Conning Towers, game mechanics wise

[kandnil]

Anyone have the faintest clue (I don't) about what mechanics there are to the various conning towers other than AA guns?

Any differnce between them all in terms of
Visibility?
Radar cross section?
Drag and underwater speed?
Anything else?

When I got my C/41, it came straight from the shipyard with a big old tower with 3 AA guns including a quad. Would I have any reason to swap this out for a different tower?

[Redbull102]

When I looked into the files I found something like
Durability starts with the II-A at 25% and goes to 43% for the type 4 for the VII-C/41 tower.
And Crew Protection that goes from 85% for the II-A tower to 95% with the last VII-C/41 tower.
And the better the turret, the longer the rapair time.

Found nothing about visibility, radar or other things.

[Harrison Jones]

Originally posted by kandnil:

When I got my C/41, it came straight from the shipyard with a big old tower with 3 AA guns including a quad. Would I have any reason to swap this out for a different tower?

Quad-barrel 20 mm AA gun (yes, 20 mm, not 37 mm as the game states) has a limited angle of operation and can't shoot planes attacking your boat from the front. For this reason, some players favor T1 conning tower with single 20 mm and two Breda machine guns over T4 tower.

And yes, apparently it makes your boat much more visible from sides, compared to defaults T0. Radar cross section is also increased, the game seems to model them somehow realistically as the engine allows this technologically.

[kandnil]

Originally posted by Redbull102:

When I looked into the files I found something like
Durability starts with the II-A at 25% and goes to 43% for the type 4 for the VII-C/41 tower.
And Crew Protection that goes from 85% for the II-A tower to 95% with the last VII-C/41 tower.
And the better the turret, the longer the rapair time.

Found nothing about visibility, radar or other things.

Thanks a bunch! I was hoping one who knew how to look at the files would reply. Seems then that other than AA guns and crew protection, there is no real reason to change at least not for me..

[kandnil]

Originally posted by Harrison Jones:

Originally posted by kandnil:

When I got my C/41, it came straight from the shipyard with a big old tower with 3 AA guns including a quad. Would I have any reason to swap this out for a different tower?

Quad-barrel 20 mm AA gun (yes, 20 mm, not 37 mm as the game states) has a limited angle of operation and can't shoot planes attacking your boat from the front. For this reason, some players favor T1 conning tower with single 20 mm and two Breda machine guns over T4 tower.

And yes, apparently it makes your boat much more visible from sides, compared to defaults T0. Radar cross section is also increased, the game seems to model them somehow realistically as the engine allows this technologically.

I hear you about the quad. Something to keep in mind.

Is the visibility/crossection verified, or is it based on what would be reasonable in real life?

[Redbull102]

I moved back to tower II with the two 20mm Guns.

The tower IV has a very limited angle for shooting.

[kandnil]

Originally posted by Redbull102:

I moved back to tower II with the two 20mm Guns.

The tower IV has a very limited angle for shooting.

Made me think of the Flak-boats. I believe the report to Donitz went something along the lines of "this was dumb. Let's not do that again"

[Harrison Jones]

Originally posted by kandnil:

Is the visibility/crossection verified, or is it based on what would be reasonable in real life?

This is a recurring question, I cite the old answer. Unity engine allows for realistic modeling of visibility profile, radar cross section and even underwater drag. The latter was apparently neglected, same as in the case of the deck gun, the first two appears to be taken into the account.

[Red_Seven_]

Originally posted by Harrison Jones:

Originally posted by kandnil:

Is the visibility/crossection verified, or is it based on what would be reasonable in real life?

This is a recurring question, I cite the old answer. Unity engine allows for realistic modeling of visibility profile, radar cross section and even underwater drag. The latter was apparently neglected, same as in the case of the deck gun, the first two appears to be taken into the account.

Who exactly gave that 'old answer' you're quoting?

There's nothing in the game files except increased durability, repair time and crew protection that would change through a conning tower upgrade.

