Finding Merchant Contacts
 

Forget Pearl, Start in the Manila/Freemantle flotilla and stay there. Fuel was a priority for Japan and major fuel producers were places like Balakpapan and Tarakan Island.

Admiral 8Q
 

TMO 2.0 is a TALL order to begin with. The destroyers are quite tenacious and deadly, plus Ducimus made the subs with thinner skins. I recommend something easier.

E.g., I have been repeatedly playing an agent insertion mission on the Japanese mainland, and cannot break though a convoy which is blocking the route. Its destroyer escorts find me every time, and at all angles, depths, etc. I finally decided to skip the convoy and attack a merchant that crossed its course, heading in my direction. I forgot to submerge, but the merchant was still aways off when the convoy's destroryers found me once again, and proceeded to sink my boat for the upteenth and final time. I finally called it quits. I never got shots off. It was too dark to see anything and I could not get close enough to get a fix with my night periscope.

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Thanks for the tips guys. I'll keep working on it. BTW, what's TMO 2.0?

TMO2.0
 

I do not know if you play with mods. There are a lot out there. Some change one detail of the stock game (i.e. Webster's smaller rain drops). Others are mega mods. They change the game entirely-the environmnet, the sub interiors, the deck guns, etc. One is Fall of the Rising Sun ("FOTRS"). Another is Trigger Maru Overhauled ("TMO"). TMO is constantly tweaked by its creator, Ducimus, who strives for as much realism as the game permits without losing its gaming feel. TMO2.0 is the most recent version. I like it because it is hard, really hard.

If you visit to the mod forum, there is sticky by Neal Stevens that lays out many of the various mods, although it is not the whole list. Mods are constantly be updated, etc. While in the forum look around and get a feel for what is posted there.

The Skippers' bag of tricks thread in the main forum of SH4 (the one we are in now) by the ever delightful Rockin Robbins contains many important tutorials which you ought to read if you are going to get proficient at manual targeting. At a minimum you need to know about the 90 degree broadside attack (the Dick O'Kane methed). Also read Hitman's tutorial on manual targeting at 100 percent realism to understand the concept of speed, range, and aspect ratio (very crucial) on a moving target. Since your boat can be moving during an attack run, the US boats use onboard computers called the torpedo data computers (TDCs) whiich calculate the firing angle of the torpedoes, so they run to the target and not off into the wild blue yonder. For a TDC to function properly, a captain is required to accurately input the target's speed, range (which includes its aspect ratio) and Angle on bow (AoB). If you perform an O'Kane attack, the TDC is turned off and is not used, although you do input target speed on the Attack Dial on the upper right of the screen. The TDC screen is the one on the left with the two ship dials on it. The other screen on the left is the TBT screen (Torpedo Bearing Tool), where you arm, set the speed and offset angle of the your torpedoes.

You need to do a lot of reading to address all of the issues in this game.. Some mods are eye candy (i.e. conning tower emblems, better uniforms), some are improvements over the stock game (FOTRS and TMO and Run Silent Run Deep Campaign (RSRDC)), some are fun (the Great White Shark mod) and some are downright brilliamt (the Easy Aob mod, MOBO (a program not a mod) and the Solution Solver (a program and not a mod.), just to name a few. Some of the forum members are simply brilliant.

If you do not know how to install mods, someone here will help. (Note the number of mods I have downloaded [some more than one time]. I figure the true number is around 100. I only use about 10 when I play TMO 2.0 because many are already modded into it.

Now that you are thoroughly confused, welcome aboard. If you get stuck send me a PM. Soon you will talkiing like a bona fide WW2 captain.

Don´t forget RFB 2.0 :)

McHibbins is right
 

Before I played FOTRS and TMO, I played RFB + RSRDC. They all have thier afficiandos.

Thanks for the mod explanation. I haven't used any yet. I think I better learn how to actually find and sink an enemy ship first. :D

I'd recommend RFB mod first then. TMO is very difficult.

If you are picking up the sound contact by listening yourself, no contact line will show on the map until your stone-deaf sonar man can hear it too. So you need to get closer.

Point the bow of your boat directly at the contact, then monitor the sonar yourself to determine if the contact drifts left or right of zero degrees.

That will indicate his general direction of travel relative to you. If he doesn't drift either way, then he's either heading straight towards or away from you.

Now that you have some idea of his course; surface, point the bow of your boat 10 degrees ahead of his last bearing and travel in a straight line at flank speed for 10 miles (use your maptools to measure this).

Once there, submerge and find him again on sonar. Repeat until you get a visual contact (that's usually within 2-3 hops).

Happy hunting:arrgh!:

I'll try that. Thanks.

Map
 

Here is a copy of the Japanese shipping routes in WW2
http://home.comcast.net/~ancient25/Files/Shjpping Routes.jpg

Assuming the game modeled the routes correctly that's very helpful. Thanks.

Evasion
 

Sooner or later you are going to be the target. When the enemy destroyers start after you,go as deep and slow as you can. Do it in silent running to avoid noise.

I always plan my escape route before attacking, to avoid shallows and land. I also keep my rudder 5-10 degrees turn in either direction. The enemy have trouble pinpointing a turning sub.

When DC drop on you, go to full speed to get out from under, then turn. If you turn first, you slow down.

If the DD is coming right for you but hasn't dropped yet, do a 90 degree turn before he drops, but don't go full speed or you will be heard.

Just wanted to say thanks to Capt. Morgan (the forum user, not the drink) I was able to find, track, catch, and sink my first merchant! Although it was my deck guns that took her down as my torps missed but a kill is a kill. Maybe there's hope for me yet. :yeah:

Cheers! And congratulations on the victory:salute:

Hunting and stalking is the part of the game I like the most. BTW, recommend you keep the game un-modded until you get the basics settled. Check out the "Skippers Bag Of Tricks" thread (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=146795) for advice on everything.


That has to be one of the best maps I've seen of the shipping routes.