Deaf sonar operator
 

Is there any way to tweak the sonar operator's ability... some .cfg file maybe?

I spent all night (game time) tracking a sonar contact that my sonar operator couldn't hear. On the hydrophone, I'd get a green light, and a VERY audible *chug-chug-chug* propeller sound. It sounded like he couldn't be more than a few nm away, but every time I'd order "report nearest contact" he'd come back with "no sound contact." :damn:

I'd like to send this guy to chip paint and get a better sonar operator.

See if I can explain this. I think you've figured out the lag you get when a contact is near, even though your crew doesn't pick it up..

Let's call that the contact zone. The game is programmed such that the contact zone extends to the limit of what your best crew and equipment can pick up. So early game, when you have poor equipment and crew, they don't pick it up, but your PC will lag because you are in the contact zone. That's why your crew won't pick it up and you can. In reality the PC lag is a cheat of sorts, because it gives away the enemy within the contact zone of your best equipment and crew before you have it. Your crew still operates within the limits of the equipment they have, but you can still take advantage of it with your ears.

Many newer players often will get the PC lag, but just keep going trusting the crew. That would be more realistic play, but you check it yourself, you can get a bearing and find targets you wouldn't normally find.

That's why when you get PC lag, it's best to do a sonar search yourself early war. Your ears are better than your sonarman.

As the game progresses and you get better radar/sonar, you'll notice less PC lag to the point you get little to none as your equipment and crew get better. They will pick it up later war and you'll get less PC lag as they now pick it up to the full extent of the contact zone.

The only fix would be a worse cheat of sorts, giving yourself or crew better equipment or ratings. You do get special officers later that hear things better on sonar and will pick up ships to the full extent of the contact zone.....

So live with it, it's actually a benefit to you. If you want realistic play, when your PC lags, just don't check sonar....but most of us can't help ourselves.

Good explanation... thanks!

I guess the real "fix" would be for the game to reduce the hydrophone's abilities too, so that we wouldn't have this little "cheat" in the early years. (i.e. green light and sound is consistent with reduced crew/equipment range.)

Oh well... it's certainly not a gamebreaker for me. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to resist using it though.

Trust me, while in TC you just wait for that hiccup, then your all over the hydra phones, The bigger the hiccup the more fun :03:

If you pop open the stop watch while in TC you can really see the 'hiccups' :yep:

I take a few dips at strategic locations while out on patrol sometimes you pick up stuff you had no idea was out there.

But that can lead to frustration as well if your chasing a contact moving away from you :D

I've noticed most if not all of my DD's are being whacky. At first I thought it was just inexperienced crews, since it was early 1943. So as I kept slipping away without even having charges dropped on me I got bolder and bolder. I was bombarding a TF zig zagging from one side to the other from 50m - PD and still not attracting attention. When a ship blew up, they would circle around where the ship blew up for maybe 2-3 in-game hours. After the whole fleet went down, just to make sure they weren't completely glitched I popped up kind of far away, 5-6 KM, sure enough they all opened fire and charged me. So far I've run into 2 TF's that perform this way.

TMO 1.9
Patch
RSRD v502 (TMO)
Patch