Just Bought Silent Hunter III and Installed GWX 3.0

[Jack Cutter]

and I couldn't be happier!

I almost hate to admit it since I started on Silent Hunter IV, but Silent Hunter III seems to be more in-depth, ESPECIALLY with GWX mod.

This is amazing work by an amazing team, thank you all so much.


I am curious to know, however, why it seems evasion tactics WILL NOT work when I'm picked up by escorts...I had the crap pounded out of me by two British Destroyers. Evasive manuevers, diving deep and silencing the boat did nothing.

I'd turn and re-route only when they would make a depth-charging pass, and I'd adjust depth. Those destroyers had ungodly accurate sonar!

Anyways, there's really no point to this post other than to say that I absolutely love the GWX mod, and to wonder if I'm crazy for enjoying this better than Silent Hunter IV?

Anyways, I'll likely be posting about the escapades of Captain "Lukas Wilhelm" and his patrols.

[Gargamel]

Welcome aboard.

Go deep, slow (set your speed to just under 1 knot so your rpm's drop real low), and slowly wiggle waggle at 10' rudder back and forth. Keep em guessing.

That's GWX for ya. It's hell under water.

And I'll try to beat our esteemed JB to it:

BE MORE AGGRESSIVE!

SINK EM ALL!

[Jack Cutter]

I see. Agression, gotcha.

Also, I'm having a strange issue, and I don't know if it's my lack of experience or if there is a conflict with the mod, but I am constantly being alerted of a radio message being recieved, yet I can never find/view this message.

Any ideas as to what I am doing wrong?

Thanks!

[kaleun69]

Jack, what year are you playing in? Just curious, because my escorts seem blinded by their own search lights and have forgotten where they layed thier ash cans. Im also running GWX (its a awesome mod thanks to those who developed it!).

[Jack Cutter]

Originally Posted by kaleun69

Jack, what year are you playing in? Just curious, because my escorts seem blinded by their own search lights and have forgotten where they layed thier ash cans. Im also running GWX (its a awesome mod thanks to those who developed it!).

Curiously, I'm playing in 1940 which you would figure would've made the escorts a little less experienced.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Jack Cutter

I see. Agression, gotcha.

Also, I'm having a strange issue, and I don't know if it's my lack of experience or if there is a conflict with the mod, but I am constantly being alerted of a radio message being recieved, yet I can never find/view this message.

Any ideas as to what I am doing wrong?

Thanks!

Did you try pressing 'M'?

[HW3]

Press the "M" key to get to your messages.



Steve beat me to it.

[Jack Cutter]

Ahh, see I was browsing the manual for this and must've continually missed it. Thank you, gentlemen.


Now, I have one last question: May I ask what the Enigma Flotilla is?

I'm browsing the forum trying to see if I can find more information on it.

Thank you all very much, and happy hunting

[TarJak]

The trick is to not get detected in the first place. If you dive deep and reverse direction as soon as you fire your torps you'll find that the 'scorts have problems in finding you because they make a beeline for the datum where you fired. Hang about there at PD to watch the fireworks and detection is almost assured.

[Tessa]

Originally Posted by Jack Cutter

and I couldn't be happier!

I almost hate to admit it since I started on Silent Hunter IV, but Silent Hunter III seems to be more in-depth, ESPECIALLY with GWX mod.

This is amazing work by an amazing team, thank you all so much.


I am curious to know, however, why it seems evasion tactics WILL NOT work when I'm picked up by escorts...I had the crap pounded out of me by two British Destroyers. Evasive manuevers, diving deep and silencing the boat did nothing.

I'd turn and re-route only when they would make a depth-charging pass, and I'd adjust depth. Those destroyers had ungodly accurate sonar!

Anyways, there's really no point to this post other than to say that I absolutely love the GWX mod, and to wonder if I'm crazy for enjoying this better than Silent Hunter IV?

Anyways, I'll likely be posting about the escapades of Captain "Lukas Wilhelm" and his patrols.

A "feature" that has been built into the game (and from what I am told has remained in sh4 and sh5) is that escorts have sonar that is so advanced it can detect something as small as a pebble getting moved on the ocean floor 1000 feet below. GWX has done more to try and make sonar more resaonable, and it is possible to escape (may take you several hours of your time) from 2 or 3 DD's that are actively hunting you. The stock version is much less forgiving.

This means that tactics that were successfully employed to either defeat sonar or hide yourself don't work. There isn't much in the way of underwater geography, where there is any it isn't of any help like it was irl. Bottoming your boat won't throw the escorts of by thinking you've been sunk (whether you intentionally bottom the boat yourself, or damage bottoms it for you) or hide you from the sonar which irl either made you undistinguishable from the terrain, or the operator would loose you being unable to differentiate between the ocean floor and your sub which became camouflaged by the oceans natural enviroment.

Instead the DD's will get a perfect fix on you and start dumping charges on you like current day smart bombs. Unless you're boat survives a deep enough dive to where the charges won't function (believe its 200 or 225m is the max depth charges will still explode) and can get under them where all they do is explode above you bottoming is one of the worst situations you can be thrust into.

[Axeman3d]

I switched from SHV to SHIII + GWX recently myself, and started a career in 1940 in a type IX. I got word of a convoy a few hundred klicks from me and I raced to intercept, and it was a foul moonless night pouring with rain when I reached their track and submerged to see if I could pick them up on hydrophone.

