Minor frustration with missions

scalelokt · 04-19-07, 11:28 AM

Not posting to complain, just wondering if maybe I'm doing something wrong of if any of you have ideas for a better strategy.

SH4 is really shaping up and I'm having a lot of fun with it. My only real annoyance so far is with the missions, some of them seem inappropriate for the sub. For example, last night I played with a Gato class (huge sub) and my first mission was to take pictures of a Japanese harbor. Sounds fun. Problem is that in that sub it seemed incredibly difficult, I just couldnt pull it off after several attempts.

The reason was because for one thing, once you get close to Japan you have to crash dive from air attacks constantly. That sub is very slow to dive, and I took quite a beating before I even got to my destination. On my second attempt, I submerged for the entire day and only sailed at night. That worked out pretty well with the air attacks. Problem is when I got close to the harbor I was low on batteries due to all this diving to escape planes. On top of that, it seemed once I got in shallow waters these little patrol boats would find me submerged, even running at 2 knots. Once they found me they circled my position and soon after escorts came and killed me.

The third try went pretty much the same way, spent most of my time submerged and going at a snails pace dead quiet. Was never able to get to the port to take pictures before getting discovered, the escort traffic was so thick. It seems realistic to me, but I guess my problem is that in a smaller faster sub I think I could have pulled it off, but in that one it seemed like mission impossible. I wouldnt last a second on the surface near that port, and submerged the traffic is so thick I would always be discovered and killed.

So is it just a case of me not knowing about a better strategy? Or are the missions randomly assigned and sometimes you get stuck with one that your sub is really inappropriate for? Another thing I've noticed is patrolling the Marshall islands is one I get assigned a lot. So far there has never been anything there but friendlies. Am I missing something?

SteamWake · 04-19-07, 11:58 AM

I know this isnt much help but...

Try to get your batts charged to 100% while running surfaced at night.

Only run at very slow speeds while submerged 2 or 3 knots will greatly extend your battery life.

Lastly I have been assigned missions to photo recon areas which a quick glance at the map will reveal itself to be suicidal at best. In that case I just go out and sink stuff and ignore the orders.

The patrol boats usually wont "find" you while submerged unless there very lucky. Chances are someone / something spotted you and called them in.

AVGWarhawk · 04-19-07, 12:18 PM

Like SW said, submerge during the day. Run 2kts and battery will stay just fine. Run the surface at night. Go into the harbor at night and submerged. Attempt to come in either off to the right or left. Do not go down the center if you can avoid it. Click your shots and head out the same way you came in.

FAdmiral · 04-19-07, 01:26 PM

And nobody has mentioned mines or sub nets her either but they are in the game
and probably being used in all enemy major harbors. My thoughts are some
major harbors with shallow depths are just plain sucide to try. I have created a
single patrol where my sub has to go into Kagoshima harbor to sink the Yamato.
I picked that harbor because there is at least a deep water trench going into
the bay that contains the harbor. I am in the midst of testing it now to check
the survivability of completing the objective. I am using a Tambor sub and the
starting date is July 12, 1942 out of Midway. It is now July 28 and I am about
500 miles from the mouth of the bay. Patched to 1.2 with just a few small mods.

JIM

Quillan · 04-19-07, 02:43 PM

My first 1.2 mission is a photo recon of Osaka harbor. It's far inside narrow channels but at least has some deep water there in spots, so I'm going to give it a try. I'll find out how it goes tonight. I spent last night just getting there.

scalelokt · 04-19-07, 04:26 PM

Some good ideas guys, some new stuff for me to try anyway. Thanks for taking the time to respond

I know what you mean about the planes, they come straight for you every time. Maybe I will lower the probability of air strikes a bit like you suggested.... I like a good challenge, I dont even mind if the game is really hard. But taking port photos deep in enemy territory in this barge of a submarine is suicide. I was hoping the missions for the Gato class would be more of the convoy attack kind and less of the sneaking around (since it its so damn big and slow). From what I can tell the missions are randomly generated and it doesnt take into account what sub you have.....

I may end up ignoring orders and just going after the convoys when playing the Gato. So long as you rack up enough renown in kills is there any downside to not completing the mission objectives?

tycho102 · 04-19-07, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scalelokt

The reason was because for one thing, once you get close to Japan you have to crash dive from air attacks constantly.

On my second attempt, I submerged for the entire day and only sailed at night.

Problem is when I got close to the harbor I was low on batteries due to all this diving to escape planes.

On top of that, it seemed once I got in shallow waters these little patrol boats would find me submerged, even running at 2 knots.

If you have noticed, the air attack planes are always making a bee-line right for your boat. I figure the developers did this to save processing power from previous CAP (carrier-air-patrol) design. It used to be they were tracking aircraft as they patroled, all over the map. This is partially why SH3 was locked at 1024x compression. With the massive Pacific, they had to be able to get better time compression, so they stopped modeling actual patrols and just went to probability. I don't like it, but I understand why they did it. So, first off, edit your config file to reduce air attacks. If every one is going to be aimed right at you, then something else needs to give. The only thing that can give is probability.

You need to be crusing at 1-2 kts. 1 when you need to, 2 when possible.

The sub-chasers are a problem. You've got to slip through the patrols and it can be difficult as heck. In a Gato, you can run at 16 meters in calm water. This generally tends to be 2-3 meters above the floor in shallows.

