First Thread - Questions on instant death.

CherryHarbey · 08-02-10, 12:55 PM

Hi folks,
I've been reading on the forum for a while now but thought it was time to surface and try to get some answers to what just happened to me.
Left Kiel through the canal in feb 40 (my 5th or 6th patrol with this career) so heading in the North Sea about 50km south east of Heligoland doing 10 knots on 1024 TC. Then without any warning.
Instant death, U-boot destroyed by flooding. Have a nice after-life.

only things I can think of are mines and ship collision but would either of these killed me instantly?

I'm playing on GWX3.0 so I know mines are in the game but the handy guide on the Nav screen detailing friendly ports with mines doesn't mention Heligoland and don't seem to go that far out anyway.

If it was a ship, why didn't my watch spot it?

Finally I know the answer to this, but need someone else to tell me.
This isn't an excuse to break from my dead is dead policy is it?

Hope these aren't too annoying questions from a newbie.

Cheers,

frau kaleun · 08-02-10, 01:15 PM

Generally speaking, bad things happen on 1024 TC.

Or to be more specific, when potentially bad things happen in 1024 TC, by the time the game drops out of TC it is already too late to respond to whatever it was with something that might save you and your u-boat. Because of the high TC, a lot of valuable reaction time is lost between the moment A Potentially Bad Thing first becomes an issue and the moment when you hear "ship [or airplane] spotted" or "we're taking damage."

For instance, if your watch spots a ship/plane and you're at high TC and it turns out to be a fast, armed enemy craft which has also spotted you, by the time the game drops to 1 TC to tell you about it the craft may have already closed to attack range and be dropping bombs or lobbing shells on you. If you are running at 1024 TC, so is the enemy and so are all their weapons and the effects of any damage they cause.

General consensus seems to be that 128 TC is about the highest "safe" TC, especially if you are in any location where contact with armed enemy craft is possible, where mines are likely to be an issue, or where heavy traffic (enemy or otherwise) is expected.

I once tried to rush a homecoming by zooming into Wilhelmshaven at 1024 TC. Something happened near the mouth of the harbor, still not sure what - but I returned from a peacetime patrol where I had seen no action with reduced hull integrity. Best I can figure, I collided with one of our own speedy little patrol boats and never saw it coming.

Herr-Berbunch · 08-02-10, 01:18 PM

At high TC it can be anything like mines, land, another vessel (there is a lightship in the area), sometimes at such high TC you really don't see it, and your crew are very delayed even if the watch officer is on the bridge! You start taking damage and by the time you know about it it's too late.

I'm sure we've all done it, and we'll probably all do it again - it'd be nice to go slow sometimes but pressures of RL just take over (nagging wife usually...!)

Welcome aboard

and sail safely.

CherryHarbey · 08-02-10, 01:30 PM

Thanks for the advice on TC. I guess I need to think about limiting my 1024 time.

frau kaleun · 08-02-10, 01:36 PM

Yeah, you know, I never really worked it out before, but I'm assuming "1024 TC" means that 1 second of real time = 1024 seconds of game time.

1024 seconds = about 17 minutes!

And it's not like the game clock pauses when a threat is encountered so it can drop back to real time and let you know what's going on. It keeps ticking away. And if it takes even half a second of real time to drop back to 1 TC, then you've already lost over 8 minutes in game time, during which your boat continued along on its merry way while any enemy around was free to close and attack you with zero consequences and any damage you took went unaddressed.

Jimbuna · 08-02-10, 01:36 PM

There is a British minefield in the area until Dec 40.

RConch · 08-02-10, 01:42 PM

Thanks for the map, I thought they were on the West side.

CherryHarbey · 08-02-10, 01:44 PM

yeah, I was heading straight through that area, but have done so many (luckier) times before.

at a lower TC would my watch have spotted the mine
would I just have had time to do something about it repair wise,
or was I doomed anyway once I hit the mine.

thanks for the info, I'll be more careful in my next life.
cheers,

Jimbuna · 08-02-10, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rconch

Thanks for the map, I thought they were on the West side.

