Single ship radio contacts in RUb - can we get them back?

[Beery]

Does anyone know how to get the single ship radio contacts to show up again like the convoy contacts do? I miss them, and I think they should be in the game, but I've forgotten how to adjust them.

[Commander1980]

Isn't it this entry in contacts.cfg?

Display Range To Opportunity Radio Contacts=500 ;[>0] kilometers

[Iceberg]

OK I've changed a couple of files and you will get the radio contacts displayed on the map. But the ships in visual range will also be displayed on the map (but black not red,green or blue). You wont see the shape of the ship when you zoom in though, just like in RuB.

They are using the same .tga files for radio contact and high level display of ships in visual range so we have to have both or none!

I basicaly did to the single ship shape the same thing that was done for convoy shapes in RuB i.e. paint the shape black.

Try it Beery and let me know if you like it.

SingleShipContact.rar (http://pages.videotron.com/magienoi/sh3/SingleShipContact.rar)

Iceberg

[rulle34]

It can be a point, but I would see just slight more singleships in game. Not so much as in stockgame, that was annoying much. But at least so you can run in to some singleships SOMETIME. I´t doesn't have to be reported, but be there. Now the balance is too much convoy vs. single ships to my opinion. In books I've read there seem to be little bit more singleships that the game shows. I know in Rub 1.43 it's increased outside US coast during drumbeat, but it was also more singleships outside African coast to.

[Beery]

Try it Beery and let me know if you like it.

SingleShipContact.rar (http://pages.videotron.com/magienoi/sh3/SingleShipContact.rar)

Iceberg

Thanks Iceberg. I think, in the end I'll prefer this version. I've tried playing with the little circles that you have to mouse-over to see, but I've never really liked them that much. It was a good attempt to make things more challenging and realistic, but the loss of all single contact reports is a price that I don't think we should pay. I feel it just makes convoys more important than they were in the early war.

[CB..]

have to admit i prefer a higher radio report frequency--it's nice to have a steady flow of dynamic radio reports regarding shipping-- even if you ignore a lot of them it sort of allows you to imagine that other uboats are around sending contact reports--even tho theyre not actually there--

have to say that the ship/convoy icons on the map make a huge impact on the gameplay--i tried the game fully patched to 1.4b-- with the map icons working --but have gone back to the unpatched version "out of the box" as it were where for some reason -on my PC - i get no contact icons on the map at any time---

to compensate for the huge hike in difficulty in finding convoys i hiked up the radio report probabiltys and timers for most of the convoys---as even with fequent reports it's still extremely easy to be in the wrong place at the wrong time--knowing a convoy is in BF17 and heading SW at 6 knots is still pretty vague if there is no icon appearing on the map to tell you exactly where abouts in BF17 the convoy actually is---it could be anywhere so you have to do a complete search pattern for BF17 (or what ever grid is given)

makes the increase in frequency of radio contact reports actually far more relevant to the gameplay--as you often need a second report to get some idea of why you haven't been able to find it after the first--is it still in BF17? for example--without the icon your far more gratefull for the second report and even then you can easily miss the convoy altogether..

kinda strange tho--as again it's 6 of one and half a dozen of the other as to wether this is actually more realistic or less!!

genuine reports would give the information provided by the icon..ie a much more precise location--mind you only a u-boat or aircraft would be likely to provide that report in the first place (how else would it know the course and speed?) so you would in fact be likely to get a second and even third report --

i've opted for a high frequency of reports to aid location of the convoys and give me a slight feeling of co-operation with an imaginary trailing u-boat

[Shockwave74]

Agreed with the idea of single ship contacts that make u feel u are not alone out there. Though generally, i would limit single contacts to the small ships. Huge ships being easy and favoured targets of German U-boats would still only get out of the port with escorts (as in convoys), or possibly be escorted till some point, then get along to their destination at their maximum speed.

Yes, a bit more traffic would be generated, and we could choose whether to move to intercept the single ship or keep patrolling our areas.