Escorts give up too easily

[Obltn Strand]

This has troubled me for a while now.

My evading tactic, which is to zigzag in depth between 150-200m and gradually sail towards my planned escape direction, usually shakes off escorts in about an hour. I like escorts to be more tenacious and press more their attacks. Is there any mods or something else to fix this?


Feels good to be on patrol after a while:DL

[Madox58]

Running any Mods?

[Obltn Strand]

Running any Mods?
GWX3
SH3 Commander
St Naz and Schluese...
VonDons ships v2,7
TMT v2
LRT 2,04 Full
Hitman's Optics
and couple of others which I think got nothing to do with escorts.

[Leg]

I'd say try the same tactic in the 1943

[Kapt Z]

What year in the war?

I'm new to GWX(new computer:yeah:) but only in Oct 39 so I am not suprised that I have been able to evade escorts will little trouble so far.

I certainly expect that to change as the war goes on.

Playing stock and with lesser mods I lost far more boats to aircraft then escorts.

We'll see.....

[maillemaker]

I find that once they are onto me I'm screwed. I have all but given up on trying to evade escorts. When they are on to me, I go to periscope depth and shoot the bastards! The easiest is to get them to chase you and then run one down their throat. Failing that, I'm pretty good at dialing one in as they cross my path.

[Falkirion]

It'll depend on the year of the war. Early war the escorts will give up fairly easily. Though I got to late 1940 and had no trouble penetrating screening DDs, and evading in under an hour.

Though there was that one time I decided to finish off the Rodney on the surface, worst decision ever. Nearly sunk me.

[PappyCain]

Yes, in '39 they will give up but after that, they become very aggressive with new tactics and technology. I have had up to 9 real time hours escaping (that is a real challenge the game offers, white knuckle to be sure). I have used a 7 degree to starboard circle and to good results when an escort or two leaves it's convoy to hunt me. Then when they fade back to their herd I head in the opposite direction (rigged for silence) until I am all clear. BTW I go deep and keep a good eye on the depth gauge and activate pumps if I must. Minor hull damage is to be avoided in this gambit as you will crush sooner. Good fun and rewarding to make a clean get-away with boat intact and the crew singing and that fresh air when surfaced is cold and clean!!!

:salute:

[Dissaray]

'39 puts them bearly a step ahead of the old hook and line method they used back in WWI. I have escaped them by simply diving to 50m going silent and traveling in a strait line at 2 knots. By about '43 they some times kill me on the first pass. I like the chalange of the later years but enjoy the ability to strike with impunity of the early war.

[timmy41]

early in the war, many of the crews simply did not know how to fight subs. during WWI, most ships carried only 2 depth charges at most, so very few people had experience with them. ASW did not advance much at all between the wars, except for improved depth charges and ASDIC. you have to remember that until the late 30's, most people thought the last one was 'the war to end all wars', so what was the point of advancing with weapons?

[Hook]

Just a guess and totally untested. Look in the SilentHunterIII\data\Cfg for the Sim.cfg file. Near the top there's an entry that says

[AI detection]
Lost contact time=30 ;[min]

That number was 15 in the stock game. I'm guessing this is how long in minutes an escort will hang around circling after they lose contact with you.

If you can't live without the excitement in your life, try testing to see how far you have to be away from a circling escort before you can safely go to flank speed. I had a lone frigate in 1939 reacquire me from about 1500 meters when I went to flank speed briefly when I was over 100 meters deep and in his baffles. Must have been magic.

Hook

[h.sie]

[AI detection]
Lost contact time=30 ;[min]

This is correct. But if he uses SH3 Commander, this value is overwritten by a random value between 15 and 45 (if I'm informed correctly) each time he launches SH3 via SH3 Commander.

So in his case it would be better to change the values 15 and 45 in the appropriate SH3-Commander config file, I think it is Randomized Events.cfg.

h.sie

[JScones]

Correct.

Just don't set the value too high as the escorts will lose contact with the convoy they are supposed to be guarding! The SH3Cmdr maximum of 45 minutes takes this into account; they'll keep you pinned down, but they won't meander aimlessly after they break off the attack.

So setting a high value may add "OMG immersion!!!" up front, but it'd become a downer pretty quickly once you find yourself continually attacking unprotected convoys.

[sharkbit]

I'd say try the same tactic in the 1943

Ditto.
Late 1943 and on, they will hound you until your little white cap floats to the surface.

I had three escorts in the Med latch onto me for 14+ hours(game time) in Dec., 1943. It didn't end pretty. :dead:

:)

[maillemaker]

'39 puts them bearly a step ahead of the old hook and line method they used back in WWI.

What is the hook and line method?

Steve

[Bosje]

wait till you get hunted by an experienced escort with hedgehogs, you'll be dreaming about the times when escort evasion only meant an hour being quiet

[Dissaray]

What is the hook and line method?

Steve

It was how they hunted for subs befor they had ASDIC and hydrophones. They put a grapnleing hook on the end of a long line. The hook is droped into the water and if it snags the sub you will know where it is and then you can drop a depth charg on it. It wasn't a good method beacouse it was nearly imposible to tell what it was you snaged, a sub, a rock, a big fish, it was all fairly simular. This is why they never got decent kill rates against subs. Fortunatly for the guys up top the subs weren't any more advanced then the methods for hunting them at the time.

[PappyCain]

Recently declassified:


http://www.coastaljeweler.com/images/MermdHook%2018%20J%20FINAL.jpg

[maillemaker]

Lol they were fishing for submarines! :)

What would you do if you caught one? :)

[Dissaray]

The same thing you do what you catch a shark, shoot it.

[Jimbuna]

IIRC the Japanese used the hook and line method (anmonst others such as depth charge) right up to the end of the war.

[Obltn Strand]

[AI detection]
Lost contact time=30 ;[min]

This is correct. But if he uses SH3 Commander, this value is overwritten by a random value between 15 and 45 (if I'm informed correctly) each time he launches SH3 via SH3 Commander.

So in his case it would be better to change the values 15 and 45 in the appropriate SH3-Commander config file, I think it is Randomized Events.cfg.

h.sie

Correct.

Just don't set the value too high as the escorts will lose contact with the convoy they are supposed to be guarding! The SH3Cmdr maximum of 45 minutes takes this into account; they'll keep you pinned down, but they won't meander aimlessly after they break off the attack.

So setting a high value may add "OMG immersion!!!" up front, but it'd become a downer pretty quickly once you find yourself continually attacking unprotected convoys.

This explains why a lone destroyer sometimes stays behind.
Thanks JScones and h.sie. Changed it to 40-45 min. Let's see how it works.