Trigger Maru and the AI torpedo spoting

[Arsenius]

i'm playing trigger maru 2.0 and i've noted the AI smarter

they are now easely spotting my torpedoes


what is the factors who allow the AI spot my torpedoes?
i'm asking because maybe there a trick to make AI dont see them

thanks for the help:up:

[RodBorza]

Maybe, and I'm guessing in here, you are setting the torpedoes depht too shallow. That allows them to see your torps. Also, the Pacific has the nasty habit of turning into a somewhat calm blue pool sometimes. That's bad, because in this game, good weather is NOT your friend.
So, depending of sea state, they can and will spot your fishes. Also, remember that you must get fairly close to targets (1500 to 500 yards) to fire away. This gives less time for them to react and setting torpedo speed to high (when available) also helps with lowering torpedoes detection chances.

And finally, TMO is known for its sometimes all-knowing destroyer escorts. But it is all part of the fun!

[Armistead]

The M14 leaves a wake, so the enemy will spot them, has nothing to do with the depth of the torp. It's not so much the problem with the wake, it's the fact the ships can stop and speed off much faster than they should. Still, if you shoot correctly you can get hits without problems.

The issue regarding the wake being seen easier is calmer water, daytime, probably fog to a degree, ect..things that effect visuals.

Later you can get M18 wakeless, slower and a lil less powefull, but I love em.

Most here use tactics with the M14 shooting the first more towards the bow, the next one MOT, ect. Ships will try to dodge, so if they see one coming forward, they'll slow down. The goal is to hold the ship with one so others will hit..still hoping they all do, this applies more to warships that can really speed up fast, including large capital warships.

Range also plays a big factor, the further you shoot, the more time they have to evade. Remember any ship that sees a torp will result in the others going into zigs.

[WernherVonTrapp]

I can't remember where I read it and I'm not sure I remember the exact context but, I read somewhere that after post war interrogations of some Japanese Merchant Marine captains, the US Navy determined that the wake left by the Mark14 was less of a detriment than they originally thought. All of the merchant marine captains, who had survived having their ships torpedoed, said that by the time they noticed the torpedo wakes, it was too late for them to successfully evade them. I'm sure this was regarding the high speed setting but I don't recall reading anything that differentiated between fast/slow settings.

[Platapus]

I too doubt the ability of the target ship to see the wake unless the sea is very still/calm.

The orientation of the observer plays a large part.

Observers from aircraft overhead could see the wake as the angle was advantageous - Perpendicular and overhead

Observers from the submarine could see the wake through the periscope because their angle was advantageous - along axis

This does not mean that an observer from a target ship would also have an advantageous viewing angle.

That combined with the fact that the wake would be observed at the surface of the water about 70-100 yards behind the torpedo, would make spotting the torpedo wake in time fortuitous at best.

[Bubblehead1980]

fire from 700-2000 yards and they will not spot the wake usually.Depends on light and sea conditions etc if you fire from farther away and miss.Thing about TMO is most of the merchants are set to "veteran" skill level for the challenge, so they spot and evade unless you fire from close range, usually.

[Fish40]

Yea, I'm not sure if the torpedo depth has anything to do with the visability aspect of the wake. Besides, if you set those torpedoes deeper in the early years of the war, you're going to miss the target because of the "deep running" defect in the early torpedo. The problem as someone mentioned, is the impossible reaction time and speed/course change of the AI ships. You could counter this somewhat by fireing a spread. When I fire at a target, I allow for the sudden burst of speed, or sudden slowdown by shooting a torpedo slightly ahead or behind the target. If he suddenly accelerates like a UFO, or slows to a crawl, he may still be hit.

[tomoose]

Personally, I don't fire above 2000yds or less and when I miss it's almost always because I screwed up my solution not because the AI had time to react. Above 2000 yards etc I think increases the chances of the AI ruining your beautiful approach.

Get as close as you can and as mentioned, offset one of your fish to account for the possibility of a sudden deceleration.

For single merchants (I've yet to come across a convoy) I initially only fire two torps and from close range. The first strike usually..........usually, causes the ship to lose headway if it doesn't sink and the offset torp allows (usually) for the slow down and either hits in the same spot or catches it in the breadbasket. If those two torps don't put the ship under it certainly slows it down enough for me to setup another torp to finish it off.

[Kptlt. Neuerburg]

I think the factors of the AI spotting torpedoes is range, weather, and time of day. I've killed merchant at around 8,000 yards (the max range that the crew on watch can see targets), but thats at night. During daylight hours I'll fire torpedos at a range between 1,000 to 620 yards and this is with the MK14. With the MK18 the range would be at 2,000 to 1,000 yards.