A few new ideas - Page 7

Fidd · 11-04-23, 10:20 PM

75. Difficulty setting - Escorts

Imagine there was a lobby setting which controlled how far away from the convoy escorts might spontaneously move, as well as the bearing change away from convoy heading when they did so.

Now imagine that this was an invisible setting only known to the mission designer or lobby creator.

This would allow for games where the escort AI was less predictable, and the game more varied in outcome, BUT would allow newer players to use less arduous settings if they so wished...

If an escort apparently moving parallel to the convoy suddenly makes a 60 degree turn towards the flank of the convoy at 18-36 kts, for a kilometer or so, then relying on detection distances where the u-boat captain "knows" he is utterly safe from detection becomes more tricky....

So on "easy mode" escorts might patrol with only a small change of heading from the convoy course, and a short distance at low speed; and on "hard" they might turn 60 degrees or more, and move a km or more, and do it quickly meaning that players would have to spot the threat, and act, much more than is currently the case. Because the setting is invisible to players, one can no longer rely on being 2000m (or whatever it is) as being "absolutely safe" from detection, because you don't know, as a captain, with what difficulty setting you are contending.

This effect could be enhanced by having harder settings initially making gentle, slow speed changes of heading, for shorter distances, and only later doing the quicker changes of heading, for longer distances, at and at greater speed in knots. Thus keeping the apparantly random effect concealed for longer...

Fidd · 11-05-23, 11:32 PM

76. "long games"

Suppose it was possible to generate realistically sized convoys, and each had a name eg "PQ17". Now suppose one player starts a lobby and plays the game. When he's finished playing, the composition, time of day, position etc are saved and uploaded to the cloud. The next player to start a lobby is given the option of making a completely new lobby, OR continuing the PQ17 convoy, which would then involve downloading the PQ17 end-game status of the previous lobby attacking PQ17. If he elects to attack PQ17, then he and his mates, with as many u-boats as they have, can attack the convoy, generating a new status in turn to be uploaded to the cloud....

Time might pass between attacks, so that the convoy makes progress between attacks. The convoy then either makes port, or is partially or completely sunk. All the players who participated are then notified of their victory/draw or loss, subject to the numbers of u-boats and merchantmen sunk etc.

This would allow for a more narrative story of the battle for a convoy to develop over RL days and weeks, by essentially linking the results from one lobby to the next, to the next until a series of attacks on a convoy is complete. When a boat is out of torpedoes it can rearm at a milch-cow, or return to port. Dependant on which the skipper elects to do determines whether a 2nd attack may be launched by him on the same convoy, or if he needs to commence an attack on a nearer convoy. It could also be made interesting, because attacks early in a convoys transit, would put the u-boat under greater threat of being attacked by aircraft, BUT, in choosing to prosecute an early attack on a convoy, a greater number of larger ships would exist within said convoy. So there's an interesting risk/reward paradigm going on there too.

This would also, counterintuitively, allow for shorter play sessions, so that a crew could play for say 2 hours instead of 3, but play together more frequently, attacking the convoy at more regularly at shorter intervals, torpedoes permitting. It could be broken down further, so that a u-boat might play for an hours play, each RL night, firing circa 7 torpedoes, and then the following RL night play the second tranche of torpedoes, with them only having moved to attack the following (game) night. Such a system would help gaming periods to be of shorter, or longer RL time periods, rather than the 3 hour plus period of Frost/Duyfken/9th Flot games, although it would not preclude them, as players desire. I have noticed that some friends, who I think would greatly enjoy the game, are rather put-off it by the incredible time-sink it involves, with playing 4 x 3 hour games a week. It basically limits the game to popular play by retirees and kids!

Fidd · 11-08-23, 12:24 PM

(I may have been misleading with "a few" new ideas!)
77. "Technical notes". This would be on the "C" command as a tab. It would be automatically synchronised with a folder on the users pc, via which he could view jpeg images or rich-text (only?) whilst in game, by browsing to the "Technical Notes tab".

This might well be put to different uses by different players, and a sub-tab would exist for every game-role. So a player playing as Dive Officer might store tables shewing the plane-angles for fastest dive to depth at any given speed. A radio-operator might have a table of Q codes, other radio syntax, and morse code for letters and numbers. A Chief-Engineer might have engine settings for particular speeds and so forth. Basically a very flexible system whereby helpful material can be stored and accessed by your own game front-end. If you swap roles for a game or two, or within the same game, simply browsing to the correct sub-tab of your new role, would bring up any technical-notes appropriate to that role you have in the relevant folder...

