How do you structure your GWX careers?
 

I am playing my first GWX2 career.

I started in April of 1941, since that was the soonest that I could get based in France and get a VIIC.

I am on my 7th. patrol and it is the start of 1942.

I guess the war is beginning to drag, since I am not finding things too challenging, but everyone keeps saying to me wait until 1943!

So, some questions:

(1) Do you always begin your career at the start of the war or do you begin at a specific point?

(2) I have been letting SH3 send me out on patrol after just 10-20 days in port. I am thinking perhaps, I would get more variety if I put 90 days in port via SH3 Commander. Then, I should just be getting about three patrols a year which should allow me to easily try out the entire war. How do you handle your in port time?

(3) Do you use SH3 Commanders realistic career length?

Thanks.

Personally I always start in 39 in Wilhellmshaven using a VII. By the time the transfer to Lorient comes through I have been able to afford a IXB. Normally about 5 or 6 tours. I find it better starting from 39 as it gives plenty of time for practice for when things become harder.
28 days in port is my normal time, bearing in mind that any damaged sustained will add to that time. I think it's 1 day per percentage point of hull integrity lost.
No realistic career length here, I want to see if I can get through the whole thing in one boat. Never made it past November 41 though.

I wouldn't know - I've never gotten past 1940! Not that I've died, but every time some new super-trick mod comes out I just have to start over from the beginning.

I used to play SHCE a LOT. I didn't discover AOD until later, so my experience with it was limited, but in SHCE I got into the habit of starting a patrol at the beginning of the Pacific war from each available base. If a captain retired or died, I would start a new career at that time and place to replace him. I tried to do the same with SH3, but as I said I keep getting sidetracked. I will be doing just that once my current project is complete and I can start playing seriously again. This means I will be running several careers at the same time.

I set the 'Time In Port' to Random, and let the fates (or JScones's whim) decide for me. I've spent 40 days fixing repairs, and I've had a Type II be sent out again after only five days - I had had an empty patrol and come back with all five torpedoes. I don't know if it really took that into account, but there it is.

Yes, with the knowledge that if it cuts me short for what I think are the wrong reasons I can always 'unretire'.

I have always strted my careers in 39. Now I have a stand by career, whic I take out on training patrols only to have a well trained crew should my career guy get killed.

I prefer start in 39, too. I like use VII type, instead of IX. Maybe, now that I got GWX2 I could ask for a transfert in Mediterranean sea... now is more alive than in SH3 stock..

S

I've always started at the beginning. I've tried to start careers later in the war, but it just didn't feel right to me. I've never lived past the summer of '43, so frankly, all this talk of what the game is like in 44 and 45 is like a unicorn to me. Never seen one.

1 I have at least one separate career for every theater of operations, and two or three for the atlantic with different type boats, some I start early, some I start late (1944)


2 depends, but mostly I set them myself based on conditions upon completion of last patrol, damage of boat, tonnage sunk, days spent at sea and "campaign" factors

For example: the career in which I was back in Brest from the BF grids in a week but with 2 King George V battleships and a total of more than 100k tons sunk I spent half a year in port because that Kaleun had to go on an extended propaganda tour of the Reich, whereas my type II career that returned to Kiel just before the start of the Norway Invasion only spent 4 days resupplying and doing laundry before heading out again


3 normally, no, but then I have never done more than 5 patrols in a single career for reasons stated above

Not really had much time for careers over the past year or so.....there's always been something in development.
Normally I would have 3 or 4 careers on the go at once.

My favourite is 39, 2nd flotilla, IXB :arrgh!:

I always start in 1939, with realistic career enabled. Then, when I'm retired, I make a note of the port, the type and number of u-boat, and then assume the identity of the replacement captain & crew for that boat. I continue thus until the boat is sunk. :yep:

However, since GWX2.0, I've not had so much time for playing. I've completed 2x Type IIA missions out of Kiel. But I was thinking about retiring crew members after a certain number of missions (transfers to other boats, assignment to desk/staff jobs etc.) to ensure that my crew doesn't get too good.

Does anyone know what the crew turnaround for officers/NCOs/sailors was in real life?

1: I've always started in 1939 with the Type IIA out of Kiel. Just something about that canoe, along with being a good "trainer" boat so to speak before being thrown out into the Atlantic. I play DiD and the longest I have survived from GWX1 all the way to GWX2 was January 1941, which was actually in my first GWX2 patrol that I just got sunk in. Yea yea yea...I got sunk by an early war corvette...:damn:

2: I always use random time in base in SH3C
3: Nope, I'm still trying to make it through the war

I tend to play sequential starting times. My first career after a long time away from SH3 or a new mod will start off in 39. When that career ends, er, dies, then I start the next career at the same point where the first one ended. This I do on and on until the latter part of the war. I usually don't start later tan Dec 43 though..

I like to keep several careers going and with each captain assume a different personality. For example:

-one who does everything by the book (patrol assigments, contact reports, ship identification) and doesn't take any unnecessary risks :know:

-one whose only goal is tonnage: lets small ships go, drives the IX, 1 torp = 1 kill :hmm:

-one who's (maybe too) aggressive, takes chances, plays fast and loose with torpedos and fuel, raids harbors when nothing else is going on :rock:

I run one career at a time. A new career starts on the 1st day of the month following the date that a previous career ends. Where a career ends through retirement, I make the necessary file adjustments so that I can continue it with a new Commander (the ability to automatically continue careers with a new Commander has been added to the next SH3Cmdr release).

I let SH3Cmdr randomise it unless I am in the DEI, where I set it to 55 days, being the average time there.

Yes. See #1.

I always start in 1939, usually in Wilhelmshaven with VIIB. Upgrade to IXB when I transfer to France.

I have SH3 Commander set to about 7 days, plus repairs.

I don't use realistic career but usualy get kiled by early 1941.

Best I've done is mid 1942. Now I've upgraded to GW2 with DiD.


Lately I've been distracted, playing about with uberboot and S-boot.

What do you mean..structure your career(s) ?

You start 1939....if you do not get killed during war years, you retire. Rinse and Repeat..:lol::rock: