Apocal
08-13-05, 08:25 PM
Now, before I start this, I just want to say that I don't know too much about U-boats, my entire subsim experience comes from Silent Service 2 on Nintendo, 688 on Sega Genesis and Sub Command.
That being said, what is up with 100% reliablity of most of your equipment (obviously excepting torpedoes here)? As long as you aren't getting warheads planted on your forehead, everything works, all the time. You dive planes never stick, radio and radar xmtrs never burn out, hatches always close before diving, guns don't jam, batteries never explode and there are never, ever fires in your boat that need to be fought.
Maybe it could be an additional factor when taking a U-boat out earlier than it was historically introduced, ie. skipping the final shakedowns and debugging in order to deliver to you faster, or something to consider if your own command has taken one too many close depth chargings. I think having to worry about that 1% chance freak occurance would add another level of tension to SH3, as well as realism, along with giving IX drivers something to worry about during those long voyages across the Atlantic. As it stands right now, if you play smart, you will probably never have reason to use your flak guns, because the smart thing to do in case of an aircraft attack is to immediately dive. But what if you were ventalilating your boat during a minor fire in the disesel engine room? Dive and quickly watch your crew run out of air or stay on the surface and take a (big) chance dueling with aircraft.
That being said, it shouldn't be something that happens frequently,at least not the catastrophic casualties, like main ballast tanks sticking open after surfacing or battery explosions, just enough that you have to be prepared for "it" to happen.
That being said, what is up with 100% reliablity of most of your equipment (obviously excepting torpedoes here)? As long as you aren't getting warheads planted on your forehead, everything works, all the time. You dive planes never stick, radio and radar xmtrs never burn out, hatches always close before diving, guns don't jam, batteries never explode and there are never, ever fires in your boat that need to be fought.
Maybe it could be an additional factor when taking a U-boat out earlier than it was historically introduced, ie. skipping the final shakedowns and debugging in order to deliver to you faster, or something to consider if your own command has taken one too many close depth chargings. I think having to worry about that 1% chance freak occurance would add another level of tension to SH3, as well as realism, along with giving IX drivers something to worry about during those long voyages across the Atlantic. As it stands right now, if you play smart, you will probably never have reason to use your flak guns, because the smart thing to do in case of an aircraft attack is to immediately dive. But what if you were ventalilating your boat during a minor fire in the disesel engine room? Dive and quickly watch your crew run out of air or stay on the surface and take a (big) chance dueling with aircraft.
That being said, it shouldn't be something that happens frequently,at least not the catastrophic casualties, like main ballast tanks sticking open after surfacing or battery explosions, just enough that you have to be prepared for "it" to happen.