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Originally Posted by Captain J. Borne
This is not entirely an accurate statement. If the crew did not have an idea on what the hull was like, they wouldn't be very good at what they do, would they?....
Now the noise meter is also another realistic thing that somehow some submarine enthusiasts would say are not realistic. I think the XO or Chief could give the captain a very good idea of their current noise level.
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I'll take the really erroneous one first. What you have is a stealth meter, not a noise level meter. It doesn't tell you whether you are quiet, it tells if the opposition can detect you. This would be impossible without a spy in the enemy escorts. Then he would have to concoct an undetectable way to communicate his information to the submarine. Not realistic.
In the game you know that if you are under 100 RPM you are "pretty stealthy." You know that if you present a narrow aspect to the enemy you are "pretty stealthy." That is all you should know. To claim that a gauge telling you how detectable you are by the enemy is credible is ludicrous. More like reaching for a point that isn't there.
But the hull damage percentage. There are so many places on a submarine that are not accessible at sea that it is entirely possible that the crew either doesn't know they have a problem, or that they know they have a problem but don't know how it affects depth-keeping ability. Please study U-505 history. They were bombed very effectively by a Lancaster. For the next two cruises until the boat was captured they had gremlins that they were dealing with constantly, however neither the crew nor shore turnaround crews ever diagnosed the anomaly. They didn't know what the capabilities of their sub were any more and that could have been a contributing factor to their failed surface and scuttle maneuver.
Submarine crews do not have x-ray eyes, no matter how much real experience they have. Yes, if they happen to have known damage they can sometimes make a guesstimate as to what the effect on performance is. But their knowledge is a random event with random accuracy. Our damage meter is precise, with precise effects--completely, totally and unacceptably unrealistic.
Yes, submarine and U-Boat crews are very good at what they do. They are not very good at what they cannot do, just like anyone else.
A fine example is the Thresher, which had unknown fatal defects. Are you saying they weren't such a good crew? I say they didn't have x-ray eyes but were a VERY good crew. Their lack of a hull damage meter (actually should be a pressure vessel damage meter) killed them.
The unknown is what separates a simulation from an arcade game. The stealth gauge and hull damage meter are arcade game features infesting a supposed simulation.