First time with map updates off...

[ESPY]

Hi all, long time lurker, first time poster. I'm a veterain of SHI-III but I'm just getting in to SHIV now that 1.3 has come out.

I'm running TM 1.4 along with a couple other mods and just completed my first patrol. It was pretty successful and I thought I might need a bit more of a challenge so I turned off the map updates.

I know the SJ radar doesn't have a station and is always on. And I found out pretty quickly during my first patrol without the map updates that one thing I definitely like about the map updates is that you can easily distinguish aircraft/SJ contacts from ships/SD contacts just by watching them on the map. The first time I got a contact called out I went to the radar view to try to find it. As I was trying to figure out if I was using it correctly I got a visual contact and before I knew it I was being bombed by planes.

So, aside from turning off the SD radar so that the only contact info I get is air contacts, is there any way to know when a contact is called out whether it's an air contact or surface contact?

All I know to do right now is go to the SD view and if I don't see anything then I know that it must have been an air contact. But it would be nice to know that immediately so I could just dive right away if it's an air contact, before it gets too close for me to dive in time.

Thx for the help,

SP

[switch.dota]

Welcome aboard, ESPY!

First of, to clarify:
SD radar = air search radar = shows planes ONLY
SJ radar = surface search radar = picks up ships

Now, the game doesn't HAVE a station for the SD radar. The PPI/A-Scope views for the radar are BOTH for the SJ surface search radar. So if you get a radar contact yet the SJ turnes out clean after a few sweeps at max range then you have an incoming aircraft.

Without map contact updates, it is impossible to tell the range&bearing of an SD contact (this is actually realistic: the submarine version of the SD radar was a simple light: it didn't spcify range & bearing - jsut that there was an aircraft within less than [max range] of the sub.

[switch.dota]

Welcome aboard, ESPY!

First of, to clarify:
SD radar = air search radar = shows planes ONLY
SJ radar = surface search radar = picks up ships

Now, the game doesn't HAVE a station for the SD radar. The PPI/A-Scope views for the radar are BOTH for the SJ surface search radar. So if you get a radar contact yet the SJ turnes out clean after a few sweeps at max range then you have an incoming aircraft.

Without map contact updates, it is impossible to tell the range&bearing of an SD contact (this is actually realistic: the submarine version of the SD radar was a simple light: it didn't spcify range & bearing - jsut that there was an aircraft within less than [max range] of the sub).

[orangenee]

Nice identical double post there, was that intentional?:D

[ESPY]

First of, to clarify:
SD radar = air search radar = shows planes ONLY
SJ radar = surface search radar = picks up ships



Thx...I always get that backwards. :oops:



So if you get a radar contact yet the SJ turnes out clean after a few sweeps at max range then you have an incoming aircraft.



Ok, guess I was doing all I could...check SJ and if nothing then must be air contact.

I was aware of the limitations of the SD based on other posts I read that said it was basically just a light bulb that turned on. Just thought it would be nice if you could at least know when it was an SD contact instead of SJ. Even something as simple as the text box saying "SD radar contact." instead of its current message saying something like "RA radar contact ..."

Thanks,

SP