Utter Noob...Help

[Elmer Kosterman]

Torpedo technology has come a long way since WWI. When the correct speed, angle, bearing, and distance of the target are entered into the torpedo computer, the torpedo will make one turn after being launched and run strait to where the target should be, so you don't have to "lead" it. That means, torpedos don't just run strait ahead and the target doesn't have to be right in front of you. However, for various reasons, your chances of scoring a hit increase if that is approximately the case.

But that is for later. You're using automatic targeting, where all pertanant data are entered into the computer automatically just by pointing a scope at a target, and you want to know why torpedos didn't detonate. There could be several reasons for this:

-- You might miss the ship in front or behind

If you are using contact detonators (torpedo must strike the ship):

-- The torpedo runs too deep an misses the ship entirely. Set to shallower depth.

--The torpedo runs too deep and strikes the curved underside of the ship and does not detonate. Set to a depth not more than half the depth of the target (or even less in bad weather because the target will be stomping in the sea)

-- the torpedo strikes the ship and an angle that is too acute and does not detonate. Try to position your boat so that the target will cross your bow at a 90° angle. Ideally you should fire before the target is at a bearing of 0°. Otherwise, the torpedo will have to "catch up" to the ship at a less-than-ideal angle. The angle doesn't have to be perfect, as you have about a 20° window on either side of the perpendicular.

If you are using magnetic detonators (torpedo should run under the target and explode)

-- torpedo runs more than 2 meters under the target and fails to explode. Set torpedo depth to between 0.5 and 2 meters below target's keel (closer to 2 meters in bad weather). If it still doesn't explode, make sure magnetic detonation is selected.

-- Torpedo runs too shallow and hits underside of target. See above.

Sometimes, if the angle is too close to 90° with the target. a magnetic torpedo won't explode because it isn't under the ship long enough to "sense" the target's magnetic field. In this case, wait for a more acute angle or use impact detonation.

-- In any case, the torpedo in question could be a dud.

Originally Posted by StayingPower

Edit: Argh! I just tried the torpedoes tutorial and it's impossible. There's just too many things happening at one time for me. Correct me if I'm wrong, but my torpedoes will go where my periscope is pointing at 0 degrees? So the other ship is moving, I'm moving, I have to be pointing straight at it, all in a short space of time to press 'fire'.

So eventually I managed to get all this figured out and got lined up with the ship I was hunting. The targeting arrow over it turned green, so I assumed that meant if I fired it would hit it. So I fired two torpedoes...but nothing happened. I looked in free view and one of them was pointing down, below the ship, not moving, and the other seemed to have gone under the ship and was speeding on past it.

You don't have to be pointing directly at the target, no. Your boat is not like a firearm, where the bullet goes where the barrel is pointed. There are several factors which influence a successful hit, but I'll try and keep it simple for you right now.

1) Try and keep the target within +/- 30 degrees of your bow (or stern for a stern shot). Although you can fire at a target perpendicular to you that doesn't make for a good targeting solution.

2) Try and make sure the target is as close to perpendicular to your course as you can. That's known as AoB (Angle of Bow). If you're looking through your periscope with a bearing of zero (straight ahead) and your target is moving straight left-to-right (or right-to-left) that's an AoB of 90 degrees and is a perfect line-up. (Picture the letter 'T' with you as the leg and the target as the top.)

4) Press 'L' to lock the periscope onto your target. Pressing TAB will shuffle back and forth between magnification settings. Once you've 'locked' onto the target, at the upper right you'll see some information displayed: Ship class, range, AoB and speed. Click on the 'ship' header and your recognition manual will be opened, displaying the targeted ship. Look and see how deep the keel depth is.

