LuftWolf
03-12-06, 02:16 AM
You can find it now, at the CADC: http://www.orionwarrior.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17093 .
Here is the readme:
LuftWolf and Amizaur’s Weapons and Sensors Realism Mod v3.00
For DW 1.03 Build 367
SimHQ Reader’s Choice Poll “Best of 2005” Winner
Readme by LuftWolf
Thank you to Amizaur for his partnership on this project.
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.
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 and install to the relative paths. The Database and Doctrine files will install to the correct directories automatically. NOTE: Saved games created with one Database and Doctrine set are not compatible with any other versions of the database, however, you can restore a previous version of the Database and Doctrine folders at any time to load saved games associated with that database. A separate zip containing helpful charts and graphs for the mod will also be installed to your Manual folder.
XX-Game Play Changes-XX
Sonar Modeling—All active and passive sonar systems in the game, both for the AI and human platforms, have been scaled in terms of their projected real world effectiveness. The Passive and Active noise levels of all platforms in the game have also been completely reworked. Platforms now have Sound vs. Speed curves that are appropriate for their class and quality. Further, all playable platforms have unique Sound vs. Speed curves, giving them unique sound characteristics at each speed, so please see the charts supplied with the mod package to determine how much noise a given platform is making at a given speed (Note: the Chinese Standard Kilos and Indian KLUB capable Standard Kilos have a starting PSL of 58 and then increases noise as other Kilos, to model the 877EKM version sold to those countries). The overall effect of these changes is to reduce the detection ranges against realistically quiet platforms at low speed, and increase the detection ranges against loud contacts (since all passive sonar hard-caps have been removed, you will no longer notice loud contacts suddenly appearing at high signal strength). All in all, the total sonar performance should be closer to what one would expect in all conditions against all kinds of contacts than the stock game.
Torpedo Performance—Substantial improvements have been made to torpedo behavior.
1) Torpedoes no longer explode on countermeasures other than the Nixie Towed Decoy. KNOWN CHEAT: If a player drops two decoys at the exact same time, directly on top of each other, torpedoes will often explode on one of the decoys due to the way the fix has been implemented. If you watch the replay of your match, and you see a torpedo explode on a decoy, however, the decoy remains on the screen, your opponent has dropped two decoys on top of each other and the torpedo detonated on one. I recommend not playing with opponents who use this tactic. ;-) I know of no other circumstances when torpedoes will explode on CM’s using this fix. If you wish to use two decoys at the same time, spreading them out by a second or two will prevent this from happening.
2) The search pattern of snaking torpedoes has been reduce from 90 degrees forward arc to 60 degrees forward arc; AI torpedoes will randomly go left or right for their first sweep on snake or their search pattern for circle; AI torpedoes fired at submerged contacts will no longer strike nearby surface traffic by mistake; and the AI will now also sometimes fire torpedoes under layers at submerged targets.
3) Torpedoes now have seekers of unique quality and ping frequency, as previously all torpedoes were equally capable of detecting and tracking a target because they all shared a single seeker. The practical effect of this is to make high quality heavyweight torpedoes such as the ADCAP or UGST much more effective weapons individually than lightweight torpedoes such as the Mk50 or SUBROC’s or older out of date torpedoes. Please see the accompanying charts for details on the parameters of each playable torpedo seeker.
4) Torpedoes will now reliably begin searching again after losing their track or being spoofed by and burning through a countermeasure.
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. You will not get any TIW warning when a missile is fired, but it will leave a strong trace on the broadband, especially the Western Waterfall, and will now sound like a Shkval while in the water.
MAD and SAD—The maximum depth at which an AI platform can detect a human sub is now a plausible 750ft (slightly less than reported in RL because the AI can detect contacts at any altitude). The max depth for human MAD is 1000ft and human SAD is 750ft.
Damage Modelling—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 and medium civilian ships have been made slightly tougher than before. 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. NOTE: All playable torpedoes will kill all playable submarines with a single shot if delivered accurately on target when the weapon detonates.
