CCIP
08-07-05, 01:18 PM
Alright, with RUb1.43’s release now imminent, I figured I’d help the players along by providing some general tips on how the newly-revised (by yours truly) survivability system will work and what some of its’ nuisances may be. RUb Kaleuns, take notes!
In general, I think you will find RUb 1.43 much more survivable through the war than any previous SHIII version, albeit with some quirks. The bottom line is that it will reward cautious, realistic play. It's rather forgiving when you 'behave' and act rationally. However, things can and will get ruthless as soon as you make an error or take an unreasonable risk.
*********
Damage and Repair
As compared to earlier RUb versions, especially 1.42, the sub will generally be somewhat stronger and less prone to quick destruction. However, repair times and chances of damage to individual systems have been increased across the board.
There is a good chance of flooding, and even better chance of damage or destruction of important systems aboard. This means that you will often have to learn to prioritize your repairs, especially when crucial parts are temporarily knocked out by damage.
Your priorities when under attack should be:
1) Flooding – get it under control immediately, at all costs, or boat will sink.
2) Propulsion – while the electric engines/compressor are the obvious part, you should also keep a careful eye on your batteries. Damage may knock them offline, and if you don’t repair them, you risk losing your power. Losing power = nice static target for the escorts to kill.
Also watch other key control parts, like pumps, rudders and dive planes. These may knock your boat out of control.
(don't shrug this off as too obvious - it's very likely to happen when you take serious damage, and with batteries and engines spread throughout the boat, some part is bound to get damaged)
3) Sensors – the hydrophones, especially, are prone to damage and also key to survival underwater.
4) Compartmental damage – just generic damage to compartments. Damage to them decreases efficiency, but you should always fix crucial compartments first.
REMEMBER – repairs are noisy, and may now take longer than you’d like. That’s why you always prioritize and repair what’s important first. Fixing that diesel engine or bunk space isn’t worth it when you’re trying to escape a depth charge attacks. Keep silent as much as you can. That other stuff can wait until you’re safe.
********
Aircraft
Aircraft are still your most dangerous enemy with AirPower. Their weapons, bombs and depth-charges, are the most significant threat to a U-boat since they’re the most accurate and fast of all.
Rule 1: AUTO-DIVES SAVE LIVES!
1943? Set your auto-response to ‘periscope depth’, and as soon as you make contact – follow it with a crash dive order. The key is to be as far away from where you originally submerged as possible. It seems to work at least 9 times out of 10.
Rule 2: Evade!
Can’t dive? Too late to dive? Learn to evade!
This is pretty similar to missile evasion in modern planes. Place the attacking aircraft as close as possible to your 3-9 line (that is, so he’s coming at you straight from the side as opposed to front/back) and maneuver at maximum speed with hard turns. Learn to estimate so that just as the plane is about to start its’ final diving attack run, you suddenly turn in the opposite direction. When done right, this causes them to miss at least 9 times out of 10.
DO NOT TRY TO SHOOT PLANES DOWN. It’s stupid. Use fire to keep them off, but don’t expect much success, even if you’re well-armed. A well-armored plane can make dozens of passes at you before you shoot it down, and that’s where probability may start working against you. And then of course, when it’s out of bombs, the plane will just leave and call in support.
Shooting down the bigger planes should be the last thing on your mind if you’d like to live (but maybe not if you want to have some cheap thrills). The best advice when caught on the surface is – maneuver, evade first attack, then crash-dive immediately before he comes back for a second pass.
**********
Surface ships
My biggest warning here:
Do not, under any circumstances, risk getting hit by surface guns! Your sub is not a tank. It is not made to withstand AP shells, it does not have any buoyancy reserve and, really, one full puncture through both of the boat’s pressure hulls (or just the single hull in the Type II) is enough to effectively spell doom. RUb is even somewhat forgiving here, as you will usually survive a few hits, and most definitely survive a single one without any massive consequences.
Do not let the seemingly light compartment damage fool you! You don’t have a hull integrity meter in RUb, but I can give you an estimate of how much hull integrity you will lose per one direct surface gun hit: it’s anywhere between 8-32%, with most hits from (larger) DD guns usually causing somewhere around 22-25% damage. (And I won’t even mention larger cruisers and BB’s, you can picture yourself what one would do to a U-boat…)
Bottom line: as soon as you get fired on, dive. Don’t even risk it. It is not worth it at all. Otherwise you will simply be killed, and sooner rather than later.
Depth charges:
These are not as huge as threat as they were in previous versions of RUb, at least at longer distances. However, close hits can be devastating, so don’t loosen your guard.
Also, some components like periscopes, hydrophone and other external systems are rather sensitive to the explosions.
Hedgehogs:
These are now deadlier on the whole. Historically, even one might just be enough. RUb is, again, somewhat forgiving, as you will often have ‘one hedgehog of grace’. Two hits are usually fatal – even if not immediately. They are a huge drain on hull integrity and are likely to cause your boat to be crushed even if you might survive 2-3 of the hits themselves.
ALSO:
Single surface ships are not a real problem. These you will usually evade with ease. But with 2, 3, or (let's hope not) more - your chances slim down exponentially! The AI does a good job of combining their sensor abilities, and this can make all the difference.
******
So, there you have it.
And oh, on the long-suffered subject of late-war ‘uber-sonar’ – there have been changes to it. It should be much better than early-war types, but much less effective than it was in previous versions. I would definitely like to have feedback on how this works out in actual late-war play.
