GWX2 Convoy Straglers?

MarkShot · 02-22-08, 05:56 PM

Early 1942 - GWX2.

I just finished hitting a convoy for the second time; maybe about 4 hours ago.

I got two merchant contacts on exactly the same course as the prior large convoy about 8km apart and 30km or so trailing the convoy. I've checked them out externally and they weren't damaged from earlier torpedo shots. However, from their behavior they appear to belong to the convoy which just passed.

They must be stragglers. Some questions:

(1) It's been 15m/sec seas for days. Are these ships straggling simply because of the heavy seas?

(2) Are these ships straggling due to the prior attack that they got displaced from the formation during the attack and just simply cannot catch up?

(3) Or are stragglers statistically programmed into SH3 or GWX2 as part of the game?

These are the first non-wounded stragglers I have seen trailing a convoy in the game.

Thanks.

PS: These are going to be some really easy kills. If stragglers results from attacks, then this opens the door to a new tactic which may simply be to not necessarily shoot under extreme pressure when attacking a convoy. Instead shoot the stern tube and wound something. And otherwise cause the convoy to scatter and creating stragglers for easy pickings later.

Brag · 02-22-08, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkShot

Early 1942 - GWX2.

I just finished hitting a convoy for the second time; maybe about 4 hours ago.

I got two merchant contacts on exactly the same course as the prior large convoy about 8km apart and 30km or so trailing the convoy. I've checked them out externally and they weren't damaged from earlier torpedo shots. However, from their behavior they appear to belong to the convoy which just passed.

They must be stragglers. Some questions:

(1) It's been 15m/sec seas for days. Are these ships straggling simply because of the heavy seas?

(2) Are these ships straggling due to the prior attack that they got displaced from the formation during the attack and just simply cannot catch up?

(3) Or are stragglers statistically programmed into SH3 or GWX2 as part of the game?

These are the first non-wounded stragglers I have seen trailing a convoy in the game.

Thanks.

PS: These are going to be some really easy kills. If stragglers results from attacks, then this opens the door to a new tactic which may simply be to not necessarily shoot under extreme pressure when attacking a convoy. Instead shoot the stern tube and wound something. And otherwise cause the convoy to scatter and creating stragglers for easy pickings later.

the ships could be straggling from a previous attack or having trouble with heavy seas. It is fairly frequent to run into stragglers. Good hunting!

difool2 · 02-22-08, 08:13 PM

Usually they are tramp steamers having trouble with the seas. You can often hear "breaking-up" sounds coming from them.

KeptinCranky · 02-22-08, 09:10 PM

1 this is the most likely scenario, yes

2 No, because, unless they lose a lot of distance and lose the convoy completely, they will catch up (eventually) by going max speed. what coulkd happen is that the convoys base speed is already near or on that particular ships max speed (tramp steamers are a good example) so they can't catch up but will follow the convoys waypoints

3 not that I'm aware of

MarkShot · 02-22-08, 10:06 PM

The convoy's base speed was 8kts. Does that put some merchants at risk of not being able to keep up?

Thanks.

HW3 · 02-22-08, 11:26 PM

The heavy seas are the cause of the straggling tramp steamers. If you watch them long enough, they will sink due to flooding.

Schwuppes · 02-23-08, 12:22 AM

"straggling"

never heard of this word... do you mean "struggling"?

1480 · 02-23-08, 01:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schwuppes

"straggling"

never heard of this word... do you mean "struggling"?

Straggler= one who falls behind, can't catch up. Straggling= (if it's the proper spelling) in the act of falling behind.

http://www.ask.com/reference/diction...3074/straggler

May be a word that is used somewhat exclusively in the states?

hammer-princess · 02-23-08, 03:03 AM

Ah, so it probably is possible to break up a convoy. Sounds like it's gonna be easier to pick off those ships now!

Steel_Tomb · 02-23-08, 05:31 AM

Hmmm, this is interesting. I've not come across and stragglers yet, perhaps after attacking a convoy for the second time it would be mandatory to go where they've just come from to see if there are any stragglers :hmm:

KeptinCranky · 02-23-08, 08:31 AM

at 8 knots they should be able to keep up, unless damaged in some way (storm, mishap or enemy action)

johnm · 02-23-08, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1480

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schwuppes

"straggling"

never heard of this word... do you mean "struggling"?

Straggler= one who falls behind, can't catch up. Straggling= (if it's the proper spelling) in the act of falling behind.

http://www.ask.com/reference/diction...3074/straggler

May be a word that is used somewhat exclusively in the states?

As far as I'm aware, straggler was a common term used in RL WWII convoys. Sometimes, escorts were sent to chase them up, but if they couldn't catch up, they were on their own!

nikimcbee · 02-23-08, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1480

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schwuppes

"straggling"

never heard of this word... do you mean "struggling"?

Straggler= one who falls behind, can't catch up. Straggling= (if it's the proper spelling) in the act of falling behind.

http://www.ask.com/reference/diction...3074/straggler

May be a word that is used somewhat exclusively in the states?

