Best starting crew options?

[Wachtsseu]

Hey all,

Was just wondering... just started a new campaign and have the 1500 renown. Decided for an early start so not much to spend it on other than crew.

What's the best officer layout? What type of skills should I be looking for? How best to upgrade the petty officers?

Any tips for crew management?

Thanks.

[Maceaciadh]

personally i just max out the POs and officers straight away, i like to have one officer of each skill and add the others later on(or at the end of my first patrol with commander). so 1 WO,torpedo expert, machinist, repair man and a medic. helmsman is a pretty useless skill but its nice to have along with radioman and medic for completeness. my PO layout is usually close to 10 torpedo men, 2 machinists,2 repair men and 2 radio men(Plus whatever you want to fill the last guys out with). you dont really need a flak gunner, deck gunner or medic PO as higher officers fill those bars very well.

i do find that commander is a cheat sometimes because i can train the best crew in the entire german navy in just one patrol although crew transfers do help drop your crew to a normal level. also i hate fatigue so i turn it off but if you play normal then i would advise maxing out all your men. i tried having just enough men to fill quarters so they would always be rested(excluding maintenance crew like watchmen,engines etc ) however it can leave you short at times when you take damage with an inexperienced crew or wish to reload aft and fore of tubes

hope this helps you out

edit: oh yea and save the renown for a nice IXB when it comes out or a VIIC

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Maceaciadh

i do find that commander is a cheat sometimes because i can train the best crew in the entire german navy in just one patrol

In real life there is no such thing as an unqualified petty officer. That's what makes them POs, training in their field. Commander is not a cheat in that respect.

[The Dean]

As far as petty officers go, make sure you have a sonar guy asap. Two is better. If there's a higher ranking petty officer, he's your guy. After that, I usually have a one dedicated to the bridge crew, and from there I either make them machinists or torpedomen (in that order), you can't have too many of those guys.

[RConch]

For me it is:
2-Watch officers who are also machinists and flak
2-Helm officers who are also torpedomen and damage.

POs are watch(2), radio(2), torps(3), machinists(2), damage(2), medic(1).

Each person has their own-this works best for me. I drive a VIIC.

[Mau Fox]

Hi guys,

I like to have my starting crew composition as close as possibile to reality as we can read and learn here http://uboat.net/men/crew/.

Hence in my U-48 VIIB career I will always have:

4 officers:
LI: usually an Obrltn.s.z. with Repair and Machinist qualifications
IWO: usually an Obrltn.s.z. or a Ltnt.s.z. with Watch, Torpedo and Helm qualifications.
2WO: usually a Ltnt.s.z. or a Fanrich s.z. with Watch, Flak and deck gun qualifications.
NAV: usually a Fanrich s.z. ,even if it would be great that SH3 Commander would allow to "demote" this officer to a Chief Warrant PO as the Obersteuermann was usually a Chief PO, with Watch, usually he was the 3rd watch leader, and Helm qualifications.

Then, starting from the 3rd patrol, I use to take on board a junior officer on his first post training deployment. This one can be a IWO, a 2WO or a LI (I change to my desire his qualifications using SH3 Commander) with one or two qualifications according to his training duty.
I then dismiss this one after a couple of patrols or, if my feel "sparks" for him, I might decide to keep him on board for active duty.

14-16 POs.
Chief POs.
1 CPO acting as leader of the torpedo rooms with Torpedo and Repair qualifications (yes, I know that only one qualification works for POs but I am a hardcore realism seeker).
2 CPOs acting as leaders of the engines compartiment (Diesel Obermaschinist and Electro Obermaschinist) with Machine and Repair qualifications.
1 CPO acting as crew discipline leader and lookout leader (when I run surfaced w/out a watch officer on the bridge) with Watch and Helm qualifications.
1 CPO acting as Oberfunkmeister/Sanitätsmaat with Radio/Sonar and Medic qualifications (no medic officer on VII class boats, only on larger IX class). This comes straight from Das Boot movie

