How realistic do you play SH3

[Heibges]

I think to make SH3 more "realistic" you would have contacts always spawn in relationship to the player.

You would have to make the engine management and fuel conservation a lot more complex.

If there was a percentage chance for such and such a contact, every such and such day, the captain who could keep his boat at sea the longest would find the most contacts. But also have to defend against the most dd's and air attacks.

Every area of the ocean would have it's own random encounter table, accurate for every month of the year of the entire war. The ocean might have 1 dozen regions, each with a table for every month of the War.

So south of Greenland you might have a 4% chance per day of finding a target in one month, and a 5.2% chance per day in another month.

But you would have to keep all this secret from the player.

It would eliminate the way surface search radar and hyrdophones get in the way of historical looking careers.

This would also eliminate "good" hunting areas. The Battle of the Atlantic was a game of cat and mouse. Convoy routes were adjusted due to uboat activity or intel, while Doenitz moved his boats if they encountered no activity. The fact that the same areas are good for hunting at the same time every time you play through the war, may be historically correct, but fails to represent the uncertaintly a captain had to deal with in wartime.

[headcase]

Not sure how any given Kaleun would say I play. Running GWX1.03 with only map contacts updated on the "realisim" factor. I play DID.

I keep the map update on, because as many have said, as a true Kaleun I'd have one of my officers plotting visual/ acoustic contacts during any attack. If at all possible I would also plot out firing solutions. Don't take but a few seconds, and it ensures Bernard moments happen as seldom as possible. I always try to set up each solution twice. If there isn't time, once will do, but I've run the triple setup more than one on a nice fat lone tanker.

I do go after escorts on convoys where I have the possibility of dropping more than 100kt. Not only must the tonnage be there, but ordanance and Mother Nature must also be smiling on me. I refuse to SWAG a shot. BdU don't pay to have good boomsticks thrown away.

When evading I do my best not to hit the hammer, or start dancing my boat wildly. Silence, stealth, and cunning are my true weapons.

When on patrol, I spend as much time at 20m as I can. Both to conserve fuel for when I really need it, and to develop my own contacts.

I Limit my patrol times. 45 days in a VII, and 65 in a IX. Unless I can hit up a milchcow, or supply ship. If the patrol will force me to longer duration, I Find a way to stop at a resupply point, or say Frack BdU and do what damage I can in the time alloted.

I love, repeat, love my DG. And I'm wicked good with it. I use it every time I can that will not endanger my boat unnecesarily. Take care of the Boat, don't waste my loadout, take care of my crew.

If I can I will shadow a convoy as long as I have to to get the approach I want. And the Tonnage. If it looks like the Bolo Brigade I observe, report, and continue the Hunt.

I plot my patrols around known convoy or mercahnt routes. I don't waste fuel chasing every contact report fron Bdu.

I will never again fire at a Tramp Steamer. It's not the tonnage, I just have to waste way too much to put them down. They got Karma on me.

[Klaus_Doldinger]

Originally Posted by aaronblood

I may have a tool you'd like...

Yes, MoBo.

I´ve downloaded both MoBo and Vanjast´s Real Navigation, but I need time to study both, specially MoBo. I´ve just printed MoBo manual to read it carefully.

I´ll use MoBo as soon as I feel I can make a decent use of the tool, it seems promising for a new age in SHIII!

Thank you for your work!

[Sigurd]

I play at 52%. There's just a few things I cant handle turning on yet (like the manual targeting), and then a few that I'm not sure if I can. Those being the external camera and the Scope Movement on the waves. I get motion sick, and sometimes games can make me feel nausious at times. Scope bobbing is one of them.

Last thing I need is to vomit while I'm being DC'd and trying to escape.

[Avatar]

Originally Posted by Sigurd

Last thing I need is to vomit while I'm being DC'd and trying to escape.

sorry about this, as motion sickness is troublesome(I have a friend who is prone to it) but that statement made me chuckle.

I play at 58%
I dont believe that the motion of the waves affects the UZO view. ...Not sure about the scope.

