Crew don't go to stations.

[WH4K]

The only mod I'm using is TMO 2.0. For some reason, when I call General Quarters, no one mans the AA or deck guns.

It's the same if I use the "Man AA guns" or "Man the deck gun" or "Damage Control Team" buttons. I have to manually move crew to the stations, then manually move them back when I no longer need them there.

At the same time, I'm able to personally man the guns & shoot them myself, which doesn't seem right either. I know in SH3, if you didn't have a crewman at the gun, it wouldn't operate.

Did I miss something? This wasn't covered in either the (admittedly useless) SH4 manual, or the TMO manual, as far as I can tell.

[razark]

have to manually move crew to the stations, then manually move them back when I no longer need them there.
That's pretty much the way it works. You have to have the crew assigned to the gun stations, but they don't start doing their jobs until you go to battle stations or man the the deck gun.

[Sailor Steve]

Yep. SH4 made the overall crew management so much better than SH3's, but they somehow managed to disable the automatic manning of the guns when ordered. You have to choose the men you want and put them there, and then remove them so they won't be injured during a depth-charging.

[WH4K]

I was also wondering how promotions work? For the last several patrols, I've been unable to promote anybody. I keep getting a message that I'm already maxed out on petty officers and officers.

So there's no way to promote seamen, apparently? I would have assumed that promoting them e.g. from Seaman 3rd Class to Seaman 2nd Class would perhaps improve their abilities, even if they cannot have a specialization like an officer.

[TorpX]

As you have discovered, the whole crew system is FUBAR.

The only way I was able to promote crew in this situation, was to "dismiss" (rotate), some of the petty officers. The game will not allow you to exceed a certain number of that rate. You would think that there would be automatic ratations, but there aren't.

[WernherVonTrapp]

Promotions, if they are available, can be accessed through the crew management section at Home Port only. Some promotions are done automatically at sea as their experience levels increase to the maximum possible for their rank.

[Alky]

Well... you could go to your C:\Users\<user>\Documents\SH4\data\cfg\savegames\ and edit the ActivePlayerUnits.upc file with notepad where it says...

[UserPlayerUnit 1]
ID=Sargo
NameDisplayable=Sargo
UnitName=USS Spearfish (SS-190)
UpgradeClass=1
Type=Sargo
UnitInterval=1939-01-16 00:00:00, 1946-12-11 00:00:00
ExternalClassName=SSSargo
Nationality=American
Evolution=Normal
Damage=0.000000
TextureName=data/Submarine/NSS_Sargo/NSS_Sargo_T01.tga
LightmapTextureName=data/Submarine/NSS_Sargo/NSS_Sargo_O01.tga
NormalmapTextureName=data/Submarine/NSS_Sargo/NSS_Sargo_N01.tga
MenuSilhouetteTextureName=Salmon_Class_01.tga
MaxOfficers=24 <-- change this
MaxPettyOfficers=30 <-- change this
StartUserPlayerUnitMissionDateTime=1941-12-07 13:00:00
CurrentUserPlayerUnitMissionDateTime=1941-12-07 13:00:00
SilentState=false

For best results and no CTD's, do it in port before you go to configure the crew.
At the start of a carreer is a good time too.
You can also edit the player renown the same way in a file called CareerTrack.upc :)

[Ducimus]

The only way I was able to promote crew in this situation, was to "dismiss" (rotate), some of the petty officers.

Thats the general idea. Did you know that 1/3rd of the crew would be rotated off a fleet boat when they returned from patrol? This isn't simulated in game.

Historically the idea was to mix the old salts with the green horns, so their knowledge would rub off and be handed down. An entirely green crew isn't a good idea, and if a boat with an all seasoned crew was lost, then so was the gained knowledge and experience.


The game will not allow you to exceed a certain number of that rate.


As intended. Seriously, what do you want, an all khaki crew- each with an uber skill? That be highly unrealistic. Can you a platoon of foot sloggers, where every man was ranked a colonel? In the real world, In any military unit, there's only a certain number of slots open for a given rank.

[TorpX]

Thats the general idea. Did you know that 1/3rd of the crew would be rotated off a fleet boat when they returned from patrol? This isn't simulated in game.

Historically the idea was to mix the old salts with the green horns, so their knowledge would rub off and be handed down. An entirely green crew isn't a good idea, and if a boat with an all seasoned crew was lost, then so was the gained knowledge and experience.


Yes, I do realize this.

As intended. Seriously, what do you want, an all khaki crew- each with an uber skill? That be highly unrealistic. Can you a platoon of foot sloggers, where every man was ranked a colonel? In the real world, In any military unit, there's only a certain number of slots open for a given rank.

I wasn't complaining about not having a boat stuffed with petty officers. It just seems odd the way it is in the game; I choose which men are "dismissed" as though I'm court-martialing them for something. The pool of replacements seems too small, requiring that I bring back those previously "dismissed", or consign the experienced men in the crew to inferior and undeserved rank.
To put it in general terms, I'm saying the game system for crew experience/ability is not well thought out. I know this is a shock to you. ;)

[Ducimus]

Yeah I agree its crappy, but its all we have to work with. One alterior motive i had with Abilities in TMO was to give you a desire to rotate some of them. The game won't do it for you, and nobody can make you. But to have a want to? :hmmm: (I dunno if i succeeded in that, but that was the idea. )

[TorpX]

I'll admit to being a little disgusted with the crew business.
I've noticed my crew's morale never changes from "normal", they don't warn me when we're under fire, and recently I caught some of them sleeping while we were at general quarters. :x
Oh, I almost forgot, the radar operator(s) are always intently looking at the glass at their station. The only problem is, I don't have radar.
I guess I'll just have to pretend, they are doing their jobs. :-?

[Ducimus]

I've noticed my crew's morale never changes from "normal"

Yeah i know. I wish i knew where to tweak that. I hate it.

recently I caught some of them sleeping while we were at general quarters

You had battle stations enabled too long is my guess.

Oh, I almost forgot, the radar operator(s) are always intently looking at the glass at their station. The only problem is, I don't have radar.

Most of the war you will have radar. What bugs me is they're looking at it, even while submerged. I wonder if i can fix that. :hmmm:

[TorpX]

I wouldn't worry about it; its really a minor thing. I know you've had a serious case of burnout.

I think the reason it (and other things) bothers me, is that it would not have been that difficult for Ubi to fix these things. They have the source code, the tools, the expertise. Even if they decided that the project was not going to be a huge money maker, they should have brought it to a proper conclusion, if only to maintain their brand.

[razark]

Most of the war you will have radar. What bugs me is they're looking at it, even while submerged. I wonder if i can fix that.
Someone started a rumor that it's not really a radar, it's a TV. They're trying to tune in and watch "Victory at Sea".

[Gerald]

Yeah i know. I wish i knew where to tweak that. I hate it.



You had battle stations enabled too long is my guess.



Most of the war you will have radar. What bugs me is they're looking at it, even while submerged. I wonder if i can fix that. :hmmm: Think of it as a challenge to fix!

[Ducimus]

Some things are only fixable at the code level. The reality is, all the modding in SH3 and SH4 is - is crafty editing of the programs resource files.

(edit: The real challenge in SH4 is finding out if something is fixable only at code level, or not.)

[TorpX]

Well, I took the 3 "radar operators" and put them with the deck watch and put the 3 extra watch guys in the damadge control slots. I still have 3 extra men not doing anything, but at least I don't have to be constantly looking at them, doing nothing. Maybe I'll consider them part of the gun crew. Problem solved, sort of. :)

[Armistead]

My crew morale changes up quite a lot playing TMO. Course I get in some hairy situations. Still strange, I've seen some rate broken, why at the same time others are fanatical. Seems to happen more late war.

I have no clue what pushes some to break, others to get fanatical, probably ratings, wounded, ect. Seems if you sink lot's of ships, then take a hell of a beating for it they go all over the place.

In the end, what doe's it matter, doesn't seem to effect anything.

[TorpX]

I've been wondering about that. I get the impression that the whole crew thing, is just another example of something the devs never got around to finishing.

IMO, they should have, at least, fleshed out, half a dozen or so, key officers/specialists. Would have made more sense.