A few basic mega-noob questions.

[Sailor Steve]

WELCOME ABOARD!

Originally Posted by Viewtifuljon

1. The sonar contact lines on the map while you're underwater. What do they represent? Does the line mean that the ship could be anywhere on that line? Or is the ship where the line ends? I think this feature is only on a lower realism setting....

The ship is exactly where the line ends, even on the highest settings. It's a glitch that lets you cheat. Some mods replace them with a dashed line that goes all the way to the end of the screen. I like the solid lines, not because I measure them, but because just looking at them gives a rough general idea of who is closest, which I think is accurate.

But some things remain confusing. What methods can a ship use to detect you while submergerd? From what I understand, they can "hear" you because you're running too fast (Passive sonar maybe? I don't know what the term really means), they can "see" you with that shortish range sonar (active?) that goes in front of them, they can "ping" you (radar?), and they can see you visually (while surfaced, periscope left out).

This is correct?

Almost. Passive sonar isn't really sonar at all, but hydrophones just like the one on your submarine. Yes, they can hear you if you're not quiet enough.

Radar doesn't work underwater. "Pinging" is the active sonar. They have a couple of different types, but they all work roughly the same. If you hear the pings it means they are looking for you, not that they have actually found you. You know that when the pings get shorter and faster and then you hear the propellors overhead.

I don't really have answers to your other questions, as I never ask the soundman for ranges and I suck at manual targeting.