AI Improvements:
1) AEGIS behavior has been fixed. AEGIS ships will now provide effective fleet defense against vampires up to 18-25nm and bogeys over 45nm, depending on the conditions and the target altitude. VLS equipped ships will fire multiple missile volleys at fast moving inbound targets that have escaped the first round of counter fire.
2) All platforms with sonar sensors now have effective sonar that are accurately modeled for their type and quality. Surface ships and submarines equipped with TA’s are capable of using them to see under layers if they are above within distance and traveling slow enough. AI TA’s do not operate in water shallower than 75ft.
3) Submarines are now much more aggressive. AI captains will fire on hostile targets much sooner than previously, and will often wait until a target enters its evasion pattern for the first salvo before firing a follow up shot and clearing the datum.
4) Aircraft and helicopters will actively classify and engage their own or sonobuoy tracks and MANUAL links from humans (allowing utilization of the link and AI for combined arms operations). Helos with dipping sonar will use their dipping sonar when prosecuting a track, with the process sometimes taking up to 10 minutes to complete a dip. Sonobuoy laying and attack behavior on link contacts from other AI platforms still needs work, but it is possible that this is beyond the limits of modding the software. At this time, the AI can be counted on to identify and prosecute manual human link contacts (if you have a datum for an unknown submarine you can link it and friendly ASW assets will attempt to find its exact location and classify it and then prosecute if it turns out to be hostile) as well as attack MAD contacts and sonobuoy contacts. As a side note, aircraft now properly drop submerged MAD and sonar contacts when they lose their track after some time, as before the simulator was having them update the contacts indefinitely, which is not a good thing.
XX-Specific Platform Changes-XX
Seawolf—The Max speed of the Seawolf is now 38kts. The Seawolf is still easily the quietest, fastest, and most heavily armed submarine in the world. ;-)
Player FFG AI MH-60 Helocopter-DIPPING AND MAD CAPABLITY ENABLED-The AI MH60 for the player FFG has been given dipping capability and sensors. To order the MH60 to dip, assign a Fly-To waypoint where you want the helo to conduct a dipping search. When the helo gets to the waypoint, the helicopter will stop and descend to 45ft, at which point its dipping sensors will become active. To stop the dipping procedure, assign another waypoint and the helo will go back up to speed and go back to 300ft. The helo has an active dipping sensor (which of course can be heard on submarine active intercept) set at 45ft of depth. The helo also has passive sensors set at 45ft, 600ft, and 1400ft. All sensors are active at the same time. To compensate for this efficiency, I have reduced the sensitivity of the AI sensors on the MH60. The MH60 also now has and effective MAD that can reliably detect submarines down to 750ft of water depth and 1200m around the helo. The range of this sensor is increased somewhat over what is reported in real life to compensate for the imprecise waypoint control in the ASTAC interface. You can now set the MH60 to perform MAD pattern searches on its own by assigning multiple Fly-To waypoints over a search area. The MH60 will fly to each waypoint with its MAD sensor active. If the helo detects and classifies a hostile submarine on MAD, it will automatically attack it with a torpedo, provided it had not previously acquired the target using its dipping sonar. In terms of employing torpedoes in ASW, I recommend using Torpedo-Drop waypoints (as opposed to firing from the NavMap) while the Helo is under ship control to minimize interference with the autopilot. All three torpedoes, including the Mk54, can now be dropped using waypoints, with the Mk54 being the last torpedo used after the two Mk50’s. In regards to full Helo control while the FFG is under player control, I have not found this to be an effective means of utilizing the helo. Now that you can set the helo to do MAD searches or repeatedly ping an area, I recommend always keeping the helo on Ship control. When the FFG is in a mission under full AI control, the MH60 assigned to the platform will behave like an SH60B, the helo assigned to the FFG 7’s in real life, which has only sonobuoy and MAD capability. Known Issue: The fully AI MH60 when behaving like an SH60B for the AI FFG sometimes displays an odd oscillation when pursuing a contact. This is present using the stock DW doctrines, and I have been unable to eliminate it. It is largely only a cosmetic issue, although it sometimes slows down the MH60(SH60B)’s time on target. To be clear, this issue is only present when the FFG is NOT player controlled.
XX-Specific Weapon Changes-XX
SS-N-27 ASM AND KLUB 3M-54E ASCM—This weapon now properly simulates the reported operation of this weapon in the real world. The first stage is a cruise missile with range 200km/108nm and speed 500kts and a radar seeker. To use the missile, set the enable point as usual. When the missile enables and detects a target, it will fire the second stage of the missile, which is a supersonic ASM with speed 2.5 mach and range 24km/13nm. The first stage will remain in the air and act as a decoy for SAM’s before settling into the ocean.
SS-N-27 ASW—The missile range has been increased to 27nm and the torpedo payload has been changed to a MPT-1UE, which is a LWT with max range 13km at 55kts and max depth 650m.
SLAM-ER—As with the stock database in DW 1.03, this missile now functions properly for anti-land use, PROVIDED THAT YOU RESET THE DEFAULT LOCATIONS OF THE TRANSIT WAYPOINTS BEFORE FIRING THE WEAPON.
SLMM and Mobile Mine—A fix that makes both stop making noise after they have cut out their propulsion has been applied, and are no longer useful as decoys in any sense, at least not against active torpedoes. Both mines will now actively try to find and hold their position, and will be reliably on target. This make them effective weapons within their constraints (300ft for SLMM and 450ft for Mobile mines, the range of their seekers, and the weapon will shutdown below 600ft, as these are shallow water weapons), which they were not in the stock game. Do not try to use them on a steep slope.
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. Also, this weapon seems to frequently damage targets as opposed to killing them outright, so be aware of this if you hear one detonate.
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. Also, this weapon can no longer be set to fire at submerged contacts in the fire control.
Mk54 Torpedo-WEAPON ADDED- This weapon replaces the Mk46 for all playable platforms, as well as all American platforms equipped originally with Mk46 torpedoes (the ASROC is still a Mk46). All other non-American platforms retain the Mk46. The Mk54 is a Light Weight ASW torpedo with range 17km at speed 50kts with a max depth of 500m (less on the fire control presets), a seeker equivalent to the Mk50, and a lighter weight for better use in littoral conditions. Note: the load out and fire control screens will still show Mk46, but this weapon is actually the Mk54. The ASTAC screen will show Mk 54 Torpedo II, but this is a normal Mk54. The player FFG AI MH-60’s will fire this weapon now on the third torpedo drop waypoint, with the two Mk50’s being spent first.
65cm Torpedo-WEAPON ADDED-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 disabled in-game, but we 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 then the torpedo will continue in a straight line after it enables. Although you can launch the weapon deep, SET THE SEARCH DEPTH AT ~10m, depending on how lucky you feel that day. This weapon is only for ASuW and cannot be targeted at submerged contacts.
53cm Torpedo-WEAPON ADDED-given UGST specifications: Active/Passive Multipurpose Wireguided Torpedo, 50km@50kph, with maximum depth 800m (less on fire-control preset panel) with 300kg warhead. This is now the primary multipurpose torpedo armament for the Akula.
Yu-8 Torpedo-WEAPON ADDED-The SET-53E on the Chinese Kilos has been replaced with a hypothetical pirated version of the Russian USET-80, a multipurpose heavyweight torpedo with max range 16.7km at 45kts with a maximum depth of 475 and an active/passive seeker with quality between a Mk46 and a USET-80 (this weapon has yet not been added to the torpedo parameter guide included with the Mod).
Submarine Should Launched SAM’s—The seeker cones of all submarine launched SAM’s have been limited so that the player must aim the launcher carefully at the target before firing to ensure a lock. Also, the effectiveness of flares has been raised in general. My advice is to drop flares before you think the missile is going to be fired, because the best way to foil a shot is to prevent a lock on you, which the other player can’t do because there are too many flares in his way and his IR scope is all full. :)
SUBROC’s—These weapons will now be reliably on target with a small, intended random error. The AI is now particularly good with SUBROC’s and ASROC’s.
Fast Torpedo Speed Oscillation Fix—Due to a hard-coded error in the DW v1.03 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.
Spearfish—Range increased by 10,000m to 32km
Type 89—Increased range by 15,000m to 45km and given it ASuW capability.
APR-2E—range increased from 3.2km to 5km.
Maverick and Hellfire Missile Fixes—The range of the Maverick has been limited to 25km. Also, submarines have now been enabled as legitimate targets for Maverick and Hellfire missiles, meaning you no longer have to reclassify a visual contact before engaging a submarine that has popped up to fire a SAM. Also, these missiles will no longer damage submarines that are completely submerged(a feature of DW 1.03), and will not home on submarines that are under periscope depth, meaning the anti-submarine missile cheat is removed. Also, the Hellfire Strike equipped on the player FFG MH60 can now target surface ships.
FFG SM-2—The Fire Control radars on the FFG have been changed so that it is no longer possible to fire SM-2’s over the horizon at distant targets, there must now be a valid light of sight between the Fire Control Radar and the target. Also, for the weapon to be effective, the FCR’s should only be directed in the weapons control station at targets generated by the air or surface search radars, because both radar systems are needed to effectively guide the missile.
XX-Specific Sensor Changes-XX
Sphere and Hull Arrays—The sensitivity of the Sphere and Hull arrays has been increased relative to the Towed Array (to be clear, the TA is still much more sensitive in terms of long range performance) to better simulate their reported real world specifications. Also, the stern facing baffle of the Sphere has been increased to 120 degrees for active and passive modes, including the FFG and all AI platforms. It is not uncommon for contacts to show up on the broadband sphere before they show up on the narrowband sphere, and loud contacts will also show up more clearly on the sphere array broadband than the towed array broadband once both arrays have detected the contact. Expect to use the Sphere and Hull arrays more now to track and identify surface traffic and build situational awareness utilizing DEMON and TMA, and reserve the TA for finding and tracking those quiet hostile submarines or distant warships on narrowband. NOTE: Known Issue. It will be possible to see and hear contacts on the Sphere array before you can assign a Broadband tracker to them. You can immediately assign a narrowband tracker to all contacts on the sphere with a narrowband signature, although it is intended that generally contacts will be detected on the sphere broadband first. The broadband tracker issue is not intended, although it is present in stock DW as well, and the mod does not make it any worse in game play terms.
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. The practical effect of this is to give the Gepard and Oscar II class an effective tactical speed of 10kts without washout of the Sphere or Towed arrays.
688(i) Towed Arrays—Added the TB-23 as starboard array. The reason we 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 so we figured in most situations you would want that array deployed. The port TB-16 washes out at ~20kts and the TB-23 washes out at around ~16kts. We have set the sensitivity of the TB-23 to be pretty much in the middle of the TB-16 and the TB-29.
Wakehoming Torpedo Sensor—The range of the wakehoming sensor has been reduced, making it necessary to be sure to fire the weapon behind the target so that it makes contact with the targets wake, as in the stock game frontal wakehoming shots are far too effective. Surface targets can now lose the wake homers with sharp maneuvering once being followed by reducing speed to limit the size of their wake. Also, do not use wakehoming torpedoes against submarines as they are not effective in that role.
Sonobuoy Sensor Depths—The depths of all sonobuoys in the Mod have been set to equal those of stock DW 1.03:
DIFAR 90/400ft
DICASS 90/800ft
VLAD-LOFAR 600/1200ft
The sonobuoys will not function in water depth that is shallower than their sensor depth.
Active Intercept—The coverage of all active intercept systems has been increased to 360 degrees, so you will now hear torpedoes approaching from dead astern.
XX-Misc. Platform, Weapon, and Sensor Changes-XX
IR Signatures for Missiles—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 RAM SAM’s effective against anti-ship missiles.
Cable Length Modifications—The length of user-platform cables have been changed to approximate real-world lengths: SQR-19—5000ft, TB-16—2600ft, TB-23—2950ft, TB-29—3300ft, MH-60 Dipping Sonar—2550ft (same as stock DW 1.03), and Pelamida TA—2300/701m.
Active Decoys—Active decoys now make passive noise detectable on broadband and narrowband sonar, with a distinct sonar profile.
