RL/SH4 Technical questions

[Radio]

I have 2 questions that I always wondered about:

1. Does the depth a dc explodes at play a role on the explosion radius and damage? The denser water could mean two things:


-Smaller radius due to more energy needed

otoh:

denser material is better for transmitting vibrations (explosions)

So which one is true?

2. what has more detection range: The small radar subs carried or the huge passive radar detector? And why?

Logically the passive detector should be better in range, but in SH4 this seems to be not true. Or is it handicapped by the next-to-useless japanese radars with their little range?

Any info on that?

[Inner Sound]

I'd have thought the deeper the less the effect of the explosive: the bubble of gas created in that instant of detonation being constrained by the pressure surrounding it.

But while that must be true in theory it may not significantly alter the effective range of a DC at the relatively shallow depths our subs go to.

Also the deeper a sub goes the closer its fragile eggshell of a pressure hull is to cracking anyway. At just above crush depth you could tap it with a toffee hammer for total loss.

So overall I'd guess it's neither here nor there.

[Inner Sound]

Well I was neither right nor wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_charge

[ETR3(SS)]

Originally Posted by Radio

2. what has more detection range: The small radar subs carried or the huge passive radar detector? And why?

Logically the passive detector should be better in range, but in SH4 this seems to be not true. Or is it handicapped by the next-to-useless japanese radars with their little range?

Any info on that?

In the real world passive radar detection, also known as ESM, can detect a radar signature before the radar can detect you.

If a radar has a maximum range of 12 miles it has to have the power to transmit out to 24 miles. The reason for this is that the radar signal has to be able to travel out to that 12 miles and still have energy to make it back to the receiver. Because of this with ESM you can detect them before they can you. Now depending on the ESM system you can get a bearing to the transmitting radar and an approximate signal strength.

Now ESM in SH4 does not work how real world ESM does. SH4's version is basically another radar that gives a bearing and approximate range to the contact. Trying to implement radar theory in the game would overwhelm the game.

Hope that answers that question!

[Radio]

Thanks to you two!

So actually the vulnerability of the hull increases with depth, but it gives the sub more time to hopefully evade the Depth Charges, making it the better decision in most cases.Very interesting.

About the radar: I read somewhere in a mod pdf that the Japanese had only a very short-ranged radar for their ships available (Not sure if that meant SH4 or the real world). Even if you double that range it could be shorter than the range of the seemingly more advanced American radar.

Found this atm:

http://www.combinedfleet.com/radar.htm

It seems the only radars (Type 21 and 22) they had were rather short ranged, even the more modern Type 22 had only a detection range of ~17 nautical miles against BIG surface ships and that was in late 44! To make things worse not many ships did seem to have been equipped with radar at all.

And according to this great text http://www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_ma...14_3_27-40.pdf the rather small SD already had a range of up to ~12.5 nm against big ship convoys.

Hm, I guess the SH4 makers did quite a good job at modelling that. Sure it's not perfect but it is good enough for us armchair captains

Thanks again!