Frozen Ships?

[trenken]

I see a ship a long way away, and I see that the speed is at medium. Yet this thing is not moving. It's like it's frozen. What's the deal?

[panthercules]

I see a ship a long way away, and I see that the speed is at medium. Yet this thing is not moving. It's like it's frozen. What's the deal?

Yeah - weird - I ran into this the other night - I've been reading posts around here for months about people running across ships stopped out in mid-ocean, but I always assumed that they meant actually stopped at zero speed. I spotted a merchant at about 10km and closed on it to see if it was enemy and I could attack it. It turned out to be a lone German merchant, but the odd thing was that despite the fact that graphically it looked like it was going about 6-8 knots (from smoke and wake/bow wave), it was actually stuck/stopped dead, almost like it had run aground (though it was out in over 1,000m depths). Very odd.

I radioed in a contact report so maybe she could get a tow, and headed off to find some real targets.

[trenken]

Well it's real nice considering this is the 1st ship i've encountered in my career. Just got this game. It's weird because it just appeared on my map. I was never given any messaged about it.

[trenken]

Yay, another frozen ship. This game is great! Lol

I noticed after a while, their icon just fades away. Not sure why.

[trenken]

And now I see one of my ally ships is frozen. What is going on? I'm wondering if my game is completely broken. This is very dissapointing on my very 1st patrol. :cry:

[trenken]

Well I deleted my old profile, started a new one, and I still have the same problem. I've come to the realization that in career mode, no ships work aside from mine no matter what I do. I'm going to look into getting this refunded. Wasn't even worth the $20 I paid for it.

[CCIP]

I've never heard of this before.

What version of the game do you use? Is it properly patched? Mods?

[Hedges]

I think what you are seeing is a spotted contact from another ship or plane. Depending on how close it is you either ignore it or make a path to where you think it will be. Don't try and go to that point of contact but based on it's course you should go where you think it will be. If you go to the spot that it is at then it will be gone by the time you get there.

What i do is i will mark the spot of the sighting of the ship. Then i will use the ruler (or eyeball it) to kind of plot a straight course to where i think it is going. I will then move myself to that spot while point to that spot from a 90 degree angle. Then if i think i have beaten it i will completely stop my engines and wait (use compressed time but be careful with 1024X).

Don't bother with sightings in quadrants 2 or more away. You'll never get there in time.

[panthercules]

Well I deleted my old profile, started a new one, and I still have the same problem. I've come to the realization that in career mode, no ships work aside from mine no matter what I do. I'm going to look into getting this refunded. Wasn't even worth the $20 I paid for it.

I'd give some things a try before junking it - I've been playing since day 1 (almost a year now?) and this has only happened to me once (and I've never seen anybody else complaining of more than the occasional stopped ship), and the rest of the ships I've run into on this same patrol have been working just fine. There's definitely something weird going on with your install - like the other poster said, it may just be a matter of incorrect patches or some wierd mod or something. This game is a blast when it works, and it has taken a whole lot less fiddling with than IL-2 or some other games I've had ever did to make it work right, so you might want to at least try uninstalling/re-installing the whole game or something before you just give up on it.

Good luck!

[Kaptan Tommy]

trenken, are you talking about ships you actually "eyeball" with your binoculars or scope, or just ones that appear as 'squares' on the map?

If it's just on the map, I think Hedges has it right.

And like panthercules says, "this game is a blast" when it's set up and working right. I love it!

Did you install the official patch from Ubisoft?

[panthercules]

Yay, another frozen ship. This game is great! Lol

I noticed after a while, their icon just fades away. Not sure why.

Hmm - after seeing one of the other responses, now I'm confused - are you actually looking at the ships themselves from reasonably close range (i.e., from the bridge, or the 'scope), and they're not moving along the surface of the ocean (which is the situation i described in my first response above), or are you just talking about their icons not moving on the Nav map screen (as seems to be what Hedges' response was referring to)?

If it's the latter, then Hedges is correct - the icons on the nav map do not generally get updated in real time - they are just static markers placed at the time the initial sighting report occurs, and they do fade out after a few hours since they have basically become irrelevant/unreliable indicators of position after enough time has passed since the ship would have moved on a good distance by then (and might have changed course etc.) This is not a bug or anything wrong - you just have to develop appropriate interception methods to get your boat close enough to the target ship to spot it visually or on hydrophones and then close in for the kill (unless it's a friendly or neutral anyway).

Good luck and good hunting!

[trenken]

I am running 1.4b and no mods.

Here is what's happening. The ships around my port when I head out are working. When I get to my patrol area, I start my patterns and all of a sudden a red warship will popup. No radio messages about it or anything. It gives me the info about speed and heading. So then I time compress it, I keep moving, but they don't. And after a while, the icon just starts very slowly fading away.

[Kaptan Tommy]

Sounds like you're talking about the little squares that supposedly indicate a ship in the vicinity (a 'reported' ship). When you try to get there, you're missing them (either by being too late, or not intercepting them properly). Happens every day... :yep:

[trenken]

Yeah, but up until now, they actually moved on the map. These say they are moving at medium speed, but never actually move.

[Hedges]

I am running 1.4b and no mods.

Here is what's happening. The ships around my port when I head out are working. When I get to my patrol area, I start my patterns and all of a sudden a red warship will popup. No radio messages about it or anything. It gives me the info about speed and heading. So then I time compress it, I keep moving, but they don't. And after a while, the icon just starts very slowly fading away.

This sounds exactly like what i was talking about.

You don't have to search and destroy things in your patrol area. you just have to be there for 24 hours. I normally will go there and patrol and after 24 hours will head to an enemy port for some hide and seak fun. I do almost all of my killings near an enemy port not in my patrol area.

Don't go after every report you see. things like speed, bearing, distance are all important things when determining if i should go after it.

[Hedges]

Yeah, but up until now, they actually moved on the map. These say they are moving at medium speed, but never actually move.

These are contacts once spotted not currently spotted by you. Read my post above. It was spotted by a plane or another ship. it will be marked as "Ship".

You need to determine where it will be and intercept it at the location you think it is heading. You might meet it sometimes like 24 hours after the initial sighting. Mark the initial site with a marker, so you always know were the intial sighting was, and just plot a course to where you think it will be relative to where you are.

[trenken]

Thanks for all this info Hedges.

I don't receive reports about these ships. They just show up, sit still for a while, then fade away.

Another thing, how do I know where enemy ports are? I've had the game for 3 days, been playing Career for 2 (yes im a noob), and have yet to actually engage and enemy target. So i'm kind of getting anxious.

[Hedges]

Thanks for all this info Hedges.

I don't receive reports about these ships. They just show up, sit still for a while, then fade away.

Another thing, how do I know where enemy ports are? I've had the game for 3 days, been playing Career for 2 (yes im a noob), and have yet to actually engage and enemy target. So i'm kind of getting anxious.

Hey i'm a fellow noobe, i've just been playing it for about 3 weeks.

yes those reports that pop up are exactly what i am talking about. Trust me. Remember don't go after all of them, this is important when you start playing with limited diesel.

Zoom out on your navigation map until you see the ports. Blue ports are yours, greens are neutrals, reds are enemies.

Trust me you will learn to figure it out where they are. Sometimes i will sit in one spot, only going up or down depending on the time of day, for 24-48 hours. Simply waiting for a contact. The closer you are to land the better the results. The closer you are to enemy ports the better. But keep in mind that the closer you are to enemy ports the more defensive units they will have.

You'll figure it out, and it will become very addictive.

[kiwi_2005]

[/quote]I see a ship a long way away, and I see that the speed is at medium. Yet this thing is not moving. It's like it's frozen. What's the deal?


They're Ghost ships

[trenken]

I'm already addicted and haven't seen any real action outside of training. :yep:

I was concerned that all through training I would get a report, see a ship on the map, and it move around.

That hasn't happened yet in career mode. They just popup and freeze.

The one thing I did have happen once was I got a red line coming from my ship that faded away. Now that actually did move which is a good sign. But I knew nothing of this ship. Didnt know its speed or where it was going. And I didnt get an icon for it so I let it go not knowing what the deal was. Why sometimes do you just get a red line, and other actually see the icon?

[kiwi_2005]

Why sometimes do you just get a red line, and other actually see the icon?

Because the Ghost ship icon can't be seen until you get a visual contact... :arrgh!: :-j

[Hedges]

I'm already addicted and haven't seen any real action outside of training. :yep:

I was concerned that all through training I would get a report, see a ship on the map, and it move around.

That hasn't happened yet in career mode. They just popup and freeze.

The one thing I did have happen once was I got a red line coming from my ship that faded away. Now that actually did move which is a good sign. But I knew nothing of this ship. Didnt know its speed or where it was going. And I didnt get an icon for it so I let it go not knowing what the deal was. Why sometimes do you just get a red line, and other actually see the icon?

It will, you have to be real close to get the reports you got in the training sessions. A lot of things will depend on this, day/night, fog, surface/unsurfaced, crew experiance etc.