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
Cheers,
David
Here is the readme:
LuftWolf and Amizaur’s Weapons and Sensors Realism Mod v3.00
For DW 1.03 Build 367
SimHQ Reader’s Choice Poll “Best of 2005” Winner
Readme by LuftWolf
Thank you to Amizaur for his partnership on this project.
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.
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 and install to the relative paths. The Database and Doctrine files will install to the correct directories automatically. NOTE: Saved games created with one Database and Doctrine set are not compatible with any other versions of the database, however, you can restore a previous version of the Database and Doctrine folders at any time to load saved games associated with that database. A separate zip containing helpful charts and graphs for the mod will also be installed to your Manual folder.
XX-Game Play Changes-XX
Sonar Modeling—All active and passive sonar systems in the game, both for the AI and human platforms, have been scaled in terms of their projected real world effectiveness. The Passive and Active noise levels of all platforms in the game have also been completely reworked. Platforms now have Sound vs. Speed curves that are appropriate for their class and quality. Further, all playable platforms have unique Sound vs. Speed curves, giving them unique sound characteristics at each speed, so please see the charts supplied with the mod package to determine how much noise a given platform is making at a given speed (Note: the Chinese Standard Kilos and Indian KLUB capable Standard Kilos have a starting PSL of 58 and then increases noise as other Kilos, to model the 877EKM version sold to those countries). The overall effect of these changes is to reduce the detection ranges against realistically quiet platforms at low speed, and increase the detection ranges against loud contacts (since all passive sonar hard-caps have been removed, you will no longer notice loud contacts suddenly appearing at high signal strength). All in all, the total sonar performance should be closer to what one would expect in all conditions against all kinds of contacts than the stock game.
Torpedo Performance—Substantial improvements have been made to torpedo behavior.
1) Torpedoes no longer explode on countermeasures other than the Nixie Towed Decoy. KNOWN CHEAT: If a player drops two decoys at the exact same time, directly on top of each other, torpedoes will often explode on one of the decoys due to the way the fix has been implemented. If you watch the replay of your match, and you see a torpedo explode on a decoy, however, the decoy remains on the screen, your opponent has dropped two decoys on top of each other and the torpedo detonated on one. I recommend not playing with opponents who use this tactic. ;-) I know of no other circumstances when torpedoes will explode on CM’s using this fix. If you wish to use two decoys at the same time, spreading them out by a second or two will prevent this from happening.
2) The search pattern of snaking torpedoes has been reduce from 90 degrees forward arc to 60 degrees forward arc; AI torpedoes will randomly go left or right for their first sweep on snake or their search pattern for circle; AI torpedoes fired at submerged contacts will no longer strike nearby surface traffic by mistake; and the AI will now also sometimes fire torpedoes under layers at submerged targets.
3) Torpedoes now have seekers of unique quality and ping frequency, as previously all torpedoes were equally capable of detecting and tracking a target because they all shared a single seeker. The practical effect of this is to make high quality heavyweight torpedoes such as the ADCAP or UGST much more effective weapons individually than lightweight torpedoes such as the Mk50 or SUBROC’s or older out of date torpedoes. Please see the accompanying charts for details on the parameters of each playable torpedo seeker.
4) Torpedoes will now reliably begin searching again after losing their track or being spoofed by and burning through a countermeasure.
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. You will not get any TIW warning when a missile is fired, but it will leave a strong trace on the broadband, especially the Western Waterfall, and will now sound like a Shkval while in the water.
MAD and SAD—The maximum depth at which an AI platform can detect a human sub is now a plausible 750ft (slightly less than reported in RL because the AI can detect contacts at any altitude). The max depth for human MAD is 1000ft and human SAD is 750ft.
Damage Modelling—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 and medium civilian ships have been made slightly tougher than before. 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. NOTE: All playable torpedoes will kill all playable submarines with a single shot if delivered accurately on target when the weapon detonates.