I've only shown the area being referred to....Top Secret and all that

Jimbuna · 08-02-10, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CherryHarbey

yeah, I was heading straight through that area, but have done so many (luckier) times before.

at a lower TC would my watch have spotted the mine
would I just have had time to do something about it repair wise,
or was I doomed anyway once I hit the mine.

thanks for the info, I'll be more careful in my next life.
cheers,

Your watchmen won't call out mine sightings....besides, they're mostly beneath the surface.

You usually receive terminal damage when hitting a mine but even if your lucky enough to survive it always requires a swift return to base because of the systems and hull integrity damage.

frau kaleun · 08-02-10, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CherryHarbey

at a lower TC would my watch have spotted the mine
would I just have had time to do something about it repair wise,
or was I doomed anyway once I hit the mine.

They wouldn't have spotted it, and usually hitting a mine will take you out - but occasionally the damage is not fatal IF you are able to react quickly enough to put men on damage control and begin flooding recovery and repairs. Your chances of doing that at a high TC are pretty much nil, even if the damage wasn't immediately fatal it will have become a lost cause by the time you can respond.

CherryHarbey · 08-02-10, 02:12 PM

Somehow believing it was just an unlucky accident and surviving it wasn't very likely makes me feel better.
I think I'll start myslef another career now, a little wiser.

what is the form with the thread do I need to close it to avoid appearing rude by not repsonding to further posts? if so how

or do I just leave it so see if anyone else wants to take it further?

thanks for the advice it has been most helpful
cheers,

Herr-Berbunch · 08-02-10, 02:29 PM

I too am certainly wiser, I've been through that area no end of times without 'seeing' a mine! Call me lucky. And thanks Frau for the maths

maillemaker · 08-02-10, 02:29 PM

I really, really wish that they had not gone straight to black screen when your sub dies.

They should have cut to an external scene 15 seconds before death, a "replay", if you will, followed by your sub breaking up and/or sinking slowly to the bottom, just like any other ship in the game.

Steve

frau kaleun · 08-02-10, 02:30 PM

@ CherryHarbey: I think only a moderator can close a thread, but don't worry about it.

I'm sure we have many threads here that are still going strong long after the initial topic/question was thoroughly addressed and the OPs forgot all about them. Sometimes they just take on lives of their own.

I don't think anyone will find you rude if you stop posting in this one, especially since you've stated that your question was answered. And somebody else may come along and have the same question and get an answer here, and then use this thread to post another question that someone else will post an answer to... and so it goes.

08-02-10, 12:55 PM	#1
CherryHarbey Engineer Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Derby, UK Posts: 200 Downloads: 86 Uploads: 0	First Thread - Questions on instant death. Hi folks, I've been reading on the forum for a while now but thought it was time to surface and try to get some answers to what just happened to me. Left Kiel through the canal in feb 40 (my 5th or 6th patrol with this career) so heading in the North Sea about 50km south east of Heligoland doing 10 knots on 1024 TC. Then without any warning. Instant death, U-boot destroyed by flooding. Have a nice after-life. only things I can think of are mines and ship collision but would either of these killed me instantly? I'm playing on GWX3.0 so I know mines are in the game but the handy guide on the Nav screen detailing friendly ports with mines doesn't mention Heligoland and don't seem to go that far out anyway. If it was a ship, why didn't my watch spot it? Finally I know the answer to this, but need someone else to tell me. This isn't an excuse to break from my dead is dead policy is it? Hope these aren't too annoying questions from a newbie. Cheers,

08-02-10, 01:18 PM	#3
Herr-Berbunch Kaiser Bill's batman Join Date: May 2010 Location: AN72 Posts: 13,203 Downloads: 76 Uploads: 0	At high TC it can be anything like mines, land, another vessel (there is a lightship in the area), sometimes at such high TC you really don't see it, and your crew are very delayed even if the watch officer is on the bridge! You start taking damage and by the time you know about it it's too late. I'm sure we've all done it, and we'll probably all do it again - it'd be nice to go slow sometimes but pressures of RL just take over (nagging wife usually...!) Welcome aboard and sail safely. __________________

08-02-10, 01:36 PM	#6
Jimbuna Chief of the Boat Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: 250 metres below the surface Posts: 190,525 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 13	There is a British minefield in the area until Dec 40. __________________ Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something. Oh my God, not again!!

08-02-10, 01:42 PM	#7
RConch Captain Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: No. Virginia Posts: 619 Downloads: 518 Uploads: 0	Thanks for the map, I thought they were on the West side. __________________ "Noch und Noch" Prowling the Nord Atlantik with GWX 3.0.

08-02-10, 02:29 PM	#13
Herr-Berbunch Kaiser Bill's batman Join Date: May 2010 Location: AN72 Posts: 13,203 Downloads: 76 Uploads: 0	I too am certainly wiser, I've been through that area no end of times without 'seeing' a mine! Call me lucky. And thanks Frau for the maths __________________

08-02-10, 01:15 PM	#2
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	Generally speaking, bad things happen on 1024 TC. Or to be more specific, when potentially bad things happen in 1024 TC, by the time the game drops out of TC it is already too late to respond to whatever it was with something that might save you and your u-boat. Because of the high TC, a lot of valuable reaction time is lost between the moment A Potentially Bad Thing first becomes an issue and the moment when you hear "ship [or airplane] spotted" or "we're taking damage." For instance, if your watch spots a ship/plane and you're at high TC and it turns out to be a fast, armed enemy craft which has also spotted you, by the time the game drops to 1 TC to tell you about it the craft may have already closed to attack range and be dropping bombs or lobbing shells on you. If you are running at 1024 TC, so is the enemy and so are all their weapons and the effects of any damage they cause. General consensus seems to be that 128 TC is about the highest "safe" TC, especially if you are in any location where contact with armed enemy craft is possible, where mines are likely to be an issue, or where heavy traffic (enemy or otherwise) is expected. I once tried to rush a homecoming by zooming into Wilhelmshaven at 1024 TC. Something happened near the mouth of the harbor, still not sure what - but I returned from a peacetime patrol where I had seen no action with reduced hull integrity. Best I can figure, I collided with one of our own speedy little patrol boats and never saw it coming.

08-02-10, 01:30 PM	#4
CherryHarbey Engineer Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Derby, UK Posts: 200 Downloads: 86 Uploads: 0	Thanks for the advice on TC. I guess I need to think about limiting my 1024 time.

08-02-10, 01:44 PM	#8
CherryHarbey Engineer Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Derby, UK Posts: 200 Downloads: 86 Uploads: 0	yeah, I was heading straight through that area, but have done so many (luckier) times before. at a lower TC would my watch have spotted the mine would I just have had time to do something about it repair wise, or was I doomed anyway once I hit the mine. thanks for the info, I'll be more careful in my next life. cheers,

08-02-10, 02:12 PM	#12
CherryHarbey Engineer Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Derby, UK Posts: 200 Downloads: 86 Uploads: 0	Somehow believing it was just an unlucky accident and surviving it wasn't very likely makes me feel better. I think I'll start myslef another career now, a little wiser. what is the form with the thread do I need to close it to avoid appearing rude by not repsonding to further posts? if so how or do I just leave it so see if anyone else wants to take it further? thanks for the advice it has been most helpful cheers,

08-02-10, 02:29 PM	#14
maillemaker Sea Lord Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 1,639 Downloads: 75 Uploads: 0	I really, really wish that they had not gone straight to black screen when your sub dies. They should have cut to an external scene 15 seconds before death, a "replay", if you will, followed by your sub breaking up and/or sinking slowly to the bottom, just like any other ship in the game. Steve

08-02-10, 02:30 PM	#15
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	@ CherryHarbey: I think only a moderator can close a thread, but don't worry about it. I'm sure we have many threads here that are still going strong long after the initial topic/question was thoroughly addressed and the OPs forgot all about them. Sometimes they just take on lives of their own. I don't think anyone will find you rude if you stop posting in this one, especially since you've stated that your question was answered. And somebody else may come along and have the same question and get an answer here, and then use this thread to post another question that someone else will post an answer to... and so it goes.