Odd loading problem

[ImBatman]

It's been a few years since I've played. When I go to open the game (steam version with TWoS), the system just hangs on the desktop for upwards to 15-20 seconds before going to the initial loading screen. I can see the exe is open in task manager.

I can't remember if that is something it always did.

[ImBatman]

Rather than have two threads at the top of the list, I'll just ask this here:

I'm still on Coastal Waters in the campaign. I don't think I've ever made it past Happy Times and into the later part of the war when things are supposed to get really tough.

I've had a couple encounters with destroyers so far and they are abysmally bad. One had me dead to rights in shallow water, pinged and everything. Can't come close to hitting me with depth charges, dropping them in wrong place. He was able to keep reacquiring for several hours, I'll give him that. I finally broke contact just as two of his pals came in from who knows where (game simulating enemies calling for backup?)

I hope this is a case where they are intentionally bad this early, and will become deadly accurate as the war progresses, rather than a programming issue where they'll never be able to hit the broad side of a barn.

[michaeljcaboose9]

Originally Posted by ImBatman

Rather than have two threads at the top of the list, I'll just ask this here:

I'm still on Coastal Waters in the campaign. I don't think I've ever made it past Happy Times and into the later part of the war when things are supposed to get really tough.

I've had a couple encounters with destroyers so far and they are abysmally bad. One had me dead to rights in shallow water, pinged and everything. Can't come close to hitting me with depth charges, dropping them in wrong place. He was able to keep reacquiring for several hours, I'll give him that. I finally broke contact just as two of his pals came in from who knows where (game simulating enemies calling for backup?)

I hope this is a case where they are intentionally bad this early, and will become deadly accurate as the war progresses, rather than a programming issue where they'll never be able to hit the broad side of a barn.

Were you at the bottom near the sea floor? Its very hard for destroyers to find you because they can't tell you apart from the sea floor.



I almost died yesterday in shallow waters south of Ireland and was flooding and sinking until I hit the bottom. I managed to repair while the destroyers above made passes above hoping they would hit.

[ImBatman]

Originally Posted by michaeljcaboose9

Were you at the bottom near the sea floor? Its very hard for destroyers to find you because they can't tell you apart from the sea floor.



I almost died yesterday in shallow waters south of Ireland and was flooding and sinking until I hit the bottom. I managed to repair while the destroyers above made passes above hoping they would hit.

I didn't know that worked in this game! I was relatively close I suppose. I loaded up one of the historical missions from '42 and intentionally tried to get myself caught (full speed while submerged) and promptly got depth charged into oblivion.

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by ImBatman

I didn't know that worked in this game! I was relatively close I suppose. I loaded up one of the historical missions from '42 and intentionally tried to get myself caught (full speed while submerged) and promptly got depth charged into oblivion.

and that is the way things normally happen.

michaeljcaboose9's experience was "by chance" and not normal.

in previous releases of Silent Hunter, the sea bed does not affect the performance of the enemy's hydrophones, unlike real life.

in real life, the submarine world "discovered" this phenomenon while trying to evade attack. simulating that same effect with a game app like SH4 or 5 is totally different task altogether, and probably not worth the effort from Ubi's POV, as they would have had to program the entire sea bed to act a variable magnetic field, as it is in real life. the hydrophones in SH are not programmed to detect a submarine by magnetism, only by sound.

[ImBatman]

Originally Posted by KaleunMarco

and that is the way things normally happen.

michaeljcaboose9's experience was "by chance" and not normal.

in previous releases of Silent Hunter, the sea bed does not affect the performance of the enemy's hydrophones, unlike real life.

in real life, the submarine world "discovered" this phenomenon while trying to evade attack. simulating that same effect with a game app like SH4 or 5 is totally different task altogether, and probably not worth the effort from Ubi's POV, as they would have had to program the entire sea bed to act a variable magnetic field, as it is in real life. the hydrophones in SH are not programmed to detect a submarine by magnetism, only by sound.

So much for trying that tactic then.

The full speed run in '42 was in deep water, the goal being to see if the game makes enemy escorts perform better later in the war. In my campaign encounter ('39), the enemy destroyer was making his attacks about 150 m off target, while I was at 50 m depth. Of course, I was not trying to get caught like the '42 test.

It'll be quite anticlimactic if this type of poor performance continues later in the war.

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by ImBatman

So much for trying that tactic then.

The full speed run in '42 was in deep water, the goal being to see if the game makes enemy escorts perform better later in the war. In my campaign encounter ('39), the enemy destroyer was making his attacks about 150 m off target, while I was at 50 m depth. Of course, I was not trying to get caught like the '42 test.

It'll be quite anticlimactic if this type of poor performance continues later in the war.

it has been my experience that all SH escorts have greater skill as the war progresses.

i've been reading a 2023 book on John Walker, R.N., the Brit sub hunter. The author is relating experiences of the various convoys and missions that Walker was part of. The latest one in mid '43 has his team stalking a Uboat off the coast of Ireland and they close to within a mile or two before the Uboat dives. That's 2000 to 4000 yards/meters. If a SH player tried the same tactic, even at night, they would be heading to Davy Jones' locker within 30 seconds. the point is that no game/simulation can really provide the same experience as real life. 'nuff said.

BTW, i recommend the book.

[michaeljcaboose9]

Originally Posted by KaleunMarco

and that is the way things normally happen.

michaeljcaboose9's experience was "by chance" and not normal.

in previous releases of Silent Hunter, the sea bed does not affect the performance of the enemy's hydrophones, unlike real life.

in real life, the submarine world "discovered" this phenomenon while trying to evade attack. simulating that same effect with a game app like SH4 or 5 is totally different task altogether, and probably not worth the effort from Ubi's POV, as they would have had to program the entire sea bed to act a variable magnetic field, as it is in real life. the hydrophones in SH are not programmed to detect a submarine by magnetism, only by sound.

Maybe I misinterpreted, I was referring to being pinged by ASDIC not hydrophones. Of course if you are blazing away underwater you'll be heard. I still have not figured out if you can escape under a convoy after an attack.


So wait does the seabed trick not work against ASDIC either? In my situation before the DD's gave up they did ping me briefly but just left after, I got the impression it did work.