I need some action

[uniquemind]

I'm currently on my first Patrol after having been away from the game for a long time, but as the new Silent Hunter game is not that far away I decided to get back into it so I am ready for the new one, but although I am playing the GWX Mod (terrific btw) I am ending up patrolling my designated area for hours and hours without many enemies to go after, I know they are out there but I have my time compression set to 256 and find myself staring at the map watching my sub (the tiny circle) going back a forth for hours without anything.

When contacts do appear they are usually a fair distance away and if I use the time compression to reach them, buy the time I am there, they are gone. What is the best and quickest way to get to them? if I set time compression to 1 it would take an age to get there, I know this is a Sim and so appreciate that, but can someone please help me to get some action in my Career, I was told to patrol AM18 near the Rockall Bank, and I have since having completed that 24 hour patrol gone elsewhere looking for shipping, but nothing at all there, just endless hours patrolling with nothing to show for it, having said that I have sunk 3 merchants, but now its been ages with nothing, and I am considering starting over, as maybe I am not setting things up right in the Commander Program, I just need some advice on how to get some action.

I know I can do the single missions etc......but I am wanting to play a really good and enthralling Campaign, but as it stands I am finding it so slow going

Any help and advice appreciated :)

Many thanks

UM on board the U-100

[Linavitch]

On you F5 screen in the top right hand corner you can pull down the shipping route map that came with game. Then just find those shipping lanes and Bingo!. You'll be out of eels and back to base in a week.

From AM18 head eastwards IIRC to Am51/52(53 if you brave enough) You should find some action there.

[leeclose]

TRy the North of Ireland and the South of ireland 2 heavyily used convoy and single ship routes there just watch pout for air cover:up:

[uniquemind]

Hi guys,

Thanks I'll try that, I just went back into the game and found the map you speak about, I never knew it was there! I'd be no good as a lookout! :oops:

As it stands I only have 4 Torpedoes left, wasted a few :oops:

Does the Base call you back once your out of torpedoes? or do you have to send a report first for that to happen?

Many thanks for the help

UM onboard the U-100

[leeclose]

As it stands I only have 4 Torpedoes left, wasted a few :oops:
Does the Base call you back once your out of torpedoes? or do you have to send a report first for that to happen?

No mate they will let you sail round like a pilchard basically soon as your out head back to base or hit one of the miilk cows:up:

[Captain Nemo]

When contacts do appear they are usually a fair distance away and if I use the time compression to reach them, buy the time I am there, they are gone. What is the best and quickest way to get to them?

The best way to intercept a contact is to plot an intercept course. The way I do this is to use the ruler to draw a line from the contact in the direction it is travelling. I then place a waypoint on that line and note the time it will take my sub to get there at a given speed. From this I work out how far the contact would have travelled in that time using the compass tool and adjust speed/course accordingly so that we more or less will get to that point at the same time. If the contact is travelling slow this means an average speed of 6 knots, if its travelling at medium speed thats an average of 9 knots. I find this method suits me and in my experience has a high success rate. But don't forget that you will need to convert nautical miles to kilometres to work out how far the contact has travelled using the compass.

Nemo

[uniquemind]

Cheers mate! :D

In previous Campaigns I was just sailing around like an idiot thinking they would call me back, so I was waiting for each radio message and of course nothing came! :lol:

You mention Milk Cows? sorry not very familiar with that, not a hardened player of the SH games :oops:

Sorry, but to recap one piece of my original post, but if I get a ship icon on the map but no verbal acknowledgement of it, how do I reach it with the time compression, as when I have tried that by the time I get there the ship has gone......only if I use the 1 speed it would take ages to reach it :-?

Thanks again :D

[uniquemind]

Sorry scrub that bit about the reaching ships with tc, just saw Captain Nemos post

Apologies :D

UM onboard the U-100

Oh dear my maths has never been a strong point or any point actually, so I think I will fail if I have to do that......ouch! :)

[leeclose]

Are you using GWX if so there is the bessel she is at Vigo in cg23 shes there for awile i cant remmbere from until when but its a good while. basically you pull up side her hit esc exit patrol undock from her and hey presto refuelled and fully loaded.:up:

[uniquemind]

Yes I'm using GWX, and will have a look at that, better be my next task actually, can't do too much with only two torps left! :D thought I had four but no its two :)

Many thanks :up:

UM onboard the U-100

[Captain Nemo]

Oh dear my maths has never been a strong point or any point actually, so I think I will fail if I have to do that......ouch! :)

Not as difficult as it sounds. I made myself a table that shows nautical miles converted to kilometres (1 nautical mile = 1.852 kilometres) so that bits easy. If the contact is travelling slow at around 6 knots and the contact report is timed at 1800hrs and the waypoint shows that you will reach the intersection in two hours, from this you know that in two hours the contact would have travelled approximately 12 nautical miles which converted to kilometres is 22.2 kilometres. Once you know where the contact will be in two hours you can adjust your course or speed so that you don't miss the contact and intercept it in good time. Of course if the contact is a very long way off, then you need to make a judgement whether the contact is worth chasing or not.

Nemo

[leeclose]

Nemo i'm glad you can work it out hehehehe:up:

[uniquemind]

Hi Captain Nemo,

That's easy for you to say! :lol: I meant that in the nicest possible way :) its just that I am incredibly daft where maths and numbers are concerned, would you know if there are any tools on the Internet that might help me in attempting to do this

Thanks for trying to help me though :)

I'm trying to take it in and in about a years time it might sink in :oops::)

The only way I have been doing it is literally guessing, and to be fair it worked once! but since then nothing, maybe the AI knows that I am hopeless and so goes along its route without worrying :lol: 2+2 is about as far as I can go, well maybe a bit better than that :oops::lol:

UM onboard the U-100

[Captain Nemo]

Hi Captain Nemo,

That's easy for you to say! :lol: I meant that in the nicest possible way :) its just that I am incredibly daft where maths and numbers are concerned, would you know if there are any tools on the Internet that might help me in attempting to do this

Thanks for trying to help me though :)

I'm trying to take it in and in about a years time it might sink in :oops::)

The only way I have been doing it is literally guessing, and to be fair it worked once! but since then nothing, maybe the AI knows that I am hopeless and so goes along its route without worrying :lol: 2+2 is about as far as I can go, well maybe a bit better than that :oops::lol:

UM onboard the U-100

I agree its not always easy to explain something in writing without actually being able to physically show someone how to do it. There are plenty of calculators on the internet that can convert nautical miles to kilometres. The waypoint system in SHIII automatically calculates the distance and time it will take for your u-boat to reach that waypoint at the current speed you are travelling and it is this figure I use to calculate how far the contact would have travelled in the same time. As mentioned earlier, if the contact is a long way off you need to decide whether or not its worth chasing.

Nemo

[Kumando]

I'm currently on my first Patrol after having been away from the game for a long time, but as the new Silent Hunter game is not that far away I decided to get back into it so I am ready for the new one, but although I am playing the GWX Mod (terrific btw) I am ending up patrolling my designated area for hours and hours without many enemies to go after, I know they are out there but I have my time compression set to 256 and find myself staring at the map watching my sub (the tiny circle) going back a forth for hours without anything.

When contacts do appear they are usually a fair distance away and if I use the time compression to reach them, buy the time I am there, they are gone. What is the best and quickest way to get to them? if I set time compression to 1 it would take an age to get there, I know this is a Sim and so appreciate that, but can someone please help me to get some action in my Career, I was told to patrol AM18 near the Rockall Bank, and I have since having completed that 24 hour patrol gone elsewhere looking for shipping, but nothing at all there, just endless hours patrolling with nothing to show for it, having said that I have sunk 3 merchants, but now its been ages with nothing, and I am considering starting over, as maybe I am not setting things up right in the Commander Program, I just need some advice on how to get some action.

I know I can do the single missions etc......but I am wanting to play a really good and enthralling Campaign, but as it stands I am finding it so slow going

Any help and advice appreciated :)

Many thanks

UM on board the U-100

Thats the main reason that got me to start playing with manual navigation i mean viewing your sub icon traveling all that time back and forth and not happening any real action is plain boring, and with manual nav theres always a certain incertainty of where you are and adds an extra task to do by fixing your position at the right times. You shoyld check my thread of manual navigation :up: .

