GDFTigerTank
03-04-10, 11:44 AM
And I say "Newbies" completely without malice or mockery because yes we were all indeed right there with you once, playing our first Silent Hunter game and saying "OMG how the hell do I do manual aiming/firing!"
What I'm providing you here is a sort of intermediate step you can use between going full manual TDC targeting and just doing the easy "eyeballing it" via the numbers on your attack map. You can actually use this method to make precise hits by developing an algebraic ratio out of the data the attack map shows you.
This will require the use of your map drawing tools to find distances!
1. Look at your attack map - you must have AUTO TDC on - and you'll see the lines marking the projected course of both your target, and your torpedoes. You need to figure out how fast your target is traveling compared to your torpedo speed, and this is how you can do it.
To do this:
2. Measure the distance from the target's "1" bubble to his "2" bubble Call this S1
3. Measure the distance from your torpedo track's "1" bubble to it's "2" bubble Call this T1.
For the sake of this example lets say S1 is 1000 and T1 = 4000
4. Now you have a ratio
S1 / T1 - What this ratio is telling you that every time your target travels "S1" meters, your torpedo travels "T1" meters.
So for 1000/4000 - every 1000 meters the ship travels, my torpedoes will go 4000 meters.
5. Now lets say you're 2000 meters from where the path of the target ship intersects the course of your torpedo - so you need your torpedo to go only 2000 yards (call this variable T2) - and you want to find at what point to fire it so that the target ship reaches it (call this variable S2).
Here's your resulting algebraic equation: S1/T1 = S2/T2
6. Plug in numbers we know for variables:
1000/4000 = S2/2000
1/4 = S2/2000
2000/4 = S2
500 = S2
So you need to fire when the target ship is 500 meters from the intercept point!
7. Go back to your map and mark out a spot on the target's course exactly 500 meters ahead of the point where the line of your torpedo crosses the target ship's path.
8. Now when the target ship (still just sailing along without a care) reaches that point fire your torpedo(s)!
9. Your torpedoes go 2000 yards, the target travels 500, and hopefully - BOOM!
This equation works with any numbers. As long as you know 3 of the 4 values you can solve for the last one.
Once you have this down, you're starting to really develop a feel for how to plot firing solutions, and then I think it's not nearly as hard to dive into the rest of the manual TDC, start using the Stadtmeter, calculating AOB, calculating speed, etc. and doing it on full manual!
Some of you might also get some milage out of looking in the SH IV forum regarding the "Dick O'Kane" attack tactic. This is another sort of intermediary method of plotting a precise firing solution without using the full manual TDC.
Happy hunting!
What I'm providing you here is a sort of intermediate step you can use between going full manual TDC targeting and just doing the easy "eyeballing it" via the numbers on your attack map. You can actually use this method to make precise hits by developing an algebraic ratio out of the data the attack map shows you.
This will require the use of your map drawing tools to find distances!
1. Look at your attack map - you must have AUTO TDC on - and you'll see the lines marking the projected course of both your target, and your torpedoes. You need to figure out how fast your target is traveling compared to your torpedo speed, and this is how you can do it.
To do this:
2. Measure the distance from the target's "1" bubble to his "2" bubble Call this S1
3. Measure the distance from your torpedo track's "1" bubble to it's "2" bubble Call this T1.
For the sake of this example lets say S1 is 1000 and T1 = 4000
4. Now you have a ratio
S1 / T1 - What this ratio is telling you that every time your target travels "S1" meters, your torpedo travels "T1" meters.
So for 1000/4000 - every 1000 meters the ship travels, my torpedoes will go 4000 meters.
5. Now lets say you're 2000 meters from where the path of the target ship intersects the course of your torpedo - so you need your torpedo to go only 2000 yards (call this variable T2) - and you want to find at what point to fire it so that the target ship reaches it (call this variable S2).
Here's your resulting algebraic equation: S1/T1 = S2/T2
6. Plug in numbers we know for variables:
1000/4000 = S2/2000
1/4 = S2/2000
2000/4 = S2
500 = S2
So you need to fire when the target ship is 500 meters from the intercept point!
7. Go back to your map and mark out a spot on the target's course exactly 500 meters ahead of the point where the line of your torpedo crosses the target ship's path.
8. Now when the target ship (still just sailing along without a care) reaches that point fire your torpedo(s)!
9. Your torpedoes go 2000 yards, the target travels 500, and hopefully - BOOM!
This equation works with any numbers. As long as you know 3 of the 4 values you can solve for the last one.
Once you have this down, you're starting to really develop a feel for how to plot firing solutions, and then I think it's not nearly as hard to dive into the rest of the manual TDC, start using the Stadtmeter, calculating AOB, calculating speed, etc. and doing it on full manual!
Some of you might also get some milage out of looking in the SH IV forum regarding the "Dick O'Kane" attack tactic. This is another sort of intermediary method of plotting a precise firing solution without using the full manual TDC.
Happy hunting!