A few basic mega-noob questions.

[Viewtifuljon]

Hi everyone. Brand new here. I started playing Silent Hunter 3 a few weeks ago when it was 5 dollars on Steam. I mean, who could pass up a deal like that? Anyways, I played a little bit, got the basics down, and played through a few patrols. I learned some extreme basics of tracking, intercepting, and even got to where I could do Manual TDC (if I was under extremely favorable conditions).

I found that I was a huge fan of the game/genre/series very quickly. I read all of the tutorials and guides I could. Wazoo's was particularly helpful. I mentions this because, since I had gotten it off of Steam, I had virtually no documentation. Not that it would have really helped me anyway. From what I hear, it's pretty lacking.

So anyway, I bought Silent Hunter 4 from Steam as soon as I could. Turns out, the AI seems to be much less forgiving this time. I breezed through the tutorials, but came to a screeching halt at the convoy tutorial. I found that I just didn't know the tools well enough to approach the convoy without being utterly destroyed by the escorts.

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Sorry, the TL;DR version starts here.
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I have a few questions. I did my best to use the search bar, and looked a most of the recommended tutorials. I'm really sorry if I missed one. Also, I'm not playing on 100% realism... or even 50% any time soon. I'm trying to lean general strategy ATM. Anyway. On to questions.

1. The sonar contact lines on the map while you're underwater. What do they represent? Does the line mean that the ship could be anywhere on that line? Or is the ship where the line ends? I think this feature is only on a lower realism setting....

2. When I tell the sonar guy to estimate the range, he just gives me a number... No unit, unless I'm missing something. What... what is that? (I'm playing with metric measurements on, BTW. Which leads to....)

3. The metric units option. Does it actually update everything to metric? Or is some stuff unchanged? Is it OK to play on metric mode? I learned all of the relevant distances in kilometers on SHIII a few weeks ago. For instance, does the Sonar guy mentioned above change his report based on your settings? Do the dials have metric measurements. I can see that screwing me at some point...

4. I need some help with distances. Can anyone possibly tell me....
a) The range where a ship can make visual contact with you.
(EDIT: Just read a guide that said that the large circle around a ship is visual range. True?)
b) The range where you're in danger of being detected underwater by driving too fast. (not specific enough... Sorry...)

5. Is the speed estimation tool in the Manual TDC thing accurate enough? I heard that it was not good enough in SHIII.


Thank you so much everyone. I really, really hate to be a leecher, but this game is not an easy one to pick up and play, but I am really loving it. Hopefully someday I can contribute back a little bit.

Again, if I missed one of my questions in a tutorial, FAQ, or previous topic, I am sooo sorry.

Thanks everyone.