Question: How do you nail a zig zagger ?

[sharkbit]

As jimbuna pointed out, even when zigging, they stay on their mean course. If you are in front of them, you can still set up a normal approach and get ahead and perpendicular to their course(ideally).
The only difference now is their speed over their mean course is slower, so you need to set target speed a knot or two slower(maybe more-I've never really tracked it) to compensate.
Like others have said, set your eels for a under keel magnetic shot. Probably a key point against a zigging target.

I hate shooting at zigging targets as well and have not really tried out the above technique, so I may be blowing smoke out my butt.

Usually the target is zigging because I missed already or he spotted me and I'm out of position to try again. Then, I usually end around again and get into position. By then the target has stopped zigging.

In desperation, I have tried a "Up the Kilt" shot with a AOB of 180 with mixed results. Usually ends up wasting too many eels though. Patience is key, grasshopper(like so many other aspects of the hunt).

[Alpha Von Burg]

If you had an acoustic homming torpedo, this shouldn't be a problem .

I'm just saying...

[timmy41]

math!

Originally Posted by timmy41

math!

The German language is full of enough insults to take down any vessel at range. No need for your mystical mathematics here, sir.

[derrinurban]

I usually use impacts at close range. I set up from the TDC screen rather than the peri. Seems like cheating a bit tho. I lock on and just look at the run time to target and angle of torpedo impact. If you are a ways ahead of the target and perpendicular to his original course, you can judge the time it takes for him to make the course changes and how far off the centerline he is straying.

Then i try to judge when I would be getting close to a 90 deg impact after the run time. This is based on which way he is zig-zagging, it can be either side of 0 deg. Quickly switch to periscope, adjust for sweet spot and fire.

After a couple of times it gets pretty easy and reliable.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Alpha Von Burg

If you had an acoustic homming torpedo, this shouldn't be a problem .

I'm just saying...

Then you usually need a target travelling at 12 knots or faster...not many merchantmen achieve that ingame.

[desirableroasted]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

Then you usually need a target travelling at 12 knots or faster...not many merchantmen achieve that ingame.

Not that I am unhappy that a shot-at-and-missed ammunition ship placidly continues to steam at 6 knts, albeit with some zig-zagging, to give me another chance, but does anyone know why the AI ships were not coded to go to full throttle, put the helm over hard, and make life difficult for Bernard-burdened captains?

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by desirableroasted

Not that I am unhappy that a shot-at-and-missed ammunition ship placidly continues to steam at 6 knts, albeit with some zig-zagging, to give me another chance, but does anyone know why the AI ships were not coded to go to full throttle, put the helm over hard, and make life difficult for Bernard-burdened captains?

I would assume that adopting a zigzagging course at any speed was considered safer than just doing a hard turn and taking off in another straight line in some other direction. I mean, if an eel's in the water and they see it coming, hard over to avoid if possible... but I'm thinking the zigzagging was meant to make it that much harder for a uboat to set up a really good shot in the first place and thus increase the likelihood of the calculations being off if they tried it.

[sergei]

I know this is going to sound a bit picky, but what you are observing an alerted target doing is actually constant helming, rather than zig-zagging.
Zig zagging is something entirely different.

Fire at 90 degrees to his base course.
Magnetic triggers in case you get a glancing blow.
I'll use a target speed of two thirds (round up) of what it was before evasive procedures began, and I hit them more often than not.

[desirableroasted]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

I would assume that adopting a zigzagging course at any speed was considered safer than just doing a hard turn and taking off in another straight line in some other direction. I mean, if an eel's in the water and they see it coming, hard over to avoid if possible... but I'm thinking the zigzagging was meant to make it that much harder for a uboat to set up a really good shot in the first place and thus increase the likelihood of the calculations being off if they tried it.

Agreed. And as this thread shows, the zig-zagging (or helming, which is right), makes life harder.

But imagine yourself on the bridge of that merchant. Are you going to simply start weaving on the same course at the same speed? Or are you going to punch that ship to 12-15 knots and heel to port, starboard unpredictably?

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by desirableroasted

Agreed. And as this thread shows, the zig-zagging (or helming, which is right), makes life harder.

But imagine yourself on the bridge of that merchant. Are you going to simply start weaving on the same course at the same speed? Or are you going to punch that ship to 12-15 knots and heel to port, starboard unpredictably?

I dunno. Did they do that in real life? I haven't a clue.

Maybe that kind of randomness in their reaction is something that can't be programmed into the game.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by desirableroasted

Not that I am unhappy that a shot-at-and-missed ammunition ship placidly continues to steam at 6 knts, albeit with some zig-zagging, to give me another chance, but does anyone know why the AI ships were not coded to go to full throttle, put the helm over hard, and make life difficult for Bernard-burdened captains?

These were hard coded constraints placed upon us by the game engine.