[REQ]'No Map-Contact Updates' done properly

[tater]

Originally Posted by ddrgn

If you think balloons on your map with accurate real time information along with the type of ship with a radius showing its sensor range is realistic, well than, what can I do but laugh. You crazy people are so skilled but hardly no how to mark a contact on a map when you see it. Sad really, IMO anyone playing with these updates on sucks hard at this game ;]

Who said anything about the stock system in SH? Who would play any SH game unmodded to remove stuff like that, anyway?

Bottom line is that contact reports should be on if the game was designed properly. The captain is the captain, and should never have to plot unless he prefers to interfere with someone else's job.

The whole point is that the contacts plotted on the chart should ONLY be a function of the observations of the captain (player).

You observe, and bearing gets plotted.

You take a bearing and range, and bearing and range (the range YOU got) gets plotted.

No, the sensors should not be on the map, the map should look like a chart with pencil marks on it, period. It should not update in real time, either. Only via observation—and the skipper (YOU) should have to set which contact you are observing if you have the men plot more than one. So if you observe one liberty ship on the first observation, then mistakenly observe another on the 2d, your plots will be entirely wrong.

The plotter can default to drawing a course line ahead X minutes at a time as a straight line pencil mark.

What is sad is that the player is required to play with contacts off to have any sort of realism, AND do the job of a crewman instead of fighting the boat.

So you miss the point, the stock plotting system is 100% unrealistic either way. It needed to be thrown away and redone with SH5, but instead it's the same as SH4 (entirely broken).

[The General]

Originally Posted by thruster

would it be easy to make all map contacts grey?
im not taken by the idea of knowing a ships range of awareness. [perhaps im misunderstanding something?]

Yes, in Fig. 1 of the first Post, I made thethe surface vessel icon is black to represent this (Grey would be fine). Not identifying friend or foe automatically is essential. I have suggested this doesn't happen until you use (whatever optics you happen to be using) and click on the flag. For those rare occasions you spot an enemy sub, this woud be trickier (no flags!), but hey, that'd be more realistic too right?

Originally Posted by ironkross

I've noticed when clicking on my ship's course setting if there are any ships in the area the ship icons appear, revealing their positions for miles around. And if I drag the course setting lines around the ship icons move on their course. It's a terrible spoiler ingame, you can't help but know those ships are there. This needs to be fixed.

I have noticed this. Horrible bug , something to do with the Sonar Operators 'Special' ability to 'show all contacts' maybe?

Originally Posted by tater

No, the sensors should not be on the map, the map should look like a chart with pencil marks on it, period.

The stock plotting system is 100% unrealistic either way. It needed to be thrown away and redone with SH5, but instead it's the same as SH4 (entirely broken).

Yes, that is my point. It doesn't work properly either way. There are some very good ideas in each iteration of Silent Hunter. For example; in SH4 the Sonar suite works well, sending data to the T.D.C. Realistically the Captain would rarely use this equipment, but for gameplay sake it should be available. As should all other major systems.

[ironkross]

Originally Posted by tater

Who said anything about the stock system in SH? Who would play any SH game unmodded to remove stuff like that, anyway?

Bottom line is that contact reports should be on if the game was designed properly. The captain is the captain, and should never have to plot unless he prefers to interfere with someone else's job.

The whole point is that the contacts plotted on the chart should ONLY be a function of the observations of the captain (player).

You observe, and bearing gets plotted.

You take a bearing and range, and bearing and range (the range YOU got) gets plotted.

No, the sensors should not be on the map, the map should look like a chart with pencil marks on it, period. It should not update in real time, either. Only via observation—and the skipper (YOU) should have to set which contact you are observing if you have the men plot more than one. So if you observe one liberty ship on the first observation, then mistakenly observe another on the 2d, your plots will be entirely wrong.

The plotter can default to drawing a course line ahead X minutes at a time as a straight line pencil mark.

What is sad is that the player is required to play with contacts off to have any sort of realism, AND do the job of a crewman instead of fighting the boat.

So you miss the point, the stock plotting system is 100% unrealistic either way. It needed to be thrown away and redone with SH5, but instead it's the same as SH4 (entirely broken).

Yes why should I as captain need to leave my station at the periscope to run to the map table to mark a ships position?
I agree that there needs to be an option for "observed" contacts report, without the movement on the nav map, plus those that are received by radio.

Originally Posted by The General

I have noticed this. Horrible bug , something to do with the Sonar Operators 'Special' ability to show all contacts maybe.

I don't think so, some are way out of range of the hydrophones. I wish they were gone.