[Rockin Robbins]

Originally Posted by Dr. Merc

Rob -

1. If you want to play in Iron Man mode, you go right ahead. I wrote the guide for newbies, and jumping straight into Iron Man mode from the get-go would be a bit much, given how much else there is to learn.

I write MY guides for newbies. That's what the Sub Skipper's Bag of Tricks thread is all about and I've had people frustrated even with automatic targeting taking up manual targteting and suddenly start having fun and sinking the enemy. Calling it "Iron Man Mode" is just silliness. It's nothing of the kind and is even more error tolerant than manual targeting. You ought to learn the game and see that I'm more than 100% right on this one.

Originally Posted by Dr. Merc

2. I have no idea what you mean by "spamming" the + key.

I quoth from the "manual." Assuming you're on the move, when one is coming more-or-less directly at you, hit the 'P' key, start madly hitting the + key ..." Another, "When you're out on patrol, your basic hand position will be your right hand on the + key, frantically hitting it over and over and over again..." and "as well as the game not responding to the + key being hit quickly..." and "Save the game, then blast to your destination, madly hitting the + key as the planes buzz frantically around you." and "when one is coming more-or-less directly at you, hit the 'P' key, start madly hitting the + key and..." and "If you've blundered your way into a busy flight zone and they're showing up every damn minute, just stop the boat, bring it down to periscope depth, start hitting the + key" and "With it up, you'll spot more planes and be hitting the + key more than you ever dreamed imaginable..." and "One of the great perils when playing SH4 is developing UbiSoft Repetitive Finger Syndrome (URFS) from hitting the + key so many zillions of times"

I believe that taken as a whole that qualifies as a fetish for spamming the plus key. Spamming is a gamer term for "madly hitting the + key."

Originally Posted by Dr. Merc

3. As for "advising people to put on a blindfold", you need to improve your reading skills a bit. That's only when trying to get from Point A to Point B and don't want to be bothered dealing with those pesky planes. I gave them three options, the 'blindfold' method being just one of them.

Putting on a blindfold is exactly what spamming the plus key does. While to the enemy time is passing at normal rate, to you it is zooming a couple thousand times faster. They buzz around you like bees, taking casual well-aimed shots that happen so fast you're just a fat sassy target that can't fight back. That plus key does nothing to help you fight the enemy. It's a blindfold so you don't see why you died and can't fight back. You use that kludge many times for diverse situations as quoted above.

Originally Posted by Dr. Merc

4. As for the mods, I asked both here and on the UBI site if there was any 'standard' mod that everyone put in to enhance the game and no one had one to offer. As for other mods, I certainly encouraged the readers to look around.

Best regards,
Doc

Doc that's like asking "is there a standard car you all drive?" and getting no answer but many many preferences. You would not then advise people not to buy a car, as you advise that mods are a waste of time. Mods are a matter of preference. None is "standard." None is essential. All of the megamods fix many defects in the stock game and introduce many new wrinkles in the AI, the mission structure, the enemy deployment, some add new ships, some tweak the periscopes.....you really have to spend some time reading the threads in the SH4 Pacific Mods forum and less time avoiding your acronym disease from spamming the plus key.

By the way, if you are really interested in airplane avoidance . And if you want to sink a lot of tonnage watch this. And remember, like you I don't say anything about surviving the experience.