Silent Hunter III Review

[Gixer]

Seems there is an unfortunate bug effecting convoys prior to 43 in that only 1 or no  escorts might spawn with the convoy. Now it seems there is a bug to explain why there are so many convoys with only one or no escorts.

Always thought playing earlier then 43 was easy mode multiplied.


...-Gixer

[Staga]

I'm cruising at the Caribbean; nice change after northern Atlantic  

[Curval]

Saw...do you navigate the boat all the way back to the base?

I just hit esc and then Return to Base...is that wrong?

[Saintaw]

Dinger, I have a bad hissing sound when comming back from the Hidrophone... annoying, but I can live with it. (Switch back to external view for a second, then back... and the sound is gone)

Curval, nothing wrong with that, but you will get a 100 more renown points if you get back home. (You don't need to be in the pier per-se, but when you're in the pier area... exit mission, and it will show "Dock at ***" instead of "Go back to port"). I dock manualy myself... but SOB would tell you I'm kind of anal about things like that

[beet1e]

I asked on the SH3 board, but didn't get a good answer.

If using time comp, how do you avoid getting jumped by destroyers? What I have found on single mission patrols like Scapa Flow and Gibraltar is that if you plot a course, then go to 1024 time comp, suddenly you get a message saying "enemy is engaging us, sir". Sure enough, a destroyer is blasting away. At least when there are merchant ships, the watch officer gives a verbal warning - at long range -  and the game switches to 8x normal speed.

The only way I can see to avoid getting zapped by destroyers is not to use time comp. But I don't want to sit in front of my screen for 12 hours as my boat slips through the strait of Gibraltar at 3 knots.

...and the furballers thought they had it bad with the pizza map - LOL

[Gixer]

Have you tried sticking to a lower time compression? I normailly use 512/256 or 128 when within range of aircraft. Doing so I've  never been "jumped" so to speak by DD's etc and less "boom" as a bomb hit's followed by "were under attack" . Also stopping every hour dive to 20 meters,all stop and have your sonar operator do a check can help reduce the chance of suprises and of course increase contacts.

I remember reading something in the forums that 1024 isn't reccomended other then for making quick trans atlantic crossings etc.


...-Gixer

[Saintaw]

...and the furballers thought they had it bad with the pizza map - LOL

^^

Gixer has it right, 1024 is feasible in the early patrols... but once those damn destroyers get a proper radar... traveling on the surface gets dicey(sp?)

When close to dangerous waters (pun intended) use TC 128 max and dive & listen (Best is to listen yourself... you can hear much MUCH better than the AI).

[Gixer]

Originally posted by Saintaw
Best is to listen yourself... you can hear much MUCH better than the AI).

I must have crap hearing then, as I can't hear a thing while my sonar guy is calling contacts all over the dial.


...-Gixer

[Nefarious]

It seems like I really havnt been hit by the Destroyer Spawn Bug. When I attacked my first convoy in the Western Approaches the other Night, I counted 3 V and W's, they never saw me, but they began evasives and a search pattern after I let my fish go.

I never cruise above 256.

Its just not worth it.

[Saintaw]

Turn the volume up (bottom right knob of the hydrophone) and cut the engines. AI can pretty much hear on silent only what I hear at flank speed. (Both my radio room operators are experten with all medals... so they are less sucky than the regular ones... but still sucky;))

I also turn the volume on my speakers up when I do that... just remember to turn that one back down if you switch to external view, hehe...

[Octavius]

Laid down    10 Mar, 1937    Germaniawerft, Kiel
Commissioned    22 Apr, 1939    Kptlt. Herbert Schultze
Commanders    
22 Apr, 1939 - 20 May, 1940     Kptlt. Herbert Schultze (Knights Cross)
21 May, 1940 - 3 Sep, 1940     KrvKpt. Hans Rudolf Rösing (Knights Cross)
4 Sep, 1940 - 16 Dec, 1940     Kptlt. Heinrich Bleichrodt (Knights Cross)
26 Sep, 1940 - Oct, 1943     Oblt. Diether Todenhagen
17 Dec, 1940 - 27 Jul, 1941     Kptlt. Herbert Schultze (Knights Cross)
Aug, 1941 - Sep, 1942     Oblt. Siegfried Atzinger
Career    12 patrols    22 Apr, 1939 - 31 Aug, 1939  7. Flottille (front boat)
1 Sep, 1939 - 31 Dec, 1939  7. Flottille (front boat)
1 Jan, 1940 - 30 Jun, 1941  7. Flottille (front boat)
1 Jul, 1941 - 31 Mar, 1942  26. Flottille (training)
1 Apr, 1942 - 31 Oct, 1943  21. Flottille (school boat)
Successes    51 ships sunk for a total of 306.875 GRT
1 warship sunk for a total of 1.060 tons
3 ships damaged for a total of 20.480 GRT
Fate    She was scuttled on 3 May, 1945 off Neustadt, Germany.

[Octavius]

Anyone finding Taskforce contacts from BdU that give a speed of 30-40 knots? (in storms too!)  Is that even possible in calm weather?

WWII hydrofoils?!

[beet1e]

Gixer - yes, I think that 1024x is too high around the islands at Scapa Flow. I used lower time comp and avoided destroyers but oh! - I ran aground. The waters near SF are very shallow. My Cod, I couldn't believe the sound through my speakers as I ran aground. I thought my PC had been zapped by a supervirus.

Thinking about Scapa Flow, and given that the waters there are very shallow (not much chance to dive below periscope depth) I'm surprised the Germans would use submarines to attack shipping there. If a sub were to succeed in getting through the very narrow strait, it's unlikely it would ever get out again. I would have thought a better strategy for the Germans would have been aerial bombardment - preferably of shipping as it exited the harbour so that it blocked everything else inside. Using submarines was suicide - for the submariners at least.

Same thing goes for Gibraltar: According to the SH notes, Hitler sent 60 subs into the Med via the strait of Gibraltar. NONE of them ever got out of there, and all were either sunk or scuttled by their crews.

Laid down 10 Mar, 1937

sounds like an excellent wine!

[Fishu]

Originally posted by Dinger
I'm also having an annoying sound bug where all ships but my own (and my own in certain circumstances) don't make normal engine noises, but an annoying "stutter".

I haven't had more than 2-3 CTD's and no corrupted save games.
However with SBLive I've got some little crackling with the sounds, but not as bad as yours sounds like, and switched to Fortissimo III, which gives out clear sound.

I guess the 'auto-crew' placement option does still create CTD's with v1.2.
So try to move the crew manually, if that helps at all.

[Nefarious]

Originally posted by beet1e


Thinking about Scapa Flow, and given that the waters there are very shallow (not much chance to dive below periscope depth) I'm surprised the Germans would use submarines to attack shipping there. If a sub were to succeed in getting through the very narrow strait, it's unlikely it would ever get out again. I would have thought a better strategy for the Germans would have been aerial bombardment - preferably of shipping as it exited the harbour so that it blocked everything else inside. Using submarines was suicide - for the submariners at least.

 

It wasnt an everyday Mission, Personally I dont know of any other Missions into Scapa Flow other than Gunther Prein's U-47. There was probably missions to patrol the Surrounding Grids, but After Prein snuck in, Churchill installed walls. Which block the entrance that he took in Real Life, in the game.