"XO, plot a course for intercept!!"

The Renegade · 12-12-11, 07:01 AM

Good mornin' gents!

As I've been trying to ease myself back into the dark, shadowy world of submarine life, I've come across a PUZZLING dilemma. Years ago, I randomly picked up a little game called Silent Hunter III. I thought it was gonna be fun for a few months, get to see TORPEDO EXXXPLOSIONS, and then I'd move on. But OOOH no. It kicked my arse all over the place CONSTANTLY, and I loved it (still do!). I was determined to become a u-boat ace, to fire torpedoes with expert precision, to be a terror of the deep!

Getting to the point now

I came to Subsim and found an EXTREMELY lengthy, detailed, illustrated, HIGHLY awesome guide (hosted on another site, but the LINK was here). I even printed it out! And there were TWO parts! Was like 15 full pages of computer game homework! Anyway, I studied up on how to plot a course for intercepting a contact, and how to calculate the course of approach in order to get an exact AoB of 90 degrees. How to measure a target's speed with accuracy, and how to hit EXACTLY what I was looking at in the periscope.

I've been looking at the SHIV Tips and Tricks thread and I've got the videos by WernerSobe, but I'm just wondering if ANYONE knows what I'm talking about. Because see, thing is, I can remember the general technique, but I'm forgetting the details. I remember that, when receiving a contact, you use the compass tool to draw a circle. You use the contact as the centerpoint, then use the speed data for diameter. Then you do the same for your u-boat. THEN you draw some lines with the ruler, or protractor, or SOMETHING, and you plot an angle based on where the circles meet (??)and you find an exact course heading that will lead you to intercept. Then, once in visual range of the target, you wait for him to get near to or cross your bow, and fire, so as to keep the torpedo deviation angle (I think?) as low as possible.

I remember this technique being a BIT hard to master, but oh my goodness it worked wonders for me. In the end, I was arriving right on schedule, had that perfect 90 degree AoB, and I rarely missed. And now I've forgotten most of those details and URRRGH! Just thought I'd ask and see if anyone used the same methods. And I'd like to perhaps make a video or picture tutorial of the method, I bet many fresh players could catch on and be getting some great results

12-12-11, 07:01 AM	#1
The Renegade Mate Join Date: May 2006 Location: The Land of 10,000 Lakes Posts: 60 Downloads: 12 Uploads: 0	"XO, plot a course for intercept!!" Good mornin' gents! As I've been trying to ease myself back into the dark, shadowy world of submarine life, I've come across a PUZZLING dilemma. Years ago, I randomly picked up a little game called Silent Hunter III. I thought it was gonna be fun for a few months, get to see TORPEDO EXXXPLOSIONS, and then I'd move on. But OOOH no. It kicked my arse all over the place CONSTANTLY, and I loved it (still do!). I was determined to become a u-boat ace, to fire torpedoes with expert precision, to be a terror of the deep! Getting to the point now I came to Subsim and found an EXTREMELY lengthy, detailed, illustrated, HIGHLY awesome guide (hosted on another site, but the LINK was here). I even printed it out! And there were TWO parts! Was like 15 full pages of computer game homework! Anyway, I studied up on how to plot a course for intercepting a contact, and how to calculate the course of approach in order to get an exact AoB of 90 degrees. How to measure a target's speed with accuracy, and how to hit EXACTLY what I was looking at in the periscope. I've been looking at the SHIV Tips and Tricks thread and I've got the videos by WernerSobe, but I'm just wondering if ANYONE knows what I'm talking about. Because see, thing is, I can remember the general technique, but I'm forgetting the details. I remember that, when receiving a contact, you use the compass tool to draw a circle. You use the contact as the centerpoint, then use the speed data for diameter. Then you do the same for your u-boat. THEN you draw some lines with the ruler, or protractor, or SOMETHING, and you plot an angle based on where the circles meet (??)and you find an exact course heading that will lead you to intercept. Then, once in visual range of the target, you wait for him to get near to or cross your bow, and fire, so as to keep the torpedo deviation angle (I think?) as low as possible. I remember this technique being a BIT hard to master, but oh my goodness it worked wonders for me. In the end, I was arriving right on schedule, had that perfect 90 degree AoB, and I rarely missed. And now I've forgotten most of those details and URRRGH! Just thought I'd ask and see if anyone used the same methods. And I'd like to perhaps make a video or picture tutorial of the method, I bet many fresh players could catch on and be getting some great results __________________ U-36, "Cutlass"-- Stealing from the Brits and giving to Davy Jones since 1939. Last edited by The Renegade; 12-12-11 at 07:14 AM.