My annoying bridge crew

[xarel]

I was happily sailing the mediterranean in October 1939 on 1024x, when suddenly BANG! Apparently my sub has been hit?
I zoom in on the map view - no vessel except mine is plotted. I enter the bridge - there is a destroyer a few meters away from my stern, firing at the bridge and preparing to ram me.
My bridge crew, although scanning the surface with glasses, and equipped with watch stars assigned by SH3 commander, is apparently unaware of that huge ship right beside them. Hence, no warning, and I guess no plotting on the map.
I am able to raise an alarm, but it's too late to escape the crash. Patrol and career ends.

This is not the first time this happened to me, however, it's the first time in best weather conditions - absolutely calm sea and no clouds whatsoever. This is a disappointing way to end an otherwise successful patrol.

I'm sure this is a known problem, but my searches did not reveal a particular solution except the "stay alert crew" mod, which *I think* addresses this issue but is rather old and seems not to be state of the art anymore?

How can I make my crew to be attentive enough to register a huge destroyer closing in and firing???

I'm using GWX 3.0 + MaGUI, and set TC to 0 when spotting a ship or plane.

Thanks for any help!
x

[Marcello]

Probably too high TC. I do not go higher than 64 when surfaced.

[sublynx]

Originally Posted by xarel

October 1939 on 1024x

Unfortunately SH3 is somewhat corky from 128 - 256 x time compressions onwards. If you go over 128x (some say 256x) you will never get intercepted by airplanes. That's why most of us on the forum usually stay at 128x max. I have never experienced what you experienced. I have once collided with a ship in 400 - 500 meters visibility, but that could have happened in real life, so I can't really complain.

Another thing is the date, october 1939 - your crew was probably very inexperienced. A better crew with watchman qualifications might be better spotters.

Many mods change the distances where the player or the crewmen can spot ships or airplanes, but as most players take 128x as a maximum TC, the mods probably ignore faster TC's.

If somebody had the skills to make a mod that fixes this TC problem he would have the eternal gratitude of the SH3 community

[xarel]

Hi, thanks for the help!

A better crew with watchman qualifications might be better spotters.

When I wrote "equipped with watch stars assigned by SH3 commander" I meant the crew had the appropriate qualification. Sorry for being so unclear.

Many mods change the distances where the player or the crewmen can spot ships or airplanes

What is so annoying is that the crew did not report a ship at all, not even when that ship is firing from a 50m distance!
Oh and I'm pretty sure that the watch officer was on deck as well...or was he? It all happened so fast...

What dropped the TC is the "substantial damage" taken from the shelling, but the crew was still silent about it. They somewhat deserved to be drowned for that lack of effort, but I feel sorry for the rest of the crew who made a pretty good job, including me, resting in the commanders cabin...

That's why most of us on the forum usually stay at 128x max.

But going down to 128x will take forever for everything! I hoped that there would be a better solution. Seems like there isn't. Hmmm...

[sublynx]

Originally Posted by xarel

When I wrote "equipped with watch stars assigned by SH3 commander" I meant the crew had the appropriate qualification. Sorry for being so unclear.

You being clear won't help much if I read too sloppily Anyways, it's not just the qualifications, I think experience counts probably too. But much more than the crew it was the high TC.

Originally Posted by xarel

But going down to 128x will take forever for everything! I hoped that there would be a better solution. Seems like there isn't. Hmmm...

I hope there is a better solution too. The good old DOS game Aces of the Deep had the TC thing right - why can't SH3 handle it?

The TC does not bother me much anymore. With NYGM I find that I can't shake the escorts off until I've done three to four hours of evading in TC1. This and H.sie's Wolfpack mod forces me to play in very low time compressions for much of the game time. When I get to press the speed button to TC128 I feel like I have a time machine to future on my hands

I feel SH3 is the equivalent of a sniper rifle compared to an assault gun. With SH3 one sneaks ever so slowly into position, then stalk the prey for sometimes hours, even days, then a quick and then hours of very silent crawling away slow and quiet. As in a more fastpaced game one would just jump into the action with the assault gun on automatic fire and see who has the fastest reactions.

[desertstriker]

love your comparison sublynx
@Xarel as sublynx said it is the high time compression. unless you are in an area where there is no to little chance of encountering a ship or plane (middle of the atlantic in a type IX) it is best to avoid anything higher than x256 and if you are in enemy infested waters (English channel) best to not go above x32.

[Kpt. Schaker]

You mentioned TC=0 when spotting ship or plane, that could be the problem. I haven't used SH3 Commander! I use GWX 3.0 gold + a Soup of Mods! I use TC=1024 long distances, TC=500 shadowing a convoy, TC=128 out of firing range & shadowing, TC=32 enemy spotted maintaining stealth but still out of firing range, TC=1 I don't want surprises all while maintaining stealth and the element of surprise on the enemy. Near shore or land masses TC=16 or 8. I like this setup.

[TIME COMPRESSION]
TimeStop=0
RealTime=1
LandProximity=32
CriticalDamage=1
CrewEfficiency=1
AirEnemyDetected=1
SoundEffects=2
CharacterAnim=4
EnemyDetected=32
RadioReport=1
Particles=8
PrayState=32
HunterState=32
3DRender=32
Maximum=1024

[Marcello]

Originally Posted by xarel

But going down to 128x will take forever for everything! I hoped that there would be a better solution. Seems like there isn't. Hmmm...

I usually read books about the u-boat war with the TC set to 64-128.

[flag4]

Originally Posted by Marcello

I usually read books about the u-boat war with the TC set to 64-128.

...proper!!

important qualifications should be assigned in first place before others.
sometimes I've noticed secondary qualifications have little or no affect.

[desirableroasted]

Originally Posted by flag4

important qualifications should be assigned in first place before others.
sometimes I've noticed secondary qualifications have little or no affect.

The ranking of the qualifications makes no difference for officers: all three are equally valid. The green bar over a compartment is the only thing that matters: an officer with Repair as his 3rd qual moves the bar just as much as an officer with Rep as his 1st qual, all things being equal.

For Petty Officers: Only the top one counts; the rest are eye candy.

Sailors: it is all eye candy. (In fact, you can dismiss all of your sailors and still run your boat.)

However:

The Helmsman qualification works for no one. The Medic qualification never healed anyone, though some fatigue models use it to speed recovery of a crew at rest. The Radio/Sonar qual is useless for officers.