Nope you have to be at radar depth or above.
 

If US planes patrol or not, - i dont know.
Ive never seen them except a PBY near pearl once or twice. It could simply be theres not alot of planes defined in the airbase.cfg files and their spread thin.

Reporting contacts while on the surface.
I think the range is hardcoded, but looking at the contacts.cfg or similar file is worth doing in case theres a variable for this there, but offhand i dont think there is. Best way to mod this, is to further extrapolate and refine the visual sensors in general. We really do need a multpile visual node solution if you want elegance.

Yes the contact reports are unrealistic to say the least. In RL contact reports could be sent hours after a sub sighted the enemy, often after the sub had carried out an attack.

Primarily this was because, as you correctly point out Tater, you wouldn't want to be picked up by enemy RDF.

I'm already working on it, actually. :D

tater

Only the Jap Airbase's and Carrier's are set up in game for patrols
 

Not a single US or British airbase will send out a patrol in any way shape or form. They only launch when a radio contact is made or if an Allied ship spots and enemy ship.

I have gone through all of this big time for my game trying to make the air bases launch planes on thier own just like the Jap's do. But absolutly nothing I do seems to make a difference in how they work.

The enemy has to be seen and has to be reported for Allied planes to launch either by you or by an Allied Ship.

At the Northern Coast of Luzon US fishing boats were attacked by a JAP landing force in my game and the Luzon US Airbase sent out planes to attack without my ever sending a contact report.

Get that working, and patch 1.4 or no patch 1.4 ill seriously consider releasing another version of TM. Would give me the opportunity to work in the latest NSM and ROW as well. IN all seriousness though, i have *EVERY* reason to believe their is a forthcoming patch, despite my silly nonsensical poll. :D

I couldn't find any reference to the contact report range.

tater

Even if I made it so you could be at radar depth and not instantly seen, that's not the point :) I think a radio report should be made from farther than 4500 yards regardless of if I get spotted doing it. 4500 yards is simplyy too close, I'd never report at that range even if I could, it would feel so unrealistic as to make any immersion I had go away.

I honestly feel that way about most radio reporting in game, the game in general wants us to be way too chatty.

tater

D and T read this will ya
 

Well, yes, 4500 meters is too close. (game uses meters intrinsicly, so thats what ill say in dicussion). I agree its too close. But a compromise has to be used because we can't change this distance. The compromise being, make it easier (within reason, IE, weather and aspect to target permitting) to get said report off.

With current visual implementation, any change done would be blanketing, and adversly effect all units accross the board. Now If we could invidually handle merchants, warships, and aircraft... now were cooking with gas, and a compromise can be struck.

Well, if I cared about it (and I will at some point because as Baldrick says... "I have a cunning plan") I would simply make random groups of aircraft patrol (allied). They'll fly waypoints.

When I add in the reason to have allied air patrols, then you'll see them. For your own safety, dive anyway ;)

tater

In my tests so far, I have a somewhat reduced merchant visual and I can get within ~1000 yards without being detected at night. Never bothered to test during the day, i was more concerned with night surface attacks.

tater

@ leo

Read it. Thanks for clarification, i didnt know that.

It just occured to me, i wonder if a discussion, similar to this, is why NYGM had their merchant visual sensor, blind to their direct rear.

If your trailing a target.... good news, you an report it, and in terms of game design, who honestly tries for shooting at the stern of a ship moving away form you and actually hit it?

Course a fleet boat would end-around a merchant convoy if he had more than 3 neurons.

A task force, that's the target that you see, and can never hope to catch up to, or even close on much less end around. Those are the contacts that you'd report in RL.

Seriously, think about this for a minute. Lets say merchants are bind to the area directly behind them.In TM, given the map contacts mod, you woudlnt know this. Warships however are not blind.

So youd have to trail directly behind the convoy, keeping profile on just the warships. Any move out of the aft quater makes you much more visible. So its easier, but not with impunity. Plus it requires some manuvering on your part.

Nowfor the sake of argument, lets say your chasing 1 unescorted merchant.
If he knows your there, he zig zags, so he can shoot back becuase his movemnt places you out of the blind area repeatidly. Plus, due to NSM, you can plug him all day from the rear, but if the shots arent below the waterline, it does nothing.

Good point. So in theory, assuming this works, then we'd need 4 visual nodes.

Capital warships (blind to direct rear, but large max visual distance)
Merchants (blind to direct rear, less max visual distance then escort)
Escort ( 360 degree, less max visual distance then capital ship)
Aircraft ( 360 degree, Larger max visual distance then capital ship)

No, it makes sense given the semi-bogus notion of reporting a group of merchants instead of attacking them in the first place.

But why not go off tot he side, flank, end around, submerge and sink them, instead?

Even the "fast convoys" I made in a few places can be end-arounded by all but S-boats, though it might take a while.

Wonder why they chose 4500m, it really is a rediculous range.

tater

Oddly enough, I have 4 visual sensors already built (counting stock) :D

Actually, with my first mod, I have 2 in the regular dat, plus the new dat with 3...

I can make as many as needed.


tater

>>But why not go off tot he side, flank, end around, submerge and sink them, instead?

Im thinking in terms of getting a report off, not so much as attack. Allowing an approach from the rear, you can get your report off, and your really not in a good position to attack.

At the least i think its feasible to implent this concept on task forces where you coudlnt catch them and end up in the rear anyway.

edit:

>>Wonder why they chose 4500m, it really is a rediculous range

Stock Sh3, max visual distance was 6,000 meters. Since Sh4 is built upon SH3, this didnt get changed when they upped the max visual distance to 8,000 meters. An oversight i guess.