SH3 Newbie Guide, FAQs, Tactics & Tips, Links, & other helpful stuff

[danlisa]

Welcome

Questions for you, do you open the torp doors first? (press Q, if you don't then your torp will pass behind the target) and have you checked the draft of the target, you can find this in the recognition manual. (make sure your torps aren't going under your target).

Originally Posted by rjbudz

I don't know if I'm just thick or what!. I cruise up to within 500 meters. I turn the attack periscope to the target, get a green or yellow arrow. Select tube, press fire. Miss. I haven't a clue where the torpedo goes sometimes, it doesn't even get near the target. I can hit 'em once in a while, but I feel it's just luck. Once I crawled right up a target's screw and the torpedo just ran past it along the hull. What amd I doing wrong?

I can't find any Topedos For Dummies sites, and have no idea what torpedo ranges are, when the arrows turn colors (red, yellow, green, seems irratic).

Thanks!

Here is a very good site to help get you started:

http://www.communitymanuals.com/shii...itle=Main_Page

And welcome aboard!

[rjbudz]

Thank you. I'll give it a shot, so to speak.

[Bis71]

The colors can change en route if the target changes course. In a tutorial, make sure you are pretty much at a right angle to a target that's not changing course. You may want to lower your scope and decrease speed to avoid detection. Like the man said, open torp doors almost ommediately and approach woth them open. Aim slightly forward pf amidships, kinda like leading a bird.

If an old man like me can do it, so can you!

[rjbudz]

Nope. 220 meters. Dead on bow. two fish. RIGHT UNDER THE KEEL. It looks like the torpedo gets within 10 meters then actually drops below the keel.

"All the player must do is point the periscope at the target and launch a torpedo. It is not necessary to find the range, AOB or speed of the target manually, as the entire process of plotting a solution is handled automatically by the game. "

This is supposed to be easy to do in the tutorial, right? I never take the perisope crosshairs off the target. For one thing, it's locked on, for another, the damn target filles the scope.

Is there any way to actually see the torpedos tracking on the map? I'm not convinced they're going where I point them. I could go out on deck and throw rocks and have a beter chance at getting tonage.

Do you thing my weapons officer is exceeding his beer ration?

[rjbudz]

I can not believe this. The fish actually closed on the hull, then, at the last second, TURNED AWAY! Like the magnetic detector is in backwards and repelling from the target.

[kylania]

Originally Posted by rjbudz

Nope. 220 meters. Dead on bow. two fish. RIGHT UNDER THE KEEL. It looks like the torpedo gets within 10 meters then actually drops below the keel.

You're too close, your eels need at least 350-400m distance to arm, so even when firing at 500m you might be too close since your target will be moving towards you as well.

Try for a shot at 500-600m or so from the side, a 90 degree angle. Plot their course, and setup a shot where you'll be waiting as they pass in front of you. Move your periscope so that the gyroangle reads 000, then fire as they pass that point. The AOB of 90 degrees and the gyroangle of 350 to 10 is the most important parts.

[Bis71]

First of all, read the manual. You're too close. The torps don't arm until they've run 300(?) meters. I usually get no closer than 400 meters.

[rjbudz]

RTFM??

What a concept! I just figured the torp section would be just as easy as navigation, deck gunning and flak. Guess not, huh? I'll read it all over and get back to you. I've loved sub sims since Silent Service II and look forward to this one.

I appreciate the quick responses and encouragment.

Thanks, guys!

[Bis71]

No problem. I struggled to get all five ships in that exercise. I finally figured out the sequence.

[rjbudz]

Cool!

RTFM and first time out sank 3 of 'em. Not the right ones to pass the test, but they went down. Feels good to be back in the captian's chair again. Thanks guys!

[thesnowpig]

Originally Posted by kylania

The easiest and most fully featured way is to use SH3 Commander to start SH3 for you and in it's options set your Near Land TC to 64x or so. Remember though, there are subnets and minefields around the French ports especially, so try to follow your escorts out of the harbor or check your route against the minefield maps first.

To manually change your TC settings, see this post by Albrecht Von Hesse, he tells how to set that in the actual data files. Just remember if you install anything that overwrites that file you'll need to make the changes again.

Thanks for the information and the good advice above on both my posts. I hadn't considered friendly Mines/nets. You guys are great. Shortly after I made that last post I went to visit Davy Jones locker. It's a short story. I made the mistake of not not doing a listening sweep before I popped up the scope. The viewfinder was filled with an un identified destroyer... Crash dive... zoom out the scope... start working on a plan. (only the scope was zoomed out ha,ha) The DD plowed into my conning tower. I think I was nearly inverted when the depth charges went off.

Anyway I'm back to 1940
currently up around AN21
with my new Type IIA U-11

Thanks again

[kylania]

My shortest career ever was a few weeks ago. Got my in my brand new IIA with a new captain, totally set on playing things through the Right Way(tm) and not cheating with renown like I did at first.

So I come tearing out of Kiel Canal and I must have hit my rudder or something because when I reached the end of my waypoints out of the canal rather than stopping like I should have, I just kept going!! Right up onto the shore and DEAD!

I think I have you beat. I bought the game several months ago and played for a short bit before putting it on hold for the spring and summer. I finally got back into it about a week ago. I clean installed XP, SH3, and decided to give Grey Wolves a shot. I started out in '40 at Wilhemshaven and set a course for the open sea. I set speed at 1/3rd and turned time compression to 4X or so. I didn't get far before my sub inexplicably took horrendous damage and sank without warning. I couldn't figure out what the heck happened, then I remembered that GW models mines. That was about a 10 minute career.

I started a new career in '40 and was also at Wilhems. I was ordered to patrol AM19 so headed northwest towards Scapa Flow. I got about halfway there and found a lone medium cargo. I setup the perfect 90* AOB shot, figured out my firing solution, had three tubes ready to fire, etc. Only one problem...Germany wasn't yet at war with GB. I figure that I went to this much trouble, I might as well go through with it anyway. The cargo ship is about 20 seconds away from crossing into my line of fire when I get the radio message that all British ships are now targets. I fire all three torps. One misses (dunno how that happened), one dud, one hit to stern. It must have been a critical hit though because that sucker blew up and sunk in about 2 minutes. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself and continue my course to Scapa. I get about 3/4 the way there when I get a message that an enemy ship has been spotted (time compression was on). I "maintain orders" but by the time I turn off time compression there's a destroyer 600m away firing at me. I crash dive and try to slink away as two of his friends come to help. I get into a good position and take out the first ship with a stern torpedo then end up hitting bottom trying to get away from depth charges (~45m deep seas). I eventually end up sitting on the bottom with damaged diesels and a flooded battery compartment. Four destroyers took turns depth charging me and eventually my ship flooded. So much for my proud moment sinking that medium cargo.

[robj250]

What time compression were you using before the ship was spotted?
And have you been through a night yet?