And oh, I most definitely would like feedback on all aspects of survivability in RUb 1.43 in general to help me improve it if needed!
In general, I think you will find RUb 1.43 much more survivable through the war than any previous SHIII version, albeit with some quirks. The bottom line is that it will reward cautious, realistic play. It's rather forgiving when you 'behave' and act rationally. However, things can and will get ruthless as soon as you make an error or take an unreasonable risk.
*********
Damage and Repair
As compared to earlier RUb versions, especially 1.42, the sub will generally be somewhat stronger and less prone to quick destruction. However, repair times and chances of damage to individual systems have been increased across the board.
There is a good chance of flooding, and even better chance of damage or destruction of important systems aboard. This means that you will often have to learn to prioritize your repairs, especially when crucial parts are temporarily knocked out by damage.
Your priorities when under attack should be:
1) Flooding – get it under control immediately, at all costs, or boat will sink.
2) Propulsion – while the electric engines/compressor are the obvious part, you should also keep a careful eye on your batteries. Damage may knock them offline, and if you don’t repair them, you risk losing your power. Losing power = nice static target for the escorts to kill.
Also watch other key control parts, like pumps, rudders and dive planes. These may knock your boat out of control.
(don't shrug this off as too obvious - it's very likely to happen when you take serious damage, and with batteries and engines spread throughout the boat, some part is bound to get damaged)
3) Sensors – the hydrophones, especially, are prone to damage and also key to survival underwater.
4) Compartmental damage – just generic damage to compartments. Damage to them decreases efficiency, but you should always fix crucial compartments first.
REMEMBER – repairs are noisy, and may now take longer than you’d like. That’s why you always prioritize and repair what’s important first. Fixing that diesel engine or bunk space isn’t worth it when you’re trying to escape a depth charge attacks. Keep silent as much as you can. That other stuff can wait until you’re safe.
********
Aircraft
Aircraft are still your most dangerous enemy with AirPower. Their weapons, bombs and depth-charges, are the most significant threat to a U-boat since they’re the most accurate and fast of all.
Rule 1: AUTO-DIVES SAVE LIVES!
1943? Set your auto-response to ‘periscope depth’, and as soon as you make contact – follow it with a crash dive order. The key is to be as far away from where you originally submerged as possible. It seems to work at least 9 times out of 10.
Rule 2: Evade!
Can’t dive? Too late to dive? Learn to evade!
This is pretty similar to missile evasion in modern planes. Place the attacking aircraft as close as possible to your 3-9 line (that is, so he’s coming at you straight from the side as opposed to front/back) and maneuver at maximum speed with hard turns. Learn to estimate so that just as the plane is about to start its’ final diving attack run, you suddenly turn in the opposite direction. When done right, this causes them to miss at least 9 times out of 10.
DO NOT TRY TO SHOOT PLANES DOWN. It’s stupid. Use fire to keep them off, but don’t expect much success, even if you’re well-armed. A well-armored plane can make dozens of passes at you before you shoot it down, and that’s where probability may start working against you. And then of course, when it’s out of bombs, the plane will just leave and call in support.
Shooting down the bigger planes should be the last thing on your mind if you’d like to live (but maybe not if you want to have some cheap thrills). The best advice when caught on the surface is – maneuver, evade first attack, then crash-dive immediately before he comes back for a second pass.
**********
Surface ships
My biggest warning here:
Do not, under any circumstances, risk getting hit by surface guns! Your sub is not a tank. It is not made to withstand AP shells, it does not have any buoyancy reserve and, really, one full puncture through both of the boat’s pressure hulls (or just the single hull in the Type II) is enough to effectively spell doom. RUb is even somewhat forgiving here, as you will usually survive a few hits, and most definitely survive a single one without any massive consequences.
Do not let the seemingly light compartment damage fool you! You don’t have a hull integrity meter in RUb, but I can give you an estimate of how much hull integrity you will lose per one direct surface gun hit: it’s anywhere between 8-32%, with most hits from (larger) DD guns usually causing somewhere around 22-25% damage. (And I won’t even mention larger cruisers and BB’s, you can picture yourself what one would do to a U-boat…)
Bottom line: as soon as you get fired on, dive. Don’t even risk it. It is not worth it at all. Otherwise you will simply be killed, and sooner rather than later.
Depth charges:
These are not as huge as threat as they were in previous versions of RUb, at least at longer distances. However, close hits can be devastating, so don’t loosen your guard.
Also, some components like periscopes, hydrophone and other external systems are rather sensitive to the explosions.
Hedgehogs:
These are now deadlier on the whole. Historically, even one might just be enough. RUb is, again, somewhat forgiving, as you will often have ‘one hedgehog of grace’. Two hits are usually fatal – even if not immediately. They are a huge drain on hull integrity and are likely to cause your boat to be crushed even if you might survive 2-3 of the hits themselves.
ALSO:
Single surface ships are not a real problem. These you will usually evade with ease. But with 2, 3, or (let's hope not) more - your chances slim down exponentially! The AI does a good job of combining their sensor abilities, and this can make all the difference.
******
So, there you have it.
And oh, on the long-suffered subject of late-war ‘uber-sonar’ – there have been changes to it. It should be much better than early-war types, but much less effective than it was in previous versions. I would definitely like to have feedback on how this works out in actual late-war play.
And oh, I most definitely would like feedback on all aspects of survivability in RUb 1.43 in general to help me improve it if needed!