Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcello
My experience with patrolling in 1944 is that at least until mast mounted RWR will become available I am forced to keep the stealth meter and use it as an ersatz RWR, otherwise getting bombed by aircrafts is pretty much guaranteed even with a very conservative snorting regime (one ten minutes run in daylight to renew oxygen supply and 60-120 minutes at night to recharge the batteries, in one or two runs and always at slow speed).
From what I understand snorkel was considered a life saver (though far from being a sure thing detection by visual or radar was possible) but running surfaced with sail mounted RWR and a good watch crew seems a competitive alternative in the game.
The impression I get is that there are perhaps less aircrafts in the air looking for subs than in real life but with better snorkel spotting capabilities (which might be a reasonable game compromise, after all the number of ASW assets on patrol at any given moment must have been huge at such late date).Is this just perception?
I am running GWX 3.0, Commander and Hsie patch. I am in admittedly hot areas, AM51 or AM52.
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Snorkelling in the GWX world is very doable, it just takes patience rather than the stealth meter. Also there are non-radar equipped aircraft (Mosquitoes, Beaufighters, Avengers and Martlets) that can kill you and will not trigger an RWR warning.
To survive in the SH3 snorkel world:
Turn Map Contacts ON.
Snorkel only from the Navigation Map screen zoomed to the 2500 metre scale (one square = 500 metres).
At least one periscope must be raised at all times when snorkelling. It does not appear to matter which periscope although generally the Sky (Observation) scope was manned by a lookout at all times. Having both scopes raised offers no advantage but does increase the likelihood of having both destroyed. Then you're in trouble.
No more TC than x8. On clear days or after you get fitted with the mast-mounted RWR going to x16 is possible but dangerous. Snorkelling is an exercise in patience.
Watch the map display closely. Aircraft will appear on the map as moving triangles and even a x8 they are moving Very Fast. If you spot one, set TC to x1, get the mast and periscope down immediately, crash dive and make a radical turn towards the incoming plane if practical. This often results in the depth charges landing safely behind you but is the worst target aspect if the plane is equipped with Stiebler's homing torpedo.
If using Steibler's FIDO Mod, you become very vulnerable should the attacker drop one since you're making lots of noise and you generally will not have the luxury of identifying the type of aircraft. If you hear a splash but no explosion, start thinking FIDO, switch to Silent Running and reverse course to put your boat between the torpedo and your screws. If your're still alive in 10-minutes, resume normal operations.
Once attacked by aircraft, clear the datum since GWX may spawn attack groups from nearby ports that can come out and investigate. If you have no hydrophone contacts in 4-6 hours, it should be safe to snorkel again.
Many SH3 users have issues with corrupted games that were saved while submerged but almost all of my careers are late-war, saved while submerged and I do not recall having any bad saves or lost careers since implementing the protocols below.
When saving in SH3 while submerged:
TC x1 or pause before saving;
Never save at periscope depth, when snorkelling or with a periscope up;
Never save in contact with the enemy. Allow 1-2 hours of game time to pass before saving after an air contact;
Never save within 50-km of any port (I use the compass tools to draw 50-km circles around all the ports in my area of operations s I know where not to save);
Always save in the Control Room screen (I do not why or even if this is relevant but since I started consciously doing so I have never lost a save. It may just be a placebo though...);
Always wait at least 30-seconds to 1-minute after making course or speed alterations and running any TC > x1 before saving; and
Never overwrite a previous save, each save should be unique.
Have fun snorkelling in SH3 and Good Hunting.