The notes would only be viewable by the user, and only from their own pc. If someone produced an excellent set of notes or useful image, then those can be exchanged, but would have to be on that user's pc, in the appropriate folder, when viewed. For each role, I suggest that a cap be placed on the size in kb that can exist in any given folder, so as to avoid issues with the game when a folder is accessed.

Fidd · 11-08-23, 05:31 PM

78. Sound-effect of morse-key being operated "clack clack....clack" audible in the control-room when the radio-operator is keying his morse-key, but NOT when he's receiving incoming morse. This would allow other players in the control-room to determine if the morse "dits and dahs" they can hear are an incoming or outgoing signal. If the former, then with voice attenuation on, a spare player can move a little to hear the radio operator's voice, (or in case the Skipper doesn't hear it himself on the new voice-tubes....)

Fidd · 11-08-23, 05:55 PM

79. Cargo-specific effects of torpedoes.

These might cause: a persistent static, low level flames (relative to the initial explosion) through which, or against which the convoy passes, causing slight illumination of shipping. flames very gradually fall astern of the convoy lasting for half an hour or so? This being a possible effect of a hit that flames a tanker. Possibly attended by large amounts of black smoke (fuel oil) or higher but briefer flames (petrol)

and...

Very occasional massive explosion effect from hitting a ship with a) a large tonnage, and b) randomly carrying munitions. Probably an effect one only sees circa every 5-10 games, so that it remains note-worthy and dramatic. Remains of blown apart ship sinks immediately after arcs of superstructure and other falling debris land all around. Rare but extraordinary to see.

Fidd · 11-11-23, 02:12 PM

80. Using the battery breakers (trips) as a variable for reversible depth-charge damage.

The breakers on our boat are for protecting the e-motor from too much current . In reality (I just learned) they were also, or entirely, breakers to protect the battery. It occurs to me this latter feature could be used with light DC damage, to plunge half the boat, or all of the boat, into darkness from a relatively close DC hit. This would rob the boat of propulsion partially or completely, and into darkness until the e-motor rheostat is wound back, the breakers reset. Moreover, it would conceal the amount of damage done until lighting is restored. If crush-depth were semi-random, but also decreased with DC attacks, perhaps with damage-control via isolation valves to stop leaks, then a deal of problems and required tasks to complicate the aftermath of a DC attack......

Having the breakers, one, or both, operate as a temporary loss of function under DC attack, and all that implies for changing the e-motor settings to resume propulsion without the breaker going off again, might be a good start to a more finessed "damage control"....?

Fidd · 11-11-23, 11:47 PM

81. In game voice, possible detection of voices via hydrophones (sum of all amplitudes of players simultaenously speaking), if voice amplitudes rais to "normal" conversational levels. Forces players to speak more softly when in proximity to escorts, and to avoid many speaking at the same time.

Similarly, add the "clack" of the contactor to the detectable sounds on escort hydrophones. Compels several behaviours to avoid detection: use of creep-mode, no changes of battery configuration when near escorts. The sound of the contactor is fairly loud, so I'd put it a roughly the detection risk of employing the bilge-pump underwater.

Fidd · 11-13-23, 03:54 PM

82. If historically accurate, could the number of the u-boat be added to sides of the conning tower to aid identification from abeam when the front insignia is not visible. Preferably this would be a setting each captain could assign when in game, so that (for example) U96 could represent itself as "U135" if desired.

derstosstrupp · 11-13-23, 07:26 PM

Definitely accurate from a pre-war perspective. Numbers were on the side and the Reichsadler on the front of the tower. With the outbreak of war both were removed.

Fidd · 11-14-23, 05:44 AM

Ah well, that puts the tin-lid on it then. I had hoped that it had remained the case throughout the war, as it would have been useful in the larger multiplayer games to ID a particular boat by such registration letters. Oh well, back to the drawing board!