Other POs.
1 PO acting as Steuermann with Helm qualification.
1 PO acting as Funkmaat with Radio/Sonar qualification.
2 POs acting as Obermaschinist with Machine qualification.
3 POs acting as Torpedo Mecanikaermaat with Torpedo qualification.
1 PO acting as Repair team leader with Repair qualification.
1 PO acting as Flak gunner team leader.
1 PO acting as Deck gun team leader

Other ratings.
I usually start the Campaign with 4 Matr.haupt.gfrt. with the following qualifications:
1 Funkgast with Radio/Sonar qualification.
1 Artilleriemechaniker with deck gun qualification.
1 Torpedo Technisches with Torpedo qualification
1 Machine Technisches with Machine qualification.
Of course these won't works in the sim engine but are a nice eye-candy.
During the course of the career, these ones could be promoted to PO ranks.

As the career goes on I promote the other ratings up to Matr.Hpt.Gfrt. giving qualifications at my own taste.
For example I like to have another Funkgast, so that I always have a PO and a qualifitied rating in my Sonar/Radio rooms, some other Flak gunners when other AAMGs are implemented on the sub, another deck gunner in order to have a dedicated deck gun team, other torpedo, machine, repair and helm qualifications.

Greetings and good hunting!

Mau Fox

[Sailor Steve]

Very nice list! To my mind that's the way it should be done.

Also, WELCOME ABOARD!

[Raptor]

Get The SH3 Crew You Want by Default

By default, SH3 assigns your crew with default ranks and both number and type of qualifications. You then have to dismiss and/or add additional or replacement crew from the barracks by using your default 500 available renown. Since in real life, there was no such thing as a non-qualified officer or petty officer, why not start with what you want by default?

Edit /SilentHunterIII/data/Cfg/crew_config_boat type_#.cfg
Where Boat types = II, IX, VII, or XXI
Where # = 1, 2, or 3

Note that you will have to edit 12 files individually as SH3 defaults to 1, 2, or 3 depending on the war year in which you get your boat type.

YOU ONLY HAVE TO EDIT THESE FILES ONE TIME. After that, every career will start with these settings.


You will need to edit each crewman's GRADE, RANK, and QUALIFICATION(s) and perhaps the NuQUAL. Here are the keys:

GRADES:
Grade 0 = Matrosengefreiter (seaman)
Grade 1 = Matrosenobergefreiter (able seaman)
Grade 2 = Matrosenhauptgefreiter (leading seaman)
Grade 3 = Bootsmann
Grade 4 = Stabsbootsmann
Grade 5 = Stabsoberbootsmann
Grade 6 = Oberfähnrich
Grade 7 = Leutnant
Grade 8 = Oberleutnant
Grade 9 = Oberleutnant
Grade 10 = Oberleutnant
Grade 11 = Oberfähnrich
Grade 12 = Oberfähnrich




Note: Grade seems to have more effect than rank, and while you can make them different values for the same man, SH3 seems to like it best when they match, except for Oberfähnrich.

Therefore, here is what I use to get each rank where I want it:

Bootsmann: grade 3, rank 3
Stabsbootsmann: grade 4, rank 4
Stabsoberbootsmann: grade 5, rank 5
Oberfähnrich: grade 6, rank 11
Leutnant: grade 7, rank 7
Oberleutnant: grade 8, rank 8

RANKS:
Rank 0 = Matrosengefreiter (seaman)
Rank 1 = Matrosenobergefreiter (able seaman)
Rank 2 = Matrosenhauptgefreiter (leading seaman)
Rank 3 = Bootsmann (petty officer)
Rank 4 = Stabsbootsmann (chief petty officer)
Rank 5 = Stabsoberbootsmann (warrant officer)
Rank 6 = Oberfähnrich
Rank 7 = Leutnant
Rank 8 = Oberleutnant
Rank 9 = Oberleutnant
Rank 10 = Oberleutnant
Rank 11 = Oberfähnrich
Rank 12 = Oberfähnrich

