Silent Hunter III with the Grey Wolves (GWX) fan add-on

[grislyatoms]

The Grey Wolves essentially re-wrote the entire game code. In the light of historical accuracy, but managed to make the game fun, nevertheless.
The "no weapons officer" option has you experimenting with targeting solutions and navigation that is true-to life. Wanna learn how gyro- compasses work? How the angles of a triangle resolve into targeting a fast-moving Tommy merchant?

Excellent work, this game. And when you properly resolve a firing solution, another Tommy vessel goes to the bottom.

It's not a political statement, beyond how the Krauts very nearly bested us with technology in WWII.

Where am I now? Early war, "The 1st Happy Time", sniping Tommy merchants sailing singly.

If you have even a passing interest in WWII or Battle of The Atlantic... excellent vanilla game, enhanced to the nth degree by "The Grey Wolves fan mod/add-on.

Silent Hunter 5 - don't bother. Ubi took the back seat thinking fans would mod once again and distributed a product that can barely be called a game.

[Blakenzy]

Aha, SH3 w/ GWX... been there. That game was a labor of love done by the modding community.

Ages of monotony sprinkled by minutes of sheer terror and then you are dead. You WILL die in that game, and that's that. No way around it.

Ping, ping, ping.

[AmbulanceDriver]

*heh* I always enjoyed SH2 - Just bought SH3 from Ubisoft, downloading it as we speak.... and downloaded the GWX mod as well.  Looking forward to trying it out.

Anyone ever try "dangerous waters"?   supposedly done by a company that makes sub sims for the USN?

[grislyatoms]

*heh* I always enjoyed SH2 - Just bought SH3 from Ubisoft, downloading it as we speak.... and downloaded the GWX mod as well.  Looking forward to trying it out.

Anyone ever try "dangerous waters"?   supposedly done by a company that makes sub sims for the USN?

Never tried Dangerous Waters.

I have played Gato, Silent Service 1 and 2, Jane's 688, Aces of the Deep and been playing SH3 on and off for 3 years. Some SH4. Just started SH3 up again.

Yes, you will die late war. Leigh lights, radar, convoys with escorts make the late war nigh impossible.

Great site, if you haven't already come across it.
http://www.subsim.com/index.php
You may recognize a user name there...

[drewtam]

Last time I played a sub sim was Red Storm Rising on my parents new computer on either a Pentium or Pentium II. I think I was in Junior High, so that would line up better with Pentium.

Wow is this bringing back memories...

Running silent in a LA class SSN, sinking Soviet ships in the north Atlantic while the Red Storm Rising book story played out between battles.

I remember the Typhoon class SSBNs being very hard to kill and very fast boats. The Akula class were near impossible to detect and would pop up when I began an attack run on the carrier battlegroup.

Helo's with sono-buoys would give me nightmares.

The MK48 torpedo was the best invention since sliced bread. Except for launch noise cavitation, it would run silent until the predetermined activation point. Then it would go active and go into high speed mode. By then I would be long gone, lying in wait for the next ambush attack of the group.

[grislyatoms]

1st patrol - 29877 tons, 10 ships. Hunted up and down the North Sea coast.

Incidences - Had a PT Boat approach at high speed off Hartlepool after a sinking. Evaded.

Morning light, jumped by unidentified aircraft same position return leg. Attack was utterly ineffective.

Several contacts with neutral vessels.

Machinist is fatigued all too easily. Will look for a replacement from the billet when we return.

Weather turned foul as we approached October. 15 m/s wind, seas confused, heavy lightning.

Pleased with the boat and the crew, for the most part. Watch Officers will recieve commendations upon return to port.

Disposition upon returning - ~33% fuel left, 1 stern torpedo, 60 deck gun rounds, no damage.

Returned to port after exactly one month at sea.



2nd patrol - Heading for the grounds upon which we had so much success last trip - just off Hartlepool.

3 contacts thus far - 2 Norwegian, 1 Dane. Set up solutions on each, only to abort last minute. Frustrating.

Sea is flat calm, wind 4 m/s.

19:06 - on the surface, batteries recharging, full watch complement.



Yeah, I'm a nerd. As if that were news. 

[Blakenzy]

What boat are you using?

[AmbulanceDriver]

Was just gonna say, my first patrol all I had access to was the IIA (IIRC).  No deck gun, no stern tube, and insufficient crew members it seems....  :)

[grislyatoms]

What boat are you using?

Type VIIB from 2nd flotilla "Saltzwedel", Wilhelmshaven.

Was just gonna say, my first patrol all I had access to was the IIA (IIRC).  No deck gun, no stern tube, and insufficient crew members it seems....  

1st, 2nd, 7/13, 11th, 23/29, and 30/33 flotillas had VIIB's (if the flotillas existed at the time) from July 1939 onward, historically.  
In game, I think only Saltzwedel has them at the outbreak of war.

If you're running a IIA, you'll have a chance to upgrade after your first or second patrol.