Main problem most people have (myself included) is when we ride with training wheels we put our minds in neutral and enjoy the ride while the training wheels do all the work.
The trick is to use the training wheels and make observations, take notes. Autotargeting says it's at 1400 yards going 6 knots with an AOB of 80, the gyro angle needle is at zero, the scope crosshairs locked on the center of the target say the bearing is 348 (or if he's coming from your right instead of left 012). Using different torpedoes or slow speed on the Mark 14, make a note of what the instruments are telling you at the moment the target reaches the zero gyro angle point. Also make mental notes using the periscope crosshairs to estimate range - how many divisions does the average size merchant ship fill in high power at 5000 yards? 2500? 500? If you have a mental picture of how big the target is supposed to look at near and far ranges for the different magnification settings, you'll have a subconscious warning if your calculations are way off when you change to manual targeting.
Use the unrealistic gameplay to study like you were studying to be an actual sub skipper, it will make the realistic game easier to master.
