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shortpeople · 07-20-19, 04:57 PM

well I played a campaign with rfb 2.0.
one patrol starting out of Pearl at beginning of war.

I very much appreciate the time, effort and brilliant thought that went into this mod. I really like tweaks to the crew management. I like the gauges, TDC interface and door open/close feature. I think the difficulty with map markings reduced, torpedo headings on attack map removed etc struck a pretty good balance. My torpedo hit rate was pretty low... somewhere just above 50%, but I chalk that up to my own capabilities rather than the mod being too difficult.

Criticisms:
1) I don't think I like the damage model. I do really like the idea of a damage model that emphasizes ship structure and torpedo placement over hit points. But I think RFB has done a little overkill in trying to make sinkings realistic at the expense of fun gameplay. I hit several SMALL freighters with 2 torpedoes each and followed up with many, many deck gun rounds. In the end, returned to port with only one sinking.... and that sinking took about a full day after two torpedo hits and about … oh I lost count of... deck gun rounds. Significant number of holes below the waterline from gun fire and two gaping holes from torpedoes and the thing just wouldn't sink. Again, this was a small freighter. Maybe realistic? But in the end I was bored. I think I saw some similar criticisms of RFB elsewhere on this thread and others. I don't know if anyone is still managing this mod or not. But if they are... I might recommend adding the lucky shot back to the model and upping the gain on compartment flooding a little.

2) The Escorts were inept. Maybe this was intentional of the MODer(s) for the beginning of the war? I hit a large convoy at night several times, both on the surface and below. I could put myself between escorts and freighters with ease, with a combination of flank speed at periscope depth and surface runs as close as 750 yards from the escorts. I even opened up with deckgun on the freighters within this range of escorts. Never a search light. Never return fire. Never a depth charge. They did seem to change course every now and then to look for me... but no attack. I heard one or two pings over the course of a 12 hour attack. It was nice relief from being detected in the stock game by escorts while my boat was sitting silent, periscope down and using sonar to track and wait for a 90 AOB shot (ridiculousness of the stock game). But RFB was very much in the opposite extreme.

I really do appreciate the effort that MODers put into their work. And I definitely respect the ideas put into this mod. But after a single patrol I found myself asking if I had more fun with the stock game or this mod. I lean toward the stock game.

Thanks to the MODers for giving players the opportunity to check out their work though. I have to respect the time folks put into these things.

I think I'm going to give the TMO with training wheels a shot next.

Salute!
ShortPeople.

07-20-19, 04:57 PM	#1376
shortpeople Swabbie Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: Houston Posts: 10 Downloads: 105 Uploads: 0	Constructive Criticisms well I played a campaign with rfb 2.0. one patrol starting out of Pearl at beginning of war. I very much appreciate the time, effort and brilliant thought that went into this mod. I really like tweaks to the crew management. I like the gauges, TDC interface and door open/close feature. I think the difficulty with map markings reduced, torpedo headings on attack map removed etc struck a pretty good balance. My torpedo hit rate was pretty low... somewhere just above 50%, but I chalk that up to my own capabilities rather than the mod being too difficult. Criticisms: 1) I don't think I like the damage model. I do really like the idea of a damage model that emphasizes ship structure and torpedo placement over hit points. But I think RFB has done a little overkill in trying to make sinkings realistic at the expense of fun gameplay. I hit several SMALL freighters with 2 torpedoes each and followed up with many, many deck gun rounds. In the end, returned to port with only one sinking.... and that sinking took about a full day after two torpedo hits and about … oh I lost count of... deck gun rounds. Significant number of holes below the waterline from gun fire and two gaping holes from torpedoes and the thing just wouldn't sink. Again, this was a small freighter. Maybe realistic? But in the end I was bored. I think I saw some similar criticisms of RFB elsewhere on this thread and others. I don't know if anyone is still managing this mod or not. But if they are... I might recommend adding the lucky shot back to the model and upping the gain on compartment flooding a little. 2) The Escorts were inept. Maybe this was intentional of the MODer(s) for the beginning of the war? I hit a large convoy at night several times, both on the surface and below. I could put myself between escorts and freighters with ease, with a combination of flank speed at periscope depth and surface runs as close as 750 yards from the escorts. I even opened up with deckgun on the freighters within this range of escorts. Never a search light. Never return fire. Never a depth charge. They did seem to change course every now and then to look for me... but no attack. I heard one or two pings over the course of a 12 hour attack. It was nice relief from being detected in the stock game by escorts while my boat was sitting silent, periscope down and using sonar to track and wait for a 90 AOB shot (ridiculousness of the stock game). But RFB was very much in the opposite extreme. I really do appreciate the effort that MODers put into their work. And I definitely respect the ideas put into this mod. But after a single patrol I found myself asking if I had more fun with the stock game or this mod. I lean toward the stock game. Thanks to the MODers for giving players the opportunity to check out their work though. I have to respect the time folks put into these things. I think I'm going to give the TMO with training wheels a shot next. Salute! ShortPeople.