A couple of career questions

[Sensekhmet]

First of all, I'm new here, so hi all. A few words about myself. I'm Polish, I've started my sub adventures with some old game on some old computer, names of both have since been lost. Then came the Wolfpack on PC, SH2, Aces of the Deep (very briefly).
I've been playing SH3 for a couple of weeks but eventually shelved it. Race sims and Combat Mission series were too big of a temptation for me. I dusted SH3 off maybe a month ago and shortly afterwards I discovered Subsim and with it, GWX.
Now, I'm not a good player, I'm not even sure I'm decent (and that can be said about all the games I play...). I use GWX 2.1 and the SH3 Commander combo. It's 1st of August 1940, I serve at 2nd Flotilla, U46 type VIIB boat. So far I've completed 11 patrols, sinking 138k tons in total. I play at 94% realism (map update and weapons officer assistance are on). So far, I've had a rather uneventful career. I guess this is because I can't find jack out there. Call me Johnny The Contact Loser. The only things worth noting are blasting an odd schooner with my flak gun :arrgh!:, a quirky surface engagement with 3 French merchants off Gibraltar that had me tossing everything but the kitchen sink at them at a distance of 200 metres while ziggzagging between them and the odd breakdown I suspect SH3 Commander is 'responsible' for, that had me loosing diesel fast... but leaving no oil slick :-?. And of course that one patrol when my depthcharged boat bounced between 13 and 230 metres (if memory serves me right) below water, fighting flooding. For a couple of hours. Right then, here are my questions.
1. I've been saving up my renown for that fat bastard, the type IX. Thing is, I'm still a long way off (4500-ish). Now, I thought I won't have to do it. Why? I thought I'll have that IX issued to me by the command. It didn't happen yet. Is it random or it simply doesn't work that way? (I see the twin 20mm costs zero renown, so I assume that's the 'standard issue' in game terms, right?).
2. If I'll finally get my hands on that IX, will I be automatically assigned far away patrol sectors (US of A, here I come)?
3. I find that renown works rather strange. Yes, my renown is slow to rack up, but, come on: my medal case is full! I'm leading the aces list! Yet I have to pay 600 renown for better batteries, which is almost 1/4 of my total points. Is that realistic?

[Bosje]

Welcome, Kaleun

the IX won't be assigned to you automatically, you need to earn it and pay for it with renown (if you START a career in 2nd flotilla, later in the war, you'll get it as your starting sub)

yes renown builds up slow in GWX. you only get it for sinking ships and you need quite an impressive patrol to earn more than 2000 renown points (I got 2000 renown for sinking 67.000 tons in 1943, my best patrol ever) Sinking big fat ships and battleships/carriers helps a lot. Save up renown by not spending it on useless crap. I am doing pretty much the same as you are, at the moment. Started in 1939 in 2nd flotilla on a VIIB and i plan to get a IXB as soon as possible. To me, that means not spending any renown at all, except the improved sonar for 300 points on the 2nd patrol. Early in the war I don't consider all those upgrades important, anyway. specially if you plan to get a new boat. Also, the IXB gets cheaper after a bit. i think it's like 9000 points at first and 7500 later on. Check the community manual for details.

I'm not completely sure about the patrol grids, but I do know that I once got sent off to Gibraltar from Wilhelmshaven when I transferred from 1st to 2nd flotilla while still riding my old Type II. So patrol grids are assigned based on flotilla and time. It seems that 2nd flotilla gets sent off deep into the atlantic and as far as the carribean and the US coast, while Type II subs from Kiel get sent off to the English east coast. But that's just my experience. On the other hand, when I operate out of Bergen in 1943 they send me off to the Azores, which is just stupid.

Happy Hunting :)

[Jimbuna]

Welcome aboard Kaleun Sensekhmet http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/pirate.gif

[Brag]

Welcome aboard Kaleun Sensekhmet! :D

You may want to visit my kielman webbie and read up the articles on tactics.

[Sensekhmet]

Thanks guys. I already have a feeling I'll enjoy my stay here.
Brag, I'll look through the site ASAP.

[predavolk]

It seems like your biggest problem is finding targets. An average of 10K tons per mission is relatively low in the early years of GWX 2.1. I would strongly suggest that you concentrate on fixing that problem before worrying about a bigger boat. Maybe if you tell us what the problem(s) is(are) we can help you get your boat on target more often.

I switched over to a IXB a little earlier than where you are now. I was given missions around Gibraltar, then Africa, and now in 1942, the US and the Caribbean. The IX is a real blessing in terms of maximizing your sinking, but it won't help you if can't find targets!

If you are simply having problems finding good hunting areas, there certainly are lots of threads here on that. Besides using the excellent convoy/inidividual route map that comes with the game (pull down from the top), search for "tanker alley", or "hunting grounds", "patrol areas", with favourite splashed in there. My Glorious Hunting thread lists some, and quite often, I talk about good hunting areas in the threads I've started.

[Red Heat]

Hello

Nobody born knowing everithing and in SH3 (GWX) its the same a good start its to complete the Naval Academy...and repeat a couple of times untill you get confortable with all operations, and later start a Caraer in the begining of the War.
Set the dificulty as you please, the most inportant its to play and get fun, get experience and complete the objectives, and using you renow wisely to upgrate your U-boat...thats it!
And...ah...welcome aboart, Kaptain!

