Damn this IIA!

ryanwigginton · 02-12-08, 09:40 AM

I've completed 7 patrols now in GWX2.0/SH3Commander. 2 of them were hops from a refuelling base back to a home port. Everytime I get back I've been excited about getting the next sub but I've been stuck with this IIA since the start of the war. When does the next sub become available? I'm finding it tedious conserving every drop (at ahead 1/3 and diving whenever the batteries are charged) of fuel and still barely making it to my patrol grid and back.

Also I'm with 2nd Flotila at Kiel and I requested a transfer thinking this might shift me to Wilhelmshaven or some other start point where maybe a different sub was available, transfer was approved but I'm still starting from Kiel. The transfer seems to have had no impact whatsoever.

Got a brilliant crew now but just sick of this sub. And I have realistic career length selected in SH3Commander so I'm guessing, after 7 patrols, my times nearly up! Got 3k of renown and nothing to spend it on.

I forgot to check the date but I think it's around mid-November, '39.

trongey · 02-12-08, 10:06 AM

I had exactly the same experience in my first career: made the same transfer for the same reason; got stuck sailing out of Kiel. I finally got relocated to the French coast, but never did get the option of a new boat. I didn't have SHIII Commander yet so I finally just retired the guy after 13 patrols.

I began my next career in the 2nd Flotilla during 1940. I started that career in a IXB out of Lorient. What a difference it makes having enough ammo and fuel on board to actually accomplish something.

Tony

Hanomag · 02-12-08, 10:09 AM

Kaluen,

Since you are using SH3 why not start in a base with the IXB available in 39?? Many bases have different availablity dates on different models. I always pick 2nd Flotilla, starts in Wilhelmshaven then Lorient, it has a wide variety of boats as well.

GL and Happy Hunting!

PS the SH3 game manual also has a chart in it with boats and dates of availability etc.

3Jane · 02-12-08, 10:18 AM

Start in Willhelmshaven 39 with a VIIB. About five or six tours and you will be able to afford a IXB.

TomcatMVD · 02-12-08, 10:40 AM

I started at Willhelmshaven and only had to do two patrols on my type II to get a Type VIIB

flag4 · 02-12-08, 10:41 AM

it is now late jan in 1940, iam still in a TypeII, i have not gained enough renown to get the next-up boat, i am about 500 points short. my crew is good now and i am getting a little itchy, like yourself,f about the old duck.

could have done with a couple of stern shots on many occasion.

guess i aint quite hot enough stuff to get the next-up boat.

i tried switching to Kiel made no difference AND the Englanders are laying mines all over our neck of the woods - around Heligoland for eg.

i need a change soon because i dont want to make a frustrated mistake and get sent to the bottom just as my boys are coming round.

i sympathise with your pridicament Herr Kaleun, maybe its because we just aint ready yet to leave the pond !!

Pisces · 02-12-08, 11:04 AM

ryanwigginton:

I think with GWX you are supposed to go on-patrol as normal with your current uboot (or just sail to the new homebase if you don't want to risk your survival) when you have been approved for transfer to the new flotilla. And at the end of the patrol dock at the new homebase. Haven't tried it myself yet. Only hearsay

In stock SH3 you where magicaly transported there (or so I read in the forum's here), which depending on your viewpoint may not be realistic. Just the crew being transported by let's say train-transport across country to other bases would make sense. But if the currently assigned uboot also shows up at the new port, I would start to question reality. How did it get there all by itself?

siber · 02-12-08, 11:10 AM

I find that, with the Type IIA, you have to build up a couple of missions experience before transferring (with sub) to Wilhelmshaven. Here, you get a bit of extra range, which will take you to Scapa Flow and back on your engines only (select the most economical speed - 5kts - on the speed dial rather than selecting ahead 1/3 or ahead full etc.)

Then, when you've enough renown, trade up for a VIIB and you'll have a slightly more experienced crew too.

Question: When sailing from Kiel, are you using the Kiel canal? This saves a lot of fuel over sailing around Denmark, but is not available in stock SH3.

ryanwigginton · 02-12-08, 12:23 PM

Got the IIB! But still plotting courses around Denmark. The difference in range is vast, you can be half way to your patrol grid now and the fuel needles hardly left the top.

Just really have to stop sinking neutral ships though. I could have swore the last boat I sunk had a red flag with a small Union Flag in the top right corner! But it went down as neutral.

papa_smurf · 02-12-08, 12:31 PM

I usually start with the Type IIA in 1939 at Keil, and after aobut 2-3 patrols transfer to Willhelmshaven.

Elmer Kosterman · 02-13-08, 03:01 AM

By the way, I don't think one saves any fuel by travelling submerged. The batteries get charged with the diesel anyway and some energy gets lost in the process.

Sailor Steve · 02-13-08, 03:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elmer Kosterman

By the way, I don't think one saves any fuel by travelling submerged. The batteries get charged with the diesel anyway and some energy gets lost in the process.

I agree, but some have claimed that in SH3 the opposite is true; so much so that they explain how to do it in the game as if it really worked that way. Who knows?

Oh, and WELCOME ABOARD!

ryanwigginton · 02-13-08, 03:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elmer Kosterman

By the way, I don't think one saves any fuel by travelling submerged. The batteries get charged with the diesel anyway and some energy gets lost in the process.

It would be interesting to test. In the IIA, the way I figured it was by travelling with the battries on charge at ahead 1/3 you only lose one or two knots in speed. But when submerged and not using diesel at all your sub will do 4 knots at ahead 1/3. I guessed this more than makes up for the couple of knots lost while charging batteries. On this basis surely it's an economy. What I've not done is taken into account the distance you lose that one or two knots for (ie charge time). Not sure about different subs.

JScones · 02-13-08, 03:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryanwigginton

I've completed 7 patrols now in GWX2.0/SH3Commander. 2 of them were hops from a refuelling base back to a home port. Everytime I get back I've been excited about getting the next sub but I've been stuck with this IIA since the start of the war. When does the next sub become available? I'm finding it tedious conserving every drop (at ahead 1/3 and diving whenever the batteries are charged) of fuel and still barely making it to my patrol grid and back.

Also I'm with 2nd Flotila at Kiel and I requested a transfer thinking this might shift me to Wilhelmshaven or some other start point where maybe a different sub was available, transfer was approved but I'm still starting from Kiel. The transfer seems to have had no impact whatsoever.

Got a brilliant crew now but just sick of this sub. And I have realistic career length selected in SH3Commander so I'm guessing, after 7 patrols, my times nearly up! Got 3k of renown and nothing to spend it on.

I forgot to check the date but I think it's around mid-November, '39.

Do you have the "Use historic U-boat availability dates" option checked in SH3Cmdr? If so, your question will be answered very quickly by reading the SH3Cmdr Help file. If not, your question will be answered very quickly by reading the GWX manual (page 158). There's a pattern here.

Not sure why you have a Type II in 2 Flotilla though as GWX (thus SH3Cmdr) doesn't come configured this way. I guess you transferred there from 1 Flotilla at some point.

ryanwigginton · 02-13-08, 04:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JScones

Do you have the "Use historic U-boat availability dates" option checked in SH3Cmdr?

Yes.

I made a mistake in my first post I began in Kiel (not 2nd Flotilla right?).

And yes I should read manuals more, but as BT always said, 'It's good to talk (post)'!

02-12-08, 09:40 AM	#1
ryanwigginton Weps Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 368 Downloads: 68 Uploads: 0	Damn this IIA! I've completed 7 patrols now in GWX2.0/SH3Commander. 2 of them were hops from a refuelling base back to a home port. Everytime I get back I've been excited about getting the next sub but I've been stuck with this IIA since the start of the war. When does the next sub become available? I'm finding it tedious conserving every drop (at ahead 1/3 and diving whenever the batteries are charged) of fuel and still barely making it to my patrol grid and back. Also I'm with 2nd Flotila at Kiel and I requested a transfer thinking this might shift me to Wilhelmshaven or some other start point where maybe a different sub was available, transfer was approved but I'm still starting from Kiel. The transfer seems to have had no impact whatsoever. Got a brilliant crew now but just sick of this sub. And I have realistic career length selected in SH3Commander so I'm guessing, after 7 patrols, my times nearly up! Got 3k of renown and nothing to spend it on. I forgot to check the date but I think it's around mid-November, '39. __________________ Windows 8 Pro 64-bit, Intel Core i7-2760QM @ 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, AMD Radeon HD 6990M

02-12-08, 10:09 AM	#3
Hanomag Grey Wolf Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: LI NY Posts: 964 Downloads: 13 Uploads: 0	Kaluen, Since you are using SH3 why not start in a base with the IXB available in 39?? Many bases have different availablity dates on different models. I always pick 2nd Flotilla, starts in Wilhelmshaven then Lorient, it has a wide variety of boats as well. GL and Happy Hunting! PS the SH3 game manual also has a chart in it with boats and dates of availability etc. __________________ "Only if I can save first..."

