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[S3G] The Silent Hunter III Guide - Not Only For Beginners of [SH3]

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REV_BL!TZKR!EG:




LAST CHANGE: 20230208

This thread is meant as a documentation-resource and not intended for discussion and useless welcome-mails that contain no helping info. You guys may continue to use the cluttered Susi-forum for that kind of nonsense. If you want to give feedback, have a question that you would like to raise or would like to have something added COME TO TEAMSPEAK! It is best to not use SuSi because the only response you will get is from their stupid "welcome-comitee" and no help at all. Yet much better is to come to TEAMSPEAK and talk. Also highly recommended is to have TeamViewer/AnyDesk ready for a "quick help-session"...


[TEAMSPEAK] - [ANYDESK] - [TEAMVIEWER] - ALL FOR FREE

 01 - This Overview On Contents
 02 - Resources - What You Really Need!
 03 - (Re-)Installation Of SH3
 04 - Multiple Installs
 05 - Mega-Mods
 06 - Recommended Mods And Modding In General
 07 - Recommended Tools And Addons For Players
 08 - Multiplayer-Gaming
 09 - Tactics And Strategy
 10 - Historical Research For Those Who Like To Know . soon: Technical & Historical Research
 11 - Videos? Videos!
 12 - THE LAST KNOWN VERSION OF SH3-Community-Manual
 13 - Silent Hunter III-Nomenclature

This guide had been online on SuSi for more than half a decade until their SNOT-gang decided to censor it completely because it was me who wrote it. So rethink if you really want to donate to such guys who deprive such helpful information from their paying community only because of some petty personal animosities.

REV_BL!TZKR!EG:
Resources - What You Really Need!

* You need reliable download-resources:
* S3A-The-SH3-ARCHiVE - which is the largest around (~270GB as of 01/2020) and includes the Plissken-Goldmine since summer 2014.
* Plissken's GoldmineForget the download-section over at SuSi, where unluckily nothing gets updated. The admins there obviously do not care for working links and updated files at all and you must even pay for some of their downloads.
* You need this stuff in any case:
* - a working copy of SH3 (which will mostly be a DVD or STEAM-version, yes those function!)
* - this guide for reference
* - Recommended Tools And Addons For Players
* - a NETWORK - for multiplayer-gaming
* You need a place to discuss your view or ask questions:
* - best using 'voice' on TeamSpeak
* - If you like to be spammed with useless welcome-doodle-messages without any attempt of help, enjoy SuSi... - but: You have been warned!
* You need a group for effective immersion and much more fun in your gameplay, so consider joining an online-flotilla (in other games referred to as clans): What shall I say... ► Compare yourself... ◄

REV_BL!TZKR!EG:
(Re-)Installation Of SH3's basis: V1.4b

2020...SH3 has turned 15 years old and still people are posting utter nonsense on the SuSi-whiners-club and elsewhere, so let us get some things straight ahead:

[1.] Silent Hunter III functions on all known Windows-versions from XP on. Read that word 'all' as 'any'. Period! It does not matter which sub-version of Windows (home, pro, whatever, 32 or 64 bit), so stop asking! You must only follow our instructions, correct a few settings and use our tools.

[2.] It does NOT matter where you get your SH3-installation files from: from Steam, from an old DVD, from a new DVD, etc. All of them function! You must only follow our instructions, correct a few settings and use our tools.

[3.] All you need is a clean, unmodded (e.g. unchanged) original stock version, the basis: V1.4b. A clean and unmodded stock install (also called "plain vanilla") is the basis for ALL mega-mods for SH3 and here is how to make that, will you just read and follow it please, it is NOT difficult! Really not!

[4.] A word about Ubisoft's Starforce-crap: The first victim of UBI's user-rights-nonsense and DRM was and is the user himself. We have seen their "support" on dealing with Starforce and the issues that came with it. Starforce is NOT compatible with Vista, nor with succeeding Windows-versions, and will not be. It must be removed. Period. Do not discuss. Do as you are told!

[5.] More and more I got to come to the conclusion that FIEDLER has written much better instructions than my own. I have just read what
he wrote @UBISOFT recently. I have therefore removed my instructions and link to his! FIEDLER, THANK YOU A LOT!


Specific STEAM-instructions:

RECOMMENDATION: FIEDLER'S STEAM INSTRUCTIONS ARE @STEAM-FORUMS: How to run STEAM-SH3-V1.6b-GWX-WIDESCREEN on Win10

If you buy it on STEAM the Steam-Launcher installs it for you automatically.
Spoiler: "Take this extra step if you have modified SH3 in any form" • showOpen your Steam app
In the Steam app, go to your Steam Library, find "Silent Hunter III" in your list of Steam games, right-click on it and choose "Delete Local Content..." This will un-install SH3.
Close the Steam app.
Go ahead and re-install the Steam version of SH3 in the normal/default location:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Silent Hunter 3Run SFSF and select to run the STEAM-FiX. It will also apply the 4GBT and make your SH3 run in compatibility!
Enjoy!
From now on you do NOT anylonger use the Steam-Launcher to run SH3, only run it directly - or use S3F as a better alternative
From now on you can mod AND PATCH the game, for example install GWX, then S3C, then the GWX-supplement-files into S3C.
There is NOTHING difficult with that if you only switch on and use your brain!


Other online/download-versions:

Do the exact same. Apply the STEAM-Fix. Even if it is the UPLAY version (!).


DVD-versions:

RECOMMENDATION: FIEDLER'S STARFORCE INSTRUCTIONS ARE @UBISOFT-FORUMS: You can make any DVD work on Windows 10 !!!!!

It does NOT matter what kind or brand of DVD you have got. All of them function! You must only use our tools and follow our instructions! The misinformation continously spread by incompetent village idiots on SuSi (THEDONATIONBERBESTER & co) and several LSH3-blockheads (URMELchen and his brainless lemmings) and many more can safely be ignored: They have no clue, we have proved them wrong numerous times! There might be different opinions, but our approach actually works! With our approach you can run ANY mod, ANY mega-mod, you will be able to enjoy the unterwater-world of SH3 in ANY version of Windows, you will be able to play without the DVD in the drive and you will never have to care about the Starforce-nonsense again!


It cannot be so very difficult really, can it?!
Installed your game from DVD?Apply the Starforce-FixBought your game on Steam?Apply the Steam-FixDownloaded your game, e.g. from Ubisoft?Apply the Steam-Fix

Here is which steps to take and again: Please follow CLOSELY and TO THE LETTER (NO JOKE!).

Only if you had installed SH3 before: show
* Copy your careers and data by securing the ...\data\cfg folder to anywhere you like.
 => That way you do not lose your careers, settings, missions which are stored in %USERPROFILE%\Documents (Windows-handle).
* Uninstall SH3.
 => Needed. Otherwise it is not going to work.
* Run SFRemove, which is the removal-tool of your/our choice.
 => Needed to get the uninstall clean.
* Reboot.
 => Needed by Window-cleanup-routine because you have just done a driver-uninstall.
* Begin installation of SH3 as normal, BUT:
 => Change the installation-path so you do NOT install to the default path "Program Files (x86)".
Always guide the installer to a custom path that is NOT controlled by Windows/UAC, for example C:\SH3-stock or D:\games\SH3\stock or alike.
Just never use default installation-paths (although even GWX has it as default!) and pick one on your own choice!
The reason for installing games outside of the default programs folder was, is, to avoid the UAC and not having to remember to play as admin. The UAC might prevent the game from writing and saving files.
* When you get to Game Shadow: ***CANCEL*** that install.
* When you get to finish screen DO NOT press "Finish"!
* Execute the patch-to-1.4b with settings "Run As Admin" and XP service pack 2, for my version this file is called "sh3_dvd_1.4b_emea.exe"
* ONLY after that has completed, THEN hit finish. WAIT! BE PATIENT!
If you get "This program cannot update the installed version of Silent Hunter III because of the following reason: ...Stuka.cfg: unknown.version."
then all is good, only that error message is wrong. It tells you that your SH3-version does not need to be patched further.
All is good. Exit the updater. => This might look weird, and yes it is. But DO NOT otherwise cancel that install earlier. THIS IS VERY CRUCIAL!!
* Then the launcher screen runs to check system specs and a reboot message appears. DO NOT reboot!
* Exit the specs-check screen. DO NOT click Launch. THIS IS VERY CRUCIAL!
* Run SFSF , select to run the Fix that corresponds to where you got your SH3 from as explained above.
It will also apply the 4GBT and make your SH3 run in compatibility
(by the way: which service-pack does not matter, any works!).
If you like also apply the automatic H.Sie-patch (using S3F)Only from now on RUN the game. I strongly recommend to make a .zip of your installation NOW - you will need it. Promised. You may now also copy back your previously backupped files like career-data etc.
ENJOY!

What if you have already started the game: show
What if you have already started the game - contrary to our instructions by the way? First off:

So in the VERY RARE case you ignored instructions and mistakenly activated the Starforce-Protection, and that is done by starting the game, you run
[SFSF-MODULE] - The New Solution for "Steam" & "Starforce" Issues, select STARFORCE-FIX and your install will be repaired.

More interesting stuff...
Current Projects - An Introduction
Nomenclature - An Overview
Software specifically developed for the Doenitz Elite Flotilla
What you need to play Silent Hunter III - MultiPlayer-Wolfpack-missions with us

REV_BL!TZKR!EG:
Multiple Installs

And YES! It is with only a few basic tweaks possible to have multiple installs of SH3 running on your system without interference. What's essential is that you, as soon as you have a basic install of Silent Hunter III patched to V1.4b running, make zip-archive of it, so that you can COPY that original install as many times as you want to different sub-directories - or simply let S3F do the copy-and-activation-work for you...
 
You may want to use one of these copies for playing a vanilla-game, another for testing mods and yet another for GWX and yes, yet another for NYGM, and... ah yes, yet another for LSH, because it's such a cool mod - and so on, and so on for as many installations as you like. That way you do not ruin your NYGM-career only because you wanted to try out that new Uber-Boot-mod or something. You still have the other directories UNinfluenced by that mod and still have a clean basis-version in your zip-archive...
 
But then? How do you handle all these installations?
 
THE OLD APPROACH
Have MultiSH3 in every installation-directory to fix the Data-Path.
Have JSGME in every installation-directory to configure mods for this very installation.
Have S3C in every installation-directory along with its Mega-Mod-Related-Data-Files to have it run with this particular mod.
 
 
THE NEW APPROACH
...is S3F!
Simply let S3F do the copy, then let S3F do the multiple-installs-functions (MultiSH3 has 100% been recoded and included in S3F) and then let S3F run the corresponding versions of any other SH3-tool that is known.
 
Nowadays I do no longer install by hand, I have burned a DVD with a correct installation and just unzip it on a new computer and then use S3F to make copies and S3M-activate them for parallel usage. S3F does all that for me - and for you, too!

REV_BL!TZKR!EG:
Patches? MODs? Mega-MODs? What is all that about?

Over the years, SH3 has received much more attention than any other game of its genre. So many MODifications have been done to the basic game, that one can state it has evolved into a whole new game. Hardly any section of the game has been left untouched: You will come across SOUND-MODifications, GRAPHICS-MODifications, GAMEPLAY-MODifications, REALISM-MODifications, GAMEPLAY-MODifications, even the executable game-files have been PATCHed. MEGA-MODifications are also available, providing combinations of MOD-collections in integrated one-pack-solutions.

I have compiled overviews in PATCHES FOR SiLENT HUNTER III [SH3] and their appropriate installation and [SH3RES]_Widescreen-Resolution-Solutions.

Defined by a rule of thumb: If the executables (EXE/DLL/ACT) have been changed, it is a PATCH, everything else is a MOD, combinations of single MODs and/or PATCHes are called MEGA-MODs.


Mega-Mods

Despite the hundreds of small and single mods, there are quite a number of socalled mega-mods around. Please do not bother asking which is better compared to which ever else. Just try them out... Now the best: You can find all the important mega-mods in one place - for free and for you to try out: = [S3A] =. All the descriptions were moved over to [S3E] - Excellent and Universal Mega-Mod-Installer, so look there! Socalled 'Mega-Mods' such as the FLB-Modpack are not much more than modpacks or compiled modsoups. You get much more out of the game if you look at the published JSGME-modlists: [HOWTO] Your JSGME-MOD-List For SH3. Be inspired!

If you want to install a Mega-Mod, then the general "order of appearance" must always be:
* Original SH3 --- either Steam-fixed or Starforce-fixed and updated to V1.4b
* [your mega-mod of choice, see list]
* S3C
* S3C Super-Mod-specific cfg files
* S3H
* S3S
* Tycho^ (S3F can help you with most of this work)
+ Mods to your liking (this is your "mod-soup")

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