DicheBach Questions

[DicheBach]

Originally Posted by Bleiente

Moin, Moin...

Do you mean now the "realism" settings of SH4 or the level of the AI in the modpacks?

I myself prefer/play on 90% ... thus with external view and map contacts.
But everyone has their own preferences and can do what he likes.

I mean when you start a career, you pick one of the "difficulty" levels. I first played on Hard but started a career on "Realistic" (which I think is labeled "Very Hard" in the game Options window which only seems to affect missions).

I agree: external camera and map contacts on is I think my sweet spot.

You have to go to the radio at the beginning of the campaign in the office on the left.
There you have to make your desired settings.
This is unfortunately something unhappy with SH4...

You have to set it up at the commandant's office, where you can equip your boat at the beginning.
To do this, on the left of the desk on the board is a radio... click on it and make the desired realism settings again.

[torpedobait]

Originally Posted by Bleiente

Set the background color of the forum to admiral blue ... then the spook is over.

Is an April joke by Uncle Neal...

Thanks. Obviously I didn't get it. Now that I'm retired almost 3 years I find it hard to keep up with the calendar!

[DicheBach]

Can anyone explain to me what this gadget is called, so I can maybe find the directions for how to use it?



Been "away" from SH4 for a long time. Refired it up last night and realized I had forgotten almost EVERYTHING I had learned about how to play with all the realism-adding mods I have and at say 85 Realism.

I cannot figure out what this thing is called nor what mod it comes from.

My mod list:

[Fifi]

It’s called the Nomograph.
Drawing a line from whatever Knots to whatever minutes it gives you the distance travelled.

[DicheBach]

Ah! A LINE!

Thanks!

ADDIT: so let me make sure I got this right. I'm following along with Cap'n Scurvy's fantastic "High Realism Tutorial. pdf" which if included in one of these mods, and got to the point where you estimate speed, and it would seem the nomograph is perfect at that point?

Got a true bearing to target and distance and plotted it, ran chronometer for 2m 58s and then rechecked range and true bearing: measured distance between first plot point and second = 500 (yards I suppose it is).

Then I took my ruler and drew that line from just less than 3 on the far right "time in minutes" through 500 and thence on to 5.25 knots.



Correct?

[Fifi]

[DicheBach]

Merci!

I think I've _pretty much_ regained my previous skill level . . . well 75 or 80% of it. That last 25 or 20% of "polish" on the skills will take many hours of play.

[DicheBach]

It is May '42. I graduated out of my S-class and into a Salmon and headed to Rabaul harbor, one of my favorite "haunts" for sniping motionless IJN ships. As usual there is a monitor in the outer harbor (and new to me, maybe the mod setup I'm using, ALSO one in the inner harbor).

In the past I had found I could slip past the outer guy by hugging the southwest shore and keeping it slow and quiet. This time I figured I'd try something different.

So I spent a good 2 to 4 hours in game time (and probably an hour in real life) crawling along across the deep part of the outer harbor from NE to SW ish and using my sonar ray marker to plot approximately where he was every couple minutes. This was only mildly tedious at 8 TC speed.

This is what I came up with


Having now positioned myself at the point in the shallows just east of the small promontory on the south shore (there is a circle and some lines there) to setup a shot at him with an Mk 14 (or 8 . . .) I've watched him do a full lap at least 5 times and he never deviates from it.

It may be the exact coordinates of his route are not identical each time, it is impossible to say with certainty just based on any available in-game information, but he is DEFINITELY sticking to one route.

This is the downside of learning C++ and a bit about how games work !

You realize how challenging it is to create bug-proof ANYTHING, and so how the best "solution" to creating the illusion of "intelligent" computer opponents is often to "cheat!"

[DicheBach]

I'm well aware of the real life historical problems of the Mk 14 brand torpedo, and that the vanilla game as well as mods (my own list of mods is up above there) models these flaws in the torpedo.

However, I have now consistently seen something in the course of about 4 different sessions (May 42 ish in game).

For at least 18 maybe 24 torpedoes in a row, every single torpedo veers hard to port (relative to its own nose). This is after I have methodically setup shots (generally against stationary targets, but some against the moving target in the previous post).

Does that sound like a problem in the actual software or my mod settings maybe?

My understanding of the causes of the erratic circular runs in the torps were that it had to do with deficiencies in the design/quality/manufacturing of the gyros that correct for the course after the torp completes its ~200 yard exit phase, the torp would attempt to turn to correct itself and get on its proper "heading to target phase" and then junk would jam up and it would stay in that turn. But 24 torps in a row all with the exact same malfunction!?

Is it possible that I'm somehow inputting my TDC stuff in such an incredibly reverse fashion that the data are "telling" those torps to all turn hard (like 30-degrees hard) to port!? I find that hard to conceive.

I had no such problem with the Mk 10s in the S boat, my torps went where I aimed them, so I don't think that is a reasonable explanation given I'm using largely the same procedures to launch these Mk 14s on their merry way.

I'm very conflicted about this from a gameplay standpoint. On the one hand, I appreciate the "realistic" modeling of historical challenges faced by USN submariners. It is incredibly annoying to spend an hour or so setting up the "perfect stealth kill" and then watch as 4 torpedoes in a row head off toward Timbuktu, apparently possessed by the Ghost of Penguins Past . . . so it must have been REALLY! annoying, like hopping-made ANNOYING! for the poor fellers on those boats . . . I'm surprised there were no murders much less fist fights when some of the field commanders/crew confronted some of the intractable, self-important HQ brass on these torps . . .

So: modeling it is cool.

From a game play standpoint, the prospect of starting at beginning of war and trying to make it all the way through is intriguing.

However, from a game play standpoint, it honestly feels like I'm wasting my precious play time spending hours going to locations to set up attacks then watching my torps behave in what I would think are even MORE absurdbly erratic manner than they did in actual reality. I mean come on: 18 to 24 torps in a ROW all veer hard to port!?

Any thoughts, suggestions, ideas, or heckles?

[propbeanie]

It looks like you have a proper activation order for Ralles Mod Pack. There have been others that have posted about the issue:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...67#post2577267

Don't forget about the v1.3 update, if you hadn't done that:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...80#post2394280

Sometimes the torp mods will affect things, other times not. I was looking for Bleiente's post where he mentions turning down the errors a pinch for the next version, but only for the gyro - but I might not be remembering it correctly, since I couldn't find that post in his Mod Pack thread...

[DicheBach]

Thanks Prop! I posted in Bleinte's thread to see what up.

[propbeanie]

He was keelhauled, and won't be able to reply here. A few posts above yours is one with a link to his Facebook page. He did have plans for another update, but probably hasn't had time to do much on it just yet.

[DicheBach]

He seriously was banned!?

[DicheBach]

Here is a new question.

I stumbled through a wikipedia browsing session and wound up reading this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torpedo_net

Seems like these things were not "uncommon" during the peak of WWII, eh?

So why none in SH4? Does SH5 have them?