I raised scope as I reached 10m only to see the bow of a Flower class corvette pass about 3m to the right of me and my sonar guy started screaming. On a night so dark and stormy I couldn't see my hand in front of me, he had spotted and nearly rammed me. It was pure luck I chose to dive right then to stop snd listen, or I was rammed. That little schwinehunde pounded me for an hour like he could see me clear as day, while the huge convoy zigged over the top of me. I couldn't shake him, he only left once the convoy passed out of range.

And yet a week later, I intercepted and infiltrated a convoy in daylight guarded by 4 Flower class and sank 3 ships, as well as hitting and damaging one of the escorts. I immediately went to 155m and headed on the reverse of the convoys course, and two escorts began fishing for me. They got pretty close at first, but I crawled away at 2 knots while they kept circling the same spot, dropping charges all over it. I sloped off with no problem, and even managed to sink a straggler an hour later, causing them to run in and thrash the water to a foam again while I sneaked off again.

Maybe the first guy had radar and superb sonar? Maybe I can believe it was some Johnny Walker veteran guy with leet skills? One thing is for sure, they're not all equal in GWX, and I love it.

[Tessa]

To be at true silent speed you need to manually adjust your speed to 1 knot. If you leave your speed at the default of 2 when you hit silent speed you're still moderately detectable to surface ships. Many times I've told the navigator to return to course after manually maneuvering away and out of range of the DD's only to have the CE screw up and gun the boat to full speed. Even if I catch the mistake instantly, running the engines up to 2 knots for just a few seconds can be enough for them to get a good fix on you and start circling you again.

[Jack Cutter]

I put some of these tricks into action in the field, and they seemed to work pretty well.

I'm still working on my intercept skills...to give you an idea of about how efficient I am: Hand a gerbil a pencil and tell it to draw precise lines on a map, only after you hit said gerbil with a baseball bat.

Actually, scratch that, the gerbil could still plot a better intercept than I can...


Anyways, in the midst of testing my plotted intercept courses I recieved a radio report from U-43 about a large enemy convoy near my area. ALT-Tabbing the hell out of my game...(scary I know ) to read some tuts on plotting the intercept courses, I found it worked...and I came up RIGHT in the middle of what had to be 20+ ships...Not a single one armed! While I was busy picking out the juciest close targets, this corvette comes out of nowhere and runs right over me...thank goodness he began dropping depth charges AFTER his screws tore up my aft deck. I'm 100% sure he damaged his engines on the deck of my boat...

So Narrowly avoiding an express tour to the bottom, I fire my last shot and begin a dive to 70M (Ocean floor is at 80M it looks like)
Rig for silent was already active but after I dove I manually adjusted to 1kt speed as suggested, and I'm happy to say it worked. All four torps hit, taking out 3 ships.

I sustained a hell of a lot of damage though, but not from that corvette. He was off depth charging in a circle in the center of the convoy's columns. The damage was because a ship exploded directly above me...chewed up the conning tower and chipped the paint... hull was reported damaged but no leaks thankfully....

I went back to base with some good knowledge of the destroyers and how they work. This is definitely a great mod...one to keep you on your toes.

[Tessa]

Originally Posted by Jack Cutter

I put some of these tricks into action in the field, and they seemed to work pretty well.

I'm still working on my intercept skills...to give you an idea of about how efficient I am: Hand a gerbil a pencil and tell it to draw precise lines on a map, only after you hit said gerbil with a baseball bat.

Actually, scratch that, the gerbil could still plot a better intercept than I can...


Anyways, in the midst of testing my plotted intercept courses I recieved a radio report from U-43 about a large enemy convoy near my area. ALT-Tabbing the hell out of my game...(scary I know ) to read some tuts on plotting the intercept courses, I found it worked...and I came up RIGHT in the middle of what had to be 20+ ships...Not a single one armed! While I was busy picking out the juciest close targets, this corvette comes out of nowhere and runs right over me...thank goodness he began dropping depth charges AFTER his screws tore up my aft deck. I'm 100% sure he damaged his engines on the deck of my boat...

So Narrowly avoiding an express tour to the bottom, I fire my last shot and begin a dive to 70M (Ocean floor is at 80M it looks like)
Rig for silent was already active but after I dove I manually adjusted to 1kt speed as suggested, and I'm happy to say it worked. All four torps hit, taking out 3 ships.

I sustained a hell of a lot of damage though, but not from that corvette. He was off depth charging in a circle in the center of the convoy's columns. The damage was because a ship exploded directly above me...chewed up the conning tower and chipped the paint... hull was reported damaged but no leaks thankfully....

I went back to base with some good knowledge of the destroyers and how they work. This is definitely a great mod...one to keep you on your toes.

Nice job First time though I've ever heard anyone get damaged from a sinking ship in the manner you did. Numerous times I've been submerged and moving along at 1 knot on intercept and will neglect my flank and a merchant manages to run over me while I'm waiting for my main target(s) to get into firing position. Did you damage the ship (the one that managed to hit you), end up maneuvering and evading the escorts to the point that you ended up under it when it finally floods, exploded and you happen to be right under it then when it starts heading down? Or were you on the bottom and did it come crashing down onto you? Would love to see some external camera shots of what happened if you took any.

[desirableroasted]

Originally Posted by Tessa

To be at true silent speed you need to manually adjust your speed to 1 knot.

Actually, the game interprets everything from 1.0 to 1.99 knots as "1 knot," so you have to be a little careful there.

What you want are engine rpms of around 70-75. To achieve this, you go up into your fire control room (up the ladder), and manually adjust your speed while watching the engine RPM dials. Anything under 80 rpms appears to silence you.