Two more newbie questions

[cardician]

So I finished Naval Academy with excellents and started a career. I went on my first patrol and boy did I have a great time. I started in 1939 in a IIa class sub I believe it is. Wow, talk about a relic :D. Holds all of 5 torpedoes, no aft tubes, no other weapons, no nothing. But, she's mine and I'm gonna make germany proud with her.

Anyway, I was ordered to patrol a sector, so I head there, manage to sink 4300 tons of merchant vessels and then head back. Saved and quit. Came back later, loaded the save and accidently deleted it. DOH! :damn: Oh well, I had such a good time I don't mind doing it again. This time on my way to the sector I'm ordered to patrol I run across a British C2 Cargo ship. Though its still marked as neutral since I guess War hasn't been declared yet, I decide to sink her anyway. I'm getting better at lining up shots (though I still let the computer do the torpedo solutions) and figuring out how to intercept, so I figure out where the ship is going to be and lay in wait. It comes across perfectly and I release a torpedo. Direct hit just slightly infront of the middle. The boat slows down a bit...and then keeps going regaining its regular speed, only now starting evasive maneuvers. Ok...so I let another torpedo go. Another direct hit, pretty close to where the first one hit. Nothing. Slows down 1 knot for a bit and keeps going. Now I'm dumbfounded. What's going on here? Annoyed I stalk the ship and actually make a point of getting on the other side and getting ahead of it. Finally I line up for another shot, direct hit, middle of the hull and this one sinks it immediately. Three torpedoes it took. My question, is this normal? Later I came across another C2 Cargo ship, wasted my last 2 torpedoes on it and it just kept chugging along despite the gaping hole in its side. I guess 6200 tons isn't bad for my first patrol, but c'mon. What did I do wrong? I don't have any mods installed yet, just FYI. Also, I thought this weird because I managed to sink other merchant ships on the first patrol with one torpedoe normally. Those were only 2000 tons of course, so is that the reason?

One other question. On the way back from my patrol I obviously make liberal use of time compression. Well for some reason at some point it stops letting me go all the way up to 1024. I know in some views it limits you to 32 times, but now even on the navmap I was being limited to 8 times?! Any ideas why that's happening? Just a bug?

Regardless, I'm loving this game and after playing it for awhile look forward to addin the GWX mod.

[melnibonian]

One other question. On the way back from my patrol I obviously make liberal use of time compression. Well for some reason at some point it stops letting me go all the way up to 1024. I know in some views it limits you to 32 times, but now even on the navmap I was being limited to 8 times?! Any ideas why that's happening? Just a bug?

The reasons why you cannot go faster than 32 or 8 TC are:
1. You're too close to land
2. You're too close to a target but you haven't been detected yet (32TC)
3. You're too close to a target and detected (8TC)

you can alter all these from the options in SH3Cmd if you like.

[danlisa]

C2 cargos have always been unrealistically hard to sink. GWX has corrected that.

As for the TC being locked at 8, this usually occurs when you are close to land or the sea bed.(what Mel said)

There is an excellent additional program called SH3 Commander 2.7, as well as many other settings available to you, it allows you to set your own TC values. You can read about it here & d/l it here - http://www.users.on.net/~jscones/software/products.html (http://www.users.on.net/%7Ejscones/software/products.html)

[cardician]

Wow, that was a quick response for so early in the morning :D At least here its only 7am.

Anyway, that explains it perfectly. I was indeed cruising pretty close to land when the 8x limitation was occurring. Now I understand. Thanks so much.

Also, I do indeed intend to add GWX, but was holding off because from what I've read it makes things more realistc, ie. harder. Is it configurable to some degree? I mean I like hitting the smaller ships and watching them explode and split with one torpedo and head for the bottom. I wasn't sure if I was ready to take that away. But needing 3 hits to sink those cargo boats when I've only got 5 torpedoes...well that doesn't make for a very satisfying patrol. Maybe I'll add GWX a little sooner than I was thinking.

[melnibonian]

SH3Cmd is customisable in many areas. GWX is a bit more realistic than stock SH3 (i.e. more "difficult") but nothing really hard. As you keep playing you will develop your tactics and you will learn from your experiences. Be careful though as the Royal Navy is doing exactly the same thing. If you still find the game hard you can try altering the difficulty (realism) settings.

[Platapus]

I am really enjoying SH3 with GWX. Much thanks to the Mod developers :up:

I have read many posts where players are using GWX and SH3 Commander. I did not know you could use multiple mods at the same time :oops:

But my question is: What is the advantage of SH3 Commander when used in conjunction with GWX? What am I going to get with SH3 Commander?

Nooblet minds need to know :88)

[danlisa]

I am really enjoying SH3 with GWX. Much thanks to the Mod developers :up:

I have read many posts where players are using GWX and SH3 Commander. I did not know you could use multiple mods at the same time :oops:

But my question is: What is the advantage of SH3 Commander when used in conjunction with GWX? What am I going to get with SH3 Commander?

Nooblet minds need to know :88)
Have a read of the documentation - http://www.users.on.net/~jscones/software/products.html (http://www.users.on.net/%7Ejscones/software/products.html)

Needless to say, most people here do not leave port without it.

It's not a mod as such, rather an external program which offers more functionality.:up:

EDIT - did you know that GWX came 'bundled' with extra mods? You can use any amount of mods in conjuction with your game as long as they are compatible. The mod creator will usually tell you the compatibility of the mod you are using.

You might want to read the GWX manual to find out what has been included.

[Turm]

I'm still running stock SH3 with a few non-gameplay-changing mods (planning to install GWX when my career ends), and I find C2 Cargo ships to vary a lot. I've never played with the auto-targeting, but I expect it's pretty accurate and always hits amidships where the periscope/UZO is locked to.

Once you have a torpedo solution and are ready to fire, maybe you can try unlocking the view with 'L', and manually aiming below the bridge before hitting fire. I tend to find that C2s split in two with an almighty bang if I hit there (engine room or fuel bunker). If I hit forward of that point then not a lot happens!

My only suggestion, but I'm hardly a war-weary kaleun yet...

[danlisa]

.....I tend to find that C2s split in two with an almighty bang if I hit there (engine room or fuel bunker). If I hit forward of that point then not a lot happens!

Hehe, that won't happen in GWX:arrgh!:

[cardician]

Yeah, I need to learn how to hit other parts of the hull. I figured that's why the C2 didn't go down immediately, because I hit ahead of the smoke stacks.

Also, that's why I'm leary of using GWX. I know its more realistic, but being a newbie I kind of like
being able to hit a ship with one torpedoe and watch it blow sky high and sink to the bottom. I guess as long as I can still actually down a ship with one torpedoe its alright.

[Knieknochen]

Since we appear to have a "mini wolfcub pack" of noobies forming here, can I join too?:rotfl:

[Turm]

I'd say yes, but I'm too new to have any authority around here! ;)

.....I tend to find that C2s split in two with an almighty bang if I hit there (engine room or fuel bunker). If I hit forward of that point then not a lot happens!
Hehe, that won't happen in GWX:arrgh!:

I know, and I'm looking forward to it! The explosions are nice, but always feel too much like Hollywood. But since my career from when SH3 was released is still in progress, I decided I'll finish it on stock SH3 before I try GWX. But I'm reaching the point of hoping to be sunk sooner rather than later so I can see what all the fuss is about! :D

[UnterseeBoogeyMan]

Granted I'm not on GWX, but by success with taking out C2s with one shot is like 50/50 going on 60/40. Generally what I try to do is haul ahead of the target, outside of his visual range, submerge to periscope depth. Wait until I have a shot 90 degrees to his bow and within 1000 meters of him. I plot my own solutions, and the newbie guides (which have helped me) say plot your torpedo to run at half the depth displacement (amount of the ship in the water). In this case, the C2 is I beleive 7.4, so I set the depth to run at just alittle above 3.5 meters below water. I'm not sure on the displacemnt but that's where the ship manual on the UZO screen comes in handy. When the target is at 0 degrees bearing is not the time to fire. Fire ahead of the target ussually b/w 10-15 degrees ahead of him depending on your range. One thing to watch is the color of the carrot lined up over the target. When it turns green, that's when you know you are shooting ahead of the target at just the right time, no too early or too late. Have fun! :ping:

[3Jane]

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?p=469074#post469074