The S18 is just like all of the boats, as far as game play settings go. There are two Options menus in the game. The one on the Main Menu is for the Quick Missions, Quick Patrols, and Multi-Player. Once you go into a Career, you are under the influence of another "Options" menu, which is found after you choose your start and your boat, you get your boat assignment and then end up in the Captain's Office on-base, behind the desk. If you look to your left, on top of the cabinets is a wooden radio. Click on that, and you can change the Game Play Options there, which are the ones that follow you out on patrol. If you click on the sub model on the desk, you can alter the crew, onboard gear, and the torpedoes, which usually will cost you renown points to do. If you click on the telephone on the desk, you can transfer to another base, if any are available. There are several other "hotspots" in the room.
It sounds like your "map contacts" question is about group reports. In the Stock game, when you see those blue and red square box icons with a tail on it, those are usually "reports from the field", and are not something that your crew saw. The icons will usually hang around for an hour or two, then fade away. If you click on them, they'll give you the time of the report, the direction and speed at that time. If that's not what you're talking about, I'm sorry. Try to describe again what you meant.
How close do you have to be to get yards then? Inside of 5 nm?...
