This Again
 

Ok Iam not a mathemtian , But Fuel conservation is becomming a big issue for me .. Iam still trying to my best to conserve fuel but seemingly still running out of it before I can get back too midway to refuel .. starting all over is becomming a pain and just because of this issue i captained 3 new boats in the campaign mode . So was our german counterparts in sh3 better built boats than these US boats ? I never had issues In sh3 about fuel . But Now this is becomming a downer . iam hating this and thinking about going back too the atlantic . mind you iam a veteren of this sim . iam begginning to hate sh4 because of this fuel issue . Yes I have read and performed what was posted before about fuel conservation . It isnt working . Its making me sick !!

I have never run out of fuel. If you've read the tips, then I don't see the problem.

Perhaps you go faster than 8-10 knots for prolonged periods of time? Or don't look at how much fuel you need to get back to base? Watch how much fuel you use while travelling to station. Whatever you've expended once you get there is approximately how much you'll need to get back. Do you submerge during the day and run on batteries? It helps conserve fuel and keeps you hidden from planes.

Not sure what to tell you. But I do know the Pacific is much bigger than the Atlantic and thus fuel management becomes a bigger problem than in SH3.

Some just play with unlimited fuel. I do not because I like the fuel issue to be part of the overall partrol. I cruise to my patrol zone at 11 knots. It is slow but it is what it is. Usually I have just over 3/4 of a tank. Once there, I patrol at 6 knots. I usually wear out my torpedo load after three to four new areas assigned within that patrol and head on home.

Agreed.... fuel really doesn't seem to be an issue. I'm not saying this to rub salt in the wound, but I feel the ranges on some of these boats are overstated if anything. At the right speed (usually 9.5 knots... which is a pain in the ass to constantly set manually, so I adjusted the % for ahead 2/3 in the sub config files) they just keep going and going and going....

The only time I really have problems is when I've been damaged and (I suspect) I'm leaking fuel. Unfortunately, the game doesn't tell you when this happens and there's no way to know until you hit the range at current speed button and find out you're hosed.

So every time I read where someone is talking about running out of fuel, I'm thinking the reason could be that the game defaults you to ahead standard when setting a course using the map waypoint tool, and the player is just leaving it there. At that speed your range is cut nearly in half.

Ok, I don't know that's specifically the case here, but something surely is wrong if in my Gato I'm getting 17000 miles out of full tank of gas... which easily gets me there and back again (typical long distance mission, maybe 2 or 3 objectives completed) with 25% + fuel remaining... while others are stuggling.


JD

This is how it plays out for me. Run at 9-11 knots. Plenty of fuel to get the assignments done and head on home with 25% left over. Just got to be patient and run economically.

If you drive your car at 100 km/h, the fuel consumption is normal. If you never slow down below 180 km/h, the consumption will go through the roof and you won't have enough gas to reach the destination.

Even though the game dosn't have working RPM guages
 

It does take into account how hard the engines have to work in bad weather conditions. So in 15 mps wind and wave states it is a good idea to slow down a bit more. Also in those weather conditions you might be charging your batteries a bit longer then normal. So if you can sit around a bit and let them recharge then head off where you want to go or need to go. Especialy if you are using the LBO mod or ROW because the ocean state can increase the amount of fuel you will use to travel some where.

Distances
 

Another reason fuel isn't a problem in SH3 was because you were operating in your own front yard. Distances in SH4 are vastly greater, and so the fuel situation you don't like is the fuel situation real skippers didn't like. That's why this is called a simulation.:hmm:

If you've been damaged, you could have leaking tanks (which don't show up on your damage report, you have to use an external damage analyser). I had the same problem getting back and finally had to abandon the patrol when it was obvious that there was not a chance of gettig home, no matter what. Must've been a big hole...