Final Solution for "Null" Patrol Grid Problem

Hello Everybody,

Just to help anyone who will furthermore encounter this "Null" patrol grid in Mission Briefings during Silent Hunter III dynamic campaign.

Everything is very simple - don't dock to ports,being in open sea press "Escape","End Patrol",and then click on "Return to Base" on the bottom of the screen.

Doing so you will always get normal patrol grids,and abilities to manage the upgrade/equipment options for your submarine in the dynamic campaign menu.

This perfectly works for Silent Hunter III version 1.4.I don't know how this rule applies to 1.4b patch or earlier then 1.4 patches or various mods.

Anyway,

Good Hunting to all Kriegsmarine Aces

[bigboywooly]

You will ALWAYS get a patrol grid anyway
IF you return to your home port

ANY other friendly port or resupply\milchcow will get you a NULL grid

IIRC if you are playing 100% and you " warp " back to port your career is over

[danurve]

The short of it is using a resupply or non-home port "breaks the link".
This has a side affect of stalling the news bulletins before patrol too.
Big deal.
I have had some most excellent extended patrols from Thalia (early war) - ignoring the NULL grid. Kaleuns descretion.

bigboywooly,

I've got just opposite to that,in case of 7th Flotilla Type VIIB U-49.It's is originally based in Kiel (1939 - up to early-mid 1940),and each time I go back to Kiel docks after patrolling,I get such situation:

1.I press "Exit the Patrol".
2.And after that I've got either two options "Continue" or "Docks in Kiel".
3.If I press "Docks in Kiel" - I do get main campaign screen with no submarine equipment menu and,originally,"Null" grid in next mission briefing.

If I do as I mentioned yesterday,everything is OK.

[Lzs von swe]

Originally Posted by Genghis Khan

1.I press "Exit the Patrol".
2.And after that I've got either two options "Continue" or "Docks in Kiel".
3.If I press "Docks in Kiel" - I do get main campaign screen with no submarine equipment menu and,originally,"Null" grid in next mission briefing.

That means that Kiel is no longer your base. Where do you start from after you have done the "Exit to base warp thing"?

Lzs von swe

Well,when I get normal patrol grids I am starting from Central African Coasts and heading north.

[Sailor Steve]

"Fixed", or "Ultmate Solution" might have been a better choice of words.:rotfl:

[bigboywooly]

Well if you are starting from just off Africa then something is wrong
SH3 starts you there for a particular reason that escapes me at the moment

Will return

[dcb]

Originally Posted by Genghis Khan

1.I press "Exit the Patrol".
2.And after that I've got either two options "Continue" or "Docks in Kiel".
3.If I press "Docks in Kiel" - I do get main campaign screen with no submarine equipment menu and,originally,"Null" grid in next mission briefing.

Playing GWX 1.03 and SH3C, I just got the same problem today, when finishing a mission in august 1940, 2nd flotilla.
During the patrol I never received the "Base changed to..." message and when I docked at Wilhelmshaven - my starting base - I had no access to crew management and sub equipment screen. I figured out my base had been changed.
So I reloaded a previous save at sea and ended the game far away from port. This took me to the current base, Lorient.
The real problem is that somehow, the "Base changed to..." message doesn't seem to come in due time. Still can't figure a fix to this. Maybe some tinkering with the Flotilla.cfg file is needed.

[JScones]

Originally Posted by bigboywooly

Well if you are starting from just off Africa then something is wrong
SH3 starts you there for a particular reason that escapes me at the moment

When SH3 can't reconcile the base lat/long information in your save game file to the information in the campaign file, it will send you to 0 lat 0 long 0 heading, ie off the west coast of Africa.

This is usually caused by running old careers with new campaign files. If the base was moved in the new campaign files, the link is broken, with the result being 0 0 0.

Likewise, a conflict in base coords between Flotilla.cfg and the campaign files will cause this. This usually happens through poor user housekeeping (ie installing mods without rolling back SH3Cmdr first etc).

This is why old careers sometimes work and sometimes don't - not all bases are moved in each campaign file update. So some existing careers will continue to work perfectly. Some existing careers that fail may also work perfectly if you revert to a previous save, as the base may have been different.

Bottom line - the cause is an incompatibility.

[JScones]

Originally Posted by dcb

The real problem is that somehow, the "Base changed to..." message doesn't seem to come in due time. Still can't figure a fix to this. Maybe some tinkering with the Flotilla.cfg file is needed.

There is no fix to this. SH3 sends the "base changed" message at midnight on the date that the base changes.

2nd Flotilla does not move to Lorient until Sep 1940, so you would not receive the message until midnight on 1 Sep 1940. As you docked before September, this is why you did not get the message.

So what has happened? Simple. When you docked, repair time and other aspects were added to the date, taking you into September. Suddenly the game thinks you should be at Lorient, but you're not. You're where you should have been pre-September but not where you should be post-September. SH3 does not handle this scenario well - you'll see this problem raised numerous times over the past years. It's merely timing related.

The only real solution is to avoid docking around changeover dates, or wait until *after* the date has past.

[dcb]

Originally Posted by JScones

So what has happened? Simple. When you docked, repair time and other aspects were added to the date, taking you into September. Suddenly the game thinks you should be at Lorient, but you're not. You're where you should have been pre-September but not where you should be post-September. SH3 does not handle this scenario well - you'll see this problem raised numerous times over the past years. It's merely timing related. The only real solution is to avoid docking around changeover dates, or wait until *after* the date has past.

Thanks for the answer, JS. This is one bug I wasn't aware of.

[moose67]

this happened to me tonight... i left wilhelmshaven with instructions to return to brest

i stayed out many days and then sailed back and docked at brest.

i was a bit confused when i went to start my next patrol, my first thought was i am meant to sail out and wait for instructions.

good job i googled instead

[Jimbuna]

Yes, Google is your friend.