I think that I've discovered a bug with the speed setting in the game.

When I watch my Mark 14 torpedo glide through the water in replay mode through the external camera, it seems to slow down and speed up, slow down and speed up periodically. The speed setting for it is on fast.

[quote]

Don't know if this refers to the bug I posted earlier (along with a couple of other Nvidia users) but the problem I am getting does not correct itself. It doesn't do it all the time but once it starts it just keeps flickering.

System is Core 2 quad, 2GB, Nvidia 8800GTX (latest drivers), Window Vista Home Prem

Personally I believe glitches like this and the vibrating world syndrome (raised by D'biter & Nomad Delta above) are generally worth investigating because they can be symptomatic of underlying coding issues.

As far as priority, as with many of the 'bugs' listed its always going to be very subjective and dependent on how you play the game - but it certainly spoils my fun 'cause I spend so much time just enjoying the eye candy!;)

Hydrophone Operator Seems Lame vs. SH3
 

I don't know if this is a "bug" or a "feature", so I'll post it here in case it can be addressed. I've noticed that the hydrophones give you a lot less info in SH4 than they do in SH3. For instance, it would be very helpful to know if a DE on attack run is dropping depth charges (and by that, I mean before they go off). In all the literature I've read, the hydrophone man could hear quite plainly when the cans hit the water, unless other noise, such as high-speed screws, occluded them. In SH3, your sound man tells you when the "wasserbomben" are being launched (or perhaps this was a mod; either way, it is possible to be notified). in SH4, you don't know until they start exploding. There is a huge difference between a DE passing overhead trying to acquire a target and one coming in to attack one he already knows is there. This info is very valuable to a sub captain. I would like to hear from my sound man not just when a warship is approaching, but when he slows down, starts an attack run, drops depth charges, etc.
Thanks! :up:

Have anyone mentioned that the S18 sub has the same revoulutions/engine soud at flank speed as set to 1 kt silent running?

Cheers:)

/Per

for some reason, if the sub is sitting on the surface w/ no diesel fuel, but with a speed order, the batttereis will still charge

USS-26 (SS 131)
January 24, 1942 - 46 Men Lost

"S-26 was proceeding from Balboa, C.Z. to its patrol station in company with S-21, S-29 and S-44 and an escort vessel, PC-460, at the time of the disaster. At 2210 the escort vessel sent a visual message to the submarines that she was leaving the formation and that they could proceed on the duty assigned. S-21 was the only submarine to receive this message. Shortly thereafter PC-460 struck S-26 on the starboard side of the torpedo room and the submarine sank within a few seconds."

PC-460 Submarine Chaser: displacement: 380 tons
S Class Displacement: 854 tons

German Submarine Losses from All Causes During World War One

Look there and see how many boats were sunk as the result of ramming.

Now, if a sub chaser with a tonnage less than half that of the submarine it rammed can sink a submarine in such a short amount a time, a much larger destroyer is going to do that same damage with even greater efficiency.

Again, any instance of a submarine being rammed by a warship should result in catastrophic damage and very rapid flooding. Otherwise, it's just not realistic.

And another thing...
 

The whole way patrol assignments work is either screwed up or deeply flawed by design. When I'm assigned to patrol an area, how big is that area? How far can I stray without being out of the patrol zone? Also, if I sink 50,000 tons of enemy shipping on the way to the patrol zone and have no torpedoes left, I should be able to send a status report and be recalled to base; it's ridiculous to be in a situation where you've sunk enough ships to win a medal, all your torps are gone, and your patrol assignment is still marked "incomplete", particularly when you can supposedly send a status report relating all this and the response is... nothing. This was far better modelled in SH3.

I'm with lukeff. I'd rather have a ship literally be the touch of death to what it is now.

@ Gucc475 and anyone else with Dual/Quad core rigs experiencing choppy graphics from time to time (myself included): it seems this is related more to multiple cores than anything else. In my case (Dual Core + 2GB RAM + nvidia 7900 GS), the choppiness disappears if I CTRL+ALT+DEL and in the Task Manager right click the game executable, SH4.EXE, and set the AFFINITY to only ONE core. This also fixed some random CTD's I've had.

My only serious problem now is not being able to load savegames once in a while - it happens in 3 to 4 patrols in a career (I'm on my third career now, upping the realism notch by notch).

Not really.

In SH3 if you sent in a report all you got was "Be More Aggressive". This was one of the biggest complaints about the system (and continues to be) so to say that it worked better may be an overstatement. This was not at all the way Doenitz worked in real life. Commanders were not free agents, able to prowl wherever they felt. Doenitz maintained tight control over their patrol assignments.

In Sh4, just like in real life, you have to follow orders. If they tell you to patrol an area, then you patrol the area. Sinking ships is great for renown, but disobeying orders is a guarantee of a quick trip to the beach (and not in the good way).

For your patrol to be complete you don't get more than 100 miles away from the icon (I stay within 50 of either side of it) and in about 48 hours you will have completed your objective. If you leave the area I think the clock re-sets, so that is another 48 hours. Then radio in and see if they want you to return to base or if there is another objective they need completed.

This actually does make sense. Even if you are out of torps you can still send in contact reports which can lead to other assest being directed against them. At least ComSubPac wants to know what is going on there, and it is your job to tell them.

In actual fact, I think that if you are out of torps and have completed your objective you may get a rtb at that point. If you don't well then it's off to your next objective. You have to assume ComSubPac has their reasons, even if it is not clear to you or don't seem to make sense.

Very much like real life!

JCC

"Ours not to reason why; ours but to do and die."

I've played SH3 since it came out and I know the complaints you refer to. I will still maintain that "Be More Agressive", while robotic and annoying, is more of a realistic response than none at all, which is what you get when you report status in SH4 (at least every time I've submitted one, and I've also played SH4 since it came out).
This is great info and I thank you. How did you come by it? It's not laid out in any of the game materials, which is where I would expect to see it.
Like many good players, I think you are using your imagination to compensate for what are really flaws in the game; there is a paucity of information, so you justify it as being the way ComSubPac works. While I admire your attitude (and can, myself, justify with the best of them) I'm just talking about the game mechanics and I think they could be improved.

Seems like a lot of the patrol issues could be "fixed" with a better briefing.

"Orders: Deploy to your patrol zone off Honshu. Remain on station patrolling within 150nm for at least 2 days. Report status and broaden patrol if no targets are found."

You get the idea.

What would be really neat would be the ability to place more complicated orders in a mission file. So when you leave port you get a map, etc.

If I run out of torps before hitting my mission area, I look for the refit port or ships. Sometimes returning to my original port. Since you did not complete the mission originally you will get the same mission over. More often I use the refit option and go do the mission. Also, if you are out of torps go convoy hunting. Report it and you will be told to come home. The mechanics need some polishing but once you know how to work it, it is not so bad....IMHO. BTW, you get the mission incomplete because the mission was not completed. Makes sense to me.