Very heavy seas. What are my options?

[Oneshot/Onekill]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Actually the storm in Das Boot lasted three weeks. Twenty-one days exactly. Took up two whole chapters in the book.

Also in the full-length extended version big Pilgrim's strap breaks and he is very nearly lost.

LOL. Tried to recall from memory. I guess I need to take more jensing.:rotfl:

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Don't waste fuel going flank speed. The engine recharging the batteries runs at flank anyway, and running the other one at that speed makes no difference. Also you won't go as fast since the one engine is disengaged while charging.

I was running flank in the hopes that I could make some headway and get out of the storm. Unfortunately, it didn't work. Next time I'm caught in something like this I'll just submerge and run at a couple of knots until men start passing out or the batteries die. Luckily, the game doesn't seem to model ocean currents or I could have easily been blown to the enemy shore.

[PappyCain]

It is a matter of preference. I prefer to manage my boat and crew as best I can. I don't beat the boat up or knock my crew about so I prefer to drop down to 50M where the effects of the storm subside. I do not run my batteries down so unless I absolutely need to move, I don't. I surface at dark, I usually do not need to charge my batteries long, do not transit in a heavy storm and if I do, I will change course to ride as best I can in the sea, grab some fresh air, charge my flasks and go back down. At 0400, I pop up again, do a check and go back down.

In real life knocking a boat about or running at flank in a sea is not good as it tears things up and you do not want to be destructive to your boat and crew. I never allow my batteries or O2 get below 50%, mostly I try to keep batteries at 75% min. You never know if you will need them to get you outta Dodge.



It is too bad they did not model crew fatigue more based on sea state (sea sick) or, broken equipment which required a fix which was a hard reality documented by many boats. Many U-Boat's logs I have read (found by the USN and on a USN website) were replete with broken equipment while never engaging an adversary.

[Oneshot/Onekill]

I personally think that they moddled the crew fatigue pretty well for the watch crew if your on the surface during one of those typhoon's. You might be right as far as the rest of the crew goes, but at 30m or deeper where the affects of the waves subsides I would think the crew would feel a bit of reprieve. JMO.

[Torplexed]

Originally Posted by Cue-Ball909

I was running flank in the hopes that I could make some headway and get out of the storm. Unfortunately, it didn't work. Next time I'm caught in something like this I'll just submerge and run at a couple of knots until men start passing out or the batteries die. Luckily, the game doesn't seem to model ocean currents or I could have easily been blown to the enemy shore.

I'm not sure but I don't think the game models storms as a geographical entity you can out run. I think it's more a time thing. The storms just persists around you until random chance dictates that it's over or it decreases in intensity.

[kbak303]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

There are quite a few reports of men being washed overboard never to be seen again.

There is one report of U-106 on 23rd October 41 when the replacement watch opened the tower hatch in rough seas they found out that the entire previous tower watch of 4 men had been washed overboard.

If I were you I'd place a minimal number on watch whilst surfaced (2 IIRC)

I read the same. The relieving watch was shocked to find the submarine had steamed on the surface blind for something like several minutes

though I am the noob of the fleet, i generally try to ride it out on top, and keep clicking the 'visual contact' icon for the watch officer....every 45 minutes or so (at one third) dive down to periscope depth and do a hydrophone sweep for ten min or so....check six then resurface. i hate the dang watch officer won't automatically take his post unless i physically put him there!

[PappyCain]

Thought this might be a place to display the Beaufort Scale:

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

[Schöneboom]

It may be worth repeating the received wisdom re SH3 weather: if you save game during bad weather, then reload the game later, the weather will stay rotten even longer than if you had stayed in the game and rode out the storm.

Long storms are one of the most trying aspects of SH3, and I would say when the fuel's running low, give it another week of game time. If there's still no improvement, I would head for home -- then I would almost guarantee beautiful weather!

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Schöneboom

It may be worth repeating the received wisdom re SH3 weather: if you save game during bad weather, then reload the game later, the weather will stay rotten even longer than if you had stayed in the game and rode out the storm.

Long storms are one of the most trying aspects of SH3, and I would say when the fuel's running low, give it another week of game time. If there's still no improvement, I would head for home -- then I would almost guarantee beautiful weather!

My understanding/experience during the development of GWX was that the SH3 game engine threw an imaginary dice (if you like) to decide what the weather state is after reloading the game.