A noob's thread...

[www2]

OK first off all I want to mention that I am completely new to this type of simulation and have very little or now knowlege about sub's.

I will use this thread in the next couple of days to ask a lot of questions. I know most of you are going to tell me to look here or read this book, but my questions are going to be simple and straight forward, so please bare with me.....oh and dont laugh if some questions are, well just plain stupid.

1. Why is the torpedo trajectory so weird? I mean I always thought that it goes in straight line, only to see now that it goes straight just for a couple of meters and than takes a sharp turn.

I have figured out that I can set my torpedo to deviate a couple of degrees to the right or left, but why would I want to do that?


...thats it for now.

[Bosje]

because your target is not directly in front of you

welcome aboard

yeah you will be told to read up on the many many helpful guides you can find here. of course the best way to learn is to play the game for a couple hours, if you're completely new to subsimming you prolly won't understand what's being talked about in some guides... i dunno

[www2]

Ok but about when my target is lets say sitting in a spot and I am directly at 90 degres to him......will the torpedo trajectory (in the attack map) still be in the curve or will it be straight.....

....oh and I did get my first two kills in the first carrer mission.

[ETR3(SS)]

Hitting a ship with torpedoes is a lot like shooting at a moving target. If the target ship is stopped and directly in front of you, your torpedoes will run straight to it. If the target ship is moving then the Torpedo Data Computer will calculate an impact point for the torpedo based on the range to target, target speed, target course, and torpedo speed.

[www2]

OK...getting the hang of it now. So it's something like 1940's homing missile, but doesnt follow heat, but rather relies on pure math.

2. How come I cant turn on my freeking radar. I click the ON/OFF switch but nothing happens?

[gimpy117]

exactly...pure math!!

I got a C- in pre-calc

this is why i keep auto target on.

besides in real life i'd make my XO do it...I hate math!

[Roatest]

I'm recently back to the game and just got the u-boat addon, I'll ask here instead of starting another thread: Is there any mod that activates the new strategic commands thingy in the american campaign? I've been googling with no luck.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by www2

OK...getting the hang of it now. So it's something like 1940's homing missile, but doesnt follow heat, but rather relies on pure math.

Exactly

2. How come I cant turn on my freeking radar. I click the ON/OFF switch but nothing happens?

What year is it? Do you have radar installed? When you go to the bridge and look up at the radar equipment, is it turning?

[www2]

OK....so only to find that darn auto target thingy......I dont see it in the game play options where the realism set up is.......

...and what does the auto target do? I mean does it mean that I will never miss my target?

What about the radar problem I am having?

[Bosje]

Originally Posted by www2

OK...getting the hang of it now. So it's something like 1940's homing missile, but doesnt follow heat, but rather relies on pure math.

basically, yes
the torpedo shoots out of the boat straight ahead at first and then after a little while it turns according to the programmed course (so that it meets the ship at the same spot at the same time) if the ship is stationary and right in front of you, the torpedo won't need to turn at all.
the trick is to shoot at moving targets so that the torpedo goes as straight as possible, so you shoot before the target crosses your bow (I hope that was clear)

[www2]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

Exactly



What year is it? Do you have radar installed? When you go to the bridge and look up at the radar equipment, is it turning?

Well its 1941, and I can go in the radar room, but no the radar is not turning, its off, but there is ON/OFF switch near the radar.


oh, and again:

Where can I find that auto target option......I dont see it in the game play options where the realism set up is.......

[Bosje]

auto target is active as long as you have the 'manual targeting' turned off

if you see yellow triangles underneath ships as you watch them through the periscope, you know it works. what it does is calculate the torpedo track for you (the turn which the torpedo makes after being fired)
it's not a guarantee for hits though. there are plenty reasons for torpedoes to miss or malfunction (or even do a full circle to hit you in the behind)
war is hell

SD radar (air) is always active, you have no control
SJ radar (surface) can be controlled by you but it has to be available and installed on your boat. check the systems/weaponry screen to see if it's there.

and play around for a while, you'll come to grips easier

[ETR3(SS)]

You probably don't have radar installed yet. The consoles are always there even though you might not have it onboard.

[kylesplanet]

If it is 1941 you don't have surface radar. It doesn't become available until June of 42 I believe. I you recieve a radar contact, it is an aircraft. Your SD radar is always on and you always have it.

[Sailor Steve]

WELCOME ABOARD!

Originally Posted by www2

...and what does the auto target do? I mean does it mean that I will never miss my target?

No. In real life they had to make the torpedo not go straight at the target, but at where the target would be when the torpedo got there. This meant doing a lot of advanced math and then setting the gyro angles on the torpedo so it would turn to the correct path.

Auto Targeting means that the game does the math for you. You can still miss sometimes, just like they really did.