I'll translate into Aussie English...
...means too bloody slow. Crocodile food.:rotfl:

nikimcbee · 02-23-08, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hammer-princess

Ah, so it probably is possible to break up a convoy. Sounds like it's gonna be easier to pick off those ships now!

they were the ones who had engine problems or something to that degree. The Convoy/ escorts stop for nothing. So if you had a problem, you're on your own.

02-22-08, 05:56 PM	#1
MarkShot Ace of the Deep Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,134 Downloads: 93 Uploads: 0	GWX2 Convoy Straglers? Early 1942 - GWX2. I just finished hitting a convoy for the second time; maybe about 4 hours ago. I got two merchant contacts on exactly the same course as the prior large convoy about 8km apart and 30km or so trailing the convoy. I've checked them out externally and they weren't damaged from earlier torpedo shots. However, from their behavior they appear to belong to the convoy which just passed. They must be stragglers. Some questions: (1) It's been 15m/sec seas for days. Are these ships straggling simply because of the heavy seas? (2) Are these ships straggling due to the prior attack that they got displaced from the formation during the attack and just simply cannot catch up? (3) Or are stragglers statistically programmed into SH3 or GWX2 as part of the game? These are the first non-wounded stragglers I have seen trailing a convoy in the game. Thanks. PS: These are going to be some really easy kills. If stragglers results from attacks, then this opens the door to a new tactic which may simply be to not necessarily shoot under extreme pressure when attacking a convoy. Instead shoot the stern tube and wound something. And otherwise cause the convoy to scatter and creating stragglers for easy pickings later. __________________ War games, not wars! --- Only a small few profit from war (that should not stand)!

02-22-08, 10:06 PM	#5
MarkShot Ace of the Deep Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,134 Downloads: 93 Uploads: 0	The convoy's base speed was 8kts. Does that put some merchants at risk of not being able to keep up? Thanks. __________________ War games, not wars! --- Only a small few profit from war (that should not stand)!

02-22-08, 11:26 PM	#6
HW3 Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Gresham Oregon Posts: 6,574 Downloads: 458 Uploads: 0	The heavy seas are the cause of the straggling tramp steamers. If you watch them long enough, they will sink due to flooding. __________________ "Some ships are designed to sink...others require our assistance." Nathan Zelk

02-23-08, 12:22 AM	#7
Schwuppes 中国水兵 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 279 Downloads: 22 Uploads: 0	"straggling" never heard of this word... do you mean "struggling"? __________________ E8400 @ 4.00Ghz standard vCore, Gigabyte P35C DS3R @ 445 Mhz, Leadtek GTX 280, 3 x 1GB Kingston DDR2 800 @ 890Mhz, 250GB +160GB HDD, Terratec DMX 6fire 24/96, Silverstone ST60F 600W, Logitech Z-5500 THX

02-23-08, 03:03 AM	#9
hammer-princess Watch Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: In a rusty old sub Posts: 28 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Ah, so it probably is possible to break up a convoy. Sounds like it's gonna be easier to pick off those ships now! __________________ And so the torpedo went 'tick-tock-BOOM!' The captain asked one of the crew: "Why is there a hole in OUR sub?!" To which the crewman replied "I put the torpedo in the wrong way round!" BTW, if anyone's interested in meh fanfic 'Paper Mario - What REALLY Happened', look up 'Paper Mario Story' on http://thebunnyhunter.deviantart.com

02-22-08, 08:13 PM	#3
difool2 Commander Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 459 Downloads: 31 Uploads: 0	Usually they are tramp steamers having trouble with the seas. You can often hear "breaking-up" sounds coming from them.

02-22-08, 09:10 PM	#4
KeptinCranky Ace of the Deep Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Netherlands Posts: 1,050 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	1 this is the most likely scenario, yes 2 No, because, unless they lose a lot of distance and lose the convoy completely, they will catch up (eventually) by going max speed. what coulkd happen is that the convoys base speed is already near or on that particular ships max speed (tramp steamers are a good example) so they can't catch up but will follow the convoys waypoints 3 not that I'm aware of

02-23-08, 05:31 AM	#10
Steel_Tomb Ace of the Deep Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Cambridgeshire - UK Posts: 1,128 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Hmmm, this is interesting. I've not come across and stragglers yet, perhaps after attacking a convoy for the second time it would be mandatory to go where they've just come from to see if there are any stragglers :hmm: __________________ _______________________________________________ System Spec: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz \| 4Gb Corsair XMS2 Dominator DDR2 PC-2 6400 RAM \| XFX GeForce 8800GTS 640mb PCI-E \| Creative X-fi sound card \| 250Gb HDD \| *Rest In Peace Dave, you will be missed.*

02-23-08, 08:31 AM	#11
KeptinCranky Ace of the Deep Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Netherlands Posts: 1,050 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	at 8 knots they should be able to keep up, unless damaged in some way (storm, mishap or enemy action)