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View Full Version : Where are fuel in snorkel status indicators? Shortcut to Conning Tower?


zygoma
03-25-12, 03:10 AM
Hiya, folks. I'm still running SH3, and after I wipe the HD and re-install XP Pro in my "real" machine (I got a virus :( ) I'll try GWX (dunno if I can run it in a separate directory from plain ol' SH3....
However, my questions are simple, I believe.
The only place I can see my fuel state is by clicking on the CE's face, then clicking on the "reports" icon (far right), and see battery charge, compressed air, breathing air quality, and what looks like a snap of a sight glass next to a bulkhead somewhere in the boat, with some valveworks next to it.
I know where the dial gauges are for the first three, but where in the boat does the fuel level sight glass appear? I'm assuming it's in the diesel engine room (although I realize I'm not really even sure where the fuel tanks are). I was driving a VIIB for quite awhile, then upgraded to a IXC boat.
And is there an indicator, or even some visible hardware linkage in the Command Room that shows the position of the snorkel (or schnorkel) ?
I know that if I'm running on diesels whilst submerged, my schnorkel must be deployed, or I'll be lowering the atmospheric pressure inside the pressure hull, popping ears, and using up breathable air at quite a rapid rate. Indeed, the game seems to change automatically to electrics within a few moments of submerging, and moving the crew to the appropriate engine room.
I've taken to running my observation periscope up partway and pointing it at about 45 degrees relative so it sees the schnorkel head, but of course I have to remember to look to see it's up.
What trips me up is that it's another thing to have to remember to do when aircraft and surface vessels draw nigh, for fear of giving them an easy target. And if I'm trying to move quickly *without* staring into one of the scopes and constantly sweeping the skies for big metal birds, I easily forget while I'm moving around the guys who can't even stand a dog watch without a nap, that I've got a big radar target slicing a wake above my boat.
So, is there an indicator in the Command Room that says, basically, "Yep, it's up there, bringing in air *and* bombs" ?
Third thought, since I'm on a roll, it's 0400 local and there is a major thunderstorm (golfball-size hail) outside right now.....
The only way I know to get into the conning tower is to go into the Command Room, look up at the hatch to the conning tower, and click on its hatch. Is there a shortcut that will put me there quicker?
Some stuff there is just cooler, like torpedo tube door switches and the "auto update" button, all within easy reach.
Oh! A fourth question: In the conning tower and command room, and I think Radio, there are what look like wine bottles in bulkhead retainer brackets. My first guess, oddly (but not for a retired firefighter/paramedic), was that they're carbon tetrachloride fire extinguishers, to be easily unhooked and either poured onto, or thrown into, a fire without deploying hoses. They've been outlawed in the US for years for being, among other things, carcinogens, but I remember having them on board our ambulances and pumpers, as well as in my home.
I suppose they could be drinking water, but where's the fun in that?
I see there are cans attached to the bulkhead below the watertight hatch in the radio room heading to the command room; presumably they're acid for the small batteries in the commo rooms, or oil for basically *nothing* in the commo spaces, or just spare alcohol fuel for the torps forward of comms.....
Inquiring minds wanna know.....for practical matters, the schnorkel indicator. Rest of the stuff is just cuz, well, with the thunder pounding and keeping the dogs (and me) awake, I've got time to ponder stuff like this.
<sigh!> The life of the Perpetual n00b!
diddly dahdidah
Zygoma
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Frenchy849
03-25-12, 10:05 AM
Well,if you put your mouse on the left of the screen,a slider menu will appear listing the stations,also press F1 for the hotkeys as I don't really remember them right now.
Also the Snorkel doesn't have fuel in it,it just brings air in and exhaust fumes from the diesels out,but to see the amount of fuel you have,I think it's sort of like the gauge that tells the height of the water and the periscope in the periscope view,and if you're asking yourself if it's raised or not,well there are no indicators.
I don't really know about the observation periscope,but I think the time compression will go to 1 when there's some action going on,and also there aren't many planes,I didn't meet any after 2 Hurricanes in stock SH3!
Also those wine bottles carry wine,don't get too puzzled about that,you can also click on the periscope behind you while in the conning tower,bringing you to a detailed attack periscope,and you can notice helmets and MG-34s next to the instuments.

zygoma
03-25-12, 11:56 AM
Frenchy,
Thanks for the help. My "fuel level in snorkel" was a typo in the subject, which I found I was unable to edit, but you figured out what I meant.
Also thanks for identifying the SMGs in the rack in the conning tower; I couldn't figure out which SMG they were.
I often forget that Europeans seem to have more "grown-up" attitudes about wine than lots of us on the west side of the pond. I used to play in a community orchestra in Homer, Alaska, with the father and grandfather of the singer, Jewel. Yul, the grandfather who immigrated from Switzerland to Alaska, mentioned during a break in a rehearsal for "Amahl and the Night Visitors" that "back home" there'd be wine backstage for the performers, who could generally be counted upon not to abuse it.
And it *is* a bit more romantic & civilized feeling than having carbon tet in the bottles, like the little family picture on the bulkhead in front of one of the dive planesmen.
I don't know if there's a shortcut to just appear in the conning tower. When I start taking incoming ordnance, sometimes I still get so nervous that I can't point-and-click fast enough and accurately enough to get around in the boat to do stuff myself instead of relying on my WO and such. I *do* use the "H" shortcut LOTS because I often hear targets before my SO does, so I frequently dive to periscope depth and go listen myself if nothing has been showing up visually or on radar from the bridge at the surface. I wish there were a "Shift-T" or similar to get me into the conning tower.
Thanks again for the help. Obviously I don't *need* to see the actual fuel gauge, and even with the Shift-F2 roaming mode, I still don't get to see any comparments forward of comms or aft of the command room. Guess that's why I've got a Chief Engineer who can tell me the mundane stuff :)
diddly dahdidah
Zygoma
May your number of surface operations exceed your number of dives by one, at the end of your career.
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Frenchy849
03-25-12, 02:46 PM
There's Flakmonkey's interiors with crew with open hatch mod that models the stern quarters,engine room and forward quarters as well as adding crew on one of the tables and in the engine's room.
Unfortunately,the diesels aren't animated and I don't think there are any gauges in there.