First Patrol

[oweng]

So I just got SH3 in the Steam sale and I have been enjoying it. Playing on 79% realism seems to be about where I want to be and I'm enjoying the learning curve.

I just had my first patrol with the Grey Wolves mod; it went pretty successfully, sank 2 Cargo ships with deck guns after my torpedoes missed, went back and reread the TDC tutorials and then finally got my 3rd boat on the first shot. I then scored a hit on my 4th but was approached by a patrol boat so I couldn't see if it sank.

On my way back to port, I happend on 2 unescorted French cargo boats which I sank with my deck gun. A little while after a patrol boat started shelling me. I thought I eluded him and surfaced in a heavy fog but the boat was right there and I started taking heavy damage. I dove to max depth and then use Free Look (one of the concessions I make towards non-realism, not to cheat just to see the cool stuff) to check out my attack and see a German flag flying.

Is there FF in this game? It was dark night and foggy so he could've mistaken me for an allied sub; or (this was during a 1939 career) are French already under occupation and I was attacking friendly ships?

My sunk ships are
polyvalent x2
Granville x2
petite navire marhand
chalutier plagique

Thank you, and thanks to all the tutorial writers and mod creators; this is an awesome experience.

[Gerald]

:salute:

[Gargamel]

What year is it? Or better yet, Has Germany taken over France?

If so, then France is your ally. Attacking those ships is like attacking a German boat, and you will be considered an enemy for 24 hours.

But Welcome Aboard!

Sink them All!

Be more aggressive!

(That's twice Jim!)

[kapuhy]

1939 the French are certainly on Allied side... as far as I know friendly ships can attack you only if you have been attacking a friendly unit yourself within last 24 hours. Also, if you are playing GWX, you start your first patrol before the beginning of the war, when all countries are either friendly or neutral - but even if you've been shooting up neutrals I don't think a German boat should attack you because of that. They'll just radio the command to prepare an execution squad.

[oweng]

This was 1939, so France hasn't been invaded yet, would they be considered neutral and I would be considered hostile for sinking them? All I know for sure is that I was definitely sunk by a boat flying the German flag.

[Herr-Berbunch]

Welcome Aboard :salute:

IIRC (I've never done this) with GWX one of the flotillas sets out for practice before 4 Sept and you can practice on some German vessels and the renown taken for this is compensated for, but because you've fired on either a neutral or friend (in this case) they will shoot back.

A lot of people, even those nearing 100% realism, use the external camera with the excuse of taking screenshots - but I think it's a shame to have all these big explosions and not get a proper view. :yep:

[kapuhy]

This was 1939, so France hasn't been invaded yet, would they be considered neutral and I would be considered hostile for sinking them? All I know for sure is that I was definitely sunk by a boat flying the German flag.

They are considered neutral until September 3, 1939 (the day France declared war against Germany). I don't think that attacking them would make you hostile to anyone but French themselves, though. Are you sure these ships you've sunk were French and not, say, Italian? Attacking allies would explain why you were shot at.

Also, where did it happen? There ain't many places where you can encounter German warship "a little while after" a French vessel in 1939...

[Tinman764]

Starting in with the 7th flot in August 1939 with GWX, the 1st "shake down" has you sinking 8 British ships in the bay before they have declared war on Germany. I've done this twice and both times I was fired on by friendlies as I returned to port.

[Tessa]

Welcome aboard. Since you're new to the game I would suggest that you play without manual targetting for awhile. It's more important that you learn the tactics in attaking convoys than it is getting a proper solution to the target.

Once you are fully familiar with the game and it become 2nd nature to you then I'd revist manual targeting. There are some excellent GUI mods out there that make manual targeting faster and easier while still maintaing the skills needed to plot a proper solution. With OLC for example once you get all the rings lined up all your data that goes into the TDC is right there and if done right very accurate.

P.S. If you haven't seen Das Boot yet that's the next most important thing you need to do. Aside from being a great movie there are many aspects of the game a new player can learn from the movie, seeing how things were done back in 1941. It give you a better understanding of your boat and how it functions (among many other things) that help you in forumlating your own strategies or style of play. Unlike every other submarine movie ever made (to my knowledge at least) Das Boot is the only one that accurately re-creates life on board the boat as they used a full scale (sea worthy too) boat to do the filming in. Das Boot is by no means the holy grail of movies it provides massive amount of historically true information about life on a u-boat (the movie is based on book by the journalist that was on board the ship for that particular patrol. What you see on the screen pretty much mirrors at least 90% or more of the way things really went down).

Remember, SH3 is a game and meant to be enjoyed and fun. Don't let things like manual targeting pull you down until you've mastered everything else and are fully prepared to tackle it (to be honest, pretty much all the "old gang/salty members" here knows how to do manual targeting, but a fair number of them chooses not to do so in the game.)

[Jimbuna]

So I just got SH3 in the Steam sale and I have been enjoying it. Playing on 79% realism seems to be about where I want to be and I'm enjoying the learning curve.

I just had my first patrol with the Grey Wolves mod; it went pretty successfully, sank 2 Cargo ships with deck guns after my torpedoes missed, went back and reread the TDC tutorials and then finally got my 3rd boat on the first shot. I then scored a hit on my 4th but was approached by a patrol boat so I couldn't see if it sank.

On my way back to port, I happend on 2 unescorted French cargo boats which I sank with my deck gun. A little while after a patrol boat started shelling me. I thought I eluded him and surfaced in a heavy fog but the boat was right there and I started taking heavy damage. I dove to max depth and then use Free Look (one of the concessions I make towards non-realism, not to cheat just to see the cool stuff) to check out my attack and see a German flag flying.

Is there FF in this game? It was dark night and foggy so he could've mistaken me for an allied sub; or (this was during a 1939 career) are French already under occupation and I was attacking friendly ships?

My sunk ships are
polyvalent x2
Granville x2
petite navire marhand
chalutier plagique

Thank you, and thanks to all the tutorial writers and mod creators; this is an awesome experience.

Any country of a neutral vessel you attack (including your own) will consider you an enemy for the following 24 hours.

http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/welcome.gif

[Arnold]

Regarding the status of France prior to and during WW2. Prior to 3 SEPT 39, France was a neutral country. France entered the war with the Allies on 3 SEPT 39 and was occupied by Germany 25 JUNE 40. The Free French (the flag has a cross on it) entered the war 26 JUNE 40 with the Allies. From 25 JUNE 40 to 25 AUG 44, France was occupied by Germany.

[Tessa]

Regarding the status of France prior to and during WW2. Prior to 3 SEPT 39, France was a neutral country. France entered the war with the Allies on 3 SEPT 39 and was occupied by Germany 25 JUNE 40. The Free French (the flag has a cross on it) entered the war 26 JUNE 40 with the Allies. From 25 JUNE 40 to 25 AUG 44, France was occupied by Germany.

I love the periods where French ships are fair game. Even if its a costal merchant sinking one has a special sense of peverse satisfaction.

"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your accordion." General Norman Schwartzkopf.