useless hydrophone operators

[Viduka]

Is it possible to modify the effectiveness of the hydrophone operators so that they can hear as well as we can when we operate it manually?

There are times when there are clearly audible noises on the hydrophone but the operator insists there is no contact. :down:

[Der Teddy Bar]

Is it possible to modify the effectiveness of the hydrophone operators so that they can hear as well as we can when we operate it manually?

There are times when there are clearly audible noises on the hydrophone but the operator insists there is no contact. :down:
I see the problem is that we are the issue :hmm: in that the radio guy seems to reasonably represent how difficult it was to hear anything in real life.

I have read MANY WWII reverences to ships, even escorts being no more than 500 metres away (seen in the periscope), and yet the sound guy won't detect them. That is why before surfacing the precedure was to scan the area through the periscope before surfacing.

In ideal conditions sound does travel furhter through water.

[Viduka]

Interesting to think of it that way. Perhaps a mod that reduces our own hearing range when operating the hydrophone manually is a possibility.

[VonHelsching]

This could be done by raising the volume of the ambience (white noise) audio file.

[The Avon Lady]

Yes. Remember the scene in Das Boot, during their first DC attack by a lone escort? They lost sound contact rather quick once it left. :hmm:

[Viduka]

This could be done by raising the volume of the ambience (white noise) audio file.

Any ideas on how and which file I should modify for this? :hmm:

[LukeFF]

Is it possible to modify the effectiveness of the hydrophone operators so that they can hear as well as we can when we operate it manually?

There are times when there are clearly audible noises on the hydrophone but the operator insists there is no contact. :down:

Does your hyrdophone operator have the Radio qualification? Remember, this does make a difference.

[Viduka]

Yep, I should've mentioned that in my original post. Even when they are qualified they never hear as well as we can when using it manually.

But as has been suggested above, it's entirely possible that their hearing is infact quite realistic and that ours when operating the hydrophone manually is better than it should be. :hmm:

[Payoff]

I agree, this needs to be fixed. What is frustrating is the inconsistensy of it all. I was stalking a C3 yesterday at P depth with the scope at about 1000m range. My best sonar man had no idea he was there, so I went to the sound shack and pointed it out to him and told him to track this contact, which he did. When I told him to sweep then reacquire he had completely lost the contact, who was about 600m off my port bow at this point. Although he could not hear a C3 at 500m, he was able to detect a pair of destroyers way to the north, well beyond visual range. This makes no sense to me and leaves the player with a general distrust of his own crews ability to perform their jobs.

[kapitanfred]

This could be done by raising the volume of the ambience (white noise) audio file.

Any ideas on how and which file I should modify for this? :hmm:

You can actually increase and decrease volume in-game using the RH knob on the Hydrophone.

[Letum]

I have heard reports that hydrophone range was as little as a few hundred meters neer Gibralter.
I have also heard reports of depth charges being heard over 500 miles away! (this figure was the U-boat captins guess based on radio reports later recived from the U-boat that recived the depth chargeing)

Sound seams to have very strange propetys in water

[redbrow]

In games about modern subs we all run into thermal layers in the water that deflect sound waves. while the u-boats rarely ran into that stuff because of their shallow opperating depth, such thermal layering does happen near the surface from time to time. Also WWII sonar, like the transporter in Galaxy Quest was "more art than science'.

What i would like to see is a game without the updating map of sonar contacts. i would like to have a sonar man that leans his head around the wall and shouts things at me as they are happening - and i'd like him to often just look confused and be wrong. but with that i'd like to have the same happen aboard the ships - no more Global positioned uber-laser DD sonars. Just because the specs on the side of the cardboard box that sonars were packaged in stated that such and such allied sonar had an effective range of blah, blah, we know that that was just manufacturer swill meant to impress arms purchasers and beaurocrats in the allied governments.