5) Press F6 to bring up your TDC (Torpedo Data Computer). Here you can make some changes to your torpedo settings. The important ones at this stage of the game are speed and depth. Select a torpedo by clicking on its tube (the bright green tube designators) then assure that the running depth is at least 2 meters higher than the max depth of your target. Otherwise you run the risk of the torpedo grazing and bouncing off the bottom of the hull without exploding. Set the speed to fast, then hit F3 to go back to the periscope view.

6) Make sure your periscope is still locked onto the target; if not, hit 'L' again. The press 'Q'; this opens the outer tube door. If you don't open the tube door before firing, there is a several second delay between the time you press fire and the torpedo actually launched due to the outer door having tp open, and this quite often will cause the torpedo to miss.

7) It is always better to be as close as possible to your target, but no closer than 300 meters, as the torpedo requires 300 meters to arm, and if you're closer it'll just bounce off the hull without exploding.

Hope this helps! And welcome aboard!

edit: And there is a manual included during install. If you did a default install it is located in C:/Program Files/Ubisoft/SHIII/Documentation. It is called SH3_MANUAL.pdf. If for some reason you don't have it, let me know and I'll email you a copy.

[StayingPower]

Great! I tried again and sunk two ships, I think I'm almost ready for the convoy attack tutorial, and then I can actually start a game. This help has been brilliant guys.

Edit: I just started a career and on my first patrol I sunk a ship! Took me ages to find one but when I did I snuck up on it and torpedoed it. I must've taken out its engines because it stopped moving, but by the time I'd stopped cheering and realised it wasn't sinking, I'd already gone past it so I couldn't get another torpedo off. I wanted to finish it off with my deck gun but the water was too choppy. So I circled back around and torpedoed it again and it sunk. Thanks for all the help guys.

[Murr44]

If you're using gas/steam powered torpedoes, magnetic fuses can be used in mildy rough weather (wind speeds of 7 to 9). Just remember to set the torpedo speed to slow: it lessens the chance of premature detonation.

[Jimbuna]

Welcome aboard Kaleun StayingPower

BE MORE AGGRESSIVE!!...SINK EM ALL!!

[melnibonian]

Welcome to SubSim

[Steel_Tomb]

Welcome to Subsim Herr Kaleun! Unfortunately for you it seems BDU wants you to head out to sea immidiately, here are your orders...

If your looking to go for fully manual TDC, I would recomend using OLC's GUI and environment mod when your ready. It realy adds an extra level to playing SHIII, you feel a real sense of achievement after you sink a ship!

A few tips:

• Avoid the English Channel like a plague, go around the northern side of the UK and if your feeling daring go raid Scapa Flow and bag the fatherland some warships!
• Avoid engaging in shallow waters, even unarmed merchants pose a threat in that they can call in support from near by destroyers operating outside visual range!
• Remember to check your baffles every so often. If your not sure, your baffle is the area where your sonar can not detect ships, namely the rear of your sub when your engines are running. You can either stop and listen carefully, or change your bearing to have a peak without slowing.
• Do NOT, I repeat DO NOT use magnetic fish until about '41. My experiances with magnetic fuses are not good, they detonate far too easily, even in calm waters. Stick with contact settings!
• If you find you can't find convoys, every few hours submerge to about 40m or something and manualy scan your hydrophone for contacts. Your sonarman seems to wear earplugs when at his station, he doesn't pick up much until its rather close!
• Don't use GWX v2.0 to start with. Instead play stock SHIII for a few weeks to familiarise yourself with the game. This way you will truely enjoy GWX, and appreciate the tremendous amount of work thats gone into this truely SUPER mod.
• Watch out for anyone making mistakes in your crew, and pray to god his name isn't Bernard!
• Enjoy SHIII and your stay at Subsim
• Finally........BE MORE AGGRESIVE!

[StayingPower]

So when I'm hunting a convoy or ship, is there any way I can tell my officer/crew to follow it, or do I have to do it manually?

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by StayingPower

So when I'm hunting a convoy or ship, is there any way I can tell my officer/crew to follow it, or do I have to do it manually?

Manually