3 x KGV

[Keelbuster]

I just spotted a TF with 3 KGVs heading for Lock Ewe on the shelf west of Scapa. I'm dropping to PD and flanking to try to get in range. I only have 2 T1s left. I'll let you know...

Kb

[bigboywooly]

oops

[Ducimus]

http://www.fifthdigit.com/comics/suspense/SusTheater2.jpg

:-j

[Keelbuster]

Quick - what's the max range on a Fast T1?

[bigboywooly]

think its 12km

[Keelbuster]

Nvrmind - Los - at about 4km.

[Ducimus]

Nvrmind - Los - at about 4km.

You woudnt have hit him at 12K range anyway, at 30 kt speed setting you'd have to shoot waaaaaaay far ahead of him.. like at a 30 -40 or even 50 degree gyro angle. And thats just guessing. TIII's give me issues beyond 2000 meters. 25 Gyro seems to work, otherwise i always shoot ahead or behind . :roll:

[Keelbuster]

Well, that was a turkey. I forgot to change the first torpedo from magnetic to impact and the 7m/s winds blew her on route. Strangely the TF did not seem to mind. The second torpedo HIT the third KG in line, but was a dud.

I'm far away now, which is good because there's only 60m of depth here. But damn. That KGV would have been my mil. Time to slink back home to Bergen....

Kb

[Ducimus]

You need to turn off that external camera ;)

[Keelbuster]

Har...Never!

Kb

[Ducimus]

Hah, ok, then turn off the cycle camera commands. It gives ya too much info! Thats one way to get massive tonnage is when you have all the intell, before you even pop the periscope.


Im guilty of it myself in other careers, so i know how it goes, and its all too tempting when you get that sound contact.. first thing ya do.. hit the " > " key. :-j

[Keelbuster]

Yea, the cycle commands are kinda cheesy. If I was really going to cheat, I'd use F12 to get AOB information in addition to target IDs. I didn't know you could turn them off apart from the external cam. I need the external cam for screenshots. How to?

Kb

[Ducimus]

I did this awhile ago. Cause well.. i know how it is.. get a convoy.. the temptation is just too great. You just HAVE to know whats in it..
<

>

< < << <<< <<<<<<<<<<<<
OHH!!

>>>>

>>.
>>
OH i want THAT one! Hmm looks like he's in the 2nd column towards the back.. ok. ill put myself... right.. about.... HERE.


>>

>>

Oh.. check out that draft... id better adjust my fish.

>
>>
>>

Oh, HITS! good ones..

(5 mins later)
>>>> >>
DAMMIT his propper is still turning.. looks like hes doing about 5 kts.

Ping ping ping

> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

>>
>>. uh oh, here it comes, i'd better move, hes gonna drop it right on my head

>>
>>>


:rotfl: Yeah.. i know how THAT goes.

-----------------------------

Joking aside you can edit , i think its the commands_en.cfg It contains all the keycommands. The freecam view i think is commands 51 and 52. All you have to do is remark out the lines that assigns the < and > keys with a semicolon.

In game it wont work anymore, which means no more cheese. I also did the same for F12, which forces me to use the slide menu when i want to take those glamor shots. F12 is just too easy.

[Keelbuster]

Slide menu?

The freecam should NOT be used during your critical approach or evasion. But, otherwise - does knowledge of the convoy contents change your attack strategy? First of all, I attack all convoys regardless of their contents. I always drift in on an oblique angle past the lead escort, and attack the middle convoy lane (tankers, cruisers, etc). They're always structured the same way - big in the middle, little on the outside. As for plotting a course for intercept, knowledge of the convoy or TF contents doesn't aid in my intercept. It just helps decide whether it's worth doing or not. I think about it this way - i could plot the perfect intercept for every sound/visual contact, but there aren't that many hours in the day. It's not realistic to have a flying drone, but when yer this good :D , the freecam's not a difference in quality of play, but rather a difference in time spent at the screen.

But I agree with disabling the <> keys because they are kinda useless but strangely tempting.

Kb

[Ducimus]

Slide menu.. you know that thing on the left side of the screen that pops out when you move your mouse over it?

Anyway, i think that the knowledge gained by the freecam, is game breaking.

With a quick flip of your finger, you get visible information that no uboat commander ever had. Granted you can say that about the map contact updates, but the freecam is far far worse.

For instance:

Is this sound contact a merchant worth sinking or a tugboat?

Is this merchant armed or unarmed?

What kind of merchant is it?

What nationality is this sound contact?

How many ships are with this sound contact? (sometimes you only get one contact when theres two ships, a stern shot becomes a bow shot or vice versa)

Is the ship i just torpedo'ed still underway? or is he flooding? (the answer to this quetion dictates my course of action)


Stuff like that. Its too much info. Too much situational awarness.

I'm not picking on ya, im guilty of this, so i know how it goes. My first couple months of SH3, i was a freecam whore :D I lack the discpline to not press those keys so i disabled them :rotfl:

[Keelbuster]

Slide menu.. you know that thing on the left side of the screen that pops out when you move your mouse over it?

Anyway, i think that the knowledge gained by the freecam, is game breaking.

With a quick flip of your finger, you get visible information that no uboat commander ever had. Granted you can say that about the map contact updates, but the freecam is far far worse.

For instance:

Is this sound contact a merchant worth sinking or a tugboat?

Is this merchant armed or unarmed?

What kind of merchant is it?

What nationality is this sound contact?

How many ships are with this sound contact? (sometimes you only get one contact when theres two ships, a stern shot becomes a bow shot or vice versa)

Is the ship i just torpedo'ed still underway? or is he flooding? (the answer to this quetion dictates my course of action)


Stuff like that. Its too much info. Too much situational awarness.

I'm not picking on ya, im guilty of this, so i know how it goes. My first couple months of SH3, i was a freecam whore :D I lack the discpline to not press those keys so i disabled them :rotfl:

Map contact updates give you merchant or warship, by their location it probably gives you their nationality (which is not that important :)), and it gives you perfect course information. One of the major skills in this game is plotting a course based on visual or stad info - map contacts eliminates this. Anyway, I don't hunt single merchants - it's too easy. At that point who cares how much information you have - it's still a guaranteed easy sink. It's all about convoys. Again, it's an IX skipper and an VII skipper butting heads. :P


Edit - oh yea and how do you take glamour shots with the slide menu?
Kb

[Ducimus]

LOL, you can't tell me you'd let a single C2, C3, T2, or T3 go by.

As contacts go, they arent displayed on your map unless their in visible range. If you have a submerged contact, you can take a gander what your listening at from a long ways away. Long before it would appear on your map. Same thing with radar detection. Any contact, radar, RWR, or sound, you can cheat and look at who they are, what they are, how many etc, long before their invisible range.

You probably don't encounter this much in the north atlantic but when you go to some area's, you'll get a fair amount of sonar activity. That sound contact your tracking.. it could be something worth sinking, or it could be a bloody tugboat, you don't know. SO regardless you go through the motions, you track him, figure out his course, maybe do flank speed end aaround. Submerge, and wait. You don't know what you have until he's in view. Now assuming i use the free cam, i already know what i have. I wont pursue it if its a tugboat. Same thing for the merchant himself. If its a small to mediem merchant with only an aft turret, ill probably risk a surface engagement and save torpedo's. If i see hes a liberty cargo ship i wont do that.

All of this i can decide, before evern raising the periscope.

[Ducimus]

Oh ya, the slide menu, the button on the bottom (unless its modded otherwise) is the acutal GUI menu button for the freecam. Hotkey for it is F12. To take a screenshot with it, ill pause the game, clear the user interfface with the del key on they keypad, and manually move the freecam over to what i want to take a picture of.

Kind of a pain, but it keeps me from abusing it.



And if you dont beleive me how much eaiser, and how cheesy the freecam can be, i dare you to take one patrol it it completely OFF. To where, just like a real Uboat, your only eyes is what you can see through your periscope, your bridge, or what you see in your control room. :P

[Keelbuster]

I hear ya but i don't. I have no fear of operating with F12. It's just convenience for a pro :D . Btw - just made my mil - as I was leaving Bergen on this patrol - i encountered a sound contact, and followed it will several sound contact updates - turns out it ws a TF. I laid out Courageous. I sunk her - 4 torps - one dud. She blew. Escorts didn't figure me out. Made my mil.

:lol:

Kb

[Ducimus]

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I think my biggest beef is it totally removes the imersion factor for me. When you find youself spending as much time outside the boat as inside, somethings wrong.

I still maintain my challeng though , Next career you do, try it without the freecam. I double dog dare ya! :smug:

[Keelbuster]

I take yer dare. No probs. Just glad to hear that you've started a career in a VII. I think you'll enjoy it.

Kb

[Ducimus]

Well, as much work as i spent on making the 3rd flotilla (see "La Rochelle anyone?" thread in mod forum) , i decided i needed to play it. That means using an VIIC.

Besides, its not like ALL i've ever done is IX boats. I used type7's exclusivly for the first few months. I dont know how, or why i moved to type 9's, it was just someting that happened. You should try it sometime.

edit: infact, i highly recommend an IXboat in 1940, early 41 for night surface attacks against convoys. The carnage is awesome! :up:

[HunterICX]

I call myself still an newb about career mode and its newb functions

the freecam I only use now when I can see the enemy ship with my Periscope. Just to see the b00m!

also on Destroyers i use the Automatic torpedo aim
on unarmed merchants i practice my manual.
going average now managed to sink one last patrol :P right in her ammo stash i suppose because it was an big bang 1 second after i hitted her. and i used 2 torps on here 1 passes in front of here nose by an Inch :damn:

:hmm: so does someone has the advice for setting up ur torpedo?