Ranging issue ?

[9th_cow]

ok this issue is with me not the game im sure.

just trying to get the hang of the manual aiming.

i can guess speed with some degree of accuracy.
i can just abouts undestand the bearing thing ( the little ship with S+P on it.
i thought i had the hang of range. but i dont.

say i think its about 1K from me, not a bad estimate, but here is the problem.

i try and move the ranging device, and it seems to cap out at 1100, anything beyond that it refuses point blank to set. maybe im doing something wrong but it looks like i can only move the dial so far.

and once i press the button to bring up the mirror image i can never get them anywhere near each other. close but not close enough.

just when i think i have the range set, it programms in 300 yards.. when its more like 2200 from me.
so i just cant suss this out at all. i try and move the dial so it sets what i beleive to be the correct range, and i simply cannot move it there. it wont dial any further than 200-1100.

any tips on how i can do this ? im sure im maybe doing something wrong, but i dont know what.

is there a Key setting to scroll this ? when im turning it ( range dial) my mouse eventually comes off the dial, it would be much easier to tune it with a key setting.

[jdski]

To practice with manual targeting I would turn on map updates for awhile to help you see if your solution is accurate or not. When you see on the attack map the white X---- on the target, pointed in the same direction of travel as the target and is not creeping ahead or falling behind, you've got a good solution.
You seem to understand speed and AOB. Range can be set either by the statometer or by pinging the target. TO use the statometer you must first identify the target.( you can have this done automaticly by editing the commands/cfg file if you want.) You don't need to identify the target to ping it.
After you've identified the target, and used the statometer to get the rough range, your scale will go much farther then 1100 yards. You can then fine tune the range yourself manually by turning the dial. Take note what the range is on the dial before you touch it though because the first time you move it, it will jump off the range it was set at.
Make fine adjustments and then check it on the attack map over and over until the white X---- is right on target and staying with it.
If it drifts off, turn off and on the pk to recenter it on the target. But you still need to make your corrections so it doesn't drift off the target or the torp will be off the target by time it reaches it.

[9th_cow]

never thought about pinging to range.
i have identified the target. guestimated speed, and AOB.
i looked at the attack map, and everything is ussually pretty darned accurate.

just the range that always refuses to cooperate. will give it plenty more attempts over the comming weeks though, its more rewarding when you punch a hole in something using manual targeting.

i just hate scrolling thru the damn manual it seems to take forever to find the ships in there.
i wish i could do that whilst paused. :)

[heartc]

Since range is the least important data for an accurate fire solution, you can take target range via the stadimeter w/o identifying the ship in most cases. To be sure, maybe "id" some average merchant once so that masthead height is not set for a sampan, and you're good. I'm not even sure you have to do that though. I take range without id'ing the targets most of the time. Just get close (<1500 yards) and take a final data measurement before shooting. Also check computed relative bearing on the lower left hand dial against sighted relative bearing to judge the accuracy of your solution.

[GSpector]

One problem I found after upgrading to ver 1.2 was, when I do get a range on a target then go to the deck-gun, I always seem to over-shoot.

I found that if subtract 600 from range, aiming is a lot better. to test this out, I found a Target about 8,000 yards. I set Deck-gun range to 7,400. I nailed the destroyer.

This trick works at any range.

This range problem may be what's causing you your problem.

[9th_cow]

okay i may finally be narrowing this down.

im trying to set range by using the mouse to scroll the range meter in the top righ corner. this gives me a range between 200-1200

and is useless.

the manual seems to suggest i should bring up the mirror image and move the mouse, up or down to set the range ?
so is that what im meant to be doing..

one more thing, okay i set sail by accident without altering my settings after training, so im on my first career with full real ( i still have externals on the game is too pretty to confine that particular thing)

anyways over a week out at see i got a convoy report. came out of time compression and what do you know, a perfect storm :)
out of wich sails a destroyer no 3 minutes later...i could have thrown stones at it.
this wasnt helpfull :) no visability and i could hear these guys hammering the area they had seen me in.

somehow i managed to draw a bead on a enemy ship. put two torps in her and send her down with a third once she was static. it wasnt an easy shot because of the bearing to my sub, and the way i was bouncing about in the rough seas :) so a very rewarding kill.
i took a pot shot at another 3 minutes later and got the shock of my life my own torp came back at me and i had to crash dive to get away from it, so that lucky ship escaped with only damage.

a little later i found a ship i hate, these things dont seem to mind being shot. repeatedly, i missed at least once, and it took 4 to sink the swine.

ok so i learned two things here, with manual aim firing torps is as dangerous to me as the enemy, and i need a lot of loaded tubes if im going to sink anything ( i miss more)
kills are of course more rewarding :) and killing entire convoys is unlikely now. makes it a better game, i really have to choose my targets now.

I think the ship in question is a medium euro composite.
id rather leave them be these days. you expect 2 torps to sink something, no such luck

at the moment im either engagin the worlds largest task force or im in the middle of a combined concoy and task force.
unfortunatly the ranging issue is proving a real problem.