2 escorts have me at 170m below. Will it ever end?

[Stiebler]

I've been fascinated to read some of the items in this thread.

To answer Avon Lady's original post, I think the best strategy (since the warships now lack depthcharges) is to head away from the convoy as far as possible. That is, in the opposite direction to the convoy. At some point, the warships have to retire to resume their position. Whether this would work with a hunter-killer group (no convoy to defend) is less certain, but they must presumably return to defend their own turf at some point.

Concerning the use of copies of library files:
If this is true, then someone has had the bright idea of writing code that looks for key words in the file name, instead of the actual file name required. So 'Copy of sensors.dat' or 'sensorsold.dat' will be searched for the key word 'sensors'. This is pretty peculiar programming behaviour, since the first type of unwanted copy file 'Copy of' will appear first alphabetically but second in terms of file dating, while the second type of unwanted copy file 'sensordold.dat' will appear after the correct file both alphabetically and by time stamp. How can one make a sensible decision between these options? Presumably someone must have thought that it is better to have any file, than to risk having no file. But I just cannot believe that any programmer would not first look for the exactly right file!

Stiebler.

[Marhkimov]

Well, the developers only expected one file to be in the folder, not two...

so I guess they just got lazy... What's new?

[The Avon Lady]

I've been very busy with real life and have not yet had a chance to play SH3 for several days now.

There are sme interesting idea for me to try here. I'll keep you posted when I've had the chance to continue my patrol.

Thanks all!

[Marhkimov]

Don't forget to have fun, Ãœber Mom.

...dang, now if only my mom would play subsims...

[Wulfmann]

Well, 7 hours and I was complaining about 3!
But, the only times I have escaped from 2 plus hours of multiple escorts was, believe it or not, coming to periscope depth and sneaking away.
I had given up and decided to fight with my last fish but as I snuck away to make a stern shot they did not follow.
Maybe a one time deal????
I had edited all my escorts to be 3 or 4 from the start but frankly the improved equipment in 43 then 44 makes the 4s impossible if there are 2 of them or more.
So I since have edited convoys to only have one 4.
I still have not survived what you have and I am sure I stand in a long line of the impressed!!!

Can't wait to hear the verdict like a Kaleum listening to reports in an area too far away to do anything but hope you survive.

Wulfmann

[bill clarke]

Hello Avonlady, have you tried using decoys to shake them off ?
BTW when are these available, I was playing a single mission and got a message "decoy ready" but when I went to the engineer's station the decoy option was greyed out.
From memory I have only been able to use them once.

[JScones]

Originally Posted by Stiebler

Concerning the use of copies of library files:
If this is true, then someone has had the bright idea of writing code that looks for key words in the file name, instead of the actual file name required. So 'Copy of sensors.dat' or 'sensorsold.dat' will be searched for the key word 'sensors'. This is pretty peculiar programming behaviour, since the first type of unwanted copy file 'Copy of' will appear first alphabetically but second in terms of file dating, while the second type of unwanted copy file 'sensordold.dat' will appear after the correct file both alphabetically and by time stamp. How can one make a sensible decision between these options? Presumably someone must have thought that it is better to have any file, than to risk having no file. But I just cannot believe that any programmer would not first look for the exactly right file!

Hehe, take it from someone who's been a programmer and leader of large development teams for over 20 years - you'd be surprised what can happen behind the scenes! And there's lots of reasons why these things are done - some out of laziness, some out of anticipation of user "abuse".

Anyway, the "Copy of" file will maintain the original file's time/date stamp, so will be first if ordered by either date or name. Again though, this depends on how the application "calls" for the file.

BTW, SH3Cmdr implements such an approach - it recognises user added or user deleted files and adjusts accordingly - all without the knowledge or interest of the user (although it will differentiate between a copy of and original file). If it can't find the value in one location, it will look for it elsewhere, for, as you've stated, sometimes it is better to find a file with the values that you want than it is to be fickle about the file name.

[JScones]

Originally Posted by Marhkimov

so I guess they just got lazy... What's new?

Gee, now I'm offended. Programmers would never be lazy.

Hang on...ummm...what was that I said above?...ummm...

You are spot on though on both counts. For example, using the above approach it takes ~10 lines of code for SH3Cmdr to either modify any part of Basic.cfg or even build an *entirely* new Basic.cfg, whereas, were I to look for specific values in specific files, it would take over 100 lines. So, in some ways lazy, in others more efficient.

[Marhkimov]

The great JScones is no ordinary programmer.

