[I'm goin' down]

You are relaxed. You are falling asleep. You are not in a deep sleep. When you open your eyes, you have no idea where in the world you are, but you find yourself standing on the bow of your sub in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, looking straight ahead. You do not know if the sub is heading north, south, east or west. Why? Because you are lost, silly!

When you look at the horizon in the direction that your boat is heading, you are looking in the direction of a 0 degree relative bearing. That bearing has nothing to do with the true course of the boat, which, since we are lost, we do not know. To find the true course you need a reference point, such as the north star, to help you figure out your true direction. However, unless you use celestial navigation (it is a mod in the game, but it is too complicated for me), you need a tool to help you find true course. That tool is a map.

In the game, your reference point for true direction is the Nav Map. Imagine the map being round like a compass. Each degree on the circular map points in a different direction. The direction that your boat is heading on the map is its true course. The same principle applies to the direction of the target on the map. Again, you can get the true course of your own boat, not the target's, by tapping the = key on the keyboard with your periscope pointed a 0 degrees. Presumably, the navigator on the boat has given that data to the sonarman, who announces it when you tap the = key on the keyboard. The sonarman will give you the true course of your boat, but remember that has nothing to do with the boats relative baring. The bow of the boat, turning or not, is pointed a relative bearing of 0 degrees.

Now for the target: If a target is 30 degrees to starboard, point your periscope to 30 degrees (the target's relative bearing as viewed from your boat) and hit tap the = key on the keyboard. The sonarman will announce your new course, as you have ordered the boat to turn to a new course 30 degrees to starboard. Your boat will turn to 30 degrees and you will be heading in that direction. After the boat turns, your boat will still be heading at a relative bearing of 0 degrees (even thought it has turned 30 degrees), and the target will be straight ahead if it has not moved in the interim. The target will be ahead of your boat at 0 degrees relative bearing.

Thing of it this way. True course is the direction you are heading in the real world. Your reference point is a map and the directions are degrees on a compass.

Relative bearing is where the target is in relation to your boat. We know the bow of your boat points to 0 degrees relative to the other boat. The target's relative bearing is determined in relation to your boat.

Reread my posts--slowly.

You will now wake up and remember everything.