trying to play sh4 log in to the server yet there is nobody playing? what i see is a window where on the lower right hand corner the "join game" is grey where the rest is highlighted in yellow where i can click onthe icon? am i in the lobby or not? is that the lobby ? or there isnt anyone playing sh4? would like to play other sh4 players and sink some ship help?

Yes you are in the right place, the problem is though that the 'take up' for Multiplayer in SH4 was not as great as that for SH3.

You will find that when people are on the server, the games will show up and when you highlight one the 'Join' button will turn from grey.

You could try an online flotilla, there is a sticky at the top of the General Discussion forum.

I am a member at thewolvesdenflotilla.com but we don't, in all honesty, play a lot of SH4 online.

Stick at it and someone will go into the lobby, or you could try hosting a session yourself and see if anyone joins.

Maverick

You can also try posting over at subsim.