How smart is Silent Hunter 3's sound system

[Howard313]

I have a bit of a strategy to avoid Destroyers I've been working on and I'm curious to know if it's effective at all because it effects my speed quite a bit. A few things to note.



I'm not running any mods at the moment, GWX included. Pure Vanilla fresh from the store Silent Hunter 3
Steam version of the game is being used.
The Type VIIB is the uboat being used in the pictures

Okay, let's get started, As you all know, the slower you go the harder you are to hear, basically meaning if you charge in a well escorted convoy at ahead flank you can expect it to be the fourth of July for you and your men. So it's best to go in at ahead-slow, and even then you are still at risk for getting caught.

It is possible in this game to set your own speed manually instead of just "ahead slow" "ahead standard" etc etc. The designers of this game were also kind enough to give you an rpm gauge.

http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/5568/aheadslow.jpg
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/8059/1knot.jpg

The top Image is the reading the gauge gives off for "all ahead slow" The bottom image is the reading the gauge gives off when a speed of 1 knot is ordered. Now in real life, this would technically make you harder to detect correct? your rpm is lower, your propellers are turning slower and you are making less noise (much less in fact, it cuts the noise you make in half if these gauges are not lying to me.)

The questions is this, does the game engine work that way? Is your detectability judged by how much RPM your engines are producing? Or am I putting too much thought into it and you really can't get any quieter and stealthier than the default "ahead slow" command.

In short, if you set your speed to be lower than the "ahead slow" command, are you being stealthier in a way that the game recognizes?

Thanks in advanced! :salute:

[CherryHarbey]

yes, if you click on that little green circle, bottom left of your speed telegraph, it will transfer into a knotmeter, by clicking within it you can manually set your speed to whatever you like, and your RPMs will drop accordingly. true silent running seems to vary depending on who you ask but it is somewhere between 50 - 100 RPMs

oh and clicking on the green circle again will cycle it back to the teelgraph.
same applies to the other two gauges. compass/rudder, and 0-25m/0-260m depth gauges.

[Sailor Steve]

As to whether setting for one knot makes you quieter, the speed at which an escort can hear you is adjustable, or so I'm told. It's my understanding that GWX makes it so you need to slow down to keep from being heard. I'm not sure about the other supermods.

[Fish In The Water]

In short, if you set your speed to be lower than the "ahead slow" command, are you being stealthier in a way that the game recognizes?

Yes. IIRC the AI_Sensors.dat file establishes the contact parameters and it does recognize/distinguish between different noise levels. :yep:

[Jimbuna]

As to whether setting for one knot makes you quieter, the speed at which an escort can hear you is adjustable, or so I'm told. It's my understanding that GWX makes it so you need to slow down to keep from being heard. I'm not sure about the other supermods.

Rgr that....a lot can also depend on the cross sectional profile you present to your hunter.