S-Boat battery recharge rate

IonicRipper · 12-21-12, 12:50 AM

Something has been bugging me about the S-Boats in this game...
It can only recharge about 25% of the batteries in 12 hours?
Is this a historical figure or simply a mistake in the game?
I guess its plausible since this is WWI technology we're talking about.
Either way it makes for very difficult management of daytime underwater navigating, being limited to only 1.5 knots.

Armistead · 12-21-12, 01:28 AM

Should be about right. The S class has 2 engines, compared to newer class subs that have 4. Surface, you only have one 600hp motor charging batteries.

TorpX · 12-21-12, 02:03 AM

I've had similer complaints about the S-boat (with RFB). I don't think this was really intended or historical, but rather just another aspect of Ubi's sloppy game design.

Ducimus confronted this issue in his modding and posted some of what he learned about the battery issue. I can't recall the details, but IIRC, the game works in such a way as it takes a certain amount of time to recharge a battery to a given capacity. So, you can mod the battery to double the capacity, but it will take twice as long to fully recharge. If you change the battery to half the capacity, it will recharge twice as fast (but you only have half the capacity!!!). In other words, the most important elements of this is hard coded making everything a compromise.

When I patrol, I will usually submerge and run at 1 or 1.5 kts and limit my battery use to the greatest degree possible. Either that or remain on the surface.

Honestly, I don't know what the actual battery/engine performance of the S-class was. There doesn't seem to be detailed technical data available.

PS here, I found it:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...ght=recharging

Sailor Steve · 12-21-12, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TorpX

I don't think this was really intended or historical, but rather just another aspect of Ubi's sloppy game design.

As I recall, the devs weren't planning on having the S-boat at all. It was added as an afterthought after enough players complained about it. It didn't have near the development time as the other subs.

As I recall.

12-21-12, 01:41 PM

yep, the s-boat was like a cheat in the stock game and its actually much easier then what reality was for them so things like damage levels, speed, range, and battery life is almost a cheat for them.

this is why i created my s-boat mod to make them accurately represent a 20 year old boat that was rusty and fragile and i think i got it pretty darn close the being a very realistic experience in the full range of things even thou the game doesnt let you be able to mod everything you would like.

if you want to see a realistic version then try my s-boat mod and then you will have a better idea how easy they are in stock game

TorpX · 12-22-12, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

As I recall, the devs weren't planning on having the S-boat at all. It was added as an afterthought after enough players complained about it. It didn't have near the development time as the other subs.

As I recall.

Hmmm... I'm not surprised. The interiors are all the same, aren't they?

captgeo · 12-22-12, 03:37 PM

if you would like more info on S Boat's and other's please go to this link

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=197714

12-22-12, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TorpX

Hmmm... I'm not surprised. The interiors are all the same, aren't they?

I think S-Boats have their own unique interior in SH4. There are no crew stations in the conning tower either, unlike in the Fleet Boats.

TorpX · 12-23-12, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by captgeo

if you would like more info on S Boat's and other's please go to this link

I poked around the Pigboats.com site. In one of the photo captions they said this:

Quote:

This view looking aft shows the torpedo storage rack more clearly. The submarine carried a total of fourteen torpedoes. Four of them were in the tubes and ten in the room. Two each on each of the lower wider brackets and one each on the top shorter bracket. Bunks can be seen tilted up in the after end of the room The torpedo loading skid can be seen on the top brace on the right side of the photo. ...

I don't recall reading this before. Can anyone confirm this?

Sailor Steve · 12-23-12, 09:33 AM

A link to the picture in question would be nice. After five minutes searching for it I gave up.

aanker · 12-23-12, 12:05 PM

Regarding torpedo load-out, there were two major classes of S-Boat. Most had no stern tubes however an aft tube was added on some, which would make the total for those boats 14.

The battery recharge time even according to RFB and Ducimus' TMO would be accurate due to the 2 small WWI era engine reason mentioned above.

Happy Hunting!

TorpX · 12-23-12, 07:01 PM

Here is the link:

http://pigboats.com/subs/s-boats.html

Scroll down to the tour of the S-4.

Quote:

Regarding torpedo load-out, there were two major classes of S-Boat. Most had no stern tubes however an aft tube was added on some, which would make the total for those boats 14.

The loadout discussed was for the bow tubes only and the boat had no rear tube.

Quote:

The battery recharge time even according to RFB and Ducimus' TMO would be accurate due to the 2 small WWI era engine reason mentioned above.

I would agree if you were charging fleetboat batteries with S-class engines. The S-class were smaller, slower boats with less machinery, less performance, and smaller crews. They did not need the same battery capacity (in kilowatt hours) of a fleet boat. The batteries would be appropriate to the type of boat.

The total battery capacity for the S-4 was given as 1,240 KWH. I could find any specs for a fleet class, but I would guess it to be at least double that.

Sailor Steve · 12-23-12, 07:46 PM

Thanks.

All the published sources I've seen invariably say 12 torpedoes total, except for the four with the stern tube. The author of that article could be mistaken, or all the published sources could cite one original source, and that was wrong. I've never heard anyone say the four boats with the stern tube carried 16 torpedoes, which would be the case if they could carry fourteen forward.

It would make since to have two full complements of reloads, totalling twelve, but it would also make sense to cram in as many as possible. As far as I can see the bottom line at this point is "I don't know".

No matter what the true answer is, those are some cracking good pictures. Thanks again.

aanker · 12-23-12, 08:22 PM

Interesting..... sorry I missed the topic. My S-Boat records only span SS-123 through SS-159.
- plus, I just now discovered that two of my favorite websites are not up. DANFS & NavSource. I hope that is just temporary.

Frankly it has been a few years since I have been able to get into submarines and SH4. I was exhausted, maybe I still am.