Originally Posted by mapuc

If that's the case, what then? do you start a new mission or do you play overkill irl as well and throw away the game???
Markus

Presume dead, start a complete new career, maybe few month later or earlier.

Geez in 39 it's so easy now, I feel invincible...

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Sigurd

I play at 52%. There's just a few things I cant handle turning on yet (like the manual targeting), and then a few that I'm not sure if I can. Those being the external camera and the Scope Movement on the waves. I get motion sick, and sometimes games can make me feel nausious at times. Scope bobbing is one of them.

Last thing I need is to vomit while I'm being DC'd and trying to escape.

Play it at the level/detail your most comfortable with. The most important thing is that you enjoy your gameplay experience

[melnibonian]

I usually play at 60-70% difficulty. I'm never using manual targeting and I always have the external camera on

[Sailor Steve]

I'm usually guilty of playing at 90-something %; I also like to look at the ports as I sail in and out.

As for map contact updates, I use the 'Assisted Plotting Mod'. The sonar tracks are on the map, but visual contacts only show up if I ID them and put in the info myself. I therefore only have the one ship I'm tracking on the map. I love it.

[Foghladh_mhara]

Playing at 95% at the moment. Trying to wean myself off the external camera. I love watching the stuff go boom but have a tendancy to peek at convoys to pick out juicy targets and thats just not cricket really. Keeping the stabilise view on though

[onelifecrisis]

When I installed the game I had some (until now unspoken) complaints about the realism options - particularly the map updates and the weapons officer assistance. RUb fixed map updates for me, but I'd still like to have a fix for the weapons officer. Seems to me that maxiumum "realism" would be achieved if the weapons officer assistance could be turned on (isn't that what he's there for IRL, after all?) and the super-human speed he does it could be turned off, so you ask him for a solution and a minute later (or more/less depending on his experience, perhaps?) he gives it to you. That would be sweet.

The firing solution isn't the only reason I prefer leaving WP assistance on; he also identifies targets at range, which I would be able to do if I could "see" as clearly in the game as I can in real life (my eyes, I'm sure, have a much higher resolution than 1024x768). The only downside is his ability to ID ships at night just as well as in the daytime.

So, I'm playing with the assistance turned on. I played with it off for a while, just to prove to myself that I could do it, but for me ON is closer to "realistic" than OFF.

I voted for "Hard"

It depends on the mod I'm using. I'm currently playing with NYGM with external views, no map update, manual targeting and weapons officer assistance turned off, yet I'm still playing at 100%

Although I know how to play the game with manual targeting I think it's too much work for the Commander - I mean he has fellow officers and crew to do that sort of work doesn't he?

[XLjedi]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

So, I'm playing with the assistance turned on. I played with it off for a while, just to prove to myself that I could do it, but for me ON is closer to "realistic" than OFF.

Well... that depends. Your concept of realistic is playing from the captains perspective only. Nothing wrong with that mind you.

Thankfully the game allows you to assume the role of several other crewmember stations. In my mind, as I assume the role of each independent crew member, I find it far more realistic to do their work rather than press a button.

[onelifecrisis]

Originally Posted by aaronblood

Well... that depends. Your concept of realistic is playing from the captains perspective only. Nothing wrong with that mind you.

Thankfully the game allows you to assume the role of several other crewmember stations. In my mind, as I assume the role of each independent crew member, I find it far more realistic to do their work rather than press a button.

I know what you mean - I love the way you can walk around the boat and press every button (well, all the ones that count) and they acually do something! But as you correctly noted, the game I want to play is U-boat Captain.

[Sailor Steve]

onelifecrisis, I didn't get a chance to welcome you before, so WELCOME ABOARD!

I use a hodgepodge of mods from different sources, but one I always make sure I have is RUB's 'Assisted Plotting Mod'. Since you're using RUB, I assume that's what you mean about the realistic map. I love the way the contacts only appear when you "call them out".

Also, I too use the WO assistance, and I agree he would be better if he took a little time...and made the occassional mistake.