How to find merchants or convoys?

[JuanLiquid]

Hi,

Maybe this is just bad luck, but in the last three patrols I've see only 1 merchant and 2-3 destroyers in 1942. The BdU do not send me any contact radio, or the ones (convoys) they send me are too away from me. I'm diving each 45-60m to perform an hydrophone read, and I still do not find nothing.

How do you do it? Before, when I was able to see radio reports in the map drawed, I had more success. Now, the TC goes down to 8, but since I do not see they on the map and they do not send me the radio message, I never find a ship. I'm playing 100% realism with this mod list:

Generic Mod Enabler - v2.6.0.157
[C:\sh3\MODS]

Rubini´s Underwater dust&plancton v1
Sh3_volumetric_clouds&fog_V2.2
OLC's Modified Searchlight Beams for GWX3
Das Realistic Food
darksmoke
Wooden_Lifeboats_Mod_1.1
Enhanced Damage Effects
Realistic contacts with Sub icons
Damage_caused_by_fires_TheDarkWraith_v1_1
TheDarkWraith_Ejecting_Pilot(s)_v2_0_SH3
Dolphins
Late war SNK_RWR_for all_v2
Rapt0r's Uniforms V2.0 [Grey]
SH3 sound Mod v1.2
No Medals On Crew [Patch]
Float_planes_mod
GWX_DFa-Flag&Pens_2010
DD_VisibleMines_V1.0
snorkel_fx_for all
Ultimate Aircraft Soundmod
Foam
depth charge explosions and fire light
SH3MoonMod
torpedo trail and wake fix
NationalityMod_v3.0
ThomsenParamApp
Ahnenerbe WideGui 1920 x 1080 Final
JuanNoUMark
Supplement to V16B1 Ahnenerbe
OLCE2
Optional O2-Gauges v2 (JSGME)
newScene
JuanNoFatigue
EnvSimAct_10
EnhancedMapDrawing

[Andy 01288]

Hi JuanLiquid,
Just thinking there might be a big clue when you say (Quote) "Now, the TC goes down to 8" (if I`ve understood you correctly). I think this normally means an enemy has clocked you. I reckon get off the F5 map and go to F4 view and ask your WO if he can see anything. Also, good advice given re: hydro checks often. I do them on the hour at standard cruising speed.

Good Luck,
Andy 01288

[JuanLiquid]

Thanks for the replies, however I quote myself here:

I'm diving each 45-60m to perform an hydrophone read, and I still do not find nothing.

I'm already doing that, but I still do not see any contact. I try to stay in the places where I think the convoys will come but the game do not spawn them for me.

Take a look to this video, the two first hours I'm just hydro-scanning. The next hour I'm trying to escape from a destroyer that surprised me:




In the next video, more of the same thing, the full hour I'm using the hydro searching for any target:

[Niume]

Juan whats your pc specs? and are you running gWX?

[JuanLiquid]

No, I'm running vanilla with the mods I listed. GWX is too slow loading, and it crashes my system.

Windows 8.1 Home.
i7 3630QM 2.4GHz
6GB Ram
Nvidia Geforce 610M 2Gb- The graphic card sucks

I was doing another gameplay but it crashed when some planes revealed my position and the escorts from a convoy came to sink me. It crashed in the moment one acoustic torpedo hitted one of them.

[hauangua]

Originally Posted by JuanLiquid

No, I'm running vanilla with the mods I listed. GWX is too slow loading, and it crashes my system.

Windows 8.1 Home.
i7 3630QM 2.4GHz
6GB Ram
Nvidia Geforce 610M 2Gb- The graphic card sucks

I was doing another gameplay but it crashed when some planes revealed my position and the escorts from a convoy came to sink me. It crashed in the moment one acoustic torpedo hitted one of them.

Hi
you using hsie patch... probably you checked :
" hydrophone fix"... with this fix

Hydrophone-Fix
Hydrophones useless when diesels are working:
• When snorkelling, you must stop diesels in order to use hydrophones. Otherwise
you'll hear nothing.
• No sound contact reports when diesels are working

I see by your video you use hydrophone with diesel working ...
impossible hear contact

[JuanLiquid]

I have the hydro fix enabled. But unless diesels are working at 40m, I think I don't using hydro with diesel and 90% of times I stop all engines.

