I think based on the game we have, rather than the game we'd like to have, running the game with map contacts off is about as realistic as flying a plane with a paper bag over your head. Yes, if you can do it you're good, but it's not "realistic" in any sense. It is useful if you are training to fly IFR, but when doing it for real, you certainly don't put the blinders on.
With our game we have no digital readout for our radar. We have no direct link between radar and TDC as the real sub did, and we lack tools like the stadimeter plot, bearing difference chart and plot and various slide rules they used to reduce observations. We are simply too handicapped to run with map contacts off and call it realistic. I believe pausing the game to do external MoBo plots, paper charts and external calculators is much worse than leaving map contacts on under the right parameters.
I advocate running with map contacts on and using TMO or TMOplot, which limit the inappropriate information you are provided by the game. The one gotcha is that visual sightings are reported with their exact positions. That's fine, just don't take measurements from visual positions! If you have radar, you would know that position to that accuracy anyway. Imperfect as it is, until the next generation (does SH5 qualify?) of sub sims, it's the best we can do.
Lurker_hlb has come up with a plotting system of his own but I haven't looked into it. RFB has a plotting system but it's not well thought out and has some absurd effects.
Map contacts off is the ultimate challenge and it takes great skill to be successful that way, but it is in no way realistic.
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