i cant let go of the external cam.

i want to, but the lure of the external cam is to strong

interesting effect going on with your ocean there looks odd

Movie ticket for me.

Ditto

I would vote that it should be an option in TM. If the player wants true reality then he can choose not to use it. I have been running TM for about 3 weeks now and it has really added to the full imersion of the game. I would probably not turn it on too often unless I wanted a little change of gameplay after so many hours at "real life".

....girly man here....:nope:

External camera manifesto! Orgasmic!
 

I am on a cruise you could never dream of it has been so incredible. First, I encountered a convoy of 2 tankers, a medium split freighter and another merchie accompanied by 5 escorts. Approaching from the north with intent to engage escorts with a sternful of cuties, I was detected long range, driven under and swarmed. Whilst twisting and evading, I came up to 99 ft and swam out a couple of cuties to see what happened. What happened was I wasted 2 cuties and was driven off. Not a good beginning.

This evolved into an all-night battle with 4 separate approaches during which I sank the two tankers, the medium split and two escorts with cuties. My first approach was before sunset and my last shot, sinking a DD was at 10:30 am, the whole battle fought in real time over three days of my time! Leaving the scene of the crime I couldn't dream it would get better!

Proceeding to the Formosa Straits, I found RSRD just swarming me with convoys. I had to avoid targets to get to the ones I wanted! With no cuties and only 4 torps left, 2 Mark 18's and 2 Mark 23's I started off sinking a tanker, which attracted three escorts! Now I had 2 Mark 18's and 1 Mark 23. I resolved to make trouble for the escorts, since I had 30k tons of merchies under my belt. The following testimony of the external camera will justify the above bullschnitzel:
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/a...190024_218.jpg
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/a...192403_187.jpg
Two of the suckers after me, an Akizuki and a friendly Shiratsuyu.
First, I disabled one with a down the throat shot: not my normal tactic vs Akizukis. Then I had a choice with 1 torp left. Finish off Akizuki or shoot Shiratsuyu. Shiratsuyu attacked with great vigor, leaving me no choice. I got lucky and he went down.
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/a...192516_484.jpg
So now the Akizuki is hanging out with no power and I'm hanging out with no torpedoes. Mexican standoff? Let's find out. I came up to 30' directly astern so I could dive quickly if he fired. Nothing. What now? What do you mean, what now?:arrgh!:

The crippled DD began firing starshells! They're the first I've seen in the game! The sound of a gun firing momentarily freaked me out. And then the whole world lit up! I guess they know I'm here....
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/a...192136_437.jpg
Surface! Battle stations surface! Man the deck gun! We pounded the Akizuki for 20 minutes listening to the screams of dying men as HE tore up the weaponry, searchlights and deck. I took the external camera aboard my victim to record the carnage.
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/a...202030_703.jpg
Finally he went down by the bow, finalizing my cruise at a record for me of 5 escorts of DE or above. Out of torpedoes and out of ammunition for the guns I prepared to return to base.

But what did TM and RSRD serve up for me? The most beautiful sight possible in the game, one everyone thought was impossible until Leovampire pulled the ultimate buffalo out of the hat. This one's for Dave:http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/a...203754_109.jpg
There were five beautiful plumes of smoke on the horizon from yet another approaching convoy. I set course to avoid. Enough for one cruise.

Lastly, my finest screenshot to date, as a DD takes one on the chin and charges to his death. This one has drama.
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/a...193950_691.jpg
Finally I got all the elements together to make a perfect shot: the water, the fire, the motion of the dying DD, the stars, the smoke, the clouds. One shot justifies the external camera. This one has jigsaw puzzle written all over it! :eek:It's movie time!

Movie Ticket, I just love to what the torpedo's go home and sink that ship I've been hunting for 2 hours!:up:

Movie ticket for me! I just love the way this sim looks. The external camera is far too much fun not to use it. As I have limited time to play, and not being one to stay up for five days without sleep to sail across the Pacific, the external camera puts that little icing on the cake when a plan comes good and some ships are sunk. Just watching my sub sailing is good.

My F4 and F12 buttons are completely worn out (TM layout)..

I love the visual aspect of SH4.. especially with ROW.

:up:

I use the ext cam to pass the time when there isn't any action and to take snaps for my daily change of wallpapers.


RR, liked your astrophoto. I know what Sagitarius looks like but I couldn't pick it out. Just a sense that I know that patch of sky.

Thanks!
 

Thanks! That's my point. An easy constellation we might be able to spot in a second on land becomes impossible to find at sea hundreds of miles from any light. I've heard stories from astronomers who observed an eclipse from Ayers Rock in Australia that the Milky Way cast a shadow there! Imagine: something most people who live in a city have never seen so bright it casts a shadow!

I'm afraid the sky at sea would look very different from what we see in SH4 and the more we know about the sky the less we would recognize it. As the sky gets darker and clearer away from land the star colors become much more apparent, especially the red giants, which are suddenly easy to spot everywhere! Another thing that happens when there is no light pollution and the air is very clear is that the stars look much more the same brightness. It is difficult to separate a 2nd magnitude star from a 4th magnitude star, even though one is four times brighter than the other. And you see literally thousands of stars so dim that you've never seen them before. That makes it difficult to pick out the constellations that are outside of the Milky Way too. It's a humbling but wonderful experience if you're supposed to know the sky.

I've never seen an oil slick come out of a ship like that! I get the feeling a lot is going wrong with the graphics in this game though, not much of a surprise.

BTW, you said "Take the external camera aboard the DD". How did you do that, since the unit selector doesn't go very close and the normal freemove camera won't go close either?

Ah, that's because you don't have ROW, I guess. Get to this here thread, download the mod, and enter a whole new SH4 experience ;)

exactly, plus oil slicks and starshells....it is astonishing...

This sim is just too beautiful (especially with ROW, thanks Dave) to stay inside the sub or on the bridge all the time. It's better than a movie ticket. I get to be O'Kane, Morton or Gene Fluckey for a while, and then get to watch it all in living color.

Respectfully Submitted;
CDR Resser

Sue Grafton fan, eh?:sunny:

Aha! Mr. Ducimus. Your Mk-14 torp you sent out made a 180 degree and sank ya!:yep::lol:

I have to say it's my Life's blood now. I may even enable them in my next career mode. The cameras lets me see Leo's wunderbar work, besides who wants to stay indoors looking at a bunch of smelly guys anyway when you can look outside other than the tower thinking about Maggie Thatcher (erm, that didn't come out right).:nope:

Who ya callin' girly man!:/\\k:

DJF.

Florida Primarys...
 

Ohh Ohh I get to vote again !!!

Uhhh dunno why but Im gonna do it :p

Love to watch the sinking ships............:help: