Can't estimate accurate range by RAOBF

[Luken]

Hello, I'm newbe and was playing tutorial about RAOBF to figure this out, and I have one simple question... What am I doing wrong??



As you can see - optical mast height is exactly 8, real mast height is 41 m. If you will look at the RAOBF it will tell you that range is about 2100 m, but tutorial is keep saying that range is 1997 m. It's screwing my calculations of AoB greatly , and I have that inaccuracy with other ships in this tutorial as well (however sometimes it works better). Could someone help me and tell what am I doing wrong?

List of my mods:

[Captain_AJ]

One Thought

1. your caculations are correct

2 , the tutorial is scrpited it will be the same as anyone elses , it wil default to saying the same range

i THINK YOU ARE FINE , but iam in the sub school as well . I LOVE RAFOB ,, quick fast and complete '

[misha1967]

Originally Posted by Luken

Hello, I'm newbe and was playing tutorial about RAOBF to figure this out, and I have one simple question... What am I doing wrong??

To answer your question: You're not doing anything wrong, except you're not quite reading the RAOBF right.

If you look at the actual mast height (outer ring), you'll find that "41" is between the "40" tick and the next one, which is "42". So the result on the middle outer is actually 2050m.

I know, that's still not 1997.42m, but consider what you're using. The RAOBF is a device designed to give you a quick and adequate fix on a target, and getting within 50m on a target 2000m away isn't a bad result at all. Certainly good enough to start and even good enough to make a quick firing solution. At 2000m, you should probably think about salvo fire anyway. Again: This is trying to be realistic, it's a mechanical tool like a slide rule, not a GPS.

Also think about the one truly critical subjective observation you're using to determine the distance, which is the subjective height in graticules on the RAOBF. Yes, it certainly looks to be exactly 8, but how finely graded is that scale really? Also, is the target low in the water, bobbing on the water, is your baseline exactly at the waterline etc.

Here's another way to illustrate the historical limitations of the RAOBF: Reverse engineer a bit. What I mean is try it again, only this time rotate the inner middle (subjective height in "clicks" of mast) until the midpoint between "40" and "42" aligns perfectly with the "2000m" mark on the outer middle, since we have the luxury of knowing the exact distance to the target, which I'll round off to 2000m here since 2.5m really don't mean squat. See how little you have to change the subjective height (inner middle) to get that? If you'd looked at your RAOBF graticules and decided that the mast was about 8.2, for which there isn't an actual marking so you'd have to eyeball it, you'd be spot on? That's a perfect illustration of the built-in margins of human error.

All of those considerations are things you would have to compensate for in real life, which is what the RAOBF is simulating.

And still you get within 2.5% of the true distance to target. You've done pretty good for a "noob" if you ask me. Most real skippers would be proud to get within 5% at that distance. Aim amidships and you'd probably hit, but you've also learned why sub skippers were hesitant to fire at anything much farther than 1000m away.

So in this case, if it were in real life which is what we're trying to simulate here, you'd use that data to sketch up an initial firing solution in order to know where you'd need to be for the final shot and then, as the target closes, you'd make fresh readings and adjust, and each reading, because the distance would be less and less, would be more accurate.

That's how it worked in the real world and you're already off to a great start.

You've done good, "noob", just keep in mind that every tool here is based on what was available at the time, with all of the inaccuracies included.

Final piece of personal advice: Use the Stadimeter for distance. It's historically accurate and is much more precise and easy to use (at least in my opinion). Then use that distance for the rest. A good range fix is the foundation upon which every firing solution is based, and the RAOBF will take care of the rest admirably.

Happy Hunting!

[Trevally.]

Yes - you have made a good enough range est there and should hit the target with that

[Luken]

Originally Posted by misha1967

If you look at the actual mast height (outer ring), you'll find that "41" is between the "40" tick and the next one, which is "42". So the result on the middle outer is actually 2050m.

You are right, what a stupid mistake, my eyes need to get used to that thing yet . 2,5% error margin is a lot nicer.

I have one more question, I would like to play as manual and realistic as I can get, and question is - how much manual you can get? Is it possible to manual set a gyro angle for torpedos? And what mods (and targeting methods) would you recommend for the experience closest to heavily modded Silent Hunter 3 (I didn't play it but was watching some let's plays)?

[Magic1111]

@ Luken:

Welcome aboard!!!

[Luken]

I have one specific problem, that annoy the hell out of me. Church's SHV Keyboard Commands has clock and (moving) XO under the same key - L... is it possible to change that? I would uninstall that mod but it is included also in Stormy's DBSM mod, that I wanted to use... This is annoying as hell .

[Michael13]

Originally Posted by Luken

I have one specific problem, that annoy the hell out of me. Church's SHV Keyboard Commands has clock and (moving) XO under the same key - L... is it possible to change that? I would uninstall that mod but it is included also in Stormy's DBSM mod, that I wanted to use... This is annoying as hell .

You can change TDW keys (L for XO officer) in \data\Scripts\Menu\TheDarkWraithUserOptions.py
Just open it via notepad or use OptionsFileEditorViewer in Applications folder.
Changing DBSM keys (only via notepad i guess) in \data\cfg\Commands.cfg file.

Better uninstall mods before changing this files. Or change both in MODs and in main game folders.