New bearing overlay REQUEST tool for those who Navigate Manually

[dertien]

Hello Everyone

I have started to sail SH3 the hard way, not using the waypoint tool anymore, but doing 'sextant' sightings if the weather permits in the morning and at dawn, and I update my position manually. This is superb in points of realistic navigation, but my dear Bearing Overlay, which I used to calculate a target's speed, was updated with a transparent one that didn't give the position of my u-boat away on the map.

Since I found the stock ruler that came with SH3 too inaccurate to use with Wazoo's excellent 3'.15'' targeting method, I kitbashed something myself, using Jiim's or Wazoo's ruler mod compass.

The result is the Precise Range Ruler or PRR for short.

I made Jiim's ruler somewhat bigger, about 350 px, added some range rings in the middle being 0, 50m, 100m, 150m, 200m and 250 meters.
This looks like this



Ingame it looks nicely transparent, now how does it work.

This mod provides three tools:

-The advanced ruler (Jiim's or wazoo's) you'll find it on the navmap (F5) by clicking the ? and then the

-The same advanced ruler when clicking the

-Finally My PRR tool when clicking the

Now how does it work ?

Using Wazoo's manual targeting tutorial in short this is what you do to get a target's speed:

[ CORRECTED BELOW 1) IMPORTANT: you must BE at a dead stop or going 1 knot (no engines running).]
1) You must NOT be at dead stop, you simply put a mark of the u-boats estimated position on the map after 3'15'' and you draw your bearing line to the target from there, instead from the same mark when at dead stop. Thank you Johnnyblaze for this info.
2) Using the stadimeter in the periscope write down (yes! on a piece of paper!) the range and the bearing of the target followed immediately by a click on the chronometer./ Do this again after 3'15'' and write down the range and bearing of the target again.

Now calculating target speed:

3)Go to your navmap choose a zoomrange and stick to it !!!

If you're going to use the PRR to mark down 1250 meters, in 5 consecutive steps of 250 meters, you'd better not zoom out on the map during your second markings when the target range is 1750 meters.

Now simply take your time (really there's no rush) use the line tool to draw Bearing 1 and then the compass tool to draw Bearing 2 on the navmap. I don't use twice the same ruler, because they 'interfere' with each other if you want to draw on the initial point a second time. Using two different tools avoids that.

Last but not least, use the PRR to mark down in steps of 50/100/150/200/250 the first and second range on both bearing lines using the same zoomrange, I can't stress that enough.

Connect your last two markings with a line and measure it again with the PRR range circles, making marks as you go. The lenght of your line is the target's speed in knots. Observing a target going 800 m during 3'15'' will give you a speed of 8 knots, 850 m = 8.5 knots and so on. Try it, it works and even on very far targets !

Enough ranting, here's the mod

http://files.filefront.com//;6469251;;/

[JohnnyBlaze]

Would be so cool to have this in the game

[dertien]

Ok i've been constructing some "protractor" tools and mods this afternoon, but couldn't come up with a decent solution, so I added the LineExt.dat tool that is already there to the CompassExt.dat so that I have two 'compasses' to draw with.

so pressing either of those




will get me twice the same instrument:

Why would I want twice the same instrument on two different buttons would you say: here's the answer:

If you plot the speed of a target using Wazoo's excellent method found found here
you will notice that when trying to draw the second leg after your 3'15'' sighting you drag your initial point off place, and you can start over again.

Since I got rid of the 1500m bearing overlay that normally gave away my position with manual navigation, I needed the first drawing to stay on the map, while I draw the second one. So I use one of both tools to draw the first sighting, and the other tool for the second sighting after 3'15'', and voila, they do not interfere with each other and I can get as accurate as I wish.

I might have found a way to more or less accurately measure the distance. I'll be back later with the result.

Keeping you Manual Navigators posted

[Notewire]

By the way, how did you get rid of the 1500 m bearing overlay, I am sure there is a simple method, but I haven't been able to figure it out!!!

Thanks in advance,
Notewire

[JohnnyBlaze]

You can make it transparent with a program callem GIMP 2 or something like that

[dertien]

Originally Posted by Notewire

By the way, how did you get rid of the 1500 m bearing overlay, I am sure there is a simple method, but I haven't been able to figure it out!!!

Thanks in advance,
Notewire

you can get the tranparent file here : http://files.filefront.com/NSS_Uboat.../fileinfo.html

change the shipname in the submarines folder to your appropriate boat

enjoy

[JohnnyBlaze]

I've never actually had a problem with interfening marks because I always plot my intercept on the move.
I calculate my position from mark 1 to mark 2 3.15 minutes ago, mark 3 6.30minutes ago and so on. And then I plot my targets position from every position marked down.

But that tool looks cool im definitely going to try it out when I get some playing time.

[dertien]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBlaze

I've never actually had a problem with interfening marks because I always plot my intercept on the move.
I calculate my position from mark 1 to mark 2 3.15 minutes ago, mark 3 6.30minutes ago and so on. And then I plot my targets position from every position marked down.

But that tool looks cool im definitely going to try it out when I get some playing time.

Could you possibly explain in a little more detail how your method works ?
thx

[JohnnyBlaze]

Well when you plot an intercept course you dont actually have to know where you are at the moment. Just where the target is relatively to you.

I usually observe targets at 2knots speed decks awash if on the surface.
I make all the intercept markings on the middle of the ocean. I select a position which indicates my position at the start of the plottin. The 0.00 mark. Then before I start making observations about my target I mark my second position (where I would be 3.15 minutes after) mark on the map using the speed charts. And the third position (6.30 mark) and fourth (9.45).
Now I can plot my course on the move. Ofcouse I could be going alot faster, but then my plotting wouldnt probably be as accurate.

I hope this clears up the method I use. Not sure I can explain it in anymore detail than this :hmm:

Sure I can try if you have any questions

[heartc]

Wow. This developement caught me totally off-guard. Last time I checked, it was not possible for some reason to make the sub-icon disappear on the nav map. Now I've read about it twice, the first time thinking I must have misunderstood when someone mentioned it.
Thanks a lot dertien for providing the invisible sub icon here, now I can't see it I can see it's true lol. I used to print out the in-game patrol charts back in SHI and do manual navigation, it was great fun! Printing out was easy though since the PTO in SHI was divided up in several single maps and some people over at Subsowespac, namely George Southrey, already did plenty of the required research.

Check this site for nostalgia: http://www.subsowespac.org/tactics/navigation.shtml

Printing out proper maps for SHIII would mean a lot more hassle I think, but now with the sub icon gone we have all the tools neccessary.

BTW, I'm still on Vanilla SHIII and still unsure about installing GWX or NYGM. Do you know whether they both feature more readable gauges (mainly compass), which would be mandatory for manual navigation, or would I have to d/l those seperately anyway?

[heartc]

BTW, how dou you take "star sightings" in SHIII? In SHI you would - under favourable weather conditions at night - allow yourself to check the zoomed in in-game map and move the cursor over your sub which would then pop-up her coordinates. How do you do it in SHIII with your setup? Select the plotting option which would reveal the position of the sub from where it originates?

[dertien]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBlaze

Well when you plot an intercept course you dont actually have to know where you are at the moment. Just where the target is relatively to you.

I usually observe targets at 2knots speed decks awash if on the surface.
I make all the intercept markings on the middle of the ocean. I select a position which indicates my position at the start of the plottin. The 0.00 mark. Then before I start making observations about my target I mark my second position (where I would be 3.15 minutes after) mark on the map using the speed charts. And the third position (6.30 mark) and fourth (9.45).
Now I can plot my course on the move. Ofcouse I could be going alot faster, but then my plotting wouldnt probably be as accurate.

I hope this clears up the method I use. Not sure I can explain it in anymore detail than this :hmm:

Sure I can try if you have any questions

Ok yes, I think I get a clear view of your method now, This means that you can for example follow a parallel course with your target and keep up (more or less) with it (and possibly revealing your position to escorts) cool feature. It's obvious that if you make 3 calculations, it's possible to get an accurate average by adding them all up and dividing that number by 3, thus getting even more accurate.

My method above uses the same rule: you don't need the Nil point that was provided on the 1500 m Bearing overlay from Pato or Redwine. You just need to be able to mark a spot on the map and use the charts and measure distances accurately using the PRR.
Will try your method from now on.

Thanks for pointing my in the right direction

cheers

[Corsair]

Heartc :
"BTW, how dou you take "star sightings" in SHIII? In SHI you would - under favourable weather conditions at night - allow yourself to check the zoomed in in-game map and move the cursor over your sub which would then pop-up her coordinates. How do you do it in SHIII with your setup? Select the plotting option which would reveal the position of the sub from where it originates?"

You make a Ctrl-click which will bring the sub's position at your cursor spot. You can then make a mark...

P.S. : All people interested by this type of navigation : load the transparent file (location in this thread) and have a look in You Tube for the demo under "Dantenoc's Hardcore Navigation in SH3" The only difference is that he allows sun fixes instead of star fixes, but you can decide to use both, which gives you a fix at sunrise, at 12h00, at sundown and at midnight. (Providing the sky is not covered... if it is you have to make an estimate of your speed/heading) Remember the scene in "Das Boot" : "It's been 14 days since we could make a sun measurement, I had to compute"

[heartc]

Vielen Dank Corsair!

[dertien]

Originally Posted by heartc

Wow. This developement caught me totally off-guard. Last time I checked, it was not possible for some reason to make the sub-icon disappear on the nav map. Now I've read about it twice, the first time thinking I must have misunderstood when someone mentioned it.
Thanks a lot dertien for providing the invisible sub icon here, now I can't see it I can see it's true lol. I used to print out the in-game patrol charts back in SHI and do manual navigation, it was great fun! Printing out was easy though since the PTO in SHI was divided up in several single maps and some people over at Subsowespac, namely George Southrey, already did plenty of the required research.

Check this site for nostalgia: http://www.subsowespac.org/tactics/navigation.shtml

Printing out proper maps for SHIII would mean a lot more hassle I think, but now with the sub icon gone we have all the tools neccessary.

BTW, I'm still on Vanilla SHIII and still unsure about installing GWX or NYGM. Do you know whether they both feature more readable gauges (mainly compass), which would be mandatory for manual navigation, or would I have to d/l those seperately anyway?

Hello Heartc and thanks for the interest in my mod. There is a thread about using real (off computer) nav maps for Navigating in SH 3. You can find that here
Seth has been running some tests for underwater navigation, using waypoints and a stopwatch. You can read about his that tread. The map in SH3 doesn't seem to be too accurate, but real navigation is possible.

AFAIK, you don't really need extra gauges for precise navigation in SH3. The only thing you will need is the precision periscope mod, the heading to view shortcut key and the "knots vs kilometers per hour" charts, so you can plot out the position on the charts. The mod provided here is not for manual navigation, but for measuring short distances if you want to plot the speed of a target you are shadowing.

I myself use GWX. The speed charts are provided with GWX, and I added the large dials myself although they are not necessary as long as you have precision periscope mod installed and use the periscope or uzo to navigate using the "heading to view" key. Have a look at the Quick Reference Card to find out which key that is.

Peronally, if you're still running vanilla SH3, I would recommend moving on to one of the 2 mods, NYGM and GWX are both superb mods. I chose GWX because of the campaign enhancements and the historical accuracy of some of their sea battles. NYGM is just as great but, its just different. Read both mods FAQ's and manuals, and make a choice, you won't regret it, regardless of what you choose.

This mod will in no way scroo up your vanilla installation neither will it do that to NYGM nor GWX.

A link to the mods I use can be found in this thread