Is there a fix for gun range resetting

[1Patriotofmany]

When you are looking at a target ship from the uzo, you find the range, then go down to the main gun, dial in the range adjust for your movment and the other ships making progressively different range shots. If it's a destroyer or other fast maneuvering or distant ship you eventually lose the range usually and have to go back to the uzo to establish the correct range. When you go back down to the main gun, the range has reset itself and it takes you that much longer to readjust to get back on target! That few seconds could be the difference between being hit hard/fatally and getting a couple more shots off.


Is there any way to keep the gun range where it last was when you leave to check the uzo range again?

[KaleunMarco]

When you are looking at a target ship from the uzo, you find the range, then go down to the main gun, dial in the range adjust for your movment and the other ships making progressively different range shots. If it's a destroyer or other fast maneuvering or distant ship you eventually lose the range usually and have to go back to the uzo to establish the correct range. When you go back down to the main gun, the range has reset itself and it takes you that much longer to readjust to get back on target! That few seconds could be the difference between being hit hard/fatally and getting a couple more shots off.


Is there any way to keep the gun range where it last was when you leave to check the uzo range again?

none that i am aware of.
in fact, there are times when the default range on the deck gun changes during the mission.
i have the same issue with it as you do.
to combat the deficiency, i always compensate with less range based on speed. it is not hard to set up a table of yds per second at speed. you might even be able to use the speed-distance-bearing template on the nav map, depending on which modder built it. i keep my own settings and most of them are committed to memory.
30 kts is roughly 17 yds/sec. 30 secs @ 30 kts is 30 times 17 yds or 510 yds.
15 kts is half of that distance.

so, take your uzo distance, head over to the deck gun train over to the proper bearing, run up the elevation and take appropriate number of yds from the uzo distance. open fire.

keep mind that you CAN change bearing and elevation at the same time.
i have also modified the elevation speed such that it takes a few less seconds to get to 10 or 12 k.

good luck.
:Kaleun_Salute:

[razark]

1. Get initial range on the target.
2. Set the gun.
3. Fire the gun.
4. Observe impact.
5. If impact is behind target, decrease range. Goto 3.
6. If impact is in front of target, increase range. Goto 3.
7. Goto 3.I base my deck gun shooting completely on the fall of the shell, aside from an approximate range at the beginning.
If I have to resort to the deck gun, I'm usually either very close in, or the situation is desperate enough that I don't have time to check for an accurate range.


I don't have to deal with the resetting issue, either, because once I switch to it, I'm on the gun until the target is gone.

[1Patriotofmany]

What about programming someone at the uzo to give range to nearest warship or closest target, like sonar does? I play dark waters so sonar only works when submerged.

[KaleunMarco]

What about programming someone at the uzo to give range to nearest warship or closest target, like sonar does? I play dark waters so sonar only works when submerged.

that's a great idea.
to do that there has to be a command already in the Commands.cfg file, built by Ubi, that does something like: Send_target_range_to_deckgun.
unfortunately, there is no command like that and i am unaware of a user-capability to create/program additional commands. :wah:

a while back a modder was playing with the radar unit and trying to get it to slave to the deck gun (or vice versa) to do essentially the same thing as you suggested. since there is no mod of which i am aware, i must conclude that the modder either:

1. gave up
b. confirmed that it could not be accomplished
d. some other result of which i am not aware that caused him to stop

there is only one command that involves the Uzo and that takes the player to the Uzo unit. that's it.

do not feel bad about this. many great ideas lie fallow because of Ubi's lack of competence.

:Kaleun_Salute:

[1Patriotofmany]

Yeah I'm full of great ideas and no abilities :ping::har::haha:

[razark]

I don't recall if it was in unmodded SH4, but TMO does have a report range to nearest visual contact, so that is about the closest option that I know is possible. It does only report the closest target, even if that's not the one you want.

[1Patriotofmany]

I don't recall if it was in unmodded SH4, but TMO does have a report range to nearest visual contact, so that is about the closest option that I know is possible. It does only report the closest target, even if that's not the one you want. Actually the most often times I need it is taking on destroyers and other escorts in the fog and dark night which are usually the closest, Thanks for bringing that up, I'll have to check the key chart and see if it's there and if it works in Dark Waters. EDIT: Bummer don't see a key or icon for it in Darkwaters

[propbeanie]

The report range thingie might just be a "close", "medium" and "long" range report, I do not remember. There is also a "Target nearest warship" for the deck officer. There should be menu buttons in OM / DW for both, but my memory cannot say for certain. Have your crew man the deck gun, and "Target nearest warship", once they shoot a shot, then try manning the gun yourself, and see if it's not partially aimed at the attacker then... I do not recall game behavior with that either... I think I need to plug my batts into the wall charger and get a 110v AC hit... wake things up maybe. :o :D

[KaleunMarco]

The report range thingie might just be a "close", "medium" and "long" range report, I do not remember. There is also a "Target nearest warship" for the deck officer. There should be menu buttons in OM / DW for both, but my memory cannot say for certain. Have your crew man the deck gun, and "Target nearest warship", once they shoot a shot, then try manning the gun yourself, and see if it's not partially aimed at the attacker then.

what you say is true....that is one tool to use.

there is also the command: Report_nearest_visual_contact
you get bearing and range...in feet, though. why in feet? no idea.

anyway, that will give you the data to the NEAREST. as was stated previously in this thread, you may want to shoot at an enemy which is NOT the nearest.

[les green01]

i just watch the shot and adjust but then most times im close enough for even the ai have a hard time missing

[1Patriotofmany]

i just watch the shot and adjust but then most times im close enough for even the ai have a hard time missing Hard to see the shot all the time in the fog and darker nights of Darkwaters. I take on destroyers and corvettes when I can barely see them in the fog, 3-4 thousand yards.

[KaleunMarco]

Hard to see the shot all the time in the fog and darker nights of Darkwaters. I take on destroyers and corvettes when I can barely see them in the fog, 3-4 thousand yards.

you're a braver man than i am, Gunga Din.

[1Patriotofmany]

you're a braver man than i am, Gunga Din.The Darker Nights mod for Dark Waters really makes game play better, you can close in on convoys a lot better. And the Fog is just wonderful. Half the time they can't see you till they are erupting in flames. I like how the fog thickens and thins which can get you into trouble.

[Jeff-Groves]

Wild suggestion you could try.
Open Deck_Gun_GE105mm.cam in the Library\GerSubParts folder.
EditObjPos

Set UseInitialLocalPos to false.


Other then that I suspect the KeyFrame Animations control position of the Guns when you switch back and forth.

You could do a cheat and change the timing for the Guns movements.

[KaleunMarco]

You could do a cheat and change the timing for the Guns movements.

this suggestion interests me.
hypothetically speaking, where would i change the time of a guns movement?

are you referring to the wpn_cannon values in the DeckGun.sim file?
or something else?

[1Patriotofmany]

Me too. In real life the range wouldn't change every time to zero or whatever it changes to when someone at the uzo yelled out the range. So it wouldn't really even be cheating.

[Jeff-Groves]

If you open Deck_Gun_GE105mm.dat you'll see 2 AnimationObject Controllers.
One controls horizontal movement the other controls vertical movement.

Change the timing or remove them completely and test.

[KaleunMarco]

If you open Deck_Gun_GE105mm.dat you'll see 2 AnimationObject Controllers.
One controls horizontal movement the other controls vertical movement.

Change the timing or remove them completely and test.

ok....thank you for that.
i will give that a try later today.
:Kaleun_Salute:

[Jeff-Groves]

I haven't tested it myself but since all animations have a start position?
Makes sense that would be why the Guns return to initial position.

You would probably have to manually return to the start position. Maybe?
Before diving.
:hmmm:

EDIT: DO NOT delete the controllers! The Gun won't move at all as I just tested that.

[KaleunMarco]

I haven't tested it myself but since all animations have a start position?
Makes sense that would be why the Guns return to initial position.

You would probably have to manually return to the start position. Maybe?
Before diving.
:hmmm:

EDIT: DO NOT delete the controllers! The Gun won't move at all as I just tested that.

got it.

thanks for the intel.

:Kaleun_Salute:

[1Patriotofmany]

Anybody try that greek to me stuff you guys are talking about?

[KaleunMarco]

Anybody try that greek to me stuff you guys are talking about?

after further review, no.

there is an easier and more reliable way to get the cannon to elevate faster than testing the Deckgun.dat parm.

i haven't figured out how to make it rotate faster....yet.

[1Patriotofmany]

after further review, no.

there is an easier and more reliable way to get the cannon to elevate faster than testing the Deckgun.dat parm.

i haven't figured out how to make it rotate faster....yet. I'm not worried about the rotation speed, just would like the elevation to stay put. I guess I could live with making it faster, it's just so irritating when I lose my range in a make or break firefight to have it drop down to 500 when I do a quick uzo check, very frustrating.

[KaleunMarco]

I'm not worried about the rotation speed, just would like the elevation to stay put. I guess I could live with making it faster, it's just so irritating when I lose my range in a make or break firefight to have it drop down to 500 when I do a quick uzo check, very frustrating.

remind me: do you have skills using the S3ditor?

if yes, i can talk you through the change process.

if no, then send me your config and i will build a mini-mod that adjusts it for your installation.

[1Patriotofmany]

remind me: do you have skills using the S3ditor?

if yes, i can talk you through the change process.

if no, then send me your config and i will build a mini-mod that adjusts it for your installation. Zero skills, never used it. I'll send you the config when I get a chance. Thanks a bunch for the offer Sir.