WO won't move? (& other Qs)

[KNomad]

What does it take to get a Watch Officer to actually go outside when surfacing?

Also, how do I run decks awash w/o a mod?
Every time i try to dive a little the bridge clears.

Another, I've read about running w/o one deisel engine recharging the baterries?
How do I do this?

Thanks in advance.

[Dissaray]

I don't know about that battery thing, but to run with your decks awash just set your depth to 6 or 7 m and it should work just fine. Though I have only ever done this with the GWX3 instaled so I am not too sure about the stock game.

As for your WO, you have to move him manualy from the crew managment screen (F7). I havn't found a way to get him to go places automaticaly, other than into the crew's quarters when diving.

[irish1958]

Welcome aboard.
1) you have to put the SOB there every time. There was work on a mod a while back to do it, but it never panned out.
2)To run with decks awash, try setting you depth down by 1 meter.
3)There is a button on the engineer's orders to choose either regular propulsion or recharge. The default is recharging if the battery needs it. Once it is fully charged, it will automatically switch to standard.
Your top speed will be reduced by 40% or so while recharging.

[Abd_von_Mumit]

1. As far I know there is no way to make him go but dragging him yourself. Hard coded I suppose. And I too dislike it very much, to the point it makes me dive for sonar checks much less often.

2. Just manually order a new depth of 6.9 metres (works for types VII and II), this is as deep my boats go without teoretically submerging (clearing the bridge). It's only 2 metres deeper than cruising depth, but it SIGNIFICANTLY shortens time to dive and probably makes you harder to spot. It will also slow you by a lot too, especially in rough waters. In storm it can make any UZO/binoculars observation impossible. You can use any compromise depth between 5 and 7 metres too - up to you.

3. This is done automatically - you'll notice you run slower after surfacing till you reload your batteries. Using your helmsman officer you can order normal cruise ("stop recharging") to gain speed even if batteries are not full though, which can be useful in critical situations.

[Wreford-Brown]

IIRC the decks awash piece was added by GWX and maybe some of the other supermods. I don't think you can run decks awash with stock.

[Weiss Pinguin]

There's some mods for stock that let you run decks awash, but un-modded? Not unless you stay close to poor weather :smug:

1. As far I know there is no way to make him go but dragging him yourself. Hard coded I suppose. And I too dislike it very much, to the point it makes me dive for sonar checks much less often.
Same here. One of the things I liked about SH4 (To be honest I haven't been able to play it enough to find many things I don't like about it - Blast you old technology!!) was the watch system. No more having to drag people around unless you wanted to. :)

[von hally]

yeah hard coded on the WO i'm afraid...as for decks awash.....very useful in GWX during convoy attacks...get in the habit of running like this most of the time.....it may mean the difference between returning to port or hitting the bottom of the drink!!!!

[KNomad]

Running Vanilla + Commander + a few mods ...

Is it better to end a patrol & save and then reload to do upgardes to boat/crew ... or doesn't it matter?

(I know it's better to start a new patrol after a restart of the game w/Commander, just not sure about upgrades.)

[Kpt. Lehmann]

1WO's are noted for their persistent laziness in SH3. Even threatening these individuals with bodily harm only results in yawns and bored looks.

Repeated kicking/dragging by the scruff of the neck... all the way to his bridge station does appear to work though... Once on the bridge they tend to wake up and do a fair job.

1WO's will however happily and rapidly plunge through the hatch without similar assistance when you dive the boat though.:D

[Subnuts]

Well, your IWO has to shave, comb his hair, smooth out the creases in his uniform, carefully remove all of the bones in his fish, and drain all of the blood from his face before he can go on watch. So you can imagine, it takes him a while to get going.

[Weiss Pinguin]

I remember a while back someone was trying to figure out a 3rd party program that would automatically move the WO for you.... That was a long while back though, and I doubt he ever worked it out. That would've been the coolest thing though.

Also, for upgrades, I don't think it really matters when you get them. On that note, in my current career I've noticed that I can buy engine upgrades... I thought they were taken out with GWX?

[Dissaray]

I think I remember reading in the GWX3 manual that some of the subs still have the engen upgrades, the subs that didn't come with the turbo chargers installed already. I know that in my games I don't get the opertunity to buy them when commanding the type VIIB, the only sub I live long enuf to command.

[Platapus]

It does make me wonder why Ubi coded the game like that in the first place.:06:

[Venatore]

1WO's are noted for their persistent laziness in SH3. Even threatening these individuals with bodily harm only results in yawns and bored looks.

Repeated kicking/dragging by the scruff of the neck... all the way to his bridge station does appear to work though... Once on the bridge they tend to wake up and do a fair job.

1WO's will however happily and rapidly plunge through the hatch without similar assistance when you dive the boat though.:D

Good comments :har:

[Sailor Steve]

I think I remember reading in the GWX3 manual that some of the subs still have the engen upgrades, the subs that didn't come with the turbo chargers installed already. I know that in my games I don't get the opertunity to buy them when commanding the type VIIB, the only sub I live long enuf to command.
I suspect you misread it. U-boats that didn't have superchargers in real life never had them installed later, and the ones that did (Type VIIb and later) didn't need upgrades. GWX reflects that properly.

The problem with the stock game is that the upgrades let the boats go much faster than they really did.

[Commander Gizmo]

I suspect you misread it. U-boats that didn't have superchargers in real life never had them installed later, and the ones that did (Type VIIb and later) didn't need upgrades. GWX reflects that properly.
This statement is quite confusing. Never...those that did... The term 'never' implies that it never occurred. Can you state this information more clearly because whenever someone knowledgeable talks about this, they always say it that way, even if they don't. I'm really confused.

[Weiss Pinguin]

If a U-boot didn't already have superchargers, it never received any. As for the U-boats that did come equipped with superchargers, well, then they didn't need to receive superchargers again.

[Commander Gizmo]

Thank you! Now I finally understand.

[Sailor Steve]

Yep. Type II, Type VIIa - no superchargers. Type VIIb on - superchargers. The speeds given in the books are the top speeds, and they didn't go any faster than that.

Sorry for the confusion.:sunny:

[Gargamel]

Sorry for bumping another dead thread (as an ex-moderator, I also hated having the same topic brought up in multiple threads, so I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't).

So, i'm assuming that no way to force the 1WO to the bridge upon surfacing has been found yet?

[Jimbuna]

Sorry for bumping another dead thread (as an ex-moderator, I also hated having the same topic brought up in multiple threads, so I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't).

So, i'm assuming that no way to force the 1WO to the bridge upon surfacing has been found yet?

That is correct :yep:

[Sailor Steve]

..so I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't.
Damn you!
:rotfl2:

Sorry, couldn't resist. :oops:

And once again Jim is spot on. Many have tried and many have died, but watch officers all manage to forget how to get to the bridge. You still have to take him by the hand and walk him there every single time.

[Mittelwaechter]

The WO has to be ordered to the conning tower manually because the game was released without 'no-fatigue mod'. ;)
It forces you to check the crew screen and realize tired crew members to be replaced.
Otherwise it would have been called a bug.

"Damn game! No one reminds me of the reloading torpedo crew. They died silently after a few days cruisin'.


Dive deeper than 8 meters in a 7b and your watch crew will jump into your bucket. You may want to set the snorkel depth to 7.9 meters and have a command key available for 'decks awash' - until you install a snorkel.
(for the 7b modify C:\...\Ubisoft\SilentHunterIII\data\Submarine\NSS_ Uboat7b\NSS_Uboat7b.cfg - open with notepad. Make your own mod - it's easy!)

Or you simply set the depth manually to 7.9 meters.
Other types may have different dive status settings.

The advantage is a low visual profile, a low radar profile as an unrealistic low audible profile for the enemy hydrophones. You run ditched deep in the water - still on diesels - but the DDs can't pick you up with hydrophones.

Nice to perform a surface attack in calm weather at night.