He is Masta J.Son super programmer!

[The Avon Lady]

It's over.

And the U-624 is alive and well and on the surface.

Here's my KTB and communications to BdU, just posted at WaW:

05MAR43 0150 BE61

HYDROPHONE CHECK. MULTIPLE SOUND CONTACTS DEAD AHEAD. HIGH SPEED SCREWS DETECTED AT 25°. SURFACING, FLANK SPEED, STD PROPULSION. ALTERING COURSE 30° TO PORT.



05MAR43 0158 BE61

ON SURFACE. HUNT III DESTROYER AT 320°, RANGE 6700M AND CLOSING, SPEED 12KTS, LEADING CONVOY'S PORT FLANK.



05MAR43 0201 BE61

CORVETTE AT 358°, RANGE 8100M AND CLOSING, SPEED 11KTS, RUNNING MID-AFT CONVOY'S PORT FLANK. WE'LL HAVE TO SQUEEZE BETWEEN THE DESTROYER AND THE CORVETTE. DARK IS TO OUR ADVANTAGE BUT IT'S A VERY CLEAR EVENING. COMBAT STATIONS.



05MAR43 0211 BE61

DESTROYER FIRING DECKGUN AT US, TURNING TOWARDS US. CRASH DIVE! DEPLOYED DECOY AT 60M. RIGGED FOR SILENT RUNNING. PINGING. TAKING EVASIVE ACTIONS.



05MAR43 0216 BE61

DEPTH 158M. HIT BY DEPTH CHARGES. FLOODING IN BOW QUARTERS. RADIO DAMAGED. HEAVY DAMAGE UP ABOVE TO EXTERNAL COMPONENTS. SCOPES AND ANTENNAS DAMAGED. TRYING TO EVADE NW UNDERNEATH CONVOY.



05MAR43 0228 BE61

DEPTH 155M. CHARGES STILL BEING DROPPED BUT NO NEW DAMAGE. RADIO REPAIRED. FLOODING IN BOW QUARTERS REPAIRED. NO INJURIES TO CREW. ANOTHER DECOY DEPLOYED. ALTERING COURSE FROM 20° TO 325°. HOPEFULLY, THEY'LL TAKE THE BAIT.



05MAR43 0230 BE61

CHARGES TO OUR AFT. DECOYS SEEM TO BE TAKING A POUNDING.



05MAR43 0256 BE61

DEPTH 160M. HIT AGAIN. FLOODING IN BOW QUARTERS. RADIO AND SCOPES DAMAGED. RADAR DESTROYED. REPAIRS COMPLETED IN SEVERAL MINUTES. NO INJURIES.



05MAR43 0337 BE61

DEPTH 160M DEPTH CHARGES HIT AGAIN. POUNDING HAS NOT CEASED. MINOR FLOODING IN COMMAND AND RADIO ROOMS AND BOW QUARTERS. ALL REPAIRED AND UNDER CONTROL. NO INJURIES. GETTING TENSE.



05MAR43 0404 BE61

DEPTH 160M. DEPTH CHARGE HIT. DAMGE TO DIESEL AND ELECTRIC ENGINES. COMPRESSOR, STERN QUARTES AND TORPEDO ROOM. NO INJURIES. PINGING. PINGING.



05MAR43 0505 BE61

DEPTH 170M. HIT AGAIN. MORE OF THE SAME. DAMAGE TO COMMAND, RADIO ROOMS, DIESELS DAMAGED, MINOR FLOODING IN SEVERAL COMPARTMENTS. ALL REPAIRED QUICKLY.



05MAR43 0532 BE61

STILL PINNED DOWN. CAN'T SHAKE THEM. THERE ARE 2. ONE'S DEFINITELY A CORVETTE. THE OTHER SOUNDS LIKE A DESTROYER. LAST 2 DEPTH CHARGES WERE VERY CLOSE BUT NO DAMAGE. I FEAR FOR MY UBOAT AND CREW.



05MAR43 0605 BE61

USELESS DECOYS! THEY ARE HEAVILY PINGING US, FOLLOWING OUR EVERY MOVE. BUT NO CHARGES LATELY.



05MAR43 0630 BE61

IT SEEMS THEY ARE OUT OF DEPTH CHARGES. DON'T HEAR ANY OTHER ESCORT HEADING OUR WAY. THE 2 ABOVE ARE STILL KEEPING US PINNED DOWN. REDUCING SPEED TO 1KT TO RUN QUIETER AND CONSERVE BATTERIES.



