Auto-targeting

[pmcmull]

I am a recent arrival and still new to the sim. My question here is about the automatic targeting. There seems to be two kinds of 'locks' but I don't see a full explanation for them. The first is for the periscope. Use the L key and the periscope will freeze on the target, if it recognizes the target. Except for fog and rain situations, pretty simple.
The second 'lock' is the S button on the torpedo fire control. It lights up when the TDC recognizes a good or fair firing solution. But it can be clicked. Seems to be a toggle. The message next to it will change from good to good:locked or back again. Same with poor and poor:locked. I thought clicking it to locked was a good thing but I don't really know what it does. I know when I click the S button and it says locked, then the periscope lock is released and the scope view starts drifting again. Any tips would be appreciated.
Also if I want to aim at the bow or aft section of the ship, with the auto-targeting, that means to not use the L lock at all?


Pat

[propbeanie]

The "L" lock and the button press do the same thing. So if you press the "L" key, the "S" thingie should also show "locked", so changes from "red" to "green". If you then press either one another time, they will both "Unlock" at the same time, the "S" turning red again. If that is not happening, then you might have "mod soup" with a partially activated mod, which can happen in two ways: 1. Having installed the game in any of the "Program Files..." folders, including if using the Steam game 2. Failing to empty the Save folder. Either way, and you can end up with odd / strange behavior from the game. You can also encounter another form of "strange" if you are in the habit of "shelling-out" to the Windows desktop while playing the game. You might encounter graphics and/or audio issues if doing that.

The "Lock" itself centers the targeted ship. If you then press the PK button, the TDC will begin tracking the ship, and will continue to do so even after lowering the periscope. So get a lock from a distance, and then using the PK (Position Keeper) will allow you to submerge potentially beneath a thermal layer as you approach your quarry 'stealthily', maybe even on Silent Running". You do not need either the lock or the PK to shoot though. Your periscope will not track the target when you cannot see it, so when you come back up to PD to shoot, you'll want to use your sonar so that you know where to initially look. Open your torpedo tubes, and be sure your PK is "off", then bring the scope up, point it where you want to shoot. If the periscope does NOT track the change and update the TDC, you can hit the PK to bring all the data back into the TDC, then shoot. The torpedo should go about where your cross-hair is when the shot is made - maybe...

The "green" arrow just means that you have a good solution, and the "yellow" means an OK solution. You might be too far away, or at a large attach angle, or whatever, if it's yellow. Red means that the TDC (in auto-targeting) cannot properly track the target. It would be tough to say where your shot might go. One of the main causes of that is using an incorrect tube for where you are looking. If the target is behind you, say at 170 degrees, make certain you are using the after tubes... There are a few "Targeting" missions in the Sub School section that can be used for practice. The enemy does shoot back though in SH4...

[pmcmull]

Originally Posted by propbeanie

The "L" lock and the button press do the same thing. So if you press the "L" key, the "S" thingie should also show "locked", so changes from "red" to "green". If you then press either one another time, they will both "Unlock" at the same time, the "S" turning red again. If that is not happening, then you might have "mod soup" with a partially activated mod, which can happen in two ways: 1. Having installed the game in any of the "Program Files..." folders, including if using the Steam game 2. Failing to empty the Save folder. Either way, and you can end up with odd / strange behavior from the game. You can also encounter another form of "strange" if you are in the habit of "shelling-out" to the Windows desktop while playing the game. You might encounter graphics and/or audio issues if doing that.

The "Lock" itself centers the targeted ship. If you then press the PK button, the TDC will begin tracking the ship, and will continue to do so even after lowering the periscope. So get a lock from a distance, and then using the PK (Position Keeper) will allow you to submerge potentially beneath a thermal layer as you approach your quarry 'stealthily', maybe even on Silent Running". You do not need either the lock or the PK to shoot though. Your periscope will not track the target when you cannot see it, so when you come back up to PD to shoot, you'll want to use your sonar so that you know where to initially look. Open your torpedo tubes, and be sure your PK is "off", then bring the scope up, point it where you want to shoot. If the periscope does NOT track the change and update the TDC, you can hit the PK to bring all the data back into the TDC, then shoot. The torpedo should go about where your cross-hair is when the shot is made - maybe...

The "green" arrow just means that you have a good solution, and the "yellow" means an OK solution.

Thanks for the response and the patient explanation. I had not seen anywhere an explanation of the S button, other than it lights up when the TDC calculates that it has a decent solution.

As to the game setup, I am running a basic setup. The mods that are active are all from GFO all-in-one from the Berbster. Not all are activated (with JSGME). I am familiar with the problems that 32-bit programs have with the Microsoft protection to the Program Files folders. Having experience with other games that are old but classic. My library for Steam is on my D: drive and has been for several years. I did experiment some with removing/adding back in the Real Environment mod when trying to deal with the heavy fog being so frequent and persistent. And learned to start a new career when changing the mods list.

Clearing the Save folder. Do you mean getting rid of everything in the SH4 folder (or other name if using multish4) or just the 2 saves folders SaveGames and RichSavedGames?


Pat

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by pmcmull

Clearing the Save folder. Do you mean getting rid of everything in the SH4 folder (or other name if using multish4) or just the 2 saves folders SaveGames and RichSavedGames?


Pat

actually, everything BUT those two folders can be deleted.

SH4 will rebuild them when they are needed.