnage is tallied at the end of the game-and each player is awarded reknown based upon that. But again its not as simple as that, there can be varying degrees difficulty for all players including, AI skill, # and type of escorts, depth, skill of your crew, weather and sea conditions. Its a great game, pick it up you won't be dissappointed.

[Voigtkampf]

I intend on doing so, by all means. Thank you once more, Krypta.

[Hosakawa Tito]

I took the plunge and ordered it. Thanks for the debriefing all.

[Hosakawa Tito]

I got the game in the mail today. I tried to install it and couldn't even get the install screen to come up. I called their tech support number and got the answer to my problem. I need a DVD CD-ROM drive to replace my CD/RW drive in order to play it. I tink I'm gonna cry.

[Krypta]

Yeah, I had to go out and buy one too. DVD roms are pretty cheap though, I paid 30$ cdn for mine. I know its a pain in the a## to have to go out and buy one in order to play a game, but I justified it as an investment, as I think more and more games companies will prolly start migrating towards using DVD's instead of 3 or 4 cd's to pack their games on. Please note: I think it says on the box that certain dvd writers are not supported, so keep that in mind when or if you decide to buy one. Like I said, I spent 30$ cdn on a basic "run of the mill" 16x dvd rom, and the game works fine. If you have any more problems just post them here or pm me, and I'll try and help you.

[Hosakawa Tito]

Does the Ubisoft site list compatible DVD ROM Drives? I don't want to go through this hassle more than once. My current CD/RW ROM 52X Drive I use to write backup files etc... I imagine a DVD/RW is a bit more expensive than the vanilla DVD Drive. Like you said, most decent games in the future will be DVD format so it is an investment. Thanks for your helpKrypta !

[Rob The Bastard]

. I need a DVD CD-ROM drive to replace my CD/RW drive in order to play it.

Ha! you too?

I just stole my wife's DVD unit from her PC... and asked one as a birthday present ( you could try that, Tim )

[Jango Fett]

my nero stopped burning things ever since i installed half life 2...it just says "waiting for drive to get ready" then stays like that and i cannot burn absolutely anything, this anti piracy stuff is a real pain in the ass..beware.

[Spino]

Does the Ubisoft site list compatible DVD ROM Drives? I don't want to go through this hassle more than once. My current CD/RW ROM 52X Drive I use to write backup files etc... I imagine a DVD/RW is a bit more expensive than the vanilla DVD Drive. Like you said, most decent games in the future will be DVD format so it is an investment. Thanks for your helpKrypta !

Don't knock yourself silly Hosa and DO NOT get just any old DVD-R/RW drive! Go and get the NEC ND-3520A DVD-R/RW from Newegg, it's one of the best DVD burners out there, can burn CDs and can burn dual layer DVDs to boot. I installed SHIII with my older Lite-On DVD-ROM drive but I tried the SHIII disc out in in my NEC ND-2500A and it not only works but it took even less time to recognize and read the disc! Newegg is an outstanding reseller and their prices for the barebones OEM package is hard to beat!

With burning software... $62 & $1 s&h!

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduc...152-038&DEPA=1

Without.... $52 & free shipping!

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...152-035&depa=1

[Hosakawa Tito]

Thanks Spino !

[Navaros]

in my view Starforce is not copy protection. rather it is a trojan/malware that should be boycotted at all costs

no game is worth letting malware screw with your hardware IMO, not even Silent Hunter III

oh btw i saw this image on some other forums a while back, i always find it to be totally hilarious

[screwtype]

Time flies like the wind. Fruit flies like bananas.

I really needed to know that

[Krypta]

Hey Fellas,

I just wanted to let you know that Ubi has just released patch 1.2 for Silent Hunter 3. From reading the patch description, seems they have fixed a quite a few things, but namely they fixed what is known as the Multiplayer "Ready" bug(which is great ! ). Here's a link to the homepage where you can find links to download the patch.

