new player seeking advice

[Wuss]

i have recently started playing SHV and would like some help on a couple of things.
sometimes when plotting waypoints i get what appear to be ghost contact images on the nav map.so i plot a course to try and intercept them,use the time compresion to speed things up but when i get there,there is nothing there,no sound contacts visuals nothing.
is that some sort of glitch in the game or am i using time compression wrong,going too fast or something.
which brings me nicely to my next question,what is the best way to use the time compression.are there any rules of thumb so to speak.
one last thing,is there a n00bs way of converting the co-ordinates you get in the radio messages to something i could understand.
sorry for the wall of text guys.

[JohnnyBlaze]

Same here I just recently started playing SH5, but since I've played SH3 many many years I felt confident enough to start with real navigation play style.

What comes to my mind is that the contact might have changed it's course and thus not be where you expected it to be. Or maybe the contact info was inaccurate (speed and heading). Not really sure how the mechanics in the game work regarding contact reports.

As a basic advice for new players I would recommend you watch Stoianm's video tutorials. He's made tutorials almost about every aspect of the game.
He's helped me to get back on track with this newest game on the series.

As of now I'm trying to learn the four bearings method hydrophone hunting.


As this is the most supportive and friendly forum in the www, I'm sure more experienced skippers will come to your assistance very soon.

[Trevally.]

For new skippers - the ghost contacts can make thing easier for you to find contacts.

To take advantage of these - you need to keep in mind the following factors.

When a contact FIRST appears on your map and it is close enough for you to reach (100km ish). Click your sub and drag your waypoint towards the contact. You will see the ghost image move. This shows you where the cantact will be when you get to that way point.

The ghost image is worked out assuming that your speed is standard - this does not change - so if you actually move at another speed - the ghost predictor will not adjust for this.

So how to use this to find ships.

When contact appears on map - click on it and check the time that it was detected. If the time is recent then all is ok.
Next drag your way point and place it ontop of where the ghost contact is.
If you now travel at standard speed - you and the contact will arrive at that spot at the same time.
If you set your speed higher - you will get there first and can then track back along the contact heading or you can wait for it to arrive.



Edit: If the contact is old (checked when you click on it and the time was a few hours) the ghost contact that adjusts does not take this into account. It will move with your waypoint as if it was current.

[Wuss]

thanks for the advice guys.
i think i havent made myself clear,the ghost contacts that i get are when i have no contacts at all on my map,they sometimes appear when i adjust my waypoints.

[Trevally.]

Im sure this is the same thing

Can you post a screenshot

[Wuss]

next time it happens i will try and remember to grab screenshot of it.
thanks for the prompt reply btw guys