Edit: A universal light-signal for recognition would work:

U96 red white, red white, etc
H552 green white, green, white,
H564 green red, green red, green red
U307 white white (pause) white white

4 x greens - I'm watching you pass me
4 x reds - about to manoeuvre, watch out

EDIT As an alternative, perhaps a small pennant or life-bouy could be added in a different location for each boat, so the pennant, or position of the life-bouy or similar could be used to tell one u-boat from another?

etc

Fidd · 11-15-23, 09:28 AM

83. Variable hydrophone range.

This could be used to put uboats beyond visual and hydrophone range, at game start, with the convoy position at time xx xx and heading being given by BDU Encrypted radio signal, thus giving some much needed content for navigators and radio-operators to determine an intercept; without that intercept taking hours to make (although that too could also be done)

(Idea from Decafbad)

It could also be a lobby-setting that initial hydrophone range is limited, so that a uboat would be forced to use navigation and Enigma decrypts to find a convoy, then broadcast the location of the convoy so that other boats can find it, however, once the u-boat gets within a specified range of the convoy (8km or so???) the hydrophone will not produce the sound of the convoy, regardless of gain, but once within 10km, thereafter the range-limitation is lifted. The advantage of this method is that initially the Nav and Radio operators would have to work out the course to intercept the convoy, BUT the time taken to reach it would not be unduly long. Once the convoy is within 10km (say) the hydrophone operates normally...

Fidd · 11-20-23, 10:10 AM

84. Morse aid for sending

The development build has an aid for turning morse signals into letters, with letters and numbers ordered by their dit or dah composition, which is a great way to help operators rapidly find a letter when taking down morse and recording it as letters and numbers. This is to the left of the screen.

What about adding one organised in letters of the alphabet in alphabetic and then numeric order on the RIGHT of the screen too? This would aid operators in finding the correct dit and dah sequence for a given letter when sending out a signal in morse?

Fidd · 11-20-23, 10:20 AM

85. Restoration and improvement of radio-log
The radio log has been a valuable resource in multiplayer, multiboat games. It removal from the c menu is a backwards step.

What we need, in the "message meaning" screen of the Enigma decrypt "paper" form, is:

1. Restoration of the radio-log to the c menu
2. A "Publish to radio-log" button from the "message meaning" field of the decryption form of the Enigma, and a similar means of publishing typed letters taken down from morse transmissions. The latter needs "publish to radio-log" and a "write down on Enigma form" for subsequent decryption). (The letters should be transferrable from the decoded morse into the "decryption" tab of the Enigma, if the radio-operator takes down an encrypted signal.) In "simple radio" this would be done automatically, perhaps also with the decrypted message?

Fidd · 11-23-23, 10:45 PM

86. Occasional random escorts joining/departing convoy

As a very "special-treat", on rare occasions - think once in 25-50 games played order of magnitude - it might be interesting if an escort did something really unexpected, such as joining a convoy as an extra escort, or leaving it, or ranging further from the convoy than is normally the case. This might serve to make the convoys+escorts behaviour just a little less predictable, and require that a watch be kept all around a surfaced u-boat and not just in relation to the convoy and nearest escorts. A tribal arriving over the horizon at 30 kts or more might throw a spanner in the works from time to time. Being a random event, rather than a configurable difficulty, there'd be no warning, other than those monitoring the convoy spotting it by making a routine all around lookout.....

Fidd · 11-28-23, 05:34 AM

87. Falling debris - and splashes - after torpedo hit

A modest amount of falling debris after a hit emanating from the site of the hit upwards and towards the u-boat that fired the torpedo. As said debris hits the water, it cause multiple splashes in the water. If the ship is carrying explosives as cargo, then the effect is much greater, and over a larger distance. Some debris, especially carley-floats, remains on surface from any sinking.

Another typical sight, especially if a hit is towards the engine room, was a massive and prolonged gout of black-smoke and sparks from the funnel (stack) as over-pressure drove all the embers and soot up through the funnel. (often visible on wartime films of such sinkings)

