Crash, patch and time compression (newbie)
 

Ok, here are a few questions from a new player :

1) Why does my game crash after reloading a saved game ? It brings me back to the desktop after 20 seconds or so, but starting a new game is no problem...any clue ? Does the patch 1.4 fix this ?

2) About the 1.4 patch, does it include every improvement from the previous patches or do I need to dw/load all of them ?

3) Is there any reason not to time compress when on your way to a patrol location ? Someone said it makes you miss enemy planes and such, any value to this ?

Thanks for the help.

ok....
1. mine did this too until i got the patch so yes i think it will fix this ctd.

2. not sure:doh:

3. yes if you use time compress you will miss almost everything so try not to use a high tc stay low and you will catch most things. some peeps like to do a whole patrol on tc x1 but its your choice, although this will take a long time to complete a patrol you can effectivly sink more ships and its more realistic (some peeps hate tc x1 tho)
hope this helps
and happy hunting

1) Theres times you shouldn't save. It's inherent bugs that ubi hasn't fixed. Some are:
- Don't save while submerged.
- Don't save while other boats are in your vicinity.
- Don't have near/in a harbour.

2) The 1.4b patch is cumulative. So no, just the 1.4b patch is sufficient.

3) Yes, there is validity for this. When you TC (say abouve 256x, but dependant on your system), the game will not spawn aircraft/ships as often as if you were at lower TC settings. Also, when you detect a ship, it will probably be much closer than if you had lower TC settings. This is esp important later in the war when enemy aircraft are everywhere.

You only need add the 1.4b patch
No need for the others

Any TC over 256 usually means you wil miss a lot of aircraft and shipping and that sometimes units will be spotted so late they are right on top of you

Welcome to Subsim and enjoy your stay :up:

I see why my patrols are so long now. Recently I just lay myself down at 20 metres beneath the surface, switch engines off and wait for my prey at high compressions levels (to spare my fuel and not run to and fro like a mad rabbit).

Thanks. But is the 'spoiled' TC _equal_ and higher than 256, or equal and higher than 512?

From what I have read and asked previously about TC and aircraft spawning etc, anything greater than 128 TC will reduce the number of aircraft you encounter. I used to sail around at 256 TC and never really came across many aircraft, at 128 TC I have encountered plenty.

Nemo

Best to keep below 256 for best results
You will still meet shipping at high TC just less of it

I use high TC across the atlantic or would take forver to get to the US but in areas I know there may be shipping I keep to 128 and 256

Is it bug, or saving the CPU feature, or a coded thing to let people, for example, get cross the ocean without spending out all of their ammo?

I don't think it's a bug as such, just a side effect of running at high TC. Perhaps others know more about how TC works and can give a more comprehensive reply.

Nemo

No its just the was the game works
At low TC the game will plot the unit movement along the waypoints behind the scenes until the player is close enough for them to be rendered

At high TC the game cant plot it quick enough so its done in a series of jumps - ie waypoint 1 - 12 instead of 1 - 2

So in effect you miss out

Something like that :rotfl:

Thanks a lot, that was very informative! I must have a closer look at that. Does it also work with not moving u-boot? Then you don't have any waiponts...

PS Now I understand, how I was destroyed last time, when running at 4096 TC and suddenly hit by a DD shell...

Wont affect a stationary uboat but it will affect all the other ingame units
Yes quite possibly the reason you were destroyed
If your position is between say waypoint 11 and 12 of the DD and you are on low TC then the DD will be renedered and appear around 30km away from your boat
Giving you the chance to spot it and take action
If at High TC and the DD jumps from 1 - 12 then it can appear right next to you and will open fire almost immediately
As your comp is dropping TC to 1 you are already in trouble
By the time you get the Ship Spotted message you may already be under attack

As to sitting still and not moving the boat, I think the random chance of encountering something is probably about the same whether you are moving or not. It's not something they did in real life, so I don't do it, but that's me.

I change places a few times a day trying to stay close to merchant certain routes from GB to the west, dive and pass it to the sonar man. When doing a patrol, I try to stick to the patrol area even after the mission orders have already been accomplished, to behave as I think a Kaleun would (till receiving new orders).

But - are you saying that they almost always were in move? If so, I'll have to change the tactics... I'd like it to be as real, as it's possible. :|

What works for me, but won't work for everybody, is I'll run at surface at high tc when it's clear, and usually the WO will pick stuff up well.
If it's dark/foggy/rough weather, when I run at high tc, the game is smooth, but when it starts to process a closing ship, even 50 km away, it will chop up a little, I will dive to pd and listen in on the hydrophones. Cheap, yes, but effective for long trips.

Note this doesn't solve the fact the probability of encountering a ship is diminished at high tc, but it does allow me to know when to drop tc.