Questions from a new Captain?

[Simulated-AI]

Hi all :)

I decided to try Silent Hunter IV. So i have been fooling around with it for some time, seems to me i will be spending a lot more time with it.

A few questions....

When i fire a torpede at short distance, it doesn't go off. Does it need time/distance to arm? If so, how much?

Is it possible for me to dive deeper than 100 Meter?

Is there any logic in when my crew sleeps and when they dont? It would be nice to always have a fresh team.

Another thing... I'm having such a hard time hunting destroyers! They are so fast, and they turn off quickly if i fire a torpedo. I haven't got one single destroyer yet :oops: And they seem to never being alone.

That should do it for now, happy hunting.

[Sailor Steve]

Welcome aboard, Simulated-AI!

I don't have the game myself, but I can talk about real life and what was learned from SH3.

Short distances: torpedoes in SH3 took about 300 meters to arm; I think 500 yards was the minimum distance for US torps. It might be shorter, but the game does indeed have a minimum arming distance.

100 meters depth is close to 400 feet, so that should be it for most early subs, at least as far as test-depth goes. Absolute crush depth should be somewhat deeper.

Crew sleeping I don't know about yet.

Destroyers are supposed to be smart, fast and dangerous. Hunt merchants and big warships; run and hide from destroyers.

[Simulated-AI]

Destroyers are supposed to be smart, fast and dangerous. Hunt merchants and big warships; run and hide from destroyers.

Maybe they are a little too smart for me :hmm:

I must practice some more...

Thanks for the quick reply :)

[SteamWake]

All good advice from Steve.

Theres a reason there called "Destroyers" ya know ;)

Anyhow the "short range" thing seems to be a lot less particular than it was in SH3. I have taken some shots from what to me is point blank range (inside 500 meters) which detonated.

There is an option in the difficulty settings that allows/denies duds check that setting.

Ive always played with it on and on average 1 in about 5 torps doink off the hull of the target. Very frustrating but it is an aspect that had to be dealt with in real life.

There is another "malfunction" which happens on occasion is the gyroscope in the torpedo slams to one side and the torp leaves the tube and immediatly takes a turn to one side (usually to starbord) and actually runs in a circle. In this case look the hell out !!! To make a long story short its not one shot one kill, even in "easy" mode.

[Skubber]

There are three watches and the crew rotates the watch automatically every eight hours.
(3X8=24 hrs)
You will see the active watch is highlighted in a darker color.

If you call battle stations everyone will be awake at maximum efficiency, but they will tire quickly. (If you forget to step down from battle stations you can have crew asleep at their posts.)

As far as diving below 100m goes, someone else posted this guide:

S-Class - 60m - 196 feet
Porpoise - 75m - 246 feet
Salmon - 75m - 246 feet
Sargo - 75m - 246 feet
Tambor - 75m - 246 feet
Gar - 75m - 246 feet
Gato - 90m - 295 feet
Balao - 120m - 393 feet

[Simulated-AI]

Thanks for the info :)

I am still in learning mode, so i run on easy. :know:

But when i understand it all better, i sure want to play realistic. I believe that gives the best gameplay.

I who knows... maybe someday i will get a destroyer :rock:

yup, they better watch out!

[Onkel Neal]

Welcome to the forum! Look out for the other Danes...McBeck in particular! ;)

[Carve]

I have also just joined the realms of the deep!!

What is the best way calculate distances/angles to make contact with ships/convoys?

Any tips for a novice would be great!!

Thanks

[SteamWake]

I have also just joined the realms of the deep!!

What is the best way calculate distances/angles to make contact with ships/convoys?

Any tips for a novice would be great!!

Thanks

Lots of help can be found here http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=108931

[Carve]

Many thanks!!!

[Simulated-AI]

I have also just joined the realms of the deep!!

What is the best way calculate distances/angles to make contact with ships/convoys?

Any tips for a novice would be great!!

Thanks

That was actually a question i was about to post.

Thanks for helping me :)

[Sailor Steve]

Theres a reason there called "Destroyers" ya know ;)
:rotfl: Didn't even think of that!:oops:

[Simulated-AI]

Any easy way to figure out how to intercept convoys?

Some are reportet at great distances, its hard to figure out the route.

[Bilge_Rat]

I don't have the game myself,



It takes a bold man to answer questions about a game he does'nt have.

;)

[AVGWarhawk]

Any easy way to figure out how to intercept convoys?

Some are reportet at great distances, its hard to figure out the route.

What I do is set my course to the convoys course. Basically I run with them out of sight of course. Once I have the course, I go flank and get in front of the projected path. Get far enough ahead to set up for submerged attack or surface, whatever the case may be.

Also, I use the map. After I get course I use the tools to mark the map of the projected course, guess on the speed and what time the convoy should show on a particular part of the map. I speed that way and wait for them to come.

[Quillan]

If you're just plotting from a radio report, the center of the convoy should be at roughly the center of the box representing it. The "tail" on the box represents the wake of the ships; it's the opposite of the course the convoy is on. Draw a line down that course, which should be the way the convoy is going. Since you should know the speed, you can estimate where they'll be in 1 hour, or 10 hours, or whatever time you want. Try to arrive in front of them before they get there, and wait.

[Simulated-AI]

Ok, thanks. I will try this. :up:

Before i have just been guessing, and therefore i missed severel convoys at great distances.

[BlackSpot]

As a rough on guide on reported speeds:

Slow=6kts
Medium=9kts
Fast=12kts

[Quillan]

If you actually got a radio report (which you should for convoys and task forces), it will say how fast they are going in knots, which is nautical miles per hour. The text by the box on the map just lists what time it was reported, makeup, and speed category. Slow is 7.5 knots and under, fast is 15 knots and over, and medium is anything in between.

[Simulated-AI]

Ok.

Another question... hope you guys are not tired of me :)

The "S" on the small panel to the right when i hit F4. What is that for? Some kinda lock on target? And i noticed something when i hold mouse over. It says "poor", "good" and more... what does that mean?

You know, the panel for choosing torpedos and fire them.

I feel i'm getting more into this sub stuff, pretty cool simulator :rock:

And with all maxed out, i looks very good :cool:

[Quillan]

Locking onto the target is exactly what it is, the same as hitting the L key. And the "good, poor" etc is the quality of the solution, though in my experience part of it is backwards. It has a tendency to say "Good locked" when my scope is unlocked, and "Poor" only when it is locked to the target. Also, all I've ever seen the tooltip say is good or poor, while colored the triangles (assuming you're not using manual targeting) are either red, orange, yellow or green. Red triangle is something you can't shoot at; either you're out of torpedoes or it's beyond the possible gyroangle for the currently selected tube (the sort of thing that happens when you're looking at a boat off the rear of your sub when you have a front tube selected). Orange is a poor solution, yellow is fair and green is really good.