11-04-23, 10:20 PM	#91
Fidd XO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 431 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	75. Difficulty setting - Escorts Imagine there was a lobby setting which controlled how far away from the convoy escorts might spontaneously move, as well as the bearing change away from convoy heading when they did so. Now imagine that this was an invisible setting only known to the mission designer or lobby creator. This would allow for games where the escort AI was less predictable, and the game more varied in outcome, BUT would allow newer players to use less arduous settings if they so wished... If an escort apparently moving parallel to the convoy suddenly makes a 60 degree turn towards the flank of the convoy at 18-36 kts, for a kilometer or so, then relying on detection distances where the u-boat captain "knows" he is utterly safe from detection becomes more tricky.... So on "easy mode" escorts might patrol with only a small change of heading from the convoy course, and a short distance at low speed; and on "hard" they might turn 60 degrees or more, and move a km or more, and do it quickly meaning that players would have to spot the threat, and act, much more than is currently the case. Because the setting is invisible to players, one can no longer rely on being 2000m (or whatever it is) as being "absolutely safe" from detection, because you don't know, as a captain, with what difficulty setting you are contending. This effect could be enhanced by having harder settings initially making gentle, slow speed changes of heading, for shorter distances, and only later doing the quicker changes of heading, for longer distances, at and at greater speed in knots. Thus keeping the apparantly random effect concealed for longer... Last edited by Fidd; 11-06-23 at 09:04 AM.

11-05-23, 11:32 PM	#92
Fidd XO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 431 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	76. "long games" Suppose it was possible to generate realistically sized convoys, and each had a name eg "PQ17". Now suppose one player starts a lobby and plays the game. When he's finished playing, the composition, time of day, position etc are saved and uploaded to the cloud. The next player to start a lobby is given the option of making a completely new lobby, OR continuing the PQ17 convoy, which would then involve downloading the PQ17 end-game status of the previous lobby attacking PQ17. If he elects to attack PQ17, then he and his mates, with as many u-boats as they have, can attack the convoy, generating a new status in turn to be uploaded to the cloud.... Time might pass between attacks, so that the convoy makes progress between attacks. The convoy then either makes port, or is partially or completely sunk. All the players who participated are then notified of their victory/draw or loss, subject to the numbers of u-boats and merchantmen sunk etc. This would allow for a more narrative story of the battle for a convoy to develop over RL days and weeks, by essentially linking the results from one lobby to the next, to the next until a series of attacks on a convoy is complete. When a boat is out of torpedoes it can rearm at a milch-cow, or return to port. Dependant on which the skipper elects to do determines whether a 2nd attack may be launched by him on the same convoy, or if he needs to commence an attack on a nearer convoy. It could also be made interesting, because attacks early in a convoys transit, would put the u-boat under greater threat of being attacked by aircraft, BUT, in choosing to prosecute an early attack on a convoy, a greater number of larger ships would exist within said convoy. So there's an interesting risk/reward paradigm going on there too. This would also, counterintuitively, allow for shorter play sessions, so that a crew could play for say 2 hours instead of 3, but play together more frequently, attacking the convoy at more regularly at shorter intervals, torpedoes permitting. It could be broken down further, so that a u-boat might play for an hours play, each RL night, firing circa 7 torpedoes, and then the following RL night play the second tranche of torpedoes, with them only having moved to attack the following (game) night. Such a system would help gaming periods to be of shorter, or longer RL time periods, rather than the 3 hour plus period of Frost/Duyfken/9th Flot games, although it would not preclude them, as players desire. I have noticed that some friends, who I think would greatly enjoy the game, are rather put-off it by the incredible time-sink it involves, with playing 4 x 3 hour games a week. It basically limits the game to popular play by retirees and kids! Last edited by Fidd; 11-06-23 at 06:14 AM.

11-08-23, 05:31 PM	#94
Fidd XO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 431 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	78. Sound-effect of morse-key being operated "clack clack....clack" audible in the control-room when the radio-operator is keying his morse-key, but *NOT* when he's receiving *incoming* morse. This would allow *other players in the control-room to determine if the morse "dits and dahs" they can hear are an incoming or outgoing signal.* If the former, then with voice attenuation on, a spare player can move a little to hear the radio operator's voice, (or in case the Skipper doesn't hear it himself on the new voice-tubes....) Last edited by Fidd; 11-08-23 at 05:39 PM.

