[maillemaker]

Welcome aboard. I played SH3 for years, and just recently started SH5 a few months ago. I also am using the Wolves of Steel modpack.

You do not have to enable the Real Navigation. I don't use it. I understand that some people enjoy the micromanagement of the navigation of the submarine, and the uncertainty it gives in not knowing your true position at all times, but I do not have the time to spend driving the submarine. I fly at high time compression until targets are sighted. So all I want to do is plot the course, and then cruise along until the action happens. What I am primarily interested in is the attack and escape and evasion, and racking up tonnage, and surviving the war (or as far as you can go in SH5 anyway).

The WoS modpack has taken a lot of the work out of getting a ton of good mods to work together. But it is not perfect. There are a lot of glitches you have to know about.

For example, you're supposed to save and exit the game once you get about 200km out of port, and again when you are about 200km from returning. Otherwise you are likely to get a Crash to Desktop (CTD).

You also can't return to port until the next campaign is available or something like that. Otherwise when you are in the bunker and try to select a mission there will be no mission to select. I'm in that boat now as I just return to base when I'm out of torpedoes or fuel or damaged, so now I can't pick a new mission. I don't really care though I just start the patrol without one. I just don't get a patrol grid assigned so I just pick whatever I like.

What difficulty should I be playing my first campaign on?

To learn, I'd leave the ability to have external camera views on. I also have map contacts on. This way you will start to learn the sense of "scale" and being able to eyeball distances and speeds and such.

Is there a way to make torpedo attacking more automated and less confusing?

You can probably turn on auto-TDC, but I'm not sure. I always use manual. To me setting up the shots is a big part of the sim. I use 90 degree attacks always. With map contacts on, you just draw a point on the nose of any ship at 3 minute 15 second intervals, and draw a line between them. The length gives you the speed in knots. Now you approach the target at 90 degrees to its course, dial in the speed, set the Angle on Bow to either 90 degrees port or starboard, depending on whether your boat is 90 degrees to the port or starboard of the target's nose, and then turn the periscope left or right until the gyroangle reads 0. If the target is approaching from the right, you should have to turn your scope to the right, and if from the left, to the left. If this is backwards you have your AoB set backwards.

Then, when the target passes under the vertical reticule, fire the torpedoes. Make sure the torpedo doors are open before firing or there will be a delay until they open, and you will miss your shot.

With this method of attack, range does not matter. Though shots within 1000 meters have a greater chance of hitting, especially the more guesstimate your estimates of course and (mostly) speed are.

How do I select a mission when in the bunker at the beginning?

You go talk to the officer dude and select "Choose mission". But like I said above, if you enter the port at the wrong time this functionality breaks.

Are there certain abilities that I should avoid because they're broken?

I thought I read this, but then someone said it doesn't matter because the "kiddie factors" are turned off in the optionsviewereditor. I've given every award I can give and all my crew are "fully charged" now.

Steve