Newbie Patrol Questions

Athenry Bhoy · 01-03-08, 09:18 AM

First off this is perhaps the greatest game to ever grace my PC. Big history buff, especially WWII. However, never really read or knew much about the legacy of the U-Boat. After growing a little tired of the Combat Mission series I looked for a new "wargame" and decided to give this title a try and am I hooked! Not only is this a great game but it has inspired me to devout and enjoy much time learning about Naval combat and Naval history of the war. It is all very intriguing and amazing what these brave men on all sides did for their countries...Now on to my quetsions.

Please be patient with me as I have read the manual and searched the boards but could not find speciifc answers to these questions.

(I am playing GWX)

1.) What is the best way to patrol ? I have my orders to search area XX for 24 hrs. I do this but do not find any enenemy vessels. I typically am patrolling above water for 90% of the time only submerging to do a hydrophone search every 6 hrs. Is it typical in the early war to go days (5) with out coming accross any enemy merchants?

2.) Tying into above question, am I supposed to return to port after the 24 hrs ? Or do I send a patrol reports daily and only return when ordered or after spending all torpedos? (Do they ever give you new areas to patrol even if you are a ****ty captian lke me?)

3.) When given areas to patrol, say I am ordered to patrol area AF87. I patrol for 24hrs + and have no new orders. Is/was it typical for boats to patrol outside of their assigned area? Should I do this? As the area I am currently assigned to is close to German coast and would assume more targets are closer to the UK coast.

4.) Manual Targetting, Say I identify a enemy merchant ship. I bring her up in the periscope and correctly identify her in the recognition manual. I then go to the TDC and ask Weapons officer to find solution. He does, Should I then fire from the TDC or can I go back to the periscope and fire? Or does the firing solutin get lost? I only ask because I have not been able to find a damn ship but want to come up with my own solutions and compare to my Weapons Officer. Then be able to watch through periscope.

5.) Watch officer. I assign him at the beginning of my patrol and see his icon at the bottom of my screen. Later in patrol he is gone from my icon list but I still see him under my Crew management screen. Is this a bug or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks for your help.

Nerazzurri · 01-03-08, 09:39 AM

Hi mate.

1. Even on busy routes at any time of war you could pass 24 hours without seeing a ship. Not unusual at all early on, especially if you get 'quiet' grid.

2. You don't return to port after 24 hours. Most people go where they like after the patrol period or you could add realism by patrolling it longer or assigning yourself another grid. Most people return to port only once the torpedos are finished.

3. Pretty much as above.

4. No experience of manual targeting, sorry.

5. Is it maybe once you've re-surfaced he's not there? You need to re-assign the watch crew to the con once you've surfaced. Then his icon will appear again.

Bridger · 01-03-08, 09:44 AM

Hi there,
In answer to your first question, it depends how you wanna play it
Some folk like to patrol their assigned grid for 24 hours then shoot off to known convoy routes and busy areas etc and get 100,000 ton patrols, however this isnt realistic as real u-boats would patrol their area until ordered elsewhere or until fuel low etc, most books on the subject always refer to some patrols as weeks and weeks of nothing, and it wasnt unusual for even the best aces to come back with no pennants, but unfortunately the sim wont give you new orders, so like i say if you wanna realistic feel then stay in your grid and experience the real boredom and frustration of a patrol, or go off and hit the known areas and double kretschmers whole wartime tonnage in one patrol!

Canovaro · 01-03-08, 09:47 AM

Ahoy and welcome to subsim!

1. the best way to patrol is probably go to and your grid and back via busy shipping lanes. There is a jpg file in your program doc folder with these lanes.

2. you best return when low on torpedoes or fuel. it's best to return to your home base, as to another base will not give you a mission to patrol a grid, but simply to sail home. Boring!

3. your are completely free as long as you patrol your grid and return home eventually.
though the new version of gwx (2.0) will not earn you any points for this! only for sinkings

4. I don't use the weapons officer, can't answer that one

5. this is some kind of little bug. You have to put the officer on the tower manually. the sailors and petty officers are auto assigned to the tower.

vodkavera · 01-03-08, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canovaro

3.
though the new version of gwx (2.0) will not earn you any points for this! only for sinkings

.

Is that so. i didn´t know that.
That will spare me some time.....

Thnx

/VV

T.Von Hogan · 01-03-08, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vodkavera

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canovaro

3.
though the new version of gwx (2.0) will not earn you any points for this! only for sinkings

.

Is that so. i didn´t know that.
That will spare me some time.....

Thnx

/VV

Most disappointing aspect of the new release, i was willing to endure the weeks of passing targets unable to attack, and the constant hiding from DD's just to get that 100 renown. not doing it it for free tho lol.......no incentive for the boring part so its run out of torps and return to base via Scotty(beam me up) for me now.
Have to make up the couple grand worth of renown that we lose before acustic torps are available somehow. As i see it we only have 2 choices to make up for that lost renown, either teleport for some extra missions or edit the renown, and teleporting seems to be the lesser of those 2 evils lol
I hope if the rumored 2.1 does come out that part of the game is restored to the way it was.

Tool · 01-03-08, 11:55 AM

On my current patrol I didn't even make it to my patrol grid. I was heading SW thru the channel when I encountered a convoy.. 15 ships and 1 DD. After i dispatched the DD, it was target practice.. sank 8 of em before i got down to 2 torps and decided i better save them for the return trip in case things got a bit nasty.

I know you don't get renown for RTB but i enjoy doing it, as it feels like you fully completed a patrol.

Tool.

Rhodes · 01-03-08, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tool

I encountered a convoy.. 15 ships and 1 DD.
Tool.

Kaleunt and u-boat crew heavan on seas...

Welcome abord Athenry Bhoy

Brag · 01-03-08, 01:39 PM

Welcome abord Athenry Bhoy

You may want to visit my webbie for more info.

Athenry Bhoy · 01-03-08, 03:52 PM

Thanks for the replies, much help and very appreciated.

Brag - Your site is just what I have been looking for, thanks.

One last question

, when I am done with my patrol, am I supposed to actually sail back to my home port? Or do I do the "esc" key and click "Back to Port" ?

Thanks again all!

Canovaro · 01-03-08, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Athenry Bhoy

One last question

, when I am done with my patrol, am I supposed to actually sail back to my home port? Or do I do the "esc" key and click "Back to Port" ?

Since GWX 2 it won't make any difference in renown. But you may encounter all kinds of adventures on the way back + it's more realistic obviously. It's up to you!

donw · 01-03-08, 04:12 PM

One thing I might add...6 hrs between sonar sweeps might be a bit long. Example...A target doing 7 knts will travel 42 nm in 6 hrs. He could easily pass in and out of your sonar range, and you'd never know

2-3 hrs max, might bag you a few more in the process Mate

Tool · 01-03-08, 05:05 PM

I base my sonar checks on km travelled.. cruise on the surface for 20-30km then dive for 10km or so.. has worked well for me in the past.

Tool.

bert8for3 · 01-03-08, 05:49 PM

Welcome!

Re manual targeting, there are lots of threads about this, reflecting many methods. If you search for manual targeting you should get all sorts of info popping up. Have a look at the forum stickies also which will refer you to info, including the Wiki.

FIREWALL · 01-03-08, 06:23 PM

Welcome Aboard

I suggest you try out the many single missions with a variety of subs in different years.

Acomplish your missions then, bump up your realism as you get better.

That way you can tryout different things and gain new skills without messing up your career.

I find this approach way better and bringing oneself up to speed faster than any other way I've tried IMO .

Best of luck and keep asking questions. I've learned alot that way from both Q&A.

01-03-08, 09:18 AM	#1
Athenry Bhoy Nub Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 3 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Newbie Patrol Questions First off this is perhaps the greatest game to ever grace my PC. Big history buff, especially WWII. However, never really read or knew much about the legacy of the U-Boat. After growing a little tired of the Combat Mission series I looked for a new "wargame" and decided to give this title a try and am I hooked! Not only is this a great game but it has inspired me to devout and enjoy much time learning about Naval combat and Naval history of the war. It is all very intriguing and amazing what these brave men on all sides did for their countries...Now on to my quetsions. Please be patient with me as I have read the manual and searched the boards but could not find speciifc answers to these questions. (I am playing GWX) 1.) What is the best way to patrol ? I have my orders to search area XX for 24 hrs. I do this but do not find any enenemy vessels. I typically am patrolling above water for 90% of the time only submerging to do a hydrophone search every 6 hrs. Is it typical in the early war to go days (5) with out coming accross any enemy merchants? 2.) Tying into above question, am I supposed to return to port after the 24 hrs ? Or do I send a patrol reports daily and only return when ordered or after spending all torpedos? (Do they ever give you new areas to patrol even if you are a ****ty captian lke me?) 3.) When given areas to patrol, say I am ordered to patrol area AF87. I patrol for 24hrs + and have no new orders. Is/was it typical for boats to patrol outside of their assigned area? Should I do this? As the area I am currently assigned to is close to German coast and would assume more targets are closer to the UK coast. 4.) Manual Targetting, Say I identify a enemy merchant ship. I bring her up in the periscope and correctly identify her in the recognition manual. I then go to the TDC and ask Weapons officer to find solution. He does, Should I then fire from the TDC or can I go back to the periscope and fire? Or does the firing solutin get lost? I only ask because I have not been able to find a damn ship but want to come up with my own solutions and compare to my Weapons Officer. Then be able to watch through periscope. 5.) Watch officer. I assign him at the beginning of my patrol and see his icon at the bottom of my screen. Later in patrol he is gone from my icon list but I still see him under my Crew management screen. Is this a bug or am I doing something wrong? Thanks for your help.

