Celestial navigation by day

[TheDarkWraith]

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

Or you could go to door #3 where the object of the game seems to be walking around your sub asking how the soup is for the ten thousandth time to build morale, while playing a bizarre Frankenstein poorly executed submarine meets horrible parody of the Sims monster. I'll pass on that one too. I could care less if Johan's girlfriend is pregnant with kittens.

Or you could go to door #4 where the object of the game is whatever OHII has in the works, using whatever interface style you prefer (SH3/4/5), with unparalleled graphics, an AI that will test your abilities as captain, and real navigation (none of this fake stuff you're doing in SH4). That door #4 would be SH5 modded - a completely different game from the original If you haven't tried it you are really missing out

[Arlo]

Originally Posted by TheDarkWraith

Or you could go to door #4 where the object of the game is whatever OHII has in the works, using whatever interface style you prefer (SH3/4/5), with unparalleled graphics, an AI that will test your abilities as captain, and real navigation (none of this fake stuff you're doing in SH4). That door #4 would be SH5 modded - a completely different game from the original If you haven't tried it you are really missing out

Does SH5/OHII feature U.S. fleet boats in the mods yet?

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Arlo

Does SH5/OHII feature U.S. fleet boats in the mods yet?

No, but TDW wasn't really dissing SH4, he was responding directly to RR's comments on SH5. Responding to a single point sometimes causes trouble. I should know.

[Arlo]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

No, but TDW wasn't really dissing SH4, he was responding directly to RR's comments on SH5. Responding to a single point sometimes causes trouble. I should know.

Didn't cause trouble as far as I'm concerned. It was a genuine question. If SH5 has more bells and whistles *and* I get to fleet boat it, I'm on board. I didn't think there was a mod that changed theaters for SH5 (I look, regularly) but that doesn't mean one doesn't exist somewhere (I also miss finding things, regularly).

So, if the Batfish wasn't cracked by the Okie earthquake, wouldja be interested in a road trip to visit that ol gal?

[Rockin Robbins]

Originally Posted by TheDarkWraith

Or you could go to door #4 where the object of the game is whatever OHII has in the works, using whatever interface style you prefer (SH3/4/5), with unparalleled graphics, an AI that will test your abilities as captain, and real navigation (none of this fake stuff you're doing in SH4). That door #4 would be SH5 modded - a completely different game from the original If you haven't tried it you are really missing out

I'll continue to "miss out" thank you. I have no desire to feed the monster. My money stays in my pocket until something better appears.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Arlo

Didn't cause trouble as far as I'm concerned. It was a genuine question. If SH5 has more bells and whistles *and* I get to fleet boat it, I'm on board. I didn't think there was a mod that changed theaters for SH5 (I look, regularly) but that doesn't mean one doesn't exist somewhere (I also miss finding things, regularly).

No, SH5 doesn't even include u-boats other than various versions of the Type VII. There's a very good reason for that, but it still is what it is. That said, depending on what the modders who actually program can figure out, it certainly may be possible in the future.

So, if the Batfish wasn't cracked by the Okie earthquake, wouldja be interested in a road trip to visit that ol gal?

I'm always interested in meeting people I've talked with at Subsim. At this time a road trip means a bus trip, but once I have a car (and then a bike) I'll be a lot more mobile.

[Arlo]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

No, SH5 doesn't even include u-boats other than various versions of the Type VII. There's a very good reason for that, but it still is what it is. That said, depending on what the modders who actually program can figure out, it certainly may be possible in the future.


I'm always interested in meeting people I've talked with at Subsim. At this time a road trip means a bus trip, but once I have a car (and then a bike) I'll be a lot more mobile.

Well, there's a few boats closer to ya but the travel logistics remain the same. I've been tempted to fly up to see them, however, and I'd hafta get a car rental anyhow. If I can arrange it with work and the ol lady I'll give ya a head's up before we start finalizing the plans.

What I'd really like to do is arrange a large SubSim meet closer to here, though. I thought the Batfish would be a perfect backdrop and we have a singing group here in the DFW area known as 'The New Andrews Sisters' that love to perform at reenactments and WWII reunions. Dunno what they charge but they're into it. I'm picturing luau and dance with whatever facility near the sub that can kinda fake a 'Grand Hawaiian' setting.

Yeah, as usual, I think in grandiose terms.

