How do you...?

Saintaw · 03-10-10, 08:30 AM

Gents,

I would like to know how you patrol out for contacts? I can't seem to rely on my sonarman to tell me when there are contacts around (I noticed the sonar contacts only get updated when TC is set to or below 250x). Do you regularly stop and manually listen to the sonar array... or what?

I am usually cruising to my patrol area at about 3000x TC... and almost NEVER get contact reports while on the way there or back.

Mind, I am on the 2nd patrol with no radar yet, but it is going to be hugely annoying if I have to man the sonar station myself all the time...

McHibbins · 03-10-10, 08:37 AM

Slow speed and max 1024xTC

Turm · 03-10-10, 11:54 AM

I try not to go over 256x TC, but if it's an area I don't expect many contacts, I will go higher. I feel fairly sure that high TC will have the same effect as in SH3, with more contacts missed.

When in a place that I feel might carry a high density of traffic, I tend to make regular checks on the hydrophone.

After making a sweep (at 'All Stop', of course), I normally draw a circle on my map, originating at my location and with a radius of about 20km, to allow me to see approximately which area I've checked. I then sail on and make another check as I approach the edge of that area (or just beyond it). This way I shouldn't really miss many ships that happen to pass within hydrophone range.

Of course, it makes for a slower game, with the constant diving, checking hydrophone, and surfacing again. Still, it keeps the crew awake

However, the current state of SH5 is a real nuisance, since all map drawings are lost between saves. Grrr.

Saintaw · 03-10-10, 03:42 PM

Thank you!

I did just that on my way back through the channel, and stumbled on two separate carriers, escorted by DDs, I was of course torpedoless.

Another set of questions:

Is there any way to get an ID on ship other than scrolling through the recognition book? All I see so far is; unknown/warship/merchant

Is there any way to get use my sonarman's special abilities other than running over to him, clicking and selecting the option in the dialog panel?

sergei · 03-10-10, 03:48 PM

If you open the crew management screen (can't remember the button), you can activate their special abilities from there.

Saintaw · 03-12-10, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sergei

If you open the crew management screen (can't remember the button), you can activate their special abilities from there.

This doesn't work for me. I can only use those icons to assign upgrade points to my crewmembers. clicking or dble clicking on an ability icon does nothing.

wetwarev7 · 03-10-10, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saintaw

Gents,

I am usually cruising to my patrol area at about 3000x TC... and almost NEVER get contact reports while on the way there or back.

Heh, yeah I would defiantly drop the tc to more reasonable rate. If you can't spot a ship flying past at 3000X, how could you expect your AI to?

I wonder, if you were to actually watch a merchant ship fly past at 3000X, would it appear to be all stretched out?

03-10-10, 08:30 AM	#1
Saintaw Medic Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: .be Posts: 168 Downloads: 47 Uploads: 0	How do you...? Gents, I would like to know how you patrol out for contacts? I can't seem to rely on my sonarman to tell me when there are contacts around (I noticed the sonar contacts only get updated when TC is set to or below 250x). Do you regularly stop and manually listen to the sonar array... or what? I am usually cruising to my patrol area at about 3000x TC... and almost NEVER get contact reports while on the way there or back. Mind, I am on the 2nd patrol with no radar yet, but it is going to be hugely annoying if I have to man the sonar station myself all the time... __________________ Saw blub blubb...

03-10-10, 08:37 AM	#2
McHibbins Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Good old Germany Posts: 739 Downloads: 80 Uploads: 0	Slow speed and max 1024xTC __________________

03-10-10, 03:42 PM	#4
Saintaw Medic Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: .be Posts: 168 Downloads: 47 Uploads: 0	Thank you! I did just that on my way back through the channel, and stumbled on two separate carriers, escorted by DDs, I was of course torpedoless. Another set of questions: Is there any way to get an ID on ship other than scrolling through the recognition book? All I see so far is; unknown/warship/merchant Is there any way to get use my sonarman's special abilities other than running over to him, clicking and selecting the option in the dialog panel? __________________ Saw blub blubb...

03-10-10, 11:54 AM	#3
Turm Engineer Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Midlands, UK Posts: 210 Downloads: 17 Uploads: 0	I try not to go over 256x TC, but if it's an area I don't expect many contacts, I will go higher. I feel fairly sure that high TC will have the same effect as in SH3, with more contacts missed. When in a place that I feel might carry a high density of traffic, I tend to make regular checks on the hydrophone. After making a sweep (at 'All Stop', of course), I normally draw a circle on my map, originating at my location and with a radius of about 20km, to allow me to see approximately which area I've checked. I then sail on and make another check as I approach the edge of that area (or just beyond it). This way I shouldn't really miss many ships that happen to pass within hydrophone range. Of course, it makes for a slower game, with the constant diving, checking hydrophone, and surfacing again. Still, it keeps the crew awake However, the current state of SH5 is a real nuisance, since all map drawings are lost between saves. Grrr.

03-10-10, 03:48 PM	#5
sergei Sea Lord Join Date: May 2008 Location: London UK Posts: 1,788 Downloads: 405 Uploads: 29	If you open the crew management screen (can't remember the button), you can activate their special abilities from there.