Confession: I switched back to Metric

[NefariousKoel]

I know, it's painful but I did it.

I finally had the guts to drop the last bulwark preventing me from full realism - map contacts. I could easily do it with Imperial since I've had practice adjusting the Stadimeter to get closer to a real range estimation, but I'm just more comfortable on full realism knowing that I'm not guessing on how far down the masts I have to go. I really want Imperial but I can wait for it to be fixed. Especially since my first Career sinking went down in record time due to my 2 fish hitting in the exact same spot almost exactly where I was aiming (my AoB guesstimates are pretty damn good these days).

Anyone else switch back for accuracy or am I the only party pooper?

[DirtyHarry3033]

I'm pretty close to it. As a "Worthless American" I was born and bred on Imperial units, and comfortable with them, and certainly it is correct for the game.

I started out SH4 with v1.1, manual TDC and Imperial, and pretty much couldn't hit the broad side of a barn except thru pure chance. So I went to the auto-TDC crap

But I'm wanting desperately to do manual plots. Spent the last 2 days making various whiz-wheels in the hopes that one day it will be fixed.

But if the metric-imperial conversions are screwed, guess I won't have a choice but to go metric, huh? And wait until it's fixed before I use the wheels..

I hope that when (if) we get another patch, they'll get the conversions sorted out, and display everything in Imperial. Especially the deck gun, so I don't have to waste time trying to mentally convert yards to meters.

DH

[Ducimus]

Ive been considering it myself for 3 reaons.

- Metric to English (imperial) conversions isnt correct,

- The Game is inheirantly a metric game. From the game files to the gameplay. Not everything gets converted, accurate conversion or not.

- after a couple years of using metric in Sh3, im just used to it.

The metric conversions alone are a big peeve, and to be honest id sooner switch to the autoTDC then switch to metric in SH4 , but im slowly giving in. I think the main reason i dont right now is because the idea of having my depth read to me in meters rather then feet is...well.. just blah.. blah i say, blah!

[NefariousKoel]

Yeah, it's blah for me too, but until they fix the Stadimeter range to Imperial .. well.. I got enough factors throwing off my solution and I don't need a technicality adding to it.

I'm having faith it'll be fixed so I can go back to my motherlovin' Feet!

[froschman]

For an european like me it is good to be able to switch to the metric system. As a professional engineer I am used to do my calculations in metric and avoid the many odd factors in the imperial system.

[joea]

Jeeez can you imgaine in 2005 if some folks asked for imperial units as an option in SH3?????

The USN used imperial, full stop.

The KM used metric, full stop.

It should not have been an option period, and if it's wonky it should be fixed.

[Egan]

I'm still using Imperial. I considered going back to metric as well, given the possible bugs in it but since I've had no troubles what so ever I just stuck with it. To be honest, I doubt that I would have noticed any problems with measurement in the tdc if other people hadn't spoken up. I'm using full manual targetting and my hit rate is about 90% but i can understand if people are put of by this bug - it does seem to be one of those little but fundamental ones.

[joea]

Ah well as I posted here: http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...d=1#post529621


I just am like this guy sometimes:

[Hitman]

I play with metric just because I know it is more error-free than imperial, but since my method for manual targeting does not involve measuring and plotting on the chart, I almost never notice I'm playing metric. Only when taking the ship's length for speed can I notice it, but normally I make an estimate and then fiddle a bit with the position keeper instead of using the stopwatch, so it's only on rare ocasions I see I'm using different measurement units than intended. Anyway, despite being european and well used to metric, I never had problems using imperial, probably because my first real sim was SH1 and I got much used to it quickly.

