SH3 Vet / SH4 Noob Question

[Padi Muffdiver]

After uncountable SH3 careers the transition to the SH4 user interface has been difficult for this old dog but I'm finally more comfortable with it. I decided to initially mod as follows:

TriggerMaru_Overhaul_2-5
RSRDC_TMO_V502
RSRDC_V5xx_Patch1
TMO_25_small_patch
Traveller Mod v2.6 TMO
Traveller Mod 2.6 Automatic Ship ID

I can live with the minor quirks of occasional deck crews manning their posts underwater and the hull damage see-through textures, but here's my campaign question. I began with the Pearl to Midway to Bashi Channel mission(s) then transferred to Midway to save time. After 7 identical missions to Bashi and very scant enemy surface traffic, I turned down a promotion to Annapolis & took a renown penalty, but mission #8 is the same patrol to Bashi which is getting boring. I am proficient at crash diving away from air patrols though, lol.

So have I patched wrong, or do I need to transfer to Australia to get some mission variety? I can stray from Bashi as fuel permits, but not far enough to get to the hot zones.

Thanks to all the vets who have already sailed these seas!

[cdrsubron7]

After uncountable SH3 careers the transition to the SH4 user interface has been difficult for this old dog but I'm finally more comfortable with it. I decided to initially mod as follows:

TriggerMaru_Overhaul_2-5
RSRDC_TMO_V502
RSRDC_V5xx_Patch1
TMO_25_small_patch
Traveller Mod v2.6 TMO
Traveller Mod 2.6 Automatic Ship ID

I can live with the minor quirks of occasional deck crews manning their posts underwater and the hull damage see-through textures, but here's my campaign question. I began with the Pearl to Midway to Bashi Channel mission(s) then transferred to Midway to save time. After 7 identical missions to Bashi and very scant enemy surface traffic, I turned down a promotion to Annapolis & took a renown penalty, but mission #8 is the same patrol to Bashi which is getting boring. I am proficient at crash diving away from air patrols though, lol.

So have I patched wrong, or do I need to transfer to Australia to get some mission variety? I can stray from Bashi as fuel permits, but not far enough to get to the hot zones.

Thanks to all the vets who have already sailed these seas!


With TMO you shouldn't be getting the same mission all the time. Looking at the way you have things installed I'd say that the TMO small patch should come before the RSRD mods. But that's just a guess on my part. Hopefully someone will bne along soon and either confirm or correct my suggestion.

[fireftr18]

With TMO you shouldn't be getting the same mission all the time. Looking at the way you have things installed I'd say that the TMO small patch should come before the RSRD mods. But that's just a guess on my part. Hopefully someone will bne along soon and either confirm or correct my suggestion.

The TMO small patch definitely needs to be before RSRDC. Redo it and then see if you have any change. If you don't, then you may have a corrupt file.

[Padi Muffdiver]

I will definitely change the patch order for a new campaign.

I finally did get a small change though. After some kills in the Bashi channel I was given a new patrol area which I completed and then another one that was impossible with my fuel level. I still start every mission in Bashi.
As a short term fix, I had to use unlimited fuel and hit nearly every enemy harbor to rack up 30k+ tonnage in one mission; I almost went after the goldfish in the Emperor's fountain at one point. I finally started getting credit for air kills too once I shot down some BN5's instead of search planes.
Only one patrol mission makes the career programming "shallow", so hopefully the re-patching will help.

[Padi Muffdiver]

Thanks guys. The re-patching made a huge difference in mission variety.

I'm now dealing with torpedo failures over 90%. I'm aware of the historical problem, but here's a typical scenario from my last patrol (4th patrol, July 1942):

Found a Kinposan Maru & set up at 90 degrees starboard, fired first torpedo from 650 yards with the default depth, then alternated depth & ship target section for the remaining 9 torpedoes (reversed 180 to set up aft tubes). All torpedoes were set for high speed and "contact". Depths ranged from the default 16 feet plus 12 feet, 10 feet, 6 feet, and minimum. One torpedo returned a dud message and the other nine passed through the target. The Kinposan has a 21.7 ft. draft.

All of my tonnage so far has been via the deck gun except for one unlucky submarine that crossed my path. Are the early war torpedoes modeled correctly? If so I would have shut down the submarine service until something was fixed! Or do I need a mod that adds armor to my hull and also 3 more deck guns? :03:

[Sniper297]

http://www.historynet.com/us-torpedo-troubles-during-world-war-ii.htm

About a 70% failure rate if used as intended, if the Mark 14 was set to low speed contact (so it worked like a Mark 10) the failure rate was about 35%.

However.

The game isn't really programmed that way, they do it similar to the early computer RPG games - by rolling "virtual dice" and completely ignoring the impact speed and angles.

I tried it several times and said the hell with it, the British and Germans were well aware of the problems and had gone back to contact exploders long before the US entered the war. There's no excuse whatsoever for that fiasco, so I just pretend the US wised up before Pearl Harbor and play with duds turned off.

It is, after all, a game, and a game is supposed to be fun.

[Armistead]

I carry M10's early war....

[cdrsubron7]

I carry M10's early war....



Ditto.........:yeah:

[merc4ulfate]

Dont use Contact detonators prior to 1943

[TorpX]

The game isn't really programmed that way, they do it similar to the early computer RPG games - by rolling "virtual dice" and completely ignoring the impact speed and angles.



This really isn't true. I don't know about stock, or TMO for that matter, but there is plenty in the torpedo files about angles, speeds and other things and how these relate to failures. In RFB, the torps are well modeled, as it relates to history. The main drawback to this, is that players usually know much more than the skippers and crews did historically, and can take advantage of this (like using the Mk 10, for instance).






Are the early war torpedoes modeled correctly? If so I would have shut down the submarine service until something was fixed! Or do I need a mod that adds armor to my hull and also 3 more deck guns? :03:

Imo, they are for the most modeled correctly, at least in RFB.

The powers that be could not shut down the Silent Service, but there was a lot of gnashing of teeth behind the scenes. The torpedo scandal was a major reason why subs didn't sink that many ships in '42.

One of the things that went by the wayside, was the pre-war thinking about how many torpedoes should be used for a certain kind of ship. The commands had to deal with a shortage of torpedoes at the outset, and wanted skippers to attack with just one or two torpedoes. However, it soon became apparent that they had to choose between conserving torpedoes, and sinking ships.

[Padi Muffdiver]

Thanks again. I'm going w Mk10's until 1943. I did notice that even the Mk14's set on slow for max range in one of my harbor attacks actually detonated! I didn't realize that speed was an issue. Depth control is an obvious issue; I can only get hits on ships with 16+ foot drafts by deducting 10 or 11 feet from what I think I'm getting. That means hitting the ships with 12' or less drafts isn't worth the frustration, until 1943.

With the Mk14's, my fifth patrol was the worst yet. Out of 24 shots, I netted 2 hits, 4 duds, and 18 pass-throughs (set depth at minimum & used external view to follow them through the ships - maybe they had hydroplane feet that could lift the ship out of the water to avoid my torpedoes).

I read more about the era & it looks like another case of clueless bureaucrats trying to lose a war for the U.S. One of my sound mods has some really good radio speeches by FDR & others about the economics and politics of the time. I listen to those when I'm not crash diving, lol.