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Old 03-22-14, 02:29 AM   #3
Sniper297
The Old Man
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Philadelphia Shipyard Brig
Posts: 1,386
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No, the size of the hole is directly related to the damage radius. Doubling the radius results in really ridiculous damage, peeling the entire skin off half the length of a battleship, sometimes on both sides. In real life blast radius is proportional to explosive strength, in the game for some reason they made it a separate program. Shipboard explosions can cause damage over a large area or be contained in a small area, it depends on the strength of the material it's exploding inside. Blast overpressure in real life is maximum at the center of the explosion, and decreases further from the center. So a torpedo hit in (for example) the forward engine room of a DE will destroy the compartment and the engine, cause major damage to the after engine room and after boiler room, and minor damage to the forward boiler room which is further away. Underwater explosions in real life are vented upwards (into air, line of least resistance) but the game doesn't model that so if you're passing underneath an exploding ship and within the blast radius you'll get an effect proportional to the distance from the center of the blast. At 150% you could get the usual periscopes and deck gun damage if you're within 500 yards when the fish hits, at 175% and 135% power the damage doesn't peter out completely until further out.

Stock SH4 numbers for the MK 14;

Min EF - 180
Max EF- 350

So the blast itself is a variable, at dead center it can take off anywhere from 180 to 350 hit points. As you move further from center the number of hit points taken from the compartment diminishes.

Min radius - 3.5
Max radius - 8.0

The explosion takes maximum hit points from the center to the min radius, so anywhere within 3.5 meters of center the number will be the same as at center, then be reduced until the max radius of 8 meters - at 8.1 meters from center no damage. Increase to 175% then blast will cause damage out to 14 meters, which is about 46 feet. In itself that won't bother a sub 1000 yards away at periscope depth, but a 46 foot blast radius involves a lot more compartments and can set off some spectacular secondary explosions which WILL go out beyond 1000 yards.

It's actually possible and sometimes happens in the stock game that you take damage from a target blowing up if you're too close to it, but the larger the initial damage the more likely it becomes. Up to the 125-150 you can close to within 500 yards before shooting a battleship, cruiser, or ammo ship and be safe 9 times out of 10, but at 135-175 it's best to stay back at least 1000 yards simply because the big bang is more likely.
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