LuftWolf
11-23-05, 10:03 PM
From the readme:
LuftWolf and Amizaur’s Weapons and Sensors Realism Mod v2.03
Hosted by www.subguru.com
Readme by LuftWolf
Edited by Amizaur
Amizaur has made a more substantial and significant contribution to the creation of this mod than me. Tgio has made a significant and direct contribution.
Thank you to finiteless, Ludger, and jsteed for their contributions to modding DW. Thank you to Bill “Subguru” Nichols for hosting the work of so many talents modders and mission designers. Thank you to Molon Labe for extensive testing and multiplayer testing.
All doctrines by Amizaur.
The purpose of this mod is, straightforwardly, to address the aspects of DW game-play that most bother its authors, while improving the simulation experience and fixing bugs, without introducing any new ones. Thank you in advance for downloading this mod. Please send as much feedback as you can via the dedicated thread on the www.subsim.com mod forum, http://www.subsim.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=41581&start=0.
INSTALLATION: Backup your stock Database and Doctrine folders by copying them to a safe place apart from your DW directory. Unzip the file into your Dangerous Waters directory, allowing your unzip program to overwrite all files. The Database and Doctrine files will install to the correct directories automatically. NOTE: Saved games created with one Database are not compatible with any other versions of the database, however, you can restore a previous version of the Database at any time to load saved games associated with that Database.
Note: This mod represents substantial changes to DW core game-play, and as such, will probably require fine-tuning in subsequent versions to particular values based on game-play experiences. However, such is the case precisely because, we feel, it represents a quantum leap towards bringing out the full potential of the massive and dynamic DW engine in terms of providing the feel of a quality simulation experience for both those new to the simulation genre and weathered deep blue warriors. Please send us AAR’s and comments in as great a quantity as you can! We would be especially encouraged to hear from players in the multiplayer community.
CAUTION: Missions designed for stock DW v1.01 maybe made unplayable by the greatly reduced detection ranges in this mod. We strongly encourage mission designers who enjoy the mod to support it by creating missions designed with these new realistic parameters specifically in mind. We plan on releasing a guide for mission designers along with the expanded charts and tables to assist you in this endeavor. Please let us know if there is *anything* we can do to help you design missions for our mod!
A Sound vs. Speed profile chart and new Ship, Sub, and Torpedo specification table will be released in support of this readme, to cover any specific changes to AI ships or weaponry (such as the complete listing of sonar parameter assignments) not covered in this document, however, I have taken to care to note the most important specific parameter changes to user platforms and weapons.
Specific changes for v2.03:
The installation procedure has been streamlined and the stock-mod switch bat files have been removed for ease of installation and operation.
CIWSAttack, SubAvoidWeap, Missile Doctrines¬— For CIWSAttack and SubAvoidWeap doctrines, comments have been moved to prevent error returns in the doctrine proofreader. This has not changed any aspect of game-play and has been done as a precautionary measure. The doctrines had been functioning correctly and should still work the same as before. For the Missile doctrine, a variable that previously was not declared has been added to the declaration list.
Iranian Kilos—The UGST has been replaced with the USET-80 for all Iranian Kilos.
Active Intercept—The baffle has been removed for all Active Intercept systems, giving them 360 degree coverage, as we believe to be accurate.
