What do you guys do for patrols??

[reignofdeath]

So Im in a bit of a bind and need some guidance, more like Id like to see how you individual Kaulens do your own war patrols. Usually Im givin a sector (in this case BE29, the only reason I waste fuel is because Im still playing at very low realism and once I get the hang of things more my first 'changes' are going to be limited fuel, air and etc and probably duds, pretty much everything except manual targeting) to patrol and I do go patrol it, however I make it a habit to pass some 'areas of opportunity' along the way like on this patrol I went up and around England around the top of Scapa Flow and managed to find 2 merchants on the way, my new plan is to sit on the edge of BE and AL and patrol back and forth in about a 100-200 km line (3 convoy lanes converge here) and wait until something nice pops up. if nothing comes up for a few days I plan on heading back to base but trying to maybe sit outside of scapa flow for a day and maybe pick up a nice merchant contact or two (this is where my last two sinkings occured)

But my question is, what do you all tend to do on patrols?? Id really like to find some 'nice waters' that any of you could reccomend, yes the shipping lanes map helps but theres got to be some stuff thats not represented on it right??

PS: many say its not a good idea to go through the Dover Strasse(Strait)? When should I stop using it? I havent yet but Im in 1939 and figure around 40 I should not use it at all then.

[JokerOfFate]

Use the map thats all I got to say on that.

NE of Ireland, convoy route and lots of lone merchants, but high air coverage and warships pass often.

West of Gibraltar, massive convoy route, lots of lone merchants, lots air cover and tonnes of warships but mush bigger game as well.

Thats where I go mostly although it never hurts to explore and I know that the BE area is full of ships, convoys and planes.

As far as I know you're pretty new to this so I think it would be better to leave the first two till you get to grips with the game and all, but its your choice. :DL

[JokerOfFate]

P.S. In GWX you don't get paid for completing patorls so no point really I don't do them, why waste fuel and time for nothing.


Pretty simple if I don't get paid I don't work. :DL

[reignofdeath]

What about the far/mid atlantic? Are there any really nice spots to pick ships off from out there? aside from routes?

[JokerOfFate]

I'll go check the map :DL

[JokerOfFate]

What happened to my avatar?!
-don't worry it changed (thank god)
Anyway point out the grid code (AN,BE) and I'll give you some spots.

[frau kaleun]

The English Channel becomes increasingly perilous as the war progresses. Personally the only time I would go through there is on an August 1939 shakedown cruise or, if my second patrol starts early enough, on my way out to an Atlantic patrol grid provided I can get in one end and out the other before the war starts.

Due to the shallow water there it's a very bad place to get caught out by the Royal Navy - plus I expect that some of it is going to be mined after Sept 1939 and given how narrow it is to begin with, that can't be a good thing for any u-boat trying to make the passage.

And on a "performance" note I find the heavy traffic there usually slows my play down to what seems like a standstill, especially trying to get between Dover and Calais submerged. Just too many contacts constantly dropping me back to 1 TC. And it's not like I'm going to go after any of them, because I don't want the RN or the RAF getting wind of my presence and coming after me there.

That said, I always set a course for my assigned grid when I begin a patrol and once I'm there I patrol it for the "required" 24 hours. I've modded the renown awards for doing so back into my game, mostly to avoid the temptation of ignoring my orders completely. :D

I'll have a go at any targets of opportunity that pop up along the way, and if I get a contact report of something I might be able to intercept without going too far off course I'll take a chance on that as well - but for the most part, I'm taking the shortest route to my assigned grid while still staying just out of range of the RAF and in the "friendliest" water possible for as long as I can. Since I'm only up to Sept 1940, this is not very difficult.

Once I've done my 24 hours, it's a toss-up. If I'm having success in the area, I'll usually stay there, maybe working my way into an adjoining grid every few days. If I get radio messages or contact reports that can be used as a "legitimate" reason to head off for another area entirely, I may do that. When I get to the point where I need to transfer my external eels into the tubes, that can serve as a reason to head for a quieter spot in which to attempt it. If I'm having a really good luck and closer to a resupply ship than home, I may eventually head there to refuel and rearm instead of returning to base, after which (according to the game) I have no "orders" to do anything in particular, so I can set a course more or less for home but set up camp anywhere I please if I find good hunting along the way.

It really is very open-ended, since even if you're still getting the stock renown award for following your initial orders, it's not necessary to follow them in order to "win" because it's not that kind of game in the first place. The only real way to win is to still be alive when the war's over. Everybody has his/her own way of determining what exactly to do on patrol, with varying levels of attempted "realism" according to what makes it a more satisfying experience for each individual. You'll just have to find a way of your own that makes playing the best experience for you at any given moment. And for that, experience will probably be the best teacher. :up:

[frau kaleun]

What happened to my avatar?!


Avatars change according to how many posts you've made. Keep watching, you've still got some fun surprises in store for you. :O:

[JokerOfFate]

Avatars change according to how many posts you've made. Keep watching, you've still got some fun surprises in store for you. :O:


It was the bangkok one that got me there....

[Draka]

Gonna ask a question, then proceed based on your answer.

From all your posts/threads, I know you are new to this and greatly enthused. This is a good thing! However, about now you kinda hafta make a decision on your goals.

This forum is mainly geared towards those who take this real seriously, with the emphasis on simulation - making it as real as you can. In that vein, skills like maneuvering in and out of berths, navigating the Kiel canal, and so on become as much enjoyment as sinking ships. If this is the way you want to go, then you will get one set of advice - such as remaining in your patrol area for 30 days or so and then "radioing" BdU for another assignment. There is an app that does that. There are many, many mods that will aid in this.

If on the other hand you just want to rack up a massive tonnage rating and/or earn every available award "in game", then you will get a different set - such as where to go for the highest ranking in tonnage, and/or the places to find the most exotic kills. There are a completely different set of mods that will give you abilities or equipment that did not exist, or are enhanced versions of what they did have.

Which way do you feel is what YOU want out of SH3?

Edit: I take so long to type that Frau Kaleun got in first - AND said it better!

[reignofdeath]

Danke Frau :yeah:

Yeah I find that being anywhere near that shallow water gets me killed easily. I dont like it one bit. I can deal with around 40 to 60 meters but when Im at P depth with about 10 or 20 M below me, I get reaaaaal nervous. what I usually do is go to my grid. Hit some merchants on the way (usually when Im pretty confident about being alone in the water there) then get nothing on my grid, then head for a nearby port and just camp around outside of it. since merchants come in and out all the time. I have bad luck with convoys and TF's since they almost always are either too far to intercept, or too fast and moving in a ridiculous direction for me to even think of catching up. But I dont mind the single merchant thing for now, Im getting better at intercepts as I dont have to look at a quick reference anymore, so this is a plus :up:

[reignofdeath]

Gonna ask a question, then proceed based on your answer.

From all your posts/threads, I know you are new to this and greatly enthused. This is a good thing! However, about now you kinda hafta make a decision on your goals.

This forum is mainly geared towards those who take this real seriously, with the emphasis on simulation - making it as real as you can. In that vein, skills like maneuvering in and out of berths, navigating the Kiel canal, and so on become as much enjoyment as sinking ships. If this is the way you want to go, then you will get one set of advice - such as remaining in your patrol area for 30 days or so and then "radioing" BdU for another assignment. There is an app that does that. There are many, many mods that will aid in this.

If on the other hand you just want to rack up a massive tonnage rating and/or earn every available award "in game", then you will get a different set - such as where to go for the highest ranking in tonnage, and/or the places to find the most exotic kills. There are a completely different set of mods that will give you abilities or equipment that did not exist, or are enhanced versions of what they did have.

Which way do you feel is what YOU want out of SH3?

Edit: I take so long to type that Frau Kaleun got in first - AND said it better!

I see it as a simulation and I want to gear up that way, like you said at first however, it being a simulation I want to (again working my way up the realism ladder) be able to be a feared U boat captain with alot of tonnage (realistically) that being, Im also sure that at least a few U boat captains had to deviate from their natural patrol grids to possibly sink tonnage of incoming convoys (why not if it hinders the British?)

