Slight problem with objectives

[Kobal2]

OK, first of all, a big thank you to all of you guys from a longtime lurker - you don't know how often you've helped me out, both in SH3 and SH4

Now, I've got a problem in my current campaign that I couldn't find adressed using the Search function, here goes :

Second war patrol on a Sargo boat in the Asiatic fleet (from a career started 8 dec. 1941), it's now mid-january 42 and I'm ordered to drop soldiers at Luzon, presumably to help out with the Manilla situation. Fair enough.

Passing through Macassar strait, at 4:00 AM I stumble upon a *big* jap task force, including two small flat tops (Taiyu escort carriers), steaming south at 18 knots. After telling the grunts to grab onto something and shut up, I plot an intercept and attack carefully and manage to snipe both carriers from 3000 yards, 4 torps each set to slow. By the time they blow up, I'm 300 feet deep and creeping away. Needless to say, the half-dozen destroyers in the convoy were not amused, and they searched for me frantically. A lot of deap sea fishes are subsequently depth charged, much to their surprise.

Anyway, I managed to evade them and, when I was about half a mile north of them, having made sure they were looking for me somewhere else, I surfaced to warn Java they have a lot of metal heading their way fast (ie : "send contact report"). ComSubPac replies : "good find ! sink 'em !", to which I reply "Cute".

Like I'm going to run at 20 knots for 6 hours only to catch up with a battlegroup now on edge, in broad daylight. I ignore the order and steam on to my original destination, and my original assignment.

The drop goes on without a hitch. I move back to the open sea and send a sitrep to get a new assignment. Nothing. I check my objective page and sure enough, "Inflict heavy losses to the task force" is still there, showing as incomplete. I surmise that I won't get a new mission until this one is over. I further surmise that, having sailed 18 knots for over 4 days, that bloody task force could be absolutely *anywhere* by now, so there's no way for me to actually finish that mission.

So...what now ? I suppose I could/should merely prowl along the shipping lanes and empty my torp stores, then head back to base, but I wondered if maybe there was a way to solve this "properly", or maybe to edit my save so the mission disappears.

Any ideas ?

[SteamWake]

Have had this same scenario. No way in hell to catch them and still have enough fuel to get home.

Only suggestion I can make is to take out as much shipping as you can and perchance meet the tonnage requirements and satisfy the mission requirements and return home.

Im not sure if its tied to the specific TF or not. I know that 'sink enemy shipping' task once the star turns grey you can sink tonnage literally anywhere the location of the star is irrelevant.

[cali03boss]

First rule of thumb is don't engage something if it will harbor your mission objectives. Base, and the Navy will not look lightly on this.....the fact you got two carriers might keep you in career.

[Snuffy]

I've had multiple objectives handed to me from ComSubPac. Some get completed, others don't.

The sim will keep track of your missions you can count on it, but it also accepts stuff you do otherwise.

You can "free lance" for a while or you can send a couple more sitation reports back home and see if they don't give you something else to do. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

You might loose a little renown for not completing the mission but that's something you have to come to terms with.

Good Luck Capt'n whatever you do.

[cali03boss]

Remember that the game weighs certain missions as more important than others. For example, if you enter a part of the war where there was a huge task force that had to be intercepted, and you're near it...you will get told to go there. If it says sink the carrier and you don't, it is either gonna be a bigger loss of renown or a kick out....which is way harsher than the punishment for not making it to your "patrol area".

Specified missions that I fail are always the ones that kill my career. Missing patrol routes doesn't do anything (for me)

[John Channing]

If you don't successfully complete your objectives, or only complete 1 per patrol and then go off on your own you can count on being retired, regardless of how much tonage you sink.

JCC

[Kobal2]

Hmmm. Seems there are two opinions there : "just do your thang, dawg, you'll be fine !", and "if you do your own thing, you'll get ****canned faster than a very fast thing shat down from a great height, son."

Serves me right for volunteering to anything, I suppose .

Ah well. I'll just sink Tojo's rowboats for the remainder of that patrol then, and remember in the future that one should report contacts BEFORE an engagement, not afterwards.

Thanks all !

[John Channing]

More than an opinion.

The game has two tracking systems. One is renown that is accumulated by racking up tonnage. This helps you get upgrades when they become available.

The second tracks the number of objectives you complete. Everytime you complete an objective while on patrol you should radio in for a new one and then complete it. You should get new objectives as long as you have fuel and ordnance.

If you don't complete your objective, or only complete one per patrol and then go off freelancing, the game considers you a waste of a good sub, regardless of your tonnage, and retires you. In real life the skippers did not set the strategic objectives, & neither do you.

Tonnage matters, but winning the war matters more.

JCC

One tactic i tried tonight and that seemed to work was to engage a convoy and sink the escorts. Then I surfaced and called in the convoy! I got the order to treat tankers as a priority - and then had a field day . Ever since the 1.3 update I have not felt safe in approaching a convoy surfaced as the escorts are now just too good at spotting me before I have the three ships in sight necessary to send the contact report .

[Kobal2]

Originally Posted by John Channing

More than an opinion.

The game has two tracking systems. One is renown that is accumulated by racking up tonnage. This helps you get upgrades when they become available.

The second tracks the number of objectives you complete. Everytime you complete an objective while on patrol you should radio in for a new one and then complete it. You should get new objectives as long as you have fuel and ordnance.

If you don't complete your objective, or only complete one per patrol and then go off freelancing, the game considers you a waste of a good sub, regardless of your tonnage, and retires you. In real life the skippers did not set the strategic objectives, & neither do you.

Tonnage matters, but winning the war matters more.

JCC

I get that, what I'm a little raw about is that this one wasn't even a "real" objective.

What I mean is that I could have just kept my mouth shut and completely avoided that TF alltogether, or plinked the carriers and sailed on, completed my assignment and gotten another one (and then complete that new one and so on). No one would have been the wiser at HQ.
But now I've got this incomplete, uncompletable mission - and like you say it's gonna be a black spot on my record and might even get me a brand new command at the helm of USS Desk when I come home... It ain't fair is all.

I'll definitely be more carefull in the future.

[seafarer]

As anyone who has served in a branch of their nation's military learns - there's a time to speak up, and a time to shut up (well, and a time to STFU, but that's a different situation, and one you'll be made well aware of) :p

[John Channing]

Originally Posted by Kobal2

I get that, what I'm a little raw about is that this one wasn't even a "real" objective.

What I mean is that I could have just kept my mouth shut and completely avoided that TF alltogether, or plinked the carriers and sailed on, completed my assignment and gotten another one (and then complete that new one and so on). No one would have been the wiser at HQ.
But now I've got this incomplete, uncompletable mission - and like you say it's gonna be a black spot on my record and might even get me a brand new command at the helm of USS Desk when I come home... It ain't fair is all.

I'll definitely be more carefull in the future.

Exactly. There is a time to let the REMFs know what is going on and a time not to!

I am reminded of the story about the Briefing Room in the Pentagon where the Joint Chiefs bring in "experts" from the various branches to keep them up to speed on operational stuff. In this room there is a podium, and on this podium is attached a brass palque. Inscribed on this plaque are the immortal words "Never pass up a golden opportunity to keep your mouth shut!"

JCC