Enemy ships not showing up in SH 4
 

Hi all,

I'm running Windows 10 on my desktop and I'm playing SH 4 on STEAM.
My graphic card is NVIDIA.


Ok, My problem is this: The game runs well, except for the fact that I don't

see any enemy ships. What I mean is that I "see" them on the map as red rectangles but they don't show up as " 3d objects" on the ocean itself.



OTOH, friendly ships show up when I'm in port, et al.



Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanx!

welcome aboard!
 

Welcome to Subsim, jrazz

:Kaleun_Cheers:XS


My guess is that you have got radar contacts with the ships only, these will also show-up on the map, so they are not yet in visual range. You can check this in the crew messages, and in the 'Bridge' section you can ask for the bearing and range of the nearest contact. If you get 'no visual contact' as a response then nothing is in sight yet. You should get visual range at about 6 nm or less.

However I cannot judge this exactly because I don't play the stock game but a modded game where the symbols and contacts are different.


.

As XS above says not yet in range.

When you see the red icon on the map, use the ruler, click on the ship icon then drag it to your sub and it will show you how far away it is.
It could be a long way off, so by the time you get there it has gone, I hope this is what you mean.

Col.

Welcome aboard, Kaleun! :salute:
Along the lines of the previous posts,

• The red rectangles are CINCPAC estimated positions tagged with a time of the posting and the target's estimated speed (slow, medium, fast) and direction shown by the "tail" of the symbol indicating the vessel's wake.
• Since the locations are estimated, the sonar bearing line will not appear until the target is in sonar range, ~10ish miles and they will be visible around 3ish miles.
• If you place your boat along the target's plotted course line, you MAY be able to intercept it. I estimate the target's likely intercept point on the anticipated course line by
  • Noting the time since the observation was posted and figuring a 10 knot speed to estimate where the target is now. (10 kt makes the math easy - 1.5 hours = 150 miles. I add a few miles' fudge factor for a "fast" target)
  • I estimate my time enroute to the intercept point and calculate the target's probable progress in that time. When I arrive in the vicinity, I position the boat ~10ish miles "downstream" of that location and wait... and wait... and wait...
  • My experience has been that IF the target actually appears, it is often at some distance from the planned intercept location.

Good hunting!! :up:

Even though reviving this thread is arecheology, I thought its appropriate to post in here. I have the same problem, I am also running FOTRS, I am not running into any shipping. My first patrol had two task forces, which I intercepted but my 2nd patrol, nothing, there is absolutely noting going on. No sonar, nothing on the surface, just some aircraft here and there. I "visited" 3 harbours and they were all empty. Even when I am patroling the convoy routes, nothing.

Hi mate. Are you playing FOTRS or FOTRS Ultimate 1.8?

Regards.

Fitzcarraldo :Kaleun_Salute:

I am playing with ultimate.

Did you delete the Save folder after you activated FotRSU? That would be C:\Users \UserName \Documents \SH4 by default, unless you changed it with MultiSH4. If you did not empty the Save folder before playing FotRSU, you probably have a "mod soup" situation where you have part of what you had before, and part of FotRSU. The FotRSU mod has several changes from most other mods and stock, and the ship calls are NOT compatible between any of them, which would result in no traffic.

Run JSGME and click on the "Tasks..." link in the middle. Choose "Export activated mod list to --->" and then paste the results into your next post, whether you choose Clipboard or Text File... :salute:

I did not but it was a fresh installation too.
What I did however, was copy paste the FORTS mod directly into the game folder, I overwrote the files. The other mods are activated via JSGME.

