Mini update Wolves of the Kaiser: 1914 - 1918, 08/13/2023:
Another major step forward - anti-submarine sensor and weapons values are nearly done! It took MUCH less time than I thought it would, so this is great news.
A few notes:
-For gameplay purposes I needed to keep in sonar, even though it was not used on WWI destroyers. Equipping DD's with just hydrophones (which the best WWI escorts DID have) results in non-aggressive escorts. I will remove the "ping" sound effects to make it seem like there is no sonar sensor.
-The best escorts WILL hunt you for a long time; I have read stories of WWI hunts that lasted for days. Early escorts (1914-1915) will be more tentative, and will not have true depth charges. Only light "depth bombs" that are weak and inaccurate.
-I adjusted damage values and explosion radius for stock DC's. After multiple runs I think I have a great balance between playability and realism. There will not be pinpoint accurate DC drops; depth sensors on DCs will often be faulty (as they were in WWI). However, careless players (who run at high speeds underwater) will be destroyed quickly in 1917-1918.
-Shallow charges can be very deadly, in situations where you are taken by surprise.
-Underwater sensors can detect you at a much narrower aspect than in stock SH4. This helps make sure escorts are more persistent, and deliver longer/more challenging depth charge attacks.
-Subs will be destroyed fairly often but you have a fighting chance....I increased hitpoints while making minor damage more likely. I also modified files to make crew injuries much more likely. If you have time to hide, DC drops over time will usually damage your sub gradually. Damage is often manageable, but you will want some capable damage control staff. This is more historically accurate - depth charges usually sank subs with cumulative damage over several hours - not with "golden BB" accurate shots. It's very suspenseful moving your men around the compartments, dealing with injuries, and pumping out water.
-Usually, 2-3 destroyers will hunt you at a time. I ran many missions with about 6-8 M Class, K Class, and L Class destroyers hunting together, and they used pretty good tactics. One listening while two made coordinated runs, and the other 3-5 did not do any hunting and kept escorting their battleships.
-One thing in your favor is depth charge loadouts - in WWI even the best destroyers only had about 20-30 DC's by 1918. In 1916 some ships only had two. So if you run silent and deep, you can sometimes cause them to run out of charges.
I will be on vacation for a while, but will be posting again very soon.