Some questions and 'suggestions'

I've been playing SHIII for several months now and, for the most part, I'm very pleased. I've always wanted to play a sub sim game before, and this has exceeded my expectations.

Running RUB has made it even better.

Now I'm trying GW, and have a question. If I'm reading it correctly, it has the NYGM damage mod included. I hope so, because otherwise I'm not sure why I've experienced the following my very first patrol using GW:

11 September 1939, no precip, no fog, 5 meter wind. Encountered a small merchant. Surface approached to within 3 klicks, went submerged until 340 meters away, 10 degrees bearing, 89 degrees AOB. Impact setting of 4.5 meters.

It took a total of three torpedoes to 'sink', and I use sink loosely because, by the time I fired a third torpedo 3 hours had passed and it was still dead in the water floating like a cork. Twenty minutes after the third I finally got the message of it going down (and it appeared in my log) but it was still afloat nine hours later.

I evenly distributed the torpedo impacts along the vessel. First one was perpendicular dead center abeam portside. The second sternwards portside, the third forwards and starboard. It just seems a little, umm . . . :hmm: odd, that it took three torpedoes to sink a small merchant.

Having read up a lot of past threads on NYGM damage mod, I agree (and like) the idea of a vessel having to flood interior until negative bouyant until sinking. However, as an example, take a tanker that has been torpedoed, and its cargo an inferno. Shouldn't a burned-out, engineless and unmanueverable hulk that winds up unsalvageable and being scuttled worth something? Might there be some way of awarding renown for 'target destroyed' as well as 'target sunk'?

Two more 'suggestions' that have been percolating in my head (I'd like to try modding myself at some point; if anyone can suggest what editor to use for that I'd appreciate that, and any other tips you might be willing to pass along as well) are the following:

1) My time-compression settings are set so that it reverts to 1X when receiving a radio message. However, that only seems to work when it's a specific radio message from BdU. When it's a radio contact message, for instance, about a convoy, time compression does not change. Is there already a fix for this by any chance?

2) Nothing is more frustrating than sailing merrily along at ahead slow during perfect weather, running at 512X compression, to have the weather change to overcast, heavy precip, heavy fog, and have no idea the weather has changed. You can't run faster than 32X on the bridge (where you could see the weather change) and, frankly, as much as I prefer, and desire, the total immersion and reality of SHIII, I really would not find crossing the entire Atlantic at 32X enjoyable.

I would think the watch crew would call down something like 'Kapitan, das weather now sucks!' or something along the likes when the weather goes sour. Is there a fix that exists for this; having time compression revert to 1X when weather visibility (precipitation and/or fog) changes?

Thanks for the time, and any help or comments anyone provides. I've enjoyed SHIII immensely so far, and now I'm looking forwards to socializing with the nice people here.

Albrecht von Hesse

[kylania]

For number 2) you can change your 3D view max TC to higher so you can run full speed on the bridge. Currently I have my max at 512 and my 3D view at 512, so I could see the storms roll in and the waves pick up at high time compression. Use SH3 Commander for that.

[Dantenoc]

Originally Posted by kylania

For number 2) you can change your 3D view max TC to higher so you can run full speed on the bridge. Currently I have my max at 512 and my 3D view at 512, so I could see the storms roll in and the waves pick up at high time compression. Use SH3 Commander for that.

Excelent sugestion, allthough if you do that, I would suggest to also use SH3 commander to change your crew fatigue model. Crew fatigue is frozen when you time compress above the 3D view setting, so setting it to such a hi value means that it will never freeze (unless you went to 1024, which would defeat the purpouse of upping your time compression settings in the first place), and your crew would fatigue incredibly fast under the normal SH3 fatigue model.

On another note, I think I understand what you mean, and I agree with you completely: there are too many instances where the player is punished for going into a higher TC. Sonar man won't do as good a job as you would, planes will surprise you more easily, etc, etc. Let's hope they fix that in SHIV, I really don't think they can do much about it in SHIII.

About point 1: No, there is no fix to that, it's hard-coded behaviour, not something you change by altering a config file or something similar. The game WILL drop down to 1TC for radio contacts but only if it thinks it's close enough for you to intercept, but unfortunately, it needs to be practicaly on top of you for the game to think so.

For reasons such as this and many, MANY more, a lot of the old salts never ever go to higher TC settings, only going up as high as 128 or 256 max.

One last thing... you could press on the "report weather" button from the watch officer periodicaly (yet another thing to worry about ).

Originally Posted by Dantenoc

One last thing... you could press on the "report weather" button from the watch officer periodicaly (yet another thing to worry about ).

Actually, I already do that; cursor on the weather report button and, like clockwork, click for a report every 4 hours.

Thanks for the advice though, from everyone.