[uniquemind]

Ok thanks Nemo, I'll have to find a calculator somewhere on the Net and see if I can somehow figure it out pardon the pun :lol:

At present I was going after a Convoy, using my guessing method and of course it failed :oops: but never say die, I'll keep trying :)


UM onboard the U-100 :D

[leeclose]

I did pretty intresting stuff:up:

[uniquemind]

Hi Kumando,

I'll check it out thank you :up:

I know it must have been very tedious for the really Subs Crews during WW2, I have seen Das Boot and own it on DVD and saw how they had to spend alot of time just waiting, I could'nt have stood that, heaven knows how they did, heroes all of them, but indeed I'll find your thread, thanks mate :D


UM onboard the U-100 :D

[leeclose]

Its amazing how good you get at playing cards and chess at sea:up:

[uniquemind]

Yeah exactly! :lol: and by the time you got back, you'd be better than Kasparov! :lol:


UM onboard the U-100

[Zantham]

Hi Captain Nemo,

That's easy for you to say! :lol: I meant that in the nicest possible way :) its just that I am incredibly daft where maths and numbers are concerned, would you know if there are any tools on the Internet that might help me in attempting to do this

Thanks for trying to help me though :)

I'm trying to take it in and in about a years time it might sink in :oops::)

The only way I have been doing it is literally guessing, and to be fair it worked once! but since then nothing, maybe the AI knows that I am hopeless and so goes along its route without worrying :lol: 2+2 is about as far as I can go, well maybe a bit better than that :oops::lol:

UM onboard the U-100

I prefer using art over math for plotting intercepts:cool:. Personally I found using Claren and Danotec's intercept technique really easy to use, and best of all requires no math :D. You can find the instructions here on the community manual pages, about 1/3rd the way down.

http://www.communitymanuals.com/shiii/index.php?title=Intercepting_Targets

[Rykaird]

This is the easiest way I've found to plant myself in a target rich environment:

1. Open your nav map (F5).

2. Go to square AM51.

3. Get out your ruler tool, and start a line at the top left corner of AM51 (the north west corner).

4. Draw a line straight down (due south) for a length of 21km from that northwest corner.

5. Get out your three-point angle tool, and put the first point of the angle on the start of this line (the 0km point) and the second point at the 21km point.

6. Create an angle of 94 degrees heading off east all the way through AM51 and off to the eastern edge of AM52. Many ships transit through this corridor and will come right to you on this course.

7. Patrol this route, submerging frequently to do hydrophone checks. If you stay on this line near the eastern edge of AM52 (but stilll in deep water) you will also pick up contacts running south of the line.


You should pick up at least one ship a day, sometimes as many as three. You can literally sit submerged on this line in AM52 near the eastern edge and wait, like a spider waiting for a fly. This is not per the U-Boat Commander's Handbook, but it is easy to rack up some major GRT this way.

[Corsair]

If you just sail along at TC 256 and rely on your crew, you will miss a lot. By far the most targets I find are through regular hydrophone checks with my own ears when I am in shipping lanes.

[uniquemind]

Hi to all of you,

I will check all of these things out, many thanks as I need all the help I can get, take today for example, I started playing around 11 this morning and I just gave up on my last Career mainly due to frustration of my own making really, its now quarter to 7 in the evening and have had no enemies to take on in all that time :lol:

So in a moment I shall begin again, I am using the SH3 Commander Program version 2.7 and I am struggling to really understand and set up the tc settings for the best, I know they go from the higher the faster the lower the slowest, but what should I use for each given situation in the list?

No dis-respect to Captain Nemo here but to be brutally honest my relying on or trying to learn a certain degree of maths is for me pointless, as I'll never manage it, maths is my nemesis, sorry Captain Nemo, did'nt mean to waste your time :oops:

Thanks again guys

UM onboard the U-100

[leeclose]

Oh yeah and gameboys when they first came out they were a godsend:up:

[High Voltage]

I'm sorry, when I read your thread I thought you were looking for something else. If that is indeed the case, there is a bar in Paris called "Le gouffre". Ask for Jean-Pierre and tell him Kapitanleutnant Klaus Kohler from U-333 sent you; he will make sure you "get some action".

;)

[Rykaird]

Hi to all of you,

I will check all of these things out, many thanks as I need all the help I can get, take today for example, I started playing around 11 this morning and I just gave up on my last Career mainly due to frustration of my own making really, its now quarter to 7 in the evening and have had no enemies to take on in all that time :lol:

So in a moment I shall begin again, I am using the SH3 Commander Program version 2.7 and I am struggling to really understand and set up the tc settings for the best, I know they go from the higher the faster the lower the slowest, but what should I use for each given situation in the list?

No dis-respect to Captain Nemo here but to be brutally honest my relying on or trying to learn a certain degree of maths is for me pointless, as I'll never manage it, maths is my nemesis, sorry Captain Nemo, did'nt mean to waste your time :oops:

Thanks again guys

UM onboard the U-100

The TC defaults in the SH3 Commander list are fine. Remember that these are the max TCs allowed when a certain event occurs, not the TC you use while playing.

In other words, if you are cruising along at TC256, and your watch crew spots an airplane, you will automatically drop to a TC of 1. That way you have some prayer of responding. That has nothing to do with what TC you use while on patrol.

A for finding ships, just remember the old saying - you can't catch fish where the fish ain't. There's a lot of ocean and much of it is empty. In other words, go to AM51/AM52, or BF13, or AF78 - all known hot spots - and concentrate your patrols in there.

Use the pull down map to find single merchant routes and patrol them.

Numerous players post their patrol logs - in those logs you'll find the sectors where they racked up the tonnage. Ducimus, for example, even has a chart showing hot spots (for IX series) off the Americas.

Stick with it. You're looking for choke points where lots of shipping flows, and once you start to find them you'll get lots of action.

[uniquemind]

I'm sorry, when I read your thread I thought you were looking for something else. If that is indeed the case, there is a bar in Paris called "Le gouffre". Ask for Jean-Pierre and tell him Kapitanleutnant Klaus Kohler from U-333 sent you; he will make sure you "get some action".

;)

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:Oh I bet he would!!! It took me a few minutes to figure out what you meant there :lol: I know now to put a better title in the post before submitting it :oops::lol:



The TC defaults in the SH3 Commander list are fine. Remember that these are the max TCs allowed when a certain event occurs, not the TC you use while playing.

In other words, if you are cruising along at TC256, and your watch crew spots an airplane, you will automatically drop to a TC of 1. That way you have some prayer of responding. That has nothing to do with what TC you use while on patrol.

A for finding ships, just remember the old saying - you can't catch fish where the fish ain't. There's a lot of ocean and much of it is empty. In other words, go to AM51/AM52, or BF13, or AF78 - all known hot spots - and concentrate your patrols in there.

Use the pull down map to find single merchant routes and patrol them.

Numerous players post their patrol logs - in those logs you'll find the sectors where they racked up the tonnage. Ducimus, for example, even has a chart showing hot spots (for IX series) off the Americas.

Stick with it. You're looking for choke points where lots of shipping flows, and once you start to find them you'll get lots of action.


Thanks Rykaird,

I am on my way now into a "no going back and scrapping Career" and I'll post if and when anything happens and how I get on with all the great help you guys have given me :up:


Oh yeah and gameboys when they first came out they were a godsend:up:

leeclose,

I actually won one of them thanks to an old friend but I had to sell it in the end as it was playing havoc with my eyes, Migraine sufferer as it is and that thing did'nt help :roll::D

[codmander]

Time compression could be your problem also try 64x instead of 256x

[leeclose]

What a bumer Unique i was a tetris god:up:

[Zantham]

Hi to all of you,

I will check all of these things out, many thanks as I need all the help I can get, take today for example, I started playing around 11 this morning and I just gave up on my last Career mainly due to frustration of my own making really, its now quarter to 7 in the evening and have had no enemies to take on in all that time :lol:
........
UM onboard the U-100
Well, if you are really getting frustrated trying to find ships and convoys to attack....you could use the SpySat mod (there is a GWX version) for one or two patrols, it will give you an excellent idea for convoy routes and good hunting grounds. Once you start learning these routes, you can disable it and continue normally but at least knowing the approximate routes the ships should be taking.

[uniquemind]

Hi Zantham,

Yes I may check out that mod, sounds helpful and the fact that after I have learnt enough I can turn it off is better still :)

I have also attempted to do what you said in your earlier post about using Claren and Danotec's intercept technique, I have set it up as best I could, bound to go wrong! :lol: but tomorrow I'll find out, thing is that having done that can I use the tc and what value? or do I have to stay as I am which is currently submerged and doing 8kts

Anyway its late and I must fly

Cheers to all for your help :up:


UM onboard the U-100 ;)

[Crazy Ian]

Its amazing how good you get at playing cards and chess at sea:up:

And Uckers...

[leeclose]

Urg i hated uckers full stop:yep:

[Crazy Ian]

Urg i hated uckers full stop:yep:

LOL... Buts it's always good fun when you watch your Oppo have a hissy fit and upboard after you've mixi-blobbed him twice in the same game...

[leeclose]

For those wondering what uckers is its an old RN board game usually played when bored out of skull follow the link below for rules:
http://www.rnsubmus.co.uk/collection/The%20rules%20of%20Uckers.htm

[Captain Nemo]

I prefer using art over math for plotting intercepts:cool:. Personally I found using Claren and Danotec's intercept technique really easy to use, and best of all requires no math :D. You can find the instructions here on the community manual pages, about 1/3rd the way down.

http://www.communitymanuals.com/shiii/index.php?title=Intercepting_Targets


I used to use Claren and Danotec's intercept technique but found it quite cumbersome to use hence I worked out my own method which does rely a bit on trial and error when first calculating the intercept (i.e. adjusting the position of a waypoint to establish the time it will take me to reach a certain point), but overall I find it much easier. Everyone to their own of course.

Nemo

[Corsair]

but tomorrow I'll find out, thing is that having done that can I use the tc and what value? or do I have to stay as I am which is currently submerged and doing 8kts


If you're going 8 knts submerged

1. You're not going to go far as your batteries will be drained down pretty fast
2. Due to the engines noise your hydrophone operator won't hear anything

When travelling submerged, do it at slow speed (at 2 knots you can stay 12 + hours under which is useful for spending the day in areas near airbases) your hydrophone guy will pick up contacts and I would recommend you make some sound checks yourself - I do it every 3 hours in places with traffic.

[uniquemind]

Hi Corsair,

You mention Hydrophone checks, and doing it yourself, how do you go about that:-?

I went into the Radio room and double clicked on the guy that does the Hydrophone, and nothing happens........not sure what to do to make the checks myself :)


UM onboard the U-100

[Corsair]

Hi Corsair,

You mention Hydrophone checks, and doing it yourself, how do you go about that:-?

I went into the Radio room and double clicked on the guy that does the Hydrophone, and nothing happens........not sure what to do to make the checks myself :)


UM onboard the U-100
You should actually invest a little time reading the manual or have a look at the F1 screen which will show you all commands...:D

When you hit the "H" key you find yourself behind the hydrophone. You turn the direction wheel by left clicking on the dial. Procedure is to make a starboard check - from 0 to 90° then from 90 to 180°, then back in 45° increments to 0° - then same for port from 0° to 180° and back. Using good earphones help.
By calm weather you can pick up props 20 kms away.

[leeclose]

Yup sonar is a 2 edged sword go to fast and all you will here is your own noise as you barrel thru the water if your running away hit "Z" which will take you to silent running then get to your sound room if your running GWX read the manual.:up:

[uniquemind]

Understood, I have got carried away asking too many questions that the manual will answer, apologies :)

At present I have a Destroyer heading my way and I went down to 60m and am going ahead slow, I know I won't outrun it but I really don't know what else to do, I don't want to just sit there and wait incase I get blasted to hell......I hope its not the end of my Career yet again, and this time before I even reach the Patrol Grid!! :lol::oops:

Just been informed that the Warship is going Constant distance, instead of closing, but I am shaking in my boots right now


UM onboard the U-100

[leeclose]

Ok go to Silent running and head at a right angle to it and try and get below 60 metres:up:

[Khourieat]

Sorry scrub that bit about the reaching ships with tc, just saw Captain Nemos post

Apologies :D

UM onboard the U-100

Oh dear my maths has never been a strong point or any point actually, so I think I will fail if I have to do that......ouch! :)

I guestimate it. If you know you JUST got the contact (even up to 10 or 15 minutes late in game should be ok), then I draw out a line following their estimate course, note the distance, and then draw out an intercept course to the line I just drew out.

The guesswork comes in as to which point in their course line do I want to hit, and well, that depends on their speed and my distance :p If they're moving at a medium speed, then as been said you can estimate they're moving at 9 knots, figuring at full speed I can hopefully travel at 18 knots I figure that I can travel twice their distance in the same amount of time, so I just make sure my distance to get to some point along their line is at most twice the distance from them to that same point on their course line.

Did that make any sense? I suspect it might not have :oops: It works just about always though...

[uniquemind]

Hi Khourieat,

Yes I follow that ok, but I think where I fall down is that if I have done what you said, I then tend to go into tc, but then I am defeating the object as I am going faster so is the enemy :nope: so that means I have to play in realtime once I go after a target, and then it could go into hours before I reach them.........hell I don't think I am ever going to get the hang of this, and there I was preodering SH4!! what was I thinking, I still want it though, but I guess the answer is simple.......I am officially stupid :lol::oops:

Anyway just done a fresh install as I made a mess of things with the mods I have, by tomorrow I will begin on a new Career again, but this time I'm not stopping.

If what I have said above has made others who have replied think "I have told this guy what to do and he does'nt listen" well I do listen its just that I don't take things in easily and also forget things quickly......this is down to a brain problem at Birth.

UM onboard the U-100 ;)