Renown and Promotions

[DigitalAura]

What's the point?

RENOWN
I mean, after your first patrol, you can afford to buy better deck guns and improved radar.... and probably still have enough for a bag of chips. :hmmm:

What does renown do besides act as currency in-game? I don't have anything else to buy, and there's nothing new coming down the pipe (actually, I just noticed the CUTIE mine but I mean really... what else is there? There needs to be MUCH more content as far as equipment.
And when do the friggin' decoys become available?

PROMOTIONS
And same for promotions...what good are these? Do they enhance the character you choose to promote? I have like 40 promotions that I can't use because I've maxed out the ranks allowed on one sub. Too many officers it says. Sheesh...
And does giving medals to crew members make them do something different/better?
I'd like to see REAL functionality from these options. They could really be useful and fun if they served a purpose.

[Frederf]

I'm pretty sure new submarine commissions are tied to renown somehow. It's either how much renown you have accumulated or how much you have sitting in the bank. Obviously this makes a big difference.

I think realistically decoys are never available but in some versions of the game they should be late, late, late in the war like '45.

Promotions are for breaking through experience limits and getting specializations. During experience upgrades your crew has the chance of gaining special abilities like diving officer or radar expert which I find really useful. Having a bunch of old men CPOs means you aren't cycling the maximum amount of crew through your ranks to get those upgrades.

As for medals, I believe in SH3 they had a effect on fatigue but in SH4 I don't know. I like to wait until I get enough medals for the whole crew before handing any out.

My crew loadout (USS-Gato) is something like:
Rear Torpedo
1: PO1/PO2
2: PO2/PO3
3: PO2/PO3

Propulsion
1: CPO/PO1/S2/S3/S3
2: --/PO1/S2/S3/S3
3: --/PO1/S2/S3/S3

Control Room
1: Lt/PO1/PO3/PO3/S2
2: En/PO1/PO3/PO3/S2
3: --/PO1/PO3/PO3/S2

Conning Tower
1: CPO/PO2
2: PO1/PO2
3: PO1/PO2

Forward Torpedo
1: CPO/PO2
2: PO1/PO2
3: PO1/PO2

Main Deck
1: LtJg/PO1/PO3/S3/S3
2: --/PO2/PO3/S3/S3
3: --/PO3/S1/S3/S3

DCT
CPO/PO2/PO2/PO3/S3

It may not be perfectly historical but I tried to go for the idea of a CO XO and WO as the 3 commissioned officers and CPOs as being the heads of their respective compartments so I have a CPO for torpedoes, engines, control tower, and one for the whole boat and crew. PO1s lead watches other than the CPO's watch with PO2/PO3 taking up the experienced slack. Seamen round out the more menial labor parts of the ship.

I tend to only fill the leadership slot on the first watch so it kicks in only for sure during battlestations.

[Armistead]

Aren't you playing TMO1.7. That add's much more equipment that was used throughout the war, including radar detection. I know he added more sonar and radar. Course you always want renown to buy torps.

Most of this equipment, including decoys is more historically correct, so you don't get it to late war so save up.

Submarine Upgrades: TMO
Radar:
Air Search Radar (SD Radar)
– Early war SD radar always available
– Improved SD Radar becomes available in June 1942.
– SV Radar becomes available in January 1945.
Surface Search Radar (SJ Radar)
– Early war SJ radar becomes available in June 1942
– SJ-1 Radar becomes available in July 1943
Radar Counter measures (aka Radar warning reciever)
– APR-1 / SPR-1 becomes available in August 1943.
Passive Sonar:
– WCA Listening gear always available.
– JP Sonar becomes available in June 1943
– JT Sonar becomes available in January 1945.
Decoy's.
– Submarine Bubble Target (SBT) becomes available in July 1944.

Having too many officers was a problem in stock. You could fill your entire boat up with Officers. TMO corrected this, even though it still allows too many. You can replace some....

Medals do effect the efficiency rating, mostly for lower ranking men. It seems to max out at certain numbers. I've never completly understood the numbers..sorta like..40/50 (+14), but they do increase with medals for certain men.

[DigitalAura]

Why haven't I seen any equipment like you list? It's 1944 already, and I have a new Gato but can't buy anything...and I've a TON of renown because I've been hogging it. Didn't take the gato until they offered it to me twice! :hmmm:

[Armistead]

Are you playing TMO1.7...?

It all shows up on time and some good equipment. Love the APR1 that detects radar and the SV1 radar, good for ships and planes, thus you can use it underwater and track ships.

It should show on the list when it becomes available. Beside radar slots you will see an arrow you can scroll down for more slots...so you can place it.

If you don't have it something is wrong with your mod install.

[DigitalAura]

Yeah... TMO1.7
Nothing else.


I can't imagine how that can be corrupted on my install? YOu think?

[SteamWake]

You absolutly sure the mod 'took'?

Do you see the TMO1.7 splash screen while loading?

[DigitalAura]

yeah... it's fine in every other regard!

Is equipment availability triggered by something other than date?

[Armistead]

No, it doesn't become available until the date. Most of the good stuff comes about once a year.