First Post

[CanuckBoat]

Gutentag Fellow U-Boat captains.

This is my first post so I'll make a brief introduction. I originally played SHIII when it first came up. I shelved it for a while (I had a career patrol where I ended with 21 ships sunk with a VIIB with 94% realism).

I just started again with GWX 1.03 and decided to make the plunge to 100% realism. I started a new career and I played part of my first patrol yesterday (1st September 1939, 2nd Flotilla, VIIB and managed to so far kill 2 tramp steamers). 1st kill was with a deck gun after I mistimed my approach and got discovered at night time. He turned his flood lights at me and I ordered the watach crew to start shooting. 2 shots from deck gun and she went down (didn't know deck guns were THAT deadly .... Must be a fluky shot). 2nd kill was a tramp steamer that was zigzagging. The sea was really choppy. I made a few marks and got on a course parallel and directly behind. Since I could not get a nice 90degree shot, I decide to fire one in the general direction in the hope. So... manual targetting with TDC settings of 0 degree bearing, 0degree AOB, Speed of 0 (basically POINT AND SHOOT). LOS! and waited patiently.... About lost all hope when a sudden "boom" and white wash of water covers the target. The crew starts cheering in German. The target doesn't stop right away. I tail it for a while until it comes to dead stop. Still too choppy to finish off with Deck Gun, so I use a point and shoot torpedo at 400 meters right into the bottom of the smoke stack. Ship goes down and I plot a course to get the bejesus out of there. Now I am off the west coast of Ireland (BE51).

Some obsevations/questions:
A) This is such a great game. It has everything. Trigonometry (what kind of real game does NOT have trig), big exploding objects, foreign immersion, historical accuracy.
B) AI in GWX is deadly now. The first time I tried it, I try to sneak along the English Channel. Dead to airplanes in a few minutes. Does anyone even try to go along the Channel now?
C) Air coverage really worrys me. Now most of the time, when I am in air coverage zone, I will not be on the surface during the day. I will stay submerged until at night then I came up to the surface to recharge my batteries. Do you guys do the same or do you risk surface running in the day time but keep the CRASH DIVE button handy? . I laughed about the SH3 Commander Air Markings Mod. Like I'm going to stay long enough to see those markings
D) How successful is having the VIIC/3 coning tower with full flak against planes? Can you get away with shooting down all enemy planes
E) 100% Realism makes this a totally different game. With 94% it was quite easy to sink ships. Just go to a spot and instantatneous firing solution. As long as enemy doesn't zig zag, you've got him. 100% means planning the attack and the withdrawal.
F) Any suggested RL reading on UBoat tactics? I want to see if I can utilize them.
G) How do you normally setup an attack? It would be cool to have different sitautions described as an extension of the "AN ATTACK ILLUSTRATED" post. In calm seas when I can, I try to be ahead and lie in waiting at around 700 meters to the target. Most of the time, my approach is detected. How far should I stay away in perfect day conditions? How about at night? Perhaps I need to learn more patience and shadow targets until at night and the surface and go closer and faster to setup for the shot.
H) Any advice on Crew Management and Specialization? Seems that Helmsman is not that useful so I transitioned to having 5 officers: 1 Watch, 1 Watch/Medic, 1 Machinst, 1Repair, 1 Helsmman.

Thanks a lot guys. This is a great forum and gives me ideas on how to enhance my game expereince further. Cheers (especially to GWX team for taking it to a WHOLE diffferent level).

[Lzs von swe]

Hello and welcome

B) I never go through the Channel nowadays, never
C) Early war, up to late -41 I might take my chances with enemy planes, but later I have my best watch crew on deck and dive as soon as they spot any enemy planes.
D) If you are attacked by fast flying Mozzies or a division of B-24´s you're not much better of with 3 quadruple flacks than a single flackzwilling, in my humble opinion.

[P_Funk]

The general way of attacking a convoy or a lone merchant is to find him, track his course, then get ahead of it and wait. From there a convoy attack becomes something of a personal art. How you approach and how you defeat the escort screen is a matter of style and skill and situation.

However evading escorts is basically as close to reality as it can get. Point your tail or bow at the escort to give him a smaller weaker sound profile, run at ahead slow and silent running. Try and keep your engine RPMs no higher than 100. Go ahead flank when he drops DCs on you and maneuver at no more than 10 degrees port or starboard. Dont run at ahead flank for long and cut power back to 1 or 2 knots and coast. You can also burst speed when you're in his baffles.

Oh and run deep. As deep as you dare. Thats the key.

Welcome aboard.

[Telgriff]

Welcome to the fold and kudos for 100% realism!

B) Channel? No chance. Now that I have GWX, shallow water of any kind scares me.

C) I am almost never above water during the day. Sometimes if the weather is appalling, or if in neutral areas, otherwise safely underwater during daylight hours.


G) So far I have found shadowing them and then moving into a firing position at night the best form of attack. Though I did find another method that while rather suicidal, has proved VERY effective for me. Moving in to attack a convoy and getting pinged, I crash dive to about 100m then surface to periscope depth just as the DD is passing over me, I fire at the convoy from almost directly behind the DD (or shoot the DD in the back) and then crash dive and hard turn either port or starboard. Provided you are fast enough to dodge the DC's, It was useful in confusing the other DD's to my location.

Like I said. Suicidal but I have had one or two occasions when armed trawlers have actually begun firing on the DD and damaging it quite severely, because it thought the DD was firing at it from my above strategy. Not recommended, as its extremely dangerous, but it seems to work for me. I sunk 4 Black Swans and a Flower class DD before I started taking damage from DC attacks using the above method of attack.

[ReallyDedPoet]

Welcome

[Brag]

LOL--Telgriff is nutz! :rotfl: :rotfl: . But if it works for him . . .

Besides reading the GWX manual, you may want to peek into my webbie, where I keep the accumulated widom of others and a bit of my experience.

Oh--I forgot to tell you where I've met my battleships. It was on BF 14. Same vicinity, both of them. (about 300 kms WSW of Land's End.)

[Telgriff]

Originally Posted by Brag

LOL--Telgriff is nutz! :rotfl: :rotfl: . But if it works for him . . .

Its worked so far, but I think I need to change tactics as my luck will only last so long. Though it is satisfying!

Compared to the pics from you insane kaleuns who JUMP ONTO the back of passing ships, running in the flanks of DD's seems almost sane! :rotfl:

[Umfuld]

Originally Posted by CanuckBoat

E) 100% Realism makes this a totally different game. With 94% it was quite easy to sink ships. Just go to a spot and instantatneous firing solution. As long as enemy doesn't zig zag, you've got him. 100% means planning the attack and the withdrawal.

I just switched from 94% to 100%. Such a change. I still don't know what I'm doing when I shoot, but from 800-900m it's tough to miss I guess.

Only 2 patrols at 100% so far and already I'm moving my boat a lot better.

So yeah, switching now, getting into GWX1.03 and some other great new mods, it's really a remarkable game to me now.

Oh, and welcome!

[Jimbuna]

Welcome aboard kaleun...enjoy the GWXperience

[Sailor Steve]

Welcome aboard...or has somebody already said that?

[_Seth_]

Guten tag, herr kaleun! Hier ist eine bier!