Alright merc4ulfate... maybe there is an issue - but it's that you are just too highly skilled for the game, good sir...
- I am going to bombard you with pix, but they sure are pretty pictures... even if I did scrunch them up a lot with the jpeg, and I had a blast this time, because I didn't get sunk
...
First of all, I approached the 2nd group from the northeast side again, slipping between the two lead DD, and the 1st one on their starboard flank. I could have shot at the Fuso (I finally did ID it) first, but passed for the chance at the 3 CV. Also, I realized I have Mark 23 torps, not Mark 18... I'm not color-blind...
- also, I did an external camera around the group, and there are two DD leading center, single-file. Three DD down each side of the group, and 2x across the rear for a total of ten. Then there is a group of 2x merchants that have another, so 11 DD in the immediate area. Anyway, I shot at the 3 CV from a considerably longer distance than I normally do. Heading 268°, did another peek, made my marks (again) to "see" where everybody was, and it did look good to shoot at all three. Far Shokaku was 6700 away, torps set to slow, so up scope, fire one, pause, fire two, down scope, I waited 16 seconds (but it was bad math), 10° left on the scope, up scope, fire three, pause, fire four, down scope. Ten degrees more left, waiting 12 seconds, up scope, whoops! 4 more degrees left, fire 5, pause, fire 6, down scope, take her deep to 300, Ahead Standard! Bring her to 224°... The torps hit on the Unryu first... by about 10 seconds, then on the near Shokaku, and once again the far CV had time to slow down, and I missed ahead about another 10 seconds later... ratz!... Oh well, no big deal. That's what you get for calculating on the middle, and being off on the other two. However, both of the others look like they'll go down, and the Shokaku once again blew itself to pieces in short order. No duds in those four hits. Then the Unryu went down - did I mention I barely hit the bow, but got under the tower with the 2nd?...
That's the far Shokaku getting away...
Now, while taking my screenshots, I look right, and for whatever reason, the Fuso has decided to "standby", so I wasn't that deep yet, still had four in the aft tubes, so I came back up from 115 to PD, as the turn was finishing. Set my torps and then up scope, got 'im 180, fire 7, pause, fire - whoops! where did this DD crowding my scope come from??!?... fire 8. Re-set nine and ten for shallow, fire 9, change the "lead", fire ten. Take her deep, Ahead Flank, hard right rudder!... "Torpedo is a dud sir!" Boom! "torpedo is a dud sir!, and a bit later, "torpedo missed, sir", so two hits on the Fuso, one detonation, one hit on the DD, no detonation. Now, these guys were 4200 & 3600 away, so I did not expect to hit the DD, just turn him, which he did... headed for the thermal, and since the DD was now so close I went ahead an went silent at 185 after we passed it, went to one knot, and came to 270, toward where there wasn't anyone, and then just cruised along for a while, with five and then six DD up above just milling about, not too far behind me, not too close, dropping and shooting depth charges all over the place. In the meantime, a couple of those dark green carrier planes (A6M) came by again and dropped bombs, as did a Jake and a Paul... Here's the thing:
I took these pics for the "interaction" of the ships and the lifeboats... But these liferafts & lifeboats - four from the Unryu, and six from the Shokaku - seem to have an effect on things. I initially didn't think too much about it at the time, but later...
At the time, this is what I was thinking it might be:
lots of sonar lines. I am seeing more than the immediate group.
After a bit, it's only me, the Unryu lifeboats, and one lone DD that seems to think it's important for him to be over here...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the gathering:
For whatever reason, no one seems too concerned with almost running over lifeboats, or launching depth charges around them, or dropping bombs from their planes near them. I don't know who got the one, but one of their brethren sank one of the lifeboats. Blew up pretty. I've got a picture of it "sinking"... That was when the computer started with the hiccup stutters...
Now, one thing I hadn't noticed at the time, was that the Fuso was standing still... That one hit I got on it apparently took the boilers or the props out, 'cause the screws were not turning. Slight list, standing dead in the water. The Mogami and the remaining Shokaku are by now on the horizon, and the Fuso is standing still
so I start heading its way - patiently... The hunting DD drop off one by one, until there is only one left nearby, and he is northeast of the Fuso. I'm southwest of the Fuso... By this time, I have five loaded up front, so... Periscope depth, up scope, mark! down scope... hmmm 5200 yard, standing still. I'll go ahead and shoot four slow, leaving the one, with the other about loaded, in case he does take off... He didn't:
notice how I marked-up the picture? Ten lifeboats and rafts...
After I had turned and went deep again, thinking I would have some company soon, I looked back, and where you see the oval here:
there are those 10 lifeboats still there, two airplanes and two DD milling about, dropping depth charges. Now, out in front of me, which at the time I didn't think much about it is:
lifeboats from the Unryu. Look at the clock. They're still around, as are the remaining Shokaku lifeboats... Also, I then surfaced for air, and there are two airplanes right there!
So we've got ten lifeboats from the Fuso, 3 left from the Unryu, and five left from the Shokaku, all within about a 2nm area there... and my frame rate is down to 24 on the big box...
what would happen with another CV's lifeboats and / or a Mogami's?...
Later at evening, we surfaced and are now cruising down around Palau, but initially when we came up, it was a dark night, cloudy, thundering, wind up a bit, and the framerate is at 30fps...
but then the sky cleared, and we saw the moon
We did have a contact for just a little while to the southeast, and I thought we might get to have some more fun, but alas, I lost 'em in the night... at least, thus far
maybe we'll go so see what comes and goes in the harbor...
So we might call on our consultants merc4ulfate, and see when liferafts are supposed to "disappear", how far away you have to be, and maybe somehow try to figure-out how much they impact the framerate. It still might also be something else spawning in the area, but I didn't have any stuttering until they destroyed one of their own lifeboats, and the stutters were more than noticeable after sinking the Fuso, with the two planes right there... ?? I might make me a "static" mission with the same ships (no DD to chase me), and see how the lifeboats affect a SingleMission, and watch it on the resource monitor...
