How to get most out of campaign?

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by predavolk

Really!?! Did you set it up that way, or was this a random event?

Nope.....tis already scripted into the game.........but they will respawn shortly after/if you sink them

[moscowexile]

As regards the lust for action and the thrill of the chase whilst playing this simulation, I think that it should be realised that in reality many U-boats spent many a patrol without ever sighting their prey: Atlantic calm days and clear days are not numerous and lookouts, even German lookouts, were not always alert.

I have recently read volume one of Len Deighton's "Blood, Tears and Folly - An Objective Look at World War II". In this work, in which Deighton deals at length with the early stage (1939-1940) of the Battle of the Atlantic, the author states:

"Always we must remember the speeds at which the opposing units could travel. It has been nicely depicted by a historian who suggested that we think of the Atlantic in terms of European distances: a U-boat commander in Vienna is told to attack a convoy in London. On the surface he can move at the speed of a pedal cycle, submerged he will go at approximately walking pace. Then we understand why convoys escpoed intact, despite the men of B-Dienst."

I have been trying to find the historian whom Deighton alludes to in the above quotation, but to no avail.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by moscowexile

As regards the lust for action and the thrill of the chase whilst playing this simulation, I think that it should be realised that in reality many U-boats spent many a patrol without ever sighting their prey: Atlantic calm days and clear days are not numerous and lookouts, even German lookouts, were not always alert.

I have recently read volume one of Len Deighton's "Blood, Tears and Folly - An Objective Look at World War II". In this work, in which Deighton deals at length with the early stage (1939-1940) of the Battle of the Atlantic, the author states:

"Always we must remember the speeds at which the opposing units could travel. It has been nicely depicted by a historian who suggested that we think of the Atlantic in terms of European distances: a U-boat commander in Vienna is told to attack a convoy in London. On the surface he can move at the speed of a pedal cycle, submerged he will go at approximately walking pace. Then we understand why convoys escpoed intact, despite the men of B-Dienst."

I have been trying to find the historian whom Deighton alludes to in the above quotation, but to no avail.

I would highly recommend the two volume work 'Hitler's U-boat War by Clay Blair

http://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-U-Boat...6034893&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-U-Boat...6034893&sr=8-5

[Gezoes]

I can vouch for that. I'm reading the first part now.

Excellent book!

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Gezoes

I can vouch for that. I'm reading the first part now.

Excellent book!

[mr chris]

BBW, Jim and all others will vouch for my love of this spot.
AM52

[Col. Caldwell]

Originally Posted by mr chris

BBW, Jim and all others will vouch for my love of this spot.
AM52

:hmm: This grid is always mentioned in some shape or form around here.:p I try to avoid the AM grid. The storms there can be a bit of a pain, though useful for surface travel in the early years of the war. BF13/15 is where I go to pick up some good tonnage and some visits to BE39 for the tankers.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by mr chris

BBW, Jim and all others will vouch for my love of this spot.
AM52

Yep....that be his own personal pond

[deepboat]

Half way through Part 1 "The Hunters", a very good read. Wish some more pics were included. Am trying to find some of their earlier concepts like the UXI cruiser and the U-A and other boats which were designed but never built.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by deepboat

Half way through Part 1 "The Hunters", a very good read. Wish some more pics were included. Am trying to find some of their earlier concepts like the UXI cruiser and the U-A and other boats which were designed but never built.

There are books out there which show fine depictions of what was planned but you may want to try some websites such as:

http://uboat.net/types/projects.htm

[deepboat]

I Googled u boat XI cruiser and it brought me to combatsim.com, interesting read indeed!

[emtmedic005]

If you want to get alot out of your patrol/campaign then you have to put in alot of extra effort. Lets say BDU gives your a patrol grid of AM12, you get there and you do your 24 hour patrol and you find no targets. hmmm dont just go home, go to another patrol grid and HUNT for some targets or if ur an experienced skipper who knows the North Atlantic then go to your favorite hunting grounds and start stalking. The best advice i can give to you is to check with Naval Intelligence aka SH3 Forum and talk to your fellow captains. Once you know where the good hunting grounds are then you dont have any good excuses to comming home empty handed.

some personal advice, try sailing down to about 200-250kms west of the Straits of Gibraltar, or the Bay of Biscay (before the Germans Occupied the French ports) or try hunting a little north of Ireland or a little south of Ireland, cause pretty much all of the Allied merchant and warship traffic had to pass through those areas.

Hey i got two questions for those out there. 1- What would happen in real life if a Uboat Captain came home empty handed after a patrol? 2- Im about to start my 8th patrol, its early April 1940, i got the invasion of Norway/Denmark/the Low Countries And France comming up (I cant wait till Dunkirk) Well i still dont have my U-Boat War Badge? I have my 1st/2nd Class Iron Crosses and i have about 230,000 tons sunk.

