Credit for sinkings, what's your approach

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by Capt. Morgan

Just a quick point. If you sink a ship but don't see it sink (either because you are no longer in visual range - which can be quite short at times - or submerged, periscope-down) there will be no mark on the map to indicate the sinking, but you will still get the credit.

If you move too far away (50km IIRC) from your sinking ship, or something else - like bad weather, or a collision - causes it to sink faster, then you won't get credit.

You must be still be in contact range of the ship at the moment when the game considers it to be sunk because of the amount and nature of the damage it has received.

At that moment, if you are in range, one of your crew (I think it's the Navigator) will report that "She's going down!" and you will be credited with the kill.

"In contact range" means close enough for you and your crew to visually confirm that the ship is sinking (if you are surfaced) or close enough for the sinking to be heard on the hydrophones (if you are submerged). You don't have to watch it happen personally, either from the bridge or through the 'scope. But the boat must be close enough for visual or sonar confirmation of the kill.

If you move out of contact range before your crew has given you the "She's going down" message, there is no way for you to confirm the sinking because no one aboard your boat could have seen it or heard it happen. Even if you did enough damage to make the sinking inevitable, you must remain close enough to confirm that the boat is indeed sinking before sailing away.

Bottom line is, once you receive the "She's going down" message, the ship is a confirmed kill and you will get credit for it. You are free to leave the area with another notch on your gun barrel, even if the ship is still on the surface and is taking its good old time about actually going down. You've done enough damage to sink her, and hung around long enough for that fact to be confirmed. That's all you need to do to get the credit.

On a semi-related unrelated point, the reason Von Richthofen painted his aircraft red was that WWI german fliers needed a witness to claim a victory. Having the only scarlet plane in the sky greatly increased the number of credits he could claim.

Kinda the same idea here - someone on your boat must "witness" and confirm the sinking, and report it to you (whether you're watching/hearing it happen with your own eyes/ears or not). That's how you know that the game has credited you with the kill. A kill you don't witness is a kill that didn't happen as far as the game (and your renown score) is concerned.

[Capt. Morgan]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

...
Bottom line is, once you receive the "She's going down" message, the ship is a confirmed kill and you will get credit for it. You are free to leave the area with another notch on your gun barrel, even if the ship is still on the surface and is taking its good old time about actually going down. You've done enough damage to sink her, and hung around long enough for that fact to be confirmed. That's all you need to do to get the credit.

... someone on your boat must "witness" and confirm the sinking, and report it to you (whether you're watching/hearing it happen with your own eyes/ears or not). That's how you know that the game has credited you with the kill. A kill you don't witness is a kill that didn't happen as far as the game (and your renown score) is concerned.

I always thought it was a simple matter of distance. SHIII continues to amaze me with what it models.

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by Capt. Morgan

I always thought it was a simple matter of distance. SHIII continues to amaze me with what it models.

Well, it sorta is a matter of distance. If you get so far away that you can't confirm the sinking, it never happens because IIRC the game only renders other vessels and their activity when you are within a certain range of them. Once you're outside that range, they cease to exist in terms of the "world" the game created for you to move around in. (Someone please correct me if I've misunderstood how this works.)

Anyway, it's still kind of like real life... there were occasions where a u-boat would make a successful attack on an enemy vessel, assume it was going down, and sail away. They'd enter the sinking in the log and report it to BdU. But then they'd find out later that the ship they thought was destroyed didn't sink at all, because they'd get a report of it showing up in some Allied port. But the game is less forgiving than BdU, it won't let you log or report the kill unless you stuck around long enough to confirm it.

And it is possible to attack a ship and witness it sinking and not be the reason that it sinks - for instance, if the Luftwaffe shows up and starts bombing it. If the damage that results in the sinking isn't caused by you, you won't get credit for it. But I'm not sure if you still get the "She's going down" message in that case.

I know some other players have had kills "stolen" out from under their noses by other Axis forces, so maybe someone else can answer that question?

[asr]

Great answers! Thanks!

[Jimbuna]

Well, it sorta is a matter of distance. If you get so far away that you can't confirm the sinking, it never happens because IIRC the game only renders other vessels and their activity when you are within a certain range of them. Once you're outside that range, they cease to exist in terms of the "world" the game created for you to move around in. (Someone please correct me if I've misunderstood how this works.)

That's correct....the SH3 world may not be rendered but the computer is still carrying out the countless number of calculations for each second of gameplay throughout the SH3 world though.

And it is possible to attack a ship and witness it sinking and not be the reason that it sinks - for instance, if the Luftwaffe shows up and starts bombing it. If the damage that results in the sinking isn't caused by you, you won't get credit for it. But I'm not sure if you still get the "She's going down" message in that case.

I know some other players have had kills "stolen" out from under their noses by other Axis forces, so maybe someone else can answer that question?

You should only get the "She's going down" message if the kill is yours and you have sucked the last/final damage point out of the victim.

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

You should only get the "She's going down" message if the kill is yours and you have sucked the last/final damage point out of the victim.

Good to know, thanks!

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

Good to know, thanks!

BE MORE AGGRESSIVE!!

[U777]

Anyway, it's still kind of like real life... there were occasions where a u-boat would make a successful attack on an enemy vessel, assume it was going down, and sail away. They'd enter the sinking in the log and report it to BdU. But then they'd find out later that the ship they thought was destroyed didn't sink at all, because they'd get a report of it showing up in some Allied port. But the game is less forgiving than BdU, it won't let you log or report the kill unless you stuck around long enough to confirm it.

That's why I always stick around to confirm it unless its too dangerous to do so.

And it is possible to attack a ship and witness it sinking and not be the reason that it sinks - for instance, if the Luftwaffe shows up and starts bombing it.

Greedy fly boys think their so great with their fancy Stukas and BF-109's.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

BE MORE AGGRESSIVE!!

The last time I followed that advice I got my face slapped. That was the last time.