How to use The Course Tool

[Moltark]

So from the start I want to say that from now on I will use the TDC mod, but the vanilla in game course tool rubs me the wrong way. As in: it does not make any sense to me and I want to at least understand it before disregarding it.

So I looked around and found some older threads about this and I think I understood what they were trying to explain, but somehow either I'm too dense to understand it or this thing does not make sense at all.

This is an extremly bad example of how I dont understand what I took away from another thread

1. My targets course and my angle to them on the map

2. How I would have visualized my position to my target. My AOB if this is the correct term here

3. What the game roughly expects you to set.

Now what I took away from other discussions is: you're supposed to substract your periscope angle. In this case about -40°. Then you end up at 80°

What you are expected to set however baffles me.
So I tried with some way i recon could have worked. (for sake of lazyness i just go with 120)

120 - -40 = 160
120 - 320 = -200 which would also translate to the 160 on righthand side

in these two adding 180 and mirroring it will get the expected result

also adding 180 then substracting 40 and mirroring it will yield the expected result. I can hardly imagine this is the expected way of using it.


I just don't understand how it is intended to be used. Please tell me I overlooked something or if I got something wrong. I certainly must have gotten something wrong.

In hindsight while writing this I came up with another idea:
180 - 120 - 40 = 20 which is the "correct" result.

The other thread I was referring to is this:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/494840/discussions/0/3109141414231462502/


https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2414780810

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2414781219

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2414781416

[ScareCrow]

The Ingame vanilla Course tool is completely unusable, the devs must have forgotten to make it a AOB tool and only changed its appeareance without changing its function, just forget about the whole tool and use TDC mod, the devs should get on the ball on that asap imo

[Dewgle]

In earlier versions of the game it originally had the look and appearance of an attack disc, a circular slide rule used for calculating torpedo shots.

Now it has the look of an AOB dial but the original function of an angriffsscheibe is still present. A user on the Uboat discord came up with a nifty diagram to explain it better but in short, instead of setting the dial to the target's visual angle on bow, you instead have to set the dial to the difference between ownship course and target's course.

If ownship course was perpendicular to target's course, you'd set the dial to 90° left/right.
I.E. if target course was 90° east and ownship course was 0° north.

Or if ownship course and target course were parallel. I.E. both sailing 90° east, you would set the dial for 0° or 180°, something like that.

I don't like it. I don't like using it, I much prefer the AOB dial functionality that I've become so accustomed to from other subsim games via Ruby and Freekoly's wonderful TDC mod and Compass Navigation mod.

[Davinci]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2414920217
This is a rough example, but it works in all of my games.

I'll use the "Hydrophone Contact" as a ship, it works the exact same way.

They are traveling on a course of 24° as of now.

My boat will intercept their course, so using the "Protractor" , I draw a line from my boat to their location, or the location of the targeted ship, which is 98° Starboard

1) Identify Ship
2) Estimated Range
3) Their Speed
4) Their Course ( 24° )
5) Course Tool Thing.....98° Starboard

Now, if the "Course" in step 4 changes from 24° which I have already inputted, then the "Course Tool Thing" has the wrong value in it.

So, I will adjust it ( Course tool ) either slightly up or down until the course reads 24°.

This is the only way that I have gotten it to work!

[Quiyo]

Originally posted by Moltark:

So from the start I want to say that from now on I will use the TDC mod, but the vanilla in game course tool rubs me the wrong way. As in: it does not make any sense to me and I want to at least understand it before disregarding it.

So I looked around and found some older threads about this and I think I understood what they were trying to explain, but somehow either I'm too dense to understand it or this thing does not make sense at all.

..............................

the course tool is "maybe" a Angriffsscheibe

see this

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2195466348


you must do the same with the arrow (put the arrow as you see it, and correct the periscope angle)

in a Sub, you know only your course, you need the relative angle with the target.

use it like a Angriffsscheibe

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1911498725


AOB "alone" don´t define the target course. Track angle Yes


and this (in spanish, it is for spanish uboat forum)

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2359652419

translation

first image
calculo del rumbo = course calculation
situación en el mapa = map situation
AoB (ángulo de proa) 44º = AoB 44º
rumbo 66º = course 66º

second image
sin el mapa vamos a hacerlo con el periscopio = without map, we go to calculate it with the periscope
ponemos la flecha como vemos el barco en el periscopio = we direct the arow as we see the ship at periscope

(This is the AOB, 180º- angle))

third image
corregimos el ángulo del periscopio en el mismo sentido = we correct the angle of periscope in the same directión (clockwise or anticlockwise)

(Now you have the "Track angle". 180º - this angle)

in the image

como lo vemos en el periscopio = "as we see it at periscope"
Rumbo real del objetivo = Real targe´s course

at the end
rumbo real 67´2 º y todo desde el periscopio = Real course 67´2º and all from periscope

[Moltark]

Thanks guys I think I understand now how it's supposed to work, but going forward I will just use the TDC mod. It's just way easier that way.

Again thanks for your help. Much appreciated

[Quiyo]

Originally posted by Moltark:

Thanks guys I think I understand now how it's supposed to work, but going forward I will just use the TDC mod. It's just way easier that way.

Again thanks for your help. Much appreciated

Not 120º, the Arrow´s angle is 60º (as you see it, AoB = 180º - 60º) in the Angriffsscheibe and 40º (periscope) anticlockwise. This is the error
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2414781219

Angriffsschibe
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2380976702

[Yuz]

I use the protractor and nothing else. Sonar guy can give their precise position in the map....

At depth 30, without periscope view, sonar guy says there is a ship in the map. Plot a dot where the ship is, hit time compression 48x, see where the ship is now (thanks to sonar guy), use protractor and draw a line from the initial dot to current ship position, if ship is going east, draw the second line downmaking sure it's paralel to vertical map grid. Done, the angle is the ship course. If going west then draw up and add 180.

[Geandily]

Originally posted by ItsDanky!:

i always miss some angles too i have no idea why cause i feel i always triple check my angles and something is just "wrong "

In image 3 the guy gets the periscope correction by doing 360-331 = -29 degrees correction?

If the situation was mirrored and the periscope was showing 29 degrees would the course correction simply be 0 + 29?

[athenian]

The course tool in the vanilla game is NOT the AOB. The green/red sides are the starboard/port sides of the target. The tip of the needle is your bow. That's all. Do NOT measure AOB using the compass on the map and then put that value into the course tool!

[Quiyo]

Originally posted by Geandily:

In image 3 the guy gets the periscope correction by doing 360-331 = -29 degrees correction?

yes, How many grades i have moved the periscope from 0º (clockwise or anticlockwise)

Originally posted by Geandily:

If the situation was mirrored and the periscope was showing 29 degrees would the course correction simply be 0 + 29?

clockwise or anticlockwise (periscope´s angle), it is easier

[Quiyo]

Originally posted by athenian:

The course tool in the vanilla game is NOT the AOB. The green/red sides are the starboard/port sides of the target. The tip of the needle is your bow. That's all. Do NOT measure AOB using the compass on the map and then put that value into the course tool!

in the course tool (or Angriffsscheibe), the AoB is 180 - angle (as you see the ship, the arrow, without periscope´s correction)