Torpedoes that don't target properly... sort of.

[AirHippo]

Howdy all; been a while, I stopped playing DW and SC for a bit and got into Battlestations: Midway instead (nice game, but by heaven it's nonsense; 45,000-ton battleships do not stop in their own length damnit). That and Burnout: paradise... anyway, where was I. Oh yes, DW. I've been trying to get Sub Command to work reliably on this Vista box (no luck - it just does not like my video card I think, but luckily I have my old XP box back in action again... hmm), and have also got back into DW again.

Today I was playing Bill's mission... First Salvo, I think it's called. There's me, trundling along in my old friend Volk, coming up the Kitty Hawk's backside like a bat out of hell.

"Aha!" I say. "We're within ten kilometres; she's only making 20 knots, my torpedoes can make 50; even if she goes to full speed she can't make more than 30-ish. Right, let's get going then."

Target (with auto-crew on to save me faffing about programming the enabling ranges) Master 5, which is pretty carrier-shaped (sounds like one, looks like one etc) and lying almost dead ahead (bearing 090) at a range of 10,100m, give or take a whisker. Four 65-76s, just to be sure; I don't want Northern Fleet command asking awkward questions like, "so how come you didn't sink it, then?" Ranges look all right, acoustics set to passive (not that it matters with a wake-homer), snake search pattern, enabling run 23,000m. Flood, equalise, open doors, fire. Off go four 65-76s... on a course of 140 degrees.

A short and lively speech on the incapacity of my torpedo crews later, I'm waiting patiently for them to reload the tubes and closing still further. At a range of 4,000 metres, they can't miss. Not even this lot, who must've had a little too much vodka before they left port or been getting high on HTP. Finally, 4,200m away, they get the next lot ready. No auto-crew this time, I'll do it myself. A very rough calculation leads me to conclude that I might as well just set the activation ranges to 5,000m and leave it at that. Snake, Passive, ceiling 2m, floor 394m. Flood, equalise, open, fire. Off go four more 65-76s... on a course of 140 degrees, or thereabouts anyway. I look at my tactical plot thing, and find that M05, their target, is still dead ahead, 090 degrees.

So, er... what gives? I don't remember ever encountering this one before. I'm running DW with 1.04 patch and LWAMI 3, so far as I recall.

[goldorak]

Never ever under any circumstance let your autocrew set the torpedo settings for an attack even if you have a 100% accurate tma solution. Its a 100% guarantee they will miss.

Case in point, you said the target was at 10000m, if the run to enable is set to 23000m the torpedo will activate its wakehoming sensor way way past the target.

Just to be clear, the 65-76 must be launched on a course that will intercept the targets wake. If you launch them on a lead course its very difficult they will hit something.
You said the target was at bearing 90, what was its course that is the important thing to know.

[AirHippo]

Ah. Its course was also 090; that is to say, this was a stern chase. I'd just gone from flank to 1/3 speed and picked her back up again. And although I'm aware that the auto-crew are generally... a bit iffy, shall we say, with their fire-control, it's not normal for them to simply send the torpedoes off at 50 degrees to the proper bearing. I'm aware that the 65-76 has to have a wake to home in on, incidentally; I've found it can even be used in lead shots, providing the enemy ship turns and runs in good time and leaves enough wake for the sensor to pick up. Which the AI ones tend to, which is handy.

Edit: A further play-through. This time I was also in a stern chase, carrier bearing approximately 165 degrees, range 22,000m. Having decided that I needed to test what happened, this seemd a good enough time. Auto-crew on again. Programmed ranges, ceilings etc perfectly OK. Fire four torpedoes, all of which turn to a course of around 200 degrees and steam off. The auto-crew had, mere moments before, set up a perfect solution on a Spruance class destroyer, so even they weren't acting up that badly. Weird. It seems only to affect the 65-76s; the UGSTs work perfectly, and even their enabling ranges seem to be set somewhat better. Perhaps it's just a corrupted file somewhere in the install.

[AirHippo]

The plot thickens... today's test was to see whether it was the entire thing that was acting up or just firing on a programmed target. Two 65-76s were set off along snapshot ebarings of 310 and 10 degrees. Both torpedoes proceeded along the correct courses. OK, weird. So I then decided to use my first available sonar contact as a guinea pig. Up comes S01, and I immediately designate it a surface target. Range unknown, but using my fingers as a rough pair of calipers around 20 miles. bearing 081 degrees. Lock it in, auto-crew handling the fire-control, and fire.

Off goes the torpedo, on course 080...