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Sniper297 · 07-25-20, 03:23 PM

I'd have to hunt through SINK 'EM ALL to find the exact year, but best I recall the "Alka-Seltzer" bubble decoy (copied from the German "pillenwerfer") wasn't available until 1943 or 1944. Stock game has them available at the beginning, although you only get 10 per patrol and they only last 10 minutes. I made a hack for that;

https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/dow...o=file&id=5186

Which makes it easier, not harder. Although the game itself has oversimplified programming that makes everything ridiculously easy or ridiculously hard, the AI seems to call the Psychic Friends Network and get a crystal ball reading sometimes, at other times they're completely clueless.

I was an Aviation ASW Tech in a heavy helicopter antisubmarine squadron 40 years ago, so the only real sonar I'm familiar with was the AN/AQS-13 Alpha in the Sikorsky Sea King helicopter.

Pic of the dip sonar being retracted, built in bathythermograph and could be adjusted from 40 feet to 450 feet deep to check between layers. A lot more powerful and sophisticated than anything in WWII, and omnidirectional so there was no need to sweep or focus on a target. I can tell you that the stock game oversimplifies thermal layers, they're treated like a flat plane at a constant depth. In the \Data\Cfg\Sim.cfg file is the sensitivities for the AI;

[Hydrophone]
Detection time=1 ;[s]
Sensitivity=0.15 ;(0..1)
Height factor=0 ;[m]
Waves factor=1.0 ;[>=0]
Speed factor=15 ;[kt]
Noise factor=1.0 ;[>=0]
Thermal Layer Signal Attenuation=3.0 ;[>0], 1 means no signal reduction, 3 equals signal reduction to 33%

[Sonar]
Detection time=5 ;[s]
Sensitivity=0.1 ;(0..1)
Waves factor=1.0 ;[>=0]
Speed factor=20 ;[kt]
Enemy surface factor=200 ;[m2]
Lose time=30 ;[s]
Thermal Layer Signal Attenuation=5.0 ;[>0], 1 means no signal reduction, 5 equals signal reduction to 20%

In the stock game if you were at 320 feet, even running at flank speed they wouldn't be able to hear you let alone get an echo, because the stock game settings are beyond crazy. I would guess if you look at that file in FOTRS you'll find they went overboard in the other direction, possibly some middle setting would work better - my personal hacking goals are challenging but not impossible.

In real life thermal layers are varying strength and depth, no way I know of to simulate that in this game.

Don't recall trying FOTRS, but all the other super mods I've tried seem to focus on making everything more difficult. If the arcade style "GAME OVER!!" happens too frequently, I'd suggest editing the files to make the depth charges/AI sonar a little less accurate and/or less damaging.

07-25-20, 03:23 PM	#6
Sniper297 The Old Man Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Philadelphia Shipyard Brig Posts: 1,386 Downloads: 160 Uploads: 19	I'd have to hunt through SINK 'EM ALL to find the exact year, but best I recall the "Alka-Seltzer" bubble decoy (copied from the German "pillenwerfer") wasn't available until 1943 or 1944. Stock game has them available at the beginning, although you only get 10 per patrol and they only last 10 minutes. I made a hack for that; https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/dow...o=file&id=5186 Which makes it easier, not harder. Although the game itself has oversimplified programming that makes everything ridiculously easy or ridiculously hard, the AI seems to call the Psychic Friends Network and get a crystal ball reading sometimes, at other times they're completely clueless. I was an Aviation ASW Tech in a heavy helicopter antisubmarine squadron 40 years ago, so the only real sonar I'm familiar with was the AN/AQS-13 Alpha in the Sikorsky Sea King helicopter. Pic of the dip sonar being retracted, built in bathythermograph and could be adjusted from 40 feet to 450 feet deep to check between layers. A lot more powerful and sophisticated than anything in WWII, and omnidirectional so there was no need to sweep or focus on a target. I can tell you that the stock game oversimplifies thermal layers, they're treated like a flat plane at a constant depth. In the \Data\Cfg\Sim.cfg file is the sensitivities for the AI; [Hydrophone] Detection time=1 ;[s] Sensitivity=0.15 ;(0..1) Height factor=0 ;[m] Waves factor=1.0 ;[>=0] Speed factor=15 ;[kt] Noise factor=1.0 ;[>=0] Thermal Layer Signal Attenuation=3.0 ;[>0], 1 means no signal reduction, 3 equals signal reduction to 33% [Sonar] Detection time=5 ;[s] Sensitivity=0.1 ;(0..1) Waves factor=1.0 ;[>=0] Speed factor=20 ;[kt] Enemy surface factor=200 ;[m2] Lose time=30 ;[s] Thermal Layer Signal Attenuation=5.0 ;[>0], 1 means no signal reduction, 5 equals signal reduction to 20% In the stock game if you were at 320 feet, even running at flank speed they wouldn't be able to hear you let alone get an echo, because the stock game settings are beyond crazy. I would guess if you look at that file in FOTRS you'll find they went overboard in the other direction, possibly some middle setting would work better - my personal hacking goals are challenging but not impossible. In real life thermal layers are varying strength and depth, no way I know of to simulate that in this game. Don't recall trying FOTRS, but all the other super mods I've tried seem to focus on making everything more difficult. If the arcade style "GAME OVER!!" happens too frequently, I'd suggest editing the files to make the depth charges/AI sonar a little less accurate and/or less damaging.