TDC  |  Mission Options | User Created Scenarios | Ship Id
Realism Settings | Tech Info

One of the things that has allowed Silent Hunter to enjoy such a widespread and longstanding appeal is its user friendly interface. The manual provides an adequate description of the controlling functions and a player can get immersed into actual game play with relative ease. The navigation controls are all pretty straight forward, utilizing a  simple "point and click" process. However learning to use the shortcut "Hot Keys" for any function that has one will vastly improve playability (Click here for a printable copy of the shortcut keys). Hitting the F2 key to go directly to the periscope is much easier then the alternative of trying to locate the control room button, clicking, moving the pointer to the periscope and then clicking it to just to see what's happening on the surface.  When the action gets hot and heavy, using the shortcuts to navigate your way from one screen to the next makes the game much more enjoyable and will actually allow you to have a more thorough command of whatever situation you may be in. SSI has, in my opinion, done a good job in leaving the challenge of Silent Hunter to the actual game play, rather then in trying to figure out how to make it work according to the developer's design. 

MANUAL or AUTO ??

Sounds like a question you'd consider when buying a car, but it is also a choice in how you go about playing Silent Hunter. The TDC (Torpedo Data Computer) was a piece of equipment that, during the time, must have seemed to be a true technological marvel. Manufactured by the Arma Corp., information regarding a target's bearing, range, and angle on the bow would be fed in from the periscope, TBT (Target Bearing Transmitter located on the bridge) or sonar. The TDC would then automatically determine the enemy ships course heading and set the correct gyro angles in the torpedo.  We have the choice in SH to choose two options of TDC style: Manual or Auto mode.  

Most skippers will start out using the Auto mode when first acquiring the game. The Auto TDC is a great way to get a feel for how the AI responds, and basic game functions and commands. It is also a great deal of fun which allows the opportunity to be able to wax an entire convoy single handedly and rack up phenomenal tonnage scores. The game play is virtually identical in either manual or auto modes, with the one big exception being that in Manual mode, you the skipper must do the calculations regarding bearing, range etc whereas in Auto the computer AI accomplishes that task. This level can be extremely challenging by recreating (as much as possible) the method that WWII sub skippers utilized when setting up for a shot. Developing the skill to determine the critical information to send to the TDC is a subject unto itself and I hope to cover it at a later date. Frank Kulick developed an excellent procedure for RANGING TARGETS using the manual TDC. Click here to learn how to solve this tricky puzzle.  I recently heard that Hawk is in the process of putting a manual TDC tutorial program together. If it's anything like the other work he has done for Silent Hunter it is sure to be outstanding.

Make no mistake, playing Silent Hunter in Auto TDC is no less satisfying or enjoyable then playing it in Manual mode. It is simply a different level of challenge and realism. Again, this is one of the reasons that I believe has allowed Silent Hunter the longstanding popularity that is enjoys. You can play every scenario developed, go through all the war years in a career in the auto mode, then start all over again in the Manual mode. It's almost like having a brand new version.

MISSION OPTIONS

From the main menu we are given the choice of choosing either the "Single Missions" or embarking on a "Career". Much of the discussion that is seen in the forums, for the most part, seems to center around career missions, and with good reason. Pick any year of the war and you are in the midst of a campaign where at any moment you could be involved in combat that could result in either the end of a Captain's career or having the opportunity to amass tonnage scores that can earn it's skipper a commendation as high as the Medal of Honor (of which there were actually only six awarded to submariners during WW II). As exciting and rewarding as the "Career" mode is, don't overlook the "Single" missions. Here we are given the option of choosing an Historic mission (based on an actual war patrol) and a Convoy, Warship, or Patrol encounter. The last three allow the skipper to customize the situation, providing the option to select the date (which can determine the type of sub you'll command), the level of crew and enemy experience, convoy and escort size or the type of warship you can tangle with, as well as the weather and sea conditions. I've occasionally had the chance to do battle with a carrier or a battleship in the career mode, but with a quick click of the pointer I can be out hunting the Shinano. For anyone with an interest in submarine history, the "Historical" missions are just the ticket. Recreated scenarios depicting actual war encounters put you in the skippers shoes. All in all, the canned missions are as challenging as they are educational and a great way to hone your skills without having to commit the amount of time it takes to complete a patrol in the career mode. 

USER CREATED SCENARIOS

One subject that I feels warrants some discussion is the user created scenarios or "Custom Missions". The Silent Hunter Expansion Pack and the Silent Hunter Commander's Edition both contain a mission developer program that allows the user to create his own homegrown combat encounters. Did you ever want to take on the Yamato near Bungo Suido in rough seas a on a foggy night with a green crew in the boat of your choice? You can thanks to the mission developer. I confess that I am guilty of creating some less then spectacular engagements, but luckily there are some folks out there who do put a great deal of research time, energy and expertise is developing quality custom scenarios and we are equally fortunate that they make them available to us on the web.

Custom missions can be downloaded from several sites. The Wargamer has an archive of some great SH missions sent in to SSI by fans over the years (most of the downloadable missions are in zip format and you'll need a program like winzip to open them. Make sure that you unzip the user created scenarios into the "CUSTOM" folder of your "SILENT" file in windows explorer). Both Tom Martin's Silent Hunter Site and Mark Allen's Silent Hunter Simulation Page contain quality custom scenarios that rival those that come on the game disc. Mark's site is a tremendous resource for anyone interested is historic WW II submarine engagements. The missions he has developed accurately recreates the battles of an extensive list of subs, each with a brief description of the actual encounter. His attention to detail probably stems from his personal active interest in the preservation of the USS Batfish, of which he is the author and webmaster of its' official site. Mark was kind enough to take the time to outline the steps and procedures that he uses when he creates a custom mission for Silent Hunter. If you've ever had the desire to create an historically accurate custom scenario take a look here for the nuts and bolts of how it's done. You'll find it as educational as it is interesting.  

SHIP IDENTIFICATION

One handy item that is included is the ship identification manual. By clicking on the ship icon in the lower right hand corner of either the periscope or TBT screen you'll be able to access a resource that will allow you to identify and get important details on over fifty different potential targets. The ship's silhouette and information regarding tonnage, length, beam, draft, and speed for both capital and merchant class ships is provided. Details about the number and size of the guns, the number of DCs, DC racks and DC throwers carried on board of a warship is also available. If you are using the Manual TDC setting, the ship's view at different angles will help in determining the AOB (angle on the bow) which is needed to develop an accurate firing solution. Visit Hawk's site and download his customized version of the manual. This cool little utility will allow you to print out the Ship Id Manual so you can quickly view the details about a target without having to fumble around clicking on buttons.  

REALISM SETTINGS

Silent Hunter allows you to adjust the "Realism Settings" or level of difficulty in which to conduct a mission or career. The modifications made is a personal choice and certainly up to the individual player. I tend to favor the historical aspect of Silent Hunter over the point score so I may use the depth gauge when it would have been available. As experience is gained you can increase the level of difficulty from novice all the way up to expert with a realism level as high as 115%. By clicking on the realism button you will access a screen that will permit you to modify the settings that will apply. Removing the "X" on any option will reduce the percentage of realism and thus lower your overall score. The chart below outlines the percent deductions.

* Most submarines were equipped with depth sounding devices during the war, so the Limited Depth Data can be unchecked and you would still be historically correct, although your realism percentage will be reduced by 5% according to the game calculations in Silent Hunter.

"The Difficulty Rating is based on the effects of changing  the realism settings listed above. The mission score for completed missions is modified by the level of realism chosen. The higher the realism setting, the higher the potential score"   SH Users Manual                                                
                                                                  

You are also given the option of setting the Combat Level and the Sailing Model. The Combat level determines the effectiveness of the IJN's ASW (anti-submarine warfare) abilities.  Historically, the IJN was under the impression that US submarines could not dive to depths below 200 ft. Consequently, their ASW efforts tended to stay in the 50 - 150 ft range. The higher the setting you choose, the deadlier they become. The realism percentage drops by 15% for each level below expert. The Sailing Model affects the handling of your sub: Dive times, turn rate and the likelihood that your boat may run aground. Realism drops by 10% for each reduction in level you select.

EQUIPMENT UPGRADES

One question that frequently pops up from new skippers is "why do I get two grayed out circles when I go to the RADAR screen?" Simply stated, it's Silent Hunter doing its best to recreate the historical period you happen to be in at the time. If you're commanding a S-Class boat in Dec of 1942 then you won't have some of the neat new technological equipment that became available as the war actually progressed. As you continue on in the career mode, you'll find that these items become available only during the actual time frame of the war. For example, you're not going to be able to command a Gato Class submarine in January of 1942 . . . there simply weren't any at that time. The table below lists the equipment that you will receive throughout the campaign:

TECH INFO

I am by no stretch of the imagination, any good at the tech stuff. I have included the information below as a guideline just in case you are having any technical difficulties with Silent Hunter. The following information has been taken directly from the Silent Hunter Data book as provided by SSI. If you are encountering any problems getting SH to run correctly, refer to the stats below and make sure that you have the necessary software installed on your system. Most of the challenges in getting SH to run correctly seem to stem from system configurations . . . which is usually easy enough to fix. You just have to know how to tweak it properly. But don't go by me - I have a tough enough time just figuring out how to turn my computer on. The best places to find tech support will be at either SUBSIM Review (You'll find highly detailed answers in a section devoted to the subject of tech support for just about every sub sim ever made as well as a very helpful message board) or swing by the SubSoWesPac Silent Hunter Forum and post your question. I can almost guarantee that you'll find someone there that can handle even the toughest challenge.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

• 486 DX / 66 MHz IBM PC or compatible

• 8 MB of RAM

• MS-DOS 5.0 - 6.22

• An uncompressed Hard Drive with 35 MB free for small install

• A 1 MB SVGA graphics card with a color SVGA monitor

• A 2X speed CD-ROM drive (350 ms acess and 300kb transfer rate)

• A 100% Microsoft or Logitech compatible mouse

• Microsoft mouse driver version 9.0 or higher, or Logitech mouse driver 6.24 or higher.

• 500,000 bytes of free BASE RAM

• 6,900,00 bytes of FREE XMS

Users with 8 MB systems who have TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) files loaded high including RAM caches such as "smartdrive" may have to create a boot disk to run SILENT HUNTER.

If you get the following error when you begin the game: "Failed to Init Heap", then you must create a boot disk. (This error means that your computer doesn't have enough XMS to run the game).

IMPORTANT NOTE: For those of you with 8 Megabytes of RAM, when there are many ships, contacts, and weapons being fired, in other words when things are getting very exciting, some of the sound effects may not play to conserve memory. Adding new features to Silent Hunter has made us push the very limits of 8 megabytes. The features added to Silent Hunter since V1.0 have enhanced the simulation but the result is that there are now limitations on the functionality and stability of the game when running with only 8 Megabytes of RAM. 

It is strongly recommended that if you play Silent Hunter with large scenarios that you consider upgrading your system to16 Megabytes of RAM or more. If you are running at a high time compression and are trying to steer the sub, fire torpedoes, or zoom in and out you may overwhelm the engine and cause a slow down or crash. The function of time compression is to get the sub into contact with enemy ships Time compression was NOT made to support regular game play i.e. steering the ship, firing torpedoes, or zoom in and out.

WINDOWS USERS:

If you run SILENT HUNTER through a Windows environment, SILENT HUNTER may lock up at random times and might run substantially slower. It is recommended that you run the game in MS-DOS mode. If however you choose to run it in Windows, make sure that no other applications are running, and your screen saver is turned off. Running SH in Windows is NOT recommended although it will run in both Windows 95 and 98 Operating Systems from MS-DOS.

STARTING THE GAME:

• Access MS-DOS mode

• Insert the CD into the CD-ROM

• Change the current directory to the games directory - for example, to change the default directory type CD\SILENT and press enter.

• Type SH and press enter to start the game.

SAVING GAMES:

SILENT HUNTER requires space on your hard drive for saved games and temporary files. You need approximately 10,000 bytes free on your hard drive for each saved game, after installation. To save a game, hit ALT o and select the SAVE option.

VIDEO CARDS and VESA DRIVERS:

SILENT HUNTER is supported by the following video cards:

• ATI

• Cirrus (Cirrus Logic)

• Diamond (Several models - may require individual drivers)

• Genoa

• Orchid

• Tseng (ET 4000)

If you are experiencing any problem with your video / VESA driver, type SH/V at the command line, rather then SH. This enables a universal VESA driver which is compatible with the video cards listed above.

MOUSE SETUP:

If your mouse is not functioning, you should make sure that your driver has been loaded for use with DOS based programs. Windows and other programs have built in mouse drivers that do not function outside of that environment. Loading a mouse driver may be as simple as typing in MOUSE (and pressing enter). before starting the game. Since the command differs from mouse to mouse, you may need to consult your mouse users guide for the location and name of your particular driver software.

If your mouse is acting erratically, it may be due to older driver versions, or it may not be Microsoft or Logitech compatible. Check with the manufacturer to see if there is an updated driver available.

SOUND CARDS:

The following sound cards are supported:

• Ultrasound

• Soundblaster 16

• Soundblaster Pro models I, II and III

• Soundblaster regular

• Media Vision PAS-16

SH on Windows XP

YES!!! Silent Hunter can be configured to run on WinXP. Many thanks to Don Wells for developing the "How-to" procedures in an easy to follow format.

WinXP users look here: Running Silent Hunter on Windows XP
 

 

BATTLE STATIONS