Out of fuel and ideas

[Galanti]

Ugg, after suffering some bomb damage which must have created an oil leak, the USS Pike is out of fuel, wallowing in the surf less than 500 miles from Freemantle.

I don't want to lose this patrol, for my first time manual TDC shenanigans have netted me 14,000 tons and I've got a photo recon under my belt.

I've tried changing Limited Fuel to false in the GamePlaySettings.cfg in my save folders, but the game doesn't seem to read it. Ant temporary hacks I can apply to get myself to port?

[Sledge_57]

Sounds like you need a "call for Navy Tug" mod :hmm: When I was in the C.G. the ship next to us in port used that "mod" every time she tried to get under way.

People used to come on base and ask where the Taney was tied up and we said, "oh you mean building 37". They'd say, "no were looking for a ship, the Taney". We'd reply, "exactly, that's building 37"

A good nickname since she never could go to sea :arrgh!: :lol:

Wish I could help.............

[Scoochy]

Galanti,

I am having that same issue. Even at 1/3, I am only going to make it half way home one diesel. I have decided to use the diesels as a means to only charge the battery and make it home on electrics as being the primary. Makes for some slow chugging, but I should be back in about 3 months......

I agree though, would be nice to have some sort of tug when in friendlier waters

[LZ_Baker]

I remember seeing something in another thread about how the amount and fuel usage is modeled correctly, but because the SH4 world is flat, the distance betwen Pearl and Japan is a lot longer than it is in real life (if I remember correctly, it was off by alot) :down:

[Scoochy]

Well, I don't know about that.

Just stretched 800nm of fuel to carry me 3000nm to Perth. I have 3 giant holes in my sub and they still want me to go back out and finsih my patrol in the South China Seas..........as Captain I think I am going to over rule that one with some hex. That is just a little bit of maddness there.:shifty:

[Payoff]

Obvious question but, can you use electric motors?

[Kant Schwimm]

With a little planning fuel shortage should not be an issue, travelling at 1/3 speed you should be able to reach any mission objective with 3/4 fuel left (even from Pearl) use the other 1/4 fuel having a mooch - following contacts (dont forget to use electrics by day) - sinking convoys and such, then when down to 1/2 a tank head for refit - I know this is a bore to some simmers travelling at such slow speeds but it is the realistic way to use the sim, of course if you dont like the realistic option then the unlimited fuel check box is your friend:up:

Hope this helps.

[pocatellodave]

Click on the little tab beneath the speed controler.This will allow you to set speed manually.I run at 3-4 knots,Fuel has never been big prob for me.Hope this helps.
Pocatellodave

[U-Bones]

Obvious question but, can you use electric motors?

On the fleet boats, the electrics drive the boat all the time. Submerged from batteries, surfaced direct from diesel generated power.

[U-Bones]

Click on the little tab beneath the speed controler.This will allow you to set speed manually.I run at 3-4 knots,Fuel has never been big prob for me.Hope this helps.
Pocatellodave
3-4 knots is efficient for station keeping duration, but not for distance. Unless you have modded your boats, the fleets should have a sweet spot just under 10kt.

[Payoff]

I have never run out of fuel, so what I was getting at, is it possible to limp into port on batteries at PD or shallower?

[Bozzaroo]

The batteries seems to charge even if you are out of diesel, when I had the same problem I just went submerge until the batteries was empty - then surfaced waited for the batterie to re-charge and then went under again .. took a bit longer but it still got me back to base!

Sure this is a feature and not bug :)

[DirtyHarry3033]

I've tried changing Limited Fuel to false in the GamePlaySettings.cfg in my save folders, but the game doesn't seem to read it. Ant temporary hacks I can apply to get myself to port?
I imagine you're changing the wrong ones. There are GamePlaySettings.cfg files all over the place, but the ones you want to edit are:

C:\Documents and Settings\<your user name here>\My Documents\SH4\data\cfg\SaveGames\<most recent save folder here>\GamePlaySettings.cfg

and

C:\Documents and Settings\<your user name here>\My Documents\SH4\data\cfg\SaveGames\<most recent save folder here>\UPCInitial\GamePlaySettings.cfg

There is also one at:

C:\Documents and Settings\<your user name here>\My Documents\SH4\data\cfg\GamePlaySettings.cfg

and editing that one will have NO effect. Next time you reload a save, it will get reset to whatever settings were in the save you just loaded. I imagine that's the one you were editing?

It's also important to edit the .cfg in the save folder you're wanting to reload from. The folders are NOT in order by date saved, unless you sort 'em that way. Browse to SaveGames folder, and sort by date to get your most recent save folder at the top. Then edit the 2 GamePlaySettings.cfg in that folder and you should be able to get unlimited fuel! I've had no probs changing the game settings in mid-game doing it that way.

DH

[AVGWarhawk]

Set speed to 10kts (manually). This is basically the sweet spot. I'm running PH now and it is a haul to the war zone. What I do is plan ahead. Whatever mission is given to me, I look for the nearest base I can refuel/refit.

[SteamWake]

Set speed to 10kts (manually). This is basically the sweet spot. I'm running PH now and it is a haul to the war zone. What I do is plan ahead. Whatever mission is given to me, I look for the nearest base I can refuel/refit.

Indeed. Also as mentioned above the batterys magically recharge even without diesel. You can limp back to base.

[DirtyHarry3033]

How the batteries manage to do that is beyond me :hmm: I've never tried it, and don't plan to, I try to manage my diesel wisely. I'm constantly checking est range remaining w/current fuel, range to patrol dest and back to home port (or refit port) with allowance for flank-speed "emergencies" and try to maintain a safety margin. Haven't run out of fuel yet!

However, I do wish I could figure out how to do that "magic battery" trick IRL... I'd be so rich I could buy Bill Gates and put him in my back pocket! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

<edit> BTW, Admiral SteamWake, congrads on your promotion :up:

[SteamWake]

Thanks Harry,

But wait till PAC decides to send you on 5 stinkin patrols in an S boat.

[Sledge_57]

How the batteries manage to do that is beyond me :hmm:

However, I do wish I could figure out how to do that "magic battery" trick IRL... I'd be so rich I could buy Bill Gates and put him in my back pocket! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

<edit> BTW, Admiral SteamWake, congrads on your promotion :up:

WWII surplus solar cells :lol:

[sqk7744]

You Could also drop in a resupply ship ( sub tender) near your location and use the Batts to get to her.

Edit US_harbor traffic.mis via the mission editor.

1.800.SEA.TOW :arrgh!:

[SteamWake]

US dident run "Milk Cows" it was up to the commanders to think ahead and find a tender safely anchored in a protected port.

[BBury]

The batteries seems to charge even if you are out of diesel, when I had the same problem I just went submerge until the batteries was empty - then surfaced waited for the batterie to re-charge and then went under again .. took a bit longer but it still got me back to base!

Sure this is a feature and not bug :)

Yes, I took some serious damage on a patrol and was about 400 miles short getting back to Midway. I also discovered that the batteries would recharge magically on the surface when out of diesel. I took a awhile but I was able to limp back to port. The boats will also run a long ways with 10% fuel remaining. I think this is a safety "feature" of the game. :D

As has been mentioned, don't use much more that 2/3 power except for short sprints of a hundred miles or less. Also cycle between periscope and surface depth at 1/3 to 2/3 and you'll have plenty of fuel.