Do torpedoes ignore the bearing on the Attack periscope?

[Benzin]

Got the mission to sink two Brit. Corvettes on a port. So i went there, got into a good position, and since the enemy ships were stationary (in other words, NOT moving), i completely ignored setting the heading, distance and speed on the TDC. I just aimed the attack periscope at them, clicked to "Lock" the target and fired. I did this for each target.

Well, the torpedoes launched in a course wich i presume was the moon. Because they were certainly NOT heading in the direction i had my periscope aimed at.

From my experience in the Silent Hunter games (and from what ibe read, in real life too), when firing at stationary targets, you do NOT need to punch in target speed, distance or heading, as the torpedo doesnt have to intercept it. I just has to go to where the target is.
And this is done simply by punching in the bearing of the target (relative to the sub) on the TDC. Wich is done by aiming at it with the UZO or periscope being used.

So, how do we shoot at stationary targets in this game? Doesnt the gyro on the torpedo get automatically adjusted to where we are currently aiming the scope?

Thanks in advance for your tips!

[Maxim]

Certain previous sub games took liberty with auto-magical connections between UZO/ periscopes and torpedo gyros.

Do you want to learn history and realism? Or do you just want to know how this game "chose" to make it work..? Play as many sub games as you can, and you'll see a graduated scale from easy to harder..

This game is somewhere on the grey scale.
This game offers two methods for targeting..

I feel old every time I begin to count the total number of people who approach the submarine topic by having come from a more arcade like sub game..

The arcade games are enjoyable for the newcomers.. but once the newcomers start learning that what they've been told isnt going to be successful in a more sim type environment.. they either begin the task of gaining the knowledge or they wash out..

So dont be a wash out :)

Manual torpedo calculation by Youtuber TMTC.. long video, you may have to skip thru it a bit..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VXfNpeMSx4&list=PLckM-39CDDjA3PyOX-fwPuAjlPFjXBZ3y&index=11&t=0s

[Benzin]

Thanks for the reply.
Im not sure what you mean? I dont want it to be more arcade like. Im used to playing silent hunter 3 without officer assistance and with map contacts turned off. So trust me, i do not want automatic targeting, and whatever "complexity" this game might throw at me, i will enjoy it :)

As far as torpedo gyros being "magically" linked to UZOs or periscopes, this is not a game thing.
I seem to recall reading somewhere that in real life, the periscopes and UZOs on uboats were in fact linked to the TDC. So i expected the game to have this feature.

What i want to know, is how do i just assign a heading to my torpedo in a simple way (as you would do to fire at a stationary target) without the game forcing me to input speed, heading, distance, etc.

[Benzin]

Here is the situation.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1754021762

All targets are standing still. I just want to tell my torpedoes "go straight in course 047" or "go straight to 361" etc. Without having to go thru all the game targeting mechanics for moving targets.

[chksix]

The scope and UZO were linked to the TDC. The helmsman should automatically steer the boat to the indicated course to aim the torpedoes toward the target. Like aiming a rifle.

[Maxim]

This game offers two choices.. (These directions are for motionless / stationary targets).

Auto-Calculate
1. There must be a ship in sonar or visual contact range (List of 1 or more ships displayed).
2. Select a leader / assign him to one of the periscopes or sonar.
3. Right click target in the list, the voice says calculate.

Manual Entry A & B - periscope or sonar

1. You spot target in periscope.
2. Use mouse over target in periscope view, left click to lock target (Now identification manual will show "Recognize" button).
3. You identify the ship in the manual, click the "Recognize" button.
4. Enter zero for velocity, zero for course.
5. Enter distance followed by m or km (m for meters, or km for kilometers.. measure with ruler on map). (1km, 2km etc.. - no fractions / cannot use 1.25km, 2.5km etc).

Or -
1. Spot target on map with sonar.
2. Enter zero for velocity, zero for course.
3. Enter distance followed by m or km (m for meters, or km for kilometers.. measure with ruler on map). (1km, 2km etc.. - no fractions / cannot use 1.25km, 2.5km etc).

This game needs a dial instead of making us use a keyboard to type in data.


Here is Longest range Uboat kill at 6 km with sonar and manual data input..
https://youtu.be/rSpj5o-RtgE

[Benzin]

Thanks Maxim, i dint know you could manually enter numbers (by keyboard) on those little boxes. I was going crazy trying to figure out how to just tell my torpedoes to go in a specific direction.
I just sank 5 of those corvettes xD

I sure miss that lovely TDC panel from SH3!

[Maxim]

If you pass this home work assignment, make a video of a target kill longer than 6km.. (cheeky grin)

You raised a good question and so I spent a lot of time eliminating variables and trying multiple times.

During my experiments in the video above, I am now leaning heavily towards the belief that the game is skipping one important piece of the process (making it easier to play) which your first post mentioned..

The reason I used only sonar was to figure out where the code was getting the "bearing" to target. I did not want the scope to be looking directly at the target.

All players should know torpedos are as dumb as computers, they cant do anything without instructions, and like computers, they still have faults.

Open this image to follow along:
https://1drv.ms/u/s!AtHmw0Cbvn9ihC1rqwKOncABjK6H

1. Our torpedos can't even know the height or length of the target ship if we cannot see it to identify it. In my video, they were 6km away!.

2. Our torpedos dont know which direction to fire by simply entering the target ship course.. its not the torpedo's course and it's not our course, its the "target ship course".

3. Our torpedos dont know angle to fire on, or where the torpedo should arrive to intersect the target ship course, by simply entering the target ship speed..

Now for hardcore players, the mathematics behind the formulas for a triangle require at least three pieces of information.. so lastly we discuss distance.

4. Our torpedos dont know how far out they will be traveling until we enter the distance..

So are we good yet? Not a chance.

*** Now we know our position at most times *** which allows for one point of the triangle.

We know that the opposite leg of the triangle can be drawn to the correct length with ship course and speed (Course leg COLOR RED),

Which also generates two angles at each end of the red leg. From red line to grey line, or from red line to green line = two different angles and different for each triangle..

BUT !! These angles still have infinite values / unknown for our purposes. (Image only shows two of the infinite triangles possible.)

We need a bearing to know if we are calculating the triangle to the north or south ship!

See image.

These three parts of the triangle are required to generate a triangle on the map.. and yet it is still not enough.

And we do not have an onscreen data entry box (need dials!) for bearing.

The number of ship locations around you and triangles needed can potentially be in a mathematically infinite / unlimited number of positions in any given direction from your sub. It helps if you draw a circle around your sub.

History has decided on a compass with 360 degrees to give a reasonable division to the infinite.

So how did my torpedos know which triangle to head towards? Was it the auto-magical connection between the sonar and the other data entry boxes?

I think so. I think the bearing info was auto -transmitted from sonar, or periscope if using it, to the TDC = torpedo data computer. As game players, we are not currently expected to input it.

Bearing is one of the easiest numbers to obtain! Turn the dial on sonar toward the audio (even in fog), or turn the scope in the direction of the visual contact.

By leaving out the bearing indicator (especially if playing first person on sonar) the devs are making the game faster to play and access, making it a little "arcadey", but a little less educational, and in the process allowing for something far worse.. (In game options can fix this! - From easy to realistic!)

This is called dumbing down and raising a generation of snowflakes who couldnt be successful if they were ever recruited to defend your country when you get to be too old to do it yourself.
So if you're the older one, spread the knowledge of the older wiser generations..

[Maxim]

My two most favorite SH series videos (I created)..

one from SH4, and one from SH5.. (over 17k views)

https://youtu.be/cy3iTU5oWPQ

https://youtu.be/tri5B-XxInE

[Benzin]

Thanks for all the information Maxim. Personally, Silent Hunter 3.is my favorite.
For some reason i couldnt get into SH4. And Silent Hunter 5 i dint like. Even with mods.

I loved playing with map contacts turned off, manually marking the targets path, calculating its speed, determining its heading, etc.