How To Use Torpedoes

After reading this thread I am searchng feverishly for some AAA batteries for my old TI-81 so I can have a handy TDC in the palm of my hand... I am privy to the newer TDC and hud for the patch. Rejoice you searching for those calculated and aimed torpedo shots, it is coming.

I do have some questions about torpedo firing after reading this thread now, hopefully East or someone clever here knows. In Enigma....

• What are the distances from the periscope/bridge to the tubs in the various submarines?
• What is the turn radius for a torp?
• What is the distance the torp travels before heads to its gyro angle?

I know there are some great example and resources for other games but I am curious about the Enigma specifics.

To be honest, I just do the calculation with the first aproximation and works fine, but could be intresting to implement the other aproximations...But since you can't aim exactly like in SH 2, and in Enigma your fire rate for torps is high I personnaly don't think it's necessary to implement that in your calculation. It's already hard to calculate your first estimation in real time, like it will be in MP.

BTW Panzer you read the SH manual and that's a great step to understand how to shoot your torps correctly!

Yeah I realized I am still treating torps in Enigma like the torps in the old Iron Wolves game. I keep forgetting that Enigma != IW. Everytime I see a convoy I charge right in on the surface like an idiot and never get nearly as much results as I ought to. Learning how to aim at anything other then point blank will help a lot to stop bad habits.

And now for no reason... beer.

Rogue if you often programm calculators, this is a easy program, if then conditions all the time, with formulas in it. This is quite commun for calculator. The only differance you will have is maybe the conditions won't be exacly the same, depends of how your calculator understand things, what is it antway? casio?

Awwww m8 I am 40 years of age and havent used a calculator in YEARS

But willing to learn lol. I will have a look around for one

Hi again Donoby,

I will get it figured out eventually. I just have to put some time into it. A friend I work with is bringing in his SH II manual tomorrow, so I can learn some of the torp tech, as well as some of the other sub stuff. I also have to wait for my teenagers with the calculators to finish their Math semester next week; so as not to be seen taking over their calculators for the game, when they need them for school. huh:

And Hi Jesper,

Thanks for the info about the new torp features in the game .... sounds great.

Also am wondering if the single player game will continue to be updated and patched throughout multiplayer development?

And lastly, Anyone have any good links to sub technology, torps, tracking systems,etc?

Thanks guys, and hope to see you on the high seas one day.

David

OK I just want to try and summarize things so that, I know I am on the right course here (pun intended) and to help make things really clear for anyone else who might being trying to figure it out for the first time or looking to make a quick TDC on their calculators. First, my reference diagram here is straight from the Silent Hunter Manual from the top of the thread.

From this you can see that what we need are:

• Target Speed V(t)
• Torpedo Speed V(s)
• Observed Angle on the Bow (b)

Using the above equations we can solve for the proper gyro angle (a) with:

a = sin-1 ( (sin * (V(t) / V(s) )

** sin-1 is the inverse sin function **

Remember that a is the number of degrees ahead of the target's course you should aim. Donoby's nice TI-8x program does a lot of work dealing with converting your current heading and the targets heading to find the correct Observed Angle on the Bow (b) all for you. In fact, most of his program deals with this. It can be tricky to keep the correct headings and bearings straight in your head so he cleverly layed down rules for his calculator so it will figure it out for him each time, all he has to do it give true headings (headings according to true North not relative bearings) and the target's bearing and it figures it out for him.

Donoby's nice TI-8x program does a lot of work dealing with converting your current heading and the targets heading to find the correct Observed Angle on the Bow (b) all for you.  In fact, most of his program deals with this.  It can be tricky to keep the correct headings and bearings straight in your head so he cleverly layed down rules for his calculator so it will figure it out for him each time, all he has to do it give true headings.

Panzer you seem to understand things well about the reel problem: the (b) angle. Anyway I use my programm all the time, and there seem the be a problem somewhere...but donnu where .If u find it, please tell me about it.

Well I am suspecting that its not the program that is wrong but the math. I have been quickly looking over your program logic and I don't think you are calculating the angle on the bow correctly at all. Its not a straight forward add and subtract formula. In the few simple sketches I have been thinking over, I have been having to find all sort of angles to imaginary triangles to find the angle on the bow correctly. I am looking for a good way to solve for that angle right now. That can be expressed in a nice formula and so can be thrown into a program easily.

Well I started by that (doing simple sketches)and I realised pretty quick that there is 16 case (and not a single formula), and found that in the 16 cases there's 12 formulas, depending on the target's heading and the relative position of it from you ... Anyway my programm works at 80%, keep in mind that sin(45)=sin(135). So sometime I don't find the exact "bow angle" but the angle relative to "90 degree" is the same, so the sinus is the same!

Sorry if I'm not clear but I'm french and I don't have a very rich vocabulary in math terms like in french...

Yeah I sat down at lunch with a pad and I started to realize you were pretty much on the ball. I'm going through the scenarios right now. I have a tendancy to assume that things are a lot more complicated then they really are. Right now I have some equations for one or two scenarios. I can easily see how logically the 2 scenarios will turn into 16 different ones. So now I have to eat some humble pie, and re-examine your program in detail after I work out for myself the other 12 possible equations.

The 90 degrees off problem, just seems like a simple math error somewhere when adding or subtracting somewhere. I would suggest doing some basic equations by hand and then entering them into the program to see when the answers differ. Then you can walk through the code step by step and see what might be causing it. I'll do this eventually but, you already have all the equations ready to go for you, I still have to get them all worked out for myself.

Have no worries about having french as your first language. I'm an american and I am really quite ashamed at the fact I really don't know any other languages well enough to talk easily in. I know some spanish and some german but I certainly couldn't discuss things like this in either language.

Votre anglais est bien mieux puis mon Fran?ais