Navigation - Do Devs have this on a fix list?

[kimdownunder]

Navigation really needs some work, please tell me it WILL happen eventually. Ok, I’m cruising in the Celtic Sea, forgot to “ navigate” and got lost. Did not “ find” myself until I fetched up a mile or two off the AFRICAN coast. 😆😆
That is just totally silly. Totally wrong! I’m fairly sure navigation officers tried to get a fix at least every 24 hours, even a rotten navigator would not be out by more than 100 miles.
And ships DO NOT disappear when you are 100 yards away from them and pumping 88mm shells into them, if that is when you happen to get lost.
OK, I’d accept that you might find yourself up to one square away if lost, but really, Devs, this needs to be dialled back. Please.

[Dewgle]

You should immediately stop your engines when you become lost unless you're able to dead reckon your position and your course based on last known position and usage of your map tools.

There's actually a mod in testing right now that does this very thing by removing all in-game map icons and the player is forced to chart their own course based on last known position (compass navigation mod is a requirement).

Originally posted by kimdownunder (aka Weissman):

That is just totally silly. Totally wrong! I’m fairly sure navigation officers tried to get a fix at least every 24 hours, even a rotten navigator would not be out by more than 100 miles.

But that's exactly what your navigating officer does based on the schedule you assign to him. Putting an officer on the nav table gives you a lovely 20% fuel bonus but it also keeps your position updated.

You can view how confident your current position fix is in the upper right corner of the map, right next to current wind speed and depth below mouse cursor. It maxes out at 100% and slowly degrades over time unless an officer keeps it refreshed.

You can refresh it automatically by selecting 'Chief Boatswain' from the officer drop-down presets or just make sure navigation is set to 1 point of priority higher than observation. This way whenever navigational confidence drops below 30-ish percent, he will drop what he's doing to restore your position fix to 100% confidence.

Originally posted by kimdownunder:

And ships DO NOT disappear when you are 100 yards away from them and pumping 88mm shells into them, if that is when you happen to get lost.

You are correct. Ships do not disappear when you are 100 yards away from them when you get lost. That only happens if there is no watch crew present on the bridge. Which is weird, yes, absolutely. But that is a separate subject from navigation.

Originally posted by kimdownunder (aka Weissman):

OK, I’d accept that you might find yourself up to one square away if lost, but really, Devs, this needs to be dialled back. Please.

Again, how far away you are when your navigational position is restored is entirely dependent on how fast your engines are running and which direction your u-boat was pointing last.

If your boat was pointing west with engines set to full when you got lost then you may find yourself halfway to New York by the time your navigational position is restored. The very first thing you should always do is kill your engines until your navigator restores your position fix.

But so long as your crew management schedule is set up correctly, your officer should keep your position up-to-date automatically every time he's on duty.

[kimdownunder]

Hi McDewgle, from your excellent comments I can see I’ve been making some errors and will do some tweaks to fix my tables, But, seriously, I’d bet good money that NO UBoat ever got “ lost” in real life the way we can get “ lost” in this sim. It is SO unrealistic, it is laughable.
It is something I hope will be fixed at some stage.

[Dewgle]

I'm really enjoying the navigational mod that Alligator is working on and I have a feeling you will too when it leaves alpha

[captainpanda34]

I'd appreciate to have an "uncertainity" circle increasing on the map instead of being totally lost. Dead reckoning should still be possible. From south of celtic sea, even if you did not take a fix, a SE route will ge you to the French shore, even without a fix, and then you can read the road signs :)

[Dewgle]

Originally posted by captainpanda34:

I'd appreciate to have an "uncertainity" circle increasing on the map instead of being totally lost. Dead reckoning should still be possible. From south of celtic sea, even if you did not take a fix, a SE route will ge you to the French shore, even without a fix, and then you can read the road signs :)

I actually did this once! All of my leading officers were killed in by an aircraft attack while I was in the English Channel and I was curious if I could make my way back to La Rochelle.

I kept close to the coast and used the topography to identify my position on the map, then used the compass navigation mod to plot a course using true bearings and dead-reckoned the distances to get my way back to La Rochelle and it worked!

But as already stated, you need the Compass Navigation mod so you can plot a course based on true bearings.

[Dewgle]

Alligator just made it public recently, here you go
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2618451929

[GOG]

I have started a new campaign using Alligator`s nav mod and so far so good. After I have received a fix, I use ruler to find my next course and set a distance. Then I check my speed and use the charts from the TDC mod to work out (approximately) what time I will arrive at the plotted point. This , I have found, is a given when using time compression. One thing I do not do now is set my rudder amidships. For some reason I ended up grounded a couple of times after a time compression, so I just let the steersman do his thing. Personally I think it has added more realism, which was the sole purpose of course, but you do have to keep on top of it. One question -does having officers with nav skill make it more accurate, `coz i started with officers without that skill. (OH, and save a lot, just in case)

[Dewgle]

Having low navigational confidence will lower the accuracy of your plotted and estimated positions, yes.

[Royal Raven]

Originally posted by GOG:

I have started a new campaign using Alligator`s nav mod and so far so good. After I have received a fix, I use ruler to find my next course and set a distance. Then I check my speed and use the charts from the TDC mod to work out (approximately) what time I will arrive at the plotted point. This , I have found, is a given when using time compression. One thing I do not do now is set my rudder amidships. For some reason I ended up grounded a couple of times after a time compression, so I just let the steersman do his thing. Personally I think it has added more realism, which was the sole purpose of course, but you do have to keep on top of it. One question -does having officers with nav skill make it more accurate, `coz i started with officers without that skill. (OH, and save a lot, just in case)

I made that chart, that you can find on Real Navigation Screenshots. I made that so you can draw out your course and length you want to go in 6hr, 12hr or 24hs. This helps give you a general idea where you are going to end up. This way you can use high time compression. Just make sure you keep eye on clock and stop when it is time. Then if weather is good, check Sextant.

I tested it out with my chart and was able to navigate to Enigma Mission close to those islands at night, without issue, with time compression.

I might being doing a chart for AoB. Something that can be gathered UZO or Periscope Bearing, with a few other adjustments. This way, attacks can flow better. I am not sure I am going to do that after finding the Solution Solver.
https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=240575

This tool is pretty handy at helping out AoB info. It has some pretty good useful features. Only downside, is you have to Tab out of game and input values. But those tools can be used in any uboat game.