[Mudrik]

Being a child of the 60's (well just about), I have grown up with both imperial and metric. Here in the UK:-

My own weight is always in stones.
My distance is always in miles but when asked for directions it is always "100 metres down to the right".
When I am doing DIY I measure in cms and metres, understand feet and inches to a point but am hopeless at converting.
When cooking I can use both grammes and ounces but again, struggle to convert.
As a kid the temperature was always in fahrenheit but now I only understand celsius.
My car does x miles to the gallon but I have to buy my petrol in litres.
In a pub the beer comes in pints but the spirits come in ml.
You can still buy cheese and meat in pounds and ounces.
A newcorn child is always measured in pounds and ounces.
When buying carpet it is usually sold by the yard.

It is not helped by the way the UK works. No-one seems to have yet settled on which system to use and it could be generations until we are all finally talking in metric.

I guess what I'm trying to say is well done to all you guys who can pick and choose which standard to use, I wish I could.

[BBury]

Originally Posted by Mudrik

Being a child of the 60's (well just about), I have grown up with both imperial and metric. Here in the UK:-

My own weight is always in stones.
My distance is always in miles but when asked for directions it is always "100 metres down to the right".
When I am doing DIY I measure in cms and metres, understand feet and inches to a point but am hopeless at converting.
When cooking I can use both grammes and ounces but again, struggle to convert.
As a kid the temperature was always in fahrenheit but now I only understand celsius.
My car does x miles to the gallon but I have to buy my petrol in litres.
In a pub the beer comes in pints but the spirits come in ml.
You can still buy cheese and meat in pounds and ounces.
A newcorn child is always measured in pounds and ounces.
When buying carpet it is usually sold by the yard.

It is not helped by the way the UK works. No-one seems to have yet settled on which system to use and it could be generations until we are all finally talking in metric.

I guess what I'm trying to say is well done to all you guys who can pick and choose which standard to use, I wish I could.

That's because after the GPS constellation was up and accurate measurements of the earth could be taken, they found that the metric scale was off. Yes, it's still based on tens but a meter is an arbitrary value. The nice thing about the Nautical scale is it's based on time/degrees which makes time,spead and distance calculations easier. There is no metric time.

[Argus00]

I was born in Romania (metric), spent 8 years in the US (imperial), came back to Romania - metric again.

Frankly, I have no problem with either system. I'm used to doing my calculations in metric, but occasionally I had to go imperial for some contracts with foreign (US, UK, other) firms.

For historical accuracy, in SH3 I went metric, in SH4 I'm going imperial.

[Bilge_Rat]

I am still using Imperial, since it does not feel right using metric in the 40's U.S. Navy.

In my case, using Imperial has had no impact on my shooting, by using the various tools available (i.e. Hitman's guide to determine AOB, 3 min. rule to determine speed, Krupp's rec. manual, 360 plotting wheel), I am getting close to a 100% hit ratio as long as I dont shoot over 1,000 yds.

On the whole imperial/meters feature/bug, I still have problems figuring it out the correct answer, if the game reads yards as meters and all distances are off about 10%, the PK should also give us a speed which is off since it is based on the wrong distance (elementary TMA 101), so wrong distance/speed, when shooting at a target 100-150 yds long which is 1,000+ yds away should result in a large percentage of misses.

However, as noted above I am getting 90-100% hit ratio at 1,000 yds when the correct Imperial range/AOB/speed are fed into the PK, so something does not add up, since I always measure range from the top of the mast as stated in the manual.

The manual states that the measurements on the NAV map have a "fudge" factor built in to simulate RL 1940's conditions, I am wondering if this might not be the answer.

[dkbos]

I'm so confused at this point that I may just go back to manual. After reading so many threads about this I'm not even sure what the issues are any more... conversion within the game? rec. manual errors? Stadimeter displays meters? It's a headache, and for me at least takes a great deal away from the game play.

I had to upgrade my video card and RAM just to get SH4 to run. The upside being SH3 runs like a freaking dream now. I'm playing it more than SH4.

[Bilge_Rat]

dkbos, just find a method that works for you and stick with it, SUBSIM forum members (myself included) are notorious for arguing about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin...