empty enemy ports

[She-Wolf]

Hi y'all. Am wandering about in the shipping lanes twixt Singapore and Japan, as orders required, and was not finding anything to engage, so thought I would snoop around some enemy ports to see what might be docked. After trying a port named Manya and chickening out because it gets too shallow, but seeing enemy activity, I found another named Kagoshima, situated in a bay. All seemed quiet, and indeed, when I got there, everything WAS quiet, because the whole place is totally empty of life; no ships, no men, no gun emplacements - nuffin. My crew are presently parked up and having a picnic in the sun amid empty cranes and deserted buildings....

Why would the game not populate is what I wonder.

I am using TMO ( which I like).

[Soviet Creeper]

Try using RSRD with TMO, both a fine mods and together is awsomeness. RSRD should fix ports so they have realistic traffic (just be carful, as when a ship is nearing a port it will "dock" and that means it will dissapear.)

[She-Wolf]

OK Soviet Creeper, will do that - thank you

[HW3]

Not every port will have merchants with RSRDC. I found one with only a ASW trawler in it, and nothing else (Iwo Jima). Try Saipan.

P.S. I keep looking at Manya and chickening out too. Tsurusaki was worth the effort it took to get in there.

[Armistead]

TMO and RSRD both use a lot of the same shipping lanes, although TMO's traffic does take some off routes so to speak. The best lane from Singy exist from Singy to about 30nms of the west coast of Borneo to Palawan.
It's a heavy shipping lane for RSRD, I can sit about 30nms from Brunei Bay and have at it with large convoys. Seems the heaviest traffic is in 44, also many large TF use it in Oct. 44 for the Battle of PS, including Kurita's Center force.

[She-Wolf]

I restarted my career after putting RSRD in place, and went back to Yakishima (?), which is the first port you meet on the way to Tokyo. I did quite well ( though not always at first try) as I sunk two minehunters, a destroyer and a heavy battle cruiser - oh, and a little sub chaser. Might sound impressive except that the destroyer and battleship were moored and as easy as sitting ducks. I still didn't get any reaction after sinking these two - possibly because I had seen off the three active ships patrolling the area first - but I think I found a 'bug', which made it easier for me to get away with it all. Up to the north of the bay there is a long spit of coast, with plenty of traffic behind it - I found three warships patrolling there, and figured they might come looking for me, but I was in no danger because they could not seem to work out that they had to go ROUND the spit. What they did was travel up to the spit, stop, and then travel back the way they had come, in reverse! It looked quite odd watching a ship with a bow-wave going backwards, but that is what they did and continued to do, backwards and forwards. Great fun, and now having got back to the open sea, I see a merchant heading my way - so I am on a roll!!

[Torplexed]

Originally Posted by She-Wolf

Might sound impressive except that the destroyer and battleship were moored and as easy as sitting ducks. I still didn't get any reaction after sinking these two - possibly because I had seen off the three active ships patrolling the area first - but I think I found a 'bug', which made it easier for me to get away with it all.

Ships in port are unable to maneuver, which is one of their best defenses against bombing or torpedo attack, and all important ports in the Pacific War were equipped with abundant small patrol craft, breakwaters and torpedo nets to foil torpedo attack. The nets were opened or closed as required by small net tenders. In addition, the port might be protected by minefields. Important ports invariably had airfields basing fighters nearby as well as the best radar available.

Sadly the original developers really fell down on incorporating these aspects into the game. The modders have tried their best, but it's still not quite there.

[Armistead]

We all raped ports, but many of us don't waste our time with it anymore, just unrealistic. I fixed most of my ports where it's hard to get in with minefields, subnets, mass shore guns and subkiller groups. I use to rape Truk and even created a special mission for it and I can't complete it knowing what's on and around it.

[She-Wolf]

I recall that SH3 had some defences against port attack - not total and not everywhere, but some, so suprised that SH4 does not match that. Subs did not raid ports in the war BECAUSE of the protection I assume - otherwise they would surely have seized the opportunity; hard not to. As you say, 'unrealistic' - but it all helps the reward and it is something to do when you just can't find that shipping lane....

[WernherVonTrapp]

Try the ports of Naha and Itoman at Okinawa. They're always loaded with merchants.

[She-Wolf]

ah, right... at present my new orders are to stalk the shipping lanes between Japan and the Luzai straits (?) - but first I must go back to Midway to get some more torpedoes, then I might just pop by Okinawa, just to see...

[Ducimus]

Harbor traffic is randomized. Some times it spawns, sometimes it doesnt. Youll rarely see the same type or number of ships in port.

[WernherVonTrapp]

Oops, right, I think it's a good time to add that my finds at the Okinawa ports are when running TMO/RSRDC together.

[She-Wolf]

Originally Posted by WernherVonTrapp

Oops, right, I think it's a good time to add that my finds at the Okinawa ports are when running TMO/RSRDC together.

likewise