Weak deck Gun, 100 shells and still floating...
 

Hello

I just recently got back into SH3 with the Grey Wolves mod.

What a great mod it is too, but when I went through the training missions with the one where you have to sink 5 merchants with the deck gun, things didn't seem right.

I just simply couldn't sink any of them. I fired about 100 HE shells on one of them and still it just sits there floating.

Am I missing something?

Any advice much appreciated.

Thanks,
Gian

In GWX ships don't have hitpoints like in stock SH3. You have to pound the waterline and stuff. Good if you pound the same place as well. That's what I heard.

:arrgh!:

I suspect it's said in the manual but for sake of completeness...

The new damage model for GW means that deckgun hits above the waterline have near no chance of sinking things bigger than a tug. Aim below the waterline and 15 or so shells later you've sunk her.

If we are talking about GW1.1a then yes firing up to 100 shells seems reasonable. This is because GW1.1a uses the NYGM Dmage Model that sinks ships via flooding. To sink a ship using the deck gun try to aim below the water-line. That will creat holes and sink the ship faster.

Aiming below the waterline is correct :yep: ...but space your shots apart so you start flooding in as many compartments as possible :up:

I'm regularly sinking the smaller merchants with approximately 10 shells now, but I'm not spreading the damage much at all.
I mainly concentrate on the bow, and once it starts plowing, I just throw a couple at it anywhere to make a BOOM! :up:

That may not do a lot to the bigger fish :hmm:

100 HE shells against a fish ?
there wouldn be anything left of it.....oh you mean a big ship:rotfl: :rotfl:

I usually set up an approach just like I would for a torpedo run, and use the deck gun from a distance of 1,000 meters. Then I set the "range" on the left hand vertical indicator to it's minimum level of 500m. I find this gives me consistent hits right at the waterline.

Couple of points -

First, you'll know you hit the waterline correctly when you see the plume of water AND you see the flash of the explosion. Explosion but no plume of water and you're too high, nothing but water (no explosion) and you're too low. Hitting anywhere else with GWX is a waste of shells.

Secondly, watch the barrel of the gun. It will "settle" and hold it's position momentarily at an even level with the horizontal indicator (I usually use the first level of magnification). In any kind of sea the barrel will be bouncing up and down - time your shot so you fire only when the barrel is even with that horizontal indicator. I used to fire any time the shell was ready and cursed Bernard for sending shells way over the top of the ship I was aiming at - but it's just the motion of the barrel from the sea.

Lastly, as mentioned earlier, keep hitting multiple spots.

I use the flak guns against trawlers. But I'll use the deck gun against the largest targets at night if the sea is calm enough to man it. Which is rare, or at least it feels that way - I'm always in a storm.

I played the arty tutorial with the GWX mod yesterday and sank all ships without problems. Simply aim at/below the waterline, as has been mentioned before.

When i first downloaded GWX, i couldn't understand why I would deplete all of my shells to sink a tug...plus I was very impatient and would shoot as soon as i was reloaded, sending most of my fire over the horizon...:shifty:

100+ shells to sink a ship was not unreasonable, historically.

:damn::damn:

Is the flak gun so effective against these type of ships? Or you shoot at some explosive materials on the deck of the ship? Does it sink?

Flak guns can do damage only in two cases. If they are heavy themselves and if their target is small and not too big. So if you use them against Trawlers, Sailing Ships, PT Boats etc you will sink them. Against merchants you will need the Deck Gun.