A noob's thread...
 

OK first off all I want to mention that I am completely new to this type of simulation and have very little or now knowlege about sub's.

I will use this thread in the next couple of days to ask a lot of questions. I know most of you are going to tell me to look here or read this book, but my questions are going to be simple and straight forward, so please bare with me.....oh and dont laugh if some questions are, well just plain stupid.

1. Why is the torpedo trajectory so weird? I mean I always thought that it goes in straight line, only to see now that it goes straight just for a couple of meters and than takes a sharp turn.

I have figured out that I can set my torpedo to deviate a couple of degrees to the right or left, but why would I want to do that?


...thats it for now.

because your target is not directly in front of you

welcome aboard :arrgh!:

yeah you will be told to read up on the many many helpful guides you can find here. of course the best way to learn is to play the game for a couple hours, if you're completely new to subsimming you prolly won't understand what's being talked about in some guides... i dunno

Ok but about when my target is lets say sitting in a spot and I am directly at 90 degres to him......will the torpedo trajectory (in the attack map) still be in the curve or will it be straight.....

....oh and I did get my first two kills in the first carrer mission.

Hitting a ship with torpedoes is a lot like shooting at a moving target. If the target ship is stopped and directly in front of you, your torpedoes will run straight to it. If the target ship is moving then the Torpedo Data Computer will calculate an impact point for the torpedo based on the range to target, target speed, target course, and torpedo speed.

OK...getting the hang of it now. So it's something like 1940's homing missile, but doesnt follow heat, but rather relies on pure math.

2. How come I cant turn on my freeking radar. I click the ON/OFF switch but nothing happens?

exactly...pure math!! :up:

I got a C- in pre-calc

this is why i keep auto target on.

besides in real life i'd make my XO do it...I hate math!

I'm recently back to the game and just got the u-boat addon, I'll ask here instead of starting another thread: Is there any mod that activates the new strategic commands thingy in the american campaign? I've been googling with no luck.

Exactly

What year is it? Do you have radar installed? When you go to the bridge and look up at the radar equipment, is it turning?

OK....so only to find that darn auto target thingy......I dont see it in the game play options where the realism set up is.......

...and what does the auto target do? I mean does it mean that I will never miss my target?

What about the radar problem I am having?

basically, yes :)
the torpedo shoots out of the boat straight ahead at first and then after a little while it turns according to the programmed course (so that it meets the ship at the same spot at the same time) if the ship is stationary and right in front of you, the torpedo won't need to turn at all.
the trick is to shoot at moving targets so that the torpedo goes as straight as possible, so you shoot before the target crosses your bow (I hope that was clear)

Well its 1941, and I can go in the radar room, but no the radar is not turning, its off, but there is ON/OFF switch near the radar.


oh, and again:

Where can I find that auto target option......I dont see it in the game play options where the realism set up is.......

auto target is active as long as you have the 'manual targeting' turned off

if you see yellow triangles underneath ships as you watch them through the periscope, you know it works. what it does is calculate the torpedo track for you (the turn which the torpedo makes after being fired)
it's not a guarantee for hits though. there are plenty reasons for torpedoes to miss or malfunction (or even do a full circle to hit you in the behind)
war is hell

SD radar (air) is always active, you have no control
SJ radar (surface) can be controlled by you but it has to be available and installed on your boat. check the systems/weaponry screen to see if it's there.

and play around for a while, you'll come to grips easier

You probably don't have radar installed yet. The consoles are always there even though you might not have it onboard.

If it is 1941 you don't have surface radar. It doesn't become available until June of 42 I believe. I you recieve a radar contact, it is an aircraft. Your SD radar is always on and you always have it.

WELCOME ABOARD!:sunny:

No. In real life they had to make the torpedo not go straight at the target, but at where the target would be when the torpedo got there. This meant doing a lot of advanced math and then setting the gyro angles on the torpedo so it would turn to the correct path.

Auto Targeting means that the game does the math for you. You can still miss sometimes, just like they really did.

Rgr....thank you guys....well this has to be one of the most noob friendly forums I have ever been to.

it is, yes :)

Check out the sticky's at the top..Skippers bag of tricks. You may not be ready for manual targeting yet, but Robins video's are great explaining things. Obvious as you learn to track, setup, determine speed and range, ect....you'll want to move onto manual targeting.

What version are you playing..1.4 or 1.5. You can play stock awhile, but the mods make the game so much better. Plane traffic is maddening in stock and some mods take care of that. GFO may be a good mod to start with.

This game can be as simple or complex as you want to make it....that's what's good about it....

Welcome aboard.

Exactly the same reason I fell in love with it... lots of good hearted folks with some great advice to make your simming more enjoyable!

Welcome to Sub-Sim, www2!

For starters, either use auto targeting, or the Dick O'Kane attack method if you are trying manual targeting. Sinking a ship or two will keep your morale up. But there is a LOT to learn.

The Dick O'Kane attack method has a lot of steps, but the theory is not difficult to learn. It is basic manual attack (i.e. a 90 degree attack angle) theory. I refer you to Rockin Robbins' sticky for a tutorial, etc. Also, typical issues such as how to read the naigation map, how to ditch destroyers, how to stay undetected, how deep to set torpedoes, etc, are always on the table. It is quite complicated at first, but you tackle the issues one at a time. Then there are mods, which is an entirely new ball game (i.e. you may want a better guns, fewer planes, a custom sub with a custom emblem, updated uniforms, or war time radio stations on the radio).

If you want to get a feel for manual targeting and understanding aspect ratio, download, print and study Manual Targeting at 100 Percent Realism by Hitman. In short, Hitman teaches you to calibrate speed, AoB, and distance for an attack when playing with auto targeting turned off/manual targeting enabled. It will give you a good foundation for manual targeting and you will understand later how such mods as SCAF and the recent Easy AoB mod will make a captain' life easier. You can keep the manual at your desk as you work through an attack, and will learn how to view the attack map to see the torpedo's projected run angle and whether it will intercept the target. At some point you will gain confidence to attack multiple targets in a single attack run (I have gotten three but never four targets, but that was after months of playing).

Hint when you play a career, you have to reset all of the game settings when you are in the captains room before your first mission. If you do not reset it, then you cannot reset it later. Once reset, the settings endure throughout the career and until it is over or your boat is sunk. Also, the boat are different, so you might want to check here to see what boat is recommended for a new skipper.

There are a lot of experienced people on this site, many great modders, and a few who are in the genius category, as they understand all or a portion of submarine warfare concepts, tactics, submarine history during WW2, computer programming, graphics and animation, and have the abilty to incorporate it into the game. With their help SH4 is far superior to the stock game.

On behalf of the Barbarinna and its two mascots, Welcome aboard skipper.:salute: Anchors away.....