Contacts at High TC?

[CaptainNemo12]

Hi guys,

I remember this issue with stock SH3 when at high TC (i.e 256X+), the game would not give you any new contact reports from the watch crew or the sonar officer. Whereas if you slowed down TC to about 64X or 128X, new contact reports would appear again. Has this been fixed with GWX 3? I'm currently patrolling from Der Kanal to the mouth of the Irish sea, spent days and nights underwater and on the surface and still no contacts? It's 1941 and I usually cruise at around 1024X on the nav map to pass the time, should I decrease the TC more to get new contacts? If so, what value?

[Dissaray]

puting the TC at 1024 dose some funny things to the game, I generaly don't go above 256 for crusing to hunting grounds. Lowering the TC will definatly increase the crew's ability to detect contatcts, though some times there just aren't any to detect.

The rule of thumb is not to go above 128 if you are in a high trafic area and hunting. At least that is the consensus I have seen.

[FIREWALL]

At 1024 tc I wish it would ctd. :haha:

To each his own but, that's no way to play GWX.:nope:

[CaptainNemo12]

At 1024 tc I wish it would ctd. :haha:

To each his own but, that's no way to play GWX.:nope:

LOL how about at 8192X? :har:

[applesthecat]

I cruise at 1024 and I am interrupted by "detecting radar signals" often.

[BillCar]

I think airplane contacts are the main thing that you lose – I play at 128x or lower only now, so that I still get aircraft contacts, but I used to play at 1024 (sometimes even 2048 when rushed). Where ships are concerned, I don't feel like I get any more contacts at 128 (or 32, for that matter) than when I would sometimes play at 1024.

Even if you do have to play on higher TC for time constraints, I do strongly recommend playing no higher than 128 when in areas with allied air cover (though by 1943, that's pretty much anywhere and everywhere).

I generally run between 32 and 128, and read a book / work on my thesis. Plus side: I get a lot of homework done, and it feels a little more Das Boot-like, sitting there with long periods of nothing, reading your book... it's a different kind of fun.

[flag4]

Hi guys,

I remember this issue with stock SH3 when at high TC (i.e 256X+), the game would not give you any new contact reports from the watch crew or the sonar officer. Whereas if you slowed down TC to about 64X or 128X, new contact reports would appear again. Has this been fixed with GWX 3? I'm currently patrolling from Der Kanal to the mouth of the Irish sea, spent days and nights underwater and on the surface and still no contacts? It's 1941 and I usually cruise at around 1024X on the nav map to pass the time, should I decrease the TC more to get new contacts? If so, what value?

HELLO HUNTERS,

i had had a very succesful patrol - just over 41.000tns!:D

it was late at night in my own world and i needed to go to bed, so i high TC'd it back across the the pond only to collide with a friendly just :damn:ouside Wilhelmshaven...:dead:

so i think high TC is a :nope: from now on. as for contacts i would not go higher than 128. 64 is better though. after all it is a game of patience - nes pas?

[flag4]

I think airplane contacts are the main thing that you lose – I play at 128x or lower only now, so that I still get aircraft contacts, but I used to play at 1024 (sometimes even 2048 when rushed). Where ships are concerned, I don't feel like I get any more contacts at 128 (or 32, for that matter) than when I would sometimes play at 1024.

Even if you do have to play on higher TC for time constraints, I do strongly recommend playing no higher than 128 when in areas with allied air cover (though by 1943, that's pretty much anywhere and everywhere).

I generally run between 32 and 128, and read a book / work on my thesis. Plus side: I get a lot of homework done, and it feels a little more Das Boot-like, sitting there with long periods of nothing, reading your book... it's a different kind of fun.

...it is lovely to think we can play a game where nothing happens and we enjoy it as we learn - how is the thesis going?


+ higher TC's in GWX - coastal areas as the war progresses - you could bump mines, not a good idea.

[BillCar]

Thesis is coming along pretty smoothly, thanks to SH3! The world's greatest study aid.

Seriously, as odd as it sounds, I rely on SH3 to keep me from going out and partying constantly (which is what I would be doing – I procrastinate way too much on my schoolwork). SH3 gives me a reason to stay in one place for long enough to work on things!

[comet61]

I average 128 in most cases. I have discovered that anything over 256 will greatly limit my contacts of any kind. On surface cruising I will run at 128 and do a few bursts of 256 here and there. If submerged, I stop at 0 TC every 90 minutes to check Hydrophones manually. I do 128 for 15 seconds, then 256 for 30 seconds, then 128 for 15 then 256 again and stop at 0....do the check and repeat process. That method I have gotten many contacts either by the sonar man or actually finding a distant contact manually.

If I decide to go over 256, things can become problematic. A few examples are: no contacts, or WO doesn't report a sighting until I am 1000 meters away, or I am being bombed or fired upon way before I am alerted of anything...which by the way has killed me a few times. Once I was running at 1024 and collided with a neutral Irish merchant. WO didn't say a peep. Heavily damaged I had to limp home with almost all of my torpedoes...embarrassing to say the least not to mention ticked off at myself.

