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pampanito · 10-12-05, 04:59 PM

May I comment again on the issue of tonnage, the WaW campaign shows that SH3 players are perhaps sinking too many big ships, just look at the latest two periods covered by WaW:

Period June/August 1941
Real U-boat sinkings: 119 ships / 524,044 tons (average 4403)
Wolves at War (SH3): 88 ships / 534,377 tons (average 6072)

Period September/November 1941
Real U-boat sinkings: 100 ships / 459,079 tons (average 4590)
Wolves at War (SH3): 151 ships / 991,493 tons (average 6566)

For the whole war, U-boats destroyed 2918 ships for 14,879,472 tons, that's an average of just over 5000 tons per ship (5099 to be exact).

I agree that some commanders racked big tonnages, but if we look at Kals in U-130 we see that his impressive total is owed, in part, to a successful attack in unusual circumstances (the sinking of three anchored troop transports on 12 November 1942, EDWARD RUTLEDGE, TASKER H. BLISS and HUGH L. SCOTT, for a total of 34,407 tons) and also to the fact that his big U-boat was sent three times to the US coast/Caribbean during the 'Happy times' of 1942, bagging no less than seven big tankers. Even so, Kals' successes included two ships of barely 1500 tons, FRISCO and FIDRA, a size which is smaller than even the coastal merchants of SH3.

The Random tonnage mod works OK for me, with one 'but': the randomization seems too small, often just one or two tons between ship and ship, I think it should be at least a hundred. I have just sunk three C2 in my latest patrol, November/December 1941; awarded tonnages:
5159, 5160, 5161 !
In another patrol I sank just two C2; each had the same tonnage (5041).
Although I am afraid this small random margin is not the fault of the Random mod, but of the way the SH3 engine calculates the tonnage.

And I have yet to sink a ship in the range 4000-4900...

One last comment: if something seems too high (at least for the period 40/42) is the frequency with which convoys are attacked, too many convoys versus single ships. In WaW, 90% of the sinkings reported are from convoys! Add 'veteran' and 'elite' SH3 players, and each convoy battle ends in multiple sinkings of big ships.

BTW, a big THANK YOU to Beery, Observer and all other modders, who are still trying to make this game better and better!

10-12-05, 04:59 PM	#6
pampanito Mate Join Date: May 2005 Location: Spain Posts: 59 Downloads: 12 Uploads: 0	May I comment again on the issue of tonnage, the WaW campaign shows that SH3 players are perhaps sinking too many big ships, just look at the latest two periods covered by WaW: Period June/August 1941 Real U-boat sinkings: 119 ships / 524,044 tons (average 4403) Wolves at War (SH3): 88 ships / 534,377 tons (average 6072) Period September/November 1941 Real U-boat sinkings: 100 ships / 459,079 tons (average 4590) Wolves at War (SH3): 151 ships / 991,493 tons (average 6566) For the whole war, U-boats destroyed 2918 ships for 14,879,472 tons, that's an average of just over 5000 tons per ship (5099 to be exact). I agree that some commanders racked big tonnages, but if we look at Kals in U-130 we see that his impressive total is owed, in part, to a successful attack in unusual circumstances (the sinking of three anchored troop transports on 12 November 1942, EDWARD RUTLEDGE, TASKER H. BLISS and HUGH L. SCOTT, for a total of 34,407 tons) and also to the fact that his big U-boat was sent three times to the US coast/Caribbean during the 'Happy times' of 1942, bagging no less than seven big tankers. Even so, Kals' successes included two ships of barely 1500 tons, FRISCO and FIDRA, a size which is smaller than even the coastal merchants of SH3. The Random tonnage mod works OK for me, with one 'but': the randomization seems too small, often just one or two tons between ship and ship, I think it should be at least a hundred. I have just sunk three C2 in my latest patrol, November/December 1941; awarded tonnages: 5159, 5160, 5161 ! In another patrol I sank just two C2; each had the same tonnage (5041). Although I am afraid this small random margin is not the fault of the Random mod, but of the way the SH3 engine calculates the tonnage. And I have yet to sink a ship in the range 4000-4900... One last comment: if something seems too high (at least for the period 40/42) is the frequency with which convoys are attacked, too many convoys versus single ships. In WaW, 90% of the sinkings reported are from convoys! Add 'veteran' and 'elite' SH3 players, and each convoy battle ends in multiple sinkings of big ships. BTW, a big THANK YOU to Beery, Observer and all other modders, who are still trying to make this game better and better!