Rescuing downed airmen
 

I was on patrol in the Bismarck Sea when radar picked up a large formation of Allied aircraft flying over. Subsequently I had blue survivors appear on the map.
Can I rescue them? Am I supposed to? I pulled alongside one of them. used the binoculars on them but the button to press to rescue them doesn't light up.
I'm not on lifeguard duty, just the usual "patrol this spot for 5 days".

My memory tells me you should be able to pick-up any Allied pilot anywhere, anytime - but I might be remembering that wrong. You just do not get any credit for rescuing them, unless you have a mission assignment, and are inside the designated area. You do get the renown points though. When you went to pick the pilot up, were you on the bridge, with the bridge menu below, put the binoculars on the pilot, such that the cross-hair turns from yellow to red, and then press the "Lifesaver" button on the menu, while the cross-hair is red? It is easier to do over the bow, with slower, less boat movement, than over the side, with all of the rocking... ??

Yes to all that, but the cross hairs never turned red. Plus it's hard to keep the cross hairs on target due to the rough seas.

Edit to add that I got that red smoke patch too, but... oh well.

+1 on what PB posted.

one must use the binocs and not the UZT (or whatever it is called).
zoom-in to maximum.
find the downed flyer. center on him as if he was a target.
https://i.ibb.co/2jDxNZh/SH4-Img-202...-25-31-062.png

when you do the previous step properly, the visual cue(plus sign) takes on a red glow.
https://i.ibb.co/Hq1KxxS/SH4-Img-202...-35-03-536.png

you must slow down to under 3 knots AND have the bloke centered in your binocs AND then press the proper icon.
https://i.ibb.co/YWJ6yn2/SH4-Img-202...-35-59-296.png

and, yes, it is not so easy when the seas are rough.
i have armed a key for the throwing-the life-float so that when i have slowed the boat and centered the binocs (using the mouse), at the proper moment i can bang a key and the bloke is aboard.
it takes practice, my man. i believe there is Sub School mission in one (or more) of the mega-mods. Practice, practice, practice.:03:
:Kaleun_Salute:

I did neglect to mention the speed... You sometimes also have to get in closer than 500 yards distance, which is difficult to judge, since you cannot "target" the Survivor like a ship. However, when your crew tells you that they see him, you will see an icon on the NavMap, and that's when you are close enough to reach out and touch... :salute:


Edit: Here is a "TemporaryPatch_v17.7z" to get by with for now, but does NOT fix the CWC yet. It should - should I say I say - eliminate the CTD when using the modlet 802_TMO_torp_tex_FotRSU - Thanks to s7rikeback for the quick work! NOTE: This does NOT put the mod into your MODS folder, but rather places it in the Extras / AddInModzPak folder, where it ~should~ overwrite the existing version. You then drag it to your MODS folder for activation and use. Let us know ASAP of any other issues you might encounter. :salute:

Just rescued a bunch of downed B-25 crew, in daylight, whilst dodging marauding Jap air patrols! Exciting times!
Getting the crosshair to turn red is a bit finicky - for one raft I had to aim off to one side. I could only pick up about 4 of them though, couldn't find the other 2-3.

The rafts can end up "spilt", dumping the crew and sinking... This is not like the SpecOps raft that can dump upside down, and you can still see the "oar" trying to dig into the water, only grabbing air while the rower, still on the gunwale, is hanging upside down... lol

Key behind the graphic
 

Gents,

where do i find the command/keystroke that either drives the life-ring icon marked by the black arrow or vice versa, the command/keystroke that is driven by the icon?

https://i.ibb.co/fH0rnkd/SH4-Img-202...-22-05-026.png

There is

[Cmd352]
Name=Rescue_Survivors
Ctxt=1

But no keystroke associated with it, and I'm not certain if that is possible to do anyway... ??

Perhaps, using a "Alt+L" keystroke command... maybe... know that there are other... keystroke commands used... such as with Crash Dive, being hot linked to using "Cntrl+D"... "Cntrl+S" for fast surfacing.

Food for thought... :hmmm:

:Kaleun_Salute:

M. M.

If I understand your question correctly, there isn't a key command mapped to this function by default. You would have to use a program such as key mapper to assign a key to it yourself.

The problem with that button, just like with the Photo button, is that there must be a valid Objective for the button to activate. You might find information on the links by using Key Map Decoder, or the Key Map Utility that Zero Niner mentions, but I could not find it right away, and I do not remember its proper name to find it with... Anyway, that is the only way I know to find the "link", if there is one. Some of those buttons do not have anything associated with their function in the cmd.cfg file that is user accessible. A Rescue mission must have a "target" to rescue, and it must within a map zone. There must be an Objective to Lifeguard, and it must be assigned the map zone with the target, and have a valid number of pickups to perform. The Rescue also cannot be of an enemy.

:Kaleun_Cheers:

A shame that when they developed the sim/game, that they did not script it in... that rescuing or capturing (take your pick here... :yep:) an enemy, did not net some renown. But, that, is just another... failure on their part, as I see it. I know, not everyone will agree with that assessment & that's aces. To each their own.

:Kaleun_Salute:

M. M.

yeah, i am aware of this tool and also of jimimadrid's keymapper tool. thank you for confirming.

the problem i am running into is that in the past (FOTRSU) i have been able to arm a key to rescue survivors as a key makes it much easier to complete the drill.

however, with the current modset i am playing, when i arm a key, SH4 loads approx 75% before it CTD's. if i remove the key assignment, everything works.

and it does not matter what key i arm, the result is the same.

so, that makes me think that the actual command is hinky somewhere hidden.

here is the keyboard assignment entry, at least the last one i attempted to use, but i do not think this is the problem.

[Cmd352]
Name=Rescue_Survivors
Ctxt=1
Key0=0x6F,,"/"

this is why i asked about the HUD icon(s) because i think something is amiss behind the curtain....somewhere.