My mods:

Generic Mod Enabler - v2.6.0.157
[C:\Spiele\Ubisoft\MODS]

Nihon Kaigun v1.3a_FotRSU
Nippon_Maru_v1.9b_FotRSU
FI-OQ_FotRSU_v1.8f_upcPatch
450_MoonlightzSonarLines
399_NoScrollNavMap
801_UMark Smaller
#1 ISE New clouds+Waves
Japanese DD skins correction - Historical
Fleetboat_Interior-Officers_Quarters_FOTRSU_v1.7_EN
Improved Stock Environment_v3_TMO&RFB
#2 ISE Realistic Colors
FOTRSU_1.8_SUB_SKINS_IN_4k
525_StickieCamera

You have your mod list in a bit of a mess with some over-writing each other... Try doing it this way:

Generic Mod Enabler - v2.6.0.157
[C:\Spiele\Ubisoft\MODS]

Nihon Kaigun v1.3a_FotRSU
Nippon_Maru_v1.9b_FotRSU
Combined Roster Add - Enables Nihon Kaigun + Nippon Maru to be installed together with shared rosters.
450_MoonlightzSonarLines
399_NoScrollNavMap
525_StickieCamera
801_UMark Smaller
Fleetboat_Interior-Officers_Quarters_FOTRSU_v1.7_EN
FI-OQ_FotRSU_v1.8f_upcPatch
Improved Stock Environment_v3_TMO&RFB
#1 ISE New clouds+Waves
#2 ISE Realistic Colors
Japanese DD skins correction - Historical
FOTRSU_1.8_SUB_SKINS_IN_4k

Now, the ISE and #1 and #2 might all be incompatible with FotRSU, in spite of FotRSU being based on TMO v1.7 years ago. There have been changes to the mod, and any environmental mod can influence the sensors for ships and your sub, so if you notice any short-sighted planes or ships, that's what is probably the cause. Also note that some of the environmental mods from that time period were included in FotRSU, and you might be overwriting stuff already in there... I am not familiar with the DD Skins mod, and it probably does not cover all the DD in the mod, and some may not fit the changes done to the mod since it was first built, so if you notice some IJN DD that look odd, that would be the issue. The "Combined Roster" is a mod included in the MODS folder with Nihon Kaigun and Nippon Maru, and is needed to allow both mods to work together inside FotRSU.

Other than that, after you re-arrange things, be certain to delete the Save folder, which would be "C:\Users \UserName \Documents \SH4" by default, unless changed by the use of MultiSH4. You can also use the Windows side dialog in Explorer, but be aware that there is a difference in Windows 11 (and sometimes 10, dependent upon config), where the UserName directories are ~different~ from the shortcut directories for some odd, Windows reason... Case in point is this Win11 laptop of mine, where the SH4 directory is NOT under UserName, but is rather a "shared" directory that I can only find from the side dialog window, as here:

https://i.imgur.com/D0tbCRD.jpg


YMMV... unfortunately :salute:

I've deleted the save folder and re-aranged my mods, I will keep you posted.

I've started a new game after deleting the save folder and re aranging the mods. I've not encountered a single enemy contact on my first patrol starting from Manila. I did run into 2 friendlies but that's it. As if the seas are barren.

First patrol will not have much to encounter for some of the boats. Others will do nothing but find all the invasion forces. You don't say where you are going for your patrol, but the boats sent to CamRanh Bay should enventually find something. Hainan won't in Tonkin bay, but might just south of the Island. Formosa by the Pescadores and also Formosa itself in the same area will be where the Lingayen Gulf groups come from. On the north side of Luzon near Aparri and toward Babuyan Islands you'll catch the initial landings from the 8-12, and on the East side there is one in the middle of the month in Lamon Bay. There are several groups on the southeast side near Lagonoy and Albay Gulfs and near the San Bernardino Strait. You will not find much merchant traffic other than friendlies fleeing the area, some escorted, some not. Most of the S-Boats were not trusted to be able to do much, and were generally assigned "quiet" areas, but that's not to say that an H8K won't find you and depth charge you ceaselessly... For the most part, it is very boring because the US did not comprehend how to properly use submarines, and instead of putting them in traffic lanes, instead put them in close-to-shore locations, where ASW efforts were effortless for the enemy... Kind of like the Japanese did with their submarines also... but that's for another story and mod... :arrgh!:

I went to the San Bernadino strait on my fist assignment, I figured there wouldnt be much. Then I was ordred to head towards Borneo/Java and again, there was nothing. The whole trip to australia had no shipping either. Even Convoy College, which I was sent to had nothing. I will keep you posted.