Originally Posted by Hamppupalaa (Post 2619288)

Just wondering, how many people play without the "Gods-Eye" mode? I tried it for a couple of patrols and it was really realistic but setting up attacks is way more difficult, especially on convoys.
I kinda got the hang of it, just shadow the target, run ahead and alongside him, turn 90 degrees, dive to periscope depth and run submerged to meet him at a range of 800-1000 meters and an AOB of 90° (hopefully :03:) and commence the attack. The whole attack set up only by eye on the surface not using the map.

I've played about with it for a while now and it completely changes the game for me. I've played SH3 with real-time contacts for 4 years now and this makes every encounter more tense and realistic IMO. Definitely try it if you haven't already

Be prepared to rip your hair out though :Kaleun_Salute:

Originally Posted by John Pancoast (Post 2619576)

Sounds fun, but I'm not sure I'd call it more realistic. Plotting a convoys positions, course, etc. on a map was done during any shadowing of such.

Originally Posted by Hamppupalaa (Post 2619667)

Yes, that was done IRL. Getting info on your target is much more difficult though and it definitely adds a "fog of war" effect

Originally Posted by Drakken (Post 2626972)

I play 100% Realism, no map contact updates too. Wouldn't play otherwise, now.

I did have a lot of trouble at first, but now I reached at a point where I can confidently figure out a correct firing solution. On my last patrol in my current game for a GWX Career AAR on another website, I managed to sink a target being escorted by a ASW trawler from almost 6,000 meters with T1 torpedoes set to Medium speed. I had successfully deduced her speed to 11 knots by matching my speed with hers from afar on a parallel course, like real-life Kaleuns. When underwater, I gauged her approximate range using the stadimeter. When my sonar guy told me that she was no longer closing but now moving away, I knew that she was slightly over 90 degrees AOB. I entered it all manually and decided to fire two torpedoes; one hit and the other went underneath her.

And I began playing without God's Mode just a month or two ago, because I felt that using the map contact updates to chart a firing solution was both cheating and using a crotch. Just like you, I asked very basic questions and I took what I learned from more experienced Kaleuns to heart. The hardest part is to learn what tools and methods are available to you, then figure out how and when to use them. Sometimes I use the Notepad, sometimes I use the constant bearing attack method, sometimes I use my stopwatch to calculate her speed with the target's length, other times I just enter the data myself based on my feels. But I can definitely say that more you do it, the more natural it becomes.

Also, trust your instincts. What I would say to any beginner is if you miss a target, seek to understand why it failed and find ways to solve the issue. I use my Attack Map for this; even if you cannot see the target, you can see the bearing of your torpedo. If it's due to a faulty solution, most of the times the speed or the angle-on-the-bow that the problem. If the bearing of the torpedo matches your target's in the periscope when the needle reaches the sweet spot on the stopwatch, yet she stops/bounces/passes through, then it's not a miss; it's either a dud or it was set to the wrong depth.

Sinking ships inside convoys is actually easier. They sail at the same speed on a parellel row, heading on the same course. Part of the firing solution (bearing and speed) is already figured out for you. After placing yourself in position undetected (that's the hardest part), figure out a first target's range and AOB (ideally the one whose AOB is the closest to 90 degrees). When you aim your periscope to the next target it will match her AOB comparatively to the previous target. Measure her range, enter the data into the German TDC, open your tubes, and fire away.

Originally Posted by John Pancoast (Post 2626973)

It's not that it's so difficult to plot targets with the no contacts on map option used.
Just that it's unrealistic for a captain to be doing so (along with listening to the hydrophones, etc.).
Bit of a rock and a hard place though; having map updates gives the info. to quickly and accurately, but not doing so isn't how things were done in real life.

Originally Posted by Drakken (Post 2626975)

While I agree, part of the fun of playing a submarine simulation game is managing a successful career, escaping detection, and sinking targets by oneself, without any AI-computer assistance.

Kaleuns had also no save-scumming option, either. If they missed, they missed. If they under-performed too many times, they could be demoted and lose their command. If they over-performed, they would be promoted to Flotilla Command or assigned to teach at submarine school. If they found themselves in the worst place at the worst time, they died. One "game", one life only.