Im not in it to over get every award, at this moment I am really just trying to play around with the game and get a feel bit by bit for what I need to do, for example, Interception, Ive now gotten that down pretty good and can make a decent judgement on what and what not I should intercept, next is evasion which Ive done alright at lately, I actually evaded and snuck away from a couple destroyers chasing me and in relatively shallow waters :up:

The only reason Im asking my questions, such as this post, so open ended is because I want answers from either side (tactics wise) that way I a, find and develop a style to my liking and b, I have a variety of tactics I can use in my bag. That being said, my tactics will surely change once I enable more and more realism settings and I am expecting this (ie Ill be more likely to patrol my grid like a real U boat Kaulen would and head home due to fuel, constraints or damage taken) I get enjoyment out of it being a simulation even though its darned hard for me, Im just trying to learn as much as I can as quick as I can (Im a sort of Cram learner/ hands on and in that respect I have to say from my ridiculous number of posts asking various things I would say since day one which was only last Thursday I think I've made quite the improvement from what I was which is what excites me, the fact that Im getting better)

[JokerOfFate]

Just a bit on your tactics there, you'll have a mix of a & b
A) a set tactic
B) a bag'o'tricks you can whip out if needs be

I learned that this game is all about personal preference.

Happy Hunting :ping:

[frau kaleun]

Danke Frau :yeah:

Yeah I find that being anywhere near that shallow water gets me killed easily. I dont like it one bit. I can deal with around 40 to 60 meters but when Im at P depth with about 10 or 20 M below me, I get reaaaaal nervous. what I usually do is go to my grid. Hit some merchants on the way (usually when Im pretty confident about being alone in the water there) then get nothing on my grid, then head for a nearby port and just camp around outside of it. since merchants come in and out all the time. I have bad luck with convoys and TF's since they almost always are either too far to intercept, or too fast and moving in a ridiculous direction for me to even think of catching up. But I dont mind the single merchant thing for now, Im getting better at intercepts as I dont have to look at a quick reference anymore, so this is a plus :up:

I was hopeless at intercepts when I first started, I'd just get a contact report and head off in whatever direction seemed appropriate at ahead full until I got within striking distance of the projected course... then I'd start backtracking along it or chasing behind to see if I could find them. And I had no real feel for the distances involved, I'd go chasing things that I didn't have a chance in Hades of actually catching.

And I don't like shallow water either, my last patrol put me in the area between Northern Ireland and the Hebrides and I didn't like it one bit. I survived, even after three encounters with unhappy destroyers, and I'm not sure how since I crash dived once and ended up with about 5m under my keel and surely they could've blasted me to pieces if they'd been able to stay on top of me. The worst was when I got a grid just east of Scapa and got spotted by a task force of 4 DDs - I went as deep as I could but with 4 of them to take turns hunting and attacking... oy. That was a very short career. :damn:

[fastfed]

P.S. In GWX you don't get paid for completing patorls so no point really I don't do them, why waste fuel and time for nothing.


Pretty simple if I don't get paid I don't work. :DL


YEP!! It really sucks!! I don't go to my "grid area" any more either.. I don't know why the GWX team couldn't of added (XXX renown for getting to grid, XX renown for 24 hour patrol, and XXX renown for making it home)

[reignofdeath]

If you read one of my threads I had a great start to a career one time with a type IIA and sunk 2 nice merchants then I made to my patrol zone (right east of dover maybe 100km and spotted a destroyer TF of 3 coming perpendicular to me, so I sat at 3km out perp. to their course and had my TDC all done auto and when the first Destroyers Smoke stack (C&D class I believe) I let fly 3 torps, problem was, they were set to magnetic, and I forgot my W/A officer doesnt set the depth :nope: all 3 went harmlessley under him in broad daylight, and they were steam. even though as soon as I had fired I turned tail and tried creeping away, TC screwed me and I hit a small shelf my ballasts went bad and I surfaced, got hit a few times by deck guns and was in such bad damage that I couldnt move (My diesels were destroyed and my electrics were in just as bad of shape) by the time my repair crews came even close to fixing the engines and ballast, I was DC'd :( baaaad day which I blame on Bernard :shifty:

PS: is the renown addition you added a mod?? because if so i may like to have it seeing as Im having a hard time getting any renown, its really turning me off to starting in the First Flotilla in 1939 (That and Kiel, I hate the canal and the position of it just because it takes SOOOOO long to get to my grid then back to base thanks to "Ship Spotted" or "Contact bearing XXX every two seconds )

[JokerOfFate]

frau kaleun,
I believe in luck: how else can you explain the success of those you don't like? :up: It was luck that they got you.

fastfed,
I think its better than going to the patrol grid every patrol just to make money, sinking ships is a fun and easy way to make money. :DL

USNSRCaseySmith, theres nothing much on the east side at all.
My advice migrate east. :salute:

[frau kaleun]

Which way do you feel is what YOU want out of SH3?


After playing for a while and getting the feel of it, I decided that what I really wanted was to have fun, blow up enemy shipping, and be amply rewarded for it.

For me this meant modding the realism config data so that no matter what options I choose, I always play at 99% realism. This means I can choose whatever realism options I want and still be rewarded as much as possible without losing the ability to teleport back to base... something I don't ever do anyway, since it would foul up my patrol logs and that would be an element of "non-realism" that would not be fun for me personally.

I think without the modding that I'd be playing at between 65-70% at the moment... I've added in more realism options as I've gotten more confident, and my plan is that when any current set of options becomes so easy that it's not fun any more, I'll change them up and make it a little harder.

The remainder of any "realism" involved (or not) comes from choosing to do things in a particular way, ways that the game itself leaves up to each player. Want to cruise around at p-depth with your 'scope up at flank speed? The game will let you, but in RL the 'scope couldn't withstand it. Want to load externals in the pitch dark at ahead full in a choppy sea? The game will let you, but in RL no responsible commander would ever attempt such a thing. Want to take up command of a u-boat in August 1939 and still be out there in a frontboot in May 1945? The game will let you, provided you survive that long, but in RL you would've been promoted off your boat and given a job on land long before the war ended.

If you hang around here you will no doubt find out a lot of stuff about what was possible and how things were done in RL - some of them may change how you play, some may not, and some you may remember and adhere to one day but not the next. It's all up to you.

[frau kaleun]

PS: is the renown addition you added a mod??

There is a mod that adds it back into a GWX install, however it does this by overwriting the basic.cfg file which means that any other changes made to it manually or by other mods are also overwritten if you use it.

Consequently, I don't let any mod overwrite the basic.cfg, I just edit it manually if a particular mod requires it to be changed.

The basic.cfg is in the /data/cfg directory of your game folder, and the section that needs to be changed is the third one down that looks like this:

[RENOWN]
RenownReachGridObjCompleted=0
RenownPatrolGridObjCompleted=0
CompletedPatrol=0
NEUTRAL=-1
ALLIED=1
AXIS=-10
WrongShipSunk=-5000
FirstRankRenown=100
SecondRankRenown=350
EndCampaign=-5000

That would be the GWX version, where the value for the first two lines is set at '0' - thus removing the renown awarded for reaching one's patrol grid and completing the 24-hour patrol respectively.

Change the first line under [RENOWN] to

RenownReachGridObjCompleted=500

and the second to

RenownPatrolGridObjCompleted=200

This restores the stock renown awards.

Don't bother assigning a value to the next line, which was supposed to reward renown for returning all the way to base at the end of a patrol. That feature never worked, not even in stock.

[reignofdeath]

Lol editing the files is above my knowledge level but I appreciate the suggestion/ help :up: if you could please maybe check out my mod conflicts post and if you could help me out with that?? Im havin a bit of trouble getting a few to work :shifty:

[frau kaleun]

YEP!! It really sucks!! I don't go to my "grid area" any more either.. I don't know why the GWX team couldn't of added (XXX renown for getting to grid, XX renown for 24 hour patrol, and XXX renown for making it home)

I think GWX started out as a few people getting together to create something that reflected the way they, personally, wanted to play SH3. A lot of it had to do with making it more realistic and historically accurate, but with something like renown that didn't exist in any analogous quantifiable way in RL - it was probably just a matter of personal choice. And it's easily moddable, just a matter of changing a couple lines in the basic.cfg file. You can give yourself as little or as much renown as you like for completing those objectives, or none at all. The GWX team chose none, but it's not set in stone for every player.

As I said above, I put it back in simply because it gave me a solid reason to obey my initial patrol orders, something the game doesn't otherwise require, and lessens the temptation to go rogue once I leave base. Others have made the argument that one should even increase the rewards as the war progresses, since just reaching one's grid and surviving for any length of time became more and more difficult as Allied technology improved and ASW tactics turned many a crew's first patrol into their last.

[frau kaleun]

Lol editing the files is above my knowledge level but I appreciate the suggestion/ help :up: if you could please maybe check out my mod conflicts post and if you could help me out with that?? Im havin a bit of trouble getting a few to work :shifty:

Well you can just use the mod for it and enable it with JSGME, but you'll have to remember that any other mod that overwrites the same file will undo the changes it made. Provided you always use JSGME, you'll get a warning about it if enabling another mod is going to interfere with it and if so you can just stop right there and then ask here for assistance if it comes to that.

You can find the Renown Replacement mod here:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/downloads.php?do=file&id=1182

I didn't even know it was possible to mod a game until I started reading the forums here. :D

I did look at the mod conflict thread, but I'm not familiar with some of the mods you mentioned so I couldn't say if that particular combination would cause the problems you were having. The one thing you can always try if you think you're having a mod conflict, is to end whatever patrol you're on and then disable them one by one, loading the game and starting up maybe a single mission or one of the tutorials to see if the problem has gone away. If and when it does, you'll know that the mod you just disabled was conflicting with one of the other mods you're still running. You'll still have to figure out why, but it will narrow down what you have to look at in order to do that.

Edit: CRAP LOOK AT THE TIME I have to go to bed. Thank goodness I'm off tomorrow.*


*And I don't have to go to work either. :O:

[Draka]

Renown - that is one of the things I was referring to. As Frau Kaleun just said, it is not something that can be measured, or in any real way USED in a historical setting. For myself, I have gotten to the point that I choose to find a Kaleun I like or think I can do better than, give myself his starting rank and the crew and equipment of his ship, and go to his assigned patrol area - and go from there. Awards I give based on RL criteria, rank ditto - as you can tell I am one of the hard-core ones!

But just to make myself a tad more human - I STILL haven't really gotten the hang of manual TDC - and in reality that was actually the job of the I WO and his crew - the Kaleun gave the input but didn't actually run the TDC etc, so I kinda justify my lack of knowledge there. So I still have auto-targetting on most of the time.

Of course, I am fully aware that I SHOULD know how as every Kaleun was once a I WO!!!

[frau kaleun]

Renown - that is one of the things I was referring to. As Frau Kaleun just said, it is not something that can be measured, or in any real way USED in a historical setting. For myself, I have gotten to the point that I choose to find a Kaleun I like or think I can do better than, give myself his starting rank and the crew and equipment of his ship, and go to his assigned patrol area - and go from there. Awards I give based on RL criteria, rank ditto - as you can tell I am one of the hard-core ones!

I've tinkered with the values required for medals and such, because I felt I was getting them too soon to be "realistic" - which basically just means that it felt "wrong" to be getting something for what seemed like too little in the way of accomplishment given what I typically accomplish per patrol with the realism options where they are right now. I mean, I finished my last patrol in August 1940 and the game gave me swords AND diamonds to my KC with oak leaves and I'm like, lolwut? :o

I went into my career files and took them away once I exited the game, but I'll probably get them again if I do anything worthwhile at all on the current patrol. So I will either adjust all the values upwards again for my next career, or else amp up the realism a bit.

Of course, I am fully aware that I SHOULD know how as every Kaleun was once a I WO!!!

Not true, when I joined up they gave me my own boat right off. What can I say... they just knew. :O:

EDIT: Okay it's like 3 AM here, STOP MAKING ME POST THINGS. :stare:

[reignofdeath]

Aye :salute:

[desirableroasted]

YEP!! It really sucks!! I don't go to my "grid area" any more either.. I don't know why the GWX team couldn't of added (XXX renown for getting to grid, XX renown for 24 hour patrol, and XXX renown for making it home)

1) The stock game engine never gave you points for getting home.

2) GWX doesn't give points for the reasons stated in the GWX manual.

3) You can always mod it if you have to have the points.

[Capt. Morgan]

YEP!! It really sucks!! I don't go to my "grid area" any more either.. I don't know why the GWX team couldn't of added (XXX renown for getting to grid, XX renown for 24 hour patrol, and XXX renown for making it home)

You can restore it yourself, just edit your data\cfg\basic.cfg file and give yourself as much as you want (wait 'till you're back in harbor though). GWX removed the renown to be fair to players in the Indian Ocean who can't get renown because SH3 can't assign patrol grids there.

I figure being a kreigsmarine officer means obeying orders, so I go where ever they send me. There's a tool I use that comes with NYGM (sh-patrol.exe) that will assign me to other grids afterwards - in accordance with my sub type, date and flotilla. Donitz kept his fleet on a short leash - too bad the allies could read most of his radio orders.

As to The Channel, I believe one of the immersion messages that you recieve in late '39 are orders avoid The Channel under any circumstances. Certainly by early '40 the channel, the entire east coast of Britain, and the northern and southern entrances to the Irish Sea are heavily mined and that is modeled in GWX.

I concur with Frau K. In wartime it takes a lot more player-time to pass through The Channel than to simply go around.