Silent Hunter 4

[StandingCow]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vh_oP4AbrM

Newest Video. I cannot wait for this game. :D

[Anti-Llama]

was awsome till it started playing that music when the torpedo hit, then it just got gay.

[StandingCow]

was awsome till it started playing that music when the torpedo hit, then it just got gay.

Yea, a lot of people said they didn't like the cheesy music.. but, that doesn't matter to me.

[Dr Boners]

The third one wasn't bad, even though in the campaign i could never find anything to kill.

[ShatXIII]

Really? My dad never seems to have enough torpedoes...

[StandingCow]

The third one wasn't bad, even though in the campaign i could never find anything to kill.

Really? My dad never seems to have enough torpedoes...

Did you use your map with the shipping lanes? I cannot even seem to get to my mission objective without running into a merchant here and there.

Yea, I have the same issue, not enough torps. :)

[[Rapid-Fire]]

same engine right?

[StandingCow]

same engine right?

http://uk.videogames.games.yahoo.com/pc/previews/silent-hunter-4--wolves-of-the-pacific-09aaf9.html

GS: Will Silent Hunter 4 feature new technology, or will it improve on the existing game engine used in Silent Hunter III? What sort of new technical features will we see in the game?

DD: SHIV uses an improved version of the GDS engine that was used for the previous game. Like with SH3 and other simulation titles published by Ubisoft, we're aiming for lifelike graphics on par with the latest generation. Graphical improvements have touched water rendering, weather display, and even the terrain in order to have the luxuriant Pacific landscapes shown onscreen.

Under the hood of the game, the mechanics have been boosted too. Missions will have shorter loading times, and generally speaking, the game will give better performance. This, in turn, let us have larger numbers of more-detailed ships with no apparent hit in frame rate.

[[Rapid-Fire]]

i may buy this then.

[StandingCow]

;550757']i may buy this then.

I am most def going to be getting some Multiplayer games going within the OTF. So, once the game is out I will start that.. hell maybe we could keep track of everybodies tonnage sunk during MP and keep a list of the "top captains".

[StandingCow]

Pretty cool image here:

http://games.tiscali.cz//images/silenthunter4/bogd.jpg

[rovens]

I cant wait, i have played SH 3 to death. I'll need to upgrade my pc first though. Cow are you a member over at subsim, if not you should head on over and look at all the cool stuff about the game.

[fork]

so guys i thinking about playing the original silent hunter years ago so i went a looking for pics and stuff. well right before my eyes began to swell, i spied something about another sub game from long ago called aces of the deep. this was also a fantasic game that i played and i thought it was better than silent hunter. anyway! after alittle more digging i find it here (http://www.the-underdogs.info/game.php?id=2567) AND... AND... you can download it here! (http://www.the-underdogs.info/downloadfile.php?file=games/c/commaotd/files/commaotd.zip&id=2567) so i suggest everyone get it who does not have sh3 so they can limber up for some submarining :arr:

[StandingCow]

I cant wait, i have played SH 3 to death. I'll need to upgrade my pc first though. Cow are you a member over at subsim, if not you should head on over and look at all the cool stuff about the game.

Oh hell yea, I have the same screen name too :D

Excellent community of people over there, it is where I recover from these forums. hehe.

[Seanobi]

I've never really gotten the hang of Silent Hunter 3, try as I may have. Every time I fire a torpedo at a target it bounces off the hull without exploding. It really sucks, too, considering it's one of the five or six computer games I've actually purchased in a store in the last two years, so I was clearly excited enough about it to pay real cash for the thing. It's also the game that caused me to buy my first DVD drive, because it wasn't available in CD-ROM format.

[StandingCow]

I've never really gotten the hang of Silent Hunter 3, try as I may have. Every time I fire a torpedo at a target it bounces off the hull without exploding. It really sucks, too, considering it's one of the five or six computer games I've actually purchased in a store in the last two years, so I was clearly excited enough about it to pay real cash for the thing. It's also the game that caused me to buy my first DVD drive, because it wasn't available in CD-ROM format.

There are a couple of reasons for that... sometimes its due to duds (torps were very bad early in the war). Or if your torp is set to impact and does not hit the ship directly, it may just bend the firing pin, so unless you have a direct side shot, set them to magnetic.

[rovens]

You may just be too close to your target?

[StandingCow]

You may just be too close to your target?

That too... torps need a certain distance to arm.. thats what the little propeller on the front is, it unwinds a little screw. I think the min distance is.. 200m? I cant remember.

[StandingCow]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksjHYlZeueo

New video.

[ShatXIII]

Nice.

