[NeonSamurai]

NeonSamurai's most comonly asked questions from new players

Why do my torpedos keep bouncing off the ship?

Well a couple of possible reasons, first your torpedo needs to travel a absolute minimum of 250 meters to arm itself (good rule of thumb is never shoot closer then 300m). Second for impact or impact/magnetic torpedoes (Torpedoes set to magnetic can still act as impact torpedoes) the torpedo head needs to strike a flat surface nearly head on to detonate (roughly between 70-120 degees), also this applies in the vertical as well as horrizontal, if the slope is too shallow the torpedo will bounce every time. Keep in mind that ships are not box shaped under water, they curve in many places, towards the rudder, and underneath towards the keel. Also occasionaly you will run into dud torpedoes. With magnetic torpedos in stormy weather you can sometimes have the ship pitch down due to waves and have the torpedo bounce off the keel.


What is the best depth to use for magnetic torpedos?

Well this depends on 2 factors, the draft of the ship, and the weather. The rule of thumb i usualy use is 0.5m deeper then the ship's draft for clear weather (0-5m/s windspeed) 1m for moderate seas (5-10m/s wind) and 2m for heavy sea states. Though i will say that when the sea is realy rough (12 or better m/s wind) i usualy dont attempt magnetic shots as the ship's actual depth varries too much which will cause magnetics to either run under too deep, or bounce off the keel as much as they would detonate. Instead i usualy set the torpedo to impact running 2-3m deep.


Should i set up my attack differently when using impact vs magnetic?

There are some differences between an impact torpedo attack vs a magnetic one, With impact torpedoes you idealy want to be shooting at around 90 degrees AoB (from the side of the target) to give your torpedos the best chance of hitting something flat so they will detonate. The depth setting should be low enough in the water to cause flooding to the targeted section, but not too deep so that the torpedo doesnt bounce of the curve of the underside of the hull. With magnetics while you can attack from 90 degrees AoB its often better to attack at an angle off 90 to give the torpedo more time under the target, which increases its chance of realising its under a ship and detonating. See above for depth settings. Lastly when firing any torpedo idealy you want your torpedo to go straight out from the tube and not have to turn to hit the target. The more the torpedo has to turn, the more inacurate the hit calculation becomes because the calculations are done as a straight line, not as a curved path. Also always open your torpedo doors first before shooting, otherwise the torpedo uses the settings from the moment you press fire, but doesnt actualy launch till a few seconds later.


What is the best place to aim at on a ship when using torpedos?

This varries depening on if and what mods your using, but good places for impact torpedos are the engine room (typicaly right below the smoke stack, if there are multiple smoke stacks its usualy in the middle), and fuel bunker (usualy infront of the engine room). Also hitting the engine room has the added effect of typicaly bringing the ship to a dead stop. For magnetic torpedoes, either under the engine room, or right in the middle of the ship is usualy best.


What are the differences between Auto and Manual Targeting

Well pretty much 2 things, in auto the game does all the work for you, its practicaly just point and shoot. Also with impact torpedos when using auto targeting, if the torpedo hits a section of a ship that has a critical explosion chance, you will get a critical explosion each and every time vs a random chance with manual.


What exactly is Angle off Bow (AoB)?

To put it simply, its the measurement of your bearing (180 degree left or right mesurement) from the perspective of the ship out to your Uboat. Imagine your standing on the bridge of the target ship looking out at your Uboat, the angle from the bow of the target ship your standing on to where your looking out at your uboat is the Angle off bow.


Why is there an option to turn off the weapon's officer in realism options?

Well the reason is many captains think he is a form of a cheat. The reason is he can provide firing solutions instantly, and pretty much perfectly. In otherwords he does his job waaaay to good. In reality the job of the weapons officer was primaraly to plot firing solutions, and imput data called out by the captain into the TDC. He also sometimes called out solutions when using the UZO for surface attacks. In SH3 he is either absolutly perfect, or if disabled near useless. On my uboat i typicaly leave his station unmanned the entire patrol.


What is crush depth, and how do i know when ive reached it?

Crush depth is the maximum depth the uboat can go before it starts to be crushed by sea pressure. The crush depth of a uboat varries depending on the type, model, and mod used. Fortunatly in SH3 your ship does NOT suddenly explode when you hit a magic number, you will get plenty of warning that your going too deep, both from your crew, and your sub starting to take damage. Also note that as your uboat gets damaged on patrol, your maximum safe diving depth will decrease based roughly on your uboat's structural integrity.


Do Destroyers ever run out of depth charges?

Yes they eventualy do, but be aware that a typical Destroyer with 2 depth charge racks and 4 K guns carries about 240 depth charges according to my research of the game's data files (which btw is not particularly realistic, 100 something was more typical).


What is the best way to avoid and evade Destroyers?

Well this depends on the situation, there is no magic rule or tactic you can apply that works every time. General rules of thumb are to submerge when spotted (you wont be able to out run a destroyer unless its damaged), use silent running, go deep, and limit your speed to 3 knots or lower unless your being depth charged at the moment. Try to sneak away from the destroyers.


What's the best way to evade depth charge attacks?

Most destroyers when doing a depth charge run will try to line up from behind you and drive along your path. This gives them the best chance of staying off your hydrophones (due to your own engine sounds) and have you running into their falling depth charges). The best methods to avoid this is to stay deep (gives you more time to get out of the way of the falling depth charges), change your depth as the charges fall. Go to flank speed, and turn hard left or right. After the depth charges stop exploding immediatly go back to ahead slow with silent running engaged and change your course. Also dont forget to use your own ears, when standing in the control room you can hear the sound of the destroyers and guess where they are coming from through the hull, use this to your advantage.


Why is my crew refusing to repair damage, or reload my torpedoes?

Well 2 likely reasons, 1 you are in silent running mode, when in silent running mode all noisy activities stop, that includes all repair efforts, and torpedo reloading. Or 2 You dont have enough crew assigned to do the job.