01-03-08, 09:39 AM	#2
Nerazzurri Sonar Guy Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Scotland Posts: 392 Downloads: 47 Uploads: 0	Hi mate. 1. Even on busy routes at any time of war you could pass 24 hours without seeing a ship. Not unusual at all early on, especially if you get 'quiet' grid. 2. You don't return to port after 24 hours. Most people go where they like after the patrol period or you could add realism by patrolling it longer or assigning yourself another grid. Most people return to port only once the torpedos are finished. 3. Pretty much as above. 4. No experience of manual targeting, sorry. 5. Is it maybe once you've re-surfaced he's not there? You need to re-assign the watch crew to the con once you've surfaced. Then his icon will appear again. __________________ GWX v3.0 Gold, Commander v3.2. WINDOWS 10, G3258 @ 3.8Ghz, 8GB RAM, GTX 960 2Gb.

01-03-08, 09:44 AM	#3
Bridger Mate Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Nottingham, UK Posts: 59 Downloads: 67 Uploads: 0	Hi there, In answer to your first question, it depends how you wanna play it Some folk like to patrol their assigned grid for 24 hours then shoot off to known convoy routes and busy areas etc and get 100,000 ton patrols, however this isnt realistic as real u-boats would patrol their area until ordered elsewhere or until fuel low etc, most books on the subject always refer to some patrols as weeks and weeks of nothing, and it wasnt unusual for even the best aces to come back with no pennants, but unfortunately the sim wont give you new orders, so like i say if you wanna realistic feel then stay in your grid and experience the real boredom and frustration of a patrol, or go off and hit the known areas and double kretschmers whole wartime tonnage in one patrol! __________________ "It is the duty of every captain to have faith in his men" Kapitanleutnant Wolfgang Luth.

01-03-08, 11:55 AM	#7
Tool Planesman Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 189 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	On my current patrol I didn't even make it to my patrol grid. I was heading SW thru the channel when I encountered a convoy.. 15 ships and 1 DD. After i dispatched the DD, it was target practice.. sank 8 of em before i got down to 2 torps and decided i better save them for the return trip in case things got a bit nasty. I know you don't get renown for RTB but i enjoy doing it, as it feels like you fully completed a patrol. Tool. __________________ 309th Wild Ducks www.56thvfw.com

01-03-08, 01:39 PM	#9
Brag Navy Seal Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Docked on a Russian pond Posts: 7,072 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	Welcome abord Athenry Bhoy You may want to visit my webbie for more info. __________________ Espionage, adventure, suspense, are just a click away Click here to look inside Brag's book: Amazon.com: Kingmaker: Alexey Braguine: Books Order Kingmaker here: http://www.subsim.com/store.html For Tactics visit:http://www.freewebs.com/kielman/

01-03-08, 09:47 AM	#4
Canovaro Ace of the Deep Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Netherlands Posts: 1,062 Downloads: 34 Uploads: 0	Ahoy and welcome to subsim! 1. the best way to patrol is probably go to and your grid and back via busy shipping lanes. There is a jpg file in your program doc folder with these lanes. 2. you best return when low on torpedoes or fuel. it's best to return to your home base, as to another base will not give you a mission to patrol a grid, but simply to sail home. Boring! 3. your are completely free as long as you patrol your grid and return home eventually. though the new version of gwx (2.0) will not earn you any points for this! only for sinkings 4. I don't use the weapons officer, can't answer that one 5. this is some kind of little bug. You have to put the officer on the tower manually. the sailors and petty officers are auto assigned to the tower.

01-03-08, 03:52 PM	#10
Athenry Bhoy Nub Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 3 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Thanks for the replies, much help and very appreciated. Brag - Your site is just what I have been looking for, thanks. One last question , when I am done with my patrol, am I supposed to actually sail back to my home port? Or do I do the "esc" key and click "Back to Port" ? Thanks again all!

01-03-08, 04:12 PM	#12
donw Sonar Guy Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Indiana Posts: 386 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	One thing I might add...6 hrs between sonar sweeps might be a bit long. Example...A target doing 7 knts will travel 42 nm in 6 hrs. He could easily pass in and out of your sonar range, and you'd never know 2-3 hrs max, might bag you a few more in the process Mate

01-03-08, 05:05 PM	#13
Tool Planesman Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 189 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I base my sonar checks on km travelled.. cruise on the surface for 20-30km then dive for 10km or so.. has worked well for me in the past. Tool. __________________ 309th Wild Ducks www.56thvfw.com

01-03-08, 05:49 PM	#14
bert8for3 Ace of the Deep Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 1,124 Downloads: 110 Uploads: 0	Welcome! Re manual targeting, there are lots of threads about this, reflecting many methods. If you search for manual targeting you should get all sorts of info popping up. Have a look at the forum stickies also which will refer you to info, including the Wiki.

01-03-08, 06:23 PM	#15
FIREWALL Eternal Patrol Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: CATALINA IS. SO . CAL USA Posts: 10,108 Downloads: 511 Uploads: 0	Welcome Aboard I suggest you try out the many single missions with a variety of subs in different years. Acomplish your missions then, bump up your realism as you get better. That way you can tryout different things and gain new skills without messing up your career. I find this approach way better and bringing oneself up to speed faster than any other way I've tried IMO . Best of luck and keep asking questions. I've learned alot that way from both Q&A. __________________ RIP FIREWALL I Play GWX. Silent Hunter Who ???