QUALIFICATIONS:
0 = watchman
1 = gunner
2 = flak gunner
3 = radio (cannot be given to an officer)
4 = helmsman (non-functional in SH3; pure eye candy)
5 = mechanic
6 = torpedoman
7 = medic
8 = repair


Examples of edited file:

Officers:
[CREW_MEMBER_0] <= the bridge watch officer and my 2WO
Name=Ernst Bachmann
Index=5
NrComp=0
Type=2
Grad=7 <= SH3 default is 6
Renown=0.000000
Patrols=0
Morale=0.800000
Fatigue=0.000000
HealthStatus=0
HitPoints=14.000000
Experience=300
Rank=7 <= SH3 default
NrQual=3 <= SH3 default is 1 but I want him triple-qualified for watch & guns
Qualification0=0 <= SH3 default
Qualification1=8<= added for types II and XXI; for VII and IX, this is a 1 (gunner)
Qualification2=2 <= added to all types (flak dunner)

Note that by qualifying your Watch Officer for both deck and flak guns, you don't need to qualify a Petty Officer on same, freeing them for other quals you might like to have - like Repair. Late in the war, you can never have too many Repair guys!





PETTY OFFICER
[CREW_MEMBER_13]
Name=Otto Meier <= the default watch crew petty officer
Patrols=0
Type=1
Renown=21.000000
Grad=5 <= default is a 3 (Bootsmann); I want him more senior
Index=0
NrComp=0
Morale=0.700000
Fatigue=0.000000
HealthStatus=0
HitPoints=12.000000
Experience=100
Rank=5 <= early war default is a 0 (Bootsmann); I want him more senior (Bosun)
NrQual=1 <= SH3 default (may also be 0 unqualified)
Qualification0=0 <= SH3 default (default unqualified POs won't have this line)


Finding Crew Members in the file by Crew Member_number:

SH3 default for types VII, IX, and XXI.
The type II is unique; it does not have numbers 67, 99, or 100
SH3 defaults depending on boat type and war year. If these are Bootsmann (rank 0), they can be hard to find unless you know their crew member number or just watch for GRADE=3.

0 = watch crew officer /2WO
2 = chief engineer / L.I.
3 = Navigator
4 = weapons officer / IWO
13 = watch crew petty officer
17 = gunner
28 = sonar
33 = mechanic (diesel room)
34 = mechanic (diesel room)
35 = non-qualified petty officer (diesel room) 1941 - 1945
36 = non-qualified petty officer (diesel room) 1941 - 1945
53 = torpedoman (forward)
54 (torpedoman (forward)
55 = non-qualified petty officer (forward)
56 = non-qualified petty officer (forward)
57 = late war non-qualified petty officer (type IX_2 and IX_3) forward
58 = late war non-qualified petty officer (type IX_2 and IX_3) forward
67 = medic (not on a type II)
99 = torpedoman (stern) (not on a type II)
100 = non-qualified petty officer (stern) (not on a type II)

[Mau Fox]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Also, WELCOME ABOARD!

Thank you Sailor Steve for the welcoming!

[Woolfman]

Originally Posted by Wachtsseu

Hey all,

Was just wondering... just started a new campaign and have the 1500 renown. Decided for an early start so not much to spend it on other than crew.

What's the best officer layout? What type of skills should I be looking for? How best to upgrade the petty officers?

Any tips for crew management?

Thanks.

Here's another option:

After you start your career and leave port on your first patrol press the escape key and Dock right away!

Then go to the file cabinet and give your favorite officer a nice juicy qualification

Repeat as long as you want until you have what i call; a shake'n bake
crew!

good hunting

woolfman

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Woolfman

Here's another option:

After you start your career and leave port on your first patrol press the escape key and Dock right away!

Then go to the file cabinet and give your favorite officer a nice juicy qualification

Repeat as long as you want until you have what i call; a shake'n bake
crew!

good hunting

woolfman

That wastes a lot of time. With Commander you can do it once and then qualify everyone at once without spending any renown.

[troopie]

Originally Posted by Mau Fox

Hi guys,

I like to have my starting crew composition as close as possibile to reality as we can read and learn here http://uboat.net/men/crew/.

Hence in my U-48 VIIB career I will always have:

4 officers:
LI: usually an Obrltn.s.z. with Repair and Machinist qualifications
IWO: usually an Obrltn.s.z. or a Ltnt.s.z. with Watch, Torpedo and Helm qualifications.
2WO: usually a Ltnt.s.z. or a Fanrich s.z. with Watch, Flak and deck gun qualifications.
NAV: usually a Fanrich s.z. ,even if it would be great that SH3 Commander would allow to "demote" this officer to a Chief Warrant PO as the Obersteuermann was usually a Chief PO, with Watch, usually he was the 3rd watch leader, and Helm qualifications.

Then, starting from the 3rd patrol, I use to take on board a junior officer on his first post training deployment. This one can be a IWO, a 2WO or a LI (I change to my desire his qualifications using SH3 Commander) with one or two qualifications according to his training duty.
I then dismiss this one after a couple of patrols or, if my feel "sparks" for him, I might decide to keep him on board for active duty.

14-16 POs.
Chief POs.
1 CPO acting as leader of the torpedo rooms with Torpedo and Repair qualifications (yes, I know that only one qualification works for POs but I am a hardcore realism seeker).
2 CPOs acting as leaders of the engines compartiment (Diesel Obermaschinist and Electro Obermaschinist) with Machine and Repair qualifications.
1 CPO acting as crew discipline leader and lookout leader (when I run surfaced w/out a watch officer on the bridge) with Watch and Helm qualifications.
1 CPO acting as Oberfunkmeister/Sanitätsmaat with Radio/Sonar and Medic qualifications (no medic officer on VII class boats, only on larger IX class). This comes straight from Das Boot movie

Other POs.
1 PO acting as Steuermann with Helm qualification.
1 PO acting as Funkmaat with Radio/Sonar qualification.
2 POs acting as Obermaschinist with Machine qualification.
3 POs acting as Torpedo Mecanikaermaat with Torpedo qualification.
1 PO acting as Repair team leader with Repair qualification.
1 PO acting as Flak gunner team leader.
1 PO acting as Deck gun team leader

Other ratings.
I usually start the Campaign with 4 Matr.haupt.gfrt. with the following qualifications:
1 Funkgast with Radio/Sonar qualification.
1 Artilleriemechaniker with deck gun qualification.
1 Torpedo Technisches with Torpedo qualification
1 Machine Technisches with Machine qualification.
Of course these won't works in the sim engine but are a nice eye-candy.
During the course of the career, these ones could be promoted to PO ranks.

As the career goes on I promote the other ratings up to Matr.Hpt.Gfrt. giving qualifications at my own taste.
For example I like to have another Funkgast, so that I always have a PO and a qualifitied rating in my Sonar/Radio rooms, some other Flak gunners when other AAMGs are implemented on the sub, another deck gunner in order to have a dedicated deck gun team, other torpedo, machine, repair and helm qualifications.

Greetings and good hunting!

Mau Fox

Hey Mau Fox, you impressed Steve!

Nine work!

[Woolfman]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

That wastes a lot of time. With Commander you can do it once and then qualify everyone at once without spending any renown.

hehe!

I was only trying to be a wise guy!


woolfman

[RoaldLarsen]

I'm back after a nearly 3-year absence from the u-bootwaffe, and as always, I'm interested in playing with utmost realism.

Originally Posted by Raptor

... Since in real life, there was no such thing as a non-qualified officer or petty officer, why not start with what you want by default?

