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rudewarrior
01-26-12, 05:48 PM
Hi,

I am currently using two methods to simulate torpedo failures. I am currently using h.Sie's Torpedo Failure Fix V1.1 BETA for V16A3 (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=158642&highlight=torpedo+depth) and LGN1's realistic torpedo failures mod (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=158642&highlight=torpedo+depth) together. Both of these mods are excellent and work very well, and in general I don't mind the difficulty in dealing with the failures, as they both try to make reasonable attempts to simulate the torpedo issues the Germans experienced during the first half of the war.:up:

Unfortunately, there has been a couple of times, due to heavy weather and random conditions created by these mods, that I have managed to expend most if not all of my entire load out on one ship, with no hits.:down:

Given the limitations of SH3 and the particular circumstances, i.e. weather preventing deck gun use and the overall setup of how the mods are actually implemented, I don't think there is any way to fix these mods to make them "more realistic," and if it is a choice of either having the mods or not, I would rather keep them. Since I play DiD, I think what I would like to do is start a discussion about how to make the outcome "realistic."

I do know, historically speaking, there are incidents where boats exhausted the last of their ordinance with no hits/all failures and the target even knew about it. The torpedo crisis did produce some very bad results and situations, but I hesitate to think there was ever an incident where a single U-boat would actually get to the point that they fired 12 of 14 torpedoes at single target, all without hits. In this particular case, 10 of those were TI's, so I could see the track indicating the torp was passing beneath the ship. :damn: Just for explanation, I suspect that the realistic torpedo failures setting was causing such a low depth setting that all of the torpedoes were passing beneath the target (unless they were all duds passing at max depth from the Torpedo Failures Fix, which I doubt).

It would seem that the commander would try to change something after a certain point, but to do that realistically becomes somewhat difficult. The orders at the time insisted that a minimum depth on the torpedoes be used to prevent surface runners, but this minimum depth may result in torpedoes still traveling under the target, due to how SH3 Commander randomizes the torpedo depth. So now, if I jump to a potentially unreasonable conclusion (given the limited knowledge of u-boat commanders in relation to the torpedo issues at the time) and set a shallower depth, I am now not only behaving "unrealistically," but also there is nothing in the game to simulate a failure from a "surface runner." The problem is that SH3 Commander randomizes such that all torpedoes experience the depth keeping issue during that one session of game play. In order to reset it to another value I would have to save and reload the game. Not only does this violate my "DiD sense," but also I have no evidence to support actually when I should be doing this even if I do know that the depth keeping is the source of the actual error (as opposed to the dud modification that comes from the Torpedo Failures Fix, just to throw yet another issue into the mix). This could also present the additional complication of needing to save and reload such that I am out of visual range of my target in order to avoid erratic save game behavior.

I say that, on the whole, this is a situation that happens rarely, and I do enjoy having both mods working on my set up, but I am wondering what I should do after I have emptied five tubes at a ship, watched all the bubble trails, and scored no hits. I do know that Commanders have the ultimate discretion with their boats, but the only solutions I have seem to be potentially as unrealistic as the original situation.:nope:

Another option would be to just ignore it. There were patrols that had zero tonnage, and the Germans were aware of the problems, so they were trying to come up with a solution. It doesn't necessarily seem to be an unreasonable outcome to just chalk it up to torpedo failure/bad luck, and just take it as a loss. After all, I think "disappointment" is probably a pretty realistic reaction considering what u-boat commanders had to deal with during the war.:wah: Incidentally, does anyone know of a mission where a u-boat returned with zero tonnage sunk and most if not all their ordinance expended? I would suspect not considering the fleeting nature of successful contact in the vastness of the ocean.

Maybe we could introduce a mod such that once we experience a certain level of failure, we could submit a report to the Torpedo Directorate, and from there, after a random period of time, the issue would suddenly be "fixed?":rotfl2:

h.sie
01-27-12, 02:53 AM
Hi RW:

1) The two mods are not intended to be used together, since their failure rates are (simply spoken) "added". So it's not surprising that you have high failure rates.

2) Did you consider to always set the depth of a torpedo to deeper or equal 0.4 * Windspeed? Otherwise you risk higher failures due to water turbolences or even surface runners.

3) The final version of the TorpedoFailures Mod will be customizeable via an .ini file. So you can reduce the failure rates.

h.sie

rudewarrior
01-27-12, 12:00 PM
Hi h.sie,

Thanx for the tips and info, just a couple of comments.


1) The two mods are not intended to be used together, since their failure rates are (simply spoken) "added". So it's not surprising that you have high failure rates.

2) Did you consider to always set the depth of a torpedo to deeper or equal 0.4 * Windspeed? Otherwise you risk higher failures due to water turbolences or even surface runners.

I understand all this. I guess the only comment to make here is that I would use the word "compounded" instead.

For specifics on what happened, my target was a ship with draft = 7.3 m. The current orders for u-boats at the time(more on this later), late June '40, were that the commanders use impact pistols only, and the depth setting should be 3 m (2 m in good weather). The weather conditions were heavy fog and rain with 15 m/s wind. However, the actual wave height was much lower, since this was June, and I was using the SH3 Commander "seasonal" wave height option. I set torpedo depth to 3 m. I don't know if this affects how your mod actually calculates the waveheight for failure, but I thought I would include it for complete disclosure.

My best guess as to what happened was that I had randomly gotten the setting for SH3 Cmdr such that my torpedoes were actually at a depth of 8 meters. As a result the impact fuses were having no effect. There was probably a dud thrown in here and there from your mod.

One question I do have: Which torpedo depth setting is used in this case to determine the failure for your mod, i.e. does it use the depth setting on the TDC, in this case 3 m, or does it use the actual depth of the torpedo, in this case 7.5+ m?

3) The final version of the TorpedoFailures Mod will be customizeable via an .ini file. So you can reduce the failure rates.I keep track of developments of your mod on a daily basis, so I am eagerly anticipating your next release.:yep:

Based on my research though, I personally think the failure rate should be increased, especially if using only your mod.:D But IIRC, 25% is where it is set right now, and really the information that we have to make this determination is pretty spotty, so your estimation is certainly not unreasonable.

As a final comment, part of the reason I am messing with these mods is that I have been working on my own mod. I will be posting a [WIP] thread on it soon, but basically my partner and I have gone through all of the standing orders for u-boat commanders, so people playing SH3 do have the ability to try and follow the BdU recommended torpedo settings if they wish (and some other features/orders, too). This mod would supplement these two mods nicely for immersion purposes.:up:

Good luck, and thanx for the tips!:salute:

h.sie
01-27-12, 12:43 PM
@RW: My fix uses the actual depth (value of TDC dial + offset from LGN1's mod).

Good luck with your mod.

h.sie

rudewarrior
01-27-12, 01:34 PM
@RW: My fix uses the actual depth (value of TDC dial + offset from LGN1's mod).

Good luck with your mod.

h.sie

Thanx, and one more question. I guess I implied it but forgot to ask it explicitly:

Is the wave height calculated by actual wave height or the wave height as adjusted by SH3 Commander?

This might be unclear so I will explain it a different way.

I am using the seasonal setting for SH3 Commander. As viewed from the conning tower, the graphical wave height for a 15 m/s wind in June is usually much lower than December. Does this effect calculations, or does it measure wave height based on just the 15 m/s number?

Sorry to be such a pest, and thanx again in advance.:salute:

h.sie
01-27-12, 03:45 PM
hi RW:

waveheight is calculated from windspeed , IIRC according to the beaufort scale.

h.sie