[KeldorKatarn]

Originally Posted by emtmedic005

If you want to get alot out of your patrol/campaign then you have to put in alot of extra effort. Lets say BDU gives your a patrol grid of AM12, you get there and you do your 24 hour patrol and you find no targets. hmmm dont just go home, go to another patrol grid and HUNT for some targets or if ur an experienced skipper who knows the North Atlantic then go to your favorite hunting grounds and start stalking. The best advice i can give to you is to check with Naval Intelligence aka SH3 Forum and talk to your fellow captains. Once you know where the good hunting grounds are then you dont have any good excuses to comming home empty handed.

I don't go home after 24h, I go home when my fuel gets low.

But again, I didn't mean "getting most out of the campaign" in terms of "most tonnage", but rather, most fun.

This is especially about being more involved in the game. I really miss communication with BdU here. I get orders to go to one grid.. so what now? Am I allowed to leave it after 24h? After all the uboats where deployed in a certain way to patrol the entire north atlantic. me just leaving without asking would produce gaps.
I know that doesn't matter in SH3 but it just doesn't fit to the roleplaying aspect.

I have to say in GMX and most other mods I've tried so far and of course stock too, I feel very alone out there. I hear those fake radio reports from other boats but I know those are just fill messages. Nearly nothing about them has any connection to what's really going on in the game.. the reports about convoys are the only thing that ever makes you feel involved and even those are ridiculously seldom. I don't get those reports unless I'm pretty much running into the convoy anyway.

And the historical events? They happen but the player has no idea what and why and how. I mean, here I am, patroling my grid off the coast of Norway and all hell breaks lose, I meat the Hipper, hear radio reports about the entire German Navy rushing up here, suspect a huge invasion is going to come.. and I don't get any orders.. In entire April I sunk one British transport (that was 30th March) on my way up there, and then later one small Norwegian coastal tanker with my deck gun.. all while there was all hell going on around me in Trondheim and up in NArvik or down in Oslo. And I spent my days in my grid (AF84 I think) and waited and waited and waited and went back home...

So what I was really asking is how you try to get more involved in the actual war.
I am not talking about always driving to the same convoy hunting grounds and get yourself some more tankers.. I'm also not talking about getting those unrealistic 50,000-100,000 ton patrols some people are getting this way.

I'm talking about getting more of a "being part of the German navy" feeling.
I mean sitting in the grid I got reports of uboats swarming out all around me.. and I felt like the BdU had forgotten I was also still up there...

[emtmedic005]

You mentioned that you want more of a "being part of the German navy" feeling. hmmmm thats sorta on you. Read some history books, look things up on line.
When i know the Invasion of norway is comming up i will assigne my own patrol grid via SH3Cmr that is close to Norway.
Yea i wish we got more info and more communications from BDU but o well

[KeldorKatarn]

Originally Posted by emtmedic005

You mentioned that you want more of a "being part of the German navy" feeling. hmmmm thats sorta on you. Read some history books, look things up on line.
When i know the Invasion of norway is comming up i will assigne my own patrol grid via SH3Cmr that is close to Norway.
Yea i wish we got more info and more communications from BDU but o well

Being close to Norway is not the point.. I WAS assigned to Norway. GMX has good assignment grids related to dates. But I still felt left alone.. I mean.. the entire Germany Navy went out of their posts and I didn't even get a message that Operation Weserübung was even planned. I just got a "Operation Hartmut has begun" or something like that.. I didn't even know what Hartmut was (from a captain's point of view). I do of course know what historically happend. I know the Hipper went to Trondheim, the Blücher was sunk near Oslo.. all that.. but I'd like to hear about that in game. I hardly know anything inside the game as a captain persona. I mean I get all sorts of contact reports of English and German ships heading for Norway and I don't know what the hell is going on. Then several U-boats are sent all around Trondheim and Narvik and various Fjords to intercept troops... only I am left alone in a relatively calm area... That was frustrating. I never knew what to do.. follow the Hipper or stay in my grid because I didn't know whether GMX had something planned for me in that grid or not. I didn't know whether some convoy might have taken that route or something or why that grid was one of the possible assignments...

I hope you get the idea what I'm talking about.. a simple "all uboats in the Norway area, assist there and there" or somethign. I immediately would have felt he's talking to US, not just THEM and would have sailed to Trondheim or wherever at ahead full and do my best...

I mean it's all about roleplay.. of course I can position myself at places where I know stuff is gonna happen and I can also sail every patrol to the same big fat tanker spot once I found a good one, but that isn't really realistic emerging play.

Again I'm not critizising GMX for this, I'm just trying to suggest a few ways to maybe change that. Huge free campaign is good but once important events happen the player should actively be pulled in and ordered around. And on other occasions he should get voluntary missions or something.. try to infiltrate that harbor if fuel allows, or relocate there and therer by that date... stuff like that. Stuff that makes you feel you're being adressed and not forgotten out there.

Also in this post http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...71&postcount=7
difool2 suggested something interesting about seeing more convoy reports, even if you cannot reach most of them. It makes you also feel something is going on around you, without totally giving you too much information that makes your job too easy.

Again, just suggestions...