Welcome aboard shipmate! Some good comments there. There are several areas where gameplay could be improved / made more realistic and this is certainly one.

I've noticed that currently the submarines have a lot more positive buoyancy than negative. In general it takes a lot less time to get to the surface than it does to dive. It may have something to do with that. I'm sure they're working on it.

Welcome aboard!

Your insights really help me visualize the working environment and the way responsibilities are laid out.

Who is it that yells out if the ordered depth is 10 meters beneath the ocean bottom? Because THAT's the guy I need modeled most of all!

--
These comments also give me (a very unoriginal) idea to help with the learning curve. A system of interaction from an intelligent crew, one that can remind you that the ordered speed will force the vessel to cavitate (and that can be colorfully overridden or sheepishly acknowledged) would do a lot to help with the procedural learning curve.

That is why I am being VERY guarded aboat how I say things.

Actually, quite a lot can be said as long as there is no specifics mentioned.

Besides, I know who else might be reading this forum and I do not want to have a phonecall from DIS over me compromising national security. That would ruin my day.

With any complex military vessel the crew has to work together as a team to get the job done. Any vessel that has a robotic crew that just blindly follows orders will result in a failed mission and possible loss of ownship.

LOL, I have heard that comment made in real life. But you have a point here.

The CREW would inform the OOD when a command would cause a possible noise (risk of counterdection), damage (risk loss of ownship), or collision (just plain stupidity). Each time the OOD would acknowledge the report and either belay the order OR confirm the order as what he wanted to do.

Seeing as in this sim, you, as the commanding officer, have a much simpler job. I can see the crew only really giving feedback on noise or damage concerns. If you are going to give an order to dive deeper than the current ocean depth allows they are gonna say SOMETHING, or they will stop the dive just short of the bottom. G. If you tell the ship to go faster than it can without cavitating they are goning to either warn you, or do thier job and NOT cavitate unless ordered to. If that means you are going to get ahead 2/3 speed instead of that full bell he ordered to prevent cavitation then so be it.

Well, I cannot speak for the other ships, planes or helo's in this sim but the ship handing and eviromental aspects of the ocean are the greatest and hardest things about subs. They use them to maximize the stealth for attacking and minimize the chance of counter detection. It is because of these aspects you HAVE these procedures.

Looking at the other platforms from an eviromental standpoint I see them as less critical in the ship handling aspect of this sim. I see them as having sensors and weapons as a more critical aspect.

A ship floats. It can be seen. It has a radar reflection. The largest things they have to worry about is emissions control. They radiate and you detect them a lot farther that they can detect you. You can avoid them or destroy them.

Planes and Helo's. They are flat out MOVING. They have decent sensors and can move from place to place rapidly. Again, they have to worry about radiating and getting detected from afar. If you know where they are you can work to avoid them or shoot them down.

Natually, I stick with what I know. I know how a sub would stalk her prey. How she would use the enviroment to hide from the prey and get closer. How one avoids others who would deny you that kill. A LOT of things have been done right with DW. It is just some of the fine points that I find annoying.

Thank you for letting me speak

{edited to correct horrible spelling}

Crew feedback of some sort would help develop that awareness for new players of all the things that are being modeled just from an environmental aspect. A safety net of sorts. Scripting crew feedback for ALL the vessels in the game might drive the developers batty, though.

I've played Sonalysts's sub games (didn't really touch Fleet Command) for a long time. And every time I come back I either creak, dent my nose, cavitate, or, in one case, confirmed my TMA solution with my sail on ship bottom. A sarcastic reprimand from the OOD would make the pill a little funnier to swallow.

Yellow, and red sounding is that what they will shout?

Ooh so they are reading this yea?

Hmmm what can I say? hmmmm....nothing rude I guess?

Welcome aboard
 

Bubblehead Nuke;
Welcome and I am glad to see you. We can use someone from the boats to keep us updated.
I am a retired nuke, started out on boats in 1962, Moby Dick was still a minnow. Rode SSNs and SSBNs, started out a nuke and finally became a COB. Loved every minute of it and would do it again, except I am to damm old to get down the hatches anymore. Ended up becoming a History and Politcal Science Teacher in Idaho, now I am retired from that.

Welcome,

Ron Banks MMCM(SS), USN(Ret)
Sub Sailor

So you got to tell the Sea Stories :)

I would like to get help.
 

XabbaRus;
I would like some of the really good scenario designers to take my "experience", all of my time on subs was during the height of the cold war, and I was on several of the missions talked about in "Blindman's Bluff", and turn them in to scenarios.
I try but you and others are so much better than my feeble efforts.
The period from the early 60s until the demise of the cold war was a real golden time for subs. We had unlimited budget and pretty much got what ever we wanted.
I believe there are many more books that will be coming out now that things have been relaxed, I will be honest when I first read Blindman's Bluff I was shocked as I did not think that stuf would ever be put in to print.

Ron Banks MMCM(SS), USN(Ret) :lurk: