Weapons Officer !

[Von Taticus]

After playing SH3 for sometime on 100% and having to determine my own AOB figures:hmm:. I noticed that that a weapons officer can be selected for a small drop in "realisum factor". I have several questions.

1. Did U boats have weapons officers and did they perform the task as modelled in SH3?

2. Is there a particular qualification that suits this post ... Like helmsman or torpedoman etc...?

3. My weapons officer has made mistakes (it seems) with some figures he reports. So I usually double check his figures before letting the fish go.

It seems to me that having a weapons officer would be more realistic that not. So why does the realisum percentage drop?

[RedMenace]

Hmm, not sure about any of yours questions, but I assume that in real life, it was the Weapons Officer who did the stuff the game expects you to do. I doubt the Kapitan had time to figure out solutions for himself, you'd need a man to do it for you. That man, I expect, was the WO.

With 100% realism, I've found that the WO is completely useless, and I mean COMPLETELY. I havn't found any use for him yet. I don't remember if you can with 100% realism, but he can check the range on a target. Problem is, he's so often wrong, that it STILL makes him useless.

[Phylacista]

I seldom use the weapons officer because of 3 reasons:

1. he is always 100% correct
2. he is way too quick. He can do the maths in 1s
3. he can identify ships when they are too far away to even make out if its a tanker or a DD


I really do not understand why you think he is wrong.
A common mistake when using the officer for torpedo shots is to not open tubes beforehand so torpedo passes behind ship
Another issue I am not sure about (becaus I seldom use him): After asking for his fire solution you may have to press the checkbox on the notepad to get the data into the TDC - I do it regulary when I am filling it with my own data - cant hurt anyway.

Give it a try and then tell me he is still not 100% correct and I would be most happy to use the mods you are using

Phyl

[Von Taticus]

if you deselect "No weapons officer assistance in the realism menu then the percentage drops to 94%.

Odd, considering that if in real life a WO is present that this would be considered in the games as less realistic.

At this setting the WO will indentify ships and determine range / aob and speed. when ordered to do so.

[Sailor Steve]

U-boats didn't have an officer specifically called a "Weapons Officer", but the 1WO (First Watch Officer, or Executive Officer on U.S. boats) backed up the captain during the attack. It would be extremely difficult in real life to make the calculations, set the Torpedo Data Computer and make rapid-fire changes all by yourself.

I agree, SHIII's WO is too quick and too accurate, but I use him anyway-it takes a few seconds to click his icon and ask for the solution, so that is extra time the scope is up, increasing your chance of being spotted. And I also agree that he shouldn't reduce the games 'realism'.

And no, you don't have to click the checkbox.

[Von Taticus]

Originally Posted by Phylacista

I really do not understand why you think he is wrong.
Phyl

I have ranges quoted as say 1200 yards, when the contact is clearly over 3000 yards away. I usually manually check and then correct the range. His AOB always seems good, as does his speed.

PS you don't need to click the tick to transfer the settings. (unless to manually change any settings)

i use GW 1.1a plus a couple of other mods. (fatigue, clock volume)