General Quarters, General Quarters

[thegrindre]

Hi all,
Does sounding General Quarters give any advantage to my sub or is it just 'game candy'? Does GQ do anything, really?

[razark]

It mans all compartments fully. If you go to the crew management screen, you'll see the effectiveness bars increase and all three shifts highlighted. In addition, the deck gun, AA gun, and damage control crews will be activated automatically (if you have crew assigned to these positions).

I'm not sure exactly what effect it has in all compartments, but torpedoes will be reloaded faster.

[Padi Muffdiver]

Faster loading torpedoes is the most noticeable things along with all stations being manned. I suspect you then benefit from special skills that might have been "asleep" also.
I sometimes use it to make sure I don't get a real inconvenient change of watch when I'm firing on aircraft. Taking time to re-man the guns could cost you.

Use it judiciously though -- you can fatigue your entire crew if you're not careful.

[TorpX]

If you are using ISP, GQ is needed to get you 100% of 'flank' speed. Not sure if it is the same with other mods.

[thegrindre]

OK, thanks. It's nice to have that working. Makes for a little more realism in the sim.

I'm only using Webster's GFO but modding it immensely for my own personally use.

just be aware when you use it all stations stay manned and there are no shift changes to relieve tired crew so if left on too long all actions get slower and if forgotten about your crew will be simulated to "pass out" and you can find your engines just stop "for no reason" then all is fine when you turn off general quarters.

I didn't know ISP turns off flank speeds unless you are at GQ but you don't only use flank speed during battle and there are times you must speed to certain areas for other reasons like getting ahead of targets or getting to designated areas in time to find reported targets in the area and you don't need or want to be at GQ all the time in order to do those things so for that reason I wouldn't call that feature being realistic at all. GQ should be used for short periods of time and only when engaged with the enemy.

[Sniper297]

My most common mistake, forgetting to secure from GQ after it's over. The main thing I use it for is faster torpedo reloads, usually only when I get a task force or big convoy where I have more targets than tubes to fire from, and will need a speedy reload for the tactical situation. With many capitol ships I try to slow or stop them rather than sinking, so I have time to reload and finish them off. One or two fish per carrier, two or three per battleship, then go deep and wait for the reload before coming back to periscope depth.

Obviously depends on the situation, I see the Yamato and I fire all tubes at her and forget any other targets.

it also speeds up damage control

[TorpX]

Originally Posted by Webster

I didn't know ISP turns off flank speeds unless you are at GQ ...

It doesn't actually turn off flank speed. You can go from full to flank and your speed will go up, but if you want the last iota of engine power (and speed), you need to be at GQ. It is a matter of compartment efficiency. You get a slight speed boost at GQ, something like .5 or maybe 1 knot. I never tabulated the difference.

Originally Posted by TorpX

It doesn't actually turn off flank speed. You can go from full to flank and your speed will go up, but if you want the last iota of engine power (and speed), you need to be at GQ. It is a matter of compartment efficiency. You get a slight speed boost at GQ, something like .5 or maybe 1 knot. I never tabulated the difference.

I didn't realize it but you sure have a lot going on in ISE other then just the environment changes

[TorpX]

Originally Posted by Webster

I didn't realize it but you sure have a lot going on in ISE other then just the environment changes[/INDENT]

I think you're confusing ISP, Improved Ship Physics, with ISE. I know nothing about ISE.

It isn't so much what I changed in the mod, as it is the way the game works. For most things, you don't see any difference with GQ, but with ISP and flank speed, the difference is more apparent.

BTW, propulsion, acceleration, and turning are the primary elements of ISP.