Mein Kampf with auto TDC

Bolshybeef · 04-06-07, 07:36 AM

Hi everyone,

I've just recently re-installed SH3 together with GWX after playing it vanilla for some time in the past, and I must say that you chaps have done a splendid job, it adds so much to the game and makes it so much better in many ways.

I do have a slight problem now, however. I'm on my first patrol in 1939, sailing in a IX, and encounter plenty of good targets. The sea is rough, the weather bad. I position myself at a virtually perfect 90 degree angle, set tubes I & II to impact, fast speed. The range is below 1,000m - I open my recognition manual, lock on to the target, identify it. The compartment targeting mode pops up, I select the fuel bunkers to provide some fireworks to cheer up my crew, and also to make sure the darn thing blows up nice and loud. I fire torpedo I and II, and watch them (F12) swim eagerly towards my target - only to hit well aft of the ship's bridge.

Now, this has happend consistently throughout my first patrol. It is quite frustrating, since it never quite sinks the ship on impact, forcing me to hang around until the ship goes under, and that could well get me into trouble under other circumstances.

I was curious enough to fire up the torpedo tutorial and do some experimenting, and it seems that it remains consistent with my experience. It seems that no matter which compartment you target using the targeting manual, the TDC will always go for a midships shot, since that is where your periscope will lock on to. I have tried auto TDC'ing the screw to prove that, and the torpedo hit in almost the exact same spot that my fuel bunker torpedo went to.

Now, I tried not locking onto my target with the periscope, and instead
aim manually with the periscope at the bow of a ship - and it did indeed hit almost the right spot, only slightly aft, since the ship probably accelerated slightly after spotting my torpedo (the sight is perfect in the tutorial, sunshine and flat sea).

I'm not sure what to make of this. I figure that the ship might speed up enough after spotting my torpedo early enough to let my torpedo trail aft of the target, but that wouldn't be entirely consistent with my experience, since I clearly remember many instances where the ship did not even move until the torpedo hit (bad weather, nighttime, ship already going at full speed).

Also, the fact that I don't open my tubes doesn't make any difference to my aim. I tried firing with or without the tubes open in my experiments, and the results were nearly the same.

Like I said, it is a little frustrating, and I'm not sure how to fix this. I play at 75% realism, with nearly everything on except manual targeting. Anybody have an idea? Or has this even been covered before, perhaps? I'm quite aware that most of you use manual targeting, so you might not notice.

04-06-07, 07:36 AM	#1
Bolshybeef Nub Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 3 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	Mein Kampf with auto TDC Hi everyone, I've just recently re-installed SH3 together with GWX after playing it vanilla for some time in the past, and I must say that you chaps have done a splendid job, it adds so much to the game and makes it so much better in many ways. I do have a slight problem now, however. I'm on my first patrol in 1939, sailing in a IX, and encounter plenty of good targets. The sea is rough, the weather bad. I position myself at a virtually perfect 90 degree angle, set tubes I & II to impact, fast speed. The range is below 1,000m - I open my recognition manual, lock on to the target, identify it. The compartment targeting mode pops up, I select the fuel bunkers to provide some fireworks to cheer up my crew, and also to make sure the darn thing blows up nice and loud. I fire torpedo I and II, and watch them (F12) swim eagerly towards my target - only to hit well aft of the ship's bridge. Now, this has happend consistently throughout my first patrol. It is quite frustrating, since it never quite sinks the ship on impact, forcing me to hang around until the ship goes under, and that could well get me into trouble under other circumstances. I was curious enough to fire up the torpedo tutorial and do some experimenting, and it seems that it remains consistent with my experience. It seems that no matter which compartment you target using the targeting manual, the TDC will always go for a midships shot, since that is where your periscope will lock on to. I have tried auto TDC'ing the screw to prove that, and the torpedo hit in almost the exact same spot that my fuel bunker torpedo went to. Now, I tried not locking onto my target with the periscope, and instead aim manually with the periscope at the bow of a ship - and it did indeed hit almost the right spot, only slightly aft, since the ship probably accelerated slightly after spotting my torpedo (the sight is perfect in the tutorial, sunshine and flat sea). I'm not sure what to make of this. I figure that the ship might speed up enough after spotting my torpedo early enough to let my torpedo trail aft of the target, but that wouldn't be entirely consistent with my experience, since I clearly remember many instances where the ship did not even move until the torpedo hit (bad weather, nighttime, ship already going at full speed). Also, the fact that I don't open my tubes doesn't make any difference to my aim. I tried firing with or without the tubes open in my experiments, and the results were nearly the same. Like I said, it is a little frustrating, and I'm not sure how to fix this. I play at 75% realism, with nearly everything on except manual targeting. Anybody have an idea? Or has this even been covered before, perhaps? I'm quite aware that most of you use manual targeting, so you might not notice.