U-racing!

Safe-Keeper · 09-17-06, 03:34 PM

OK, so today I did two things: "Just to do it" (not to gain an edge over the enemy, merely to see what it would be like), I used SH3 Inspector to increase the top speed of my favourite sub, the VII-B, to 60 knots, both surfaced and submerged.

Then, I made a "strike on Manhattan" single-player mission. Starting in that river going into New York City from the north-east, I was tasked with wreaking havoc on American shipping to demoralize the US, which Germany had just declared war on.

Little did I realize how much of an impact my modding would have on that particular mission. It turns out that:

At 30+ knots, the "auto-pilot" no longer works, as the sub makes a u-turn after reaching waypoints, as it no longer registers reaching them. You have to control the boat manually, by means of Heading to View commands and clicking the Compass thingie.
Hitting anything - be it a big city or the bottom of the river - at 30 knots hurts. Very badly.
Moving down-river at 40 knots makes you realize how scaled-down the Silent Hunter III world really is.
Heavy fog means I can't see anything beyond... Well, a very short distance.
The naval chart's inaccuracies can prove fatal to German submarines of war travelling in excess of 20 knots, not to mention 43 knots.
The docked merchants in New York City, probably courtesy of the 2nd amendment and a sincere fear of maritime burglars, pack deck guns.
Despite you travelling at 40 knots, deck guns of moored ships will still hit you if they're fired from a range of only 100 metres.
Sea-gulls can only fly so fast, and a 40 knots sub leaves them left behind, flying in a "perfect line-formation" in an attempt to catch up.
A modded version of Silent Hunter III can be hilarious.
The forum interface is messed up (see screenshot below).

Try it yourself: Make a mission where you start out in one end of a narrow river, channel, strait or fjord. Mod your boat so that it travels in 60 knots (trust me, you won't get to reach those speeds as you lose a good deal of speed turning).

Try to navigate to the other end without scrapping your boat. I promise you a rather hilarious experience. For some extra challenge, add some Barricade Ships throughout.

Even better, have a friend or two mod their games exactly the same way and race each others down-river! The first boat to reach the goal line in one piece (ie. without running aground, getting shot apart by another player, or colliding with another player, all of which will prove fatal) wins.

Oh, and here's the messed-up forum interface:

09-17-06, 03:34 PM	#1
Safe-Keeper Ocean Warrior Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Norway Posts: 3,234 Downloads: 11 Uploads: 0	U-racing! OK, so today I did two things: "Just to do it" (not to gain an edge over the enemy, merely to see what it would be like), I used SH3 Inspector to increase the top speed of my favourite sub, the VII-B, to 60 knots, both surfaced and submerged. Then, I made a "strike on Manhattan" single-player mission. Starting in that river going into New York City from the north-east, I was tasked with wreaking havoc on American shipping to demoralize the US, which Germany had just declared war on. Little did I realize how much of an impact my modding would have on that particular mission. It turns out that: At 30+ knots, the "auto-pilot" no longer works, as the sub makes a u-turn after reaching waypoints, as it no longer registers reaching them. You have to control the boat manually, by means of Heading to View commands and clicking the Compass thingie. Hitting anything - be it a big city or the bottom of the river - at 30 knots hurts. Very badly. Moving down-river at 40 knots makes you realize how scaled-down the Silent Hunter III world really is. Heavy fog means I can't see anything beyond... Well, a very short distance. The naval chart's inaccuracies can prove fatal to German submarines of war travelling in excess of 20 knots, not to mention 43 knots. The docked merchants in New York City, probably courtesy of the 2nd amendment and a sincere fear of maritime burglars, pack deck guns. Despite you travelling at 40 knots, deck guns of moored ships will still hit you if they're fired from a range of only 100 metres. Sea-gulls can only fly so fast, and a 40 knots sub leaves them left behind, flying in a "perfect line-formation" in an attempt to catch up. A modded version of Silent Hunter III can be hilarious. The forum interface is messed up (see screenshot below). Try it yourself: Make a mission where you start out in one end of a narrow river, channel, strait or fjord. Mod your boat so that it travels in 60 knots (trust me, you won't get to reach those speeds as you lose a good deal of speed turning). Try to navigate to the other end without scrapping your boat. I promise you a rather hilarious experience. For some extra challenge, add some Barricade Ships throughout. Even better, have a friend or two mod their games exactly the same way and race each others down-river! The first boat to reach the goal line in one piece (ie. without running aground, getting shot apart by another player, or colliding with another player, all of which will prove fatal) wins. Oh, and here's the messed-up forum interface: __________________ First Strike Mod tester. Hardcore sub skipper.