ocean's kinda empty

[Reign9]

bit of a request/how-do-i.
i'm getting a little tired of the lack of targets.
yes i know that the oceans are a big place, and that during wartime people don't like to get out much.
but i don't want to have to search for 45 minutes (real time @ 2000-ish compression) to find one measily little merchant ship, blow it up in 1 maybe 2 minutes than back to hunting.
this is probably quite accurate (In terms of realism) but this is a game!
<exasperated sigh> is it possible to increase the number of random ships randomly wandering the seas? can i do it myself or is there a mod for it?

-thanks-

[Sailor Steve]

WELCOME ABOARD!

I can't be much help because I'm just the opposite. I've been playing subsims for almost thirty years, and I go more for the realism these days. I know there are mods that put more ships in the sea for the earlier games, and I'll bet you'll be hearing fairly quickly from someone with advice on how to get what you want. Either that, or advice on where the good traffic lanes are.

[ETsd4]

Originally Posted by Reign9

but i don't want to have to search for 45 minutes to find one measily little merchant ship, blow it up in 1 maybe 2 minutes than back to hunting.
this is probably quite accurate

What do you expect? Every 5 minutes a torpedo launch?
You need a reality check.
82080 minutes to search and no missle/torpedo launch. That was no rarity and often the reality.

[Reign9]

thanks steve.

Etsd4,

I know that the german u-boats more often than not failed to accomplish much,
and I know this game is supposed to follow history/reality.
But did you know this is just a game? (i.e. entertaining)
no need to get flamey over a simple question, i just wanted to know if this game could be made a little more action and a little less staring zombie-like at a map.
You might enjoy watching a little black circle trawl the seas, but i like blowing things up.
btw, every 5 minutes would be nice.

[Jmack]

Know the routes of the convoys and coastal shipping , submerge and listen around near the routes or if you are so desperate go for the harbors ... always targets there ...

[ETsd4]

Originally Posted by Reign9

..., but i like blowing things up.

I hope you will get along well with your life ;)

[Reign9]

Perhaps a test:
total germany; western approaches (sink 100,000 tons)
hacked my sound guy to be able to hear 4.65 million miles in any direction.
not a single boat in the whole indicated area, for the entirety of the mission (till june 1 1940) i sat at the bottom of the sea and waited
plenty of small mercants hanging around the straight, and when i switch missions i find dozens of boats hanging around the western approaches, but nothing between faroe island and iceland.
i don't know if this is a bug or what, but I doubt it's my fault.
(And before any of you start screaming pirate, it's a legitimate copy and if pressed I will prove it.)

ETsd4,

I didn't mean it in quite that way,
You appear to find the simulation portion of SH5 to be what keeps you playing, i enjoyed that too, at first
but eventually boredom sets in when you have watched that map for well over half an hour, and you just wanna blow something up (in game).

second edit:
jmack,

most times the harbors don't count towards your missions 'tho'
and I'm not a fan of dodging dozens of very alert warships.

[Jmack]

what can i say ... try angry birds !

[Reign9]

Ouch... kinda harsh that. lol

oh well, thanks for the help people

[Jmack]

if you like to play the game like that ... i remember that there was a mod for sh3 that showed the location of all ships on the map ... and infinite ammo etc ... why you are looking at the map when you should be outside with the binoculars looking for ships ???

[FiremanDan4]

Originally Posted by Jmack

what can i say ... try angry birds !

that my friend....just made my night

[misha1967]

Ouch

I understand Reign9's frustration but, being a hard-core simmer, I also hate arcadey "sims".

We're an exclusive lot. We like our sims to be realistic and immersive, and if that means going through the same frustrations that real skippers had to deal with, then that's a plus, not a minus. Our main problem with the initial version of SH5 was that it was too much like a game instead of a sim. The initial releases were like an arcade machine.

So we're a bit hostile to any suggestions about "dumbing it down".

Don't mistake that for hostility towards you though, Reign, it's just that we've all been trying to make it more realistic, not less. If that's not your type of game, that's fine. I have a bunch of games I play myself for a quick fix of action and I make no excuses for it, but this particular genre is where I go for that elusive "I'm pretty much there" feel.

[Captain_AJ]

I find it interesting that you feel like for days there is nothing . I know in my own expereance that I could be sailing around and find nothing and than a whole slew of ships show up on the hydrophone and off chasing them .. than Its is back to hydro hunting and the same old routine . I play at 100% settings and I usually travel on max tc 256 .. At one time I failed to pay attention to a my tc . and bam I was suddenly under attack by three british destroyers , and was sunk , because I failed to get under the surface in time -- end of story ..

I wouldnt be surprised that In real life that a U-boat had days of nothing and boredom .. I dont Know I wasnt there , But the sim seems to give that impresssion . Every sub simmer referances the movie Das Boat ,, Eveb the movie hows days without anything to sink for days and running around the patrol area without any contacts

[THE_MASK]

Watch this video , is it the game , pretty close .

[Captain_AJ]

Originally Posted by sober

Watch this video , is it the game , pretty close .

operation drumbeat !!