SHIII Sonar Model

[VoodooPriest]

Originally Posted by LoBlo

Hello. I'm a Dangerous Waters player, but have always been curious about SHIII. Question is: How good is the sonar model of SHIII? Is it pretty complex with sonic layers, convergences zones, "best" sonar depths, sea floor bottom effects, etc? The reason I ask is that something I've always liked about DW is that its sonar model is very complex and even a bit unpredictable (because is made by RL milatary sonar programmers).

Anyone got any opinions on the Sonar model, or even the radar model?

Ahem, well...

The truth is, there is no such sophisticated sonar or radar model. As this is a sim about german wwii u-boats, the only thing you have is a hydrophone and a huge round instrument, where you can read the bearing to the target. Later in the war there is some kind of crude active sonar, which also tells you the range to the target. Thats all about it. So no DemoN, no TMA and no narrowband profile analysing. I'm not quite sure if layers are modeled but I honestly doubt it, as the germans in wwii were rather oblivious about those layers benefits. If layers are modeled, they're just there and you won't even know it.

Concerning the radar it's quite the same. You have an oscilloscope with a range scale and a bearing-wheel. If a target is in range on a certain bearing, you will see a spike on the oscilloscope. Thats all about radar in shiii. So no ESM here, exept for some crude radar detectors which will only tell you, that you're being painted by radar. But using the radar is rather suicidal anyway, because the enemy planes will home in on you like bees on honey.

So, what can I say? Although SHIII is quite different from DW, it's a very good game nonetheless. Different perhaps, but really great in other ways. It's just entertaining and exciting to find a convoy, outflank it, sneak in in the dark, pick out the big juicy tubs and try to evade the enemy DC-bombardment.