How long are patrols?

[skirich]

Hopfully someone knows this answer or how to figure it out. I read a few forum posts that say a patrol, such as the one I am on, Honshu, should last 48 hours, as long as I am within 100nm of the gold star/binocular point. But so far, I have sunk 6 ships and been here for 5 days. I still dont have orders that say patrol complete. Am I missing something? Or is my radius off? Any way to check how much more time is left? Down to my last 2 torpedoes and about half a tank of diesel.

[mikesn9]

Originally Posted by skirich

Hopfully someone knows this answer or how to figure it out. I read a few forum posts that say a patrol, such as the one I am on, Honshu, should last 48 hours, as long as I am within 100nm of the gold star/binocular point. But so far, I have sunk 6 ships and been here for 5 days. I still dont have orders that say patrol complete. Am I missing something? Or is my radius off? Any way to check how much more time is left? Down to my last 2 torpedoes and about half a tank of diesel.

Did your mission have radius given? It could be less than 100 nm.
Were you told to sink ships? It could have a tonnage you need to sink.

Other guys here will also ask what version of SH4.. (1.3, 1.4, 1.5).
Also important: any Mods?

you've probably read here also, that if you happen to go outside of the 'zone', the clock resets.

And lastly, if you've racked up a nice tonnage, don't worry about the mission, go home. Tonnage counts way more than completing a mission.

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by skirich

Hopfully someone knows this answer or how to figure it out. I read a few forum posts that say a patrol, such as the one I am on, Honshu, should last 48 hours, as long as I am within 100nm of the gold star/binocular point. But so far, I have sunk 6 ships and been here for 5 days. I still dont have orders that say patrol complete. Am I missing something? Or is my radius off? Any way to check how much more time is left? Down to my last 2 torpedoes and about half a tank of diesel.

what mikesn9 says is true.
some additional things to pay attention to:
depending on the version/mod set you are playing, your orders should tell you the patrol radius to use and the length of time you are required to stay within that radius to get credit for completing the objective.
some versions/modsets are better than others in describing your orders.
if you are playing the US side and there is no radius explicitly given in the orders, try 100 miles. if, after you have spent the required time, you have not received the completed-objective, try a 50 mile radius for the same time.
if you are playing the German side, it will depend on the version/ modset. these vary widely AND they are always in KILOMETERS not miles.
the German side is usually better documented...meaning that the radius is usually described in your orders.
if it is not documented, the patrol radius could be 50/100/200 KM. hard to pin it down because it depends on the mod set.
later on, as you evolve your game playing there are some additional skills you will acquire that may help you determine the proper radius for any particular mission.
good luck. and good hunting!

[jimmbbo]

Hopefully the SS gurus will have more detailed and accurate information (undocumented "features" are among SH4's "endearing" traits), but in the stock 1.4/1.5 game, I use a 55 mile radius and plan to spend 48 hours in "the circle".

Leaving the patrol area seems to trigger a clock reset, as I've gone after convoys outside the patrol area, returned and it took a LONNNNG time to complete the mission...

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by jimmbbo

Hopefully the SS gurus will have more detailed and accurate information (undocumented "features" are among SH4's "endearing" traits), but in the stock 1.4/1.5 game, I use a 55 mile radius and plan to spend 48 hours in "the circle".

Leaving the patrol area seems to trigger a clock reset, as I've gone after convoys outside the patrol area, returned and it took a LONNNNG time to complete the mission...

it seems to me that once you reach the proper patrol radius, the game starts a clock. if you leave the patrol zone, it seems to stop the clock. when you return, it starts again. but i have not tested this empirically.

for my own benefit i use the compass and draw myself a 53-54 mile radius patrol circle and then try to patrol within the circle.

[skirich]

When I came back to a 50nm radius and waited 48 hours the patrol ended.
Sounds like 50 is the magic number.

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by skirich

When I came back to a 50nm radius and waited 48 hours the patrol ended.
Sounds like 50 is the magic number.

you're getting there.

something to keep in mind as you play SH4 is that it was developed by Ubisoft which is a France-based company and the Silent Hunter series was coded in the Czech Republic. everyone in those places uses the metric system for measuring length. so they think in metric and convert it to non-metric to sell it to Americans (and others). many of the values you will encounter playing/modding SH4 will be metric. if you are an american, and you seem to be from your posts, you will need to convert your thinking from miles to nautical miles (yes, there is a difference.) and then to kilometers in order to work with the SH4 components.
so, 100 km = 53.995 nautical miles.
keep going!