11-13-23, 07:26 PM	#99
derstosstrupp Grey Wolf Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 887 Downloads: 489 Uploads: 0	Definitely accurate from a pre-war perspective. Numbers were on the side and the Reichsadler on the front of the tower. With the outbreak of war both were removed. __________________ Ask me anything about the Type VII or IX! One-Stop Targeting Shop: https://drive.google.com/drive/folde...WwBt-1vjW28JbO My YT Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIJ...9FXbD3S2kgwdPQ

11-14-23, 05:44 AM	#100
Fidd XO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 431 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	Ah well, that puts the tin-lid on it then. I had hoped that it had remained the case throughout the war, as it would have been useful in the larger multiplayer games to ID a particular boat by such registration letters. Oh well, back to the drawing board! Edit: A universal light-signal for recognition would work: U96 red white, red white, etc H552 green white, green, white, H564 green red, green red, green red U307 white white (pause) white white 4 x greens - I'm watching you pass me 4 x reds - about to manoeuvre, watch out EDIT As an alternative, perhaps a small pennant or life-bouy could be added in a different location for each boat, so the pennant, or position of the life-bouy or similar could be used to tell one u-boat from another? etc Last edited by Fidd; 11-20-23 at 05:52 PM. Reason: Addition

11-08-23, 12:24 PM	#93
Fidd XO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 431 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	(I may have been misleading with "a few" new ideas!) 77. "Technical notes". This would be on the "C" command as a tab. It would be automatically synchronised with a folder on the users pc, via which he could view jpeg images or rich-text (only?) whilst in game, by browsing to the "Technical Notes tab". This might well be put to different uses by different players, and a sub-tab would exist for every game-role. So a player playing as Dive Officer might store tables shewing the plane-angles for fastest dive to depth at any given speed. A radio-operator might have a table of Q codes, other radio syntax, and morse code for letters and numbers. A Chief-Engineer might have engine settings for particular speeds and so forth. Basically a very flexible system whereby helpful material can be stored and accessed by your own game front-end. If you swap roles for a game or two, or within the same game, simply browsing to the correct sub-tab of your new role, would bring up any technical-notes appropriate to that role you have in the relevant folder... The notes would only be viewable by the user, and only from their own pc. If someone produced an excellent set of notes or useful image, then those can be exchanged, but would have to be on that user's pc, in the appropriate folder, when viewed. For each role, I suggest that a cap be placed on the size in kb that can exist in any given folder, so as to avoid issues with the game when a folder is accessed.

11-08-23, 05:55 PM	#95
Fidd XO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 431 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	79. Cargo-specific effects of torpedoes. These might cause: a persistent static, low level flames (relative to the initial explosion) through which, or against which the convoy passes, causing slight illumination of shipping. flames very gradually fall astern of the convoy lasting for half an hour or so? This being a possible effect of a hit that flames a tanker. Possibly attended by large amounts of black smoke (fuel oil) or higher but briefer flames (petrol) and... Very occasional massive explosion effect from hitting a ship with a) a large tonnage, and b) randomly carrying munitions. Probably an effect one only sees circa every 5-10 games, so that it remains note-worthy and dramatic. Remains of blown apart ship sinks immediately after arcs of superstructure and other falling debris land all around. Rare but extraordinary to see.

11-11-23, 02:12 PM	#96
Fidd XO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 431 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	80. Using the battery breakers (trips) as a variable for reversible depth-charge damage. The breakers on our boat are for protecting the e-motor from too much current . In reality (I just learned) they were also, or entirely, breakers to protect the battery. It occurs to me this latter feature could be used with light DC damage, to plunge half the boat, or all of the boat, into darkness from a relatively close DC hit. This would rob the boat of propulsion partially or completely, and into darkness until the e-motor rheostat is wound back, the breakers reset. Moreover, it would conceal the amount of damage done until lighting is restored. If crush-depth were semi-random, but also decreased with DC attacks, perhaps with damage-control via isolation valves to stop leaks, then a deal of problems and required tasks to complicate the aftermath of a DC attack...... Having the breakers, one, or both, operate as a temporary loss of function under DC attack, and all that implies for changing the e-motor settings to resume propulsion without the breaker going off again, might be a good start to a more finessed "damage control"....?

11-11-23, 11:47 PM	#97
Fidd XO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 431 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	81. In game voice, possible detection of voices via hydrophones (sum of all amplitudes of players simultaenously speaking), if voice amplitudes rais to "normal" conversational levels. Forces players to speak more softly when in proximity to escorts, and to avoid many speaking at the same time. Similarly, add the "clack" of the contactor to the detectable sounds on escort hydrophones. Compels several behaviours to avoid detection: use of creep-mode, no changes of battery configuration when near escorts. The sound of the contactor is fairly loud, so I'd put it a roughly the detection risk of employing the bilge-pump underwater.

