Defining the undefinable: The type IX addiction
 

So there's this little cliche of players who are generally under the umbrella of "IXoholic's anonymous" or the "IX Club" or whatever somebody decides to call it. Im not sure how it started (although i wonder if i had a hand in it :hmm: ), but i think it maybe i'd post about it to help eliminate some confusion.


First, a concession.

The type 7. It IS sleek, it is visually appealing, it is manuverable, and as a submersible underwater it outperforms the type9 in every respect. It was the perfect combination of endurance, weapons payload and manuberablity. What's more, its an icon of an era in history. When people think of german Uboats, they immediatly think of a type 7 with a netcutter on the bow.

So why then would anyone want a boat that is slower to dive, slower in underwater manuverablity, and in general isnt like the type 7?


The reasons are many, and im sure i wont list them all.

- some like the fact that you can see the bow while you stand on the bridge.

- some like the fact that it has more torpedo's and has better surface performance in a type 7. During early war, this is a big big big perk.

- some like the fact that it has more fuel, enableing them to travel faster, or longer, or reach places they'd like to check out. The sirens call to feel like your going someplace exotic.

- Some just like certain theaters of war for whatever reason. Maybe its because its closer to where they live, maybe they like the tonnage or the shipping routes , but for whatever reason, they like to go to certain far away places.

- Some feel that north alantic is dull.

- some like being that lone wolf hunter. This is what a type9 was really meant to do, it wasn't really meant as a wolfpack uboat like a type 7.

- for some their true love was a gato submarine, and a type9 is the cloest thing to that.

the reasons are many, and im sure others could add a few more.

But it doesnt stop there. Its also about gameplay in context to a career game. Generally speaking you get a patrol grid, do your 24 hours, and then move on to where you know you'll find traffic. The patrol grid, im wagering, for most is nothing more then a formality to obtain renown. In both a type 7 and a type 9 you do this. Go to grid, do 24, move on. The difference here is that to a type9 career game, a patrol grid isnt just a formality, it represents an entirely different theater of the war.

-If you get a grid to GR, you know your going to the south atlantic and possibly even the indian ocean fuel permitting.
- ED? You know you'll be around port of spain in the carribean.
- CA or DB? you know you'll be off the US east coast.

And now im going to make one assumption but im pretty sure im right. For the most part, i think all of us play the game to
a.) sink ships
b.) survive as long as possible, hopefully even the war.

The second part is key here. If ones goal is to survive for a few years, or even the war, there isn't a better way to do that then in a type 9, for the simple reason that your at sea, per patrol, for a very long time compared to a type7. Your patrols usually go at a 60 day minmum, to as long as 120+ days, and you usually get around only 4 or 5 patrols a year. The crux of this is passage of time as a feeling of accomplishment, and the passage of gametime in a type7 is feels much longer in real world time as compared to a type 9 where the passage of game time is feels much quicker in the same amount of real world time by virtue of having to travel far to reach your grid.


Anyway, im out of time. thats all i got i guess.

Good post! Last night I tried the VIIC and she is a very nice boat! Mostly I like the many torpedos of the IX and the mileage she gets on a full tank of fuel. Other than that, if I had to pick on looks alone, VII for sure. I believe your right that when uboat is brought up, people think of VII.

That's ironic. Last time i mentioned the iconic status of the VII type boat i got torpedoed to bits on one of the threads.
Good read Ducimus, you got me thinking of a Caribbean cruise.:up:

I´n not adicted to Ix boats but i rarely use tipe VII boat.:88)

more torpedo load
more torpedoes tubes
more surface speed
more range.
more interesting patrols....

Ducimus,

Good article! :up:
I also think the variety of conning towers available has something to do with it. Having a new view after an X number of patrols is refreshing.

Ducimus ... again?!

:rotfl:

Oh, and:

Who?

I did :88)

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...3&postcount=30

It's a good thing we didn't have only VIIB and VIIC boats to choose from, or there would be endless threads debating the merits of the two.

No question, IX adds more variety to the game. It's a long war, and that variety helps. I prefer VII for convoys though - faster to get deep once the escorts are on you.

I've only been playing a few months, so if Ducimus says that long term survival is more likely in the IX than a VII I'll take his word for it. Personally, I've been croaked a lot more in the IX than in the VII, but that's probably my overall lack of expertise showing.

By virtue of long patrols, more time passes, hence you get farther in the timeline.

In u-125 i had 5 patrols which came out to 324 days at sea, thats not counting time in port. In u-178 i had 3 patrols and 298 days at sea, also not counting time in port.

How much time passes in 3 to 5 patrols for a type 7 career game?

In my rusty trusty type VIIB I'm on Patrol 7 and it's December 1940....
I have a sneaky suspicion most of my crew will be turning into Thomsen's soon! :D

3 Patrols in a Type VII for me would be about 180 days at sea.
5 Patrols in a Type VII for me would be about 300 days at sea.

I think the Type IX is fun. I went on a 135 day patrol to Capetown that was great. And the best part was, I didn't even sink any ships.

But also think the Type VII brings more tactical considerations into play.

The Type VII:
1. Really forces you to watch your speed, and conserve fuel. This also forces you to really maintain contact with convoys, because you might not have the fuel to find another. I have had to abandon convoy attacks because I was running low on fuel, and didn't dare maintain Flank Speed any longer.
2. Forces you to really manage your torpedo usage. I use the rules for Torpedo Allocation from the Uboat Commanders Handbook, so sinking 5 ships in a Type VII is a great victory. Even using the Torpedo Allocation Guidelines, it's pretty easy to sink 9 ships with the Type IX.

A couple people keep mentioning this fabeled handbook for uboat commanders. I've yet to see it. Im sure it exists, but as an exserviceman, every fiber in my being automatically wants to throw most of it out the window. Books written by REMF's are usually full of crap.

Thats odd.
This was a convoy attack:

07 Feb 1943
0138 GR 58 Ship sunk! Bogue Class, 15390 tons
0312 GR 58 Ship sunk! Tramp Steamer, 1969 tons
0328 GR 58 Ship sunk! River Class , 1350 tons
0406 GR 58 Ship sunk! River Class , 1350 tons

This was a 2nd convoy attack, same patrol, but off the grid system, SE of capetown.

17 Feb 1943
0445 87 Ship sunk! Troop Transport, 8279 tons
0630 87 Ship sunk! Heavy Transport, 7521 tons

:D

I will have you thrown out of the Senate for this, Ducimus!:stare:

http://www.abc.net.au/canberra/stories/s476720.htm;)

Face facts guys the ladies like a big boat. ;)