[Nisgeis]

Originally Posted by I'm goin' down

How do I multiquote messages?

Copy the Quote blocks. Have [ QUOTE=I'm goin' down;1455422 ] whatever you want to quote [ /QUOTE ] except without the spaces in the Quote blocks.

Originally Posted by I'm goin' down

Any graphs, etc. will be helpful.

I hit the little watch after every two bearing and range readings. Let's say I take 6 readings, so i hit the watch three times. When do I activate the PK?

As soon as you have the information for a target problem, e.g. course, speed and range for the TDC to work on.

Originally Posted by I'm goin' down

Why?

It's the equivalent of 'extending a line along your plot to predict the future course of the target' and then plotting against that to pick up corrections. Assuming that you are closing your target, after a while, if your measured range is closer than your generated range, then the target is either on a course more towards you or it's got a higher speed than you thought or both. Unfortunately due to a bug in the in game TDC it's not as useful as a real TDC, which could be used to detect zigs away and toward.

Originally Posted by I'm goin' down

So, you are saying the I do not need the constant bearing attack, Dick O;Kane, Cromwell, Easy Aob, Solution Solver, or pure luck now that I am using your mod. (RR will soon retire to the dust bin of history, where he will join Captain MattJ). Let the TDC do the work, you say.

If you can track, plot, get a course and speed and understand what's going on, then yes.

Originally Posted by I'm goin' down

Okay, but what is it doing? Tracking the target? Setting the gyro angle? Creating a lead angle? Setting the Aob?

Yes, yes, no because there is no lead angle when using gyro setting and yes.

The TDC will however tell you what the gyro angle is and if you want, you can wait until the gyro angle is close to zero.

Originally Posted by I'm goin' down

Why do I need to send Aob, or do I? I am familiar with Easy Aob, but for that mod, one still has to set Aob as i recall.

There's too much emphasis on the AoB as that conjures up images of guestimating through the periscope. It's important to realise that AoB is only an expression of the traget's course relative to your own course and the target's relative bearing. When you enter the AoB, you are entering the course. If you change the target's course, the AoB also changes as they are closely related.

Originally Posted by I'm goin' down

Then, after determining range, the PK is activated. What you say is happening is that the TDC has formulated a solution for the course and speed of the target now that it has been activated.

The TDC doesn't calculate a course and speed. The stopwatch icon is just a link to get your crew to do it for you. So, strictly speaking, the TDC will only generate a position for a ship based on information that you give it. Although in game the button to calculate a course and speed are on the TDC controls, it's the crew doing it.

Originally Posted by I'm goin' down

How do I know when to fire torpedoes? What is the best bearing and range?

Read the tactical situation on the TDC and use that as your guide. Fire torpedoes at the best position you can.

Originally Posted by I'm goin' down

Since I did not have the answer to these questions, I reverted to the constant bearing attack, by double clicking the range button with the periscope at 350 degrees, set the Aob at 80 (90 degrees - 10 degrees) and fired when the target crossed the firing point of 350 degrees (360 degrees - 10 degrees).

It's a miracle you hit anything at all if you had the PK running whilst you did that. Why tell the TDC to point torpdoes at a target that isn't there? It doesn't make sense does it? Surely you should be updating the TDC with information that is accurate? If you point the scope to a bearing where the ship is not and then tell the TDC that the target is there, then you're deliberately entering a wrong problem and you'll get a wrong solution. I don't see the point in going to all that trouble to plot the target and develop an accurate picture of what the ship is doing if you're going to use an attack method which relies on putting in incorrect target data.

By the way, that's not a constant bearing attack either, it's more of an O'Kane attack, except with the PK on (which doesn't work well).

Originally Posted by I'm goin' down

What should I have done instead? Remember, you invented this device, I didn't, but I am trying to understand it.

Put the right information in! Right problem = right solution. This mod doesn't change the attack methods, it just makes them more accurate and easier to use. The manual use of the TDC has not changed.

Originally Posted by I'm goin' down

How can you correct the TDC solution? If the target's course calculated by the TDC is wrong, how will you know and how can you correct it? If you plot its course and the course and speed are different that those set by the TDC, how do you know which are the correct course and speed?

By 'target's course calculated by the TDC' I'm assuming you mean the stopwatch button, which is the same as asking your XO for a target ID. If the course and speed entered into the TDC is wrong then it will show up over time. The more incorrect the problem in the TDC the faster the discrepancise will become obvious.

Think of it this way:

You are standing with a radar set and a car to the North is coming towards you. You first notice it when it's 2 miles away and you estimate that the speed of the car is 60 MPH. After a minute you take another measurement and find that the car is 1.5 miles away, but it's still directly to the North. So, it's obvious that the car isn't going at 60 MPH. If it were, it would be a mile away, so you can adjust your speed accordingly. It's also obvious that the car is travelling due South.

Now imagine that the car isn't travelling directly towards you, but is travelling SW instead. After a minute it won't be directly north of you anymore, so your initial estimate of south was wrong. As it's moved to your NW you know that he is travelling more westwards.

The upcoming TDC tutorial by JCC will help to clear up some things. It's coming soon (TM).