02-12-08, 10:18 AM	#4
3Jane Ace of the Deep Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: York. Northern England. Posts: 1,004 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Start in Willhelmshaven 39 with a VIIB. About five or six tours and you will be able to afford a IXB. __________________ Fate opposes me in vitality and morality, forced ever onward, burdened, always in shackles. So this very moment, without tarrying, pluck the quivering strings. Because fate punishes the one who plays, all lament with me. (http://hosted.filefront.com/KatherineRowan) Last edited by 3Jane; 02-12-08 at 10:31 AM.

02-12-08, 10:40 AM	#5
TomcatMVD Weps Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: MVD, UY Posts: 359 Downloads: 7 Uploads: 0	I started at Willhelmshaven and only had to do two patrols on my type II to get a Type VIIB __________________

02-12-08, 10:41 AM	#6
flag4 Watch Officer Join Date: May 2007 Location: as far away as possible Posts: 1,625 Downloads: 147 Uploads: 0	it is now late jan in 1940, iam still in a TypeII, i have not gained enough renown to get the next-up boat, i am about 500 points short. my crew is good now and i am getting a little itchy, like yourself,f about the old duck. could have done with a couple of stern shots on many occasion. guess i aint quite hot enough stuff to get the next-up boat. i tried switching to Kiel made no difference AND the Englanders are laying mines all over our neck of the woods - around Heligoland for eg. i need a change soon because i dont want to make a frustrated mistake and get sent to the bottom just as my boys are coming round. i sympathise with your pridicament Herr Kaleun, maybe its because we just aint ready yet to leave the pond !! __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC] ' We are here on Earth to fart around. Don't let anybody tell you any different.' Kurt Vonnegut

02-12-08, 10:06 AM	#2
trongey A-ganger Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Oklahoma, USA Posts: 74 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I had exactly the same experience in my first career: made the same transfer for the same reason; got stuck sailing out of Kiel. I finally got relocated to the French coast, but never did get the option of a new boat. I didn't have SHIII Commander yet so I finally just retired the guy after 13 patrols. I began my next career in the 2nd Flotilla during 1940. I started that career in a IXB out of Lorient. What a difference it makes having enough ammo and fuel on board to actually accomplish something. Tony

02-12-08, 11:04 AM	#7
Pisces Silent Hunter Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: AN9771 Posts: 4,904 Downloads: 304 Uploads: 0	ryanwigginton: I think with GWX you are supposed to go on-patrol as normal with your current uboot (or just sail to the new homebase if you don't want to risk your survival) when you have been approved for transfer to the new flotilla. And at the end of the patrol dock at the new homebase. Haven't tried it myself yet. Only hearsay In stock SH3 you where magicaly transported there (or so I read in the forum's here), which depending on your viewpoint may not be realistic. Just the crew being transported by let's say train-transport across country to other bases would make sense. But if the currently assigned uboot also shows up at the new port, I would start to question reality. How did it get there all by itself?

02-12-08, 11:10 AM	#8
siber Planesman Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Salford, Manchester, UK Posts: 182 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	I find that, with the Type IIA, you have to build up a couple of missions experience before transferring (with sub) to Wilhelmshaven. Here, you get a bit of extra range, which will take you to Scapa Flow and back on your engines only (select the most economical speed - 5kts - on the speed dial rather than selecting ahead 1/3 or ahead full etc.) Then, when you've enough renown, trade up for a VIIB and you'll have a slightly more experienced crew too. Question: When sailing from Kiel, are you using the Kiel canal? This saves a lot of fuel over sailing around Denmark, but is not available in stock SH3. __________________ Using GWX 3.0 at 100% realism, OLC's 'Ubermod' & Torpdamagefinal

02-12-08, 12:23 PM	#9
ryanwigginton Weps Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 368 Downloads: 68 Uploads: 0	Got the IIB! But still plotting courses around Denmark. The difference in range is vast, you can be half way to your patrol grid now and the fuel needles hardly left the top. Just really have to stop sinking neutral ships though. I could have swore the last boat I sunk had a red flag with a small Union Flag in the top right corner! But it went down as neutral. __________________ Windows 8 Pro 64-bit, Intel Core i7-2760QM @ 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, AMD Radeon HD 6990M

02-12-08, 12:31 PM	#10
papa_smurf Ocean Warrior Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: High Peak, Derbyshire Posts: 2,851 Downloads: 33 Uploads: 0	I usually start with the Type IIA in 1939 at Keil, and after aobut 2-3 patrols transfer to Willhelmshaven. __________________

02-13-08, 03:01 AM	#11
Elmer Kosterman A-ganger Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: München Posts: 71 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	By the way, I don't think one saves any fuel by travelling submerged. The batteries get charged with the diesel anyway and some energy gets lost in the process.