AI Improvements:
1) AEGIS behavior has been fixed. AEGIS ships will now provide effective fleet defense against vampires up to 18-25nm and bogeys over 45nm, depending on the conditions and the target altitude. VLS equipped ships will fire multiple missile volleys at fast moving inbound targets that have escaped the first round of counter fire.
2) All platforms with sonar sensors now have effective sonar that are accurately modeled for their type and quality. Surface ships and submarines equipped with TA’s are capable of using them to see under layers if they are above within distance and traveling slow enough. AI TA’s do not operate in water shallower than 75ft.
3) Submarines are now much more aggressive. AI captains will fire on hostile targets much sooner than previously, and will often wait until a target enters its evasion pattern for the first salvo before firing a follow up shot and clearing the datum.
4) Aircraft and helicopters will actively classify and engage their own or sonobuoy tracks and MANUAL links from humans (allowing utilization of the link and AI for combined arms operations). Helos with dipping sonar will use their dipping sonar when prosecuting a track, with the process sometimes taking up to 10 minutes to complete a dip. Sonobuoy laying and attack behavior on link contacts from other AI platforms still needs work, but it is possible that this is beyond the limits of modding the software. At this time, the AI can be counted on to identify and prosecute manual human link contacts (if you have a datum for an unknown submarine you can link it and friendly ASW assets will attempt to find its exact location and classify it and then prosecute if it turns out to be hostile) as well as attack MAD contacts and sonobuoy contacts. As a side note, aircraft now properly drop submerged MAD and sonar contacts when they lose their track after some time, as before the simulator was having them update the contacts indefinitely, which is not a good thing.
XX-Specific Platform Changes-XX
Seawolf—The Max speed of the Seawolf is now 38kts. The Seawolf is still easily the quietest, fastest, and most heavily armed submarine in the world. ;-)
Player FFG AI MH-60 Helocopter-DIPPING AND MAD CAPABLITY ENABLED-The AI MH60 for the player FFG has been given dipping capability and sensors. To order the MH60 to dip, assign a Fly-To waypoint where you want the helo to conduct a dipping search. When the helo gets to the waypoint, the helicopter will stop and descend to 45ft, at which point its dipping sensors will become active. To stop the dipping procedure, assign another waypoint and the helo will go back up to speed and go back to 300ft. The helo has an active dipping sensor (which of course can be heard on submarine active intercept) set at 45ft of depth. The helo also has passive sensors set at 45ft, 600ft, and 1400ft. All sensors are active at the same time. To compensate for this efficiency, I have reduced the sensitivity of the AI sensors on the MH60. The MH60 also now has and effective MAD that can reliably detect submarines down to 750ft of water depth and 1200m around the helo. The range of this sensor is increased somewhat over what is reported in real life to compensate for the imprecise waypoint control in the ASTAC interface. You can now set the MH60 to perform MAD pattern searches on its own by assigning multiple Fly-To waypoints over a search area. The MH60 will fly to each waypoint with its MAD sensor active. If the helo detects and classifies a hostile submarine on MAD, it will automatically attack it with a torpedo, provided it had not previously acquired the target using its dipping sonar. In terms of employing torpedoes in ASW, I recommend using Torpedo-Drop waypoints (as opposed to firing from the NavMap) while the Helo is under ship control to minimize interference with the autopilot. All three torpedoes, including the Mk54, can now be dropped using waypoints, with the Mk54 being the last torpedo used after the two Mk50’s. In regards to full Helo control while the FFG is under player control, I have not found this to be an effective means of utilizing the helo. Now that you can set the helo to do MAD searches or repeatedly ping an area, I recommend always keeping the helo on Ship control. When the FFG is in a mission under full AI control, the MH60 assigned to the platform will behave like an SH60B, the helo assigned to the FFG 7’s in real life, which has only sonobuoy and MAD capability. Known Issue: The fully AI MH60 when behaving like an SH60B for the AI FFG sometimes displays an odd oscillation when pursuing a contact. This is present using the stock DW doctrines, and I have been unable to eliminate it. It is largely only a cosmetic issue, although it sometimes slows down the MH60(SH60B)’s time on target. To be clear, this issue is only present when the FFG is NOT player controlled.
