Need help with current situation off coast of Luzan

[Crumpler]

This is a continuation of my question and exploits from this thread:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=218147

I was ordered to patrol off eastern coast of Luzan and sink merchant shipping. Reached destination and received credit for it, but still seeing "sink merchant shipping" as incomplete, even though I sunk two small coastal merchants and another of 5000+ tons. Noticed most of the traffic is off western Luzan coast and so inched out of the 100 nm radius I had made for myself around patrol area...then inched out again, and again, until I found myself off western coast with massive carrier group headed due north and within visual range. Slipped past two destroyers and am headed for group at flank speed and depth 200.

Questions:

1) Is time spent in the patrol area cumulative or does it reset every time you leave, forcing you to have to stay for another 48 or 72 hours (I forget which it is) every time?

2) Am I wrong, having seen a huge task force within striking range, to leave my patrol area? I'm in a S-18 class which isn't the best boat for attacking military shipping and I figure there was a reason they sent me to a quieter part of the island to concentrate on merchants. But I'm here now and I'm not turning back.

3) I have five torpedoes left (missed a couple times on those merchants). Destroyers crawling all over the place. My plan is to position myself ahead of the task force, go to periscope depth, take out the first carrier I see, dive deep and escape to NE or SE, depending on circumstances. No mods for increasing torpedo damage and "dud" torpedoes turned on in the options. CAN it be done? Any advice from more experienced skippers? Will I die?

[merc4ulfate]

1. Resets
2. Not Wrong, Orders are mostly ... and if IJN forces are outside your zone strike if capable.
3. Odds are good if you shoot all five you will get at least one hit. You haven't stated your version or mod list so advice is not going to be very accurate until you do. If it were me I would shoot three fish at the carrier and two at the next largest target ... but the cook feeds me large meatballs for breakfast so I'm a bit more aggressive.

[Hambone307]

What merc said. If you play your cards right, use your torpedoes wisely, and GTFO after firing, your chances are good. I've pulled off an attack on the Manila invasion force in an S-18. Took one hell of a beating, but made it back to port more or less intact... You might want to have the cook make your crew one big meal before you set up your final attack. It'll make the potential depth charging not so bad!

[Spraug]

Merc has answered the questions already, but one comment:
2) Hell no! You're a sub commander. Of course you should complete your mission, but your main job is to sink enemy ships. Skippers were fired for being to timid, not for chasing carrier task forces!
Find 'em, Chase 'em, Sink 'em!

[Sniper297]

You say "Luzan" I assume you're talking about Luzon. Off the EAST coast of Luzon there are many unescorted merchant ships moving north and south, easy pickings on that side. In real life you'd be given a patrol area and wouldn't leave that area without receiving permission, the game doesn't care. Stay near the star for 48 hours and the second part says "destroy enemy merchants in (Celebes, Sulu, wherever) it actually doesn't matter where you sink them, as long as you score 10,000 tons of merchants you can sink them in Osaka for all the game cares.

Mission objectives get you X number of renown points, but it's really a small enough number that you can actually ignore the mission objectives and continue the career by earning renown for tonnage. I haven't looked into how the game processes renown much, sink a 30,000 ton battleship or three 10,000 ton tankers the score is 30,000 tons either way - but does the warship count for more renown per ton or not? Dunno.

Main problem with realism is that in real life you would get credit for damaging a warship even if you ran out of fish and were unable to sink it, the game doesn't work that way - if the target isn't destroyed you may as well not have bothered to attack it at all for all the credit you'll get. That's the worst trouble with the Sugar boats, run across the Yamato and fire all 12 Mark 10s at it, damage it enough to put it out of the war for three months and you'd get a medal, promotion, new sub and ticker tape parade. In the game you get diddly squat unless it sinks, which makes the whole attack/don't attack decision completely different in the game. To me it's one of the most glaring flaws in the series.

[Sniper297]

Just for grins and giggles I checked it out - edited US_NavalBases.mis to set up a KONGO battleship and three large modern tankers in Manila bay. Started career, sank the three tankers, went into port and ended patrol. 31,000 tons, renown 759. Started another career, ignored tankers, sank KONGO, 32,000 tons, 759 renown, same medal. It would appear from that experiment the renown is geared only to tonnage and nothing else. Sink 500 sixty ton sampans and you're as big a hero as if you sink a 30,000 ton battleship.

[TorpX]

Isn't the renown awarded, set in the ships' *.cfg files?

[Spraug]

Originally Posted by Sniper297

... That's the worst trouble with the Sugar boats, run across the Yamato and fire all 12 Mark 10s at it, damage it enough to put it out of the war for three months and you'd get a medal, promotion, new sub and ticker tape parade. In the game you get diddly squat unless it sinks, which makes the whole attack/don't attack decision completely different in the game. To me it's one of the most glaring flaws in the series.

Well, you can always surface and sink Yamato with the 4" gun! If you ever do, please upload a video of it!

[merc4ulfate]

I do not think I have ever sank the Yamato with fewer than 8 fish. No way I'm using a deck gun. I tried that on a wounded Kongo once and I expended every single round into it and it never went down. I had put a few fish in it ... enough to stop it and waited for the escorts to leave the area than at night out of its visual range I hammered away but it made no difference ... the gun added no damage or so little that it had no effect on her sinking.

I had to leave it burning that way and was none to happy about it.