[UnderseaLcpl]

Some convoy-finding tips;

The GWX manual (in adobe format) contains maps of heavily trafficked shipping lanes but you can never go wrong with the areas north and south of ireland or the Strait of Gibraltar. The catch is that as the war progresses you will find an unbelieveable amount of escorts, and worse, aircraft. In late 44' I was catching convoys with (I believe) 8-12 escorts of varying classes as well as Bogue class escort carriers and seemingly immediate support from fighters and coastal ASW aircraft.
When you do get to the desired area spend as much time submerged and at slow speed as possible (all day and half the night). Stay at around 40m in the daytime to preclude aircraft attacks but come to periscope depth at night to get position reports. Late in the war, in the really HOT areas, submerge to 40m (even at night) for about an hour after surfacing/snorting to preclude attacks from any aircraft you have probably alerted somehow.
If you get a contact report the rest is easy;
Use the compass to establish an area to search for the convoy based on speed and contact time(remember the distances are in kilometers but the speed is in knots. Thank God for that conversion table thing they included). If the contact is NNE ENE WSW SSW or whatever, draw a line from the center of the convoy or ship box in that direction, and then 2 more 20 degrees left and right. This is your area most likely to produce contact as GWX convoys change course frequently but their hemispheric heading will remain the same (west/east north/south)
Once you have done this guess at an intercept point. Then query your navigator as to the time to course end. Adjust your guesses until you reason yourself to be able to reach the intercept an hour or two ahead of the convoy. Haul ass there and make a hydrophone check or wait for radar signals from the convoy escorts.
You should have plenty of time to maneuver into a good position and submerge before their radar picks you up. Then its just a matter of waiting around with the periscope up (use the O-periscope it seems to detect aircraft more readily than the attack periscope, but maybe that's just me) for a merchant to steam into view on your map. Plot his course and the course of all the other lanes by drawing a line through the center of the map icon or directly along it's side. Pick the best two adjacent lanes and maneuver into position at slow speed silent running staying at least 500m away from the escorts and as far away as possible from their forward arc. In the last minutes before the convoy reaches you 1/3 speed can still avoid detection if you are behind the lead escort(s). Pick a position in between the lanes most populated by fat ships and attack with a 5-10 degree oblique angle to perpendicular. Now you are set up for both bow and stern tubes.
The method I use for targeting is one degree lead angle for each knot of target speed with fire angle set at 0. If you got a contact report you already know the speed so this is easy. If you just run into them it's a bit harder as you need to either time their speed over 3:15 or (what I do) check the map contact for a general speed and then guess on the low end ( slow 5kts, medium 7kts, fast 10 kts) Never fire at the instant the prow of the ship crosses the degree angle you select as the torpedo will often forward by a hair. If the speed is unknown you can generally deduce the correct fire angle in successive attacks. The advantage to this method is that you can target both bow and stern tubes rapidly, especially if you forego identifying the targets and just use 2m for a small ship, 3 for medium and 4 for large. This will also prevent duds due to torpedoes striking the steeply angled lower parts of the ship, ships rising in swells, and misidentification.
Finally, if using the 1kt/1degree method you can target rapidly enough to bring a good attack to bear on almost any ship. I would recommend reducing the lead angle by at least one degree after the intial attack as zigzagging reduces their speed relative to you a bit and significantly if they are in middle or a course change at full rudder.

Phew, sorry about the verbosity but I hope all or some of this helps.

Happy hunting!

P.S. On my system at least a considerable stuttering of game performance indicates you are close to a convoy

[Sensekhmet]

Predavolk, it's very simple. I see a contact, I use the marker and rulere to scribble a bit, I charge in... nothing. I dive, listen, wait. Nothing. Simple as that, I really don't know how to explain it better.
Part of the equation may be that fact that I suck at geography (got really bad grades from that, plus, I could probably get lost in my own closet) and maths (I'm very bad at this) so I'm flabbergasted by all the angles between different points and bearings between the angles of heading of these points, being on the move as they are. Sometimes angling their bearings out. Or in. :doh: Southwise. With differing speeds. Er. No? :damn:
Oh, and you should've seen my facial expression when I read about manual targeting...

[sharkbit]

Try this thread:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=88961

Loads of help on intercepting a target hours away and what to do when you contact him. it has some good links to other tutorails on manual targeting as well.

There is a ton of information on this forum on manual targeting, but the above link and the links in the thread are probably the best.

Good luck. :)

[Sensekhmet]

It's my first day here and already my gaming experience got much better. I just intercepted a convoy, despite being jumped by a lone DD (the watch crew better watch out!). The convoy was escorted by two DDs. Using newly learned avoidance tactics I survived all 3 encounters with barely a scratch. Now, I've got a short temper and wheeling around me while I have my tubes loaded is a bad idea... so I laid them off, including the loner that caught me by surprise. Whoa. Now I'm on the surface, stalking the convoy. Poor souls, they are so restless it's a miracle they don't crash into themselves. Guess I'll back off for now and wait for them to clam down... so I can take all their fears away, and take them to a very calm place. :/\\chop

[Sensekhmet]

And, of course, the save got FUBAR'ed.

[nirwana]

- Firstly the 16km atmosphaere mod or mods containing such a feature must be enabled.
- set a straight course
- set timecompression to at least 256, i use 512 (depending on ure hardware)
- ure fingers hovering over ure Kb to pause the game instantly
- stare on the clock on the GUI
- as soon as u notice the elapsing time slow down a bit or starts buckling u kick into pausemode
- goto periscopedepth if there are no visible targets and check with the hydro manually if there are any contacts if the AI doesnt report one.

Approx. every 3rd time im successful to find ships that way. I avoid to run any other application in the background that could cause equal performancejumps.