Manual or automatic ?

[BigWalleye]

Originally Posted by sublynx

Thanks for pointing this add-on out! It seems to be just what I would need. I don't mind Alt+Tab, as I play windowed with InfiniteScreen anyways. The program lets me change the window and still keep the message bar of SH3 visible. I do lose sound when I'm out of the game, but the game keeps running on the background, and if something happens, it will tell that in the message bar.

sublynx, if you try Tracking Party, could you please post your experience with it? I have toyed with it, but never used it operationally.

[sublynx]

Originally Posted by BigWalleye

sublynx, if you try Tracking Party, could you please post your experience with it? I have toyed with it, but never used it operationally.

No problem. I'll probably try using it on my next patrol, or maybe at the training mission.

[Kip Chiakopf]

Since I have zero math skills, I always use automatic.

[BigWalleye]

Originally Posted by Kip Chiakopf

Since I have zero math skills, I always use automatic.

Manual targeting involves no math. It does involve some geometry. Just like, and about as much as, playing pool involves geometry. You have to be able to visualize the angles. And you have to get the right information into the TVR - range, speed, AoB. The TVR does all the math for you. That's what it's there for. It even calculates the lead angle for you. (Wish my shotgun did that!) All you do is aim and shoot!

There are procedures you have to use to find the range, speed and AoB. But in the stock game, and with most GUIs, these do not require any use of math on the player's part. It's just a bunch of mouse clicking and dragging. There's a gadget to measure range, another to measure speed, and the Mark 1 Human Eyeball to guess at AoB. That last one is a learned skill (again, like tha angles in pool). But it's not mathematical and there are various training aids around. You absolutely, positively don't have to do any math to use manual targeting.

Originally Posted by banryu79

I always use manual, I have tried it both with and without map contact updates... And I would like something in-between so I will try out the Assisted Plotting mod in my next career.

Assisted Plotting is good. It bridges between the God's-eye view and having to do all the work yourself. But it is still a kludge. The sub commander didn't do any plotting during an approach. He had crew for that. The problem is that our crews are infallible and instantaneous.

The Approach Officer wasn't even in the same compartment as the plotting party. He was either on the bridge at the UZO station or in the conning tower at the periscope. At both locations, he could not even see the plot. The approach party would check the agreement between the plot and the TVR (which was set independently from the Approach Officer's observations) and would alert the Approach Officer if there was a discrepancy.

Unfortunately, we either have superhuman crews or no help at all. Assisted Plotting helps alleviate that, especially when coupled with h.sie's WO and WP Range Inaccuracy Fix. But it still doesn't let you function as the Kaleun should during an approach.