[REL] Trigger Maru Overhauled

[Ducimus]

http://forum.kickinbak.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1829

[donut]

Originally Posted by Ducimus

http://forum.kickinbak.com/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1829

If you have ever presented SH4 big picture you think I don't understand please link, or explain, only words. Thxs for your time.>donut

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by donut

If you have ever presented SH4 big picture you think I don't understand please link, or explain, only words. Thxs for your time.>donut

The thing is, im at work, and can't take the time to explain, and when i get home, my time is spent with my girlfriend, so again, time is short for me. So here is the terse version of "the big picture", as it relates to your dissatisfaction with deck weaponry.

First you have to look at, means and ends. One thing that effects alot of my design decisions is how much tonnage you can pull at the end of a patrol. 100K is not only unrealistic, but if someone pulls a 100K patrol sinking merchants in TMO with no modifcations to it, i as a modder should be ashamed of myself. Even 50K is unreasonable. 20 to 40K is my target range for a real good patrol. As historical accuracy goes, my aim is twofold, to make you as the player behave as a skipper would have, and to pull in reasonable tonnage scores at the end of a patrol.

The deck gun is a wildcard in this, because, as is, it can concievably double your tonnage score when used "properly" against the damage model. The damage model is a hybrid of sinking time, and hit point count. Shells remove hit points. Too many hitpoints removed per shell, target ship is removed from play too quickly and expediantly, upping tonnage to unreasonable levels, and also decreases your loiter time, which decreases the chance you will face airstrikes or tin cans directed to the vacinity by the contact. Now i have some options OTHER then reducing shell damage. they are:

1.) drastically decrease refire time. But i find this annoying, so i wont do it.

2.) change damage model to a pure sinking one and not one where hit points are in play. But i find waiting around a many hours for a ship to sink annoying as well so i won't do this.

3.) Decrease accuracy of the deck gun via sim.cfg. Trouble is, this will also decrease AI deck gun accuracy , so this is off the plate entirely.

4.) Increase hitpoints on shipping. Trouble is, this will also effected torpedo performance, so im replacing one rebalancing act with another.

Maybe this will give you some idea of the bigger picture. MANY things in the game interrelated or effect other areas in indirect ways. It's not like i made a bunch of adjustments because i thought they were cool and tossed them in. A supermod, is very much like a ball of yarn.

[donut]

Tonnage is an ego thing. Because of codeing of the game, it will never be a true simuation. I doubt our forfathers had much fun, & I agree "war is hell" ! But it should never sell in real life. Thus, you have been between the rock, & the hard place for to long. Your sweetheart is incentive to protect you from yourself, another driving force. Love intended, donut

[Rockin Robbins]

Originally Posted by sergei

In my experience that is correct.
If my crew spot a friendly we just sail on by, doesn't drop out of TC.
As for the hydrophone thing, I think that early war hydrophone combined with inexperienced crew will only hear a ship at about 8000 yards (ish! maybe less)
SO in daylight they'll see the contact long before they spot it.
At night I get about 50/50 between hydrophone and watch crew spotting contacts first.

Interestingly, I scanned the complete list of contacts for all submarines and all cruises and didn't come up with a single surface sonar contact as the first detection of any target or friendly.

[sergei]

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

Interestingly, I scanned the complete list of contacts for all submarines and all cruises and didn't come up with a single surface sonar contact as the first detection of any target or friendly.

Sorry RR could you clarify? Do you mean IRL or in game?
Reading it I think you mean in game. Hmmm, thinking about it, though my memory does not serve me too well these days, I seem to recall it happening in rough seas. Is it that my sub is dipping under the waves thus momentarily letting my sound crew hear the contact? That happened to me quite a few times in SH3.
I do know that when this happened to me I could go to the sound room myself and not be able to hear the contact, but often I could see it from the bridge.

[gutted]

not sure if this is specific to 1.7 or the 1.8 beta..

but how can i get the stock merchant names back? im too used to them to switch to japanese names now.

[I'm goin' down]

Now that I have got the mod installed, I have a couple of issues.

First this isn't an issue, but a story. The first couple of times I was spotted by destroyers, I tried to dive to 600 feet. Each time I thought depth charges sunk me. I thought I was in a Balao. Wrong. I was in a Gato. My mistake. If that is not the problem, let me know please.

Second and third times, I replayed the mission, I surfaced at 4400 yards and was spotted by the destroyers. What is a safe distance to surface. How far is the radious their radar search?

dds are really tough in this game. If this keeps up, I may have to downgrade the AI, per the instructions.

It looks like a great mod. Because of the hazard from the dds, it takes a long time to work through a mission.

[Ducimus]

I tried to dive to 600 feet. Each time I thought depth charges sunk me. I thought I was in a Balao. Wrong. I was in a Gato

Reaching Crush depth in TMO means just that, so its best to avoid being close to it. A Gato wont go to 600 feet, but not far from it.

I surfaced at 4400 yards and was spotted by the destroyers. What is a safe distance to surface.

That varies on:
- Time of day (light vs dark)
- sea conditions (rough vs calm)
- Fog conditions or lack thereof
- Your aspect to the destroyers (bows on vs broadside to them)

Just FYI, merchants cannot see as far as destroyers, which in turn cannot see as far as capital ships, which in turn cannot see as far as aircraft.

How far is the radious their radar search?

I don't have the files in front of me, but off the top of my head, 16 or 18 KM i think. You do have a radar detector upgrade (eventually) which can detect radar signals twice that range.

dds are really tough in this game.

Thats one of the better aspects of the mod. It's not what i would call, "atlantic tough", but its far tougher the stock, and (im guessing) harder then most mods. You'll have to unlearn all the bad habits you may have picked up in the past and be a bit more prudent.

[I'm goin' down]

Thanks for the information. You have really done your homework on this mod.

I have been under the sea at 450 feet in Convoy College in my Gato for two hours, and the dds are 3000 yds off. This is a really tough game. And sometimes the Nav Map fixes on ship locations aren't visible until the targets are fairly close, which adds to difficulty. I hit one out of fvie shots on a carrier at 1,000 yds, and missed a long shot at a following cruiser. I pegged the destroyers, which I was able to see on radar at a long ways off, travelling at 2300 kts. The carrier I pegged at 18.5 kts with one reading as it was closing fast. I must have been off on its speed, as I missed 4 O'Kane shots at 1,000 yds (I did not have time to verify the soluton on the Attack Map). However, the one torpedo hit the carrier right above its keel (a gorgeous hole, I might add.) The carrier listed but did not go down. I tried to swing north and get ahead of it, as I figured it had slowed down. That is when two dds spotted my boat, and I have been playing hid and seek ever since. Time to return to post after this 10 minute break.

Somebody bring me some coffee. It's going to be a long afternoon.

[Ducimus]

Originally Posted by gutted

how can i get the stock merchant names back?

If memory serves correct, file is:

/data/roster/names.cfg

Originally Posted by I'm goin' down

I have been under the sea at 450 feet in Convoy College in my Gato for two hours, and the dds are 3000 yds off. This is a really tough game.
...
Somebody bring me some coffee. It's going to be a long afternoon.

(insert evil, mischievous grin here)

[I'm goin' down]

I decided to take a break. My boat, a Gato, was plugging along was at 450 ft., and three dd's were +/-1,000 yds away, so I left the computer running. I was in the television room with some friends. After 15 minutes, someone asked, "What is that noise? It sound like bombs going off?" "Oh, its nothing," I replied.

(psst. It was destroyers still hunting my boat.)

[JalenTigh]

I just started using 1.7 .. two things... The "New Construction" starts are not showing up... have they been disableed?, and how is everyone diving to whatever depth? My depth gauge only goes to 165...

[sharkbit]

Welcome aboard!
Click the area just below your depth gauge-it will then change to the deep gauge.

Sorry, can't help you on your other question.

[sergei]

Originally Posted by JalenTigh

I just started using 1.7 .. two things... The "New Construction" starts are not showing up... have they been disableed?, and how is everyone diving to whatever depth? My depth gauge only goes to 165...

IIRC New construction is right down the bottom of the drop down menu (the one where you specify your start date)