Spot on :D:D:D

Certainly seems to be the way it's working for me so far. :up:

Exactly, that's one reason that I've continued running the Academy sessions over and over again, seems like every time I notice some source of information or tool I didn't see before and make a mental connection between that and something else. I've sat for a good long time just watching other ships moving around, switching from periscope view to the nav map to the attack map and comparing hydrophone reports and saying, okay, that contact is *this* ship, this contact is *that* ship - until I feel like I'm starting to "see" what's going on topside just from watching the maps or listening to my sonar guy. So that the input I get when visual input is lacking, creates a picture for my brain to work with anyway. It gets especially fun when I lower the periscope and all I have to work with is whatever info comes in from the hydrophone.

Same with a lot of the other stuff you mentioned.

And by "fun" I mean "scary as hell." :O:

Yeah, good isn't it :DL

Well I will probably try some single missions this weekend so we'll just see how good it is, lol.

range of sight .....
I assume 800m is a wee-bit too close, swan showed up shooting up shells into the sky. but I did want to stay surfaced, so I had to take him out, and I did. a flower was very close too, so then I was put down and went to 160m (my prefered depth when escaping).
maybe due to heavy wethear I evaded easily.
had a different problem after that because the convoy started to change course and so the escorts forced my down again with only slight damages.
I still shadow the convoy and really don't like to give up.
best solution would be to wait till dusk, then a well measured run should follow.

(I just have to be more aggressive, we sink 'em all!)

If you realy want to have some fun geting to know and trust your hydrophones give this a try: Get into attack position and set up so you have a ruff 90 deg AOB shot, gather all the info you need to make the shot and then swivle you scope around untill the little number counter for your TDC reads all zeros and make note of the relitive baring. Then drop the scope down without moving it and take the shot baced only on your hydraphone readings when the target hits the relitive baring you set your scope at.

If you do it right your torpido won't have to turn at all and you will hit the target without ever seeing it again. This is a very useful skill to have later in the war or when attacking a convoy when leaving your scope up too long could kill you. Pluss it is realy cool to pull off I think.

Yes, I'm looking forward to just that experience. It takes a lot of planning and data collection to get set up for this, but I completely understand the concept and hope to get this comfortable (or I would accept lucky) soon. It's a lot to juggle when submerged because you can't maneuver the way you can on the surface - in terms of speed and turning. Just means there's less room for error, and good judgment becomes imperative.

It's also a bit tougher because in order to get speeds, you need range and plotting. Assuming periscope is the most you get, this means using the mast height and correct ID to plot the course with timings. Then you have to get set up for the 90-degree AoB and roughly 0-degree bearing (0-degree gyro) ahead of time such that you have time to wait. And if there are escorts around...yeah - not going to happen for me tonight. Soon I hope.

If you are finding the tools you are provided in game lacking when it comes to gathering targeting data, I know I find them lacking, I would sugest looking up two mods. They both do the same basic things, the diferance is more in style realy. The mods are the OLC Gui or the MaGui. They both have a tool that quickly alows you to determine the speed of a ship using the stop watch; the same way they did back in the day if I understand rightly. Both can be found here, in the downloads section.

They both require you to relearn how to gather targeting data but once you figure them out you can be much quicker and more accurate than the stock tools. I think so any way. There is a vidio tutorial that goes thru the process of using the interfacie for the OLC Gui but it works just the same for the other. That reminds me, I should redownload that and have a look at some of the parts I have forgoten how to use so well...

I use the MaGui personaly and wouldn't consider going back to the stock system, and not just beacouse I have kind of forgoten how to use it. What I like most about it is the way it gets the player more involved in process, turning diles and taking readings and all that.

Are they compatible with GWX 3.0? I have heard others talking about OLC and it sounded pretty 'hardcore' so I assumed I'd wait awhile on that, but maybe it's just what I need to flesh out the experience.

EDIT: In fact, this brings up another question. If you're submerged and you have a positive track determined for the contact, you can of course also get speed/range information simply by plotting points along the track based on bearings using the hydrophone. But I've also read about people counting propeller RPM in order to determine or at least confirm speed. But then I read that GWX (an older version) replaced the audio files so whatever chart there was no longer worked to count RPM. Is this still possible to do somehow with GWX 3.0?

Both of those mods are compatable with GWX 3.

I don't know much about the counting RPMs of the screws to determine speed any more than that it is theoreticaly possible. In theory I know that RPM to speed conversions will be differant for war ships and merchants beacouse war ships tipicaly had four blades on each prop and merchants generaly had three. I also know that sea conditikons would effect the outcome of the conversion, ruff seas would mean that more RPMs are required to sustain a given speed than in calm seas.

I'm not sure I'm up to manual targeting yet but I know I'm going to want to give it a try eventually. I did print out a humongous tutorial on it that I probably got pointed to from here when I first visited, and it may be one for one of the mods mentioned above. Didn't get too far into reading it because I could see it was gonna be way too much to chew on until I got more comfortable with the absolute basics.

Did play through a bit of the Happy Times mission last night although I didn't get to finish it out because it got too late. Does look like a good one for learning how to pick your targets and get in position quickly since that big escort is on its way to assist the convoy.

I have to say, gameplay mode is a lot more fun than the Academy sessions!

The front line flotillas await you, Frau K :salute:

Yes and I'm sure the Royal Navy has a warm welcome in store for me as well. :O: