Neutrals in a Convoy

[Slateford-5]

I'm in the middle of an enemy convoy, lining up 2 large merchants who are almost in line, one about 400 behind the other. I fire 2 torpedoes at each. So far so good. I dive.

The nearest merchant almost immediately goes down. 60 seconds later there is an explosion and cheering. Then another 60 seconds another explosion. The crew is cheering, but this doesn't quite seem right. Shortly afterwards, there are 3 sunk ship icons on the nav map, 2 red and 1 green. I escape the game and it is clear that in addition to sinking the two merchants, I have also hit and sunk a much smaller neutral (typical: I have fired 3 fish at a small merchant before and it sailed on...)

Replayed the attack, but checked the flags more closely: the merchants are British OK, but a small merchant gets in the way of one of the torpedoes and it's Norwegian (British merchant navy and Norway flags are not the easiest to distinguish at night). Exactly the same thing happens again. Now I am wondering: can you really class a merchant in the middle of an enemy convoy as "neutral"? More than a week previously, there was a message from BdU saying all ships were fair game except American: was that just for show?

Would I be penalised renown for the neutral?

Any thoughts welcome

[SmokinTep]

Neutral means neutral. Doesn't matter if they are in a convoy of enemy ships.

[Canovaro]

I had the same thing and it sucks when that happens because instead of the renown being added, it is drawn. To be honest, I edited some file and changed the renown.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by SmokinTep

Neutral means neutral. Doesn't matter if they are in a convoy of enemy ships.

I disagree. In the Real Deal if they were in a convoy they were fair game.

Slateford-5, do what I did. Go into your My Computer/Program Files/Ubisoft/Silent Hunter III/Data/Cfg folder, and click on the file marked 'Basic'. The third group, right near the top, is [Renown]. Right near the top of that you'll see the awards:

NEUTRAL=-1
ALLIED=1
AXIS=-10

Change it so it says NEUTRAL=0

That way you still won't get a reward for poaching on neutrals, but you won't get a serious ding for sinking one in a convoy. You will still have an incentive to avoid them if you can.




Oh, and WELCOME ABOARD!

[mcf1]

Happened to me to. I torpedoed a US C3 cargo by accident and started to pray that she won't sink, luckily she didn't so there was no penalty for me

[msalama]

Change it so it says NEUTRAL=0

Done! Thanks Steve

[ozzysoldier]

if you are in a convoy you are fare game
made gwx cane solve this in 2.1

[Penelope_Grey]

Only danger of this is... some unscrupulous people may use that as a chance to sink every neutral they find just to get the tonnage from it.

[Slateford-5]

Thanks for your replies: I think I may change the cfg file just for this one instance: I'm not expecting to get credit (or even avoid penalty) for a lone neutral sailing a steady course with lights on and the flag illuminated, but a couple of things persuade me:

1. BdU nessage said so (I know they are just for show really).
2. The ship was darkened.
3. It was part of an enemy convoy.
4. I doubt if I sank a convoy neutral and him alone, the destroyers would leave me alone and think "ach well. it wasn't actually our merchant"
5. It was a merchant, coming from either the USA or Canada and obviously heading for a British port.

If you stick your hand into a tank of pirhanas, don't complain if you get bitten. And several other lame excuses...

[danurve]

I do the edit. No Mercy for neutrals transporting war material.
Then again I never go hunting down single neutrals. Waist of a good eel. That and once you get into `42 near everything on the water is shooting at you

[_Seth_]

well...if it walks like a duck...and quacks like a duck...and swim among other ducks....It's a legal target!

[Brag]

In a convoy--sink the bastards! I don't edit and just take my lumps.

[Gezoes]

I did what Steve said, and it works great.

The Norwegian government in exile keeps sneaking their small tankers into inbound convoys

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Penelope_Grey

Only danger of this is... some unscrupulous people may use that as a chance to sink every neutral they find just to get the tonnage from it.

Quite true; but those same people might also use external views to navigate through minefields, or have nuclear torpedoes and deck guns that fire 100 rounds per minute.

[Hanomag]

Kaluens,

I always have enough renown to take penalties if need be. (And thats not adding any).

But as a rule I avoid nuetral ships.

Yet the temptation is great, I have posted numerous times with screenshots of the Irish Supertanker convoy that has been haunting me for years now, one day Ill just sink em.