surface ship probs

[iowa101]

right, so i have the the uss montana as my ship on a patrol misson. for some reason only my torpedos fire, why cant i use my deck guns and AA guns while sailing this ship

also how do i activate mods using the the mod enabler, do i leave them zipped or do i unzip and them do it

[Karle94]

Have you manned the guns?

[jokerl90]

If you have the mod enabler installed correctly there will be a "mods" folder inside the main sh4 folder where your game is installed. You need to unzip the mod into that "mods" folder. Then open the mod enabler,select the mod from the available mods box and then click the little arrow thingy that points to the activated box. It would be a good idea to look over the readme for the mod enabler and view any info on the mod enabler's website.

About the guns, try going to battle stations (this will get the weapons manned) then click on "fire at will" button. You can select targets using the binoculars. Look at the target, put the crosshairs in the bino's on it, press the spacebar to engage.
If you man the gun yourself and it does not fire, you may have to "load the gun" by clicking on one of the shell icon's to the right.

I don't have the montana mod myself (yet) but the above is pretty generic for all playable surface ships.

edit, Just played the mod. There is no crosshair in the bino's but you will get the yellow icon when target is available. Also the guns do not fire until the target is within 5000 yards.

[Krauter]

I remember reading somewhere, I think in the Yamato Beta topic, that someone increased the firing range (of the Yamato) to the real max range of 44,000 yards with lookouts capable of seeing 17miles in good weather..

Does anyone know the files that he modified? I'm sure that triple 16'' turrets have a longer spotting range then 5000yds..

Cheers,

Krauter

[Sailor Steve]

I don't know how to adjust those files, but you're right: every battleship had a Gun Director mounted at least 100 feet above the water, with a rangefinder at least 40 feet across. They could spot a ship at about 25,000 yards.

Hood and Bismarck opened fire at 21,000 yards, and that was in overcast weather. Yamato has to be at least that good.

[Krauter]

Well according to nihonkaigon (combinedfleet.com):

Yamato:
18.1'' gun stats

Gun type: 18.1''/45 cal
AP Projectile Weight: 3219 lbs
Total Weight of Broadside: 28,971 lbs
Muzzle Velocity: 2559 ft/s
Max. Range: 45,960yards
Nominal Firing Cycle: 30 seconds.

Fire Control Optical
Main Range Finder Base Length: 15 meters
Turret Range Finder Base Length: meters
RPC (Training/Elevation): No/No

Fire Control Radar
Gun Control Radar: Mark2, Mod 2
Wavelength: 10cm
Power Output: 2kW
Capability: Limited FC

GENERAL COMMENTS: The bottom line is that, after 1943 or so, having the world's best optical fire-control systems was largely irrelevant. The night battle between Washington and Kirishima near Savo pretty much settled the point; good radar usually beats good optics in a stand-up fight. And the radar used by Washington off of Guadalcanal was not as good as the sets fitted aboard Iowa.

Then there's the fact that all radar fire-control is not created equal. Radar operating at meter or decimeter wavelengths is useful for ranging, but lacks the angular accuracy necessary for training. In practical terms, this means that a decimetric set can develop a range solution via radar, but must rely on an optical director to supply training information for the battery. This hybrid fire-control solution is, of course, limited by the quality of the optics available, and also by the visual horizon (which is closer than the radar horizon), and weather conditions. Only with the advent of 10cm and (later) 3cm wavelength sets was true 'blindfire' radar fire-control achievable, wherein the firing ship need never come into visual range of the opposing vessel. The Germans, Japanese, and Italians never developed sets of this capability (both the Japanese (despite its 10cm wavelength) and German sets were usable for fire control against a battleship-sized target only out to a range of about 27,000 yards.) The bottom line is, then, that the Allied vessels, and particularly Iowa and South Dakota, would enjoy an enormous advantage in gunfire control over their adversaries. She would have the ability to lob shells over the visual horizon, and would also perform better in complete darkness or adverse weather conditions.

The final adjusted rating also reflects the fact that American FC systems employed by far the most advanced stable vertical elements in the world. In practical terms, this meant that American vessels could keep a solution on a target even when performing radical maneuvers. In 1945 test, an American battleship (the North Carolina) was able to maintain a constant solution even when performing back to back high-speed 450-degree turns, followed by back-to-back 100-degree turns. This was a much better performance than other contemporary systems, and gave U.S. battleships a major tactical advantage, in that they could both shoot and maneuver, whereas their opponents could only do one or the other.

*pulled from best battleships competition; Combined Fleet.com*

[Krauter]

Sorry for the lengthy post, but to drive the point home...

To make this realistic, the IJN Yamato beta should have (according to the article) an accurate (ie AI firing range) of about 27,000 yards with a maximum (player controlled) range of 44,000 some odd yards. Additionally, mods such as the Iowa and Montana in this case, should have a maximum accurate (AI controlled) firing range at or very near to their maximum possible range.

Cheers,

Krauter

[peabody]

I remember reading somewhere, I think in the Yamato Beta topic, that someone increased the firing range (of the Yamato) to the real max range of 44,000 yards with lookouts capable of seeing 17miles in good weather..

Does anyone know the files that he modified? I'm sure that triple 16'' turrets have a longer spotting range then 5000yds..

Cheers,

Krauter

I know there are some changes you can make in the CFG folder that help. crewai.cfg and sim.cfg. the Sim.cfg give max firing ranges for cannons and AA. The crewAI.cfg will give distances for what is considered short, medium and long range.

Peabody