A "Bungo Pete" guarding every large Japanese harbor. Now that would keep
all the riff-raff out :up:

JIM

I definitely vote for reefs, even if it's just a really shallow area marked on the map. It's just not the Pacific without reefs.

this could work!
just in case, make TWO of them per harbor... :arrgh!:

So reefs arent modelled? I figured it would at least be in as an area of very shallow water.

Have we confirmed that ships actually go in and out? Or do ships appear and disappear in ports/convoys by magic?

Between sub-nets and shallows, I would have thought that reefs were "modeled". They ain't?


I've always assumed the ease of port sneaks was just due to simulation contstraints of actors (ships and artillery lookouts) and artificial intelligence. There is the little issue of being able to (basically) sink moored ships with little repercussion, provided that you fire torps from as long range as possible.

Ships appear by magic in ports, just outside your detection range.

I was speaking to reality, not the game, ie it would be more likely that a skipper would be ordered to patrol an approach or chokepoint than to assault or invade a port...

Usually scripted convoys pop and depop.

The shallows are not shallow enough. The surf breaks on the reefs, so even at high tide they should be within a meter or two of the surface. Running aground in game requires actually hitting the shore I think.

My thought was to create some large arc-shaped objects (large meaning MILES (5-10?) long in a gentle curve) and they can have a texture map of reef stuff. If they were made to break the surface, they'd need a "surf-like" outer texture facing the sea at the water line and above so you could spot the reef from the periscope. The objects could be VERY simple. Do a few types to match longer segments of important reefs like Truk, then reuse them throughout the map rotated as needed.

Historically all but the largest of Japanese harbours were shallow.

The Yamato class was specifically designed to be wide rather then deep for this reason.

I have yet to find a harbour shallow enough that a yamato would even need to think twice about charging on in... which kind of sucks.

Its kind of not possible in the game, but docks that were in river deltas should be shallow at the edges with just a small deeper channel that the player actually has to find and follow. That kind of detail would be hard and be even more likely to mess with AI. Also the risk of running aground would be likely without risking a sonar ping or using the external camera.

Some extra anti-sub patrols and maybe even something to make destroyers nearby come back to the port to trap the sub in the harbour would work nice too.

I wonder if mines can be set to be detonated by a submerged sub (say 50 ft or so) and not an AI enemy ship? That would make approaching harbors underwater much more hazardous.