[Help!] It's my first day.

[Jerik]

I've been lurking this forum for quite awhile, reading about SH4 and wanting to grab a copy. Now that I have a computer that can play it, I've been running the tutorials... and got a bit stuck.

I used assorted videos to learn manual TDC, so I'm alright and manually getting a solution (just alright-- I still need practice), but I'm stuck on the 4th training mission. I just don't understand what I'm supposed to do to get in range of the merchants. The destroyers always see and pound me.

So, I need help with the tactics of the approach. What is the theory behind convoy attacks? I've watched Legion's (Extremely helpful) tutorial on getting near something, but I'm looking for close-range escort evasion tactics. I'd greatly appreciate the help.

Thanks!

P.S. Bonus points to anyone who picks out the (oddly appropriate) Simpson's reference here.

[THE_MASK]

My advice is to forget that training mission . Go to the mods section and downlaod the RSRDC mod where you will get loads of war patrol missions and practice with those . Cheers .

[Jerik]

Awesome, I went and installed it, will get to work.

Thanks!

[Frame57]

I found the single missions to not be a great training ground. Simply because I found myself in a position i would not have approached a convoy to begin with. In the campaign if you mess it up you can start again. What works for me especially with a convoy or a task force once I have some intel via radar, sonar or radio. I knuckle around the convoy well past the radar ranges of the escorts. Place my boat in a good intercept position and I get under a thermal layer at all stop and go quiet. I let the escorts pass then it is up to PD and pick a nice juicy merchant. Sneaking past escorts is doable but there are some tricks to it and like a magician we cant give them all away, but you have one good startegy here I gave you to start. Part of the fun is learning by trial and error.:rock: :up:

[Jerik]

New question:

I have two periscopes, the observation scope and the attack scope. I seem to be able to do TDC calculations and fire torps from either, however, so the distinction is lost on me. What is the purpose of two scopes, and when should I use one over the other?

[THE_MASK]

I never use the obs . The attack scope is skinnier and harder to spot and the obs scope can look right up where the attack cannot .

[Quillan]

If you're running Trigger Maru Overhauled, the observation scope is brighter than the attack scope, because the bigger head lets more light in. I use the attack scope during the day and the observation scope at night. In the stock game the only differences are magnification level and maximum angle of elevation.

[Red Devil]

When I first installed SH4, I started a war patrol on "easy" and just used it as practice. Now am running RSRD too and on realistic. But the lack of targets makes one fall asleep!!

[Sailor Steve]

Part of the problem is confusing the game with real life. I don't mean that in an insulting way; it's just that before SH3 and now SH4 no game ever modelled both periscopes, and it was something everybody said they wanted. I try to use both periscopes historically, just 'cause.

In real life both scopes have the same magnifications. The purpose of the observation scope is to observe, obviously. It does let in more light for night use, and cranks up 85 degrees for spotting aircraft. It also leaves a larger wake.

Here is pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about periscopes:
http://www.maritime.org/fleetsub/pscope/index.htm

[THE_MASK]

Part of the problem is confusing the game with real life. What , you mean its not real :huh:

[Frame57]

Part of the problem is confusing the game with real life. What , you mean its not real :huh:WHAT! Does thart mean CJ on baywatch is not real either? (Borat voice):hmm:

[Red Devil]

I am gutted!! Al those ships gone and it didn't matter!!! Shocked

[Jerik]

Another question for you all.

I have noticed that campaign has a difficulty setting. I don't see any information anywhere that defines what these settings really mean.

Also, I'm looking for a way to alter realism a la carte as with war patrols and the other missions. The earlier settings lack Manual TDC, which is something I've been practicing, and is one of (in my opinion) the most exciting aspects of the game. How can I have my realism settings in campaign?

[Arclight]

Hey,

Not to sure about campaign difficulty, wondering about that myself, but I quess it effects enemy AI and maybe number of enemy ships/planes that spawn or show up on your map. Torpedo failure rate might also be affected, but can't say anything for certain.

What I do know is that you can change realism settings mid-campaign when you're in port (office). If you look to the left there is a radio or something:
http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj2/EZatHome/example.jpg
Click it and you can change you're options. I think you have to do it every time you start a career (I "had" to do several restarts because I forgot this).

Hope it helps. ;)

[THE_MASK]

Hey,

Not to sure about campaign difficulty, wondering about that myself, but I quess it effects enemy AI and maybe number of enemy ships/planes that spawn or show up on your map. Torpedo failure rate might also be affected, but can't say anything for certain.

What I do know is that you can change realism settings mid-campaign when you're in port (office). If you look to the left there is a radio or something:

Click it and you can change you're options. I think you have to do it every time you start a career (I "had" to do several restarts because I forgot this).

Hope it helps. ;) campaign difficulty settings , hard , very hard etc effects what boxes are ticked in realism settings . Thats it .

[Arclight]

Thanks for clearing that up. I was kinda hoping it effected AI as well, all I have to do now to slip away is hit "z" and hit "d" and get below thermal layer. Oh well, nothing a good mod won't fix! :D

[Jerik]

FUEL!

Fuel is infuriating. I never have enough to finish my first patrol!!

I have no idea how to travel without running my fuel to nothing. That run from Pearl to the home Islands is nuts. How do you people have enough fuel to do anything?

[Monica Lewinsky]

I have no idea how to travel without running my fuel to nothing. That run from Pearl to the home Islands is nuts. How do you people have enough fuel to do anything?

Travel at 1/3 speed [< 10 knots] ALL the time. Top off fuel with a refit at Midway - outbound and inbound. Use TC [time compression] to avoid boring times. I usually can go from there to the Rising Sun homelands and arrive there with 70-80% left in the fuel tanks via a Midway Island refit. I NEVER go beyond 1/3 speed ANYTIME, but will crank the speed up doing an "end around" on the map with the map scale around 21 miles ONLY IF a ship/convoy/task force is on the map. Hence, fuel is NEVER a problem for me.