[hauangua]

Originally Posted by JuanLiquid

I have the hydro fix enabled. But unless diesels are working at 40m, I think I don't using hydro with diesel and 90% of times I stop all engines.

ehehehe..
opssss. ... i meant to say better engine stop.....
excuse me mate

[bstanko6]

hauangua is absolutely right. Even if you don't have a snorkel you should do an engine stop. The ambient noise in the hydrophone can cover up most faint engine sounds. Make sure you are using the convoy map too.

[BigWalleye]

JuanLiquid, I think I have found your problem. Here is the description for the mod "Realistic contacts for SH3" from the SubSIm downloads page:

This mod removes all the contact icons on the navmap (warships, merchants, convoys, task forces, aircrafts, submarines). For distant contact reports all you will have is the radio message with the Grid + speed + heading. For nearby contact reports it will be somewhat similar to real life RDF contacts: the time compression drop will indicate a "radio contact" but you will have no way to know where it comes from and where the ship is heading.

The aim is to simulate the "fuzzyness" of real life contact reports which couldn't be as accurate as in SH3 due to the means of navigations used by then. Most likely it will make you miss merchants and convoys interceptions. This will compensate for the high number of contact reports in SH3 and maybe result in more "historical" patrol results.

This is not exactly the mod you refer to ("Realistic contacts with sub icons") and I couldn't locate that one. Buy I suspect they are basically the same mod, by Mikhayl. If so, the mod is doing just what it is supposed to do, and nothing is showing up on your map. This makes finding targets a lot harder, as you are experiencing. Try removing that mod and see if the contact appear on your map. If so, you will have to choose between more realism and more in-game action. Whichever you choose, remember: "If you're having fun, even if everyone else says you're doing it wrong, you're doing it right."

Good luck and good hunting!

UPDATE: I just checked. "Realistic contacts with sub icons" is the same mod (but with sub icons retained). It is distributed in the same 7Zip file as "Realistic contacts for SH3" and the same readme, quoted above, applies to both. So that's the reason for the missing map contacts. As they say, it's a feature. :-)

[hauangua]

SH3 sound Mod v1.2
this mod can cause hydrophone problems...other user talked of hydrophone problem

PS. just now read BigWalleye post
and i think best solution is
Follow the advice of BigWalleye

[JuanLiquid]

Hi, thanks for the reply. Yes I used that mod but I missread it description. I thought you will DO receive a radio message that there was a single lonely ship desesperately wanting a torpedo in AM41 with east direction but without showing it in the map.

Is there something like that? Is there something that tells you Luftwaffe spotted a merchant but it doesn't show it exactly in the map, just an aproximation?

Originally Posted by JuanLiquid

Hi,

Maybe this is just bad luck, but in the last three patrols I've see only 1 merchant and 2-3 destroyers in 1942. The BdU do not send me any contact radio, or the ones (convoys) they send me are too away from me. I'm diving each 45-60m to perform an hydrophone read, and I still do not find nothing.

How do you do it? Before, when I was able to see radio reports in the map drawed, I had more success. Now, the TC goes down to 8, but since I do not see they on the map and they do not send me the radio message, I never find a ship.

No such problems here :

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=230691

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=231127

[bstanko6]

Problems aside. There will be bad patrols. I am currently in the middle of operation Hartmut. The invasion of Norway. U boats were used as a screen against British warships. I have only crossed paths with destroyers and German steamers. Even the aces who were dispatched to hartmut had horrible luck. So yes you will have bad patrols. It happens to us all.

[Leoz]

Originally Posted by BigWalleye

JuanLiquid, I think I have found your problem. Here is the description for the mod "Realistic contacts for SH3" from the SubSIm downloads page:

This is not exactly the mod you refer to ("Realistic contacts with sub icons") and I couldn't locate that one. Buy I suspect they are basically the same mod, by Mikhayl. If so, the mod is doing just what it is supposed to do, and nothing is showing up on your map. This makes finding targets a lot harder, as you are experiencing. Try removing that mod and see if the contact appear on your map. If so, you will have to choose between more realism and more in-game action. Whichever you choose, remember: "If you're having fun, even if everyone else says you're doing it wrong, you're doing it right."

Good luck and good hunting!

UPDATE: I just checked. "Realistic contacts with sub icons" is the same mod (but with sub icons retained). It is distributed in the same 7Zip file as "Realistic contacts for SH3" and the same readme, quoted above, applies to both. So that's the reason for the missing map contacts. As they say, it's a feature. :-)

Learn something new everyday BW. Great post. I may try this out.