ARGH! Photo recon with broken camera

[Akula4745]

Ok, I spend four days getting into Singapore harbor at just the right time of day - just before daybreak and then I sit patiently waiting... sun comes up and no camera button. Fair enough... we must need better daylight... so I wait and get dive bombed by a plane in the process - slight damage and not much more - easily repaired. All the while I am checking the scope and camera button... still no button, so I move in even closer... 1800 yards from the docks. I am so close a guy on the dock waves... still no camera button. 10 AM comes and goes... seriously BRIGHT daylight by now, gents... but still no camera button. I tried and I tried and I tried... then I just said the hell with it and went ballistic and sank everything there (except for a little patrol boat which only caught fire from a torpedo - go figure). Now they want to send me back - incomplete mission... what the heck? There is nothing there to photograph anymore... no worries now. <G>

So what gives guys? I have seen the posts about others having trouble with photo recon missions and I took notes... still no luck. Anyone care to share the secret?

Thanks in advance!

Akula4745

[Torplexed]

Did you try locking your periscope on an enemy vessel, or just on the docks? :hmmm:

[Akula4745]

Heya Torp,
I did aim the periscope direct at the ship(s) individually and get the distance and solution. Is there another way to "lock" the periscope? I might not know everything I thought... duh.

Akula4745

[rditto48801]

The manual is Lazy and Lackluster when it comes to being Lucid about Lucrative details relating how to Lock the periscope/TBD/UZO on Lumbering Loot Laden ships soon to be... er... sorry about that, got a mild sugar buzz...
Anyways...

L key for "Lock View", keeps the periscope/TBD/UZO always 'aiming' at the 'center' of the target you were looking at when you press L.
L again to "unlock" the view.

The option to take a photo should appear once locked onto a ship.
Just lock onto and take a photo of every ship in the area, although sometimes you might get lucky and only need to photo a few of the present ships before the mission is complete.

[Akula4745]

Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo... I'm a doofus! Thanks rditto. I learn something new about this game every day! I owe ya!

Akula4745

[SteamWake]

When you get the photos done send them a thank you note in the form of a Mark10 :salute:

What I found interesting is that an aircraft prosecuted you yet they sent no further assault?

[Akula4745]

Yes sir, SW... he came out of the clear blue and dropped on me... less than 2000 yards from the dock and no one stirred. There were two patrol boats at anchor who never flinched... I was there a good hour afterwards (waiting for the sun) and nothing else. I looked in the external camera and it was MAJOR obvious to anyone in the air what I was... very visible from the air. There was a lot of air traffic (looking for me?) and I was not sure I was safe until I got to deeper water.

Wish I had figured out the L key thing then... <G> I'll go back and redo it.

Akula4745

[rditto48801]

I once ended up dangerous close to a convoy at night, and after I sunk a pair of ships, the escorts sort of wandered around aimlessly, firing of flare shells of all things, as if unsure 'where' I was at, even one looking opposite of where I was at, opposite of the side of the convoy where ships got sunk. Even though I torpedoed an escort a little to close and in a optimal 'sitting duck' position, and caused an 'instant kill' with lots of fireworks and the escort quickly sinking, the rest of the escorts made no effort to come over and pay me a visit... :-?
It was... anti-climactic... I stayed at periscope depth for a while, taking the occasional several second long peak (and getting bored and just watching things with the external camera) and they never really found me or even were close to where I was at... (I was silent with all stop, so there was no prop noise for them to track, but still, flares shells?)

It just seems like the AI simply goes a little brain dead on occasion when it comes to 'calling in help', because I should have been running deep, not peaking up and going "What the heck are those idiots doing?!".
Although, the escort had fired flare shells a split second before the torpedo hit and blew them out of the water, but still, it seems like at least one of the other escorts should have steamed on over and gone crazy with the active sonar instead of wandering aimlessly and launching flare shells into the air...

So it sounds like even the aircraft can somehow not call for help... and if an escort can get blown out of the water by a torpedo and everything not come investigate, something similar might have happened with the aircraft attack bomb explosion not causing nearby warships to steam on over and with other aircraft not joining in on the fun.
I think it was on this forum someone ran into a carrier air group, and quickly had a ton of planes on top of them, so the aircraft can apparently work together to converge on subs they find and make the captain and crew collectively wet/mess their pants. :o

In stock anyways, I don't think aircraft can spot a dived sub, even if it is at periscope depth, so long as nothing is actually sticking above the water. :dead:

I have observed absurd levels of aircraft in some areas, nothing like diving to avoid one (or several planes), and a peak with the SD radar at 43ft showing several more aircraft when the coast should be clear... I was never spotted (no aircraft attempted to attack me, watched with external camera and none came apparently changed course to come after me), and even after diving for many hours and coming back up to see even more planes...
It seems some areas simply spawn lots and lots of aircraft to fly in your general direction (estimated 12-24 per hour based on a few rough estimated)

[SteamWake]

Ithe escorts sort of wandered around aimlessly, firing of flare shells of all things, as if unsure 'where' I was at,

They were unsure, and star shells are standard operating procedure.

Your lucky actually you dident run into a set of elites. :salute:

[rditto48801]

They were unsure, and star shells are standard operating procedure.

Your lucky actually you dident run into a set of elites. :salute:
Ah, yes, nightmares from SH2 return...
As I called them, 'psycho destroyers'...

As for my encounter
If a convoy is attacked from the west side, and one of the escorts is way off east by several thousand yards...
It was maybe May or June of of 1942, so it makes sense their escorts might not be the best... but those escorts were as dull as a box of rocks.
although, I was silent with no motors when I was in their path, so they probably had no clue anything was even in the area until the fireworks began...

I don't recall any other night attacks where escorts used the star shells... although the other times, they were usually pinging like crazy

but yeah... being hunted, and actually have to dive and hide, where I don't/can't sneak peaks at periscope depth while wondering 'what the hell are they doing', would be a nice change.
It would also put a good use to actually finding the thermal layer while setting up an ambush on a convoy...

and back to the nightmares of SH2 psycho destroyers...
best defense would be to.... um... speed praying... because 99% of the time, those crazy buggers would lay the second set of charges ON the conning tower... makes me wonder if surfacing or going more shallow to keep them from hitting their set depth and hope they don't have impact fuses...
When I got SH3, I couldn't put up SH2 fast enough... darn psycho destroyers in SH2... one occasion detect a warship, peep up the scope, see it's a crazy little thing in the distance heading strait for me... figure it is chance, already minimal speed and submerged, go silent, dive down a ways... 5nm later, hear splashes and depth charge warning... hit external view, bend over, place head between legs, kiss rear goodbye... watch middle depth charges 'stop' a second as they land on the conning tower... :dead:
made a new campaign with 0% vulnerability in SH2 for venting steam, they do depth charge run, I surface and tear up their bottom, then relentlessly ram them to death with a puny Type II if they ended up dead in the water... :yep:

but for now... been up maybe 19 hours... :zzz:

[SteamWake]

I dont know about stock but with RFB mod there are eliete units in there, trust me.

Last time i ran into one it took me about 12 hours to evade.

[Akula4745]

psycho destroyers

Now that sounds interesting... NOT!
LOL

Akula4745

[rditto48801]

Yeah, psycho destroyers... especially in SH2.

But that was early in the game (before the invasion of Norway), I was green as sea weed and wet behind the ears at the time, having only had SH1 as previous Sub sim experience, so my perception at the time was that some of the destroyers were just plain homicidal psychopaths the moment they detected me or were otherwise alerted to my presence (that and watching on external camera as depth charges landed ON the conning tower...) :o :dead:
It was either dumb luck, or some of those destoyers in SH2 had gun sights underwater with the accuracy they dropped with... :-?

I didn't have that kind of trouble with SH3, at not least in terms of deadly depth charge accuracy, but perhaps in terms of persistance...

[Akula4745]

I am quite sure it is because I am still a (gulp) noob at SH4... but some of the DDs in SH4 are pretty voracious... with psycho being another good description. Amazing thing is the rest of the DDs appear to blind and deaf... sigh.

Akula4745

[Webster]

and dont worry about the ships being there, everytime you get out of range they respawn again so keep that in mind if your chasing a convoy.

if you sink a convoys escorts and let them get out of sight when running ahead to get back in position then you then those escorts you sank will have respawned and they will come say hello lol.

[Akula4745]

Oh now that is a nice touch! LOL Just when you think you're whittling them down...

Akula4745