Time compression and finding ships

[Whippy]

Hi folks,

Is there a way to make SHIV display the "Ship Spotted - what do you want to do?" menu and/or reset time compression to 1x when you come across a sound contact or visual sighting of a friendly or neutral ship?

The way the game currently works, when I am cruising along at high time compression and the menu comes up, I KNOW it is an enemy ship, making it pointless for me to get close to identify it. If time compression slows to 1x (or 8x, I forget) due to a sound contact, then I also know it is enemy because the time does not change for friendly ships. If this menu appeared for EVERY sighting or sound contact, this would be more fun because then I would need to identify the flag or use common sense to decide if the ship is enemy or not.

Is there a way to change this?

[sharkbit]

I hate that too. I play SH3 as well and I've spent quite a bit of time stalking a ship only to have it turn out to be a friendly or neutral. Just like in real life, you curse some and continue on.
In SH4, you don't get that.

I bet there is a file that you can tweek but I've never delved that deep. Hopefully somebody will be along with a definite answer.

:)

[Stealhead]

What version are you playing and what mods and I am pretty sure manual targeting has an effect on this issue.

[WernherVonTrapp]

IMHO, it seems you're presuming that your trained (watch) crew members are incapable of distinguishing one ship from another. I think the game behaves this way to imply some measure of proficiency by your watch crew when you have reached visual range. I know that with radar/sonar contacts (or contact beyond visual range), the game behaves much differently.:salute:

[Stealhead]

I agree I play TMO 2.0 and the watch crew only states that they have spotted an enemy warship or merchant but nothing beyond that I think that is reasonably realistic if you can see via your own eyes and you are a sailor on watch you damn sure had better tell me if that is a friend or foe or your will be on your last tour as a submarine sailor at least.

For BVR you must get within visual range to determine friend or foe then you'll still have to ID the exact class on your own.I have picked up things on radar and chased them down only to discover it is was an allied vessel but you cant be sure and your job is destroy the enemy by letting a contact pass scot free you are failing at your mission sometimes it is a friendly but oh well.

[Whippy]

Well, I don't know. An experienced watch crew will report contact sightings when just the smoke is seen on the horizon. How they can tell those ships are friend or foe, I'll never know :shifty: I'm not trying to be condecending, I'm just validating my own concern.

Anyway, it's such a small thing; I'll leave it now. :dead:

Edit: SHIV 1.5 and TMO 2.0 btw

[Stealhead]

I am playing the same set up as you are and for me they only state that a Warship or a merchant has been spotted but not friend or foe.I normally only see allied vessels when i am near ports though so I am guessing that the just has the sailors know that in a friendly area they are seeing a friendly vessel.And i would still think that seeing a vessel through the bincos they'd at least be able to determine most times it was either a warship or merchant and being in enemy controlled they lean on the save side and assume even from long range that is not a friend.None was saying that you where being conceding.

I think there was a way to to turn of the "sighted" menu by marking one of the check boxes that turns it off completely.Of course the downside is that with it off advancing time to high levels is a bad idea as you wont get a slowing down of time when a vessel or more importantly a plane is spotted or when you get a radar contact even you only then see it in the message box which those get missed easily at higher time compression. Personally I do not mark any of the "do this every time boxes" but I am pretty sure that you can turn that entire waring off now that think of it.

[Whippy]

Yeah it's a good point you make, Stealhead, that it could be viewed as the crew themselves practicing some common sense reasoning. Another way to look at it is perhaps the officers get reports of friendly ships in the areas so they know when these ships are seen that these are likely the friendlies. :) I can go with that :up:

[Stealhead]

Sometimes you have use your imagination a little to get around certain game features you cant eliminate.I had more issue with the spotting thing until I read a few books by WWII sub skippers it did not seem so far off.

I wish they put in more a bit more randomness to the lookout skills though some guys had eagle eyes and others had ultra hearing and where useful at night.Some guys had such good vision they where able to spot planes before the radar did.

[WernherVonTrapp]

You also have to take into account the common sense of what or where exactly is enemy held territory and what is the probablility of Allied vessels (be they merchant or warships) being in that zone at that time in history.
After the fall of the Philippines, for example, I highly doubt the probability of running into an allied merchant vessel in the Luzon Strait (i.e., in waters under the complete control of the IJN at that time). :03:

[Admiral8Q]

TMO bumps it to 1X instead of 8x in the stock game. Very handy.

[Stealhead]

Yeah like the change to 1x as well or have liked it has been in TMO for some time.:up: By the way I checked last bight there is no way to turn of the "enemy plane/vessel spotted what shall we do?" menu you can either mark one of the actions to be done every time or mark none and pick one each time yourself i usually use maintain current orders myself.

[Whippy]

...you can either mark one of the actions to be done every time or mark none and pick one each time yourself i usually use maintain current orders myself.

Yeah, likewise. I don't know why I don't just go ahead and tell it to maintain orders every time, as I don't think I have EVER chosen another option! LOL :06::88) It would have been very handy if "crash dive" had been one of the options for when those airplanes are spotted.