05MAR43 0730 BE61

DEPTH 170M. CAN'T SHAKE THEM BUT NO MORE CHARGES. INCREASING DEPTH TO 180M. MAYBE THEY'LL LOSE US.



05MAR43 0748 BE61

DEPTH 200M. SHE'S HOLDING UP. MANOUVERING 90° PORT, HEADING EAST.



05MAR43 0756 BE61

DEPTH 210M. NOW HEADING NW. BEING PINGED BUT LESS AND FURTHER AWAY. WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO SLIP AWAY.



05MAR43 1000 BE61

OUR FRIENDS ABOVE ARE STILL WITH US. INCREASING DEPTH TO 225M.



05MAR43 1024 BE61

DEPTH 244M. I'VE NEVER BEEN THIS DEEP. BOAT IS STAYING IN ONE PIECE DESPITE DEPTH CHARGE HITS WE'VE ABSORBED. WE ARE BEING PINGED LESS AND LESS. SOUND CONTACTS INDICATE RANGE BETWEEN US AND ENEMY IS WIDENING.



05MAR43 1057 BE61

BOTH ENEMY SHIPS ARE NOW DISTANT. SECURE FROM SILENT RUNNING. PERISCOPE DEPTH, AHEAD FLANK WHEN 150M REACHED.



05MAR43 1220 BE61

BDU,

WE HAVE JUST SURFACED AFTER BEING FORCED UNDER OVER 10 HOURS AGO. WE WERE SPOTTED BY A HUNT III DESTROYER LEADING THE CONVOY'S PORT FLANK. A CORVETTE ACCOMPANIED HER THROUGHOUT THE ATTACK ON US. THEY RAN OUT OF DEPTH CHARGES TO DROP ON US SOME 5 HOURS AGO BUT THEY STAYED RIGHT ON TOP OF US, OBVIOUSLY FOR US TO SURFACE FOR OXYGEN.

OUR RADAR ANTENNA IS KAPUT. WE SUSTAINED HEAVY DAMAGE TO SCOPES AND ALL OTHER ANTENNAS, THE FORWARD DECK PLATES AND MINOR DAMAGE TO OUR FLAK GUNS AND THE TOWER. INTERNAL DAMAGES INCLUDED MINOR FLOODING AND DAMAGED GUAGES IN MULTIPLE COMPARTMENTS BUT ALL OF THOSE ARE FULLY REPAIRED.

NO INJURIES TO CREW OTHER THAN MINOR SCRAPES AND BRUISES.

WE SUCCEEDED IN EVADING THE ESCORTS BY DIVING TO 244M, CONSTANTLY TRAVELING AT 1KT. YES, WITH ALL DAMAGES INCURRED, OUR UBOAT COULD HANDLE THE DEPTH.

THIS WAS MUCH WORSE THAN OUR EXPERIENCE IN PRIOR PATROLS. THOSE SHIPS UP THERE KNEW HOW TO HUNT AND NOT LET UP.

OK. THAT WAS HISTORY. NOW I MUST ASK FOR ADVICE ON FURTHER ORDERS. WE HAVE 3 CHOICES:

1. PURSUE THE CONVOY AGAIN. RECHARGE BATTERIES AND WAIT UNTIL NIGHT BEFORE ATTACKING.

2. RESUME COURSE TO OUR DESIGNATED PATROL AREA.

3. RETURN TO BREST, DUE TO UNKOWN DAMAGE TO HULL.

I WOULD PREFER TO PURSUE THE CONVOY AGAIN. AS FOR HULL DAMAGE, WE WERE ABLE TO STAY IN ONE PIECE AT 244M. PLUS, WE KNOW THAT 2 OF THE CONVOY'S ESCORTS ARE OUT OF CHARGES.

AWAITING ORDERS.

OBLT. Z. S AVON VON VONNEGUT II, U-624

A big thank you to all of your suggestions.

In the end, it would appear that depth was the most important factor.

2 of today's hours of gameplay were on auto-pilot. I left SH3 on while I was out shopping.

[Wulfmann]

Impressive; most impressive!

Wulfmann

[Crash Dive]

Good to hear you survived that ordeal. Good luck in the future.

[The Avon Lady]

The only thing I have to add is that some time after sending in my Uboat's contact and patrol reports, I received a must unexpected radio message reply:

BE MORE AGRESSIVE!

[zombiewolf]

:rotfl:

[U-104]

:rotfl: