Why bother with convoys?

Phaedrus · 03-26-08, 01:36 PM

First off, I have enjoyed reading the forum... a wealth of information.

But most, if not all, seems to be geared towards GWX.

Having just got the game a week ago, I am playing stock 1.4.
Does anyone still play the stock game?
I am currently downloading GWX 2 from the torrent, after having seen one post about a reported slow down in performance after install I am not so sure about making the change.
I am running a P4 2.4 Ghz with 1028 RAM, nVidia GeForce 7300 GT.
Its not a 512 card, but will it be sufficient?

But, on to the real topic.
An awful lot of you seem to be focusing on convoy attacks.
I've attempted one, with only 3 ships sunk with 8 torpedoes expended, ended up running and receiving damage from escorts.
It doesn't seem worth it to me.
I will soon be embarking on my 6th patrol, June 1941, and I spend most of my time deck gunning single merchants when weather permits.
I'm taking about 25 000 - 35 000 per patrol this way in or around BE and BF, usually heading home when my torpedoes are expended after the weather turns and I can use surface attacks anymore. I've topped out at 56 000 on my last patrol.

I seem to be doing my part in the tonnage war without heading way out of my way to target the convoys.
Are there less single merchants in GWX? Or are the convoy attacks more for the thrill?

Thanks!

AVGWarhawk · 03-26-08, 01:51 PM

Your computer is just fine for running GWX installed. Once installed you will understand why no one runs stock anymore.

Convoys are easy pickings most times. If I sink 2-3 vessels on one attack before retiring to the depths I consider it a good attack. I do however prefer the loan merchant that is super easy pickings!

Slateford-5 · 03-26-08, 01:51 PM

For me, it's the thrill really. I agree that if your sole concern is tonnage gathering in (relative) security, the lone merchant approach makes sense: Until you have slipped through a destroyer screen and had a full 15 ship convoy in front of you, like a wee boy being locked overnight in a sweetie shop, hit some of the biggies, had 2 hours of depth charging and STILL managed to slip away, you haven't lived.

I am not entirely sure about this, but I get the feeling too that while you can pick off small merchants, coastal freighters etc relatively easily, esp 39-41, if you want the 10 and 20k targets, they are almost invariably in the centre of convoys.

It's whatever sinks your boat, really...

mr chris · 03-26-08, 02:06 PM

Welcome to Subsim Phaedrus

I play GWX and in my current career iam in august of 1940 and i have sunk nearly 150,000t of shipping. I have only attack one convoy the rest have been lone merchants. If you wish to hunt lone merchants the early years are the best and the are certain areas that are good points to hunt in. My favorite is in and around AM52 also the area around western approaches is also a good hunting ground.

Hope this helps

Sink them all

Brag · 03-26-08, 02:15 PM

Welcome aboard Phaedrus!
I play GWX. I like convoys because I can keep on attacking once, sometimes, twice a day. Once my torpedoes are finished ,I go home.

_Seth_ · 03-26-08, 02:22 PM

Welcome mate!

Everybody has their own way of playing SH3, and that's the way it should be!

Personally i enjoy the hunt for the convoys. Shadowing, reporting, planning & attacking..And in the next moment, DD's are pouring ashcans all over my submerged @ss...

Then the psychological battle begins....The cat & mouse game..who gets out of it alive..? Finally, when there is almost no breathable air left in the sub, and the batteries are so empty that they couldnt power a flashlight...Checking the hydrophones...Periscope depth...surface...

*I just love it!!

*

TS13 · 03-26-08, 02:32 PM

I just performed my first convoy attack recently and I am hooked ever since. It's certainly thrilling, but also, you can keep shadowing a convoy for days and sink all the juicy targets. Although more torpedoes may go lost, this seems to be the best way to gather a lot of tonnage in very little game time (instead of waiting for days and days for a lone large tanker to appear!).

Phaedrus · 03-26-08, 04:15 PM

Thanks for the input. I assumed it was a "attack how you wish" style, but I just wanted to make sure GWX didn't disable all the single ships or something like that.

Now that we've got that squared away, and I've installed GWX...

... who wants to help me get it running?

The game loads, but when I try to enter a mission in career mode the game stops loading at about 90% of the way there. I have to Ctrl-Alt-Del to close out SH3 and start again.

Any ideas?

FIREWALL · 03-26-08, 04:22 PM

Welcome Aboard

I think they just about covered it.

mr chris · 03-26-08, 04:47 PM

Do you get the black screen of death?
Followed by the SH3 has encountered a problem and needs to close?

If this is not the case just keep the game loading it will take a lot longer than stock to load. Just stick with it and you should be fine

Hope this helps, if not im sure we will get you up and running.

CptGrayWolf · 03-26-08, 05:28 PM

I still play the stock game! *raises hand
But I do use some mods. Mostly eye candy and some sounds. I guess the only game changing mod I use is 'Improved Convoys'.
I know I really should try GWX, but the perfectionist in me likes to play a game in its 'pure' original form, dunno, call me wierd.

Welcome aboard the friendliest game forum around!

Zajcev · 03-26-08, 06:24 PM

I also play stock 1.4b since I already started campaign before I heard about GWX. So I'm going to give it a try. I had like 8 missions already, started in Lorient late 1940. I only run into convoy like every 3rd mission, most of the time I only see isolated ships.
Once I got 110k tons when I ran into so called "attack group" made of King George V, another battleship and like 6 escorts. The 2 battleships alone gave me like 70k tons.
I wish convoys were more frequent. I do not return to port until I run out of torpedoes, so I sink at least 50k tons.

Just learn how to deal with bombers and destroyers, then hunting is easy. Be more brave when dealing with convoys and escorts.

Canovaro · 03-27-08, 02:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phaedrus

... who wants to help me get it running?

The game loads, but when I try to enter a mission in career mode the game stops loading at about 90% of the way there. I have to Ctrl-Alt-Del to close out SH3 and start again.

Any ideas?

Does it really stop loading or just takes a lot of time?
Just let it load for 30 minutes or so to make sure it STOPS running!
GWX takes a lot more time to load then the outofthebox game!!
Especially on 512 mb.

Hope it helps.

Tessa · 03-26-08, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phaedrus

An awful lot of you seem to be focusing on convoy attacks.
I've attempted one, with only 3 ships sunk with 8 torpedoes expended, ended up running and receiving damage from escorts.
It doesn't seem worth it to me.

I will soon be embarking on my 6th patrol, June 1941, and I spend most of my time deck gunning single merchants when weather permits.
I'm taking about 25 000 - 35 000 per patrol this way in or around BE and BF, usually heading home when my torpedoes are expended after the weather turns and I can use surface attacks anymore. I've topped out at 56 000 on my last patrol.

I seem to be doing my part in the tonnage war without heading way out of my way to target the convoys.

Are there less single merchants in GWX? Or are the convoy attacks more for the thrill?

Thanks!

Attacking a convoy and getting the most out of it requires some planning and forethrough before you even launch your first torpedo. There's been a few times where I've literally run into convoys due to using 4098 TC and find myself surrounded by merchants. Generally once I locate a convoy I plot out its path and get ahead of it and let it come to me, then comes all the different strategies on what to do next.

Even if convoy's aren't your thing, GWX does add a lot more surface traffic than the stock version. The biggest difference would probably be that the enemy makes use of their capital ships/surface fleet. It can make harbor raiding really exciting both in the time and work done to sneak into the harbor (which are tenfold more fortified than in stock SHIII) and see a BB, CV or both moored at port. Getting 30k-50k for 1 ship is really nice

patuxai · 04-11-08, 05:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phaedrus

First off, I have enjoyed reading the forum... a wealth of information.

But most, if not all, seems to be geared towards GWX.

Having just got the game a week ago, I am playing stock 1.4.
Does anyone still play the stock game?
I am currently downloading GWX 2 from the torrent, after having seen one post about a reported slow down in performance after install I am not so sure about making the change.
I am running a P4 2.4 Ghz with 1028 RAM, nVidia GeForce 7300 GT.
Its not a 512 card, but will it be sufficient?