Happy Hunting!

IonicRipper · 12-23-12, 10:01 PM

Steve: According to the picture descriptions of the torpedo room, there seems to be room for 10 torpedo reloads along with 4 already in the tubes. If you look at the 3rd photo of the torpedo room (looking aft) it seems like they could have stored 2 torpedoes on each of the wide struts (a pair just above the floor and another pair about waist high) and one on each of the shorter struts above those. I might, also, be horribly mistaken.

12-21-12, 12:50 AM	#1
IonicRipper Engineer Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 206 Downloads: 103 Uploads: 0	S-Boat battery recharge rate Something has been bugging me about the S-Boats in this game... It can only recharge about 25% of the batteries in 12 hours? Is this a historical figure or simply a mistake in the game? I guess its plausible since this is WWI technology we're talking about. Either way it makes for very difficult management of daytime underwater navigating, being limited to only 1.5 knots. __________________

12-21-12, 02:03 AM	#3
TorpX Silent Hunter Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 3,975 Downloads: 153 Uploads: 11	I've had similer complaints about the S-boat (with RFB). I don't think this was really intended or historical, but rather just another aspect of Ubi's sloppy game design. Ducimus confronted this issue in his modding and posted some of what he learned about the battery issue. I can't recall the details, but IIRC, the game works in such a way as it takes a certain amount of time to recharge a battery to a given capacity. So, you can mod the battery to double the capacity, but it will take twice as long to fully recharge. If you change the battery to half the capacity, it will recharge twice as fast (but you only have half the capacity!!!). In other words, the most important elements of this is hard coded making everything a compromise. When I patrol, I will usually submerge and run at 1 or 1.5 kts and limit my battery use to the greatest degree possible. Either that or remain on the surface. Honestly, I don't know what the actual battery/engine performance of the S-class was. There doesn't seem to be detailed technical data available. PS here, I found it: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...ght=recharging

12-22-12, 03:37 PM	#7
captgeo Samurai Navy Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Ontario,Canada Posts: 550 Downloads: 105 Uploads: 0	if you would like more info on S Boat's and other's please go to this link http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=197714 __________________

12-23-12, 09:33 AM	#10
Sailor Steve Eternal Patrol Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: High in the mountains of Utah Posts: 50,369 Downloads: 745 Uploads: 249	A link to the picture in question would be nice. After five minutes searching for it I gave up. __________________ “Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo

12-23-12, 12:05 PM	#11
aanker Pacific Thunder Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Yellow Sea Posts: 1,896 Downloads: 236 Uploads: 14	Regarding torpedo load-out, there were two major classes of S-Boat. Most had no stern tubes however an aft tube was added on some, which would make the total for those boats 14. The battery recharge time even according to RFB and Ducimus' TMO would be accurate due to the 2 small WWI era engine reason mentioned above. Happy Hunting! __________________ " Bless those who serve beneath the deep, Through lonely hours their vigil keep. May peace their mission ever be, Protect each one we ask of thee. Bless those at home who wait and pray, For their return by night and day."

12-21-12, 01:28 AM	#2
Armistead Rear Admiral Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: on the Dan Posts: 10,880 Downloads: 364 Uploads: 0	Should be about right. The S class has 2 engines, compared to newer class subs that have 4. Surface, you only have one 600hp motor charging batteries.

12-21-12, 01:41 PM	#5
Webster Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	yep, the s-boat was like a cheat in the stock game and its actually much easier then what reality was for them so things like damage levels, speed, range, and battery life is almost a cheat for them. this is why i created my s-boat mod to make them accurately represent a 20 year old boat that was rusty and fragile and i think i got it pretty darn close the being a very realistic experience in the full range of things even thou the game doesnt let you be able to mod everything you would like. if you want to see a realistic version then try my s-boat mod and then you will have a better idea how easy they are in stock game

12-23-12, 07:46 PM	#13
Sailor Steve Eternal Patrol Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: High in the mountains of Utah Posts: 50,369 Downloads: 745 Uploads: 249	Thanks. All the published sources I've seen invariably say 12 torpedoes total, except for the four with the stern tube. The author of that article could be mistaken, or all the published sources could cite one original source, and that was wrong. I've never heard anyone say the four boats with the stern tube carried 16 torpedoes, which would be the case if they could carry fourteen forward. It would make since to have two full complements of reloads, totalling twelve, but it would also make sense to cram in as many as possible. As far as I can see the bottom line at this point is "I don't know". No matter what the true answer is, those are some cracking good pictures. Thanks again. __________________ “Never do anything you can't take back.” —Rocky Russo

12-23-12, 08:22 PM	#14
aanker Pacific Thunder Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Yellow Sea Posts: 1,896 Downloads: 236 Uploads: 14	Interesting..... sorry I missed the topic. My S-Boat records only span SS-123 through SS-159. - plus, I just now discovered that two of my favorite websites are not up. DANFS & NavSource. I hope that is just temporary. Frankly it has been a few years since I have been able to get into submarines and SH4. I was exhausted, maybe I still am. Happy Hunting! __________________ " Bless those who serve beneath the deep, Through lonely hours their vigil keep. May peace their mission ever be, Protect each one we ask of thee. Bless those at home who wait and pray, For their return by night and day."

12-23-12, 10:01 PM	#15
IonicRipper Engineer Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 206 Downloads: 103 Uploads: 0	Steve: According to the picture descriptions of the torpedo room, there seems to be room for 10 torpedo reloads along with 4 already in the tubes. If you look at the 3rd photo of the torpedo room (looking aft) it seems like they could have stored 2 torpedoes on each of the wide struts (a pair just above the floor and another pair about waist high) and one on each of the shorter struts above those. I might, also, be horribly mistaken. __________________ Last edited by IonicRipper; 12-24-12 at 01:00 AM.