Happy hunting, put the bastards on the bottom!

[Zero Niner]

FUEL!

Fuel is infuriating. I never have enough to finish my first patrol!!

I have no idea how to travel without running my fuel to nothing. That run from Pearl to the home Islands is nuts. How do you people have enough fuel to do anything?
Just to add to the post above, you'll need to find the optimum speed for cruising. I find that at 9 knots my sub can cruise the longest distance (abt 15,000 miles on a full tank).

[Arclight]

And to add another thing: stay on the surface! Recharging batteries takes a lot of fuel. If you stay under during the day and only surface at night to recharge batteries, you'll see your fuel fall like there's a hole in the tank. It's probably a good idea to fit SD radar (air-search) so you see airplanes coming in time and dive only if neccesary to stay undetected. If you don't have that option, it might be a good idea to run decks awash (set depth to 25-30 feet, the boat will settle at 25). It will limit you're speed a bit due to increased displacement, but it allows you to dive imediatly, since there's no one on deck. Don't forget to raise one or both scopes, or you can't see anything outside the boat.

just a tip: If you set depth to 40 feet, the masts on top of the conning tower, including the SD radar antenna, will rise above the surface, allowing you to scan the skies before resurfacing to make sure the bugger that forced you under is gone without exposing more of the boat than necessary. You only need to stay down ~10-15 min. Planes move fast, so he will have past by in that time, and you can quickly dive back down if neccessary like when running decks awash.

Good hunting, don't let the planes get you! ;)

[Jerik]

Sweet! My first patrol is now going swimmingly thanks to you chaps.

But now I've encountered a problem. CO2 is building up despite being on the surface. I have no idea why, or how to make it stop building. How do I get my CO2 to decrease?

[Monica Lewinsky]

But now I've encountered a problem. CO2 is building up despite being on the surface. I have no idea why, or how to make it stop building. How do I get my CO2 to decrease?

It's a "bug" that happens now and then.

Save the game [preferred on surface] . Exit the game. Restart the game, load your saved game - problem stops - CO2 levels start declining.

Happened to me 2-3 times [surfaced, but CO2 levels continue to climb if not kill you], but it has not happened again to me in the past 3 weeks.

My educated guess - Somehow the game loses track the you are surfaced and CO2 levels should go DOWN not UP. The save, exit, reload is the only work around that works for me.

Now get GOING!!! Put them rats on the BOTTOM!, nub :p

[Jerik]

That took care of it no problem.

I learned a hard lesson about Aircraft-- I will not be trying to shoot them down again.

I'm addicted, now. Medieval II and Crysis sit alone, unloved. So sad.

Out of curiosity, can I end a patrol at any point? Or must I wait for COMSUBPAC's approval?

[gimpy117]

things Ive learned so far that are different from sh3
1) laying and wait stopped and silent; letting the convoy come to you works well
2) don't shoot at the aircraft, just dive
3) 300ft is about as deep as you ever have to go ( tested up to 1944)
4) radar is much more effective
5) you have sonar from day 1, use it
6) when you find aircraft contacts on the map dive immediately, you need all the time you can get

good hunting

[kptn_kaiserhof]

Pointer For Jerik : Want To Live Longer Then 6 Months Leave K.k Alone

[kptn_kaiserhof]

Hes A Devil Of The Sea

[tomoose]

Jerik;
you can turn for home any time you want. The brass back at base may not like it if you haven't completed all your objectives. If you're playing 'stock' then IIRC if you don't complete your objective you'll get a tongue-lashing and obviously less renown points. If you're using TMO and RSRD (highly recommended once you get used to the game) then you'll receive updated objectives once you complete a previous objective. These can be quite numerous at times and you may have to turn back due to fuel without completing all but you'll not get penalized so to speak, simply receive less renown points.

As to fuel consumption, 2/3 speed will get you to most patrol areas and leave you with approx 3/4 fuel. My general rule of thumb is to start heading in a homeward direction once I reach 50% fuel. There is no towing service in the game so if you run out you are literally dead in the water and will have to abort or go back to an earlier saved game.
:up:

[Arclight]

Or cheat...:D

[Monica Lewinsky]

Out of curiosity, can I end a patrol at any point? Or must I wait for COMSUBPAC's approval?

Nope, return to home port and pick END PATROL. That is your SOLE choice for ending. I am up to 10, 000 renown after 6th patrol using manual targeting. Geez, where do I invest ..... agh Mark 14 and 24 Torpedoes is where I gamble and invest in the future.

[Petur]

Out of curiosity, can I end a patrol at any point? Or must I wait for COMSUBPAC's approval?

Nope, return to home port and pick END PATROL. That is your SOLE choice for ending. I am up to 10, 000 renown after 6th patrol using manual targeting. Geez, where do I invest ..... agh Mark 14 and 24 Torpedoes is where I gamble and invest in the future.


Nice, i bought this game sometime ago but have not had time to play and its been a while since played last time. Going to take some time for it now :cool: but my patroles usually end up with crashing on a island or something :oops:

[Monica Lewinsky]

but my patroles usually end up with crashing on a island or something :oops: Advice .... when you set your waypoints ZOOM in to "see" them tiny atolls - you can set points around these guys. Also, if the depth colors get white'er, bail out of TC [time compression and navigate around those obstacles - MANUALLY [navigate], then go back into TC. I ran agound ONCE, never happened since then by using the above advice.

BTW, the wheel on your mouse is the easiest thing to use for zooming/unzooming for what that is worth in the map mode [F3]

Good hunting! Put them on the bottom!:up: