Surfaced Sonar

[pdiddy]

I thought this mod RSRDC_Fixed_CD_sonar.rar fixed this problem. (If not, does anybody know what it does?)

I have not encountered any "silent" ships since installing - of course I may have just not encountered any ships going half-speed.

[TorpX]

Originally Posted by pdiddy

I thought this mod RSRDC_Fixed_CD_sonar.rar fixed this problem. (If not, does anybody know what it does?)

It fixes the sensors of the IJN coast defense ships; meaning they can now properly hear you. It doesn't change your sensors.

[TorpX]

Originally Posted by suitednate

Yeah that's the one I changed and still the hydrophones won't work while surfaced.

I didn't think of this before, but what model of boat are you playing?

The S-class has never had a surface hydrophone ability (and shouldn't). The sonar nodes may be located in a different place in the 3d model, rendering your changes inoperative.

[suitednate]

Originally Posted by TorpX

I didn't think of this before, but what model of boat are you playing?

The S-class has never had a surface hydrophone ability (and shouldn't). The sonar nodes may be located in a different place in the 3d model, rendering your changes inoperative.

I have been using everything BUT the S boats. Been in a Salmon, Gato, Balao, etc.

[suitednate]

Originally Posted by TorpX

Just to review:

• 1. You disabled all mods
  2. You changed the RFB_2.0_Patch_23April2010 file
  3. There are no mods after this one that change that file

If you followed these criteria, I don't know why it wouldn't work. Even if the crew does not report contacts, you should still be able to hear them yourself, unless they are going too slow. You should certainly be able to hear your own screws, though.

Maybe this has to be done in port?

Followed all if that criteria, and I have made these changes while in port. I'm pretty sure you use RFB yourself. Have you made these changes? Do your hydrophones work on the surface?

[suitednate]

Originally Posted by CapnScurvy

There's a stock problem while manually (meaning, when you listen for the target screws) using the Hydrophone, under certain conditions you'll not hear the target. I found that when the target's Maximum Speed is set in its xxx.sim file, if the target is programed to travel at or less than half its MaxSpeed.....you won't hear it. Your hydrophone crewman will report it, but you won't hear a thing. For instance, RSRDC has all its ship routes with multiple waypoints (hundreds of waypoints over stock), Lurker has each waypoint changing the targets speed (sounded good at the time) to confuse the enemy. However, if the targets speed drops just below half the Max rated speed.....you can't hear it.

I'm suspecting RFB fooled around with those routes as well.



Well, you won't hear your own engines. The sensor .sim file for the hydrophone doesn't allow for you to hear to the rear of the sub. It's blocked out by design.

============

Follow what TorpX has written regarding changing the RFB_2.0_Patch_23April2010 file. If that's the last mod in your activation list.......that's the files you need to change.

So are you saying I would be able to hear other ships while using the hydrophones on the surface? Just not my own engines? Because I certainly hear my own engines when I'm submerged and train the dial to 180.

[TorpX]

Originally Posted by suitednate

Followed all if that criteria, and I have made these changes while in port. I'm pretty sure you use RFB yourself. Have you made these changes? Do your hydrophones work on the surface?

I do use RFB, RSRDC and all, but I am playing an S-class boat, so I haven't made any sonar-related changes to any files. The S-class have never had surface sonar capability.

I am at a loss to figure out what you should do at this point.

[suitednate]

Originally Posted by TorpX

I do use RFB, RSRDC and all, but I am playing an S-class boat, so I haven't made any sonar-related changes to any files. The S-class have never had surface sonar capability.

I am at a loss to figure out what you should do at this point.

Well if you do any patrols in any other boats please let me know the result. Thanks.

[Sniper297]

I'm not using anything but my own mods at this point, which makes no changes to the original Sensors_sub_US.sim from 2007. In a Sargo I can hear my own screws on the surface from 170 to 190, also any ship moving faster than 5 knots or so.

[CapnScurvy]

Originally Posted by suitednate

So are you saying I would be able to hear other ships while using the hydrophones on the surface? Just not my own engines? Because I certainly hear my own engines when I'm submerged and train the dial to 180.

