Wolves of Steel 1.06 is pretty dang good, plus Real Nav

[maillemaker]

So I have loaded up Wolves of Steel 1.06 04h for a new campaign starting in 1939. And I loaded up the Real Navigation mod.

I used the recommended time compression settings, and so far, it's pretty darn good. I think I have only had one crash to desktop so far in probably 20 hours of game time. Max TC is limited to 512, and that's good enough for me.

Also, I had originally hesitated to try the Real Navigation mod, because I did not think I would enjoy the tedium of having to manually navigate my sub.

But here is the thing: With auto-navigation, you really have the tedium of watching your u-boat slowly crawl across the ocean.

With real-navigation, you stay much more engaged with the game. I have the Real Navigation Automation Tool running, which makes your navigator automatically compute and plot a position every couple of hours:

http://i.imgur.com/cp5uDq7l.jpg

His plots are only estimates, though, and you do have to pay attention when you start getting near shore - I ran aground once on my way home!

http://i.imgur.com/rRjE1o4l.jpg

But I find that the real nav really adds to the game and keeps you fully engaged and thinking about your position in your head.

My only disappointment with Real Nav is that you no longer see reported radio contacts on the map. You sometimes get radio alerts with a position which you have to plot yourself. I wish they would just be auto-plotted.

But other than that, I highly recommend WoS 1.06 04h and the Real Navigation mod.

Steve

[THEBERBSTER]

Hi Steve
I think you summed out Real Navigation quite well.
It sounds more difficult than actually is.
I wish they would just be auto-plotted. That would be a contradiction and not Real Navigation.
The whole point of Real Navigation is you have to do it yourself with a bit of help from your crew.
Peter

[maillemaker]

That would be a contradiction and not Real Navigation.

Not to me. To me, navigation is about the navigating of my submarine, not plotting incoming contact reports, which has nothing to do with navigation.

I would expect the incoming coordinates to be shown on the map, and then I would realistically navigate to that intercept.

Steve

[Lost At Sea]

We must be on the same uboat !!:haha:

I've installed Wolves of Steel 1.06 few days back, also running under Real Nav.
Loving every minute of it, much more involving than the vanilla "gps / no error" sub icon.

I have 1 question tho...
Let's say I'm on a 270 course heading towards the British Isles, a long way to go, no change of heading expected for the next 16+ hrs.
My navigator plots our position every 2 hrs or so, his best guesstimate frequently positions the boat way off course. I then usually re-calculate my estimated distance covered via time and speed, and reposition my boat along my pre-drawn 270 degree course.

Is that correct, or is my navigator aware of currents, drifting and such?
I tend to assume there is no such thing as drift and currents in SH5 Wolves of Steel, and trust myself more than my 56% experienced navigator...
I guess my point is that why would my navigator plot my boat way off course when my speed or heading have not changed over a long period of time.

I've ran aground once, middle of the night, definitely wrong plotting on my end!!!

On a side note, also installed the Enigma mod. Much more intuitive than expected.
Great addition, and love the clunky sounds !

Cheers,
Lost

[maillemaker]

Once when coming back to Wilhelmshaven my navigator plotted 2 plot points in land.

Obviously the random number generator at play.

I'm pretty sure my navigator ought to know that my submarine can't go on land.

http://i.imgur.com/pnWtPLrl.jpg

Steve

[Andayle]

I've also just started playing SH5 with Wolves of Steel mod. It indeed is great stuff. Like you I'm playing with max realism. I seem to have grasped the navigation side of things quite quickly. The manual TDC however is another story. I've read many guides and watched a few hours of youtube clips and I feel I'm drowning in knowledge that I'm still unsure how to use.

Anyone recommend an upto date guide/youtube video explaining manual TDC?

[maillemaker]

The TDC is pretty simple if you make 90-degree attacks, which is about all I do.

With a 90-degree attack, range to target does not matter. This is ideal for a convoy attack.

Basically you adjust your heading to be 90 degrees to the target heading.

You need to determine the target speed. I do this with the "fixed wire" method.



Identify the target in the recognition manual.
From the manual, determine the ship length.
Either come to a full stop, or drive your boat directly at the target (to negate your own speed).
Position your vertical target reticle directly in front of the target.
When the bow of the target hits the reticle, start the stopwatch.
When the stern of the target hits the reticle, stop the stopwatch.
Use this formula to determine target speed:

Length in Meters * 1.94 / Time in Seconds.
Return course to a course 90 degrees to target course, if necessary.
Set your scope bearing to 000.
Turn on the TDC. (Now you can enter data into it)
Set the speed dial to match the target speed computed in step 7 above.
Set the Angle on Bow to either 90 degrees to port or 90 degrees to starboard. If your submarine is to the right of your target, set 90 degrees starboard. If your submarine is to the left of your target, set 90 degrees port.
Turn off the TDC. (Now you can not enter data into it)
Turn the scope towards the target. Watch the Gyroscope angle. Stop turning the scope when you get a 0 gyroangle (both dials pointing straight up to 12 o'clock).

Typically you will have to turn the scope 5-15 degrees towards the target, depending on the torpedo speed you have selected.
Wait for the target to cross your vertical reticle. If your target speed measurement is accurate enough, you can literally choose where on the target you want your torpedo to strike by firing when the reticle is on top of the spot you want to hit. When in doubt, aim for the middle of the ship, or fire a spread of torpedoes along its length as it passes the reticle.



This is particularly useful when attacking a convoy passing by you in rows and columns. Because of the lead angle, the ships farthest away will cross your reticle before the ones closer to you. Which means you can fire your torpedoes in such a way as the farthest away targets are hit first, followed in turn by the ships closer to you.

If you execute this maneuver properly, and get lucky with no duds, you can roll a "strike" by getting a 1-2-3-4 series of hits on 4 different ships in rapid succession. It is a spectacular thing to behold when you pull it off.

Steve

[Andayle]

Fantastic guide maillemaker, I shall try this out tonight. Thank you.

[Navigator857]

I'm pretty sure my navigator ought to know that my submarine can't go on land.



Steve

Actually not true, you can go onto land, but it'll be only once! :haha:

Jack