Quote:
PTO IRL was not easy by any means, only very few USS patrols in whole war had more then 30k tonnage:
http://www.valoratsea.com/records1.htm
and only small amount of US Subs managed to sink more the 30k in whole war.
|
Part of the problem is traffic is too plentiful. Ive reworked the campaign layers (not published yet) that should lessen this problem. Although, fact of the matter is, players ARE going to sink more tonnage then historically possible - all were talking about here is a matter of degree. The smallest degree, the better, but i dont think ill ever get tonnage scores to exacting historical paramaters.
Another part of the "realistic tonnage" formula is, as you mentioned, torpedos. I have increased failure rate, but i dont want to increase it to the point of utter frustration. Yes, true, historically accurete - however, i personally keep in mind that this is indeed, a video game meant to entertain, simulation though it may be. Dud rate, i want more then stock, but less then the frustration point. Which is all well and good, but it still leaves me with ordinance a bit more potent then statistics would show. I could always reduce the warhead strength, but its my opinion that the warheads are right where they need to be.
Another part is sinking mechanics. The tricker things are to sink, the more ordinance your apt to use, the less sinkings you earn because you dont have enough ordinance for it. The biggest thing here, is uncertaintly. If i could remove that target destroyed message, it would be a HUGE step in the right direction. But since i can't, players know exactly what they need, and use no more. I could always try and adapt some version of NSM, but the main bennfit to NSM, from a techncial standpoint, is more realistic deck gun performance. I could always do this, by simply lowering shell damage and slighly decreasing ROF.
ASW, is a huge part of it as well. In particualr to ASW patrols and convoy escorts. Speaking from a game design point of view - The lack or shortage of escorts in some instances of the current campaign layers in TM is one contributer to this, as well as ASW sensors needing some more fine tuning. An aggressive AI, is a HUGE deterent. They dont have to kill you, they just have to keep your head down. if they do that, they have accomplished their purpose.
edit:
It just occured to me, that by my very defintion of stated goals (75% realistc / 25% gameplay), makes historicaly accurate tonnage on the part of the player all but impossible. That said, where 100K patrols were possible, right now i think the most a player can expect on a patrol is around 30K.. maybe 40K if they get some choice targets. If i can keep that locked down to 30K or less (give or take), i think its an accurate measure of having obtained my stated goals.