Your best tactics...Cams & Contacts off.

[Armistead]

Want this thread to be only related to playing with Cams and Contacts off.
I hope we'll soon have a mod that at least shows sonar lines, as sonar is so poorly rendered in the game, unless you believe in 8010...:har:

I've played this way more than not, except large battles which I like to SS.
Large fast TF cause me the most problems. The radar mod has been very helpful and I use it when I get radar, but I'm rather poor tracking sonar only. Really no way I can see to get a fixed course, I mean a true fixed course without pinging, which I ain't doing.

My biggest issue is often I'm forced down by TMO DD's, then your stuck in the sub with just sonar. I usually try to just get visuals of the nearest DD and track it at a distance it shouldn't see me, but I'm sure you've noticed in fog your crew can see them before you can, so often it's dive before you want or run away and try again.

The goal for me is to get a decent track and dive and get some idea through the scope of what is going on and track, but often DD's have you down and timing when to come up and shoot is dangerous, so it's shooting with bearings only.

Tell me your skills.

[Dignan]

I see sonar attacks as inherently less accurate and therefore, as a sub captain, you accept the fact that your margin of error is greater.

As you mentioned it is exceptionally difficult with large task forces. But if it's a singleton or two or three ships I just track one with sonar (getting range and bearing with my active sonar) and make marks on the map with the pencil to get a rough estimate of a course heading. I'm sure you know how to do this though. As you pointed out, I only ping when I don't think any warships are around which brings us back to your original question/dilemma. How to target a TF using only sonar.

If anyone has any good strategies for targeting large TFs using only sonar, I would also be eager to hear how it's done.

[Armistead]

I will say this, taters fixes help a lot. I just got most of them and I could tell. I had the radar fix, but didn't even install the dern thing thinking something else.

Battle of Java, I ran across a small TF a Kuma and about 8 DD's, wind 6knts, but I did get in position and got some stad measurements down at 2500 yards, locked the TDC, dived to 100, watched the TDC until it was about a 90 and let loose a spread of 4 and went down to 160ft...bottom
WHAM WHAM, got two good hits and never one ping., it sank way later, but a good one.

I have one tactic that helps me, ambush them coming though a narrow strait, they have no where to go. Another, more for escorts is to look up at the sub ceiling in the con tower, the actual sound for DD's is directional and looking up you can hear when a DD is about 500 yards or less and know direction, it you look up and bearing 270 and hear a ship, he'll be there.

[Diopos]

For actual torpedo firing I go for 0-gyro angle shots (at various intercept angles not limited to 270/90°). For that I need to have a good estimate on speed and course. Working on a collision course method at the moment (pet project, yes started after the 8010 thingy). In the long run I'll probably try to streamline an adaptation of actual 4,5 or 6 bearings-only "official" procedures. At the moment I am using the empirical approach: general indication of target course based on the shiping lane I am hunting in, course and speed of previous succesful "hits", running parallel at a distance, trying to stabilise target's bearing at 270/90°, "stad"ing the target if possible. No rigorous procedure though..

[Bubblehead1980]

One thing that will help you track without radar is the "better smoke mod for merchants and warships" not sur eif you already use it but as in RL, you can see the smoke from merchants many miles away, allows for realistic tracking when you dont have radar and do not have map contacts on.Huge help.I play an early war career when not playing my main career, so no radar and it really helps being able to see the smoke from far away, able to track and get a decent set up.

[Armistead]

I"ve seen it and used it...that ain't the one that wouldn't disable with jsgme that messed us up?

Doe's it include all the ships now for RSRD? Shame the smoke doesn't blow back with the wind so you could figure direction.

[Bubblehead1980]

I"ve seen it and used it...that ain't the one that wouldn't disable with jsgme that messed us up?

Doe's it include all the ships now for RSRD? Shame the smoke doesn't blow back with the wind so you could figure direction.


it is the one that messed up but all you have to do the solve the problem is rename it once you download it, make sure you remove TMO from the title.Great mod and really helps.

[clayp]

WellI'm going to try and learn to play with things off..I havent done this yet so I have a lot to learn....:hmmm: