In a pigboat again! Training a periscope eye

smm · 05-24-23, 02:49 AM

Thanks

.

I have had indeed incredible amount of luck on the campaign, to the point where it now feels way too easy

.

One of the reason why Patrol 4 will be on a Salmon class, get those Mk14 duds in (having installed lotz_duds mod).

Re situational awareness - do you mean marking the contacts on the map (relative to your ship?).

That IMO is really the hardest part by far (the distance being really the killer) - and since this was my return to SH4 after years, the bit I don't do at the moment. I still need to brush up on that, and when I take up another campaign, I'll do that, as a challenge.

Something (lite) on UK doctrine can be found in Tim Clayton's Sea Wolves.

Kpt. Weyprecht · 05-26-23, 02:03 PM

I think to an extent all the S-boat campaigns are too easy, they performe ingame as if they were brand new (and equipped with a TDC), in real life it seems like something broke every time they met a wave... But it's still challenging.
I really like the Salmon, for some reason I've always been more successful in the Salmon than in the Tambor (and never went far enough to have any achevement in the Gato).

I was thinking of following all the contacts, either on the map or mentally, but not getting fixated on that one ship I'm targetting, understanding rapidly what the enemy formation is, how much space I have between the escorts and the escorted, or between columns, not getting confused between logging the own sub positions, visual observations, sonar...

I remember the old BBC series about the Perisher course (the one filmed in an Oberon), where the candidate is taking ranges and juggling three or four stopwatches... and he is not alone in his sub.

I have to check Sea Wolves, I read Ben Bryant's Submarine Commander (I heard it used to be required reading for Perisher candidates), clearly one of my very favourite submarine accounts.

smm · 05-29-23, 08:02 AM

Yes, S-boats perform way better than they should. TDC I don't mind that much TBH, but the breakages messed a lot of things up. New subs had breakages and all, never mind these..

Ah well, maybe someone in the future will do the pacific theatre again, not just all U-boats ...

-smm

Kpt. Weyprecht · 05-29-23, 12:16 PM

Oh boy, that's a big subject. I've been thinking a bit about this but not being a programmer, I refrained from posting about the future simulations. I'm afraid if we are going towards maximum fidelity to the systems, not much outside of the Type VII U-boat can gather enough players so for another take on fleet boats (or even more niche things, like British subs or cold War diesel-electrics) we'd need a sandbox type simulator akin to DCS in the air domain. I wonder if Wolfpack or the Modern Naval Warfare could become that.

smm · 05-30-23, 04:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kpt. Weyprecht

... not much outside of the Type VII U-boat can gather enough players...

I, for one, never understood the attraction of U-boats. Most of what you get to go against are merchant convoys...

Yes, there's some excitement if there's a capable opponent AI - which, TBH, in 43+ should mean you'd be moderately lucky to finish a patrol (May 43 a third of U-boats on the patrol failed to return, '43 almost 250 subs lost) - basically, even most capable U-boat captains were being sunk, and the quality of crews went downhill. So unless you go for happy times (late '40), you'd spend most of your time avoid being depth charged, rocketed, strafed or later hunted by smart torpedoes (again, under any sort of realistic conditions).

les green01 · 07-22-23, 06:18 AM

you guys want realism you can roll dice for failures

07-22-23, 06:18 AM	#6
les green01 Seasoned Skipper Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Freeman Missouri Posts: 1,784 Downloads: 1405 Uploads: 0	you guys want realism you can roll dice for failures __________________ I'll tell you what bravery really is. Bravery is just determination to do a job that you know has to be done. Audie Murphy

05-24-23, 02:49 AM	#1
smm The master Join Date: Jan 2023 Posts: 70 Downloads: 13 Uploads: 0	Thanks . I have had indeed incredible amount of luck on the campaign, to the point where it now feels way too easy . One of the reason why Patrol 4 will be on a Salmon class, get those Mk14 duds in (having installed lotz_duds mod). Re situational awareness - do you mean marking the contacts on the map (relative to your ship?). That IMO is really the hardest part by far (the distance being really the killer) - and since this was my return to SH4 after years, the bit I don't do at the moment. I still need to brush up on that, and when I take up another campaign, I'll do that, as a challenge. Something (lite) on UK doctrine can be found in Tim Clayton's Sea Wolves.

05-26-23, 02:03 PM	#2
Kpt. Weyprecht Gunner Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Paris, France Posts: 97 Downloads: 89 Uploads: 0	I think to an extent all the S-boat campaigns are too easy, they performe ingame as if they were brand new (and equipped with a TDC), in real life it seems like something broke every time they met a wave... But it's still challenging. I really like the Salmon, for some reason I've always been more successful in the Salmon than in the Tambor (and never went far enough to have any achevement in the Gato). I was thinking of following all the contacts, either on the map or mentally, but not getting fixated on that one ship I'm targetting, understanding rapidly what the enemy formation is, how much space I have between the escorts and the escorted, or between columns, not getting confused between logging the own sub positions, visual observations, sonar... I remember the old BBC series about the Perisher course (the one filmed in an Oberon), where the candidate is taking ranges and juggling three or four stopwatches... and he is not alone in his sub. I have to check Sea Wolves, I read Ben Bryant's Submarine Commander (I heard it used to be required reading for Perisher candidates), clearly one of my very favourite submarine accounts.

05-29-23, 08:02 AM	#3
smm The master Join Date: Jan 2023 Posts: 70 Downloads: 13 Uploads: 0	Yes, S-boats perform way better than they should. TDC I don't mind that much TBH, but the breakages messed a lot of things up. New subs had breakages and all, never mind these.. Ah well, maybe someone in the future will do the pacific theatre again, not just all U-boats ... -smm

05-29-23, 12:16 PM	#4
Kpt. Weyprecht Gunner Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Paris, France Posts: 97 Downloads: 89 Uploads: 0	Oh boy, that's a big subject. I've been thinking a bit about this but not being a programmer, I refrained from posting about the future simulations. I'm afraid if we are going towards maximum fidelity to the systems, not much outside of the Type VII U-boat can gather enough players so for another take on fleet boats (or even more niche things, like British subs or cold War diesel-electrics) we'd need a sandbox type simulator akin to DCS in the air domain. I wonder if Wolfpack or the Modern Naval Warfare could become that.