Noob need basic speed/direction info

[Chicago Big Kahuna]

I am new to SH4 and am looking to get some basic info on the different speeds of ships and the sub itself. For example, in attempting to intercept, when a ship is going "slow" "medium" "fast" what does that mean in knots? Same for sub? Is there a tool that helps specify/makes it easier to determin what half degrees are when using the protractor to plot courses (i.e. NNE, etc.)

Thanks for the help

[The Renegade]

Hey Chicago, and welcome to the land of zee Subs!

Now, YOUR QUESTION! Which I THINK I can answer!

The MAP likes to mess with you and say this convoy's going slow, or THIS task force is going fast, it's great! They don't understand the KNOTS system. After playing the CRAP outta SHIII and reading around here, I BEAT the map and figured out the average values for those speeds.

USUALLY. (And I'm saying "usually" because I mean it, the speeds DO vary). But USUALLY, a speed of "Slow" means 6-7 knots, or even less I spose. Medium is 8-10. And I have NOT seen many fast contacts, but the ones I've seen are around 14. So maybe from 12 knots and faster, just in general.

What I personally use:
Slow- 6
Medium- 10
Fast- 14

Again, it's a bit of a crapshoot with contacts sometimes. Your best guess is to stick with one value, line up a good intercept course, and intercept ASAP to make sure you dont miss them. THEN you get the real speed. And then keep a note of what speeds you see are the most common out there, and use those for estimates.

Good luck and happy huntin'!

*As for the tool to help with angles and whatnot, I'm NOT sure what's out there, but someone else might know. But if you want to know the approximate angles, just use some quick math! (+ or - 22.5 from your desired bearing) Or here:
North-000
NNE-022.5
NE-045
ENE-067.5
East-090
ESE-112.5
SE-135
SSE-157.5
South-180
SSW-202.5
SW-225
WSW-247.5
West-270
WNW-292.5
NW-315
NNW-337.5
Back to North-000

[I'm goin' down]

Check out the Skippers Bag of Tricks Sticky in this forum for helpful information. Read Legion's Noob Guide. Speed for slow, medium and fast listed above is close, and there is a range for each classification. It may be listed in the Noob guide.

[razark]

I tend to use:
Slow- 8
Medium- 12
Fast- 20

I like to get ahead of the target, so I tend to go with a high speed estimate to plot an intercept.


But I rarely work with vague contacts. Mostly, I plot from radar fixes, so I tend to get an exact speed, and work from that. If I'm running ahead, I'll draw out a projection with the target at +2-3 knots, and keep him on the radar to check my progress.

[Pisces]

Have a look at the end of the file: Silent Hunter 4\Data\Cfg\contacts.cfg

[WernherVonTrapp]

Wow, the Big Kahuna, finally.
And from Chicago no less.
Well, welcome abroad mate.

[Chicago Big Kahuna]

Originally Posted by The Renegade

Hey Chicago, and welcome to the land of zee Subs!

Now, YOUR QUESTION! Which I THINK I can answer!

The MAP likes to mess with you and say this convoy's going slow, or THIS task force is going fast, it's great! They don't understand the KNOTS system. After playing the CRAP outta SHIII and reading around here, I BEAT the map and figured out the average values for those speeds.

USUALLY. (And I'm saying "usually" because I mean it, the speeds DO vary). But USUALLY, a speed of "Slow" means 6-7 knots, or even less I spose. Medium is 8-10. And I have NOT seen many fast contacts, but the ones I've seen are around 14. So maybe from 12 knots and faster, just in general.

What I personally use:
Slow- 6
Medium- 10
Fast- 14

Again, it's a bit of a crapshoot with contacts sometimes. Your best guess is to stick with one value, line up a good intercept course, and intercept ASAP to make sure you dont miss them. THEN you get the real speed. And then keep a note of what speeds you see are the most common out there, and use those for estimates.

Good luck and happy huntin'!

*As for the tool to help with angles and whatnot, I'm NOT sure what's out there, but someone else might know. But if you want to know the approximate angles, just use some quick math! (+ or - 22.5 from your desired bearing) Or here:
North-000
NNE-022.5
NE-045
ENE-067.5
East-090
ESE-112.5
SE-135
SSE-157.5
South-180
SSW-202.5
SW-225
WSW-247.5
West-270
WNW-292.5
NW-315
NNW-337.5
Back to North-000

Thank you for this information - most helpful!!

[Chicago Big Kahuna]

Originally Posted by I'm goin' down

Check out the Skippers Bag of Tricks Sticky in this forum for helpful information. Read Legion's Noob Guide. Speed for slow, medium and fast listed above is close, and there is a range for each classification. It may be listed in the Noob guide.

Thank you!

[Chicago Big Kahuna]

Originally Posted by Pisces

Have a look at the end of the file: Silent Hunter 4\Data\Cfg\contacts.cfg

Hi Pices - I click on the link, and unless I am missing something (and that could certainly be a possibility), I am not seeing this file. Thank you very much for your help!

[Chicago Big Kahuna]

Originally Posted by WernherVonTrapp

Wow, the Big Kahuna, finally.
And from Chicago no less.
Well, welcome abroad mate.

Thanks - good to meet you all!

[Chicago Big Kahuna]

Originally Posted by razark

I tend to use:
Slow- 8
Medium- 12
Fast- 20

I like to get ahead of the target, so I tend to go with a high speed estimate to plot an intercept.


But I rarely work with vague contacts. Mostly, I plot from radar fixes, so I tend to get an exact speed, and work from that. If I'm running ahead, I'll draw out a projection with the target at +2-3 knots, and keep him on the radar to check my progress.

Thank you. Quick question - what are the speeds of the sub itself? What does Standard, Flank, etc. equate to?

Appreciate it!

[Hylander_1314]

Speeds of the boats varies slightly. Also, it depends on if you use a supermod or not.

But the basic jist, is that the fastest speed of the boats is 20 knots tops, or about 23 mph.

Best thing, is when you hit a stretch where there is no wind, try each speed setting, and let the boat excellerate until it levels off, and just make note of it. Honestly though, on the surface, depending mileage, you will travel at 2/3rds to ahead standard. Right now TMO 2.2 is set up to run the best cruise speed at ahead standard, or 15 knots for long distance travel.

But I think the other mods, and vanilla are set up so that 9 to 10 knots is the most economical speed. But who wants to traverse the world's largest ocean, as TMO author Ducimus says, "at harbor speed".

[pabbi]

Originally Posted by Chicago Big Kahuna

Hi Pices - I click on the link, and unless I am missing something (and that could certainly be a possibility), I am not seeing this file. Thank you very much for your help!

It is not a link go to your silent hunter game folder and then (example:C:\games\sh4\Data\Cfg\contacts.cfg) do as i do in the example.
For you it could be c:program files\......
open it with notepad or other text program.

[Pisces]

Originally Posted by pabbi

It is not a link go to your silent hunter game folder and then (example:C:\games\sh4\Data\Cfg\contacts.cfg) do as i do in the example.
For you it could be c:program files\......
open it with notepad or other text program.

Exactly, it's not a link on the internet, but the location of a file on your harddisk. But I made a (premature) assumption that you knew how to find your way around in the folder structure of windows machines. Sorry, I should have been more clear on how to find it.

Double click on the following icons and you should find it (with default settings):

Computer icon on desktop,
C drive
"Program Files" folder, or perhaps "Program Files (x86)" folder
"Silent Hunter 4" folder
"Data" folder
"Cfg" folder
in it you should find the file "contacts.cfg" that you can open with any sort of text editor like Notepad.

[Chicago Big Kahuna]

Originally Posted by pabbi

It is not a link go to your silent hunter game folder and then (example:C:\games\sh4\Data\Cfg\contacts.cfg) do as i do in the example.
For you it could be c:program files\......
open it with notepad or other text program.

Got it - thank you!