South China Sea - Wolfpack Missions - Enemy subs spawn at point blank range.

Hmmm, Ok thats 3 answers which aren't really hugely helpful I'm afraid but thanks for answering anyway.


Delgard - At that screen I always choose "Man battle stations" rather than getting closer using 25kyds etc yet I still get spawned at 2-4kyds at most.



Deepmoc - This is the South China Sea, it's shallow water (250ft) in most places but even where there is deep water I almost always spawn so close that there is very little time to get deep enough to avoid detection before the enemy sub (who is sailing towards me) hears me.


Bilge_Rat - This is the South China Sea campaign, not single missions.

[Delgard]

I was thinking the campaign missions.

Anyway, I click through the ranges, usually settling on 15kyds or 20kyrds and then I click "Man Battle Stations". Immediately after that I go to silent running.

[VizlaN]

Originally Posted by IanH755

Delgard - At that screen I always choose "Man battle stations" rather than getting closer using 25kyds etc yet I still get spawned at 2-4kyds at most.

Two factors that I've noticed make a difference:
1) Your speed on map. If you are going full speed, it does not matter(also noticed I sometimes can't select "Close to") if you pick "Man battle stations" or "Close to Xkyds", they will be close and you will most likely start detected. Can sometimes avoid it if you immediately go reverse to slow down, but not always.

2) Whether you approach them undetected, or they approach you while you are detected by air assets on map. If you are detected by air assets and select "Man battle stations", you will spawn close and most likely already detected. If you select "Close to ≥15kyds" you will not spawn detected by vessels(varies, but seems to be most common), but there might be helicopter or aircraft close by.

To avoid constantly starting the engagement detected, avoid the above and be careful about using "Man battle stations", it generally seems random between 10->25kyds. Personally if I control the initial engagement and want to avoid looking for a plankton in the ocean select "Close to 15kyds" if submarine or 20kyds if surface vessels. There's still the odd chance you'll have a helicopter or plane nearby, but its rare.

PS, noticed reply above: I don't select a range and hit "Man battle stations", instead hit "Close to" after setting range. Not sure if there's a difference as I never tested it, but assume so since its two different buttons.

[Bilge_Rat]

yes, the speed you arrive on the map and the distance you choose have the biggest impact.

if you arrive at 20 knots and the enemy spawns close by and instantly detects you, then yes, weapons will fly fast. This is a bigger problem in the SCS map since you can spawn a whole lot shallower than 600 feet and be cavitating at the start.

I always choose 25k yds distance and at 5-10 knots you always spawn outside of contact range.

From what I have been able to figure out the enemy spawn points are somewhere between just outside max contact range and the maximum limit you choose, i.e. 10,15,25k yds. It seems at 20 knots, the enemy will spawn closer since at that speed you will detect enemy units at a much closer range.

As mentioned in the OP, I'm approaching at 5kts which, in the Improved Virginia class, means not moving on map screen and allowing the enemy to sail into me while I sit still.


I've now tried launching a MOSS at 90' to my heading as soon as I spawn but, again, I'm spawning so close (nowhere near the 25kyds I selected, more like under 3-4kyds) that the enemy lead ship can hear the launch and yet again it's a mission loss.


Starting to get a mix of annoyance and "why bother" with the game at the moment.