TM planes

[walrusbomb]

greetings. played SH1&2, skipped 3. LOVE SH4 to death.

Running graphical mods only as of yet: ROW, smaller rocks/plants, natural sinking, uniforms, skins. I'm going to finish my career before installing TM/RSRD.


My question: How deep before planes no longer spot submerged subs?


I ask because right now everything is so easy (manual TDC and sonar solutions, of course)... seems like the biggest adjustment will be getting used to aerial visibility.

[M. Sarsfield]

I got bombed with 75% hull damage at 160 ft. I am running TM 1.7.5 along with other mods. I think someone else posted that 200 ft. was a safe depth.

It sounds like a lot to avoid airplanes, but think of the size of the boat and also Pacific water is very clear in some areas in RL. Dive your boat to 200 ft. and then look at it under water from an external view level with the boat. The periscope masts aren't that far from the surface.

[Rockin Robbins]

Ducimus' planes talk a good fight, but they're really just big, fluffy, soft little kitty-cats.

[k1l0]

Originally Posted by M. Sarsfield

I got bombed with 75% hull damage at 160 ft. I am running TM 1.7.5 along with other mods. I think someone else posted that 200 ft. was a safe depth.

It sounds like a lot to avoid airplanes, but think of the size of the boat and also Pacific water is very clear in some areas in RL. Dive your boat to 200 ft. and then look at it under water from an external view level with the boat. The periscope masts aren't that far from the surface.

NOT A CHANCE ... light bearly makes it that far

[Taurolas]

Planes see you and this is why.... and from greater distances!

Take a sphere and place it on the water... that was the original plane sensor file anything from water lvl up could be seen... (if surfaced you'd get spotted).

now take Ducimus's moddification (TM1.7.5 - 1.7.6).. this pushes the sphere into the water which means you have a semi-circular area under the surface which the planes can look into... the exact depth of this sphere is unknown but if you are at periscope depth they will spot your sub, i believe this also depends on height, speed and type of plane so be warned.
whenever i see a plane i now always go to around 200ft if possible and turn at 90' to port or starboard (turning off your original course is crucial) as in some cases they can and will spot you going down and mark this location and will bomb along this heading once you are under, (Note depending on their speed this may take 5 or 10 minutes!) so if you are sat at 160ft and still following your original heading you may be unlucky enough to get a DC or bomb droped down ya tower...

its not so much the fact they can see you at 160ft its that you probably havent moved far enough from your original dive position and you are still on your original course.

[M. Sarsfield]

I was motoring along at 160 ft. for several hours when I got bombed. Maybe Ducimus set the bubble too far below the surface?

[DavyJonesFootlocker]

This is the only thing I don't like in TM. Planes' bombs reaching 100 feet depth and more. In reality a watery surface will have the same effects as a brick wall when a freefalling bomb from over 1000m hits it.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by walrusbomb

greetings. played SH1&2, skipped 3. LOVE SH4 to death.

WELCOME ABOARD!

I played 1, hated 2 (but loved it online with DC), love 3 and can't play 4 until I get a memory upgrade.

Originally Posted by M. Sarsfield

45 meters is 147.6 ft. That explains why I took a lot of damage at 160 ft., but does not explain how I was seen at 160 ft. when I was down there for a long time. Definitely a TM bug.

Not a bug at all; Ducimus did that on purpose. The Pacific can be very clear. From the signal bridge of my DD we could see the bottom leaving Subic Bay, and it's around that deep. Remember, depth is measured to the keel, so you're already showing 65 feet when you're at periscope depth.

[walrusbomb]

I agree that being spotted at 160ft is bugged. It's beyond needle in a haystack at that depth.

[Sailor Steve]

Maybe at Pearl Harbor. Ever been to Subic?

And, if I'm wrong, it's an arguing point, since it was intentional. That's not the same as a bug. Bug implies the creator didn't know what he was doing.

[walrusbomb]

'fraid not. But I spent a lot of time at Pearl Harbor on seperate occasions and a shiny quarter dissappears at 2m depth.

I've been deepsea fishing north of Molokai and a 200lb Aku is practically invisible until he's on the boat.

I acknowledge the Pacific is often very very clear... but once you leave the hotspots (undersea volcanos), the Pacific gets COLD AND DARK quick. I'm going to be very upset when a Japanese plane spots me in 40m of water, 800km off Guam.

[walrusbomb]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

That's not the same as a bug. Bug implies the creator didn't know what he was doing.

I wouldn't say "bug" implies the creator didn't know what he was doing. Bugs arise for numerous reasons (accretion mostly). Even the greatest software engineers on the planet get exceptions and bugs. charge it to the game.

[Sailor Steve]

As I said, all I know is what I saw, and I saw the rocks on the bottom of a channel deep enough for the biggest carriers to pass with a lot of room to spare, and we commented on the dolphins swimming back and forth under the ship.

In a similar discussion on SH3, some people pointed out that sometimes you can see forever, and it has also been noted that sometimes you can't see the bow from the conning tower. I'm a big opponent of using the periscope underwater, so I go both ways.