Specific changes for v2.02:
Sphere and Hull Array Modeling—THIS REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT GAME-PLAY CHANGE. All Sphere and Hull Passive Arrays, playable and AI, have had their sensitivity increased significantly from stock DW. These arrays should be much more useful now for detecting and tracking civilian traffic, torpedoes, loud and close submerged targets, etc. Expect to use these arrays much more frequently for general situational awareness and establishing TMA on surface traffic, meaning the TA is now going to be used primarily for tactical awareness, e.g. finding and establishing a track on hostile submerged contacts (or that sneaky FFG stalking slow and quiet). Establishing the correct bearings of Master contacts has never been easier! I have also increased the baffling of all Sphere arrays ACTIVE AND PASSIVE to 120 degrees directly to the stern. The most dramatic effect this will have, in game-play terms, is on the FFG player, who no longer has nearly omni-directional awareness from active sonar, and in submerged stalking of escorted convoys, making it easier to get in behind the escorts. All of these changes are dramatic (in my opinion) and may need to be tweaked later on, hopefully not the day after we release the mod… ;-)
Sonobuoy Modeling—THIS REPRESENTS A SIGNIFCANT GAME-PLAY CHANGE. To better reflect the way different sonobuoys are utilized in actual practice, the VLAD Shallow has been given the depth of 800ft, and the VLAD Deep has been given the depth of 1200ft, to prevent the use of VLAD’s in shallow water, as is realistic. The DIFAR buoy (90/400ft) MUST now be used in shallow water in the game, as it is the preferred buoy for shallow water operations in the real world. You may also want to take DIFAR Deep buoys along if you feel there may be a shallow surface duct and you want to have a good above-layer passive buoy option, that is a personal player preference. The DICASS Deep has also been given the depth of 600ft, to give an under-layer option for medium to shallow surface duct environments. Be aware, that this will change the game-play balance further in the direction of submarines for littoral operations, and possibly slightly in the favor of air-platforms in open ocean operations, given the option to put VLAD’s under layers in deep waters. Just remember NOT to load any VLAD’s if you are going to be operating in water that is shallower than 800ft. New buoy depths at a glance:
DIFAR 90/400
DICASS 90/600
VLAD 800/1200
AEGIS Ship Behavior BETA—The Fire Control radars of AEGIS cruisers and destroyers were previously limiting their engagement range to an unrealistic degree. We are currently in the process of thoroughly reworking the entire radar modeling treatment in the database. However, in the meantime, we have changed the FC Radars on the AEGIS vessels to enable missile intercept behavior at the limits of the horizon, and slightly further if there is a linking platform, simulating decreased response time. These changes are essentially modeling the realistic engagement ranges on incoming missiles for AEGIS vessels in the real world, meaning that AEGIS ships will now provide effective fleet defense against missile threats at range. Mission designers, enjoy! Note: From a simulation standpoint, the way this has been accomplished WILL change in the next version to better model the way these platforms work in RL, however, from a game-play standpoint, the effect will be nearly the same. This version’s modification also includes a change to the CIWSAttack doctrine, which will be altered again in the next version of the mod. Also, as part of this temporary fix, I have changed the E-2 Hawkeye and E-3 Sentry radars, as previously they were only scanning half of the sky, meaning these should now be much more effective link participants.
Decoy Modeling—I have added a Passive Sound Level of 60 for active decoys, as the cloud of bubbles created by the active decoys have to make some kind detectable broadband sound. I have also added a small Active SL of 40 to passive decoys, which is still significantly less than torpedoes, as should be expected from any metal object in the water of comparable size.
Torpedo SL and Thrusts¬¬—Due to our error, torpedoes were much too quiet in LWAMI 2.01. This has now been corrected. We have introduced some variability in torpedoes to reflect real-world differences and have altered the thrust values to make possible, in some cases, deep running, slow, stealthy shots, but this tactic still cannot be relied upon, especially given the near-universal TIW calls, which we can’t change.
MANPAD (sub-launched SAM’s)—We have reduced the effectiveness of MANPAD’s as follows: Stinger (FIM-92) 75%, SA-N-8 65%, and SA-N-5 60%, to reflect what we believe would an accurate representation of the real world effectiveness of these should-launched weapons. And… also to further discourage the gamey and unrealistic use of SAM’s from submarines in missions.
TASM and Harpoon—We have reduced the radar signature of the TASM to 45 and the Harpoon to 40 (verses all other missiles which are 50), making them marginally more effective (read: detectable at slightly closer range) against defended surface targets than before, and giving another slight advantage to the Harpoon over the TASM. All missiles will be looked at when we remodel the radars. This is not a drastic change, but should help a bit when attacking with these missiles.
Maverick Missile Fix—The Missile.txt doctrine has been altered to prevent the missile from homing in and destroying submerged targets and aircraft. This constitutes a total removal of the “Magerick Missile Cheat,” however more testing is required to proclaim it totally dead without consequences, but we are 95% certain it’s gone with no residual traces.
SubAvoidWeap.txt—We have changed the submarine avoidance routines so that AI subs will always throw an Active CM when attacked and will evade incoming torpedoes at 100 to 140 degrees from their initial incoming bearing. This constitutes a simple yet dramatic alteration in the AI submarines’ ability to evade torpedoes in all conditions. Expect AI subs to avoid the first pass of ADCAP’s or UGST’s from less than 5nm as well as just about every LWT fired at medium to long range. I believe this to be a major game-play improvement for AI platforms, but more work is required to make evasion routines more complex.
Torpedo.txt Doctrine—I have decided to include the full Torpedo Doctrine Mod in this release featuring random circle/snake direction, the anti-surface casualty mod, the correction from meters to feet so that AI subs will launched torpedoes set at proper depth for submerged targets, and the variable randomized search depths for airdropped torpedoes, meaning sometimes torpedoes will be fired under layers. We don’t believe there to be any bugs in this full modification at this point, but, as always, all feedback is welcome on this or any aspect of the mod! In case you experience any crashes or undesired behavior, I have included the standard non-casualty torpedo.txt doctrine, which will be placed in your main DW directory for backup purposes. So, in the unlikely event you need to install this backup, just delete the “torpedo” doctrine installed with the mod in the Doctrine folder, and change the name of the “torpedo.avoidcasualtyonly” to simply “torpedo” (without the .txt, this extension is stored by Windows XP automatically) and place it in both your Doctrine and LwAmi.doctrine folders. But like I said, it shouldn’t come to this. ;-)
Specific changes for v2.01:
Active Sonars—All active sonars have been given the same fix as the DICASS and FFG active arrays, meaning that detections WILL NOT occur at max range automatically and are greatly effected by acoustic conditions, especially thermal layers. Also, additional active sonar models have been added to the game to simulate variable quality and assigned to appropriate platforms, including all playables, which now have variable active sonar quality.
VLAD Performance—The sensitivity of the VLAD has been reduced somewhat, meaning that subs slightly above “silent speed” will by marginally less detectable.
Torpedo.txt Doctrines— CHANGED in 2.02 SEE ABOVE TEXT For the “torpedo.txt” doctrine included, Amizaur has changed the default ceiling set in the doctrine from -99.5 to -10.5, as the previous value was unintentional and allowed users to escape AI torpedoes by surfacing. The anti-casualty mod should function with the rest of the torpedo doctrine as intended now. Thank you to Deathblow for finding this. The other two torpedo doctrines included are BETA tests: Torpedo.beta1 converts the search depth set by the AI from meters to feet (the engine gives the number to the doctrine in meters but the doctrine treats all values as feet), meaning that the AI now sets properly deep search depths for submerged targets; Torpedo.beta2 enables random search depth for AI platforms meaning that sometimes the AI will fire torpedoes under thermal layers at submerged targets. Both of these doctrines are largely untested, so you can try them if you’d like (by removing the other torpedo.txt doctrine and changing the names of these files to simply “torpedo.txt”) and if you experience any crashes you can revert to the standard non-casualty version of the torpedo doctrine.
Torpedo Feedback—This feature has been removed from all torpedoes due to game play balance considerations, as it created problems with the auto TMA and torpedoes guided by an experienced operator were virtually assured kills within maximum range.
Launched CM Effectiveness—CM “weapon effectiveness” has been returned to the original value of 50%. The previous version of the mod used 40% and this was found to make CMs much less effective than desired. CMs should now be more effective in causing torpedoes to “hard-lock” onto them. It is not known at this point what the exact effect this change will have on torpedo “jamming” (causing the torpedo to lose its target but not necessarily home on the decoy) behavior under different conditions.
Sound Levels and Sound vs Speed Curves—Amizaur has worked on tweaking the sound levels for many platforms as well as the speed-noise curves. In general, these changes have been a mix of making platforms more realistically noisy or quiet at certain speeds based on the remodeling of real-world data, along with some changes made for game-play considerations, most notably making the Seawolf slightly more noisy (detectable) at all speeds.
Submarine Damage Levels and ASW Torpedo Warhead Modeling—The damage levels of some submarines known to be particularly tough (such as the Typhoon and Oscar) have been increased and the warheads of lightweight ASW torpedoes have been reduced. The combined effect of this is to make some submarines capable of sustaining a hit from an LWT, as we believe to be realistic, and makes LWTs much less effective against surface ships as is correct. Specifically, the Oscar will take multiple hits from LWTs and the Typhoon will take two ADCAPs to sink. Also, some torpedoes known to have very light warheads have been modeled as such, making it possible for most subs to sustain a hit from some of these torpedoes. In game-play terms for playable platforms and weapons, all playable submarines will still be killed immediately by all playable launched torpedoes (except for the SET-53ME which won’t kill any playable with one hit), however in cases of indirect hits with LWTs, a submarine may survive if the torpedo doesn’t impact directly.
Mk48 ADCAP—Amizaur has given the ADCAP active sensor the unique ping frequency 20050 Hz and increased it’s warhead to 400kg to simulate advanced fusing.
SS-N-14 Silex SUBROC—The torpedo payload of the Silex subroc (equipped on Russian Kara and Udaloy) has been updated to reflect the current version of the missile most likely in use with the Russian navy. It now has the UGMT-1, the same torpedo as the SS-N-16 Stallion, which is more effective than its original torpedo payload.
Missile Parameters—The weapon effectiveness of the RAM, Aster, and ESSM have been increased from 40% to 75% and the effectiveness of the SA-N-6,7, and 11 has been increased to 60%. Also, realistic minimum ranges have been added for all SAMs except for MANPADs.
Game-Play Changes
Sonar:
Passive Sonar—Amizaur has changed all passive sonars so that there is no longer an artificial “hard cap” on their ranges, meaning that there should be no sudden spikes when loud contacts come into detection ranges. Sonars are still limited by detection curves, however, the maximum range of each sensor has been set to at least 20% greater than the sensor could detect the loudest of contacts under most conditions, so for virtually all situations, acoustic factors should determine detection ranges rather than artificial database limitations.
Active Sonar—Amizaur has been able to reduce the detection range of all active sonars on submarines to something under max range, so now it is possible for the sub player to avoid detection within the range of the sonar by lowering speed and showing a low aspect to the active sonar array. This change represents a fundamental database correction for the “active sonar bug” currently in DW v1.01 and should help balance the game until the fix is hard-coded in the next official patch, especially aiding Kilo players in attacking surface targets undetected, as previously it was almost impossible to stalk a convoy. Also, additional active sonar models have been added to the game to simulate variable quality and assigned to appropriate platforms, including all playables, which now have variable active sonar quality.
Note: thermal layers are now effective protection against active detection. Comment by Amizaur: Well I will write that it’s only half-solution (in fact 10% solution) and it’s VERY far from perfect, but this is best I could achieve with current sonar model and at least in some cases and for some targets the range will be lower than maximal. But the active sonar bug still is in the game and it’s the most important DW bug currently. As jsteed said, there is somewhere x10 factor in the equation and minimal change in target SL result in great detection range difference. So we still have to wait for the SCS fix to have proper active sonar model, but with those changes Kilo drivers at least stand a chance against air units
AI Sonar (Thank you to Periscope Depth for input on this aspect of the mod)— I have added sensors to all sonar-bearing platforms that reflect realistic sonars. I have done this in the following method. Divided the sonars into three catagories: Western, Modern Russian/Soviet-Nuclear, Eastern Diesel/Old Eastern Block. From the Western, I made three scaled versions each of the Sphere, Hull, and TA sonars from the 688i sensors, and assigned them to each platform in the game with Western sonars, according to level and whether they had a TA. I then did the same for the Modern Russian, borrowing from the Akula Sensors, assigning them to nuclear submarines with modern Eastern Sonar. The Kilo array model I used for diesels with eastern sonars and old submarines, which are mostly eastern. For surface platform sonars, I have used the FFG sonar as a model.
The primary difference between the Western and Eastern sonars are the washout speed. The best Russian arrays are more sensitive than the worst Western arrays (still good), but the Western arrays maintain a signal at a higher speed. The new Eastern sonars and the old Eastern sonars differ in terms of their maximum range, the Kilo sensors I used for the model are much shorter range than the Akula sensors.
A separate chart listing sonars, assignments, and detection parameters will most likely be released subsequent to the mod after further testing.
Object Sound and Sound vs. Speed Fix (for sound levels credit also to finiteless, jsteed, and Periscope Depth; research, final design, and implementation by Amizaur)—Amizaur has completely reworked the object sounds and the sound vs. speed behavior for realistic effects. Submarines and ships are realistically quiet across platforms and have been assigned varying speed-noise curves. New SSNs have different speed curves from old SSNs, and slower SSBN’s have their own speed-noise curves so they don’t increase their noise as much at max speed. Old diesels are quiet when stopped but very noisy when moving at speed, and the latest SSKs are very quiet. In addition, all surface platforms have been assigned more realistic speed-noise curves based on max speed, and American ships, especially the OHP FFG, are quieter than before relative to other platforms. Specifically, the OHP does not increase noise above stationary level until it is running above 10kts (this was in the game from the start, just nobody noticed it until seen in Ludger’s Analyzer). The Akula II, SeaWolf, and 688i have a somewhat flat curve from 0-4kts, meaning there sound levels do not change in those speed ranges. Please see the separate Sound vs. Speed Chart for specifics.
Playable Passive Sonar Parameters—All playable passive sonar arrays have changed to have a Maximum detection of height of 10m. Previously hull sonars and buoys had a Max of 0m and sphere and towed arrays had a max of 300m. This caused any object with a passive sound level to show up on sonar as if it were underwater, specifically sea-skimming missiles whose sound levels were changed in this mod to simulate underwater missile launch (Thank you TLAM Strike for finding this). I have not set the depths to 0m because this causes contacts to display inconsistently on the BB waterfall. I do not believe that cone sensitivity is effected in any way by this fix within the detection Max and Mins, but there could be other issues I am not aware of. This may be refined later, but it is necessary now to address persistent sea-skimming missile transients.
Torpedos:
Amizaur has been able to make significant improvements to torpedo function.
TorpHoming Doctrine—This doctrine completely disables torpedo explosions on countermeasures. The torpedo, after acquiring a dropped decoy, will pass through the decoy and re-enable on the other side. Sometimes the torpedo will demonstrate odd behavior immediately after being spoofed, as could be realistic, but should always return to seeking properly if within its max range. Note: some of the TEST-71s on the Kilos use the wake-homing doctrine, so their behavior is unaffected by this mod.
Torpedo Doctrine—The updated version of this doctrine: reduces the search arc of the snake pattern for torpedoes from +/- 45 to 30 degrees; randomizes the circle or first snake turn direction, and, most importantly, prevents AI torpedoes launched against submerged targets from striking surface ships 90% of the time, by lowering the minimum depth of AI launched torpedoes.
Torpedo Seekers—Amizaur has modeled a wide range of active and passive seekers, with individual seekers for the most important torpedoes, including distinctive ping frequencies for classification over active intercept, as is realistic. The ADCAP active seeker is max range 3000m and its passive seeker is max range 1000m, will all other torpedoes scaled down from there, meaning there has been a significant reduction in the effectiveness of all torpedo weapons to reflect realistic parameters. Note: the parameters of all of the torpedo seekers have been tweaked so that thermal layers have a much greater effect on torpedo performance. Also, the width of seekers cones of the ADCAP and USGT have been increased to minimize the effect of the reduced snake search pattern on the effectiveness of these weapons. Some small warship active sonar levels have been increased to make the new seekers effective against them and very small civilian ships are nearly invisible to active torpedoes now, due to seeker changes.
Wake-Homing Torpedoes—Amizaur has reduced the visual sensor of the wake-homers, used in the terminal homing of the weapon, to 50m. The practical effect of this is that wake-homing torpedoes now act like true wake-homers, meaning they will no longer home in on the front of ships and must be fired behind the target to insure the torpedo makes contact with the target’s wake. Now, if the wake-homing torpedoes do not make contact with where the target’s wake actually is (behind the ship and slightly to the sides), you must have a near perfect shot to hit a target, so they weapons are practically not effective if fired in front of a ship’s path. In addition, surface ships now have an opportunity to lose acquired wake-homing weapons with hard maneuvers at the last moment, if they are able to turn inside the torpedo so it loses the wake and cannot acquire with the visual sensor. Also, all strictly wake-homing torpedoes have altered to be fired only against identified surface targets.
Fast Torpedo Speed Oscillation Fix—Due to a hard-coded error in the DW v1.01 engine, all torpedoes from speeds 56-159 display a wide speed oscillation and or increased speed. We cannot change this directly, however, the speeds of all torpedoes over 55kts have been reduced to 55kts and compensated with more realistic parameters.
ADCAP—Speed raised in v1.03 of our mod to 60kts. Lowered again to 55kts and given the best seeker in the mod as well as torpedo sensor feedback. Also the warhead has been increased from 350kg to 400kg to simulate advanced fusing and max depth increased to 1000m
Spearfish—Range increased by 10,000m to 32km.
Type 89—Reduced turn radius to 100 (as all other torpedoes) as previously high turn radius is now unnecessary with lower speed. Increased range by 15,000m to 45km and given it ASuW capability.
Type 40—Increased range of SS-N-27 ASW family of subroc missiles to 27nm, as is realistic.
APR-2E—range increased from 3.2km to 5km.
ASW Torpedo Warheads—The warheads of strictly ASW torpedoes have been reduced to realistic levels. Combined with the reworked damage modeling, it will now take two lightweight torpedoes to sink some tougher submarines, such as the Typhoon. Also, some torpedoes known to have very light warheads have been modeled as such, making it possible for most subs to sustain a hit from some of these torpedoes.
Damage Modeling:
All values for neutral and supply ships have been adjusted to make them more realistic in terms of the damage they will sustain. Light civilian ships are made more fragile and heavier ships are made realistically difficult to sink. Heavy military supply ships are made slightly more sturdy than the OH Perry Class FFG. Medium supply ships and oil tankers are slightly less rugged than the OHP, medium civilian ships have been made slightly tougher. Expect to have to use several medium and light torpedoes or missiles against heavy shipping now, with more necessity to be careful in wasting weapons when facing a convoy. We have also decided to rework the damage modeling for most warships as well, with heavier ships of better build being modeled with appropriate levels of survivability. Expect some ships to be a little more difficult to sink and some ships to be a little easier in a sensible and predictable way. Further, some submarines known for being particularly rugged, such as the Typhoon, have been given higher damage ratings so that they may now sustain single hits from lightweight torpedoes, as we believe to be realistic. Specifically, the Oscar will take multiple hits from LWTs and the Typhoon will take two ADCAPs to sink. Please refer to the unit information tables to be released following the release of the mod for details.
Masts and Cables:
Periscope Depth’s Cable Length Mod—Thank you to Periscope Depth for providing this. The length of user-platform cables have been changed to real-world lengths: SQR-19/TB-29/23—5000ft, MH-60 Dipping Sonar—2500ft, and Pelamida TA—2300/701m.
Universal Doctrine Fixes:
SubAvoidxx-- Doctrines correct a bug in sub evasion routines that tells them to come too shallow while evading, causing cavitation. Well tested.
Missle/MissleSam-- Corrects minor bugs in missile launch angles. Well tested.
SubrocAttack-- Improves accuracy of Subroc torpedo drop points.
CIWSAttack.txt-- Directs ships to fire a barrage of missiles at "hard" targets, very close or very fast. This represents an improvement in the behavior of AEGIS and other ships’ anti-missile behavior, as previously they fired many fewer missiles at potentially lethal threats than they were capable of firing.
Missile Parameters:
Passive Signature for Underwater Missile Launch--All sub-launched missiles now produce a very noisy transient when launched. The exception to this is the Harpoon, which is much quieter, simulating its launch from a canister which opens up once it gets to the surface, making it a better option verse the TASM than previously.***Underwater missile launches will not give a TIW or any other audio warning.*** Thank you Bellman for raising this issue and Fish for confirming it over a LAN. Also, Amizaur has include a doctrine addition to the general submarine avoidance doctrine that allows subs to recognize underwater missile launches and evade under parameters in which it could be a subroc attack, giving AI subs a better chance of clearing the target datum and surviving subroc attack.
IR Signatures-
IR signatures added for all missiles based on type, with a reasonable scaling from
Sea-skimming cruise-missiles to supersonic, rocket powered anti-ship missiles. This now makes RAMs effective against anti-ship missiles.
Amizaur's MANPAD Seeker Fix-
We have included the fix that has been around for sometime, reducing the seeker cone
of MANPADs to 3 degrees.
Radar Heights Changed—Some radar heights have been lowered, as previously some ships
BETA had been able to see too far over the horizon. Also, the minimum altitude
of the AEGIS SPY-1 Radar has been lowered from 5000ft to 10ft, which should
help them better track sea-skimming vampires.
Launched Anti-Missile CM's—effectiveness raised from 20% to 25%.(Thank you Mau for
suggesting this.)
Missile Effectiveness and Minimum Ranges—The weapon effectiveness of the RAM, Aster, and ESSM have been increased from 40% to 75% and the effectiveness of the SA-N-6,7, and 11 has been increased to 60%. Also, realistic minimum ranges have been added for all SAMs except for MANPADs. This will prevent unrealistic last minute shots against incoming missiles.
MAD/SAD:
MAD—sensors have had max detection depth reduced from -3000ft to a realistic -1000.ft
SAD—sensors have had max detection depth reduced from -3000ft to a realistic -750ft. Note:
the only difference between a MAD and SAD detection in the game is the depth at which
they are detected, so if I set the depths the same, the sensors would be exactly the
same sensor,as the platforms only vary in MAD characteristic, and have no separate SAD
characteristic).
AI MAD—AI platforms do not have a separate MAD/SAD detector. Previously, they had been setto detect from 0 to -3000ft. In order to permit realistic evasion tactics from MAD
equipped AI air platforms, I have set the AI MAD sensor to have SAD characteristics
(have fun under those funky sounding cargo ships!)
User Platform, Weapon, and Sensor Specific Changes
User Torpedo Specification Changes: (Thank you to Bellman for raising the issue of torpedo balancing)
53cm Torpedo—given UGST specifications: Active/Passive Multipurpose Wireguided Torpedo, 50km@50kph, with maximum depth 800m (less on fire-control preset panel) with 300kg warhead.
Mk48 ADCAP—The maximum depth of the ADCAP has been increased to 1000m and the warhead has been increased to from 350kg to 400kg to simulate advanced fusing.
65cm Torpedo—guidance sensor and doctrine changed to simulate 65-76 Wakehoming Hydrogen Peroxide-powered Torpedo (the type supposedly removed after the Kursk Incident). All specifications have been left the same except guidance-following the wakehome doctrine now-and the wire has been removed. The wire-guidance option has been disable in-game, but I can't change the fire-control graphics, so you'll just have to remember that the A/P and search pattern buttons do nothing, and that the torpedo will continue in a straight line after it enables. LAUNCH THE TORPEDO WITH THE DEPTH SET AT ~10m, depending on how lucky you feel that day. The Nixie should not affect this weapon in any way, but over-the-side decoys will cause enough of a disturbance in the water to disrupt the wake-homing, but the torpedo will not detonate on the CM's, and usually reacquire. Also, due to changes in the wake-homing sensors, you MUST fire this weapon behind a ship so that it will make contact with its wake in order for it to home onto the target; it is no longer sufficient to place the torpedo within 500m of the target from all aspects.
Mk46—Given Mk54 hypothetical specs, 17km@50kts with max depth 500m and a light weight, for airdrop use in littoral waters (the turn radius may be decreased in subsequent versions to further increase this effect). All non-American platforms are armed with the standard Mk 46 torpedo they had previously, and all American platforms have upgraded to Mk 54. The Mk 46 ASROC has been left the same for all platforms and will still drop the Mk46. I thought it wasn't good to have a useless Mk46, so I did some research and came up with a torpedo that is marginally better than the Mk50 all round, but doesn't replace it, reflecting a torpedo with the upgraded propulsion of a Mk46 with the seeker of the Mk50, which constitutes the actual Mk 54 as indicated by my information. As the Navy's intention is to have a lower cost option to the Mk50, the propulsion system of which is very expensive. For me personally, I will be taking more Mk 54's now, unless I need to kill something deep! Note: When playing as the FFG, you cannot order your AI controlled MH-60 to drop the Mk54 on a waypoint, only from the command on the Nav map. This is due to an interface issue hard-coded in the game, however, you can work around this by creating a manual solution where you want the torpedo dropped and order the torpedo dropped on that solution rather than the actual contact.
53-65 Wake-homing Torpedo Family—The minimum running depth of the torpedo has been set to -14m in order to ensure proper launch depth against surface targets. You can still launch the torpedo from as deeply as before.
Shikval Mad Sensor—The MAD detonator on the Shikval has had its range reduced by half to 250m, as previously any shot within 500m of the target resulted in a kill, this makes it possible to evade one of these weapons if it is off target and proper maneuvering is used quickly.
SLMM and Mobile Mine—Includes Doctrine Files, Mod by Amizaur
A fix that makes them stop making noise after they have stopped moving has been
applied to both weapons. In addition, they will now actively try to stop once
they have reached their assigned location and will be reliably on target and hold
their position, making them an effective weapon, which they were not before. Their
maximum usable depth remains the same (300ft for SLMM and 450ft for Mobile mines,
the range of their seekers), but the weapon will shutdown below 600ft. These weapons
are for use in shallow water and will "malfunction" in deep water. ;-) Also, do not
try to use these weapons against a steep slope.
Seawolf Max Speed—The max speed of the Seawolf class has been reduced to 38kts, as is more plausible. The Seawolf is still easily the quietest, fastest, and most heavily armed submarine in the world. ;-)
688(i) Towed Arrays- Added TB-23 as starboard array. The reason I have kept it
on the starboard, against what is commonly reported, is because in missions
where ownship starts with TA deployed, it is always the starboard array, and I
figured in most situations I would want that one deployed. The port TB-16
washes out at ~20kts and the TB-23 washes out at around ~16kts (you folks
can tell me if that feels right once you play around with it...
or if I'm just completely off...). I have set the sensitivity of the TB-23
to be pretty much in the middle of the TB-16 and the TB-29. I was even able to
change the names in game, so have fun captains!
Akula II Modified Gepard TA—The array of the Gepard has been upgraded to hypothetical Pelamida II standards, with a Max speed of +4kts over the original Pelamida, and the in game name has been changed to “Pelamida II”. The sensitivity has been left as it is. This array has also been assigned to the Oscar SSGN, to reflect the latest developments in the most funded Russian submarine projects.
VLAD Passive Sonar Performance—The sensitivity of the VLAD has been reduced somewhat, meaning that subs slightly above “silent speed” will by marginally less detectable.
Midget Sub—The Midget sub has been given a periscope sensor, as previously it had no sensors at all, and its active sonar parameters have been changed to make it more detectable as is realistic.
Russian SVTT-Ship Launched Torpedos—Changed to USET-80, to better reflect Russian
capabilites. Note, only Russian SVTT launchers previously
equipped with 53cm torpedos have been changed, some launchers are equipped
with other torpedos. Also, the Grisha FFL retains the 53cm Torpedo w/UGST
specifications, as the USNR in-game database says its launchers have
been modified to fire wire-guided torpedos, so I thought it might be interesting.
Russian Airdropped Torpedoes—Platforms that had previously been firing the 53cm will use the APR-2E, the torpedo which comes equipped as the default weapon the Helix ASW Helo.
SLAM-ER Fix—I have removed the missile's IR seeker, which apparently was interfering with its terminal homing. The missile now looks in the DB and behaves in the game
like a light TLAM, and, *functions correctly*, exploding on target with
the same accuracy of a TLAM. Note, this weapon is not the most effective strike
missile, as it has less than half of the warhead of the TLAM, meaning you need
more than one missile to destroy medium and heavy targets if the missile does
not land directly on target. Even small, light targets may escape the blast of
this missile if it overshoots. For some reason, IF YOU DO NOT CHANGE THE
WAYPOINTS, THIS MISSLE WILL NOT WORK!!! I can't change this, and I'm not sure why.
SS-N-27 Two Stage Mod—Mod by Amizaur, doctrine file included—The first stage of the missile launches the second one and falls to the water or sometimes rises into the air as a decoy, to simulate the reported real-world function of the missile. This version of the mod uses a streamlined doctrine format that needs only one doctrine file. The enable point of the first stage, which is a cruise missile at 500kts with a max range of 200km/108nm, enables its seeker as usual, however, when the seeker has acquired a target, the missile will fire the second stage, which is the supersonic attack phase equipped with the final seeker and warhead with speed 2.5 mach and range 24km/13nm. This version of the mod requires less finesse in entering the proper range, as the missile will tend to detect targets around the max range of the second stage, but it is good to enable the missile somewhere around the max range of the second stage (11-12nm before the target) to minimize the chance of an early fire and take full advantage of the coordination of the second stage supersonic sea-skimming attack phase and first stage post-launch decoy (to cover most of the air defense zone by supersonic stage, not by vulnerable subsonic stage).
That's it! We hope you enjoy! Please let us know if you find any errors, would like to
contribute to a future release, or have any suggestions or comments. The place is http://www.subsim.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=41581&start=0.
Happy Hunting.
LW
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