Don't be afraid of using full or flank during your night run. You need to time your run into and out of the harbour so you are only submerged for the time you absolutely have to be. This may mean submerging at the outermost picket line to the harbour entrance and waiting for nightfall. Running slow (or deck awash) at dusk and fully flogged as soon as it gets dark.

You should be able to get in and out within 36 hours, spending only the full day (~12 hours) submerged, and the majority of that should be crusing at 1-2kts outbound.

04-19-07, 11:28 AM	#1
scalelokt Machinist's Mate Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: 400 meters to your right, calculating your speed Posts: 126 Downloads: 35 Uploads: 0	Minor frustration with missions Not posting to complain, just wondering if maybe I'm doing something wrong of if any of you have ideas for a better strategy. SH4 is really shaping up and I'm having a lot of fun with it. My only real annoyance so far is with the missions, some of them seem inappropriate for the sub. For example, last night I played with a Gato class (huge sub) and my first mission was to take pictures of a Japanese harbor. Sounds fun. Problem is that in that sub it seemed incredibly difficult, I just couldnt pull it off after several attempts. The reason was because for one thing, once you get close to Japan you have to crash dive from air attacks constantly. That sub is very slow to dive, and I took quite a beating before I even got to my destination. On my second attempt, I submerged for the entire day and only sailed at night. That worked out pretty well with the air attacks. Problem is when I got close to the harbor I was low on batteries due to all this diving to escape planes. On top of that, it seemed once I got in shallow waters these little patrol boats would find me submerged, even running at 2 knots. Once they found me they circled my position and soon after escorts came and killed me. The third try went pretty much the same way, spent most of my time submerged and going at a snails pace dead quiet. Was never able to get to the port to take pictures before getting discovered, the escort traffic was so thick. It seems realistic to me, but I guess my problem is that in a smaller faster sub I think I could have pulled it off, but in that one it seemed like mission impossible. I wouldnt last a second on the surface near that port, and submerged the traffic is so thick I would always be discovered and killed. So is it just a case of me not knowing about a better strategy? Or are the missions randomly assigned and sometimes you get stuck with one that your sub is really inappropriate for? Another thing I've noticed is patrolling the Marshall islands is one I get assigned a lot. So far there has never been anything there but friendlies. Am I missing something?

04-19-07, 12:18 PM	#3
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,253 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	Like SW said, submerge during the day. Run 2kts and battery will stay just fine. Run the surface at night. Go into the harbor at night and submerged. Attempt to come in either off to the right or left. Do not go down the center if you can avoid it. Click your shots and head out the same way you came in. __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

04-19-07, 01:26 PM	#4
FAdmiral Pacific Aces Dev Team Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Atlanta, GA, USA Posts: 1,079 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0	And nobody has mentioned mines or sub nets her either but they are in the game and probably being used in all enemy major harbors. My thoughts are some major harbors with shallow depths are just plain sucide to try. I have created a single patrol where my sub has to go into Kagoshima harbor to sink the Yamato. I picked that harbor because there is at least a deep water trench going into the bay that contains the harbor. I am in the midst of testing it now to check the survivability of completing the objective. I am using a Tambor sub and the starting date is July 12, 1942 out of Midway. It is now July 28 and I am about 500 miles from the mouth of the bay. Patched to 1.2 with just a few small mods. JIM __________________ If you\'re not taking losses, you\'re not doing enough. RAdm. Kelly Turner, USN ********************************** www.fairtax.org

04-19-07, 02:43 PM	#5
Quillan Samurai Navy Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 579 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	My first 1.2 mission is a photo recon of Osaka harbor. It's far inside narrow channels but at least has some deep water there in spots, so I'm going to give it a try. I'll find out how it goes tonight. I spent last night just getting there. __________________ We, the unwilling, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, for so long, with so little, that we are now qualified to do anything with nothing.

04-19-07, 11:58 AM	#2
SteamWake Rear Admiral Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 13,224 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	I know this isnt much help but... Try to get your batts charged to 100% while running surfaced at night. Only run at very slow speeds while submerged 2 or 3 knots will greatly extend your battery life. Lastly I have been assigned missions to photo recon areas which a quick glance at the map will reveal itself to be suicidal at best. In that case I just go out and sink stuff and ignore the orders. The patrol boats usually wont "find" you while submerged unless there very lucky. Chances are someone / something spotted you and called them in.

04-19-07, 04:26 PM	#6
scalelokt Machinist's Mate Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: 400 meters to your right, calculating your speed Posts: 126 Downloads: 35 Uploads: 0	Some good ideas guys, some new stuff for me to try anyway. Thanks for taking the time to respond I know what you mean about the planes, they come straight for you every time. Maybe I will lower the probability of air strikes a bit like you suggested.... I like a good challenge, I dont even mind if the game is really hard. But taking port photos deep in enemy territory in this barge of a submarine is suicide. I was hoping the missions for the Gato class would be more of the convoy attack kind and less of the sneaking around (since it its so damn big and slow). From what I can tell the missions are randomly generated and it doesnt take into account what sub you have..... I may end up ignoring orders and just going after the convoys when playing the Gato. So long as you rack up enough renown in kills is there any downside to not completing the mission objectives?