American boats are so much cooler than german ones :p

[Denwad]

minimum distance is 500m

early war when you're getting merchants use your deck gun as often as possible

always avoid destroyers if you can

crash dive if you spot a plane ( sucks tho when you're in 5m of water, and you just deleted your AA guns, keep your AA guns just in case )

early war magnetic pistols are shit, the impact ones are the only ones that work half of the time. magnetic pistols aren't fixed until 1942

[StandingCow]

Nice.

American boats are so much cooler than german ones :p

Yea, they carry a lot more torps, but couldn't go as deep, but they didn't need to because the japanese ASW (anti-sub warfare) technology sucked.

BTW, SH4 went gold yesterday.

[ShatXIII]

but couldn't go as deepOh? How come, do you know?

I have noticed that the Gato/Balato is a lot bigger than the Type VII (I've been on both :D), which would explain why it has twice the torps, and twice as many twice as big deck guns ;)

[Scraps]

I cannot wait.

[StandingCow]

Oh? How come, do you know?

I have noticed that the Gato/Balato is a lot bigger than the Type VII (I've been on both :D), which would explain why it has twice the torps, and twice as many twice as big deck guns ;)

They didn't need to. The Jap's ASW really sucked.

Also, apparently due to more electronics they were more prone to fires. Should be interesting.

The damage control system is totally different, you drag the damaged items to a box to be repaired.

[Scraps]

I bought the game, does anyone else have it?

[Airborne506]

Not yet, should have it in a week or so, but I won't be able to play until a week after that because my comp. is here at school. In due time we will have teh OTF wolfpack!!!

[[Rapid-Fire]]

the torpedo music reminds me of Worms.

[StandingCow]

Yea, I have been playing it since release (well except over the weekend I was on vacation).

Graphics are amazing, damage models are cool.

The only issue right now are the bugs in game. For some people its worse than others... the A key to level off your diving planes crashes the game for some people, some sound looping issues.. the radio log seems to get bogged down and take longer and longer to open as the career mission goes on...

But, the game has amazing potential, once they work out the bugs, and the mod community starts to fix things (they already have some fixes out). I am enjoying it.

I will post some Screenies when I get home from work, you can see some at www.subsim.com forums.

http://members.cox.net/nofork911/wp.JPG

[StandingCow]

Oh, also, when you guys get the game, post here and we can get some multiplayer games going.

[Scraps]

I've already downloaded mods for it.

[StandingCow]

I've already downloaded mods for it.

Same :)

The next official patch should be the big one that fixes a lot of the major issues... at least I hope so.

[Scraps]

So Cow and I played last night and here's the review!
1. Cow sounds southern
2. Subs can go down to 900 feet without hitting crush depth ( i know sadly)
3. The Yamato is a beast.
4. Cow sux at finding me.
5. I rock at sinking CV's
6. StandingCow owns the shit out of dd's

[StandingCow]

I do not sound southern :(

Anyway, Im putting my single player career on hold due to some bugs, the most annoying is watch crew dieing for no reason, and the air patrols being annoying as shit.

Multiplayer I want to do more though. Sorry I couldn't play tonight scraps, but soon. :)

[Scraps]

Ok so cow and I just raped 7 destroyers and 1 Battleship with 1 Torpedo and 2 subs worth of 5" deck gun shells,40mm Bofors, and 20mm Orlekons(sp).

[StandingCow]

Well, scraps and I just had an interesting game... early on I ran at parascope depth longer than I should have, then deployed decoys and went down to about 200 ft, passed the thermal layer, but kept getting depth charged... had critical flooding in my fore torp room... eventually I blew my ballast, and started raising ass first out of the water, so I threw my engines in full reverse to help me surface...

Wish I had pics of that, it was hilarious... so here I am on the surface, fucked up.... destroyer spots me so I get into a gun battle, end up sinking him.. 3 more come.. they put me down.. and scraps starts sinking them with the deck guns and torps... he ended up taking out 6 destroyers from the surface, lol.

[Denwad]

wow jap destroyers really must suck

[Lord Kelvin]

I think I want this game now.

But sadly, I do not meet any of the requirements except for processor and HDD space. :(

[StandingCow]

wow jap destroyers really must suck

Well... it was only normal difficulty.. next time maybe we should try a harder setting.

This game was the exact opposite of our last.. last time scraps was the one getting his ass handed to him.

Hopefully we can get a few more people in a game. In fact, you can get 8 players with http://www.hamachi.cc/

[Scraps]

Well... it was only normal difficulty.. next time maybe we should try a harder setting.

This game was the exact opposite of our last.. last time scraps was the one getting his ass handed to him.

Hopefully we can get a few more people in a game. In fact, you can get 8 players with http://www.hamachi.cc/

Scraps says:
200ft
300ft
400ft
COW WTF DO I DO?
500ft
600ft
700ft
SHOULDNT I BE DEAD!
800ft
900ft
Cow says: rofl
Scraps says:
dude im at 1000ft and out of fuel,electricty,Compressed Air, and full of CO2
Cow Says: owned

[FiftyCalibre]

If this is on sale here, I will buy it

What system requirements does it have?

[StandingCow]

Well, the sale at gogamer is now out of stock...

As far as being able to run it:

http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest Go there and select it from the drop down.

[Airborne506]

Hopefully will have this sunday, I'll be able to play sometime monday. I'm pretty damn pumped.

[Scraps]

Hopefully will have this sunday, I'll be able to play sometime monday. I'm pretty damn pumped.

Be prepared to here me laugh at you if you get owned by destroyers.

[Airborne506]

I just played for a few hours, sunk 3 lone merchant ships, then attacked a convoy, only hitting one ship with 1 torpedo and the rest missed. Oh well, I'm rusty since I have played SH3 in a whiles.

[Scraps]

So when will we play?

[StandingCow]

Sorry I didn't get to respond to you last night scraps, was testing FA:S.

Airborne, the bugs started to annoy me so I am waiting till 1.2 so that they don't ruin the fun.

[Airborne506]

Yeah I've learned never to hit "A" at anytime during the game. EVER.

[Scraps]

Yeah I've learned never to hit "A" at anytime during the game. EVER.

Go to subsim.com and check the SH4 mod forums.

[Airborne506]

I bagged 2 mediums and a large transport in rough seas today which I am pretty excited about. I'm gonna stop at midway, load up on munitions, head for The Slot, then head back to Pearl.

[StandingCow]

Rough seas are really hard to get hits in. You get a lot of premature detonations.. its very annoying. Guess I should start setting the torps a little deeper.

[Scraps]

Rough seas are really hard to get hits in. You get a lot of premature detonations.. its very annoying. Guess I should start setting the torps a little deeper.

Setting things on magnetic and detonating them under the keel is FUN!

[StandingCow]

1.2 Patch Info:

################################################## ##############################

4. Changes in Patches

################################################## ##############################


HARD DRIVE SPACE

Windows will require additional free hard drive space for its operating system
(virtual memory). If you encounter the following message in an error dialog:
"Ran out of virtual memory", free up some more hard drive space.

To install Silent Hunter 4 - Wolves of the Pacific - Patch V 1.2 you will need approximately 200 MB free hard disk space for the full patch.


NEW FEATURES

1. Modified the game rendering to accept FSAA and fixed high resolution rendering.
2. Added "Volumetric Fog" as a stand alone option, no longer member of the "Environmental Effects".
3. Added a new sound volume option, "Radio Volume", that controls the Radio and Gramophone volume.

GAMEPLAY CHANGES

1. Tuned the submarines efficiency mechanics
2. Fixed the damage model for the Kinposan Maru/Medium Modern Split Superstructure Freighter
3. Tuned the malfunction rates for torpedoes. Mk 10 Torpedoes will be more reliable now, as per historical data. Go Sugar boats!
4. Improved the Periscope/TBT torpedo status panel by making only the currently loading tube blink, instead of all that are in the queue
5. Tuned the submarines damage model
6. Added a new tuning option for the radio news/music volume ratio


BUG FIXES

1. Fixed a sound volume issue where some sound volumes were ignored in the game.
2. Removed crashes in replay and multiplayer.
3. Fixed a bug where refit in friendly harbors would not refit the cannon ammunition.
4. The "Maintain Current Depth" command (letter 'A') crash was fixed.
5. Position Keeper for negative bearings fix.
6. Fixed a bug where explosions were played in the scene after a load or a replay even if the explosion took place a long time ago.
7. Fixed the 'invisible monolith' that, if looking at it, will greatly reduce FPS.
8. Fixed a bug where the difficulty settings of the game were ignored in multiplayer. The game now starts with the selected settings from the session page.
9. Fixed a bug where, sometimes, if pressing the Stadimeter button the game would crash.
10. Fixed a bug where, When hovering over highlatable objects in 3d career room, the texture would dissapear.
11. Fixed a bug where, when pressing SHIFT+F2 in any 2d page the game would crash.
12. Fixed the bug in adversarial where the Escort Commander could see your submarine on the navigation map even if the sub was underwater.
13. Fixed a bug where the name on the captain's watch appears to be "Stevens". Nah, just kidding
14. Fixed the SD Air Search radar so that it no longer detects ships.
15. Fixed the Torpedo drag model. Now high speed torpedoes will hit fine.

[FiftyCalibre]

I just bought the game today.

Any tips?

[FiftyCalibre]

It took me at least 7 fucking torps to kill a damn large tanker

Seriously how long does it take for a fuckin ship to be destroyed?!?!

[StandingCow]

It took me at least 7 fucking torps to kill a damn large tanker

Seriously how long does it take for a fuckin ship to be destroyed?!?!

Well, there are a few things about tankers you need to know.. first most have double hulls (at least I think this is true... I know legislation for double hull tankers went out in 1990...). And oil is lighter than water... also in order to keep the load balanced they are able to transfer oil from one tank to another.

EDIT: http://media.putfile.com/Das-Boot-meets-Silent-Hunter-4 ROFL

[Scraps]

I just bought the game today.

Any tips?

Visit the link I posted a few post down.Then get to know CRASH DIVE and in my situation CRASH DIE(aka falling 1k ft in 1min). Also press F1 for ingame keys/help/TEST depth.

[FiftyCalibre]

I sank a Fuso with 4 torps, yet it took 7 to sink a large tanker...wtf?

I think setting torps to run deeper than it says in the manual works better for me.

[FiftyCalibre]

Fucks sake this game can be annoying.

I was stalking a task force across the entire south china sea. Sank a Kongo and some other ships.

Was about to sink the other Kongo(was in perfect position lying in wait) in the convoy then all of a sudden a Kagero? somehow detects me and kills me in 1 hit. I was a good 2000 yards from the kagero running at 1/3 and 100ft on silent. It killed me in 1 hit whereas the other 5 DDs in the convoy never scratched me

[StandingCow]

1.2 released we gotta get a game going.

[SWATJester_os]

Is it easy to pick up? The only naval sims I ever played were Janes Fleet command.

[Airborne506]

Fucking patch won't let me load games I have saved before I put 1.2 on. Gotta start over.

[FiftyCalibre]

Is it easy to pick up? The only naval sims I ever played were Janes Fleet command.

Yeah its pretty easy to pick up, it just gets REALLY annoying when you get owned hard when you should have been undetectable.

Its also damn slow alot of the time, so you use time compression to speed things up. Problem is, if you speed things up then you dont know if your sub is being attacked.

[Scraps]

Fleet Command was great. Kirov + 2 Ticond + 2 DD's and a Nimitz ftw.

[StandingCow]

Yeah its pretty easy to pick up, it just gets REALLY annoying when you get owned hard when you should have been undetectable.

Its also damn slow alot of the time, so you use time compression to speed things up. Problem is, if you speed things up then you dont know if your sub is being attacked.

Well, that is not totally true. When a plane or ship is spotted visually or by radar the time compression should drop instantly to 1, so you have time to make a decision.

Yea, its pretty easy to pick up, www.subsim.com has a lot of pointers too.

[YarPirate]

Downloading now even though I know I"m gonna suck at it :(

Oh well... I can always cheat.

[YarPirate]

3 missions in a fucking row of delivering cargo to some stupid base.

>:(

[StandingCow]

3 missions in a fucking row of delivering cargo to some stupid base.

>:(

Yea, supposedly you have to radio in your patrol report after doing your task and returning to base... or it will just keep repeating.

1.2 helped the game a lot but it still has a bit to go before its a great game.

[StandingCow]

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/forumdisplay.php?f=202

Please vote in the, "Very Important - Vote For 1.3!!!" thread.

From neal at subsim:

It's coming up on two months since Silent Hunter 4 was released. Two patches have brought the game up to where it is stable and most of the basic features are functional, but there are still several key aspects that need attention and it's too quiet in the Ubisoft camp. I have not heard anything about the status of a third patch, which the game needs to be considered complete. Before the dev team gets too far from the construction site, Subsim is going to mount a campaign for patch v1.3. Silent Hunter 4 is an enjoyable game but has yet to reach the point where we consider it complete. The future of the Silent Hunter franchise depends on maintaining a reputation for quality.