Silent Hunter 3 Homepage(Has Links to the Patches)


BTW: Hosakawa are you running it yet?(ie Bought a dvd?, no other problems?)

[Spino]

Hey Fellas,

I just wanted to let you know that Ubi has just released patch 1.2 for Silent Hunter 3. From reading the patch description, seems they have fixed a quite a few things, but namely they fixed what is known as the Multiplayer "Ready" bug(which is great ! ). Here's a link to the homepage where you can find links to download the patch.

Silent Hunter 3 Homepage(Has Links to the Patches)


BTW: Hosakawa are you running it yet?(ie Bought a dvd?, no other problems?)

Already?!? EXCELLENT NEWS!!!

Hey kids, check out the 1.2 changelog...

1.2 Changes and Additions


SHIPS & AIRPLANES DAMAGE SYSTEM
Improvements in collision and damage model have been made for several ships:
Liberty Cargo
C2 Cargo
T2 Tanker
T3 Tanker
Tug Boat
LST

CAMPAIGN DATA
Netherlands properly enters and exits the war now
Gdansk is now renamed Danzig when under German control
Added mine fields and anti sub nets

INTERFACE
Local time displayed (under the current date) when the mouse is over the current hour (bottom-right corner) in game; this local time will depend on the U-Boot position on Earth (which is divided in 24 slices having 15 longitudinal degrees each)
Game version displayed in the bottom-right corner of the main menu page
Data from notepad (top-right section in periscopes or UZO pages) will not be reset on expert mode when the target in view is changing
A new tool: Angle tool (protractor) on navigation map
No weapon officer assist option (a new option in difficulty settings); when this option is checked then the Identify target and Solution to target orders from Weapons officer will be disabled
Wound badge fixed (when drag & drop)

WEATHER SYSTEM
Solved issues related to rain on time compression (rain will not became invisible after long time compression sessions)
A more balanced weather system

GAME EDITOR
Solved Game Editor crashes related to terrain data, mission objectives and triggers
IN-GAME
Solved the black sun problem and environment texture errors
The escorts will now make evasive maneuvers while pursuing contact (depending on the crew skill)

MULTIPLAYER
Ready button issue was fixed
Message box issues
The interface to servers list has been slightly updated to reflect the version of the game server and also to show if the server is password protected
The crash that is happening when chatting in session menu has been fixed.
Other minor updates

I simply cannot believe how responsive UBI and SHIII's Romanian based developer (anyone know the name of the developer?) have been with this game. This is the second patch since SHIII's release release roughly 2-3 weeks ago, simply fantastic! This game is one of the best sims I've ever played and it keeps getting better!

[Quid]

Great game if you have a lot of time on your hands. I have been playing like a maniac during the hols now and I can't seem to stop. Nothing beats sneaking up on a convoy and sink the ships undetected. On the other hand, no anger is greater when you run out of ammunition and there are still some juicy corgo ships and tankers left.

Just one little thing I have noticed. When a number of ships engage you, they tend to shoot and sink each other. I have had an instance where an escort had just detected me and was about to bomb me to high heaven, then all of a sudden the cargo ships engage the escort and blow it out of the water. It proved to be convenient but does that really have to be ?

Never the less, highly recommendable and playable. However, as I said, you do need a hell of a lot of spare time.

Ok, I really have to get my car fixed now. Should have done it two weeks ago...

Quid

[Hosakawa Tito]

Got myself a DVD Drive and started playing the tutorials. I can't get past the first step in navigation. I enter the channel okay because you get the initial course and speed before you start. My problem is the stupid radio man doesn't give me the subsequent radio messages. He reports, message received, then when I click on the message report icon the idiot tells me no messages received. He is now swimming with the fishes till I get this figured out. What the hell am I doing wrong?

[Quid]

Press 'M' (to get to the message board) and then press on 'Message Received' and you will get your subsequent orders. These will pretty much be the ones you were told about at the beginning on the 'to pass' sheet (F8, I believe, in game).

Quid