I doubt that freshly-promoted POs that have just received their qualification on paper, through passing a training program, are as effective in exercising their specialties as PO's who have a few patrols under their belts. Since the game gives a performance boost to POs and officers who have a qualification related to the compartment in which they are located, I prefer that this boost come only from the most experienced POs. IOW, I don't see the qualification designation being a specification of the PO's trade, but rather an indication that he is especially skilled in the trade. As you point out, every PO had a trade, but not every PO was exceptionally good at it. I suppose that one could simulate the perfomance boost that comes with experience by using only increase in grade/rank*. I find that with realistic sinking rates, growing performance through promotion takes too long.

Originally Posted by Mau Fox

Hi guys,

I like to have my starting crew composition as close as possibile to reality as we can read and learn here http://uboat.net/men/crew/.

Hence in my U-48 VIIB career I will always have:

4 officers:
LI: usually an Obrltn.s.z. with Repair and Machinist qualifications
IWO: usually an Obrltn.s.z. or a Ltnt.s.z. with Watch, Torpedo and Helm qualifications.
2WO: usually a Ltnt.s.z. or a Fanrich s.z. with Watch, Flak and deck gun qualifications.
NAV: usually a Fanrich s.z. ,even if it would be great that SH3 Commander would allow to "demote" this officer to a Chief Warrant PO as the Obersteuermann was usually a Chief PO, with Watch, usually he was the 3rd watch leader, and Helm qualifications.

Then, starting from the 3rd patrol, I use to take on board a junior officer on his first post training deployment. This one can be a IWO, a 2WO or a LI (I change to my desire his qualifications using SH3 Commander) with one or two qualifications according to his training duty.
I then dismiss this one after a couple of patrols or, if my feel "sparks" for him, I might decide to keep him on board for active duty.

14-16 POs.
Chief POs.
1 CPO acting as leader of the torpedo rooms with Torpedo and Repair qualifications (yes, I know that only one qualification works for POs but I am a hardcore realism seeker).
2 CPOs acting as leaders of the engines compartiment (Diesel Obermaschinist and Electro Obermaschinist) with Machine and Repair qualifications.
1 CPO acting as crew discipline leader and lookout leader (when I run surfaced w/out a watch officer on the bridge) with Watch and Helm qualifications.
1 CPO acting as Oberfunkmeister/Sanitätsmaat with Radio/Sonar and Medic qualifications (no medic officer on VII class boats, only on larger IX class). This comes straight from Das Boot movie

Other POs.
1 PO acting as Steuermann with Helm qualification.
1 PO acting as Funkmaat with Radio/Sonar qualification.
2 POs acting as Obermaschinist with Machine qualification.
3 POs acting as Torpedo Mecanikaermaat with Torpedo qualification.
1 PO acting as Repair team leader with Repair qualification.
1 PO acting as Flak gunner team leader.
1 PO acting as Deck gun team leader

That's almost exactly how I organize my crew, except that I don't start them with much more qualification than one gets from the default crew. I then grow their qualification towards this pattern as the crew gains experience.

Currently I am working on a number of different default crews of my own design to reflect the typical levels of training and exeprience in new crews common at different stages of the war.

Originally Posted by Mau Fox

Other ratings.
I usually start the Campaign with 4 Matr.haupt.gfrt. with the following qualifications:
1 Funkgast with Radio/Sonar qualification.
1 Artilleriemechaniker with deck gun qualification.
1 Torpedo Technisches with Torpedo qualification
1 Machine Technisches with Machine qualification.
Of course these won't works in the sim engine but are a nice eye-candy.

Hmm... this eye-candy could be helpful in my attempts to keep the same seamen in the same roles throughout the cruise / their careers. Thanks for the idea.

Originally Posted by Raptor

Get The SH3 Crew You Want by Default

By default, SH3 assigns your crew with default ranks and both number and type of qualifications. You then have to dismiss and/or add additional or replacement crew from the barracks by using your default 500 available renown. Since in real life, there was no such thing as a non-qualified officer or petty officer, why not start with what you want by default?

Edit /SilentHunterIII/data/Cfg/crew_config_boat type_#.cfg
Where Boat types = II, IX, VII, or XXI
Where # = 1, 2, or 3

Note that you will have to edit 12 files individually as SH3 defaults to 1, 2, or 3 depending on the war year in which you get your boat type.

Does anybody know how SH3 decides which of the three crew files to use? If it is by year, does anybody know which years use which files?

Originally Posted by Raptor

YOU ONLY HAVE TO EDIT THESE FILES ONE TIME. After that, every career will start with these settings.

Originally Posted by Raptor

You will need to edit each crewman's GRADE, RANK, and QUALIFICATION(s) and perhaps the NuQUAL. Here are the keys:

GRADES:
Grade 0 = Matrosengefreiter (seaman)
Grade 1 = Matrosenobergefreiter (able seaman)
Grade 2 = Matrosenhauptgefreiter (leading seaman)
Grade 3 = Bootsmann
Grade 4 = Stabsbootsmann
Grade 5 = Stabsoberbootsmann
Grade 6 = Oberfähnrich
Grade 7 = Leutnant
Grade 8 = Oberleutnant
Grade 9 = Oberleutnant
Grade 10 = Oberleutnant
Grade 11 = Oberfähnrich
Grade 12 = Oberfähnrich

...


RANKS:
Rank 0 = Matrosengefreiter (seaman)
Rank 1 = Matrosenobergefreiter (able seaman)
Rank 2 = Matrosenhauptgefreiter (leading seaman)
Rank 3 = Bootsmann (petty officer)
Rank 4 = Stabsbootsmann (chief petty officer)
Rank 5 = Stabsoberbootsmann (warrant officer)
Rank 6 = Oberfähnrich
Rank 7 = Leutnant
Rank 8 = Oberleutnant
Rank 9 = Oberleutnant
Rank 10 = Oberleutnant
Rank 11 = Oberfähnrich
Rank 12 = Oberfähnrich

...


Note: Grade seems to have more effect than rank, and while you can make them different values for the same man, SH3 seems to like it best when they match, except for Oberfähnrich.

Therefore, here is what I use to get each rank where I want it:

Bootsmann: grade 3, rank 0
...
Oberfähnrich: grade 6, rank 11

Why don't you match grade number to rank number for these two?


Keep in mind that TYPE indicates whether the crewman is an officer, petty officer or seaman. If you change a crewman from one of grades/ranks 0, 1 or 2 to one of 3, 4 or 5, you have to change type from 0 to 1. Don't change from types 0 or 1 to type 2, or vice-versa. Don't change a grade or rank of 0-5 to higher than 5, or a grade/rank of 6 or higher to 5 or lower.


* Does anybody know why SH3 has both RANK and GRADE, and what it uses each for?

[Raptor]

Bootsmann: grade 3, rank 0
...
Oberfähnrich: grade 6, rank 11Why don't you match grade number to rank number for these two?

OOps. My typing error for the Bootsman. Grade and Rank should both be 3. I have corrected my post accordingly. Thanks for catching that.

Oberfähnrich pairing is the way SH3 designates him by default. It works, so I leave it that way.


and yes, TYPE does matter. As you point out, Type=0 is a seaman; TYPE=1 is a petty officer; TYPE=2 is an officer by default. If you are editing the .cfg files to change a given crewman's rank and/or quals, be sure you use the correct TYPE value. To change a seaman (Type=0) to a Petty Officer, change the 0 to a 1, change NrQual from 0 to 1, and then add the desired Qual line (Qualification0=x) to the file.



SH3 appears to choose which of the three sub type files to use based on your starting choices for the war year and flotilla in which you start. I know from experience that 1939 and 1940 use II_1.cfg, VII_1 .cfg, or IX_1.cfg. I believe 1941 sees the _2.cfg used. You could experiment like I did to find out the precise switch point. I suspect that it is hard-coded and therefore not editable. SH3 has some screwy logic in its coding.