Missing Crewman Fix

[GT182]

For those that have a missing crewman like I have, I've just found a solution. You will lose him permanently but at least you'll be able to get a replacement. One thing necessary in oder to to this is have SHIII Commander installed. I'm using version 2.5 so I'm not sure about 2.6, tho I assume it'll still be workable. You must remember his name for it to work or you'll replace the wrong Officer, and also be "In Base".

Before you start SHIII, open SHIII Commander and click on "Click for available actions", then click on "Manage your crew". Seeing he is an Officer, he should be the last officer in the list of 5. Click on his name and it should show "Auto Fix" in the Suggestions box. Click that and "Dismiss" or "Release" him should show. Do either and he is gone. Now continue on to SHIII and start a new patrol. Go into the Crew section then into the available Officers list to choose one for his replacement. Now you can pick a new officer to replace the one that jumped ship and is missing. He'll now be available and ready for active duty.

Now, the most important thing to remember, as we've been told before, never leave him in the Repair section when you close out a patrol, or SHIII when you save in while on patrol. Just to make sure he sticks around. ;)

[kapitanfred]

By the way SH3Commander selects the crew, I believe it presumes you are a KptLt so the program will select an officer with a rank higher then what you are. I just demote the officer below my own rank and disallow the move to another boat. I use v2.6 though :lol:

[GT182]

It's the same list to choose officers as when you first start your career. You get 4 but need to pick the 5th from the list available. First one at the top is 500 renoun points and then 3 or 4 that cost 400, the rest are 0 renoun. They're in the Officers list at the left where you'd hand out medals, qualifications, and promotions in SHIII's Crew section. Sorry if I didn't make that clear enough.

All you're doing is dismissing the missing 5th Officer you chose... the one that was left by accident in the Repair section and no longer shows up in subsequent patrols. SHIII Commander is the only way I've found to finally get him off your crew list and be able to select one again that will show up on your U-boat.

[kapitanfred]

Gotya:up:

[JScones]

By the way SH3Commander selects the crew, I believe it presumes you are a KptLt so the program will select an officer with a rank higher then what you are. I just demote the officer below my own rank and disallow the move to another boat. I use v2.6 though
Not that I am criticising your approach (frankly it's of no concern to me), but let me explain why the SH3Cmdr "Realistic" crew list is composed the way it is...

In WWII there were two general streams of U-boat officers - "Line" and "Engineering" (and "Medical" in the later years). In some instances the LI (Engineering stream) would actually outrank the Commander (Line stream) either in seniority or rank (look at U-516 for example, at one stage near the end of the war the Commander was an ObLt whilst the LI was a highly decorated KptLt). And it certainly occurred where a newly promoted ObLt U-boat Commander (such as all of us every time we start a "new" career) would be "outranked" by the existing ObLt LI.

Of course though, I wouldn't be happy if another Line officer was of higher or more senior rank than me because that would never have happened. Indeed, from a look at U-boat crew lists, in most instances the next senior Line officer was one rank below the Commander.

The SH3Cmdr "Realistic" crew list replicates the above by providing an ObLt LI, but limits the rank of all other officers to no higher than the player's starting rank of Lt (which becomes ObLt after the first patrol anyway, if you are running RUb or any derivative mod).

I should also point out that if something happened to the Commander at sea, it would be the next highest Line officer (ie the IWO/Exec) that would take over command, even if the LI was higher ranked (there are *many* instances where the Commander was an ObLt, the LI was an ObLt and the Exec was an Lt).

Of course, if this appraoch doesn't suit you, simply select the "Already in SH3" crew when you start a new career and SH3Cmdr will use whatever crew is already in the game (and it has no control over this crew - so if it is RUb based, you'll end up with the same or similar makeup anyway!).

Apart from the above, the only other way a crewman will get a higher rank than you is if *you* promote him or "buy" him yourself! ;)

[GT182]

KptFred, what you were saying was completely different and had nothing to do with the missing officer/crewman. I had an idea that you didn't catch what I was saying. Maybe I didn't get it across quite right in the my fist explanation. Glad you now see what I mean and how it works now to get a 5th Officer back in the crew. I know a few had lost theirs too, as I did, and it was frustrating not being able to have him where he belonged.

JS, thanks for the great explanation on "Realistic Crew" in SHIII Commander. :up:

[JScones]

Yes, sorry for sidetracking your thread GT182, but I thought it appropriate to explain.

[GT182]

No problem here JS, glad you did it. It helps explain things some of us don't realise or know about SHIII Commander, and the real way things worked in command on U-boats. You did good so don't worry about it... it wasn't a hyjacking as far as I'm concerned. ;)

I only started this as some of the guys were missing that 5th Officer and the only way anyone found to get him back was to go back to a previous patrol. Tho I can't get him back as some would like, I did find by accident how to replace him and get another who show's up for a patrol. LOL If it wasn't for your SHIII Commander, it wouldn't have been possible. If you want you can add how to solve the problem to your readme, I don't mind.

[JScones]

Re the lost crewman, has anyone analysed when it occurs? I mean, I know one of the contributing factors is when an officer is left in the Repair station when docked, but are there any other criteria that contributes?

I ask because:

a) I just tried to replicate the problem in a IIA and VIIB and couldn't - my officer (and crew for that matter) was moved from the Repair station to a spare officer slot every time I reloaded the career, and
b) If I can find a pattern I may add to the SH3Cmdr Crew Manager the ability to "reclaim" any officer found in the Repair station in between patrols. I mean, when it occurs, why should the player suffer through what appears to be an SH3 bug?

But I just need to know under what situations the officer disappears...and also, is it just the officer that disappears or any crewman left in the Repair station as well?

[GT182]

JS, I've only seen the missing Officer from the Repair section. In my case he was left in the Repair section upon returning to base by mistake. All the crewmen left there showed in the fore and aft bunks when leaving for the next patrol. Same for all subsequent patrols with crewmen. I've only just aquired the new Officer recently and made sure he was not in Repair when I docked. He's now on his 3rd patrol. :)

BTW, I only picked the 5th Officer while in a type IX/B. New one is in a IX/D2.

[MothBalls]

I had it happen to me.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it appears to only happen in the IX and XXI.

[GT182]

MB, I can't say. I've only seen it with the type IX subs. I started my career in the IXB in Oct '40 and lost the 5th Officer somewhere after my 6th patrol. Upgraded to the IX/C on my 19th patrol, and never got the original 5th back when I saw someone say to go back the the patrol he was lost in. Too many patrols to go back and clear the mistake to get him again, if I could even remember which it was. ;) I just chalked it up to him being AWOL.... must have been Bernard's brother. LOL

The start of my 29th patrol with a IX/D2 was how I found the way to do the replacement.

I can say one thing tho. Get a type IX/D2 as soon as you can, she's one sweet sub carrying 26 torpedos. And, surfaced she can even outrun an enemy Corvette. :D

[JScones]

Well, no matter what I do I can't replicate the problem. My officer always reappears in one of the officer slots when I reload for my next patrol.

As I can't identify the specific circumstances of his disappearance, I can't look at ways of "bandaiding" it.