[Pilot_76]

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

You can forget about the sky being anywhere near good enough in SH4 to do ANY celestial navigation from it. The only celestial navigation that can be done comes from knowing the position of the sub, putting those figures into a planetarium program and then doing the celestial navigation from there. SH4 was never meant to be a night sky simulation and it is not. It has a sky. That sky, especially solar system positions, is not accurate for date and time.

Typically, what is done with the Sun is meridian transit times. You have an accurate chronometer set for GMT. You get the time the sun passes its highest point. That is noon. The difference between GMT and your transit time is your longitude. This is not particularly accurate due to the size of the sun and the interpolation between precisely timed observations necessary to determine transit time. But it will get you in the same zip code.

I am currently testing SH4 with Stellarium as some users have posted. My curiosity is what can I do with an apparent angle of zero (sunrise/set) to help my DR?

[Pilot_76]

Originally Posted by Arlo

I think I'm missing something here. What's the point of celestial nav in SH if the map is spot on?

Well, I think I can put it this way....

When I started playing SH series and was introduced to the TDC I was puzzled at first. After using auto-target I got bored. It was simple point-and-shoot. Just lock, wait for at least a yellow or preferably green triangle on the target and fire the fish. After some patrols the game kind of lost its glamour to me. After joining subsim and reading a lot about manual targeting, I've decided to perform a simple target interception in real time. After lot of plotting and some math I fired and scored 2 hits out of 3. Then ran for my life from 2 DDs. That took at least 2 hours of depth charge attacks and praying not to be hit. The self-pride I had from doing everything on my own plus the successful escape (plus my almost breakdown from the charges) were things that I hadn't experienced in a long time from a PC game. So I've kind of felt what those submariners had to endure for real.

So manual target is still a learning tool. I'm not 100% there but I'm on the way. Same thing for Cel nav. I was only doing Navigation with our zero error navigator and I felt that it was too perfect even for real life with GPS. After doing some research again I decided to try it out with Stellarium and I was offset just a few miles from my DR. So I am more immersed now in the sim than before. I am currently doing the cel nav calculations using an iPad app but in the future will try to do it by hand. The good thing is that Cel nav is optional. I am even complaining that in Dangerous Waters you can't align your SINS. The SINS is always 100% accurate.

[Pilot_76]

Originally Posted by kylania

I don't use it in Silent Hunter 4, but Silent Hunter 5 has a very robust Real Navigation system. I'm still not that good with finding my location via sextant, so I rely on the navigator, but it's still a fun experience.

kylania, how's the cel nav mod working in SH5 today? I'm currently concentrating on SH4 only. Is there a MOD to implement a sextant sight? I know that a MOD has a navigator plotting the DR position (no more moving sub icon) but to take the sights yourself would be much better.

[Pilot_76]

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

I'm afraid all this stuff is hard coded in the .exe files. Modding those isn't modding, it's illegal hacking, so you have two choices as a modder.

Choice 1 is to turn off the sub position symbol on the nav map and attack map, find the sub position in the game files and feed that to an exterior planetarium file. That's what has been done by the navigation mod people for SH4. In doing so you give up a ton of realistic and useful things......like the ability to attack and sink opponents. This is not a workable scheme to my way of thinking other than as a proof of concept and a navigation trainer.

Choice 2 is not to do celestial navigation in SH4. That's been my path.

Or you could go to door #3 where the object of the game seems to be walking around your sub asking how the soup is for the ten thousandth time to build morale, while playing a bizarre Frankenstein poorly executed submarine meets horrible parody of the Sims monster. I'll pass on that one too. I could care less if Johan's girlfriend is pregnant with kittens.

I am with Stellarium 11.0. Modified the pyhton script to work with 11.0. I will post this as a new topic after some more testing.

[Pilot_76]

Originally Posted by Arlo

Does SH5/OHII feature U.S. fleet boats in the mods yet?

May I ask what is OHII?

[ETsd4]

Open Horizon II, a campaign for SH5.

[ETsd4]

Originally Posted by Pilot_76

how's the cel nav mod working in SH5 today?

Calculating 1 star for a 3-star position fix in SH5:

Mod: SH5 true navigation = SH5 real navigation without any AI

[Pilot_76]

Originally Posted by ETsd4

Calculating 1 star for a 3-star position fix in SH5:

Mod: SH5 true navigation = SH5 real navigation without any AI

OMG!! Is this from TheDarkWraith's mod?? Can't get any more real than that...