targeting different compartments of the ship (re:RFB 1.52)

[jazzabilly]

It took me 7 torpedoes and four solid hits to sink a Medium Merch. today. Leaving the realism of this aside for the moment, how do I target different sections of the ship?

I consistently hit dead center. Which sort of makes it unlikely that I will sink anything with RFB. Most ships carry on as if it was a speed bump.

It isn't my marksmanship - Normally it's excellent. I really want to use this mod, but the damage/sinking dynamics are a little too much.

[Coolhand01]

Put one under each mast (foward and stern) and one under the funnel. Works for me every time....CH

[Rockin Robbins]

All you wish to know is in the siggy below, grasshopper... Holy Cow! I have to update a little. Also look up the Treasure Chest of Manual Attack Method Goodies! (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=997601&postcount=199) and my Printable Cheat Flash Cards (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=1007637&postcount=204).

[jazzabilly]

Thanks for the links, Mr. Robbins. To clarify, I can hit just dandy, I just seem to have a lot of trouble sinking the darn things. (w/ RFB). All my shots hid dead center, which complicates things when I am trying for specific bits of the vessel.


So the upshot of it is (pun intended) is that the cross hairs determine where the shot is aimed? I thought that the lock had to be on for the shot to be aimed @ all.

[ancient46]

If you shoot many torpedoes with the lock on they will hit as you describe. However, you can set the spread angle to hit in different spots. Your target. a medium freighter is sailing due east, north of you at 9 knots. Set the spread to 1 1/2 left and fire, select the next tube, Set the angle to 3 Right and fire. This should nail the target in the engine room and under the front kingpost. Your target should sink.

I don't use that method anymore because there are manual targeting methods that work better and are more reliable for me.

[jazzabilly]

I don't use that method anymore because there are manual targeting methods that work better and are more reliable for me.

Such as?

[Rockin Robbins]

Dick O'Kane Technique, John P Cromwell Technique, Vector Analysis Method and other longitudinal spread methods and constant bearing methods. All of them send individual torpedoes to individually aimed parts of the target.

[AVGWarhawk]

Set your spread angle as mentioned above. I usually start the first at 0 and the go 2-4 degrees towards the direction of travel for each torpedo after the first. There is really no reason why all three should not hit bow, midsection and stern. Ship sunk. Also, how long are you waiting? One good hit to the engine room should shut that puppy down. Serve up the killing torp from the stern of your sub. I hit a old split freighter last night with three torps. Two exactly in the middle under the stack and one just ahead of the stack. She stopped dead and sank in about 25 minutes. Every now and then you get that on that sinks in under 5 minutes. Play with spread angle a bit and make a fan of your torpedoes. She how she goes :up: In fact, go to the torpedo training school. You already know what the warship is and the speed. Just dial that in and start messing with spread angles. Once you shoot hit F11 and follow your torpedoes and watch how they track. Eventually you will see a pattern that works well. Rinse and repeat until comfortable with what you have.

[SteamWake]

If your using autotarget and if all your shots are hitting dead center leads me to believe your 'locked' on the target.

Un lock the target and aim at its bow or stern, just aft of the stacks is a good spot.

Lead the target a bit and when the section you wish to hit crosses the crosshairs launch the torp. Just make sure you open the doors first :up:

[ancient46]

What he (Rockin Robbins) said. the secret to this thing is the usual one practice, practice, and more practice. If I can get the hang of it you will too. I first thought I would never be able to play this game well but time and practice proved me wrong.

If you still have trouble install the Sub-nuclear Torpedo Mod and fire a bunch of them at the ship, one big boom and goodbye ship, any ship. That mod is so fun in my less serious moods. However it can be risky if the admiral walks in and says, "I thought you said I had to be quiet when you are planning a firing solution because you need three hit to sink that ship. You blew that sucker to tiny pieces with one shot!" She then swishes out in a huff with a probable trip to the brig for me coming soon. Oh well at least the dogs will keep me warm.:D

This just in from Rumor Central: In a secret lab the author of that Mod is working on an Alien Blaster disintegration torpedo with knockout special effects.

[jazzabilly]

Well, as I mentioned earlier my attacks are pretty good, I was just a little put off by not being able to sink ships with RFB's damage mod. I still think that the pendulum has swung a little too far in the opposite direction from stock. Still, reservations aside, I still far prefer the modified version to stock.

Tonight it required 4 torpedoes to put down an old medium merch. (8000 grt) in late 1942 - it had already been hit once in the forward hold, engine room and bows. That would finish off any ship, but 2 hours later it was still afloat. It req'd a 4th to put her down. That's stretching it a bit. I strongly doubt that merchant ships were ever that tough. That's the same # of torpedoes that sank the Royal Oak, if I'm not mistaken.

Perhaps the flooding times need tweaking.

[I'm goin' down]

Just watch my videos. They are more instructive than Admiral Robbins' tutorials which have gained widespread fame because he sinks lots of really big ships. I never sink any and rarely hit them. Once you see what I do, don't do it and you will have great success. Nimitz will redecorate your office a la Lane's post, promote you, and you will retire a hero.

Tonight was typical yada yada. I chased a tanker for two hours, hit it with my last four torps, followed it for three hours, forgot to feed my three dogs, the dominant male got hungry and peed on my leg, the tanker did not sink, I went to get some dog food to feed the dogs, and while I was gone my boat ran aground off Singapore and sank.

On second thought, maybe you ought to stick with RR, Werner Sobe and tale.:know:

[Rockin Robbins]

It's the Desperate Dog Technique!:up: Put that thing in the Bag of Tricks thread!:arrgh!:

[ancient46]

Usually when the dogs get hungry while I have the Conn, the command "Go find Mommy!" almost always works. However the dastardly Beagle sometimes falls back on his favorite trick, standing up on his back legs and squeaking pitifully. I then have to put the crew in stasis, time travel to the present, feed the dogs, deal with the old adage "In one end out the other", and finally get back to the boat. I tried taking them with me but the goldendox's penchant for barking at outside noises could sink the boat. The beagle, sometimes known as "Peezilla" has an intense desite to go out at times, and that makes submarine life a real problem.

[magic452]

No dog here but my cat likes to use the keyboard as a headrest.
All kind of bizarre things start to happen, you emergency surface in the middle
of an IJN task force, torpedoes go flying all over the place, The XO jumps overboard,
and the cook picks that time to serve fresh milk and frayed eggs.
NOT recommended attack plan.

magic452

[tater]

jazzabilly, the damage model is still being tweaked, I rather think it will be a little less sensitive to aim point in the future.

[AngronIsAngry]

You could try to override the damage model with the Natural Sinking Mechanics Mod.

[AVGWarhawk]

oooo....might make a bad CTD situation if you do that.

[Orion2012]

You could try to override the damage model with the Natural Sinking Mechanics Mod.

DO NOT do that, like AVG said, you may cause a crash to desktop, but your gonna make several things and changes in RFB useless.

[jazzabilly]

jazzabilly, the damage model is still being tweaked, I rather think it will be a little less sensitive to aim point in the future.

Now, that's good news. I think I can be patient. Thanks very muchly.