A simple feature that I really wish I had.

[riromero]

As a longtime SH3 player, I recently started SH4. I'm familiar with manual targeting from my SH3 days. Most of the targeting procedures work okay from a dead stop but I find that I almost always need to target while maneuvering. Here's one simple addition to these games that would make my life much easier. When I send the "mark" of bearing and distance to the TDC, wouldn't it also be nice to have the mark with a time-stamp transferred to the map simultaneously? It doesn't have to be the actual position of the target, just my imperfect, wave-tossed estimate. Now, if I'm maneuvering, I have to pause the game, go to the map and use a limited set of tools to plot the bearing, distance and time.

[BigWalleye]

That is a great idea, and once again one of those little chores that real-life skippers had a crew to do for them, in this case called the plotting party. I doubt that this feature will show up in a mod any time soon, since it probably involves getting into UberSoft's sacred source code. I understand that they threaten anyone who touches it with copyright violation.

[magic452]

Welcome to the boat mate.

And welcome to another boat also as there have been several who have expressed the same sort of thing.

Magic

[TorpX]

Yes, the shortcomings of the SH4 charts system, was the biggest disappointment I felt, when I first got the game. I had assumed this was something that would have been carefully thought out. Boy, was I wrong.


It is still better than what we had in SHCE, though. I would have to make plots on graph paper, do lots of squinting, drawing, measuring, and erasing. The best part was when I didn't rush my approach, and ran off the paper, requiring me to copy some of the points onto a new sheet of paper, to keep going. However, I'll admit, a successful torpedo attack, did provide a sense of accomplishment.

[fireftr18]

That's the main reason I don't use manual targeting (laziness is the other). I feel like the auto targeting is more realistic because the captain didn't do it by himself. I do wish that the developers did put in the ability to use manual while in auto targeting mode. When I do fire, I don't lock on, I like to use a spread.

[BigWalleye]

Manual targeting gives you NO help, even with things a real skipper delegated to his crew. Auto-targeting does way too much, and always does it perfectly (or so it appears). Ideally, the AI would assist you, and the quality of the assistance would depend on the experience of the crew, their fatigue level, etc, etc, etc. All this is perfectly within the capability of our PCs, but we'll probably never see it in our lifetime.

[TorpX]

Originally Posted by fireftr18

When I do fire, I don't lock on, I like to use a spread.

Can't you use the offset dial in auto mode?




I certainly would like a future SH to have a well designed crew plot as an option, but I'm not entirely sure I would use it. I've gotten used to doing it, and I think the game would become boring if the crew did everything they did in RL.

You can certainly play the game that way, but if it was designed around that concept, many stations in the game would be superfluous. You wouldn't need a sonar station (or sounds for it), radar station, deck gun, AA guns, or (GULP!) a TDC. The control room could despense with most of the instrumentation. Mainly, you would be hovering around the periscope in the conning tower, or on the bridge, or perhaps, in your cabin. Most everything else would be mere eye-candy.


I think most people want to turn the dials, see the blips on the screen, and operate the machinery themselves. In this way, you learn how the machinery operates, instead of just barking orders at a simulated crew.