[El Rushbo]

Better AA firepower, though you should dive rather than fight aircraft. However, those guns would do nicely turned against a small merchant ship. To me the AA guns are merely a supplement to the deck gun.

[kandnil]

Originally posted by El Rushbo:

Better AA firepower, though you should dive rather than fight aircraft. However, those guns would do nicely turned against a small merchant ship. To me the AA guns are merely a supplement to the deck gun.

Pretty much my exact sentiments. I will not fight aircrafts if I have options. Using them against ships really helps speeding up some of these campaigns.

[Soap]

Originally posted by kandnil:

Pretty much my exact sentiments. I will not fight aircrafts if I have options. Using them against ships really helps speeding up some of these campaigns.

after the AA nerf, you need to fire over 2000 bullets to sink a ship. its pretty much useless against ships. with this, norwegian escort mission become nightmare for type 2 because of this. idk why you still want to do that.

[kandnil]

Originally posted by Soap:

Originally posted by kandnil:

Pretty much my exact sentiments. I will not fight aircrafts if I have options. Using them against ships really helps speeding up some of these campaigns.

after the AA nerf, you need to fire over 2000 bullets to sink a ship. its pretty much useless against ships. with this, norwegian escort mission become nightmare for type 2 because of this. idk why you still want to do that.

I don't know why you seem to think my (at the time) VII B was a type II but I don't seem to have to spend 2k+ bullets on ships under 3k tons. Sure, a few hundred bulets per ship but my 3000 bullets have sunk more than enough for me to appreciate them.

Also, for the Norwegian campaign, there is no tonnage requirement, only number of patrols count.

[DoopForces]

Originally posted by Harrison Jones:

Originally posted by kandnil:

Is the visibility/crossection verified, or is it based on what would be reasonable in real life?

This is a recurring question, I cite the old answer. Unity engine allows for realistic modeling of visibility profile, radar cross section and even underwater drag. The latter was apparently neglected, same as in the case of the deck gun, the first two appears to be taken into the account.

AA guns
^
|. . . . . . . . . |
|. . . . . . . . . |
|. . . . . . . . . |
|. . . . . . . . . |
|. . . ____ /
|. . ./
|./
+------------> TIME

guns! need more guns!
*installs 2nd and 3rd conning tower, adds guns*
*places sponsons and side hull filled with guns*
"GUUUUUNS!"


Wonder what would happened if the actual wunderwaffen of missiles would be developed faster, perhaps AA role (like modern piorun) and also anti ship.

Or if simply usually-submerged subs (like XXI ?) would come 2 years faster.

[El Rushbo]

Originally posted by 123:

Originally posted by Harrison Jones:

This is a recurring question, I cite the old answer. Unity engine allows for realistic modeling of visibility profile, radar cross section and even underwater drag. The latter was apparently neglected, same as in the case of the deck gun, the first two appears to be taken into the account.

AA guns
^
|. . . . . . . . . |
|. . . . . . . . . |
|. . . . . . . . . |
|. . . . . . . . . |
|. . . ____ /
|. . ./
|./
+------------> TIME

guns! need more guns!
*installs 2nd and 3rd conning tower, adds guns*
*places sponsons and side hull filled with guns*
"GUUUUUNS!"


Wonder what would happened if the actual wunderwaffen of missiles would be developed faster, perhaps AA role (like modern piorun) and also anti ship.

Or if simply usually-submerged subs (like XXI ?) would come 2 years faster.

Or if they ever finished the Graf Zeppelin, lots of what-if scenarios.

[muffin <3]

With Tunis radar detector, it's very easy to have your bow pointing away from the aircraft by the time it is in visual range, so the inability to fire forward is not important. You want to be heading away at flank speed anyways.

Your options are basically anywhere from 20kt towards the aircraft to 20kt away from it. Imagine a bomber that goes 120kt. If the relative speed is 100kt vs 140kt, you have much more time to shoot it down before it gets on top of you.

Before Tunis, yes, it's not really worth having. If you get caught by a flying boat, just dive and stay down until dusk.