How to target manually?

[SeaSpectre]

Greetings, everyone...

I am new to SH3 and I am (as I imagine all beginners do) using the automatic TDC with Weapons Officer assistance. Well, I have to admit that the missions seem WAAAAY too easy. All you have to do is get yourself out ahead of the target, submerge, wait until angle on the bow is zero and under 1000m and then when the triangle turns green, you shoot. I am, after just 12 patrols in my IIA, second on the list of all U-Boat aces with close to 70,000 tons already.

This is going to get boring pretty quickly, I think.

I would like to learn how to target manually, but the manual is of no help. Has anyone actually posted a "how-to" to teach total novices how to get range, speed, and heading values?

BTW, it also seems too easy to evade escorts/destroyers. All i do is go to ahead slow and drop the periscope. I don't even have to go any deeper than PD depth. Does it get more difficult to evade destroyers as the war progresses? I have slipped past destroyer screens and sunk numerous vessels in enemy harbors with little or no difficulty....

Looking for more of a challenge.... :(

[79TransAm]

ummm, right around 43 things start to get a bit more interesting

[Keelbuster]

Damned noobs. Arg.. It's hard to hear this. I know that the early part of the war (i.e. type II time) is easy. It's hard to get killed then. Well, the truth is - it _was_ easy then. In fact, the allies didn't really have any good ASW capabilities until 42. In '43 they really had their sh$t together. Try to start a campaign then - go for a mediterranean campaign (29th flotilla). That will be different for you.

I use NYGM TW, 100% realism, and I'm an expert at this game - and I've NEVER survived the war. One way or another, they get you. ENJOY the patrols that are easy. Later in the war, you'll be bleeding back through Biscay with no tonnage. Arg.

Also - what mods are you running?

Kb

[SeaSpectre]

Yes, admittedly, I am a "noob". But isn't EVERYONE a noob at some point? In the immortal words of Rodney King: "Can't we all just get along?" :-j

Even though I am having an easy time of it through 1940, I fully expect that things will get much harder fairly quickly. I've already noticed that from September of 39 to May of 40, allied air cover has increased a lot. I'm under no illusions that I will somehow possess the skill to last all the way through 45. It will be interesting to see how long I do last, though.

In fact, that might be a good idea for a thread: What's the longest career/most patrols/highest tonnage anyone has achieved?

To answer your question: at this point I am not running any mods. I'm just running stock SH3 patched to 1.4b. I've been holding off on running any mods until I get a handle on the normal game...and until I determine which ones, of the plethora of mods available, I want to use. It's hard to decide. Tonnage War has some very appealing aspects with the fact that the renown system is dispensed with. Grey Wolves Supermod has been getting a lot of praise lately, though. It's tough to decide....

[r_wagner]

To answer your question about manual targeting, check out this link: http://www.paulwasserman.net/SHIII/#Introduction.

I highly recommend GW+NYGM unified campaign. Also waiting for more spare time to give sh3gen a go...

cheerio :D

[McBeck]

Wazoos manual is really good.

But the community manuals is in general a REALLY good place to read:
http://www.communitymanuals.com/shiii/index.php?title=Main_Page

[SeaSpectre]

Thanks for the link! That does look really helpful. It looks pretty in-depth and sorta complicated :o , but still really helpful.

Thanks. :up:

[Keelbuster]

Yes, admittedly, I am a "noob". But isn't EVERYONE a noob at some point? In the immortal words of Rodney King: "Can't we all just get along?" :-j

Har - yea - pardon. I was drunk.

Search for Wazoo's manual targetting instructions. They're good. Also, a way I've been teaching myself to manual target better is to compare my values with the 'truth' values provided by your weapons officer when you 'ask for a solution'. This is cheating, and I only do it it odd situations to see which way he turns the dials (on the F6) screen. You will develop an intuition for the function of each of the dials on the targetting screen.

Also, what I meant to say was that the game's all about longevity. Enjoy the war when it's easy. It will end for you - how long will you survive? As I said, it's almost unfairly difficult in the later war. That is the essential joy of playing DiD (Dead-is-Dead).

Good to hear that you are manual targetting. Maybe not such a newb?

Kb

[Umfuld]

I find that it's as hard as you want it to be no matter the time of the war.

If you want to just fart around in the middle of the Atlantic for weeks at a time you should have an easy time of it.

Take a trip into Scapa Flow or run the Channel a few times if it gets dull.



Thanks for the links by the way. I tried manual a few times and couldn't hit the side of an ocean. I'd like to learn how someday.

[don1reed]

I'd like to learn how someday

...well, its like learning how to ride a bicycle...the "Paul Wasserman" link posted above is the training wheels.

best rgds,