If your playing just stock, you should be able to hear targets while on the surface, with certain later class subs. As long as the target ship doesn't travel at or below half its rated MaxSpeed. However, the S-Class and early Porpoise, Sargo/Salmon boats will need to submerge to have the Hydrophone's to work. That's because the sensor is set on top of the deck with these early class Hydrophone's.

One other wrinkle that gets into the mix is that the stock game has the Hydrophone and Sonar switched between the two. It's unfortunate, but the stock game has the Hydrophone linked to the Sonar parameters, the Sonar is linked to the Hydrophone parameters. That's why you can hear your own engines......even though the stock parameters for the Hydrophone state otherwise. Oh, if only the average player knew what a mess this game is!! Eye candy.......we got a boat load. Quality control.......not so much!

Originally Posted by Sniper297

I'm not using anything but my own mods at this point, which makes no changes to the original Sensors_sub_US.sim from 2007. In a Sargo I can hear my own screws on the surface from 170 to 190, also any ship moving faster than 5 knots or so.

What I already stated. The Hydrophone is linked to the Sonar parameters, the Sonar is linked to the Hydrophone parameters. The two are different in their bearing sweep parameters.

You say you can hear "any ship moving faster than 5 knots...." is only because the MaxSpeed set for that ship is greater than 10 knots.....say 11 knots or greater.

From what I've seen within the stock mission/campaign .mis files is that most/all merchant ships travel at about 8 to 9 knots between waypoints. That just about covers all the target MaxSpeed possibilities within the game. Passenger ships usually travel faster, but their MaxSpeed is usually set greater too.

It's my impression that warship's are set differently. Even though they have MaxSpeed figures set high (some at 30 -35 knots)....... if their linked as "escorts", they become part of the convoy's overall speed rating in the .mis file. It's also possible that warship's are not a part of this "half its rated MaxSpeed" modifier. There are differences between the "ClassType" of ships available in the game. That's why there's a "ClassType=" parameter in the xxx.cfg file for each ship. It's my opinion, there's some set of coded parameters that are specific to that particular "Type" of ship. Just like there are differences between the AI aircraft in-game.

Why do you suppose the "ClassType=302" aircraft act's like a dive bomber when it nears an enemy target? That coded behavior of diving onto an enemy target (unlike any other aircraft) is not within the aircraft's files we have access to. Yet, the game has that particular "ClassType" do its thing every time it's called upon to preform. The torpedo bomber does its attack differently, do does the level bomber, yet there's no place in the files that distinguishes this behavior from one another, except for the difference of "ClassType". We just don't have access to ALL information that goes into making up the game.......UbiSoft has to keep some things to themselves!

[Sniper297]

"early Porpoise, Sargo/Salmon boats will need to submerge to have the Hydrophone's to work. That's because the sensor is set on top of the deck with these early class Hydrophone's."

In game they're similar to real life, one rotating T shaped hydrophone on deck, two domes under the forward torpedo room which DO work on the surface same as any other surface ship with sound heads under the keel.

Historical note, some S class boats also had sound heads under the keel since the S boats were the ones used for early sonar experiments back in the 1920s. The JP sonar (the rotating T on deck) was not used on the surface for obvious reasons, but the lower sound heads were. There was originally a separate sonar station in the forward torpedo room for the lower sound heads, and the two different types of sonar had different ranges and accuracy - this is not modeled in game because, as you say, we got eye candy instead of simulation.

[TorpX]

Originally Posted by suitednate

Well if you do any patrols in any other boats please let me know the result. Thanks.

I won't be able to help you. As I said, I haven't made any changes to the sonar/hydrophone files. Iow, I use the unaltered RFB files. I don't really consider the matter worth the trouble to try and fix it. Sound aspects of the game have always been weak, and I try not to depend on them too much. The hard-coded flaws in the game make fixing most of these things impossible. I came to this conclusion, when I first started playing SH4, and found I was able to "hear" ships on the other side of an island.

[merc4ulfate]

UNINSTALL GAME
REBOOT
CHECK REGISTRY TO MAKE SURE ALL ENTRIES ARE GONE
REBOOT
REINSTALL GAME (on a drive other than your system drive if possible and do not install in PROGRAM FOLDER OR FILES)
REBOOT
INSTALL JSGME
REBOOT
INSTALL MODS
REBOOT

Your problem will no longer be there