Working backwards through your questions, there is a "Submarine Availability_16112021.pdf" under the Support \ExtraInfo folder that is just as inaccurate as the "BoatsByMonth.pdf" file. Both are from almost 2 years ago, and badly need updating. Most of the boat "upgrades" do not cost the player, unless they are offered early, which most are not. The boats were not discriminated against, favoring one over the other, and as they came back in from patrol were re-fitted with what was available. You cannot purchase boats, as you can in SH3, nor can you purchase conning towers, which is a definite disadvantage and a very short- short-coming of the SH4 game. The way it is laid out, if you come back in from patrol and "qualify" (score enough renown points) for a "re-fit" (a new conning tower -OR- new command), the game will ALWAYS offer the new boat first, whether it is truly available or not. It behooves the player to know when the Balao and Tench are actually "active" in the game prior to accepting a New Command, since that is the quickest way to becoming the Flying Dutchman, and ~never~ being allowed to come home and dock to end patrol. So, do NOT accept a Balao boat if it is prior to 1943-05-21, nor a Tench if it is prior to 1945-01-01, else that would be it for your game... ~THAT~ is a bug of the game, similarly to the S-Boats loading Mark 14 torpedoes.
As to the "unrequested" base transfer, that is a matter to take up with CNO Adm King, but be prepared for a keel-hauling as disciplinary action...
- The surviving, soon-to-be former Asiatic Fleet S-Boats were transferred to Brisbane effective April 15, 1942, to begin operations around Rabaul and other points in the new enemy territories of the Solomon and Bismarck Seas. There was also a contingent of six "freshly" overhauled S-42 Class boats (six of them) that came over from Panama with tender USS Griffin. There were supposed to be more S-Boats that came over, but were rejected as being un-fit for combat duty (
). None of the base transfers will be automatically sent to your boat. That is an impossibility in the game. It behooves the player to pay attention to normal radio traffic, because important information such as that is broadcast to all boats. You will usually get at least two messages, one saying "prepare to move", and the other saying "effective such-and-such a date" about the bases. You might also see "port facilities now available at..." messages, informing you of a base that can either be transferred to (if applicable), or at the least, be a fueling / re-arming location. If you're not careful, Christie will drag you before the review board, and give your boat to someone else...
Now, as to the "realism" of the battles... even with lurker_hlb3's (RSRDC) attempts at "accuracy" in routing, that will still fall short of "historical". The game is a one-track, one-trick pony, and can only do so many things at any one point in time. Actually, it can only do one thing at a time, just kind of rapidly. As such, a given group that is supposed to spawn at a given time on a given date might be several hours late due to the game. Routing is another oddity, in that the game is rather liberal with how closely it follows the modder's WayPoints used. Plus, if you throw in a random other grouping that happens to cross paths with the "scheduled" grouping, that throws the scheduled group off schedule even further. Plus, all of the "routing" of these groups, being somewhat based on history, all depend upon which charting map track the modder follows. With all of that in mind, the major groupings are generally there, but not precisely. You will find the Coral Sea Battle and the Battle of Midway in the Campaigns Campaign folder, but those are just two sets of "battle" files, and do not show the whole picture. The Milne transports are in the game, but of course, they do not make it very far. The cover group is there also, but all of the groupings "fake" the impetus behind their turning back, or the troop's abandonment in later movements. You can use
Naval History and Heritage Command's War, Conflicts & Operations section for WW2, and browse by year for a bit of "historic" background (the site is slow again this morning here), if desired. In the meantime, don't forget that it's a BIG ocean our there...