But, on to the real topic.
An awful lot of you seem to be focusing on convoy attacks.
I've attempted one, with only 3 ships sunk with 8 torpedoes expended, ended up running and receiving damage from escorts.
It doesn't seem worth it to me.
I will soon be embarking on my 6th patrol, June 1941, and I spend most of my time deck gunning single merchants when weather permits.
I'm taking about 25 000 - 35 000 per patrol this way in or around BE and BF, usually heading home when my torpedoes are expended after the weather turns and I can use surface attacks anymore. I've topped out at 56 000 on my last patrol.

I seem to be doing my part in the tonnage war without heading way out of my way to target the convoys.
Are there less single merchants in GWX? Or are the convoy attacks more for the thrill?

Thanks!

Bienvenue au club; so I am not the only one who plays still with the stock game 1.4 or even older. I can read so many things here on the forum about GWX, but I do not really know what it is, it seems to be something like an extension, or what???
When I see posted screen shots, I can realize that some have varieties of paintings not so are mine, maybe I do not have the appropriate mods??

03-26-08, 01:36 PM	#1
Phaedrus A-ganger Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 79 Downloads: 45 Uploads: 0	Why bother with convoys? First off, I have enjoyed reading the forum... a wealth of information. But most, if not all, seems to be geared towards GWX. Having just got the game a week ago, I am playing stock 1.4. Does anyone still play the stock game? I am currently downloading GWX 2 from the torrent, after having seen one post about a reported slow down in performance after install I am not so sure about making the change. I am running a P4 2.4 Ghz with 1028 RAM, nVidia GeForce 7300 GT. Its not a 512 card, but will it be sufficient? But, on to the real topic. An awful lot of you seem to be focusing on convoy attacks. I've attempted one, with only 3 ships sunk with 8 torpedoes expended, ended up running and receiving damage from escorts. It doesn't seem worth it to me. I will soon be embarking on my 6th patrol, June 1941, and I spend most of my time deck gunning single merchants when weather permits. I'm taking about 25 000 - 35 000 per patrol this way in or around BE and BF, usually heading home when my torpedoes are expended after the weather turns and I can use surface attacks anymore. I've topped out at 56 000 on my last patrol. I seem to be doing my part in the tonnage war without heading way out of my way to target the convoys. Are there less single merchants in GWX? Or are the convoy attacks more for the thrill? Thanks!

03-26-08, 01:51 PM	#2
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,274 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	Your computer is just fine for running GWX installed. Once installed you will understand why no one runs stock anymore. Convoys are easy pickings most times. If I sink 2-3 vessels on one attack before retiring to the depths I consider it a good attack. I do however prefer the loan merchant that is super easy pickings! __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

03-26-08, 02:15 PM	#5
Brag Navy Seal Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Docked on a Russian pond Posts: 7,072 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	Welcome aboard Phaedrus! I play GWX. I like convoys because I can keep on attacking once, sometimes, twice a day. Once my torpedoes are finished ,I go home. __________________ Espionage, adventure, suspense, are just a click away Click here to look inside Brag's book: Amazon.com: Kingmaker: Alexey Braguine: Books Order Kingmaker here: http://www.subsim.com/store.html For Tactics visit:http://www.freewebs.com/kielman/

03-26-08, 02:22 PM	#6
_Seth_ Ocean Warrior Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: In Tromsoe, @Tirpitz' final resting place.. Posts: 3,277 Downloads: 94 Uploads: 0	Welcome mate! Everybody has their own way of playing SH3, and that's the way it should be! Personally i enjoy the hunt for the convoys. Shadowing, reporting, planning & attacking..And in the next moment, DD's are pouring ashcans all over my submerged @ss... Then the psychological battle begins....The cat & mouse game..who gets out of it alive..? Finally, when there is almost no breathable air left in the sub, and the batteries are so empty that they couldnt power a flashlight...Checking the hydrophones...Periscope depth...surface... I just love it!! __________________

03-26-08, 02:32 PM	#7
TS13 Seaman Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 42 Downloads: 31 Uploads: 0	I just performed my first convoy attack recently and I am hooked ever since. It's certainly thrilling, but also, you can keep shadowing a convoy for days and sink all the juicy targets. Although more torpedoes may go lost, this seems to be the best way to gather a lot of tonnage in very little game time (instead of waiting for days and days for a lone large tanker to appear!). __________________ U52 VIIB SHIII GWX2 84% Realism

03-26-08, 01:51 PM	#3
Slateford-5 Watch Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Posts: 30 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0	For me, it's the thrill really. I agree that if your sole concern is tonnage gathering in (relative) security, the lone merchant approach makes sense: Until you have slipped through a destroyer screen and had a full 15 ship convoy in front of you, like a wee boy being locked overnight in a sweetie shop, hit some of the biggies, had 2 hours of depth charging and STILL managed to slip away, you haven't lived. I am not entirely sure about this, but I get the feeling too that while you can pick off small merchants, coastal freighters etc relatively easily, esp 39-41, if you want the 10 and 20k targets, they are almost invariably in the centre of convoys. It's whatever sinks your boat, really...

03-26-08, 02:06 PM	#4
mr chris Silent Hunter Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Herefordshire, England Posts: 3,562 Downloads: 216 Uploads: 0	Welcome to Subsim Phaedrus I play GWX and in my current career iam in august of 1940 and i have sunk nearly 150,000t of shipping. I have only attack one convoy the rest have been lone merchants. If you wish to hunt lone merchants the early years are the best and the are certain areas that are good points to hunt in. My favorite is in and around AM52 also the area around western approaches is also a good hunting ground. Hope this helps Sink them all

03-26-08, 04:15 PM	#8
Phaedrus A-ganger Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 79 Downloads: 45 Uploads: 0	Thanks for the input. I assumed it was a "attack how you wish" style, but I just wanted to make sure GWX didn't disable all the single ships or something like that. Now that we've got that squared away, and I've installed GWX... ... who wants to help me get it running? The game loads, but when I try to enter a mission in career mode the game stops loading at about 90% of the way there. I have to Ctrl-Alt-Del to close out SH3 and start again. Any ideas?

03-26-08, 04:22 PM	#9
FIREWALL Eternal Patrol Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: CATALINA IS. SO . CAL USA Posts: 10,108 Downloads: 511 Uploads: 0	Welcome Aboard I think they just about covered it. __________________ RIP FIREWALL I Play GWX. Silent Hunter Who ???

03-26-08, 04:47 PM	#10
mr chris Silent Hunter Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Herefordshire, England Posts: 3,562 Downloads: 216 Uploads: 0	Do you get the black screen of death? Followed by the SH3 has encountered a problem and needs to close? If this is not the case just keep the game loading it will take a lot longer than stock to load. Just stick with it and you should be fine Hope this helps, if not im sure we will get you up and running.

03-26-08, 05:28 PM	#11
CptGrayWolf Commander Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saint Lawrence Seaway Posts: 459 Downloads: 11 Uploads: 0	I still play the stock game! *raises hand But I do use some mods. Mostly eye candy and some sounds. I guess the only game changing mod I use is 'Improved Convoys'. I know I really should try GWX, but the perfectionist in me likes to play a game in its 'pure' original form, dunno, call me wierd. Welcome aboard the friendliest game forum around! __________________ Thomas Voltz, U-93 VIIc, Aug 1940, at sea patrol 1 GWX3 Gold, 100%

03-26-08, 06:24 PM	#12
Zajcev Seaman Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 34 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I also play stock 1.4b since I already started campaign before I heard about GWX. So I'm going to give it a try. I had like 8 missions already, started in Lorient late 1940. I only run into convoy like every 3rd mission, most of the time I only see isolated ships. Once I got 110k tons when I ran into so called "attack group" made of King George V, another battleship and like 6 escorts. The 2 battleships alone gave me like 70k tons. I wish convoys were more frequent. I do not return to port until I run out of torpedoes, so I sink at least 50k tons. Just learn how to deal with bombers and destroyers, then hunting is easy. Be more brave when dealing with convoys and escorts.