A Few Things I Have Wondered About

Pisces · 06-05-09, 04:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheldon

Opening Tubes: While I lay in wait to loose a few torpedoes at a single large target (as an example) I tend to wait until I have an AoB of 5 degrees either way, then I open each of the tubes....

This is not the cause of the delays, but I suspect you misunderstand what AOB means. And when to fire. AOB as it is used in the game is the angle the view direction makes with the target bow, just like seeing someones face from the side. It is not the angle scale you see in the periscope view. That is (relative) bearing. The direction the torpedo turns to (also in relation to the bow like the periscope) is the gyroangle, and it is a digital dial under the notepad, or 2 dials in the F6 TDC page (one crude dial marked in steps of 10 and one showing the unit and fraction degrees; lower right corner). If you want the torpedos to not turn and move straight ahead out of the tubes (gyro angle is 0 or 180) you usually need to fire when the periscope view (showing the desired impact-area) is further away from your bow or aft-side (between 15-5 degrees before passing 0 or 180 degrees). How much exactly depends on the speed of the target and torpedo, but the TDC calculates that itself. Just line up to make 0 or 180 degree gyroangle.

Sheldon · 06-05-09, 12:03 PM

A ha. You guys are awesome.

I will definitely take advantage of the mod to pre-set my torpedo arrangement and what you advise about opening the tubes makes sense. I guess I just assumed the doors stayed open unless I fired a torpedo or closed the doors myself.

With the speed of cruising, I am glad others do this too. It just seemed to make more sense. There were a couple times when I was new to the game that I just cruised at standard and it left very little fuel to chase down ships. And, yes, I do adjust according to boat type and distance to mission coordinates.

I did not realize that the pre-war torpedoes were faster. I have noticed that that they were more reliable in rough waters. I also have seen the enemy ships attempt to speed away and maneuver evasively with the bubble trails clearly giving away the attack. I'll have to think about this.

As for AoB, I am likely not phrasing myself well and I need a better tutorial than the printed manual for making ... manual attacks. From what I understand, the ideal AoB is 90 degrees on either side of my target. I generally try to position myself ahead of the enemy's path, about 1000 meters from where they will be when I attack. In periscope view I identify the target and ready to fire (after ensure crew are properly allocated). Below the tube selector I can see the AoB meter and, after locking on to the target, I watch the meter until it counts down or up to 360. At 355 or 5 degrees I open the torpedo door and at 0 I fire. If I am trying for an engine or bow hit I will adjust manually.

Thank you all very much. You are going to make me a better skipper and I appreciate it.

mookiemookie · 06-06-09, 07:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheldon

Thank you all very much. You are going to make me a better skipper and I appreciate it.

It's what we're here for.

Sheldon · 06-07-09, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pisces

I suspect you misunderstand what AOB means.

Argh. Indeed I was mis-using the term. I just spent some time with the manual and learned I was using AoB to mean angle of attack and, yes, it is the gyro-angle that I use to determine when to fire.

I confess I do not play in full realism mode (though that's what I would like to try) and hardly ever looked at F6 because I found the manual explanations to be confusing. Suddenly this has changed. I didn't know we could set torpedo speed. Nor did I look close enough to notice that pre-war torpedoes were faster. This changes things.

I didn't even realize we had a 'salvo' mode. I'm sure I clicked that button before and it didn't do anything or make sense. Now, attacking larger targets is much easier as I can open all involved tubes with a single command. D'oh!

Thanks again.

Leandros · 06-09-09, 04:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheldon

I didn't even realize we had a 'salvo' mode. I'm sure I clicked that button before and it didn't do anything or make sense. Now, attacking larger targets is much easier as I can open all involved tubes with a single command. D'oh!

Thanks again.

Remember, when using the salvo mode, to also adjust the spread....

06-05-09, 12:03 PM	#2
Sheldon Watch Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 19 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	A ha. You guys are awesome. I will definitely take advantage of the mod to pre-set my torpedo arrangement and what you advise about opening the tubes makes sense. I guess I just assumed the doors stayed open unless I fired a torpedo or closed the doors myself. With the speed of cruising, I am glad others do this too. It just seemed to make more sense. There were a couple times when I was new to the game that I just cruised at standard and it left very little fuel to chase down ships. And, yes, I do adjust according to boat type and distance to mission coordinates. I did not realize that the pre-war torpedoes were faster. I have noticed that that they were more reliable in rough waters. I also have seen the enemy ships attempt to speed away and maneuver evasively with the bubble trails clearly giving away the attack. I'll have to think about this. As for AoB, I am likely not phrasing myself well and I need a better tutorial than the printed manual for making ... manual attacks. From what I understand, the ideal AoB is 90 degrees on either side of my target. I generally try to position myself ahead of the enemy's path, about 1000 meters from where they will be when I attack. In periscope view I identify the target and ready to fire (after ensure crew are properly allocated). Below the tube selector I can see the AoB meter and, after locking on to the target, I watch the meter until it counts down or up to 360. At 355 or 5 degrees I open the torpedo door and at 0 I fire. If I am trying for an engine or bow hit I will adjust manually. Thank you all very much. You are going to make me a better skipper and I appreciate it.