Also, for me anything over 256 will change the weather too soon. But, if I need to return to base I will venture going to 2048 to get back ASAP. So, now I go 128 80% of the time and 256 once in awhile. Takes longer, but at least my patrols seem complete when I return to base with respectable tonnage.

[Sailor Steve]

I used to only cruise at 128x, but these days I'm back up to 1024. Loss of contacts? SH3, even with GWX, gives way too many contacts anyway. I recently started a new career and had 5 ships sunk for 20,000+ tons. Compared to most real patrols, I think that's plenty.

[Jimbuna]

Anything above 128 tc and you run the risk in air traffic terms of being destroyed before your able to react and in surface contact terms missing many events/contact notifications.

[Chef]

Does processor speed make a difference in how high you can go with TC and still get adequate warning?

[[SJ]nailz]

I run to and from "grid" at x2048, ahead standard, and get plenty of contacts (3 or 4 per patrol), and in "grid" at 256 ahead 1/3rd and mostly pick up nothing, I very rarely sink anything in "grid".


I use SH3 commander to help out at high compression, all radio, sonar, radar and eyeball contacts drop to x1, and this helps to avoid any unable to dive scenarios.

Unless I've got full access to the games room equipment, when sometimes I play golf on the Wii and leave it at x128 or lower....

[Jimbuna]

Does processor speed make a difference in how high you can go with TC and still get adequate warning?

Processor speed is one of the main factors about how smoothly your game will run at high TC.

The warning is a constant factor regardless.

If your running at 8x TC you will have a certain amount of time to rect. Now up the TC t0 128x and try to imagine how much nearer the contact might be to you before you can react.

[CaptainNemo12]

Moving towards the west coast of Ireland now, cruising at 128X at ahead standard and so far no enemy shipping... came across an Irish convoy and an American tanker but it is still too early in the war to attack. On average, how many ships do you guys sink per patrol?

[Obltn Strand]

On average, how many ships do you guys sink per patrol?
Between zero and let's say eight, avarage is four.
Some patrols are endless boring sailing with single 2000 tonner or nothing sunk. On the oppposite one is barely out of harbour and sunk eight ships.
Depends a lot where you patrol.

[comet61]

I was on a 5 week patrol with maybe 3 contacts and only one was fired on. Next patrol I sunk 4 ships in 3 days. I guess historically this happened quite a bit. So if you like realism, you get what you ask for. :o

Not all patrols are the same. I rarely have 2 uneventful/long patrols in a row.

[Dissaray]

On my last run I hit four ships for a GRT of 27000 and change. Though one of those was a flat-top. It is quite abnormal for me to score so high a GRT in a single patrol, though that is about the average number of ships I bag in a patrol. According to my WAW records I have taken between 1 and 5 ships in the last five patrols. I also have lost two uboats in the same number of patrols come to think of it, fortunatly I have survived longer than my commands have.

[CaptainNemo12]

First Blood!!!

Was following a task force near AM52 when I came across a large merchant, two eels later and she's now sitting at the bottom!:DL

BTW I also notice that there are no more map updates for single merchants (the little squares that pop up now and then) like in stock SH3 anymore. Is this a feature implemented in GWX? I still see task force updates however.

[Panser]

I've seen a couple of the lone ship markers appear on my patrol today. I was near AM52 at the time and I had one appear between the hebrides and the mainland of scotland.

I think you need to be in areas of high shipping, but they do still appear in GWX3. Presumably it recreates finding ships with the DF loop?

[CaptainNemo12]

Oh no! It seems that my last save was somehow corrupted... loaded it and got a CTD:damn::damn::damn:

Oh well, loaded my last save and ended up sinking a largo cargo for 5330 tons...

Is there anyway to edit my career so that the large merchant that I sunk (11000 tons) would appear in my patrol log?

Still I'm wondering how the save was corrupted, I used the "save and exit" option and exited the right game after...

[brett25]

sitting there with long periods of nothing, reading your book... it's a different kind of fun.im totally with you on that. I keep the camera in the captains bed, on my big screen TV monitor and play the gramaphone and read a book, make a tea, have a pipe on the porch, I love that way, haha

as far as TC 128 is best for hustling, 64 for making time with out wasting my crew, 256 for max. Too many things go wrong for me at 512 and 1024

[Captain Nemo]

Still I'm wondering how the save was corrupted, I used the "save and exit" option and exited the right game after...

In my experience corrupted saves are pretty much random. I have followed all the rules regarding saving games and still had the dreaded corrupt save. I have also broken all the rules and had no problem. Not sure how you can get back your 11,000 tons though.

Back on topic, I only criuse around at 128x TC max. In fact, I have used SH3 Commander to make sure I can't go above 128x.

Nemo

[sergei]

BTW I also notice that there are no more map updates for single merchants (the little squares that pop up now and then) like in stock SH3 anymore.

If you put an experienced qualified radioman in the radio shack you'll notice you'll get a lot of these contacts.
I'm guessing you have an unqualified crewman in this slot at the moment.