XX-Specific Weapon Changes-XX
SS-N-27 ASM AND KLUB 3M-54E ASCM—This weapon now properly simulates the reported operation of this weapon in the real world. The first stage is a cruise missile with range 200km/108nm and speed 500kts and a radar seeker. To use the missile, set the enable point as usual. When the missile enables and detects a target, it will fire the second stage of the missile, which is a supersonic ASM with speed 2.5 mach and range 24km/13nm. The first stage will remain in the air and act as a decoy for SAM’s before settling into the ocean.
SS-N-27 ASW—The missile range has been increased to 27nm and the torpedo payload has been changed to a MPT-1UE, which is a LWT with max range 13km at 55kts and max depth 650m.
SLAM-ER—As with the stock database in DW 1.03, this missile now functions properly for anti-land use, PROVIDED THAT YOU RESET THE DEFAULT LOCATIONS OF THE TRANSIT WAYPOINTS BEFORE FIRING THE WEAPON.
SLMM and Mobile Mine—A fix that makes both stop making noise after they have cut out their propulsion has been applied, and are no longer useful as decoys in any sense, at least not against active torpedoes. Both mines will now actively try to find and hold their position, and will be reliably on target. This make them effective weapons within their constraints (300ft for SLMM and 450ft for Mobile mines, the range of their seekers, and the weapon will shutdown below 600ft, as these are shallow water weapons), which they were not in the stock game. Do not try to use them on a steep slope.
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. Also, this weapon seems to frequently damage targets as opposed to killing them outright, so be aware of this if you hear one detonate.
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. Also, this weapon can no longer be set to fire at submerged contacts in the fire control.
Mk54 Torpedo-WEAPON ADDED- This weapon replaces the Mk46 for all playable platforms, as well as all American platforms equipped originally with Mk46 torpedoes (the ASROC is still a Mk46). All other non-American platforms retain the Mk46. The Mk54 is a Light Weight ASW torpedo with range 17km at speed 50kts with a max depth of 500m (less on the fire control presets), a seeker equivalent to the Mk50, and a lighter weight for better use in littoral conditions. Note: the load out and fire control screens will still show Mk46, but this weapon is actually the Mk54. The ASTAC screen will show Mk 54 Torpedo II, but this is a normal Mk54. The player FFG AI MH-60’s will fire this weapon now on the third torpedo drop waypoint, with the two Mk50’s being spent first.
65cm Torpedo-WEAPON ADDED-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 disabled in-game, but we 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 then the torpedo will continue in a straight line after it enables. Although you can launch the weapon deep, SET THE SEARCH DEPTH AT ~10m, depending on how lucky you feel that day. This weapon is only for ASuW and cannot be targeted at submerged contacts.
53cm Torpedo-WEAPON ADDED-given UGST specifications: Active/Passive Multipurpose Wireguided Torpedo, 50km@50kph, with maximum depth 800m (less on fire-control preset panel) with 300kg warhead. This is now the primary multipurpose torpedo armament for the Akula.
Yu-8 Torpedo-WEAPON ADDED-The SET-53E on the Chinese Kilos has been replaced with a hypothetical pirated version of the Russian USET-80, a multipurpose heavyweight torpedo with max range 16.7km at 45kts with a maximum depth of 475 and an active/passive seeker with quality between a Mk46 and a USET-80 (this weapon has yet not been added to the torpedo parameter guide included with the Mod).
Submarine Should Launched SAM’s—The seeker cones of all submarine launched SAM’s have been limited so that the player must aim the launcher carefully at the target before firing to ensure a lock. Also, the effectiveness of flares has been raised in general. My advice is to drop flares before you think the missile is going to be fired, because the best way to foil a shot is to prevent a lock on you, which the other player can’t do because there are too many flares in his way and his IR scope is all full. :)
SUBROC’s—These weapons will now be reliably on target with a small, intended random error. The AI is now particularly good with SUBROC’s and ASROC’s.
Fast Torpedo Speed Oscillation Fix—Due to a hard-coded error in the DW v1.03 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.
Spearfish—Range increased by 10,000m to 32km
Type 89—Increased range by 15,000m to 45km and given it ASuW capability.
APR-2E—range increased from 3.2km to 5km.
Maverick and Hellfire Missile Fixes—The range of the Maverick has been limited to 25km. Also, submarines have now been enabled as legitimate targets for Maverick and Hellfire missiles, meaning you no longer have to reclassify a visual contact before engaging a submarine that has popped up to fire a SAM. Also, these missiles will no longer damage submarines that are completely submerged(a feature of DW 1.03), and will not home on submarines that are under periscope depth, meaning the anti-submarine missile cheat is removed. Also, the Hellfire Strike equipped on the player FFG MH60 can now target surface ships.
FFG SM-2—The Fire Control radars on the FFG have been changed so that it is no longer possible to fire SM-2’s over the horizon at distant targets, there must now be a valid light of sight between the Fire Control Radar and the target. Also, for the weapon to be effective, the FCR’s should only be directed in the weapons control station at targets generated by the air or surface search radars, because both radar systems are needed to effectively guide the missile.
XX-Specific Sensor Changes-XX
Sphere and Hull Arrays—The sensitivity of the Sphere and Hull arrays has been increased relative to the Towed Array (to be clear, the TA is still much more sensitive in terms of long range performance) to better simulate their reported real world specifications. Also, the stern facing baffle of the Sphere has been increased to 120 degrees for active and passive modes, including the FFG and all AI platforms. It is not uncommon for contacts to show up on the broadband sphere before they show up on the narrowband sphere, and loud contacts will also show up more clearly on the sphere array broadband than the towed array broadband once both arrays have detected the contact. Expect to use the Sphere and Hull arrays more now to track and identify surface traffic and build situational awareness utilizing DEMON and TMA, and reserve the TA for finding and tracking those quiet hostile submarines or distant warships on narrowband. NOTE: Known Issue. It will be possible to see and hear contacts on the Sphere array before you can assign a Broadband tracker to them. You can immediately assign a narrowband tracker to all contacts on the sphere with a narrowband signature, although it is intended that generally contacts will be detected on the sphere broadband first. The broadband tracker issue is not intended, although it is present in stock DW as well, and the mod does not make it any worse in game play terms.
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. The practical effect of this is to give the Gepard and Oscar II class an effective tactical speed of 10kts without washout of the Sphere or Towed arrays.
688(i) Towed Arrays—Added the TB-23 as starboard array. The reason we 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 so we figured in most situations you would want that array deployed. The port TB-16 washes out at ~20kts and the TB-23 washes out at around ~16kts. We have set the sensitivity of the TB-23 to be pretty much in the middle of the TB-16 and the TB-29.
Wakehoming Torpedo Sensor—The range of the wakehoming sensor has been reduced, making it necessary to be sure to fire the weapon behind the target so that it makes contact with the targets wake, as in the stock game frontal wakehoming shots are far too effective. Surface targets can now lose the wake homers with sharp maneuvering once being followed by reducing speed to limit the size of their wake. Also, do not use wakehoming torpedoes against submarines as they are not effective in that role.
Sonobuoy Sensor Depths—The depths of all sonobuoys in the Mod have been set to equal those of stock DW 1.03:
DIFAR 90/400ft
DICASS 90/800ft
VLAD-LOFAR 600/1200ft
The sonobuoys will not function in water depth that is shallower than their sensor depth.
Active Intercept—The coverage of all active intercept systems has been increased to 360 degrees, so you will now hear torpedoes approaching from dead astern.
XX-Misc. Platform, Weapon, and Sensor Changes-XX
IR Signatures for Missiles—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 RAM SAM’s effective against anti-ship missiles.
Cable Length Modifications—The length of user-platform cables have been changed to approximate real-world lengths: SQR-19—5000ft, TB-16—2600ft, TB-23—2950ft, TB-29—3300ft, MH-60 Dipping Sonar—2550ft (same as stock DW 1.03), and Pelamida TA—2300/701m.
Active Decoys—Active decoys now make passive noise detectable on broadband and narrowband sonar, with a distinct sonar profile.
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
Cheers,
David