1st Mission Marshall Islands...bored 4 a month...need help!

[michaelws]

I started an American career...based in the Philippines. First mission was to go to the Marshall Islands and patrol and sink enemy Merchants. The only action I encountered was at the Northern tip of the Philippines before I headed east to the Star at the east of the Marshalls. Getting there it told me to patrol the Marshalls. I did for days and days and days...nothing. I cruised up to Wake and sunk a destroyer. Then back to the Marshalls and nothing again for days.

Went to Midway, refitted and headed back. Went down to Rabaul and cruised around New Guinea for days on end then saw the news that Java was being invaded and headed over there, but never getting anywhere near any of the reported convoys or task forces. I have sunk about four merchants and one destroyer...but it is very boring.

Am I doing something wrong? Is there a recommended walk-through of areas to patrol that might have more excitement?

I read a few posts on the Marshalls, about the scarcity of ships...someone said it might even have been a bug in SHIV.

I am playing with the mod TMO 1.9 installed and I have U-boat missions installed.

Any pointers or advice would greatly help me here. I am actually into March 1942...so more like 3 months. Thanks again...would like to complete this mission...seems never ending.

[Immacolata]

Check your Misc screen and click on the radio + convoy map. You can then drag out a map of historically known cargo routes (it appears in the upper left corner of the screen). Stick to the lines and hubs, then your chances of seeing shipping increase (and planes ;)

[Fish40]

Are you useing RSRD? I've had 2 patrols to both the Marshalls and Gilberts and found shipping in both. Not alot mind you. Believe me, they were far and few. Cruise close to the main atolls. I've been lucky to find merchants at anchor outside the harbors. Again, by no means alot, but if you look, you'll find.

[Inner Sound]

And that shipping lanes chart:

All those lanes are shown as curves - I've found it more helpful to draw straight lines between choke points and travel an open zig-zag course along them. What do other people find?

[michaelws]

I haven't installed the RunSilentRunDeep mod yet. I will.

I have consulted the chart and tried to stay close to the lanes...and I have zigged and zagged. Thanks for the input.

One more question on the RSRD mod...and indirectly on all mods. I have TMO 1.9 in there. Can I simply install RSRD after that?

And, If I want to put in the Monsoon mod, for the atlantic campaign, do I need to uninstall TMO and or RSRD?

I didn't quite understand the posts concerning that. Thanks for the advice and hopefully for any more advice I can glean concerning the installation of these mods.

[Armistead]

You can install RSRD over TMO 1.9, just load the correct version. Most of the patrol stars put you near where something will come through, but once missed, forget it, you may find something else, but luck. I don't worry about patrol stars. If they're close to where I plan to go, I will do them, if they're way out, I skip them. You need to do enough to keep moving forward, but that's all I do.

With RSRD, I pay attention to history and attack invasion forces, partake of large battles and hit large convoys. I'm almost always attacking large convoys of 30-60 ships and never have a boring patrol.

[michaelws]

Thanks. One more question, regarding the stars...I have sunk some merchant ships east of the Marshalls, but it says my mission is "incomplete." Do I have to stay out there until it turns to "complete?"

I will ask in another thread about installing the Monsoon mod.

Thanks again.

[McHibbins]

Thanks. One more question, regarding the stars...I have sunk some merchant ships east of the Marshalls, but it says my mission is "incomplete." Do I have to stay out there until it turns to "complete?"

I will ask in another thread about installing the Monsoon mod.

Thanks again.

If the mission say for 72h than simple YES :)

[G2B]

And you may be required to stay within a certain distance also ie. 100 nm or 75 nm, best way is to use the compass and pull a circle from the center of the patrol area and search inside it, if contact is outside patrol area get em' "At your Discretion"

[michaelws]

I realized, after reading more posts on the TMO mod that mine had not installed. The instructions were to unzip and the resultant folder to be placed in the Ubisoft folder...but it seems there was another folder embedded in the unzipped one and I had to get the second folder out and delete the first one.

Then remove the mod with the Generic Mod enabler and re-install. I did that and now it is a very different environment altogether. So I was not running the mod at all.

I did notice that the aircraft icon was no longer a red triangle but instead now it is an almost imperceptible little dot. Is that normal? Also, even though I am running here in the easy mode...I deplete my batteries pretty quickly when submerged. Is this normal also? Or is there a way to set options as in the un-modded version?

Thanks for the input...will still need any advice you guys can sling my way. Sure appreciate the help. Maybe I can take the summer off and just read posts. I have so little time to play this sim...too bad. Work takes up too much of my day. Love this game. Just need to learn it better.

[magic452]

You can go to the options page in campaign mode by clicking on the radio the the office before you start a patrol and set batteries, fuel, etc.

TMO gives pretty good details on what you need to do to complete a mission.
You only get dots for planes and ships.

With limited fuel and batts, patrol at 10kn. surfaced as much as possible, submerge only when necessary and stay at low speed, 3Kn. or less unless more speed is needed to save your butt.

Avoid airplanes in at all cost in TMO, they are deadly, and you get nothing much for shooting them down. Crash dive is called for here and go to 165 feet if you got enough water.

Night and bad weather are your friends, take advantage of this whenever possible.

I found that work was interfering with my war on Japan so I just retired.:rock: :haha:

Magic

[michaelws]

Thanks for the input magic...

Not rich enough to retire here...yet!