Few Basic Questions

[jakisdziad]

Hello, I have few basik questions to old sea wolfs. I'm playing German Campaign, IX-D2 U-Boat. Game version is 1.5, no mods installed.

1. Why I dont hear cracking sounds after target destroying, hydrophone is set to correct bearing, the green light is on and there is no sound of cracking ship.

2. Do slow gas torpedoes are harder to find by target crew, than medium or fast?

3. I like to manual (in battle map) firie torpedos, but the gauges (in manual input) are such not precise and I cant set correct values for bearing and BOW angle, there is any mod or option to make it more precise? Hard to do sniper shoots.

4. Same as question number 3 - the compass, I like to change movement vector by clicking on compass and choosing correct degree, but its almost impossible to click on the correct value. Any mod or solution (but no plot course) for that?

5. Do strong waves have any impact on torpedo depth? If ship draft is for ex. 10m and if I set torpedo depth to 9.5m, do strong waves can make me miss my target?

6. Any one can explain me, what the numbers means on the bearing gauge? Do it show the indirect value of tens for both sides?

7. How to operate more nicely IX-D2 U-Boat radar bearing wheel, it acts strange and its pain in the ass to set the correct degree.

8. Should I measure distance and angle from centre of my/enemy ship or from the ship bow, on maximal map zoom?

9. What mod could you recommend me to improve gameplay in matter of realism and new features. Tried Trigger Maru already but the mod is too big, only for US boats and slowing my PC, while vanilla works nice and smooth.

Thanks in advance for answering and best regards!

[jakisdziad]

Anyone?

[in_vino_vomitus]

I've never played the German campaign in stock so my answers might not be a lot of help. I have no idea why you don't get breakup noises - sorry. As for your other questions:

Steam torpedoes leave a wake at all speeds, therefore the longer they take to get to the target, the more time the target has to do something about them. Depending on the crew that might mean evasive action. I would use the fastest setting I could. i understand that the highest speed wasn't used as much because the engine was sometimes prone to failure at that speed, but in-game I've never noticed that. slow speed gives you longer range. if you're shooting from close range then shoot a fast torpedo.


If you like playing U-boats then the Op Monsun mod, and its companion OMEGU are probably a better bet. OMEGU includes the full KiUB setup in the periscope screen along with the AOB finder wheel. I have to say that manual shooting is pure joy with the German setup. The only advantage the US TDC has, is the mechanical position keeper, but the German gear is, I think easier to use. I may be wrong about this, but I think in the stock game, all of those controls are on the attack map screen. Certainly the periscope scratch pad isn't up to much

There's a mod out there which gives go bigger compass dials too - worth your time I'd say

Heavy seas are going to have an effect on torpedoes and also your target. it will be pitching up and down, so if you've set your depth to pass under the target, for a keel shot, there;s a chance that it will pass too far under and fail to detonate. German torpedoes had a depth problem similar to US torpedoes - they also had the exact opposite problem as US fish regarding track angle. German torpedoes hate acute angles where US fish love them. The track angle dial on the KiUB is something you need to pay attention to. I can't remember the exact figure, but if a torpedo is going to impact at 30 degrees or more, then I'd either not shoot, or send it deep and trust the magnetic exploder.

Edit - I didn't realise that you'd linked to an image - whoops! The bearing gauge you refer to is the relative bearing to the target. it can be set manually, but is usually slaved to the periscope - the numbers in the cutaway section refer to individual degrees and you only read the appropriate colour. The tick marks on the dial refer to tens of degrees - so if the needle is just past the first tick mark and in the window, you have a red 7 and a green 3, then the bearing to the target is either 13 starboard or 17 port - depending on whether the needle is in the port [red] section or the starboard [green] section. This is a different set up to the version I'm used to playing, so I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that my original answer was completely wrong.

I've never got to the stage where radar is fitted to my U-boat, but I imagine that it will be controlled in a similar manner to the sonar - with the home/end keys and the mouse wheel.

You don't have to be that exact measuring distance - I play with map contacts off and I get all my range and bearing info from the periscope - mind you the AOBF wheel is a huge help there, but realistically if you round off to the nearest 100m you ought to be fine. If you're taking a shot at extreme range then you really ought to be trying to make it a 90 degree track/zero gyro shot anyway, just to give yourself the biggest chance of a hit.

Recommended mods - from me would be OM and OMEGU - I can't praise them enough. It's true that they have a few bugs, but I think the gameplay more tham makes up for them - you would need to try them to make your own decision

I expect there will be errors in what I've said. I'm no expert, but I'm sure someone will be able to correct them

Welcome aboard

[jakisdziad]

Thank you for this exhausting answer!

[in_vino_vomitus]

Originally Posted by jakisdziad

Thank you for this exhausting answer!

I hope you meant exhaustive

[THEBERBSTER]

A warm welcome ‘jakisdziad’ to the Subsim family.

You will always find someone here to help you.

Link to my SH5 – SH4 posts:

Step By Step Tutorials & How To Do It

Also Included Are Some Useful Download Links

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=211804