Docked ships disappearing?

[Stierlitz]

Moin moin my fellow Grey Wolves!

That's my first post on this forum, although I've been a visitor for quite a long time.

I've been playing SHIII for a couple of months now, and recently upgraded it to GWX 1.03.

Yesterday I encountered a strange situation.
While raiding the port of Dunkirk I discovered a couple of ships docked there (one troop transport and two or three V&W's).

I was sneaking in, going 2 kts at PD, taking a peek through the periscope now and then.
Weather was ok, sea was rather calm, visibility was ok (around midnight).
I made contact with the docked vessels at approx. 4000 meters. I repelled the urge to release the eels on them and decided to sneak closer.
After closing in for a while, I raised the periscope only to discover that it started to rain and...
... and all the ships were gone! :huh:

My first reaction was like:
"Was zum Teufel? Where have you gone, you cowardly Franzosen? Some kind of french Wunderwaffe or have they noticed me approaching and decided to scuttle the ships?" :nope:

I cycled through the external view, but it was only my U-48 and two patrolling trowlers.

Anyone's got an idea how the Franzosen tricked me? :hmm:

[Corsair]

Grüssgott !!

Ich bin Franzose aber es gibt nichts zu erzählen über unsere neue Wunderwaffe...

(I am French but we don't say anything about our new secret weapon) :D

[Stierlitz]

Oh, you cunning Frenchmen! You won't trick me again with your invisible fleet! :nope:

Ich lass' mich nicht nochmal reinlegen! ;)

But seriously, is this a bug or one of GWX's hidden features (warping Frenchmen)?

[SmokinTep]

It was the Philadelphia Experement...........:cool:

[Ubåtskapten]

It was the Philadelphia Experement...........:cool:
:rotfl:

[Ubåtskapten]

On the more serious side, I have never had this "Philadelphia experiment"-error with ships vanishing in port. Are you sure it wasn’t a sudden heavy fog that did hide them, (e.g. closed the visibility to only some hundred meters)??:hmm:
If you used the "next ship"-buttons and didn't F12 that is.

[bigboywooly]

Tis odd that all disappeared but ships have end dates on them when they will vanish when they reach it
It may be that you were there at that time

What was the date ?

[Jimbuna]

End date....you were drunk...hallucinating....Philadelphia/Dunkirk experiment....fog....result of an air attack....take yer pick :lol: :up:

[Stierlitz]

End date....you were drunk...hallucinating....Philadelphia/Dunkirk experiment....fog....result of an air attack....take yer pick :lol: :up:

Alright, you got me there, mate. :oops:
Bernard slipped me some of his homemade Schnaps. We had a few sips "for the Vaterland", then a few shots for courage...
Afterwards we decided to "pay the Franzosen a visit"... :doh:

Ok, but now seriously.
There was fog, alright. But I closed to a few hundred meters to the troop transports former position. Nuttin' there.

Really, they just vanished. *POOF*

The only plausible explanation is the thing BBW mentioned. I can't really remember if we crossed midnight while closing in. Maybe the ships had their expiry date set on that particular time. Dunno.

[Jimbuna]

All joking aside....BBW is probably right :up:

[maillemaker]

I didn't know about the date thing, but it would explain the vanishing convoy I hit once. I was trailing it, had a great sonar contact, but suddenly it was just gone.

[bigboywooly]

The Br ships in Dunkirk vanish at 2300hr on the 3rd June 40
Most of them anyway
Some are before

Yes could well have been the same with the convoy although I suspect that it reached its last waypoint so then disappeared

[Stierlitz]

The Br ships in Dunkirk vanish at 2300hr on the 3rd June 40
Most of them anyway
Some are before

Yes could well have been the same with the convoy although I suspect that it reached its last waypoint so then disappeared

Yeah, it's may '40 in my campaign right now, so I guess that's it.

Well, seems the "french Wunderwaffe" is just a scripted event... :lol:

[WolfOfCampscapel]

I find ships popping into existence rather scarier... as happened when I lay in port in Calais patching together my gun decks after an angry torpedo boat zoomed by in the fog.

"Ship sighted, herr kaleun!"

"Um... where did that great big passenger liner come from? It must have gone past us to get there... Have you been sneaking off into port on your black market activities again, obergefreiter?"