We call on Ubisoft to complete Silent Hunter 4. We don't expect every wish to be fulfilled, but there are several key gameplay issues that loyal players and Ubisoft customers, who bought an incomplete game, deserve to have addressed. These include:

* All AI needs tweaking, too often merchant ships all come to a stop and muddle around when under attack. Destroyers guarding merchants and especially in task forces occasionally seem somewhat uninterested in firing back. The Subchaser is unable to fire its main gun at all. If you mod the Subchaser to have a second gun in a raised position where the AA gun is it will fire this gun. The Akizuki DD has a similar issue, of the four guns it has only the two guns on the raised platforms actually fire. When the boat is rammed by a destroyer (for example) the destroyer generally comes of worse and often explodes.
*
Units of measurement: Imperial units for ship dimensions, torpedo depth gauge, range figure in the TDC and Position Keeper, all UOM issues need to be resolved.
*
Campaign retirement – feature or bug? Bug. Suggestion that it should be optional.
*
Repetitive patrols still get assigned.
*
Chronometer still doesn’t work as described in the manual. “The Chronometer bug”, this needs a quick and dirty fix, just a simple speed response in the text box when the Speed button is selected in the TDC, as occurs when the player clicks the Depth Beneath Keel button. But, importantly, the player should still have the choice of manually entering his own speed estimate in the TDC.
*
Radar needs finishing touches. It doesn't work when heading South 90deg to 270deg. Is SD radar fixed? Does is not detect ships but will detect aircraft? Also, when SD radar fitted there is no A scope display.

We need your help to demonstrate the need for patch 1.3. Join the campaign here and make yourself heard. Post here. Don't hesitate or put it off. This thread will need hundreds of names to merit any attention.

[Lord Kelvin]

Major bumpage.

OK, so I'm playing with Realistic Sinking Mechanics, and it's both fun and frustrating. I don't mind sinking ships smart and trying to capsize them, but FFS, how long do these things take to sink? I put 10 (!!!) torpedoes into the side of a Hiryu in port, and the damn thing is still floating, even using RSM Light.

Also, does anyone know how to score critical hits? I want to try sinking these damn things in one shot, and I have no idea how.

[Tuulos]

Try to hit them below the chimney, that might work. I don't really know as I haven't played SH4 and it's been a long time when I last played SH3.

[Lord Kelvin]

Well, seems that I didn't wait enough. The Hiryu settled on the bottom right after I posted. But it's still sorta annoying how ships take so long to sink. After I got out of the area, I found a couple of merchants that I put two torps into each, then started hitting their waterlines. One of them sank pretty quickly, but the other one stayed afloat even after I expended almost all of my HE rounds on it...

BTW, how do I use magnetic detonators? I want to break the keel on ships, but I have no idea how.

-e- Also:

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a127/lordkelvin/sh4-orders.jpg

[StandingCow]

hehe..

Well, I know tankers for one sometimes stay up since the oil is lighter than water... so they are like huge corks.

BTW, patch 1.4 should be out soon, and I think a free addon by the team that made this game for uboats!! I don't know why, but the uboat, at least to me, is so much more exciting than the US subs... maybe because you know you are on the losing side...?

[Lord Kelvin]

Wow, I just discovered the goodness that is JSGME, and it is fucking awesome. So far, I have the following mods enabled:

Combined Uniform Mod
Improved muzzle flash
Natural Sinking Mechanics Classic
Silent Service graphics pack
Reflections on the Water suite

Any other suggestions?

[Lord Kelvin]

OK, I seriously hate how random the sinking mechanics are in this game.

I just put a total of two torps into the port side of a Medium Old Composite Freighter, then shot its waterline all to hell, and so far it's only showing a slight list and its screws are still going even though I pumped several HE rounds into its rudder.

Also, rainy weather is neat but frustrating. It keeps the planes grounded so I don't have to worry about patrols bombing my ass when I'm surfaced, but my visibility goes completely to crap and I don't spot ships until they're like 700m away. Makes it extremely frustrating to acquire and torpedo ships since I can only use sound contacts to guide me to their general location...

[Lord Kelvin]

1.4 is out now, just got it. Nice thing is that the patch is 100% compatible with all previous versions of SH4, so you don't need to download patches 1.1-1.3 to get it to work.

Guess it's time to disable my mods, apply the patch, get a new snapshot, and see how many of the mods are broken then. So far everyone's saying that ROW works fine, but I haven't seen anything on NSM.

[Lord Kelvin]

Bumpage.

Huh. Just checked back after a while, it seems that around half of ROW is broken, but half isn't. And NSM is "semi" broken, but WernerSobe's going to rework the system now that the magnetic exploders work.

Also, any suggestions for extra mods? I got some new textures for IJN ships, Submarine Instruments, and I'm waiting for leovampire to finish fixing up ROW, but I want some stuff that'll help me check my bearing and such on the maps.

[Lord Kelvin]

This deserves a slight bumpage because I am so happy right now.

Command your ship with your voice. (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=119430)