Some (dumb?) Questions?

[Folducker]

How long do you have to be on station before your patrol is completed? I arrived Dec 10, and it's now Dec 29. I thought I read somewhere that it was 48 hours if you stayed within 100 miles of the yellow destination point.

When you click on a target and a rather large circle forms around it, does that mean the distance that they can see you? I know the circles around destoryers are detection range but does that apply to merchants?

Having a lot of fun with 1.5
Thanks

[SteamWake]

There are two types of missions, one where you stay on station, another where you reach the station then continue off to sink x amount of tonnage. Check your orders.

The outermost circle is there estimated 'visual' range. Other ships have other circles that denote their sonar range etc.

Here is a helpfull thread created by Beery "How to complete a mission" http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=111509

[Webster]

the circle is the visual detection range and the triagles are sonar cones of detection

[Stealhead]

Some larger ships like CAs will have two rings one being the visual one is the radar I assume though it can see much farther than that ring.And if I recall the visual ring is the minium range they can at times see you much farther away. Sorry playing TMO it took the rings out so I dont recall them that well. If you have a star with binoculars you must stay within 50 knms of that star for about 2 days and attack anything that you find if you have a flag inside the star you can freely hunt for targets at your will no time limit but there is an amount to sink which varies one large merchant or two or three smaller ones will often cut it(must be merchants sunk to complete). When the mission is completed the star becomes gray and you will get a message.

[Tony845]

You need to stay within 50 miles of the yellow star for 48 hours. Go outside that area and the time starts over again. Use he compass tool on the screen to draw a circle around the star as a guide. I normally set it between 49 -50 miles.

[Folducker]

Yea, I realize that now, I thought it was 100 miles. Earased the 100 mile circle, redrew one at 50 miles. Ohah! I can go home now!!! Been having fun sinking ships, hope they don't chew my but out for being gone so long.

[peabody]

Yea, I realize that now, I thought it was 100 miles. Earased the 100 mile circle, redrew one at 50 miles. Ohah! I can go home now!!! Been having fun sinking ships, hope they don't chew my but out for being gone so long.

Most of them are 100 miles. But you should zoom in before you draw your circle. Draw a circle while zoomed out, then zoom in and you will see you may be a long way from the center of the star with your circle. And keep is less than 100 miles, it isn't that accurate. And if you want you can do the 50 mile to be sure, they may not ALL be 100 miles.

Tony845 may have run into one that is 50 miles. I haven't checked all of them.

Peabody

[Captain Dave]

Not all missions are 48 hrs. Some are 36,72,and 96 hrs. It just depends on the luck of the draw.

[Stealhead]

That is one thing I like about TMO and RFB they both tell you the search radious and time in hours or days that makes it much better as you have no doubt what the requirement of the oders are.

[Marinesko]

This is not really a dumb question. A dumb question is:

Q. How do I blow up a whale with a torpedo?
A. Don't, use the deck gun because it's impossible to plot the AOB for a whale.

But seriously now, I have some questions about patrols, like what speed time compression do you guys tend to use. Sometimes I use a really fast speed to get near the patrol area or starting point, but when I do that I miss convoys because I don't get a chance to plot their courses.

Also, when heading out to port, when you have a long way to go, what speed do you usually go at? I usually keep it at ahead standard. Is that too fast? I am concerned with fuel, and also in some patrols there are constantly airplanes flying out to patrol, and I need to dive each time, using my battery. I'm pretty good at hitting planes, but usually if I hit one plane, there will soon be two or more planes coming my way soon after.

[Armistead]

In TMO the best speed is 9-10knts. You have some fuel icon bars that can show you your fuel consumption and compare it to range to end course. If you're gonna be a speed demon, be careful you have enough fuel to get back to base. I'll speed up when I have plenty ports to refit within range, usually when I'm docking down under...From Midway, if your gonna patrol long, better stay at 10kts. You go slower or faster, your fuel milage becomes terrible.

With time compression, crank it up until I get close to something, then I'll slow it down to around 1500 when patrolling. If I get a contact, I just use it as needed. Some patrols I play 100%, no contacts or cams. When you do that you're forced to go slow. If I don't have time, I'll turn contacts on. Usually when you get near the enemy, you'll notice your CP starting to work and the game will slow down...won't be long you'll be getting a contact report.

[Folducker]

This is not really a dumb question. A dumb question is:

Q. How do I blow up a whale with a torpedo?
A. Don't, use the deck gun because it's impossible to plot the AOB for a whale.

But seriously now, I have some questions about patrols, like what speed time compression do you guys tend to use. Sometimes I use a really fast speed to get near the patrol area or starting point, but when I do that I miss convoys because I don't get a chance to plot their courses.

Also, when heading out to port, when you have a long way to go, what speed do you usually go at? I usually keep it at ahead standard. Is that too fast? I am concerned with fuel, and also in some patrols there are constantly airplanes flying out to patrol, and I need to dive each time, using my battery. I'm pretty good at hitting planes, but usually if I hit one plane, there will soon be two or more planes coming my way soon after.

I use fast compression until I get to enemy territory, usually west of Midway when coming from Pearl. If I am on station and looking for trouble (which usually finds me first) I cruise at night, after 23:00 on the surface at around 512 compression. During daylight hours on the surface in Indian country, I usually try not to dive until noon. Up until that time, I will go with 256 or 512 with my finger hovering above the "C" key. I am now used to hitting that key when the time compression goes to 1 and then looking at to why the TC changed. Usually, I avoid "da plane" but not always. Cruising surfaced during daylight hours in enemy territory is an invitation to air attack. One other thing, if you are at periscope depth and detect a plane, immediately go to 80 feet. In any case, the save game feature is your best friend. I try to never engage planes, even though I practiced and got good at hitting them in training.

I think "standard" is the best compromise. If you are coming from Pearl, stop off at Midway to re-fuel, same with going home.