[TorpX]

ISP v 2.1 is now in the downloads section, ready to go!

ISP v 2.1

I'll briefly discuss a few things, that I either did not fully explain before, or just added recently.

Or course, the sinking issue is fixed.

I tweaked the GC values of all the ships, so they had, as well as I could observe, a realistic level of stability.

I also changed the mass of all the merchants. I only realized this recently, but RFB used the GRT rating of the merchants as the displacements. Meaning a 1250 GRT freighter weighs, and has a displacement of, 1250 t. However, the GRT is only a standard cargo capacity, and has nothing to do with the mass, or weight. Lacking any better guidelines, I went back to the stock mass values, which made for heavier, and more sluggish ships.

I changed the ranges of the S-class some. The reason for this is that I believe the reference I used, Norman Friedman's work, contains figures that are in error. I'll explain what I mean. Freidman gives the following figures for the S-18 and S-42:

S-18
3,420 nm @ 6.5 kn. Normal
8,950 nm @ 9.5 kn. Maximum

S-42
2,510 nm @ 6.5 kn. Normal
10,000 nm @ 8.1 kn. Maximum

So, what's wrong with these figures? Well, to begin with, the maximum ranges (using FBT's), are given at a higher speed. The extra weight would increase the draft, and lower the cruising speed. Looking at the other figures given, I found the weights for the fuel (in long tons):

S-18
53.93 normal
97.14 max

S-42
59.03 normal
150.94 max

So, how can a S-18 increase it's cruising range by 161%, with only 80% more fuel, and boost their speed in the bargain? The answer is it can't. The most reasonable explanation is that the cruising speed figures were transposed, and should read:

S-18
3,420 nm @ 9.5 kn. Normal
8,950 nm @ 6.5 kn. Maximum

S-42
2,510 nm @ 8.1 kn. Normal
10,000 nm @ 6.5 kn. Maximum

I tweaked the Sim.cfg file values. Mainly, lowering the thermal layer attenuation values. People have been saying that the thermal layer offers almost a cloak of invisibility, and looking at the figures, I could see why that might be the case. I put in a spare file with the old v 2.0 values, in case people want to use those.

I tried to do a quick test of the turning/constant helming issue, but the game didn't cooperate. I put two lone merchants on a straight course (one ~ 10 mi. behind the other so I could test them separately. I fire torpedoes in front and tracked their movements. Instead of doing the constant helming thing, they turned to the track, kept turning and basically reversed course. This was not due to anything in my mod, as this was a control test with RFB + RSRDC alone. Maybe I'll try again, later. I went back and checked the mission, and these were 'veteran' merchants. That may make a difference.

Perhaps people who use the mod can get some data on this in the coming weeks.



Happy Hunting!

- TorpX