Aside from the External Camera, I play on full real. So not 100%, but close enough
96% I think. I don't use the external camera to cheat, but just to allow me to keep hitting the PrintScreen key at every opportunity. I've taken hundreds of SH5 screenshots so far... as with many other games - I think I have a bit of an obsession!
So far I've been a bit lazy to try to make really accurate plots or measurements, but I've had some good results. I've had a reasonable number of misses too, but I think that's realistic!
For intercepting, I tend to wing it, too. If I get a map radio contact, I guess at an intercept course and check the hydrophones as I get near. If I first pick up a hydrophone contact, I just rush off in that direction. After 15 minutes take another hydrophone reading, and work out which relative direction they're heading (to my port or starboard), then adjust course accordingly. Repeat every 15 mins or so and you'll soon catch up.
I've had to overtake a couple of convoys, and doing it in real-time (with occasional use of 4-16x TC or so), it's not too difficult to stay parallel with them on the edge of visual range, giving you plenty of time to take measurements and work out their speed and course with reasonable accuracy.
Then it's a simple case of getting ahead, submerging, and waiting for them to sail overhead. I try to get myself in line with the outer column as they approach. That enables me to fine-tune my course estimate - once you can see along the whole column (i.e. the first ships obscures the ones following it) it's pretty easy to work out their exact course. From that you can get easily get exact AoB when aiming your scope.
As I creep forward at about 1 knot, the convoy approaches and I end up around midway between the outer column and the second column. Then I just have to pick the juiciest targets and let off all the fish! Ranges are normally <1000m so even the problems with the stadimeter don't have a big effect. Even so, I've had a good few misses as I said, due to inaccurate speed measurements (some times I just take a guess, if I've had no change to make plots), or forgetting to 'lock target' when switching between ships.
The most fun is had approaching convoys in fog, though. It's quite tense when you're racing towards them, peering for that ghostly shadow to come looming out of the fog. You might have to wait just one minute, or maybe 15. Not a good time for using much TC!
