Questions: TDC tutorial

[Von Due]

Thanks heaps for the reply, guys. Really appreciated!

So, the negative tank is more to add that little extra, kind of what I believed the trim tank would be for but it must be true then: I got the roles of the trim and the negative mixed up.

For now, my sessions are hidden, for 2 reasons. One is I am learning and my way of doing that must be torture for action hungry guest crew. One station at the time and right now I'm trying to work out how to be a good navigator. 2nd reason is, from my rc sim sessions online some years back, I got used to jerks popping in just to ruin the fun for everybody else so until I have this down well enough not to drive my fellow crew members crazy with my ineptitude, and a mic, so I can join a proper boat somewhere, I'll remain hidden.

[derstosstrupp]

Originally Posted by Von Due

Thanks heaps for the reply, guys. Really appreciated!

So, the negative tank is more to add that little extra, kind of what I believed the trim tank would be for but it must be true then: I got the roles of the trim and the negative mixed up.

For now, my sessions are hidden, for 2 reasons. One is I am learning and my way of doing that must be torture for action hungry guest crew. One station at the time and right now I'm trying to work out how to be a good navigator. 2nd reason is, from my rc sim sessions online some years back, I got used to jerks popping in just to ruin the fun for everybody else so until I have this down well enough not to drive my fellow crew members crazy with my ineptitude, and a mic, so I can join a proper boat somewhere, I'll remain hidden.

That’s exactly right, the negative tank is to break the surface tension and get the boat under quickly. I completely hear you about trolls ruining things. It’s absolutely imperative that you password protect your lobby if you want to play with others. People in the community are generally very patient and helpful and willing to teach. Neal here also occasionally jumps in with folks to help. I would highly suggest you also join the official Wolfpack discord.

https://discord.gg/dN38NG

[Von Due]

Thanks for the invite! Now call me old (or young as some of you might) but what exactly is discord? Never looked into that one.

Now I will say there is a certain learning curve to this sim but that's absolutely part of the fun! What I really could use is someone knowledgable in the art of all things navigation and plotting to come onboard to share tips, experience, methods (brushing up on the 4 bearing and whoah this is a lot easier than in SH3!!), and I'll leave all the other stuff like the helm, tanks, radio room etc etc to others while I learn. Then onto a new station, rince and repeat.

The way I picture it it'll be:
1: Navigation because every captain likes to be at the right spot at the right time.
2: Helm, hey there is a lot to know about RPM, stealth, steering speed and so on.
3: Diving. Those tanks eh!
4: Radio room. How much info can one get from the hydrophone and (later, hopefully) the RDF.
5: TDC and attacks. That's what we're here for
6: Captaincy. Call it the exam in all things Wolfpack

in that order.

[derstosstrupp]

Originally Posted by Von Due

Thanks for the invite! Now call me old (or young as some of you might) but what exactly is discord? Never looked into that one.

Now I will say there is a certain learning curve to this sim but that's absolutely part of the fun! What I really could use is someone knowledgable in the art of all things navigation and plotting to come onboard to share tips, experience, methods (brushing up on the 4 bearing and whoah this is a lot easier than in SH3!!), and I'll leave all the other stuff like the helm, tanks, radio room etc etc to others while I learn. Then onto a new station, rince and repeat.

The way I picture it it'll be:
1: Navigation because every captain likes to be at the right spot at the right time.
2: Helm, hey there is a lot to know about RPM, stealth, steering speed and so on.
3: Diving. Those tanks eh!
4: Radio room. How much info can one get from the hydrophone and (later, hopefully) the RDF.
5: TDC and attacks. That's what we're here for
6: Captaincy. Call it the exam in all things Wolfpack

in that order.

The “captain’s exam” in my opinion is the ability to solo a boat without bots and sink a ship and evade. Better yet, meet the tonnage requirements under those conditions. Then you know you have enough of a working knowledge of each station to be able to jump in if someone drops the ball. Crew is there to make it of course more efficient.

I’m not a fan of 4-bearings. It’s anachronistic (1950s) and just not needed. You can or are very close to seeing the target in Wolfpack on every engagement. So best to use historical methods like plotting or matching.

Navigator is not overly important. You are never lost in Wolfpack. He’s there to plot, both your position underwater and the target (at the option of the skipper since neither of those are needed). What I don’t see enough of in Wolfpack is navigators plotting based on ranges and bearings (classic plotting). Part of that is a function of the 4-bearing method being included in the Wolfpack manual, which I don’t agree with (basic plotting isn’t even mentioned).

Don’t worry too much about the recognition manual. There’s another area where people spend way too much time. People think they need to sit there and identify every ship in the convoy, all you need to do is turn and adjust your speed until the target appears to not move or get closer or further away, presto, course and speed. Just like the real guys did. And I know you are not new and have been in this community awhile, but you will see crewmembers trying to suggest identifying everything etc., hence why I bring it up.

I actually saw you join today, the Discord, so if I see you sometime when I am available, I will ping you and I’d love to join you.

[Von Due]

Hey, I'll sign on for duties any time, just know I am still very much a beginner in this game. And I still need a mic or I'll have to type everything.

As for the 4 bearing method, to me it's the maths. It's just a really neat piece of maths which I like, historically accurate or not. To me, these games are just as much about challenging those old grey cells as it is to play a submariner, perhaps even more so. I've been called a nerd on a few occations.

[derstosstrupp]

Originally Posted by Von Due

Hey, I'll sign on for duties any time, just know I am still very much a beginner in this game. And I still need a mic or I'll have to type everything.

As for the 4 bearing method, to me it's the maths. It's just a really neat piece of maths which I like, historically accurate or not. To me, these games are just as much about challenging those old grey cells as it is to play a submariner, perhaps even more so. I've been called a nerd on a few occations.

Oh no, I totally get that about the math. Also yeah, definitely a mic, makes things much much easier.

[Pisces]

You'll find the 4 bearing method a lot harder to get results with because the hydrophone readout isn't as precise as in SHx series games. You don't get readout of a precise bearing (light bulb indicating the edges of the cone), or something drawn on the map. (well, the hydro-operator bot reports bearings) You rather have to listen yourself and try to narrow down the bearing as much as possible from the sound only. The high and low pass filter settings and gain can help with that. But it is quite hard to narrow it down to 1 degree bearings accurately for reliable 4-bearing plots.

In the harder difficulty levels the convoys change course every some interval and you won't have the time to do this anyway. Getting a visual sight and following it is the quickest way to get results.

But I hear yah, it's an interesting technique to try. I just wish we would have more standoff distance at spawn.