The line thing is a sighting by your crew but it's a faint sightning. It just gives you bearing, speed, and aprox location. you will need to decide if you want to go after it, for example if it's moving away and at fast speed then ignore it completely - you'll never get close. Just be patient (use time compression) and wait for something moving at you at a slow speed (merchant or cargo ship).

On a clear day you should see things once they get around 3,500 Meters of you. On a foggy night there are times you almost have to run into it to see it. I once was hanging out on the surface, no speed, but was time compressing from the navigation map. Well it was so dark and foggy that my crew never say the big cargo ship until a wave pushed me in it's side. All of a sudden i hear "We are taking damage sir" and i go to the deck and there is a monster cargo ship right in front of me. I had to back up to 350 M and then i sank that puppy. Lucky for me i ran into it and not vise versa.

Keep with it buddy, you'll figure it out.

[Hedges]

also the training thing is nice because it tells you how to run the boat and gives you basic ideas, it only scratches the surface (no pun :D ) on how the game will react and the tools at your disposal.

For example, i've not used my FLAK gun once in three weeks. I see a plane and i dive and move. Also, it's near impossible (without modding - i guess) to find good enough weather to use your deck gun.

[trenken]

Yeah i've definitely learned that the training area is nothing more than very basic training. Just introduces you to things and then your off on your own. It's my only complaint with this game that I feel like without these forums, certain things would just be impossible to learn on my own. I thought that training should have been a bit more detailed. But it's a great game anyway. My machine is a little too slow to handle bad weather so ill be upgrading it soon.

[trenken]

Ok I just read this in the Gamespot review.

"There are still a few kinks to work out--we've loaded saved games where every ship in the ocean was frozen in place, forcing us to end a patrol early, for example. "

[Crash Dive]

http://www.subsim.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=48026

Read this post its just what will help you intercept and sink those ships. :ping:

[trenken]

I know how to intercept them. But I wasn't tryin to because I thought they were frozen. I thought that by the time I got to the point of contact, they would not be there. But it sounds like they aren't frozen. I guess they are just sightings made by someone else and they are actually moving, but I am only seeing the point of the sighting on my map. So next time I see this, I will try and intercept it and see if it's actually there. I'll try tonight or tomorrow.

[Hedges]

I know how to intercept them. But I wasn't tryin to because I thought they were frozen. I thought that by the time I got to the point of contact, they would not be there. But it sounds like they aren't frozen. I guess they are just sightings made by someone else and they are actually moving, but I am only seeing the point of the sighting on my map. So next time I see this, I will try and intercept it and see if it's actually there. I'll try tonight or tomorrow.

That is exactly what is happening. It's like a plane flying overhead. It sees the ship, can give you basic information and you have to use that information to try and intercept it somewhere else. But the plane moves away so it no longer sees the contact. They are definately NOT frozen, and they do exist.

Remember don't go after everyone. Some of them are to far away for you to catch up with. But the close ones are possible to get. Just figure out where it will be, and if you can be at that spot before it gets there. If you think you can, then go hunting.

[panthercules]

Yeah - those icons popping up are supposed to represent a variety of types of sightings (friendly planes or ships, other u-boats, even your own radio operator intercepting radio transmissions, etc.) - the devs apparently decided not to clog up your radio log by actually recording each of these types of signings as a separate radio message - they generally save the actual radio messages you get for "important" sightings like convoys, task forces, enemy warships, etc. And those long-range type sighting icons do not update/move on the nav map in real time, though you sometimes will get a subsequent sighting of the same ship fairly near the first one a few hours later.

Depending on how you have set your realism settings (particularly the one about "no map updates"), you will get these ship icons on your nav map that do actually move on the nav map in real time, but I believe that only happens if you're close enough to the target to visually see it - and that range will vary depending upon what mods you have installed and what the weather/visibility range is at the time. With the IUB mod I'm running now, I can spot ships (or at least their smoke) in daylight with good weather out to around 14-15,000m or so, but that can drop to as little as 400m or so in heavy rain/mist/fog, with various stages in between depending upon the visibility/weather.

Good luck and good hunting!

[andy_311]

I have seen ships dead in the water but only in heavy seas ,and in close proximity to another ship but I haven't seen this yet in 1.4b HT1.47

[jimmie]

You do not receive "radio message" for those "opportunity contacts." (so called, if I'm correct) They just appear on the map, that's it. You get radio message (which you can see via 'M' key press) for convoy, task force etc. Those radio messages are broadcasted by BdU in SH3.

Icons get fade when the information about it (lone ship or convoy or whatever) becomes obsolete. I often "mark" the icon before it's gone to plot an intercept course.

Yeah, there should be radio messages for those opportunity contacts as well, since it indeed is radioed information. It's not the case of current game, unfortunately.