11-13-23, 03:54 PM	#98
Fidd XO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 431 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	82. If historically accurate, could the number of the u-boat be added to sides of the conning tower to aid identification from *abeam* when the front insignia is not visible. Preferably this would be a setting each captain could assign when in game, so that (for example) U96 could represent itself as "U135" if desired.

11-15-23, 09:28 AM	#101
Fidd XO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 431 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	83. Variable hydrophone range. This could be used to put uboats beyond visual and hydrophone range, at game start, with the convoy position at time xx xx and heading being given by BDU Encrypted radio signal, thus giving some much needed content for navigators and radio-operators to determine an intercept; without that intercept taking hours to make (although that too could also be done) (Idea from Decafbad) It could also be a lobby-setting that *initial* hydrophone range is limited, so that a uboat would be forced to use navigation and Enigma decrypts to find a convoy, then broadcast the location of the convoy so that other boats can find it, however, once the u-boat gets within a specified range of the convoy (8km or so???) the hydrophone will not produce the sound of the convoy, regardless of gain, but once within 10km, thereafter the range-limitation is lifted. The advantage of this method is that initially the Nav and Radio operators would have to work out the course to intercept the convoy, BUT the time taken to reach it would not be unduly long. Once the convoy is within 10km (say) the hydrophone operates normally... Last edited by Fidd; 12-18-23 at 04:50 AM.

11-20-23, 10:10 AM	#102
Fidd XO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 431 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	84. Morse aid for sending The development build has an aid for turning morse signals into letters, with letters and numbers ordered by their dit or dah composition, which is a great way to help operators rapidly find a letter when taking down morse and recording it as letters and numbers. This is to the left of the screen. What about adding one organised in letters of the alphabet in alphabetic and then numeric order on the RIGHT of the screen too? This would aid operators in finding the correct dit and dah sequence for a given letter when sending out a signal in morse?

11-20-23, 10:20 AM	#103
Fidd XO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 431 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	85. Restoration of the radio-log on c menu 85. Restoration and improvement of radio-log The radio log has been a valuable resource in multiplayer, multiboat games. It removal from the c menu is a backwards step. What we need, in the "message meaning" screen of the Enigma decrypt "paper" form, is: 1. Restoration of the radio-log to the c menu 2. A "Publish to radio-log" button from the "message meaning" field of the decryption form of the Enigma, and a similar means of publishing typed letters taken down from morse transmissions. The latter needs "publish to radio-log" and a "write down on Enigma form" for subsequent decryption). (The letters should be transferrable from the decoded morse into the "decryption" tab of the Enigma, if the radio-operator takes down an encrypted signal.) In "simple radio" this would be done automatically, perhaps also with the decrypted message? Last edited by Fidd; 11-23-23 at 10:20 AM.

11-23-23, 10:45 PM	#104
Fidd XO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 431 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	86. Occasional random escorts joining/departing convoy As a very "special-treat", on rare occasions - think once in 25-50 games played order of magnitude - it might be interesting if an escort did something really unexpected, such as joining a convoy as an extra escort, or leaving it, or ranging further from the convoy than is normally the case. This might serve to make the convoys+escorts behaviour just a little less predictable, and require that a watch be kept all around a surfaced u-boat and not just in relation to the convoy and nearest escorts. A tribal arriving over the horizon at 30 kts or more might throw a spanner in the works from time to time. Being a random event, rather than a configurable difficulty, there'd be no warning, other than those monitoring the convoy spotting it by making a routine all around lookout.....

11-28-23, 05:34 AM	#105
Fidd XO Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Blighty! Posts: 431 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	87. Falling debris - and splashes - after torpedo hit A modest amount of falling debris after a hit emanating from the site of the hit upwards and towards the u-boat that fired the torpedo. As said debris hits the water, it cause multiple splashes in the water. If the ship is carrying explosives as cargo, then the effect is much greater, and over a larger distance. Some debris, especially carley-floats, remains on surface from any sinking. Another typical sight, especially if a hit is towards the engine room, was a massive and prolonged gout of black-smoke and sparks from the funnel (stack) as over-pressure drove all the embers and soot up through the funnel. (often visible on wartime films of such sinkings)