Silent Hunter III --- manual torpedo targeting...

[noxnoctum]

Anyone got some links to good sites with advice on this? Any mods for SHIII I should be aware of?

I bought the game years ago and loved the atmosphere and all but I could never quite figure out manual targeting for torpedoes. And I just refuse to use the easier realism settings out of principal . Thought I'd reinstall and give it another shot if I can figure out how to hit damn ships!

[Elmar Bijlsma]

Not torpedo targeting specific, but the Grey Wolves mod is pretty much It for SH3.

Never could get much result from using the TDC manually. Took ages to get readings on ships and even then the margin for error was huge. On targets closing quick, already nearby or worse zigzagging it was next to useless.

I stopped using the manual TDC data collection and just went to the map to fiddle with TDC settings till I could get a intersect that looked about right, or straight up seat of the pants firing through the scope.

Since I like to get close anyway, 1500m or less, that works out fine.

[astano]

Have you been to Subsim? I can't say for certain about SHIII, but I play SHIV and the amount of tutorials in the forums and number of mods they host is mind-boggling. I'm sure there's plenty in the SHIII forums too.

EDIT: Guess Elmar beat me too it. As I said not sure about SH3 mods, but if anywhere can tell you about manual targeting it's a tutorial on there.

[noxnoctum]

I'll check it out astano thanks. That grey wolves thing sounds cool too, thanks for the info guys.

[Wildman]

subsim has it all. Including a checklist for mapping the target, using the periscope and all.

I've been bummed I can't get it to load on Vista due to the DRM loaded on the disk.

[Sgt Schultz]

Grey Wolves mod FTW.

I used a sunset on a calm sea as my desktop for years from that mod.. at 1200x1600.

It looks real.

Manual targeting is fun once you get the hang of it.

Use rangefinder(vertical measurement.

Guess at angle.

Start the watch.

After 60 seconds stop.

If target speed is close to or right on the reported convoy speed, you are good to lock and fire.

If not.. you adjust the perceived angle and try again.

Allowing exterior views helps get used to this method, as you can check angles from your target or boat and then check them from the scope to see exactly how ships look at which angles. Once you are confident, you can turn exteriors back off.

The target book sucks at showing angles.

Distance is the easiest variable to find.

Angle and time generate the speed estimate, so angle becomes most important of the guessing game variables.

Once speed is found, each new target just needs range and angle. Again, experience in proper angle estimations makes for quick lock and fire cyles.

There are real-world math ways to go about it that they actually used. Looks like work to me, and takes precious time. Once you learn how your targets look at the angles it all just falls into place, and you can cycle targets quickly once convoy speed is established.

Once you get used to it, you can send single torps off across the convoy(2500m+ range) and expect hits.

I have sent all four forward tubes to four separate targets at various ranges and columns in a convoy and struck all four on numerous occasions... using manual targeting. Swing the scope around and smack two from the aft tubes.

Spreads are for those who have little faith in their abilities.

*

[Ranger33]

The first time I played this game I thought it would be a great way to teach some advanced math concepts to high school boys who otherwise wouldn't be interested. I haven't really figured it out myself since I don't like doing math while gaming lol, but in a classroom setting I think it would be really effective. I guess you would probably want to do it from the point of view of an American sub though

[astano]

I guess you would probably want to do it from the point of view of an American sub though

That's what SH4 is for.

For my part in SH4 the only way I can reliably do manual targeting is with the "Fast 90" method. Line up so that the target will pass perpendicular to your bow. Determine the target's speed (I measure the distance travelled in yards in 3 minutes and divide by 100 to get speed in knots) and enter it to the TDC. Set range to maximum. Set angle on bow to 80 degrees from whichever side the target is passing. Line the periscope hairs up at either 350 or 10 (depending on which side the target will pass from). Fire at parts of the target as they pass 350. The only times I've ever missed with this method are when I've incorrectly figured the target's speed. I don't think it works with U-boats though, and it only works when the target will pass you at a 90 degree angle - anything else and you have to use "standard" targeting methods, but seeing as how you should be attacking from ambush all the time to begin with, if you calculate the target's course right you should never have to attack from any other angle anyways.