Smoke on horizon question

[PapaG39]

I was just wondering and don't know how to figure it out myself, but just what would be the normal distance...On a clear day with flat water?

In Warners book "Iron coffins" he talks about seeing smoke first in about 90% of the sightings.

I never see smoke until after I have seen the ship through my binoculars, usually around 8500m.

Maybe I need a smoke mod that will work with GWX.

My monitor is a new 22" flat screen HP W2207. The graphics in everyone of my other games is outstanding...

In SH3 I have water painting type circles in the day & stripes & blotches at night...Oh, and my boat turns a lovely desert brown at night...Maybe they ran out of gray & used some of Rommels tank paint...

[GoldenRivet]

considered enabling the 16km atmosphere mod that comes with GWX?

[Sailor Steve]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^
What he said.

I've had the watch crew call "Ship spotted" at 14-15km, only to look myself and see nothing but a column of smoke (or several columns). It's a great mod.

[Patboot]

Without the GWX, you CAN see the smudge on the horizon- you just have to be on deck and looking for it; your crew will not call out and identify it.

[PapaG39]

I have that 16k thing loaded. Just what is it suppose to do anyway? Things look just as they did prior to me switching it over to the right side of that jasme enabler prior to this patrol.
What am I suppose to notice different?

On My laptop I have just the sh3 & 1.4b patch & I can see smoke on a clear day a long way off. With GWX I will see the ship way before I notice any smoke.

Anyway, My question was:
How far is the horizon from the con of a sub on a clear calm day? I know that there is a-way to figure it, but I don't kknow how myself.

[GoldenRivet]

i believe in the game, the default visual detection range on a clear calm day is 8KM

basically... the 16KM visibility mod just ups the maximum viewing distance to 16KM and increases the visual detection range of the watch crew to 16KM if i remember correctly.

It is very very hard to come out and say that a real life sub crew could spot a ship at XXX KM because there are soooo many variables that come in to play. just consider the following hand full of examples of what affects the ability to spot a target

1. size of the target ship
2. paint scheme of the target ship (dull grey, black, cammo?)
3. speed of the target ship (high speed = lots of smoke but slow speed = very little or almost NO smoke)
4. time of day
5. bearing to the target ship in relation to a rising or setting sun
6. experience of the watch crew
7. cumulative fatigue of the watch crew
8. is the target ship in the shadow of a high stratus or cirrus cloud?
9. though the weather is clear within 10 km of your sub conning tower there could be light virga (rain that evaporates before contacting the surface) on the horizon... if so might the target ship be concealed behind the virga?

developers and modders try to incorporate many of these considerations into their game design and mod design while also taking into consideration that the average joe player is not that concerned about super realism... average joe gamer just wants to blow stuff up.

for everyone else there is GWX and i think that the 16Km atmosphere mod is about as close to real life visibility and detection settings that anyone has come yet.

the only real life way that you the player is going to visibly detect a merchant ship's smoke on the horizon before your crew calls out the target is to play the entire game on 1X time compression and personally man the watch tower EVERY TIME your on the surface... something the skipper did only occasionally.

[andylegate]

Basic science:

Due to the size and curvature of the Earth, it becomes difficult to see something after 20 miles or about 32 km. On a clear sunny day, with the ocean flat, one could see that far before the object goes below the horizon.

However, if the object is very tall, you will be able to see it past that 20 mile mark, such as the sky scrapers of a major city like New York, or.......(drum roll) a column of dark smoke!

This is also why my radar system I worked on in the Navy could see things up to 220 nautical miles away: Air craft flying at 30,000 can be seen way past the curvature of the earth.

But, that's real life, and not SH3. And would only be on very clear days with a sea state of 0, and what they call Ulimited Visability.

That answer your question?

[PapaG39]

Thanks Andy...Yes! that is just about how far I was thinking in my mind. I know that When sitting on the bank just looking out to sea in Alaska I could see ships with my binoculars & they were about 20 miles out to sea...

Herbert Warner in his book "Iron coffins" talks about seeing ships smoke on the horizon and from the way he describes it, they must be around 20 miles or so away. It took them hours at 17 kts to catchem.

Ah well, this is just a-game...There is only so much that can be done on a $50CD.
All though, I notice when I do SH3 with the 1.4b patch on my laptop that I see smoke a long long way off and way before I can pick up the ship. I like that better because at least I am seeing something that I can make a play for...

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Patboot

Without the GWX, you CAN see the smudge on the horizon- you just have to be on deck and looking for it; your crew will not call out and identify it.

Yes they will. I had the 16km mod and the crew called out ships at that range all the time. All that was visible was the smoke.

I haven't played since before GWX was released, so I know this is true.

[Brag]

Originally Posted by PapaG39

I

Anyway, My question was:
How far is the horizon from the con of a sub on a clear calm day? I know that there is a-way to figure it, but I don't kknow how myself.

At 2 meters above waterline, your horizon will at a distance of 4 miles. Standing on a U-boat Bridge probably 4-5 meters so the horizon would be about 8 miles distant.

[PapaG39]

Ahhh Haaa...
I finely got a beautiful day in the North Sea...
My guys called out a merchant and low & behold.. I could see smoke from a small merchant at 15550m. (about 9.6 miles)
I may have been able to see it further, but I was drinken coffee & reading Iron Coffins...
Anyway I also picked up the masts @ 12000m.
That is actually a fairly resonable distance I guess...

[TarJak]

Good to see it is working out for you. Now Sink em All!

[desirableroasted]

Originally Posted by Brag

At 2 meters above waterline, your horizon will at a distance of 4 miles. Standing on a U-boat Bridge probably 4-5 meters so the horizon would be about 8 miles distant.

Brag, what's your source for this? I ask because I just this week bought a house on a bluff overlooking the Baltic... and was wondering how to calculate the distance to my horizon.

[Brag]

anti-poll bump

[Spruence M]

anti poll bump