We all started once in your situation...
You're in the right palce - this forum is very supportive. Enjoy!
Burning the deck doesn't do much, but in Vanilla SH3 it may have some effect to sink the ship. Get used to shoot the waterline and pierce some additional holes into the hull beneath the surface. You may want to install a major mod later and I think all of them change the damage model to "more realistic". Above the waterline you cause death and damage, but the ship stays afloat. Bismarck is a perfect example.
Man the deck gun yourself - and ask for the distance to target. Cut off 200 meters and shoot while the barrel rests steady. Observe the impacts of your shells zoomed in. All hits under the waterline will show a water splash close to the hull and a small impact animation with fire sensation. This is what you want.
Even Vanilla is quite complex and this game is no shooter. Some ships will take an hour to sink and others only minutes. The identical ship type may behave differently - due to waether conditions and cargo.
It is a major factor for the replayability (is this English?) of the game - nothing is certain. You hit the C2 right in the middle and it will split - and next time it will slow a bit and zigzag away.
|