Quote:
Originally Posted by LordCucumber
Ok... so what if you would back up silently with your nose to the enemy instead of heading away with your stern to the enemy.. Would your own boat's profile mask the sound (blocking it if you are facing the enemy on 0 degrees)?
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Your boats profile doesn't mask sound as far as I know, at least not in the game. Perhaps realistically speaking, if you moved in reverse, your hull would be in between the destroyer trying to listen for you and your screws, which generate noise, dampening the noise a bit. Moving in reverse is slower though - the same RPMs would move you a bit faster ahead because of the submarine's shape. So moving ahead is probably a better idea anyway.
In game, your sound level depends only on engine RPMs and silent running status (repairs, loading torpedoes etc. cause noise), as far as I know. Your depth and distance from the ship listening for you determine if this sound will be heard or not. Your aspect or direction of movement do not matter.
But if the listening enemy switches to sonar instead, aspect immediately becomes the most important factor and sound level isn't important anymore. Unless, of course, some other ship is still listening, or the ship using asdic switches back to passive listening.
Thus, moving as silently as possible and maintaining as narrow a profile as possible is always the best plan.