What's the point of calling in contacts?

[Crimguy]

Do you get anything in return? Reknown? Wolfpack form? A warm fuzzy feeling at helping B-Dienst? Using GWX 1.03 of course . . .

[donut]

You would think they would give some renown,for risking a contact report,but I think it's just fluff. We do it for realism.:sunny:

[bigboywooly]

If you are close enough to German occupied territory you may get air support

Now I know for the allies when you are spotted by a merchant it can call in air and sea support
I suppose its the same for your reports
Nothing to prove that sea\sub units will respond to your call though

[Iron Budokan]

You get renown for calling in a convoy contact. When you call in a single contact and are close enough for the Luftwaffe to show up, they then bomb the ship you were going after and take all the credit. That's always a lot of fun, too. :rotfl:

[Kpt. Lehmann]

It appears to be a partially functional feature of SH3.

Just as there is an opportunity of German forces attacking your target as a result... there is also the opportunity that your message will be "intercepted" or picked up on Huff Duff... resulting in local enemy forces or aircraft being vectored to your position.

The "problem" lies with the reason to send such contact reports in game... because there is no consequence for failing to do so.

BdU was quite nosey... and demanded that u-boats respond to continuous enigma communications...

The enemy (on a good day) could decript enigma communications on almost a real-time basis... allowing them to even COMPLETELY re-route traffic around known U-boat locations.... which accounts for why some crews would spend weeks at sea.. without seeing a darn thing.

For this "feature" to work correctly in SH3... you have to "choose to play realistically" and send contact reports.

I wish there was some way to fix this... or at least generate some sort of random response from BdU to improve immersion in relation to contact reports.

The problem is triggering such a response from BdU in game.

[irish1958]

I called in a contact report in the Med, and four Romanian bombers responded and pounded it. They also took out the destroyer escorts and allowed me to bag three vessels. It was like watching a movie of a bomber attack on a convoy.

[dcb]

I called in a contact report in the Med, and four Romanian bombers responded and pounded it. They also took out the destroyer escorts and allowed me to bag three vessels. It was like watching a movie of a bomber attack on a convoy.

Romanian bombers in the Med? No way. They only operated in the Black Sea. If there really were Romanian planes, please GWX team, for the sake of realism, remove them in the next installment.

Now, coming to the original topic, there is at least one benefit of reporting convoys. You get their speed from the report.

[Canovaro]

It appears to be a partially functional feature of SH3.

Just as there is an opportunity of German forces attacking your target as a result... there is also the opportunity that your message will be "intercepted" or picked up on Huff Duff... resulting in local enemy forces or aircraft being vectored to your position.

The "problem" lies with the reason to send such contact reports in game... because there is no consequence for failing to do so.

BdU was quite nosey... and demanded that u-boats respond to continuous enigma communications...

The enemy (on a good day) could decript enigma communications on almost a real-time basis... allowing them to even COMPLETELY re-route traffic around known U-boat locations.... which accounts for why some crews would spend weeks at sea.. without seeing a darn thing.

For this "feature" to work correctly in SH3... you have to "choose to play realistically" and send contact reports.

I wish there was some way to fix this... or at least generate some sort of random response from BdU to improve immersion in relation to contact reports.

The problem is triggering such a response from BdU in game.
Lehmann,

Keep an eye open for the upcoming Operation Spinnennetz; you may like it because there is interactivity with BdU via status/contact reports to improve immersion. Enigma coded messages will also be accepted and replied to.

And Crimguy may get that warm fuzzy feeling if he reports status and contact reports to BdU in Spinnennetz.

[Snakeeyes]

I've been playing SHIII for over a year now and not one time have the Luftwaffe come down to help. Don't worry, I'm not an X-files buff (conspiracy theorist) so I believe it happens just never to me.

[ReM]

I've been playing SHIII for over a year now and not one time have the Luftwaffe come down to help. Don't worry, I'm not an X-files buff (conspiracy theorist) so I believe it happens just never to me.

Give the coast of Norway a try during spring 1940, I had a few patrols there that borught me encounters with:
1) icebergs
2) naval traffic, merchant and navy
3) air traffic
4) air traffic attacking enemy convoy.....Ju 87 or Ju 88...not sure.

And there are some nice juicy targets waiting in the fjord north of Narvik...

[Jimbuna]

Do you get anything in return? Reknown? Wolfpack form? A warm fuzzy feeling at helping B-Dienst? Using GWX 1.03 of course . . .

Only a 'warm fuzzy' feeling I'm afraid :D

[bigboywooly]

I called in a contact report in the Med, and four Romanian bombers responded and pounded it. They also took out the destroyer escorts and allowed me to bag three vessels. It was like watching a movie of a bomber attack on a convoy.

Romanian bombers in the Med? No way. They only operated in the Black Sea. If there really were Romanian planes, please GWX team, for the sake of realism, remove them in the next installment.

.

There are no Romanian aircraft in the Med
I imagine they flew from bases close to the Med ( From Romania or Bulgaria ) in the engagement posted above

The game will send aircraft from bases in range
Whether realistic or not

[Rwolf]

Sometimes close to the UK main ports, I've called in reporting a convoy, and then left it alone (out of torps), only to soon run into another convoy heading in the opposite direction; the limit of calling a convoy position only once every 12hrs, makes reporting the second convoy impossible. (Have to follow the new convoy until the timer expires, then report it)

When such reports have been followed up by german air attacks, these seem to come from the west (UK), if I'm on the east coast of Britain. I suspect Luftwaffe has a secret base somewhere around Dover...

[Jimbuna]

Sometimes close to the UK main ports, I've called in reporting a convoy, and then left it alone (out of torps), only to soon run into another convoy heading in the opposite direction; the limit of calling a convoy position only once every 12hrs, makes reporting the second convoy impossible. (Have to follow the new convoy until the timer expires, then report it)

When such reports have been followed up by german air attacks, these seem to come from the west (UK), if I'm on the east coast of Britain. I suspect Luftwaffe has a secret base somewhere around Dover...

Don't let everyone in on the secret :lol:

[svenks]

Hi all,
Well occasionally I've had BdU give me a 'well done' for at contact report. However, I'm pretty sure you must have a target visually locked for this to happen. This might easily put you in harm's way:o

BRGDS
Sven
(yes, I'm still around - but I've just discovered World of Warcraft...)

EDIT: Thank godnesss I'm rid of the medic avatar :) :) :)

[dcb]

Well occasionally I've had BdU give me a 'well done' for at contact report. However, I'm pretty sure you must have a target visually locked for this to happen. This might easily put you in harm's way

The 'well done' comes when you successfully report a convoy. You know the convoy report was sent when you see it at the bottom of your message log (M key) - something like "Large/medium/small convoy, heading ... speed..."
You can send this kind of message only when several merchants of the convoy get reported by the watch crew - the "schiff gesichtet" message. I usually wait for at least 5-6 ships to be sighted and then send the message, which is followed by a "well done" from BdU after a few hours.