Stories and Patrol Logs + Screenshots and Videos (merged)

[grislyatoms]

*As seen from one of the crew, in letters home*

I swear, Donna, the old man's butt cheeks are so tight, he could crack walnuts with them. Pressure tests. Timing us on dives from different speeds to different depths. Recording each and every sunset/sunrise at different lat/long. Dive drills. Surface drills. Endurance drills. I have had it with him!

Just let me at the Japs! There aren't any here, there won't be any [censored], I could throw a [censored] and hit [censored].

[in_vino_vomitus]

Originally Posted by Gryffon300

Hey, Vino, you old Sauce! Guess what, it fixed itself!


Gryff

Nice one - Mine is still misbehaving, which is a shame, I'll have to look into the updates thing....

Since this is a story thread I should say I started a RSRD campaign and just had a lulu of a shot. just south of Cam Ranh bay in early Dec '42. First patrol out.

Picked up a sonar contact at extreme range and thought it was a merchant - very low pitched and slow. Got a course and speed roughed out and an intercept plotted. Since it was done without radar or visual cues it was very rough indeed, but it got me ahead of the target. By the time I picked it up visually, my sonar operator had let me know it was a warship. long story short, it was a heavy cruiser. The light was bad and I didn't have a positive ID, but I used the SWAG system to estimate that a heavy cruiser is about 650 feet long and timed it through the crosshairs. It was altering course pretty constantly - anyway my TMA had given me 13 knots and SWAG had given me 10 so I split the difference at 11 1/2 knots and set up for DoK shot with a 20 degree lead angle. I decided to fire all four tubes in case of misses or duds. I set 1 & 3 to run deep and enabled the magnetic pistols.

The first one just barely clipped the bow, I suspect if I'd set it to contact it might not have, but the second hit right underneath the forward turret, and I suspect, set off the magazine, there were two big secondary explosions. the third hit under the bridge, but I suspect it was redundant. The fourth was a dud.

As luck would have it I saved it as a replay, so there's a chance I might get a screenshot or two yet. It's certainly fun sitting in front of the sub watching the fish launch. Oh for video capture software.....

[grislyatoms]

BTW, I LOVE your username!

[Gryffon300]

Originally Posted by in_vino_vomitus

Nice one - Mine is still misbehaving, which is a shame, I'll have to look into the updates thing....

Gosh, darn golly! I have to take it back, mine is back to the same problem again. I applied a new mod half way through the game (different smoke - which, like others, is supposed to be applicable while at sea). The last half of the mission shots have reverted to the 3 MB file size and are unopenable, so you won't get to see some truly wonderful shots. Rats.

Got any of that vino left? I feel like drowning some sorrows...

Gryff

[in_vino_vomitus]

That's interesting. I have a clean version installed, so I'll try with that and see what happens. I don't look forward to choosing between screenshots and a mod I like though.

On the subject of mods and damage multipliers, I read what you said elsewhere about sinking half of the IJN with four and a half torpedoes [ I confess, I may have my numbers wrong]. I've been using the fire damage mod, but lately have joined the Kriegsmarine, so the torpedoes aren't comparable. I will say though, that I've had a couple of merchants sink a long time after a single hit - One of them I watched, there was definitely flooding but it was settling very very slowly. I didn't time it and I'm pretty impatient, but I used a lot of TC before biting the bullet and firing one of my two remaining torpedoes. Imagine my language as I got the "Enemy Unit Destroyed" just as the fish was leaving the tube.


The second one of note was a merchant i fired two at [my last two] for one hit to the bow. It was burning, but it didn't stop and didn't appear to be settling in the water. I followed it on the surface [Type ii U-Boat - No deck gun] for a while, but it didn't look like it was sinking so I gave up and headed home. Shortly thereafter, I was notified of its demise.

Anyway, I'm happy to credit the fire damage mod, since the flooding I could see didn't seem to be doing the trick, but I have to say, it didn't seem in any way excessive or unrealistic - I have no idea what real life would have looked like, but it didn't break the fourth wall. Maybe you're getting too many hits. Have you thought about handicapping yourself in some way?


And Grisly' - if that was for me, Thanks

[c13Garrison]

((This patrol was the highlight of my un-modded career, which netted over a million tons, just missing 10x the tonnage of the next highest ranked skipper in that war.))

While Captain of the Balao in October of 1944 word was out that major Japanese units would be steaming towards our landings in the Philippines. I gave orders for us to set up off the coast north of those positions and sit tight.

We waited for 4 days, and I was beginning to worry I'd picked a bad spot. Just when I was about to bring us south closer to the beaches, what should hit our sonar but a massive return; not a trite convoy or task-force, but 30+ ships spread over a 10 mile front. Visuals revealed Yamato or Musashi was in the center.

I decided to just sit quiet, dive to 300, then go to periscope depth and shoot. I felt I was pretty well placed. With the range down to 7nm at night, I slowly went deep, engines still and at silent running. However, I wasn't savvy enough. As I passed 250 echo ranging started pinning me, and the depth charges started. They must have detected our malfunctioning surface search radar before I dove- or else they could see a twig on a log at 7 miles in the dark.


None of them felt close to my depth, but the problem was that we'd been detected. Now they would start zigzagging, and at least 5 destroyers seemed to be looking for us. I wasn't about to pass up this chance though. I ordered slow ahead to try to get a little distance from the circling hounds before I came back up.


I put about 1000 yards behind me, but then was worried I would be out of position to the oncoming behemoths in the center of the formation. I ordered back 1/3 and starboard rudder to maintain what I estimated to be the correct placement by dead reckoning off sonar and started back up. During our short scoot the inevitable had happened in the sprawling hive of chaos above. 30 ships traveling at high speed at night, with as many as 10 circling in subchase mode; a Takao class cruiser outright ran over the stern of a destroyer. I can't imagine the DD survived, but I never had the time to find out.


It was those extra 1000 yards that kicked the poodle. "Up scope." What do I see dead ahead but the Yamato...so close she filled the scope! I desperately tried to lock a solution - at 224 yards! At least that was the last number I saw as her main batteries swiftly rotated and depressed. With an 18" salvo blasting into the water and the eager echo ranging furiously closing again from the east I fired all 6 tubes and headed back for 300 feet. The track to target was ridiculously short, 10 seconds or so, ...and nothing happened. I checked the sonar track, and there they were- running well past Yamato. I realized what must have happened. The torpedoes, fired from 60 feet below the surface, hadn't had time to pitch up to 30' before they reached her. They harmlessly ran out, while I endured 2 hours of battering for my foolhardy hubris.


The denouement is no better. 14 hours later I was still nearby as the fleet made its escape. They were under air attack and were firing their main batteries SE at targets I could not see. 6 tubes fired at 6000 yards produced no better result. I can only assume the low-speed tracks were spotted by the many escorts and she altered course; I was well on my way down by the time they would have drawn near her.

That was the only time we spotted those ships from my service in the war, and all we got for it was a blistering headache. From that time on we were a lot more cautious. I wanted to get them all home at the end.

Captain Garrison Lloyd, USS Balao

[in_vino_vomitus]

Good story - It must have been a real kick in the teeth to miss from that distance, but there's nothing quite like surviving to get you over it

[Gryffon300]

Originally Posted by in_vino_vomitus

That's interesting. I have a clean version installed, so I'll try with that and see what happens. I don't look forward to choosing between screenshots and a mod I like though.

Maybe you're getting too many hits. Have you thought about handicapping yourself in some way?

Ok Vino (and other interested parties).

Re screenshot hangs; freezes and hang-ups; CTDs and unopenable BMP files: I have a possible work-around that adds another side-benefit.

I was looking for a utility that would work on Windows 7 (or 8) as well as my older XP that would easily and automatically close down background applications, processes and services and, importantly, be easy to switch them back on again when finished gaming. The idea is to reduce CPU and memory drag from background junk while you are playing, improving all round performance. Found one (thanks TorpX! - and Rockin Robbins!).

Seems to do everything I want, PLUS (and here is the kicker) it has both an image and video capture functionality! Ctrl-Alt-P for picture drops a nice little jpg into a SEPARATE folder (no more messing around in the game folder to retrieve! (Bonus!). So far, I like what I'm seeing. Worth a try. (Video hangs sometimes, but I'm not so fussed anyway.) I don't know if its permitted to link to it here, but I'm sure someone will advise if not...

http://www.razerzone.com/gamebooster

Good luck

Gryff

PS, as for handicapping myself, that's really not necessary - I find I am quite demented enough as is, thank you very much, and anything extra would be superfluous.

[in_vino_vomitus]

Nice1 Looks just what the doctor ordered

[in_vino_vomitus]

Excellent piece of gear - You're too far away for me to buy you a beer, but I'll definitely drink one for you :

[Gryffon300]

Originally Posted by in_vino_vomitus

Excellent piece of gear - You're too far away for me to buy you a beer, but I'll definitely drink one for you :

Thanks mate, here's right back at you!

(From the part of the planet you're from, you could make it a Duchy Originals Ale - downing a few of those actually made me think that there was something to Home Brews, and that certain members of the Royal Family were actually making a positive contribution to the world!!)

Cheers
Gryff

[in_vino_vomitus]

On the subject of home brewing - If you do it right, with malt and hops, rather than extracts, you can make better beer than many commercial breweries do - It can be tricky having 40 pints of beer, brewed to your exact taste, just lying around the house though....

As far as our esteemed Royal Family goes - They're German - of course they appreciate good beer

And because this is a story thread, I guess I'd better tell one. Having stepped back to 1939 and changed shirts, I found myself in a Type IX U-Boat off the Portugese coast. Tracking a Southbound convoy, I was detected by the lead escort, the sea was fairly rough and I dived deep and I found that at 500', they couldn't detect me. So I went to 4 kts and headed for the convoy. It was a pretty big one, so there was still a lot of it left when I reached its track. I came to periscope depth, pretty much in the middle of them, and saw this as I passed 90 ft.....



Guess where my first torpedo went........

All in all I stayed under the convoy for a long time, I fired all my tubes, went deep, and matched their course. I was never detected. I managed to reload and come up for another attack. The only reason I didn't get huge tonnage was that although most of the torpedoes hit their targets, most of the hits failed to detonate

I made the mistake of saving whilst under the convoy, and subsequently was unable to reload - but after some experimentation, it seems that if there are a lot of ships in the vicinity, the best thing to do is get clear of them before saving - any saved game in proximity to the convoy crashed the game when reloaded - just like I did with the fourth wall there

The sinking dynamics in OM seem different - I have no idea what realistic looks like, but certainly they don't go down as quick. Thanks to the Game Booster software you pointed me at, I have these photos of a French freighter I met. I gave it two torpedoes, surfaced and finished it with the deck gun. It went down fairly quickly [about 15 mins], but I've had them take much longer.







Incidentally, one thing that amuses me is the difference in language between the event as it's happening and what goes in the log. Like those Edwardian gentlemen climbers "Mr Hartington-Smythe negotiated the overhang, with some difficulty and a few choice epithets...." In the case above, my "Tracking a Southbound convoy, I was detected by the lead escort" - would have been more like:

"Captain, he's spotted us."

"Don't panic Number One, we're well outside his visual range"

"Have you been in the medicine chest!!? Look at that bow wave - You think the Captain just decided to try out his water skis? - pointed at us?

"That's a very good point Number One - Crash dive!!"

Obviously the choicest epithets have been omitted for reasons of public decency. I'm guessing that I'm not the only one who has conversations like this with themselves when making decisions. Given the decisions I'm given to making, my imaginary First Lieutenant tends towards insubordination - on the premise that a Court Martial is preferable to a memorial service.....

[c13Garrison]

*while sipping his morning coffee, he smiles...*

"See, you're not mad after all Captain."

"Shadd-up Mr. Biggles."

"Yes Sir."

*sips & smiles...*

[Gryffon300]

Originally Posted by in_vino_vomitus

On the subject of home brewing - If you do it right, with malt and hops, rather than extracts, you can make better beer than many commercial breweries do - It can be tricky having 40 pints of beer, brewed to your exact taste, just lying around the house though....

As far as our esteemed Royal Family goes - They're German - of course they appreciate good beer

and saw this as I passed 90 ft.....



Guess where my first torpedo went........

"That's a very good point Number One - Crash dive!!"

[/I]Obviously the choicest epithets have been omitted for reasons of public decency. I'm guessing that I'm not the only one who has conversations like this with themselves when making decisions.

Thanks. Sweeeet. And I thought I was the only one!

Gryff

[grislyatoms]

"At least that was the last number I saw as her main batteries swiftly rotated and depressed. With an 18" salvo blasting into the water"

That's the point when certain body parts shrivel and shrink!